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16 weeks pregnant on heroin, is it dangerous to take subutex
I have been using heroin for about 2 years now and needless to say, my tolerance is high! I just found out 2 weeks ago that I am pregnant, I am going on my 17th week. I immediately came clean with my obgyn and talked to a suboxone dr a week later. He gave me 3 options of methadone, subutex, or oxycodone. After doing research I believe subutex has the least withdrawals for the baby. I always thought the difference between subutex and suboxone was that you could take subutex sooner because of the lack of naloxone, but now I'm hearing you still have to be in withdrawal to take it. But you also can lose the baby if you go into withdrawal so now I am scared. I am supposed to start subutex in 5 days at my doctors office 12 hours after my last use. Is this safe? I have once taken suboxone after 20 hours and it put me in the worst withdrawals I've ever been in. I really need advice on what I should do! I don't want to hurt my baby, what is the best option? How can I quit without withdrawaling and risking losing my unborn baby?
Methadone is considered the gold standard of care for opiate abusing pregnant women and it is FDA approved for the treatment of this population
Methadone during Pregnancy © Michael Sharman
Why take methadone (or Suboxone) during a pregnancy? - As a mom to be, you want to do what’s best for your baby, and getting on something like methadone, which causes a withdrawal syndrome in newborns, may not feel like the right thing to do.
While it’s obviously preferable for a pregnant women to abstain from all opiates, those who become pregnant while addicted to opiate drugs should not try to quit ‘cold turkey’ and should rather use an opiate substitution medication, like methadone, to manage drug withdrawal symptoms and to maintain better health.
Although your natural impulse after learning of a pregnancy may be to abstain from future drug use to safeguard the fetus, the sudden cessation of opiate drugs is very difficult on the unborn child (as it is on the mother) and is likely to result in miscarriage. Additionally, opiate abusing women who attempt to quit without appropriate addiction treatment and assistance are at high risk of relapse back to opiate abuse – which greatly increases the chances of pregnancy complications.
Although taking methadone while pregnant may seem a bit strange, methadone is the gold-standard treatment for pregnant women – the treatment that is most likely to promote good health in mother and child.
The Risks of Opiate Abuse during Pregnancy
Opiate abuse may have affected your health and if you abuse opiates during your pregnancy, you are putting the health of the unborn child at risk as well. Getting treatment for your addiction while pregnant lets you regain personal health and wellness prior to delivery as it also reduces the odds of medical complications that can be directly caused by the abuse of opiates.
Opiate abusing women are statistically more likely to suffer from disorders that can affect the unborn child or be transferred during childbirth, such as STDs, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C and others.
The abuse of opiates during pregnancy can cause medical complications that may include:
Reduced fetal growth
Intrauterine death
Insufficient placenta
Hemorrhage after birth
Preeclampsia
Premature delivery
Miscarriage
Others
Abusing opiates during pregnancy put mother and child at greatly increased risk of poor outcomes.
Methadone during Pregnancy
Methadone has been intensely studied for more than 50 years, and it is a confirmed safe drug for mother and child during pregnancy. As a long acting opiate, mothers taking methadone maintain a very stable level of the opiate drug in the blood, which spares the fetus the stress of intoxication and withdrawal cycling each day.
Additionally, women taking methadone have frequent contact with medical staff, and ideally (often) this results in improved prenatal care for mother and child. This improved prenatal care is associated with a further reduction in medical complications.
Methadone is considered the gold standard of care for opiate abusing pregnant women and it is FDA approved for the treatment of this population.
In the past, mothers on methadone have attempted to reduce their methadone dosage over the course of a pregnancy to spare the unborn child methadone withdrawal symptoms after birth. Research has not shown that reducing the dosage of methadone reduces the likelihood of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) but studies have shown that women who attempt to taper down their dosage while expecting have
Decreased weight gain
More illicit drug abuse
Less compliance with prenatal care guidelines
Lower birth weights
Smaller infant head circumferences
Slower fetal growth
Premature delivery
Methadone and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
One of the biggest concerns most women have while pregnant and on methadone is the probability that their infant child will suffer through an opiate withdrawal syndrome in the first days of life.
Between 60% and 80% of infants born to mothers using methadone will experience NAS symptoms. Symptoms generally begin within the first 2 to 3 days, but can be delayed by as much as 4 weeks. Symptoms generally endure for between 10 and 21 days, but can last as long as 42 days.
Symptoms of NAS include:
Irritability and a characteristic shrill crying
Oversensitivity to external stimulation
Tremors
Frantic sucking on digits, which can interfere with the ability to feed normally
Vomiting and diarrhea
Rapid respiration
Fever
Yawing
Others
Infants with NAS can be treated with medications, such as tincture of opium, which reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Keeping these infants in rooms with low stimulation and swaddled can also reduce distress.1
Women on methadone can breastfeed normally.
Buprenorphine during Pregnancy
While methadone is the accepted standard of care drug for pregnant opiate addicted women, doctors may, in some cases, decide that buprenorphine is a better choice.
Due a lack of controlled study data demonstrating the safety of buprenorphine for use by pregnant women, the FDA has not yet approved buprenorphine for use by pregnant women unless the benefits of its use outweigh the potential harms of non use. When doctors choose to prescribe buprenorphine to pregnant women, they will customarily prescribe Subutex (buprenorphine only) rather than Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), to reduce the risks of precipitated withdrawal on the fetus.
Methadone during Pregnancy © Michael Sharman
Why take methadone (or Suboxone) during a pregnancy? - As a mom to be, you want to do what’s best for your baby, and getting on something like methadone, which causes a withdrawal syndrome in newborns, may not feel like the right thing to do.
While it’s obviously preferable for a pregnant women to abstain from all opiates, those who become pregnant while addicted to opiate drugs should not try to quit ‘cold turkey’ and should rather use an opiate substitution medication, like methadone, to manage drug withdrawal symptoms and to maintain better health.
Although your natural impulse after learning of a pregnancy may be to abstain from future drug use to safeguard the fetus, the sudden cessation of opiate drugs is very difficult on the unborn child (as it is on the mother) and is likely to result in miscarriage. Additionally, opiate abusing women who attempt to quit without appropriate addiction treatment and assistance are at high risk of relapse back to opiate abuse – which greatly increases the chances of pregnancy complications.
Although taking methadone while pregnant may seem a bit strange, methadone is the gold-standard treatment for pregnant women – the treatment that is most likely to promote good health in mother and child.
The Risks of Opiate Abuse during Pregnancy
Opiate abuse may have affected your health and if you abuse opiates during your pregnancy, you are putting the health of the unborn child at risk as well. Getting treatment for your addiction while pregnant lets you regain personal health and wellness prior to delivery as it also reduces the odds of medical complications that can be directly caused by the abuse of opiates.
Opiate abusing women are statistically more likely to suffer from disorders that can affect the unborn child or be transferred during childbirth, such as STDs, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C and others.
The abuse of opiates during pregnancy can cause medical complications that may include:
Reduced fetal growth
Intrauterine death
Insufficient placenta
Hemorrhage after birth
Preeclampsia
Premature delivery
Miscarriage
Others
Abusing opiates during pregnancy put mother and child at greatly increased risk of poor outcomes.
Methadone during Pregnancy
Methadone has been intensely studied for more than 50 years, and it is a confirmed safe drug for mother and child during pregnancy. As a long acting opiate, mothers taking methadone maintain a very stable level of the opiate drug in the blood, which spares the fetus the stress of intoxication and withdrawal cycling each day.
Additionally, women taking methadone have frequent contact with medical staff, and ideally (often) this results in improved prenatal care for mother and child. This improved prenatal care is associated with a further reduction in medical complications.
Methadone is considered the gold standard of care for opiate abusing pregnant women and it is FDA approved for the treatment of this population.
In the past, mothers on methadone have attempted to reduce their methadone dosage over the course of a pregnancy to spare the unborn child methadone withdrawal symptoms after birth. Research has not shown that reducing the dosage of methadone reduces the likelihood of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) but studies have shown that women who attempt to taper down their dosage while expecting have
Decreased weight gain
More illicit drug abuse
Less compliance with prenatal care guidelines
Lower birth weights
Smaller infant head circumferences
Slower fetal growth
Premature delivery
Methadone and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
One of the biggest concerns most women have while pregnant and on methadone is the probability that their infant child will suffer through an opiate withdrawal syndrome in the first days of life.
Between 60% and 80% of infants born to mothers using methadone will experience NAS symptoms. Symptoms generally begin within the first 2 to 3 days, but can be delayed by as much as 4 weeks. Symptoms generally endure for between 10 and 21 days, but can last as long as 42 days.
Symptoms of NAS include:
Irritability and a characteristic shrill crying
Oversensitivity to external stimulation
Tremors
Frantic sucking on digits, which can interfere with the ability to feed normally
Vomiting and diarrhea
Rapid respiration
Fever
Yawing
Others
Infants with NAS can be treated with medications, such as tincture of opium, which reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Keeping these infants in rooms with low stimulation and swaddled can also reduce distress.1
Women on methadone can breastfeed normally.
Buprenorphine during Pregnancy
While methadone is the accepted standard of care drug for pregnant opiate addicted women, doctors may, in some cases, decide that buprenorphine is a better choice.
Due a lack of controlled study data demonstrating the safety of buprenorphine for use by pregnant women, the FDA has not yet approved buprenorphine for use by pregnant women unless the benefits of its use outweigh the potential harms of non use. When doctors choose to prescribe buprenorphine to pregnant women, they will customarily prescribe Subutex (buprenorphine only) rather than Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), to reduce the risks of precipitated withdrawal on the fetus.
I would not use methadone in pregnancy at all. I used heroin up until i was 30 weeks pregnant, then sought help and the doctors from the sub clinic and hospital agreed to put me on subutex, all agreeing it is the safest choice. My habit was also huge and my baby suffered no withdrawls from the subutex.
Guaranteed if you go on methadone, your baby will almost certainly need fenabarb when he/she is born because of withdrawls. If this happens, your baby will be in the intensive care unit until withdrawls have subsided, this is not something you want to see, its very scary to see a baby withdrawling. ( ive seen x friends babies withdrawl)
I took my first dose of subutex when i had my last dose of heroin about 24 hours later. You will feel better within the hour of taking subutex. Subutex is only used in pregnant women here in Western Australia, because it is safer for bubby. Withdrawling for 24 hours till you get subutex, is a hell of a lot better for you than still feeding your baby heroin. Its a filthy dirty drug... I cant believe they offered you oxy or methadone, thats disgusting. No doctors would even consider that a choice in Australia. Good luck with everything. Be safe. ( no disrespect to atthebeach for saying methadone is safest ) This is just my own personal experience xx
Guaranteed if you go on methadone, your baby will almost certainly need fenabarb when he/she is born because of withdrawls. If this happens, your baby will be in the intensive care unit until withdrawls have subsided, this is not something you want to see, its very scary to see a baby withdrawling. ( ive seen x friends babies withdrawl)
I took my first dose of subutex when i had my last dose of heroin about 24 hours later. You will feel better within the hour of taking subutex. Subutex is only used in pregnant women here in Western Australia, because it is safer for bubby. Withdrawling for 24 hours till you get subutex, is a hell of a lot better for you than still feeding your baby heroin. Its a filthy dirty drug... I cant believe they offered you oxy or methadone, thats disgusting. No doctors would even consider that a choice in Australia. Good luck with everything. Be safe. ( no disrespect to atthebeach for saying methadone is safest ) This is just my own personal experience xx
My nephew is a methadone baby....I don't think methadone would be best choice.... I feel for u in this time.... you can do this ..,your not alone and when you go through withdrawals talk to us... scream, whatever..its not going to be easy... but I believe you want this!
Here is a very informative article.
http://www.choosehelp.com/topics/suboxone-and-methadone/methadone-or-suboxone-during-pregnancy
http://www.choosehelp.com/topics/suboxone-and-methadone/methadone-or-suboxone-during-pregnancy
So proud of you for being honest with your doctor. Yes withdrawal definitely carries risk of miscarriage s get.
I believe methadone is considered safest during pregnancy.
I believe methadone is considered safest during pregnancy.
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