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withdrawal in pregnancy
I've been in pain management for 4 years, I found out that I was pregnant in July and immediately told my pain management doctor. My pain started worsening during pregnancy and my doctor put me on oxycontin 20mg three times a day on top of the oxycodone 10mg three times a day that I was already on. I've only been on the oxycontin for 2 months and I've been taking more and more every day to avoid feeling withdrawal. This past weekend I decided enough was enough and started cutting down to just the oxycontin and then just the oxycodone the past 24 hours. I flushed everything except 2 oxycontin because all of these threads say to get rid of it before trying to go cold turkey. I made it about 24 hours before i felt like I was going to die. I tried vitamin b12 injection, Benadryl at night and I've been eating bananas constantly but it hasn't helped. I felt so horrible that i took my two pills, a few hours apart but I know the withdrawal is going to come back soon. I wish I could just do this cold turkey but the restless leg and pain is unbearable. I'm 25 weeks pregnant now and I want to be off this poison plus now its all flushed. Has anyone gone through this while pregnant? What can I do to help with the withdrawal pain and symptoms? I can feel that the baby is in distress too so how can I help her from feeling this pain. I've also been having abdominal pain with withdraw is this normal? Please help! My pain management doctor doesn't seem supportive of me discontinuing my medications and wanted to put me on methadone but there has to be another option? My obgyn doesn't get withdrawal so he's no help.
As with anything else, you will need to inform them of what's gone on, and let the doctors handle your pain in the hospital. At home, most pain after having a baby the "regular way" doesn't require pain meds.......and I did say MOST. Not in every case. If you have a c section, they will prescribe what you need based on what you have told them. But, just because you have told them about this doesn't mean that you will have to endure childbirth without pain medication. NO ONE should have to do that! It can be done, but I wouldn't want to try it!
I was taking 30mg of oxycodone a day and 60mg of oxycontin. So my taper is just oxycodone but it's a pretty slow taper. The oxycontin was pretty new, my pm doctor was always changing my long acting narcotic from fentynal to morphine to recently the oxycontin. Seriously I don't think they should be able to prescribe oxycontin because I think that's what the wd is from and it happened so fast. I will shout from rooftops for people to stay away from that stuff. I have checked the house for anything and everything is flushed except my new rx that I'm starting today. I confided in my best friend a little more about my struggles with this but when she asked me how much I was taking I was not completely honest. Nobody knew how much I was taking, I have hidden it from everyone and just made it seem like I only took one every now and then if I had a migraine. I still feel too embarrassed to be completely honest with any of my friends and family but I was honest with my doctor. The babys father is a drug addict, I was with him when I used cocaine. I'm not sure exactly everything he does but I know he has a pretty heavy coke habit and he lives the fast and crazy lifestyle of high risk behavior and has the money and means to support it. My contact with him has been minimal throughout my pregnancy so I def do not want to talk to him about it. In fact I am hoping that he'll get clean for the baby but I know that has to be his choice. I am worried that I'm setting up the baby for failure since she is already going to have a family history of addiction and I've been taking narcotics my entire pregnancy but I guess I can't really change that now. So few questions... I am pretty sure I'm going to have to have a csection and I know that they will want to give me narcotics for it... What should I do? I want to set up a plan now so I don't make a poor decision when the baby is born. Do I tell my doctors no pain pills? Because I've had one baby already and I'm really not wanting to go through all of the child birth without anything. I also don't want to start on pills again so what's the advisement when its that kind of situation?
So glad your appt went well. I was 99.9% sure they wouldn't put you on methadone for oxycodone addiction of 30 mg/day. Please don't try to rush the process and please do EXACTLY as you were told. That will ensure you and the baby the best health thru this.
You said you never had a dose increase or ran out early before but now realize you were using the pills as a crutch. That's SUPER DOOPER progress. The other red flags that caught my eye were what you said you did BEFORE you knew you were PG. The drinking alcohol along with the pills. The cocaine. The "having" and "finding" old morphine in your house.
Have you gotten RID of all that now? No access to it? Does your hubby/bf use? You've shared your secret with some of your family and your dr's now and that's fabulous. Now to protect yourself and continue to stay on the right path (even after your baby is delivered), you need to get rid of your drug sources and clean out your house. Also how about putting some aftercare in place NOW before you are totally off the pills so you have support for a new way of life AFTER the baby comes. Otherwise, you may be setting yourself up to use after "you're not pg anymore". That's how our minds work. So glad you have the immediate care that you do and appreciate knowing how it all came out today.
Keep posting~
You said you never had a dose increase or ran out early before but now realize you were using the pills as a crutch. That's SUPER DOOPER progress. The other red flags that caught my eye were what you said you did BEFORE you knew you were PG. The drinking alcohol along with the pills. The cocaine. The "having" and "finding" old morphine in your house.
Have you gotten RID of all that now? No access to it? Does your hubby/bf use? You've shared your secret with some of your family and your dr's now and that's fabulous. Now to protect yourself and continue to stay on the right path (even after your baby is delivered), you need to get rid of your drug sources and clean out your house. Also how about putting some aftercare in place NOW before you are totally off the pills so you have support for a new way of life AFTER the baby comes. Otherwise, you may be setting yourself up to use after "you're not pg anymore". That's how our minds work. So glad you have the immediate care that you do and appreciate knowing how it all came out today.
Keep posting~
I went in to my pain management doctor today and we discussed all my options, I feel really positive about the plan we have in place to do a slow taper and he's sending over all the info to my obgyn. I'm a little discouraged because it's such a slow taper that I'm still going to be on 30mg a day of oxycodone in 1 month and I really wanted to just be off it by then. Everything is just hitting me really hard. I've been on these meds for 4 years and never had a dose increase or ran out early, etc. I really felt like I was in control and used the excuse that the doctor put me on this. Now I'm realizing that I've been using oxy as a crutch to not deal with things when they get hard and I'm so embarrassed. I've only told my mom and best friend that I was w/d from taking oxy but there hasn't been anyone to be completely honest about how I've been using it as a crutch. I was drinking a lot on my pills and even used cocaine three times before I found out I was pregnant, def not planned, but now I feel like God had a plan to get me straight. I'm scared to go through all of this but I am also really excited to feel like I have a plan to get clean and I'm happy to be starting it. Since I've found out I was pregnant I've always told myself, next week I'll get off the pills.... But I never did because I wasn't honest with myself or my doctor. Now he knows I am going to stop so my script (and crutch) is now gone. Thank you so much to everyone on here for all of your support. I'm glad that I found this so now I'm doing things the healthy way for me and baby!
I don't think your pain management doc should be managing this. It should be an OB who has experience with pregnant women on opiates.
My advice would be to find a new doctor, and have the new OB work with your PM doc. The OB needs to approve the plan. I don't see why you would need to go on Methadone, unless they say it is safer than Oxy. They're both opiates, and the biggest risk for both would be w/d for the baby, which you can discuss once you're stabilized again. Ideally, it would good if you were maintained on a steady dose of an opiate. The baby would then be monitored for w/d's after delivery, and treated as needed. Both meds involve w/d. IMO, if there is no big reason to switch, I can't see why you couldn't just be maintained on the Oxy. That seems like the most logical approach...but again...a qualified OB would have to help you make that call.
Do you have a women's hospital in your area? That would be the best choice, IMO...to find a new doctor. Tell your PM doc you are seeking out a new doctor. Please don't put this off. You're really taking chances trying to do this yourself, with leftover Morphine. Not a good idea.
My advice would be to find a new doctor, and have the new OB work with your PM doc. The OB needs to approve the plan. I don't see why you would need to go on Methadone, unless they say it is safer than Oxy. They're both opiates, and the biggest risk for both would be w/d for the baby, which you can discuss once you're stabilized again. Ideally, it would good if you were maintained on a steady dose of an opiate. The baby would then be monitored for w/d's after delivery, and treated as needed. Both meds involve w/d. IMO, if there is no big reason to switch, I can't see why you couldn't just be maintained on the Oxy. That seems like the most logical approach...but again...a qualified OB would have to help you make that call.
Do you have a women's hospital in your area? That would be the best choice, IMO...to find a new doctor. Tell your PM doc you are seeking out a new doctor. Please don't put this off. You're really taking chances trying to do this yourself, with leftover Morphine. Not a good idea.
I just glanced through so i apologize if im repeating but first i dnt agree with ur dr saying oh its not like ur doing heroin cold turkey wnt b so bad.not true it would b ok uf u were not pregnant but way dangerous for the baby.do ur research u need to do a slow taper under drs care
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Addiction/Pregnancy-and-Addiction/show/194?cid=66
The above article is based upon expert research and what a peri-natal
specialist advises. You need to read the whole article so you don't freak out, but you simply cannot go CT while pregnant!! This article explains why quoting a prominent specialist.
Glad you found the forum......there are several other woman currently on here that are pg now or have just been thru what you are going thru.
Lots of help and support......glad you're here~
The above article is based upon expert research and what a peri-natal
specialist advises. You need to read the whole article so you don't freak out, but you simply cannot go CT while pregnant!! This article explains why quoting a prominent specialist.
Glad you found the forum......there are several other woman currently on here that are pg now or have just been thru what you are going thru.
Lots of help and support......glad you're here~
I dont have experience with Methadone so I cant speak on that. Hopefully someone will come along soon who can help you on what the best solution may be!
I found some old Morphine that I had around the house, its taking the edge off the wd but not completely gone. I'm seeing my pain management doctor tomorrow morning but I fear he'll push methadone. Isn't it harder to wd from methadone than oxy? I just never thought it would be this hard to quit so not sure what is the correct way to stop that will be safe for the baby.
I found some old Morphine that I had around the house, its taking the edge off the wd but not completely gone. I'm seeing my pain management doctor tomorrow morning but I fear he'll push methadone. Isn't it harder to wd from methadone than oxy? I just never thought it would be this hard to quit so not sure what is the correct way to stop that will be safe for the baby.
I couldnt agree more with NG!! Get a new Dr for sure but in the meantime a womans hospital is definitely the place to go! Its a shame that so many Doctors still are clueless when it comes to addiction especially with Pain medicine! I really hope you get someone to listen to you and give you the help you need!
Come to think of it...do you have a hospital in your area that specializes in labor and delivery? A women's hospital? If so, I would go to their ER. They would be much better equipped to deal with this and point you in the right direction.
I don't agree with your doctor at all, and I think this is dangerous...no eating, no sleeping? Contractions? Please seek help Asap. I hope you can find a doctor that knows a bit more.
He said, "it's not like you were on heroin"...that statement right there makes me think that he's clueless. Heroin and Oxy are both opiates, and w/d is w/d.
Good luck!
I don't agree with your doctor at all, and I think this is dangerous...no eating, no sleeping? Contractions? Please seek help Asap. I hope you can find a doctor that knows a bit more.
He said, "it's not like you were on heroin"...that statement right there makes me think that he's clueless. Heroin and Oxy are both opiates, and w/d is w/d.
Good luck!
I would seek out another opinion from a new OB...one who is familiar with opiates and pregnancy. Don't delay.,
Prayers for you.
Prayers for you.
I ended up going to the hospital last night and they said the baby is withdrawing too so she was in distress but everything was okay so they sent me home. I went to my ob today and he said to go cold turkey and that it won't be that bad because its not like I'm on heroin. But it is bad! I just want to crawl out of my skin, I haven't between able to eat anything today, I haven't slept in 2 days and I'm having contractions every 10 minutes. Time just feels like it's going by so slow so I feel like I'm going crazy. Taking hot baths help for a few minutes but when I get out of the tub it all comes back. How long does this last for? How long does the crawling of the skin and anxiety last? I could deal with the physical symptoms if those were gone. Is there any home remedies that anyone has used to help? I have an appointment with my pain management doctor tomorrow morning but it's going to be 24 hours since taking any oxy so is it even worth it to start a taper after 24 hours or should I go to the ER again to help with the wd? It's really hard to talk to people about it because they look at me poorly since I'm pregnant and I don't really feel like the nurses and such even care how horrible this process is. So any advice would be great. Thanks everyone!
I ended up going to the hospital last night and they said the baby is withdrawing too so she was in distress but everything was okay so they sent me home. I went to my ob today and he said to go cold turkey and that it won't be that bad because its not like I'm on heroin. But it is bad! I just want to crawl out of my skin, I haven't between able to eat anything today, I haven't slept in 2 days and I'm having contractions every 10 minutes. Time just feels like it's going by so slow so I feel like I'm going crazy. Taking hot baths help for a few minutes but when I get out of the tub it all comes back. How long does this last for? How long does the crawling of the skin and anxiety last? I could deal with the physical symptoms if those were gone. Is there any home remedies that anyone has used to help? I have an appointment with my pain management doctor tomorrow morning but it's going to be 24 hours since taking any oxy so is it even worth it to start a taper after 24 hours or should I go to the ER again to help with the wd? It's really hard to talk to people about it because they look at me poorly since I'm pregnant and I don't really feel like the nurses and such even care how horrible this process is. So any advice would be great. Thanks everyone!
As the others have already said, you should NOT quit c/t while pregnanr, especially so soon in your pregnancy. As Maria said, everything you feel the baby feels and if your in w/d's so is the baby. Only problem is your baby mey not be strong enough to tolerate this and you risk having a miscarriage. You need to talk to your Dr and make him understand and if he wont listen, find one who will, and now.
Once you have your baby, they will wean your baby off to limit his w/d's and he/she should be fine after a few days. Then you can focus on getting yourself off of these.
Once you have your baby, they will wean your baby off to limit his w/d's and he/she should be fine after a few days. Then you can focus on getting yourself off of these.
CT is not an option for most during pregnancy and lots depends on the dose and time of use. If u r having issues tapering, do u have a friend u can hand them to to dole out to u daily? I see u flushed them? Flushing can be a great release and a way of letting go, taking back control of ur life. I just dont think i wld do it while i was pregneant. A slow taper is best. U r where u r. Is there any one of ur doctor';s u can talk to? I admire ur will power...and i do know doctors who understand addiction are far a few in between. Do u have anything left at all other than the 2 oxy?
hun, i agree with leaAnn!!! when ur pregnant u should NEVER EVER go CT, this is probably y ur pain managment dr put u on more and suggested methadone. you really should get to the ER right away esp since your having pain in ur belly like tht and u feel the baby in distress. whatever you feel ur baby also feels so imagine being a little baby feeling horrible like tht! and please dont take this as me trying to scare you either but im very very concerned for you and ur baby. please please get medical attention right away!!!! the last thing u would want is to harmur little girl..... please keep us updated on what u decide and how it goes! good luck sweetie
Honey, please go get medical attention. I don't want to scare you unnecessarily, but you must go get help right now, or you may risk losing your baby. I hate to have to tell you that, but I wouldn't be able to even sleep tonight if I didn't advise you to do the right thing. Please go now!
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