I posted a few days ago about being 36 weeks pregnant and tapering off Norco... I am down to 3 of the 5 mg pills a day, which is really hard to do, but I am sticking to it because I don't want my baby to go through withdrawal. I am just frustrated because I HAVE been honest and upfront with my doctors throughout my pregnancy... and was told Vicodin/Norco was relatively safe to take (Class C) during pregnancy, and I was in legitimate and severe pain from migraines and tension headaches (the hormones made them worse). I remember being warned about needing to taper off of them in the third trimester to avoid possible withdrawal in the baby, but my doctors never made a plan to help me do that. I finally saw a PM specialist, who is really an addiction specialist, today at the insistence of my OB and I felt somewhat categorized as an "addict"... not to say that I don't have a dependency on the meds, but who wouldn't after taking them for a year? It is like once you are on pain meds, you are automatically categorized and the pain issue that led me to take the meds in the first place is not counted into the equation. It is hard because there is a HUGE stigma to being pregnant and on ANYTHING,,, and I feel like there is no one that I can talk to about the shame and guilt I feel. Thankfully my husband is supportive, but this is my first child and I feel like I "should" have been strong enough to not take any pain medicine, because now I can't get off of it! It is taking everything I have to just take three pills a day, I am still uncomfortable and in pain. And going to the PM doctor just made me feel worse! He did tell me to stay on it, that withdrawing may be harder on the baby, but overall I still feel so alone... and I don't find the label of "addict" to be empowering, for me, right now. It just makes me feel worse. Yes, I was honest w/my doctors but now I feel like I am being labeled an addict and no one likes being labeled.
You are doing what you need to do; your doc really should have helped with a tapering program.
So, for what it's worth, I don't think that you are an addict - and I know addicts. Good luck.