Pregnant, vicoden and very worried.

[beth000]

Hi, I'm 26 weeks pregnant with my first child and have been abusing pain pills for 4 years now,  Any i can get my hands on, vicoden, oxycoten. In a average day I take vic's a day. I'm not perscribed and buy them on the street. I'm so worried what i have dont to my son, the ultrasounds look fine and the doctor says he is perfect, he does not know about my problem. I'm scared to death that they will take my baby away and put me in jail, this is killing me. I love my baby and dont know what to do. If there is anybody out there that has been through this or know someone who has please let me know. I have a world of judement on me.

[GoingToMakeIt]

Beth, Private Message 1234betterlife. She can help you with things. You are wise to be concerned. It is dangerous stuff.

[girlybuff]

I've posted this before and I am now posting it again....

From experience I can tell you that if you are off for at least 4 weeks, your baby will not be born addicted.  IF the baby does happen to be born addicted, they can tell right away and you could be in trouble but IF you are honest about your usgae, you will most likely be ok.
You don't want your baby to go through withdrawals.  Although they can easily treat the withdrawals in newborns you don't want to have to medicate your child as soon as they come into the world.  Babies who are suffering from withdrawls have trouble eating, sleeping and they have a poor sucking reflex.  It's not pretty as they cry excessively.
I was prescribed pain killers throughout my pregnancy and waened down VERY SLOWLY with the help of my ob/gyn.  I had a beautiful, healthy, perfect little girl who continues to thrive and become smarter and smarter by the minute.
I just want to stress to all the pregnant women out there who are using for whatever reason be it legal or not, that you cannot and SHOULD NOT go cold turkey under any circumstances.  It puts the mother's body into shock no matter what your usage is and can cause pre term labor and/or miscarriage.
If you are early ini your pregnancy, be honest with your dr and allow him/her to wean you VERY slowly.  The drugs that normally would be prescribed to anyone coming off of opiates (valium, xanax, klonopin etc.) are EXTREMELY UNSAFE at any time during your pregnancy.  They are all a category X and can and most likely will cause defects or brain activity reduction.  So you need to make sure that when you wean that you do it slowly and carefully so that your body does not go through too much stress.  It is way better for the mother to be comfortable during this process than it is to go through it quickly.        
If you are later on in your pregnancy, again I stress to be honest with your dr.  They can and should help you and if you are honest there is less chance of you getting into trouble and having your baby taken away.
If you are so late into your pregnancy that stopping isn't an option, take as little as possible, pray and talk to your dr.  Hopefully, it won't be an issue.
I do need to say though that although the pregnancy is obviously important, you need to have some sort of a plan for after the baby is born.  Even if you're being prescribed the drugs like I was, you are still addicted an no baby deserves to have an addicted mother.  You will need to be on the ball with all of the sleepless nights and crying ahead of you.  SO please, talk to a dr., get on suboxone, go to counseling or meetings but whatever you do, get a hold of this problem because you never gets those years beck and you don't want to be in a fog for the best and most important months of the beautiful babies life where you should be spending your time gazing into their eyes and watching them sleep at night for hours at a time.
May God bless you all and may you all have healthy and happy babies who have a sober and clear headed mother.
Please PM me if you have any questions.

[beth000]

wow, thank you for what you wrote, i need help i  know that! thank you for your story!! it means more than you know!

[toxictome]

nice post girlybuff...i need to remember that now also, becausemy 9 and 13 yr. olds still need a clean/sober mother!!!!  Lots of good stuff to think about!

[christian7769]

Thanks so much for your insite. Im 29 and just found out im pregnant with my first child. Ive been taking vicodin for a year now perscribed by my Dr. due to a neck injury,and Im so scared cause Im addicted to the junk! I want to stop asap but I also dont want to hurt myself or my baby buy quitting cold turkey. What will this due to my baby? I know I will be off of the **** in the next few weeks but am I going to damage him now? Are there any studies? This is so hard and I feel really guilty,but Im also sick without the pills Im weaning myself off but I just really worry about the effects this may cause my little gift...

[FriaryGrad]

Young posters probably won't remember when the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court,William Renquist, (recently deceased) became addicted to vicodin following surgery and stay addicted for a number of years, before confessing his addiction to his physician and seeking treatment.  The highest ranking judge in the United States because addicted and couldn't "just quit" on his own.  Don't judge yourself too harshly, not because you don't need to get immediate help, but because you're going to need all the positive energy you can get to get through this and care for your son, and being critical of yourself isn't positive energy.  As soon as you can, find out if you became addicted because of depression (even low grade depression, if it lasts for years can be devastating if left untreated).  Good luck and I'm so glad you're honest, and want to change.  That's a huge step, as you know.......I'll be praying for you.....