Addicted to pills while pregnant

[jays524]

.Im really embarrassed to talk about this but i need to ask someone for advice. I am 24 weeks pregnant and still taking pain pills. I have to admit that its hard for me to stop. This is my 2nd child. My 1st child i did take them and maybe stopped about 6-8 weeks before i gave birth, that was the advice given to me so the baby wouldnt be addicted. So when i had my son, as soon as they moved me to a more comfy room, the nurse said to me that you need to save me the meconium and i asked what for and she said well werent u taking vicodin, i lied and said no. She said oh, well just save it for me so we can check to see all what u took and how much. So i got scared but i did save it. Well the test came back negative, now why she thought i was taking vicodin before the babys meconium even got tested i dont know. Does anyone know why she would have asked that? I never told anyone and never told the doctor. It was myself that only knew. Now here i am again with my 2nd child and i have like 15 more weeks to go and plan to stop NOW, i know this is wrong, but how can i avoid being asked this question again and i dont want the baby addicted to pills. I do have pain all the time. I guess what im asking is, if i stop now, will that be plenty of time to get it all out and not have the baby show any signs of addiction? Please, i know i need help but right now i refuse to tell anyone. I know its not the best way to go. .

[jays524]

Dr. Julia, my husband didnt know i was taking them the first time. The only thing i can think of is if they did a drug test on me in the office in the beginning but even then the intake nurse never said anything unless for some reason they got the charts mixed up. I thinked i stopped using about 6-8 weeks before my delivery with my first however this time i still have about at least 13 weeks to go. I have stopped cold turkey and i have to say im doing better than i thought. No withdrawls except mood swings and agitation in middle of the night. Plus right now, even tho i want to get out of the house to pass time and get my mind off of it i have no motivation. But im doing my best. The only thing i had to take yesterday due to personal problems that caused a migraine was Firoricet. My ob prescribed that for me. . Im trying not to take anything, not even tylenol and deal with the pain. I do want a healthy baby and i should have stopped when i found out i was pregnant this time but i became selfish. I dont want this anymore. I am considering an AA meeting after the baby is born. I have forced myself to fight with my husband cuz i dont want that question asked again if i was taking this med and i figured it would keep him out when i have the baby. I want to go to hospital with no problems and i am excited about this. But this time its not hard to quit the meds. I dont know why! I get annoyed but i guess thats normal. I know this sounds selfish, but even tho i dont want to go back to pain meds i hope i have stopped long enough so i dont get questioned again. I dont ever want that worry. I know there are other ways of dealing with pain and i plan to seek those ways.

[Cheaboyjones]

I strongly suggest typing on google "(your town) narcotics anonymous meeting schedule" and just take a random chance and check one out. There are tons of people in there that have done 100 times worse and have gotten through it. There would be no need to feel uncomfortable talking about it, and talking about it is a huge step in the right direction.  If you went to a meeting it would speak for itself. Good luck with everything.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

I have no way of knowing how the nurse knew that you were a user, was it possible that your baby's father said something or one of your other relatives? If you really stopped opiates  weeks before delivery then there is no way that the baby could have been in withdrawals, so there was no other way for the nurse to tell.
In regard to you current pregnancy, if you do not wish your child to be in withdrawal and to spend leangthy time in a NICU away from your loving arms and unable to nurse from you because you are still addicted, than you must taper the pills and stop them asap. You must be clean by the time of delivery and since none of us really know when the babies are ready to come, you have no time to waste!
You have done it before, so you know that you can do it again. If you run into trouble, please let your OB know, you are not the first in this predicament and they will be able to help you. You  do not have to do this alone.
Feel free to ask me anything again if you need help and just let me know how you are doing. Good luck to you and stay well, keep hydrated, eat healty and try to take a walk every day. Quit smoking, if you do. Stay busy and keep your mind and soul occupied. You will do great. Do yourself and your children a favor and do not go back on pills. There are other ways of staying pain free and healthy.

[mamasusieq]

Hmm.    That's a tough situation, I was on pain meds for years so I know how hard it is to have to stop...if you ever need to talk I'm here for ya