Question about Vicodin/Pregnancy

[eastbaymom]

I am 24 weeks pregnant and have been taking 2-3 Vicodin in 7.5/750 strength most days of my pregnancy.  I originally started taking them for headaches and also severe sciatic nerve problems but have continued taking them without seeing if I could manage without them.  At the most, I will skip one pill a day.  I have never taken more than 3 in a day.  But my question is, if I taper down soon, will there be any addiction/withdrawl in the baby?  This is my worst fear so I want to stop well in advance.  I guess this dosage indicates I am taking 23mg per day?  At this amount would a baby be born addicted?

[GoingToMakeIt]

I am sorry no one has answered yet. Hang on. Someone should chime in soon. What you are asking is a loaded question that is best answered by a Dr or OBGyn. I believe if the baby is born and goes into withdrawals, the hospital is obligated to report it. You don't want to do anything that could put your baby at risk.

[alldonepercs]

Don't be scared to talk to your doctor. That is something you should probably end as soon as possible. I don't know what type of condition your giving your baby but I DO KNOW THAT HE OR SHE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT. Talk to your doctor ASAP and find out if quiting them cold turkey will affect the baby. If I can stop taking pills ANYONE CAN !!!! You came to the right place for help quiting them but as far as medical advice there is no one here qualified to give you medical advice. Goodluck and your in my prayers

[eastbaymom]

Thanks for your input.  This is prescribed medication (though by another doctor, not my OB) and I have been taking it as prescribed so I don't really fear the baby being taken away... and I don't want to talk to my OB about it because of her stance on taking anything while pregnant.  I would definitely NOT go cold-turkey, that is not even a question in my mind.  I am wondering at this dosage if it's even a problem at all.  I guess my fear is that I'll stop taking them and still have to deal with the severe pain issue.  And if that leads me back to taking them, am I posing a risk of the baby being addicted at this dosage or not?   I can't find anything online about it.  

[avisg]

honestly east you need to tell the doctor regardless of his stance on meds durning pregnancy ,because this is not about just about you its about your baby as well.
good luck

[alldonepercs]

hmmm.....lets think out loud here.... now why is your OB'S stance that way...hmmn...

[eastbaymom]

I actually disclosed that I was taking Vicodin it on my prenatal form and she went over that with me, but did not say anything.  I did not verbally discuss it with her and I don't know if she simply overlooked it or didn't think it was important.  She takes a very holistic approach to everything, which is great but not very realistic.

[1234betterlife]

you can send me a personal message. i am a nurse with a strong background in obstetrics. if you have more questions i am available when not working.

[glo308]

Maybe you OB is realistic?

Ask yourself this, would you give your newborn one of your pills, or a piece of it?  Maybe, that is what you are doing.  

No one here is trying to judge you, just help a helpless baby.

[wannawean]

I was taking opiates and stopped when learning I was pregnant. NOT TO JUDGE, but if you can't stop taking these pills now will there every be a better reason? I do think (from a RN perspective) if you don't wean down to zero there is a chance your baby will have w/d when born,see it all the time in the NICU those poor babies don't feed well, can't be consoled it's so sad.Why would you want to risk this? I can tell by your posts your an intelligent person. Look up the preg categoty of the drug is it a C? If so wean off it preferably with the help of your MD. Do you think the one Rxing it would give it to you knowing your preg??? I think your wanting someone to say that it's ok and that everything will be fine. Sorry don't think so. Do what you need to do for your baby.He/she is counting on you!! Good Luck!

[eastbaymom]

There's no chance I'll be taking them near when the baby is born, so there should not be any addiction issues.  I'm only 25 weeks as of today and I decided that I will have to wean over the next few weeks to get it out of my system in plenty of time.  

When I wasn't taking anything, my blood pressure was up to 154/90 and I am certain it was due to the pain that I was experiencing... with the medication BP is well in the normal range.  But I will definitely taper and will have to deal with the pain.

No matter how bad the pain is, I do NOT ever take more than 3 pills per day.  I have had times where I can't even move because of sciatica and yet I never touch the medication; I simply won't do it, so you can't say I'm not thinking of my baby.  If it were just me I would take the medication as needed.  I only take it during the day when I can't afford to be slowed down by the pain (have two other children to take care of).  At night, I don't care if I'm in pain because I can simply lay on the sofa and my husband can help with the kids.    

After speaking to some women privately through email on this site, I've determined that I need to wean down and if I still have horrible pain, then I will tell my doctor straight up that I need something to control it.  However, she is very "anti" medication so I am fairly sure she won't prescribe anything.  Anyway, thanks for all of your input... some were more helpful than others but thanks to all that responded.

[Clamity2]

I hope you decied to stop taking them. You are over halfway through your pregnancy. You seem defensive of the pills. Believe me all of us addicts were very defensive of our pills, for years. So many wasted years. why not stop now for you and your baby.
Praying for you now.
JG

[Chi708]

I don't want to come off as harse but first and foremost look up acetaminophen. Your vicoden is loaded with it. Acetaminophen is POISON to the LIVER and the FDA just released a black box warning on it. I had my liver checked and i was abusing them YES, and guess what my liver encymes were altered. That is what made me quit Dec. 4. I relasped yes but i am not pregnant. Just do me a favor and look up acetaminophen. That may make you think twice about taking vicodin while carring your child.

Sorry if I sound mean. I don't mean too.

[eastbaymom]

Chi, no offense, but Acetaminophen is Tylenol!  I don't know how much of if you are taking per day but the daily max is maybe 4,000 mg?  (I may be off on that number).  At my dose, the most I take in 2,100 mg which is half of the maximum an adult can have in a 24 hour period.  The amount I take is the same as 2-3 Tylenol per day.  Are you saying Tylenol is unsafe?  Because in the correct dosage, it most certainly is not.  I'm very familiar with Tylenol because my mom worked for the manufacturer for 20 years.  Now, if you are taking more than the recommended dose then you would have liver problems.  OR, if you are drinking alcohol with it then you are really causing yourself a problem.  Anyway, I did want to clarify because I was not sure you knew that acetaminophen is most certainly not poison to the liver in the correct dosage :)  Good luck!

[girlybuff]

Please read my post to pregnant women who are addicted.
God bless and good luck.

[eastbaymom]

Thanks!  I skipped the dose of Vicodin that i normally take in the morning when my sciatica starts getting bad-- instead, I went to my massage therpist and she worked on my sciatic area for 30 minutes.  She said it's in terrible shape!  She explained what is going on in that region and why it's so painful.  I feel alot better but I know it's only temporary.  At least I don't need any pain medication this morning!!  I wish I could go to her everyday, I'd be in much better condition.

[FAITHFUL74]

I am no professional...but, I endured a very complicated pregnancy and I am very informed about the risk and so forth of addicted and premature babies. A healthy baby is what is always hoped for, but, in so many cases this is not the case. Please I urge you to see your ob about the drugs, You cannot put a price on your childs life. And yes... if you are drug tested and you will be I can assure you of that and so will the baby after delivery, you can possibly loose custody of this child because of the risk you have placed on him/her. You think you cant go c/t, how do you think an infant would feel in d/ts... man i dont want to get angry here, but, get it together and do whats right for your baby NOT YOU!

[eastbaymom]

Thanks, I don't worry about losing custody of my child, it's not like I'm buying drugs off the street-- these is all legally prescribed medication and I disclosed that I was taking it on my prenatal history/health form.  Plus, at the amount I take, I don't think the baby would be addicted since I am weaning.  I didn't even take anything this morning and instead went for a massage in an effort to help alleviate sciatic nerve pain.  I prefer NOT to talk to my OB about it because of her stance on any medications... and I feel that's ok not to discuss it with her in detail so long as I'm weaning now and not taking anything in my last trimester.  Thanks again.

[feelingcrazierbytheday]

I am glad you are deciding to wean.  It is a decision in the positive direction.  However, I have been in your shoes.  I was pregnant and on vicodin for kidney failure which is how i got into this whole mess to begin with.  Anyhow, even my ob told me that the baby would be born fine as he was the one who prescribed me the meds.  however, with my case he had to way the risks.  The trama my body suffered when in such pain caused me almost to miscarry 3 times which is finally when he decided to put me on meds.  I was only on them for one and a half months at 2 500mg pills a day.  My baby was born fine...or so it seemed....after 24 hours the nurses started noticing that she was experiencing symptoms...;it was not a pretty case....they had to report it...and not only that but CPS had to get involved by law.  She was placed in a baby infirmary in washington state where they specifically deal with drug addicted babies and wean them down.  Lucky for me the state allowed me to keep my baby after interviewing my OB doctor to make sure i wasn't abusing the pills, checking my blood for amounts of the drug etc. IT was a LONG process and not worth it at all. So if your body is able to tolerate the pain to where the pain doesn't affect the baby...than i highly recommend not taking anything.  For me it was a little different because i kept having episodes...i almost delivered early because of the stress the pain put on my body...but if my body had been able to handle the pain better, and not put my baby at risk, i never would have touched any pill.

[girlybuff]

In a perfect world that would be ideal and I am very glad that today both you and your baby are together, fine and more importantly, healthy but she is already where she is so stopping cold turkey is probably not a healthy option.
She still has time to wean down successfully.  Hopefully and by the grace of God dependency would be the only cause for concern and if she does what she claims she is going to, that won't be an issue.

[Junkie]

GO to your OB and tell them you are addicted to Vicodin. Take all of your pills with you, give them to your OB. And hope that your baby is going to be ok. Not trying to sound all gloom and doom, but you should have told your OB when you first found out your were pregnant. Oh but wait, YOU DID TELL HER, on the pregnancy forms, and she didn't say jack.

I'm sorry people are getting down on you about this. Here we are, all junkies, giving a pregnant woman sh*t. But don't take it the wrong way. We are just very sensitive to stuff like this.

Hey, crack babies are born every day and they live. They are born addicted, but they live. : (

I had killer sciatica when I was pregnant with my son. It was a b*tch! Not even Tylenol worked. I wished now that I would have thought about massage therapy.

Well, I am glad to hear you are weaning. I think you and your baby are going to be just fine. But wean quickly and get off that stuff. Who knows what it will do to baby during the pregnancy period. I am sure 1234BetterLife gave you some sound advice, so good luck to you and the baby.  

-Junkie

[Coolio Hernendez]

You know how it feels to withdrawal. Imagine what it would be like if you could not walk,talk or do anything but lay there.

I would talk to the doc, if only to spare a living soul this torment.

I do not mean this to sound like i am putting you down. You are very strong for even starting to talk and think about this.

Good Luck!!!

[dani91172]

I have worked in OB for over 5yrs and for pregnant moms in pain Lortab is what we gave them, one of the safest pain meds given in pregnancy.  Does not cause birth defects and studies have been done on pregnant women.  After delivery mom and babies were fine, but don' t abuse meds

[dani91172]

talk to your doctor about it,