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PLEASE HELP
PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE ME!
I am 20 weeks pregnant with my fourth child. I get very bad tooth aches caused by a hole I have in my molar.I went to the e.r. and was givin hydrocodone for pain which i have been taking since i was 9 wks pregnant. I only take about 3 a day no more than that. I just ran out this morning and i dont want to get anymore but i have been reading that the effects of withdrawl are worse than the side effects of the medication. I do not consider myself an addict because it was perscribed to me and i take less than the dossage on the bottle recommends. But im starting to feel the symptoms of withdrawl they are manageable but im worried what effect will it have on my baby please help!!!
I am 20 weeks pregnant with my fourth child. I get very bad tooth aches caused by a hole I have in my molar.I went to the e.r. and was givin hydrocodone for pain which i have been taking since i was 9 wks pregnant. I only take about 3 a day no more than that. I just ran out this morning and i dont want to get anymore but i have been reading that the effects of withdrawl are worse than the side effects of the medication. I do not consider myself an addict because it was perscribed to me and i take less than the dossage on the bottle recommends. But im starting to feel the symptoms of withdrawl they are manageable but im worried what effect will it have on my baby please help!!!
Best Answer
HI there, hope you don't mind me chiming in here a bit. Yes, absolutely, narcotics do cross the placenta. However, a Dr. prescribing them to a pregnant women is going to be cautious in dosage, and with proper monitoring, many women who must use pain medication do so during pregnancy without too much trouble. It is important to not just quit cold turkey, that is what can be most harmful to a fetus.. Going off of them/weaning should always be done under Dr. supervision. If there is a need to keep taking them throughout the pregnancy (and again, there are lots of women who need pain control, even during a pregnancy), the delivering hospital should be made aware of the situation so that they can be prepared for possible withdrawal symptoms in the infant. When they know, they are fully prepared and can take excellent care of your baby. When taken as prescribed, there are not usually any long lasting effects and most children do just fine. Please do not beat yourself up or worry too much. You have been taking these meds as prescribed for a legitimate reason. You are doing the right thing in working with your Dr. and you are certainly not attempting to hide anything. I have no doubt your baby is going to do just fine. I work with drug users and abusers for a living, and I can tell you there is a world of difference between what you are doing and drug abuse. So yes, it may effect the baby, but not is such a negative way as some will make out. It is always risk vs. benefit, and you are doing this the right way. I wish you well.
Also I definitely think you should have a dentist check your tooth out I have heard dental problems can lead to low birth weight and/or preterm labor.
I'm glad you ( or herself) deleted those comments! That lady was just downright rude! You should not feel guilty if you're in pain and you need something to help and a Doctor okayed it then why should you feel guilty. Good for that lady that IBU is all she took. That isn't what you were asking. The exact opposite you asked not to be judged. I personally won't take anything (although I haven't been in pain other than migraines so it's hard to say), but that's not your question. People are just do rude sometimes. But I know there is always going to be conflicting information on any and every subject. I'm just telling you what I know. If you really are that concerned I would call your doctor ( a trusted one) sometimes ER docs aren't the best. They kinda just want to get you out of there. So talk to your doctor and see what's right for you. Good luck!
I wish you all the best and a happy health the rest of you pregnancy, Take advantage of the sleepy feeling as much as possible it will be the best way for your body to recover and do what your body needs to do for the baby. I believe that every woman is different and every pregnancy is different, and I do think that some time things do pass the placenta and than again they dont, depends on the pregnancy/person. They all say there is a "chance" of it happening. My opinion on some other women: There are women who TRY to concieve for years with no luck and there are women who pop them out every year (unwanted), and with the WANTED ttc they do everything in there power to do things perfect and than the one who have UNWANTED, I have seen drinking, smoking... everything unhealthy and guess what there baby is healthy.Some peony could have the perfect pregnancy and still end up with complication with he baby and vice verse. Dont worry about what the negative people say, we know that you want your your baby that why you are trying to ask for help and you do have the best interest of your child, We all question the dr opinion no matter what it is. But I would really try to see about trying to get that tooth fixed some how. I hate tooth ache. I am one of the ones that would rather have a baby via c esction over having tooth aches and dental work done... GOOD LUCK and I wish you the best and pain free the rest of the pregnancy
You really ought to check with your doctor. It isn't safe to just stop taking a narcotic, especially due to withdrawl symptoms. I'm 22 weeks pregnant & have 5 autoimmune diseases. They had to slowly take me off several of my medications for safety. Hope this helps.
The sypmtoms have gone away. I havent taken any meds since friday night. I wouldnt go out and by pain meds off of the street just to have them and regardless of what anyone thinks you deal with pain your way i went to my doctor with the confidence he would do what he thought was safe for ME AND MY BABY. and to Mandleine i trust what you say but the reason i wanted advice is because the info is so conflicting. some say it does cross the placenta and some say it doesnt. Im not a doctor so i cannot disagree with you. But everyone has there own way of dealing with what happens to them and i did what i thought was best and i do not feel guilty about that. If god forbids something happens to my baby i will NOT dwell on the fact that i took these meds i will embrace what happens and do my best to move on and deal with the situation to the best of my ability.
Well whether you agree with what I said or not it is true. I've worked in pain managment for the past three years and these medications do not cross the placenta to have any effect on the baby. It can make you withdrawal and depending on how severe can cause distress to the baby (the baby itself will not withdrawal). And from the situation you described your withdrawal symptoms do not sound that severe.
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