Vikodin weaning

[amyfran]

I am trying to help my friend who is about 34 weeks pregnant decide wether she should stop Vikodin cold turkey or cut down before she delivers.  We can either have her stop any and all pills or take it from 3-6 pills down a day slowly.  We DON"T want the baby girl to have w/drawls or breathing problams at birth.  The Mommy is willing to suffer and go through whatever but wants the baby to have the best chance at at healthy and happy life.  Sincereley, Amy

[martikadragoon]

Amyfran~ if it's for pain and not a dependancy, It's BETTER For her to be on it!

I was on vicoden for the last 5 months of my pregnancy with my son. He was born FINE with no dependancy. I Currently am on it for back pain and other reasons, and I take what I did with my son 8 to 10 pills a day.

She shouldn't worry about it. The ONLY real risk for her baby is some slightly depressed breathing (sleepy baby) and POSSIBLY a couple days of withdrawal.. if even that. Her daughter will NOT suffer!

[snooglebeans]

hello there:

I am a chronic pain patient and will have to be on pain meds while pregnant.  My maternal/fetal specialist has counseled me that it is far more dangerous to go through withdrawal while pregnant than to take the pain meds and then have the baby be weaned off afterward.

The main question I have for you is whether your friend is taking vicodan for pain relief or does she take it because she has a drug problem?  If she has a drug problem..then she may be able to wean off during this last trimester..at least down to a smaller amount as my doc says there is a correlation beween post-natal withdrawal and dose.  BUT she must do so under guidance of a doctor..do NOT try to help her do this on her own as she must NOT go into withdrawal..it can cause pre-term labor and other problems.

If she is in pain..it is prob. better for her to be on pain meds..as unrelieved pain in the mother is also bad for a developing baby.  But, again, she may be able to come down to a smaller dose and just take the amount that helps her get through the day pain-wise.  This would be done with the help of a pain mgmt doctor and an OB..(really should be a high risk OB).

I hope this helps.  Best of luck to your friend and her little one!

[gemini_jolene]

there are several posts on here about taking pain meds while pregnant.  She should def discuss with ob, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration.  I would reason that since a baby may go through withdrawal symptoms after birth then he/she would also go through them in utero.  The dr may feel it is safer for the baby to detox after delivery where he/she can be treated by a medical team and receive meds if needed.  There are posts in the neonatology forum about vicodin and other pain meds that have been answered by a neonatologist.  She def needs to talk to her ob if she hasn't already though.  If the dr doesn't know then the baby can't get the help she needs.

[spade22]

I agree with the others - she need MEDICAL advice on this matter.

Is there a reason why she isnt seeking medical attention?  Does her doctor know she is on vicoden?

[tellytatum]

i agree with krllya74....if shes made it this far with more then that many pills her baby could be born with withdrawls no matter if she quits or not..talk with a dr

[KellyA74]

She needs to ask her OB what they want her to do......She probably should have weaned herself when she found out that she was pregnant...this far along, she needs to consult with her physician.  If she's able to stop now, why didn't she choose to stop 34 weeks ago?  Just curious....