Pregnancy and pain management

[Djwife]

I am 8 weeks prego and I can't get into see my doctor for 2 more weeks. I am on oxycodone 10-325 four times a day. My pain management doctor said try and ween myself off slowly by decreasing the amount a little bit every couple of weeks( having a hard time during the night) leg cramps and restlessness. I am petrified that I am causing harm or birth defects to my baby?? I haven't been able to speak to anyone except for my pain management doctor. Oh and I am on pain meds for bulging disk and sciatic pain..

[littlebit667]

You are doing the right thing.  Good luck with doctor and let us know how it goes!

[Djwife]

Thank you so much for your caring comments back! I really am happy to know that there is people out there that share there own experiences to help others.. I will feel a lot better when I get to finally see my obgyn!

[Ashelen]

I would say put the taper on hold until you can get in and see your OB.

For women with severe pain, very often it's better for them to take a smaller, managed dose of pain medicine than it is for them to quit. Pain causes stress on the body, and stress releases a hormone called cortisol into the system, and it goes directly into the baby..it can cause a host of problems (nothing deadly, but nothing fun!) and if you are dealing with severe pain you are going to be better off managing it in most cases.

You'll need to talk to your OB about what's a safe dose for you to take, and they'll need to monitor you throughout the pregnancy. Many many women (myself included) have had to be on pain medicine on and off or completely throughout their pregnancies and have gone on to have very healthy, happy babies. The key is for you and your OB to be on the same page about your pain management. They need to know every little detail, you have to be completely transparent, because they'll need to know what to look for when baby is born and they'll need to know what to pay attention to when they monitor baby during delivery.

But if you are taking your medicine as prescribed, and you and your OB get a good pain management plan going that you both agree on, you should be able to stay on (a smaller dose of) the oxycodone or they can help you come up with another medicine or program to help you.

I would let the pain management doctor know that you're experiencing pretty tough withdrawal symptoms and ask to put the taper on hold until you can consult with your OB, and go from there.

best of luck! please feel free to ask any questions; like I said, I've been through 2 (going on 3 now!) pregnancies where I had to manage pain with medicine, and I have 2 very healthy and bright babies (a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son) and a healthy bun in the oven as I type!