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Avatar universal

Pregnancy and Opiates

I am 36 yrs old and pregnant.
I am about to deliver the end of this month, but, besides the past 2 months, I had been taking opiates, specifically percocet during my pregnancy.
No one knows I was taking them, and have since discontinued use FOR GOOD!
I am just concerned about the effects of the medication on my baby.
I don't think the baby will be born addicted, as I have stopped 2 months ago and I am not sure of any birth defects either.
I am freaking out, and the stress is killing me.
Please dont be judgemental, I am feeling guilty enough!
Does anyone have any thoughts, advice or anything to help ease my mind a little bit?
Thanks!
21 Responses
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Avatar universal
I'm going through all of this and a taper right now so I can relate. I'm 27 weeks pregnant and have ended up in the hospital 3 times now for preterm labor most recently this week and that is under my pain management and obgyns care. The first time I tired CT and ended up in the ER and once preterm labor starts it's a vicious cycle so my advice is to be honest with your doctor. If you are honest they will help you get into a plan to get off the meds but if your baby is born addicted and nobody knows you can risk having the baby taken away. Also not all narcotics are equal, some are a category b during pregnancy but some are a category c which means it could have birth defects. Also during pregnancy you can only have 1000mg of Tylenol a day and percocet has Tylenol in it so you could be exceeding that so your doctor will probably switch you to one without Tylenol since high doses can cause kidney problems to your baby. Also please don't take ibuprofen, according to medical guidelines ibuprofen is a high risk medication for pregnancy and can cause birth defects, it's a higher category then most narcotics which is why you should talk to your doctor. My doctor put me on a very slow taper and I still have wd symptoms, I was taking 90mg of oxy total a day and in the past month am down to 50mg. I could be tapering faster if I wouldn't have tried CT and started preterm labor. Also most of the medications given to help with wd you cannot take during pregnancy so don't try it alone. My doctor gave me vitamin b12 injections, ambien and promethazine to help with the wd symptoms because I have been losing weight, can't sleep and get dehydrated which is not good for the baby. My pm doctor told me think about how horrible wd is for you, your baby feels everything you do and is not as strong... Is it fair to put your baby through a rapid wd? So as embarrassing as it may be or uncomfortable as you may feel in the long run it's best to be honest.
Helpful - 0
2333944 tn?1342912367
Regarding pain meds....I had a c section and took no pain meds afterwards.  Yes, I was sore, but nothing that I couldn't handle.   Anyway, you don't have to take opiate pain meds.   Tell the doctor you don't want them.   I just had extensive dental work done, including 18 teeth pulled and 9 implants.   I told my dentist I did not want to take opiate pain meds.   He was going to prescribe some Ibuprofen, but I told him I had some at home.   As it turned out, I didn't have to take anything for pain.    So having pain....does not mean you have to take an opiate medication.  My advice is....don't risk it!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am in the same boat you are, but i quit taking vicodin a few days ago and am going to deliver on the 4th. No one knows and I am afraid of telling anyone, especially my dr and babys daddy. All my prenatal care is really good, but i am worried when i deliver everyone will find out.
Helpful - 0
271792 tn?1334979657
Happy, you should start your own post hun. go to the top of this page, hit the post a question button and follow it through. Hope to see you out there.

I watch to make sure you post.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i am 29 weeks pregnant, i have been taking roxicodone for about 7 months. i have been struggling with tapering off of these meds. i was taking 90 to 120mg daily , today i am down to 60 mg daily , do you have any advice on how to drop down successfully . i do not care how i feel , just worried how it may effect my baby as i taper, i just want to stop this but, safley. i want to be able to get these things out of mine and my baby's system and have an allowed time to be as normal as possible before he is born( c-section) the end of march. please help me if you can, anyone. also do you know any outcomes of tapering and being off them for certain amount of time before delivery and how the baby and mother was after delivery?? thanks
Helpful - 0
307816 tn?1209862037
No i didnt feel discomfort when i dropped from 5-6 to two . but the last two were very difficult. im taking one now. i split it up in quarters throughout the day. im still using a tappering schedule of decreasing my time 1/2 hr every two days. when i was down to two a day i was feeling alot of discomfort at night so i would take a half of that cap that they give you of nightquil to help me sleep. and sometimes tylonol. if you havent been taking them for a long time you shouldnt feel alot of w/d at all. ive been struggling w/ this throughout the hole preg. its very difficult, but if you can stop c/t i would recommend doing it as soon as possible, other wise you will end up like freakinout and i and freaking out at the last minute.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
How did you get from 5-6 to only 1 a day? did you feel any w/d or discomfort? What was your taper schedule? I have gone from 5-6  15 mg a day to now 10 mg 4-5 times a day, which is a big difference for me, but so far so good. Did you take anything else to help with w/d?
Helpful - 0
307816 tn?1209862037
I too am preganant and am taking opiates. ive been on them for 1 yr or so now and i used to take 5-6 before i was pregnant, when i found out i was able to drop down to 2 a day. i was trying to tapper off of this throughout my pregnancy and im having a very difficult time, i was told that if i stop completely i would have a miscarraige. now im down to one a day. my question is did you stop automatically? im in my third trimester and i have two mo. left before im due. i too am scared outta my mind i cant beleive how difficult it is to stop. just off of one. How did you do it? did you taper or just stop? deprately needing to know if i can just stop.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
To be totally honest with you here, if I was not pregnant, I may still be taking them.
But, what made me stop was pure driven fear. Fear of what it would do to the baby, what my family would think, what his father would think and i kept picturing my baby coming out and not being able to breathe or survive, and child services coming to the hospital taking him away. OHHHHHHHHHHH the shame I would feel. Jesus, I cant even imagine what my family and friends would say!
and honestly, thats what made me do it.
I am not saying I am thrilled with it, as I sometimes, still feel the need or urge even today to have one, but, I also think that it is almost over for me anyway, as I am due the end of this month,and I just had to suck it up and stop it until then. Not saying I am going to go back to it, believe me, I know it is hard. It helps you get thru the damn day...for me they make me so happy, I am such a different person....After the baby is born, I am going to try some Paxil and see if that stabilizes my mood and keep me from needing any thing else.....until then, I am taking it day by day, knowing and hoping that his birth most likely will not be overshadowed by the fear of him being born additced to anything! After all, he did not ask for it.but check back with me after he is born, as I may not be as strong. I am not better then anyone else. If anything, I am a coward, b/c mine was driven out of pure fear that I was going to get caught and then consequences of that!
I also am having a c section, I did with my 1st child, so I know there will be pain meds prescribed for me afterwards, which makes me nervous also!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Please tell me how you did it! Tell me how you quit c/t! I just found out that I am preg.  (6 weeks now)I want to get off these pills sooooooo bad. But I cant seem to go longer than 5 hours without one. I have tapered down, and plan to keep lowering the dose week by week. But I too, am scared of hurting my baby. I dont want to go through bad w/d and end up hurting the baby. I want to wean off before then. Ive been taking oxycodone for almost 2 years now and have been taking 15 mg 5-6 times daily. I wouldnt say that I am addicted either, because I do take them as prescribed but I have created a physical dependence on them because even when I have no pain, i have to take my dose at reg time or I start having bad hot flashes and stomach cramps. I hate this! I want out! I dont want to take pills no more but am scared of the w/d's!!!
Helpful - 0
364326 tn?1222659873
As someone told me (sort of) yesterday, you're NOT a failure, failures keep using.  You're a success for quitting.  Good luck sweetie with everything and take care
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you guys so much for all your advice.
I am hoping the best, and most of all, thanks for not being judgemental!
I was so afraid and feel like such a failure for doing this.
But, again, I did stop it, cold turkey. I dont think I was ever really "ADDICTED" per say, I have no desire now. It just made me happy and able to deal with what I was dealing with. But, I am not stupid either, and now know there is a chance I could become an addict, or maybe was one, and just had an easy time knowing the risks it caused to the baby.
I will be hainvg a c section, and that does make the stress of birth a little easier.
I was taking more then 1-1/1/2 per day, but, not much more.
thanks again for all your advice, and if i can ever be of any help,please let meknow!
good luck to you all!
god bless!
Helpful - 0
364326 tn?1222659873
ok, so if the baby is 7 lbs, you quit 2 months ago and you're getting a c-section (thereby obviating the potential delivery complications), then it seems like you and your baby should be fine.  (Again, not a substitute for your doc's advice!)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi....don't stress too much....i was taking percs throughout my WHOLE pregnancy and my baby is fine.....how much were u taking?? I was only taking like 1-1/12 a day....so I don't know if you were taking more then sometimes the baby with have withdrawls when born but you said you stopped taking them 2 months ago so stop worrying you and your baby SHOULD be fine....i am not a doctor i am just going on from my experience.....good luck!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i'm not a doctor but i don't think that he will. just be prepared if he does go thru withdrawals more than likely family services will be called. i'm just trying to prepare you for the worst. you can tell your doctor and he cannot legally tell the babies' father if you tell him not too. it's the hippa law. my husband cannot know anything that goes on at my pain management doctor. it was my decision and they have to abide by it. if all the tests have come back ok, he should be fine. once again, i'm not a doctor and i wish you and your new baby the best.
Helpful - 0
364326 tn?1222659873
Hey Sweetie-

First off:  Please do consider discussing with your OB/Gyn, especially since you have stopped now.  And this advice is just what I found online and in no way should act as a substitute for the advice of your personal physician.  However, since you asked, I took a little time to look up drug use in pregnancy (I'm looking for things to do other than the thing I stopping doing).  Here's what I found.  Reference:  Merck Manual, online medical reference (may seem biased but is actually a pretty good source of info).  

First off:  GOOD Idea to stop, please don't take any more.  IF you had continued to take them through the pregnancy, it appears as if the baby "...may have become addicted to them and may have withdrawal symptoms 6 hours to 8 days after birth.  However, use of opioids rarely result in birth defects."

However, it did say that it MIGHT increase the risk of other pregnancy complications, not birth defects but other complications of the pregnancy itself.  Oh and it said that the baby may be small.

So:  Unlikely that the opioids will cause birth defects but might complicate the delivery.  

You quit 2 months ago (Good for you), seems ok time to discuss with your doc.

Again, please don't substitue this for your doctor's advice, I hope this was helpful and good luck!
Helpful - 0
214607 tn?1287677559
As far as I know opiates don't really hurt the baby fundamentally, but if you are addicted and have to go through w.d then that can cause problems for the baby. Please be careful...and don't even risk it.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
yes i have had all the prenantal care.
blood tests ultrasounds etc.
all looks good with the baby, he seems healthy, over 7 pounds etc...kicks all the time LOL
I am 40 weeks on thursday.and wil be having a c section anyday now!
i cannot tell him, my babies father does not even know i was doing this
we were split up at the time, back together now, but, he knows nothing.
no one does and i would like to keep it that way as selfish as that sounds!
will the baby go thru withdrawl? i cant imagine he will, its been awhile and i know it is out of my system........i just want him to be healthy!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
the reason i think your doctor should know, and i'm not saying this to scare you, but just in case something is wrong, he will be prepared for it. have you had prenatal care, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc.? how much percocet were you taking? i know it's not easy. no one knew about my addiction either until i got caught. now my family knows and it's still not easy. we are here for you. how far along are you?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
no, my doc does not know I was taking them. NO ONE DOES
this is so not easy and I have stopped taking them.
i dont think i was "addicted" to them, well, not anymore. The thought of taking them almost makes me sick to my stomach now.
i was just going thru lots of stress and thats how I coped with it. Not that that justifies the usage at all..........
I am just nervous!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
does your doctor know that you were taking opiates? if not, you need to tell him. were you taking them for pain control? i had to take darvocet and/or ultram during my last two pregnancies but i didn't abuse them and my ob was the one that prescribed them. neither one of my children had any adverse effects but everyone is different. please, please tell your doctor.
Helpful - 0
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