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coping with hydrocodone withdrawal while pregnant
Hi everyone. I really need some advice quick. I'm gong to tell my story in as few words as possible bc I'm at work right now and don't have a whole lot of time. I was prescribed hydrocodone in August of 2008 when I had 2 wisdom teeth removed. 2 weeks later I had 1 more tooth removed and was prescribed more hydrocodone. All together I had 60 pills. They gave me energy and I loved the way they made me feel, so when I ran out I got more from someone I know. One day i ran out completely and was sick...I call it dope sick. I recognized the feeling bc I was a heroin addict for 6 yrs and have been clean for 6 yrs. Very very similar withdrawal symptoms except not quite as intense as the heroin withdrawals. At the time I started taking the pills, I was having issues with my husband and a couple of his family members that lived with us at the time; Not to mention, there was a lot going on at work......I was xtremely depressed. Naturally the hydrocodone numbed some of the pain and made me feel a little better about things. 2 months after I realized I was addicted, I found out that I was pregnant. I'm guessing that I'm around 4 1/2 months - 5 months. I've tried to taper myself off of them and quit numerous times. After the second day of the horrible withdrawals, I'd give in and go get more pills. Sometimes I'll take 3 10/500's a day and sometimes 4.....I've even taken as many as 5. I go to the Dr. Next Friday, 3-20-09. I've told myself that today is the last day. I have a 2 year old that I stay home with mon-fri and I don't know how I'm gonna do this. I feel horrible bc I don't want to put my unborn child through this and my 2 yr old doesn't deserve it either. I did get a couple of xanax to help cope with the symptoms, but those are just for today and tomorrow. I want my system to be clean by Friday. I've read that pregnant women are to completely avoid xanax, so what do I do? I don't want to tell my Dr. what's been going on for fear of having my kids taken from me. I've kicked heroin by myself before so I know I can do this, it's just HARD. I'm tired of having to rely on something to make me feel "normal" and want to have a healthy child and get back to the real me. My husband doesn't know anything about this and if he did....I don't know what he would do. He has no sympathy for people who are addicted to drugs what so ever. I just need some advice and some kind of inspiration and hope. Please someone help me. Anything would be appreciated.
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Hi I'm in a rocky situation as well. I am 15 weeks pregnant, been on hydros for over a yr now. I was taking 15-20 a day before I found out I was expecting. Now, I am down to 3-5. In the last 2 days I have tapered dwn to 2- 1 1/2. I woke up this mrn with nausea, upset stomach and insomnia. I told my obgyn the first time I seen him. Not only to protect myself from losing my 2yr old daughter and unborn son, but to help me quit. I really do want to be done with this addiction. My Dr is also an A hole. He did not make me feel comfortable with this problem at all. The only help I have received from him was to put me in an inpatient rehab. At this specific time in my life inpatient is not even an option. After reading so many ppls comments I'm aware of what to expect. My question is shld I find a new Dr who will be willing to give me something for my withdraws instead of throwing me in rehab instead of taking time to actually help me?? I have decided that after today I will NOT take another pill. I dnt want to harm my baby so I dnt no what I shld do. Anyone??
nothing that hasnt been said above...
but i just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
i started taking oxies in a couple years ago. i tried heroin for the first time in feb. i would take pretty much any opiate handed to me. before i discovered opiates i was a MAJOR alcoholic and would drink to the point of blacking-out nearly every night. anyways...
i found out i was pregnant a month ago and i quit cold turkey. not the worst withdrawls ive had ( i didnt have a shot in about a week) but it was still AGONY! I dream about using every night and find it hard to let go of my old thought patterns...i used to spend my whole day chasing the next bag. it's hard because my boyfriend is still getting high and even though he has cut down drastically, it's really painful to watch.
I just want to explain, I know how hard it is, good luck!
but i just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
i started taking oxies in a couple years ago. i tried heroin for the first time in feb. i would take pretty much any opiate handed to me. before i discovered opiates i was a MAJOR alcoholic and would drink to the point of blacking-out nearly every night. anyways...
i found out i was pregnant a month ago and i quit cold turkey. not the worst withdrawls ive had ( i didnt have a shot in about a week) but it was still AGONY! I dream about using every night and find it hard to let go of my old thought patterns...i used to spend my whole day chasing the next bag. it's hard because my boyfriend is still getting high and even though he has cut down drastically, it's really painful to watch.
I just want to explain, I know how hard it is, good luck!
take it from someone who has been in your shoes...dont put your unborn child through this they will come out going through wds that they cant tell you how they feel and it will be even harder to cope with i understand you have a child at home this must be so hard for you sweetheart i sooooo know how you feel but u must tell your doc he might not want you to totally stop right now but detox you bc if you just stop ct the baby could suffer from it...thats what they even told me about smoking while i was preg....they said to slowly quit and that is what i did...yes consult your doctor but trust me taper taper taper taper i have a beautiful helathy daughter 15 months, i was lucky.....message me any time....we can talk
drugs are readily accessible to use all, and without a recovery program all of us are sure to return to use, like you said you were clean for 6 yrs and relasped
that tells me that you cannot do this alone, some type of structured prevention plan is in order
as far the topic of taking pain meds while you are pregnant, you have 2 options, stay on them and allow the baby to detox in prenatal ward
or slowly taper to aviod miscarriage
as long as you have a legitament prescriptions you have done nothing illeagle, dss will not take your baby
60 pills for oral surgery is way too much! i can easily see how you bacame addicted, people who stay clean long enough will go through surgery or illness, when this happens it is best to design a pain management plan with your sponsor, have someone hold your pills,
""The power of the disease of addiction cannot be underestimated. Regardless of how we work our mental and spiritual program of recovery, we may react to medication like we did when using drugs. It doesn't matter what the medication is or whether it was our drug of choice. Any medication may unleash the craving and the compulsion that haunted us while we were using. Our experience has shown that no drugs are risk-free for us.""
for you the codien was very similiar to herion, i have been in the same situation, i went through chemo at 2 yrs clean, i took less pills for that then you did for having oral surgery, and i have also had oral surgery, and took pain meds for 3 days, and flushed the rest, the only way i was able to go through illness in recovery and taking medication in recovery without relaspe is because i had been working on myself through the steps
i did not view my illness as a justified opportunity to go on a binder, which anytime i had a tooth pulled in active addiction i acted like i need morphine
here are some suggestions when dealing with illness in recovery, its na information, if you have issues with na, just take the na out of it and keep the infor
Suggestions to Follow When Faced with Illness
Some of our members have found the following list of suggestions helpful in dealing with the impact of illness on their recovery.
Go to as many NA meetings as possible.
Work closely with your sponsor
Read NA literature
Reach out to other NA members. Ask for support.
Write about your feelings.
Practice the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Pray and meditate.
Share your thoughts and feelings honestly and openly.
Identify yourself as a recovering addict to health care professionals.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking over-the-counter drugs.
Arrange for an NA member to be with you during surgery or other medical treatment involving drugs.
Honestly evaluate your condition and explore alternatives to medication.
Continue on your path of recovery in Narcotics Anonymous.
i believe that had you identified yourself with your dentist as a recovering heion addict your dentist would have given you a safe alternative
i also believe that you will eliminate a good amount of fear by being honest with your obgyn
and lastly i believe that had you been in proper after care for your herion addiction this would not have happened
but the good news is that you are no back on herion, living on the streets, you have asked for help before your addiction spirals totally out of control, this is good news, you have gotten clean before you can do it again
that tells me that you cannot do this alone, some type of structured prevention plan is in order
as far the topic of taking pain meds while you are pregnant, you have 2 options, stay on them and allow the baby to detox in prenatal ward
or slowly taper to aviod miscarriage
as long as you have a legitament prescriptions you have done nothing illeagle, dss will not take your baby
60 pills for oral surgery is way too much! i can easily see how you bacame addicted, people who stay clean long enough will go through surgery or illness, when this happens it is best to design a pain management plan with your sponsor, have someone hold your pills,
""The power of the disease of addiction cannot be underestimated. Regardless of how we work our mental and spiritual program of recovery, we may react to medication like we did when using drugs. It doesn't matter what the medication is or whether it was our drug of choice. Any medication may unleash the craving and the compulsion that haunted us while we were using. Our experience has shown that no drugs are risk-free for us.""
for you the codien was very similiar to herion, i have been in the same situation, i went through chemo at 2 yrs clean, i took less pills for that then you did for having oral surgery, and i have also had oral surgery, and took pain meds for 3 days, and flushed the rest, the only way i was able to go through illness in recovery and taking medication in recovery without relaspe is because i had been working on myself through the steps
i did not view my illness as a justified opportunity to go on a binder, which anytime i had a tooth pulled in active addiction i acted like i need morphine
here are some suggestions when dealing with illness in recovery, its na information, if you have issues with na, just take the na out of it and keep the infor
Suggestions to Follow When Faced with Illness
Some of our members have found the following list of suggestions helpful in dealing with the impact of illness on their recovery.
Go to as many NA meetings as possible.
Work closely with your sponsor
Read NA literature
Reach out to other NA members. Ask for support.
Write about your feelings.
Practice the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Pray and meditate.
Share your thoughts and feelings honestly and openly.
Identify yourself as a recovering addict to health care professionals.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking over-the-counter drugs.
Arrange for an NA member to be with you during surgery or other medical treatment involving drugs.
Honestly evaluate your condition and explore alternatives to medication.
Continue on your path of recovery in Narcotics Anonymous.
i believe that had you identified yourself with your dentist as a recovering heion addict your dentist would have given you a safe alternative
i also believe that you will eliminate a good amount of fear by being honest with your obgyn
and lastly i believe that had you been in proper after care for your herion addiction this would not have happened
but the good news is that you are no back on herion, living on the streets, you have asked for help before your addiction spirals totally out of control, this is good news, you have gotten clean before you can do it again
Sorry everyone, I didn't know if you responded to a comment that it would show for everyone else to read....thought it would go directly to that person. As you guys have just read, I gave in. I met my Dr.for the 1st time on Friday. I don't really know him, obviously, and don't know if I can trust that I can tell him about this. I know that I do need professional help....but I don't know. I just don't want to get in trouble. I told my husband the other day that I wished I had my old OBGYN; My husband agreed because he liked him as well. The problem with that is...it's almost 2 hours away. I would feel much more comfortable talking with him but still don't know. I have little time to taper myself off, which is what I've decided to do. That is what a Dr. would probably decide as well. Is everything sriously confidential with the Dr.? Even if it could cause harm to your family and unborn baby? I find that hard to believe. If you're a drug addict (of any kind)and pregnant you would think they'd report you to CPS, huh? On the other hand, if the Dr. finds out that you're not being honest and finds drugs in your system, I know CPS will take your kids. I knew a chick that did heroin throughtout her pregnancy a long time ago. At birth she was positive and so was the baby. CPS took her baby from her. So, I'm hoping that everyone can understand why I'm scared. I did look up taking xanax while
pregnant....you're not suppose to take those at all. The 3 that I had were only .25mg. I'm not gonna take them anymore, as that's not what I'm having trouble with kicking; I just had them to help control the anxiety that I would feel going throught the wd's. I do thing I'm capable of doing this...I know I can. If I can kick H, I can do this. I think another issue is knowing that they're accessible. It's tempting but I know I can get over it if I can just get through the wd stages. I'm willing to listen to what everyone has to say.....maybe y'all can convince me to do what is right.
pregnant....you're not suppose to take those at all. The 3 that I had were only .25mg. I'm not gonna take them anymore, as that's not what I'm having trouble with kicking; I just had them to help control the anxiety that I would feel going throught the wd's. I do thing I'm capable of doing this...I know I can. If I can kick H, I can do this. I think another issue is knowing that they're accessible. It's tempting but I know I can get over it if I can just get through the wd stages. I'm willing to listen to what everyone has to say.....maybe y'all can convince me to do what is right.
Taking 2 now is really good, you are taking the right steps,, when you are pregnant the slower you lower the dose the easier it is to cope for you and the child,, I would go down to 1 and then 1/2 daily before you pull them.. you can cut the dose every 3-4 days or even once a week.. for me it is harder to taper, but when it's not just us at stake you have to do what you have to do,, You can try to do it within a week, if you feel w\d hitting pretty hard then you are doing it to fast, the goal is to slowly take the drug out of your system so that you and the child don't have severe w\d, that can make things dangerous,, If you didn't like your doctor, you should look for a new one,, this is a very important time in your life and you need the best care and compassion that you have available,, if you don't know who to go to call a few clinics in your area and ask to be seen by their best.. you can go see a few before you make the decision of who you are going to see for the entire pregnancy, because you're doctor really should know about this, it is much easier that way and if there is anything to cause concern you need to be able to trust that person with your child's life,,, I have found myself in your shoes during my addiction, if you want to talk more personal feel free to send me a message..
Lisa
Lisa
Thank you and everyone else for responding to my post. I will say that last Tuesday and Wednesday I went without the hydrocodones and it sucked pretty bad. It was a total of 50 hours or so. As I've said before, I always give in on the 2nd day. I went and got some from a close relative of mine bc I decided that tapering off would be much better; Still difficult but it is much better than going cold turkey. I met with my Dr. for the 1st time on Friday (2 days ago) and he kind of rubbed me the wrong way...he just seemed extremely arrogant. I'm not sure that I'd be comfortable telling him something like this. I'm still scared. All I can try to do seriously try to taper myself off, be strong and listen to advice from you guys. I just wish I could've tried to get off of them sooner. The thing is, I'm running out of time so I've got to do this quickly. I'm taking 2 a day now. What's your advice for the next few days? I've read that you should taper off over a fw weeks time. Do you think I can do it within a week?
I FEEL YOUR PAIN...my husband had neck surgery 6 years ago and has been using vicocdine every since i blame all those doctors that just give,give,give out scrips...well to tell you i ended up taking one here and there until my daughter was diagonse with lupas she was only 12 yrs old we went through 6 month of watching her die after her passing they had me on sooo many pills xanex,prozac,kolonpin,trazodone they all took my energy away...so i found out that taking the vics gave me this lil buzz that got me up doing things again my back went out about 2.5 month after my daughter died and i couldnt get out of bed without my husband help (i mean even going to the bathroom) so i went to the chiro and reg. doc and both gave me scrips fro vic that started my prob i was hooked i kept going back even when it didnt hurt saying it did so they put me on a pain contract where he gave me 360 pills a month is that crazy or what? i have been taking that much for sooo long now that i finally got sick of it when i coudnt take 10 5/500 i couldnt do **** thank god i tapperd off them and now am down to just about 10 5/500 a day every single day i go less and less at first i felt bad i was going to the bathroom all day long had short fuse on everything but today i feel pretty good i have been on all the vits. that they say that will help you on here and tahnk god i had xanex and atitvan left over from many scrips i took xanex last night for sleep and that really helped me....but you having being PG SHOULD NOT TAKE THEM go to the doc tell them your w/d from vic and you need help that is safe for your unborn child...the studies have not shown what vicodine does to unborn babies....that why it soooo important that you not takethem if you can cold turkey herion you can do this too!! I will pray for you and you your family!! YOU CAN DO THIS...IM DOING IT!!! JUST IM NOT PG. SO IT SOOO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE STRONG! good luck!
Listen i had know idea how easy you can get hooked on these things, I was hurt real bad at work in early 04 I kept telling my doc that i didnot want all these pain pills, as i too once had a drug problem very hard durgs, and he talked me into using them the way he perscribed, I just stoped taking the suboxone 6 days ago and still going thur w/d. I had two surgerys rotor cuff and c5 & c6 replaced in my neck and had my left shoulder dislocated not to mention the right r/cuff surgery and have t11 & t12 herniated in my lower back so I am in cronic pain but I simpley refuse to take h/codine it messed me up bad tell your doc now get off the pills they will take you farther than you want to go, when they put me in rehab i had taken 10 perk10 , 8 kolonipin and drank a bottle of wine i would have taken more but that was all i had, then hope i never woke up. at one time i was on oxy, soma 350 and kolnipin i took 60 oxy in 2 and a half days. if your doc wont listen FIND ANOTHER DOC FAST it was to late by the time i realized what mine had done too me. find a doc to listen by the way i was one suboxone for over a year.
Hi,
I want to say first off I am proud of you that you are truely trying to fix this problem now rather than later, With that said. You need to tell your doctor. You going into distress from the wd could make you miscarry and you taking these pills could make you miscarry or your child could be born with many different problems and deformatys. You also need to think about how bad these withdrawals are and the fact that your child will feel these as well when born if you dont get help now. Your doctor will not take your children if you are looking for help. Your children would only be taken if you were to not get help and they picked up on what was going on with you. If your doctors suspect you are taking drugs they will test the baby when he/she is born and will take your children if you test positive. I know this because I know a woman who went through this with another drug and when the baby was born they suspected it. They tested the baby and he tested positive so the baby was taken along with her two tot twin girls. Your fears are lagit. but oposite. If you dont get professional help you may lose your childdren. If you tell your doctor you are protected by law that they can not tell your husband. Not that I agree with you not telling but I would rather hear you got help. I will keepyou a=in my thoughts and prayers through out your jurney. but please dont be scared of your doctor. you need to make sure you do this now and in a healthy manner that wont hurt your unborn child. please I begg you to speak with your doctor asap.
I want to say first off I am proud of you that you are truely trying to fix this problem now rather than later, With that said. You need to tell your doctor. You going into distress from the wd could make you miscarry and you taking these pills could make you miscarry or your child could be born with many different problems and deformatys. You also need to think about how bad these withdrawals are and the fact that your child will feel these as well when born if you dont get help now. Your doctor will not take your children if you are looking for help. Your children would only be taken if you were to not get help and they picked up on what was going on with you. If your doctors suspect you are taking drugs they will test the baby when he/she is born and will take your children if you test positive. I know this because I know a woman who went through this with another drug and when the baby was born they suspected it. They tested the baby and he tested positive so the baby was taken along with her two tot twin girls. Your fears are lagit. but oposite. If you dont get professional help you may lose your childdren. If you tell your doctor you are protected by law that they can not tell your husband. Not that I agree with you not telling but I would rather hear you got help. I will keepyou a=in my thoughts and prayers through out your jurney. but please dont be scared of your doctor. you need to make sure you do this now and in a healthy manner that wont hurt your unborn child. please I begg you to speak with your doctor asap.
You need to talk to your dr about this,, they will not take your children they will help you.. you aren't taking a whole lot so that is good, It is best for the baby to get off of them but that could take a process of tapering so that you don't cause stress to the fetus,, As for the xanax don't take that.. it can harm the baby,, you would be better off taking the vicodin before xanax,,
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