4month old born on methadone behavior and care

ladydriver01@peoplepc.com · Guest

my 4 month old granddaughter was born on methadone. at the time of her birth i was told by nurses not to let her cry without caring for her needs as soon as possible. can you tell me if this should change over a period of time? she is hard to console and is being allowed to cry herself to sleep when social services have visits with her biological father. he is seeking custody. we do not let her cry like that. could this be damaging to her health at some point? what should we expect concerning behavioral problems if any?

taylormb · Newbie Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Posts: 3

THERE ARE NO TLONG TERM EFFECTS> I'm on methadone currently and have just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who is HEALTHY. he went through withdrawls, and was treated with a type of opium. THERE ARE NO LONG TERM EFFECTS. and it is not true that methadone alone does not cause withdrawals. i have been on methadone for almost two years now, i would have been off if i did not get pregnant. i have had ALL clean urines. i have not used ANY drug. To all of the people who are uneducated about methadone in general and newborns born on methadone: PLEASE, if you don't know what you are talking about, don't talk. LEARN before you do. And everyone- don't listen to people just because they say they are or were on methadone. It saved my life. I was far too addicted to herion to detox without any long term care- not just methadone- counselors, groups, etc. . And we all don't nod out. In fact, most people I know that areon it do not nod out. I DO NOT FEEL HIGH ever. If you are on the right dose, which does not have to be a low dose, I'm not on a low dose, you will not nod out or feel high. Not to say that there aren't people who may be doing this. And for the people that have been on the maintenance program- they usually have been herion addicts for long periods of time- their brains are so wired to herion, the methadone is the only thing that will save their lives. It stopped me from craving drugs. Please do not listen to anyone but a DOCTOR. To the women who "did her research" and learned that methadone clinics keep you to make money- there are non profit methadone clinics. There are clinics that take No payments from people that have no insurance, so you didn't do all your research, did you? It's okay though, the other ignorant people, who said being on methadone it is fear, sefishness, etc., t. obviously are not dfamilar with addiction, or if they are, have not been addicted long term to herion. **YOU CANNOT WITHDRAWAL ON METHADONE WHILE PREGNANT UNLESS YOU ARE UNDER FIFTY ML. - so unless you are a DR., or have heard this directly from one (although there is no doubt in my mind that people would say they did to scare women out there) do not state otherwise, Numberous Doctors- at my methadone clinic AND my gyno's told me this. You are disgusting for saying bad things about ANYONE who got pregnant on methadone. It is worlds better than herion. and don't assume that all mothers on methadone just switched from herion, either. like i said i've been on meth. for 2 years, my baby was an accidental pregnancy, although i hate saying that, he is the most beautiful thing in the world. ALL MOTHERS on meth STAY STRONG- along with all you people on methadone and everyone else out there trying to get / stay clean. DON't GO ON THESE INTERNET OPINION SITES FOR INFO. - UNLESS IT IS TO OPEN THE MINDS OF IGNORANT PEOPLE-TALK TO PROFESSIONALS!!!

**there are also actually studies being performed at te yale newh haven hospital in ct, right now , regarding children who were born on methadones high intelligence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***

P.S.- yes my son cried during the withdrawals, was more alert, had loose stools- but he was NOT IN PAIN or suffering, just more uncomfortable, ACCORDING TO THE DOCTOR- and that was before they started to medicate him and wean him down- SO IT IS NOT PUTTING THE BABY PAIN and even if the baby goes cold turkey- MOST of the battle of a withdrawal is psychological. don't forget that- babies don't have our mental addiction(and that sparks a lot of the physical part). Please educate yourselves.
my son was also in there a lot longer than i thought- not because he wasn't doing well, it was just the process of how they do the detox- they raise them to a comfortable dose- REGARDLESS of how much their mother was on, regardless of how much the baby got from the mother. and then VERY SLOWLY WEAN DOWN. so how long a baby is at the hospital may have nothing to do with how bad the withdrawal is every time.

Another thing- like i said, my son went through withdrawal and i did not use any illicit drugs, alcohol, or nicotine. so do not think because a baby goes through this the mother is using other drugs. that is a sad and stupid judgement.

DO NOT try to make us feel guilty.

BREASTFEEDING IS FINE- there is close to nothing in the breast milk, and in some cases it helps the babies withdrawal, but it is also safe to breastfeed a baby who didn't go through withdrawal and also one that has and has been weaned off and is going home. the baby will not get "addicted" again- which a lot of misinformed people think.

Someone wrote methadone made them have no emotions, a bunch of other crap. WHAT other mental problems were they suffering from that they may not have listed? I know everyone is different, but most people have plenty of emotions. I am not sleepy or groggy, either. i think she was afraid of having everyone on here judge her. Well, i can keep writing forever- but don't fear methadone for you or your babies- im proof that it works and im not "afraid to get off it". ive been clean two years- have a gorgeous healthy baby, great husband, a car, a house, an awesome job, i go to school ....i Have it all and methadone helped me get it back. When I feel ready I will get off it. It is NOT A DRUG and idiots like you see one stereotypical "drug addict" on methadone and think everyone is like that and they are so wrong. and sad.

TO PEOPLE THAT BROUGHT BABIES HOME: the dr.'s will wait from 48-72 hrs. for signs of withdrawal- crying, loose stools, tense muscles, inability to focus, excessive sucking- if they don't display these signs in this period- they go home- they may have VERY MINOR symptoms at home- if they become worse go to the hospital.

ONE more thing, for now, lol ******* I asked very many Dr.'s about the babies and the methadone- and the ones that actually know about it are the neonatalogists in the NICU. so get ahold of a NICU Dr. because i was misinformed by many other doctors except the NICU ones. And another thing- when it comes to time- there is never a definite answer.

LCDC in texas · Newbie Joined: 10 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

This is to the lady who just went off, are you a DR? You are being extremely hypacritical. You say not to go on internet sites and get advise because it is useless and give by complete idiots. But yet here you are giving advise. I am a LCDC at a methadone clinic in Texas. It is a state funded clinic and extremely good. I am also a current methadone user. I take only 20 mg a day and had a child on methadone. There are some things that yes i agree with but more things that I think are rude, spiteful and flat out dumb. YOU CAN NOT BREASTFEED A BABY WHILE ON METHADONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It does not help the baby with the withdrawl process. It will just keep them on it and reciving little doses. I really hope that you didnt do that to your child and what ever DR or NICU nurse told you that should have their license revoct. Also it isnot advised to detox while you are pregnant. It can be done but isnot advises. I detox from 30mg to 10 while pregnant with my son. But had careful monitoring from the Dr at my clinic that was weekly visits. Also had weekly sonos to check progress. You said that inernet sites are dumb and useless what are you doning on it typing up advise. People come to these sites to get advise and help not to be judged or put down by someone like you. You say to do your research take your own advise. There are people on these sites that are addicts, non users people trying to help their friends families ect. Their are people who utilize these sites to try to understand addiction. So why dont you keep you opinions to yourself unless they are helpful. Or in that case actually are correct. IF you feel I am wrong about breastfeeding withdrawls ect. I would like you to do some research and post it on here with a link that says you are correct. To the woman who originally wrote the question. Children on methadone like with my son are a little hard to calm down which will go away in time you just need to be patient keep your head up and stay calm. Children born on METHADONE are more likely to have ADD or ADHD which was proven in a study done by DR. Thomas Rapanotti done back in the early 90s. Yet now a days what kid isnt a little like that. In our socitiy people want to slap lables on everything just remeber each child is different and has different needs. Just keep you head up and speak with your dr about any concerns you may have GOOD luck

4month old born on methadone behavior and care

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