Pregnant and withdrawaling

[Lexi525]

I was in a car accident last year that left me with a shattered pelvis and 5 fx vertebrae in my L-S spine...I was prescribed percocet 10/325 8x a day. I just found out I am 5 weeks pregnant and have stopped using the medication, I have been experiencing withdrawal symptoms for the last 4 days. Day 2 was so bad that I was taken to the ER where they wanted to detox me by putting me on methadone through my entire pregnancy, making it so that I and my baby would both have to withdraw after I give birth. I denied that help and left...It is bad enough for me, I could not let my child go through it. I wanted to know if anyone knows how long the withdrawal symptoms last???? And could there possibly be a problem with the baby???? They kept telling me in the ER that my baby would die if I didn't take the methadone...

[Ezekeil]

Hi, I have a question in this category also. I'm 22 weeks pregnant, and am getting care from my Midwife, as well as an addiction treatment facility. I've been on Subutex for almost 9 months now, and my doctor that prescribes it is totally fine with me tapering off of it before delivery to avoid withdrawl NAS for the baby altogether, however he doesnt seem to have a specific deadline for me to be completly off of it in order to prevent any NAS. I've read alot of things that say to be off by 24 weeks, or the end of your 2nd trimester. And Ive also read alot of things that say to be off by 36 weeks, or at least 4 weeks before delivery. Can you give me a better idea of when the medication needs to be stopped/and/or out of my body so that I can prevent my baby from experiencing any NAS symptoms?

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
Neither Methadone, nor Percocet nor withdrawl will cause a miscarriage.
If you were my patient, however, and were truly motivated to stop using narcotics during your pregnancy (which would be the absolute best thing for you and baby), I would recommend a taper of the medication rather than stopping "cold turkey".  If you taper the medication, you can reduce the intensity of withdrawl symptoms that both you and baby experience, and still reach your goal of stopping the medication before the baby is born.
You might want to consider looking up a doctor who prescribes Suboxone to see if that person could help you, OR any addiction treatment center would be capable of helping you too.
Good luck!
Dr B