hey everyone! i am new to this whole website. though i have been reading peoples posts on here for quite some time now. i have finally gathered the courage to make my own profile so that like the rest of you i too could get some support...and hopefully answers. First let me start by saying i am currently 23 weeks 3 days pregnant... with a baby girl! both my boyfriend and i couldnt be happier to be bringing a little princess into this world. we already have SO unconditional love for her...its torture having to wait any longer to hold her. but like many of you...i am VERY scared. i have been taking percocet for about a year and a half now. shamefully not prescribed :( i fractured vertabraes about 5 years ago...and have been living with the constant dull ache in my lower back for years. some days more unbearable then others. i havent had insurance since i was 18....living on my own, waitressing, school....couldnt really afford it. my boyfriend got his wisdom teeth pulled and they prescribed him percocet 5 mg tablets. he said they worked great for the pain and couldnt feel a thing. and i figured since they were DR prescribed they couldnt be any more dangerous then a tylenol...right? so i tried one also...and for the first time in years my back pain was relieved! so to make a long story short i have been self medicating myself a total of 18.75 mg only...but daily for about a year and a half. i take about 3.75 mgs at a time only. and do this about 5 times a day. well when i found out i was pregnant...i knew i needed to stop...i wanted to everything natural...no tylenol or anything throughout the pregnancy. but when i stopped....i experienced withdrawal syptoms! pretty intense ones too...atleast to me anyways. and what worried me was that i had severe abdominal cramping... so i did some research and this is where it led me! here. to find out that i was not the only one!!!! and to find that this was totally unsafe during pregnancy! that withdrawing could make me lose the baby! i didnt know what else to do....so i slowly started using the percocet again. didnt take long before i was back on my old routine. 3.75 mgs 5 times a day. i am VERY depressed. and sad. i had no idea this could even happen from something DR prescribed. i have been reading and reading and reading. and it doesnt help with my stress and anxiety i am experienceing from this....i am worried that my poor sweet angel is going to suffer through withdrawal. so the conclusion i came to after weeks of researching this is to "taper" very slowly. so for the past week i have strictly gone down to 15 mgs daily. 3.75 mgs 4 times daily. next week im going to cut another dosage and go down to 11.25 mg. which would be 3.75mgs 3 times daily. i plan to keep doing this til i am down to 1.8 mgs only a day...then stop completely. does ANYONE have any advice? or comments....id even appreciate a little support :) its not easy...and i would just stop it all completely....i could care less about the withdrawal pain i would suffer...i just dont want to take the chance of hurting my little girl in any way shape or form. and from everything iv read....chances are if i stopped completely i risk going into pre term labor. i am VERY ashamed. and havent spoke to my obgyn about this...i am scared of being labeled as a drug addict...or worse...an unfit mother to be. cause i am more then ready to care and love this little with EVERYTHING i have. i also have the fear that if i let anyone in on my dark secret...i could possibly lose my little angel :( i wouldnt want children services to take my baby away! i would never be able to go on with my life. i cant believe this has happened to me...and i know its my fault. all my fault. i hate myself. i cant sleep at night. im miserbale all day long...because this is constantly haunting me. idk what to do....so i guess what i need is just some answers! 1. if i were to have continued taking the 15 mgs a day would that have caused my baby to be born with withdrawals? 2. does my tapering plan sound like it is safe....and could be successful? PLEASE answer. thank you everyone! i truly appreciate it. i read all your stories and they help knowing im not the only one out there in this predicamate!
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I too have a similar situation. I was prescribed my oxycodones by my doctor. She had every intention of keeping me on them but slowly tapering down. She has left the state and I am not stuck as you are. Based on research I have done, Tapering slowly down to nothing is definately the best way to do this. I posted on another persons strand and will copy my post below. My response is lengthy, but full of information and sites you can use to gather your own opinion based on facts. I too am scared to talk to a MD due to fear of Child services taking my baby once born. This is the motivation I need to wean off these pills. Any drug test performed on your baby will caue Child services to intervene, resulting in the loss of your child until you have completed a rehab program. I do hope my research and information helps you.
I AM NOT A DOCTOR; I AM A PREGNANT MOTHER WHO HAS DONE RESEARCH. THIS POST IS NOT INTENDED TO GIVE PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE... I am sorry to hear about your situation. I too have been prescribed oxycodone for the past 2 years now for a life threatening disease that causes much pain. I recently got married and my husband and I wanted to have a baby together. I spoke to my doctor whom I have been seeing that prescribes me my medicine and she told me that she has kept numerous pregnant women on the drugs, but has slowly helped them decrease the amount taken per day. I am almost 5 months pregnant and my doctor has moved out of state. Also, there have been many reports of pregnant mothers who go to a doctor to talk about these types of situations get reported to Child Protective Services and lose their baby when he/she is born. I think that is terrible because it prevents caring mothers like myself who are trying to do the right thing from seeking medical advice from a physician. Therefore I have been doing a lot of research on this topic and am trying to do what is best for my baby. Individuals who do not live in the world we do are going to bash you and my comment because to them you should just quit and get off the opiods for the sake of your baby. That is the worst thing you can do. Research has shown that abruptly stopping opiod intake severely increases your chance of miscarriage, especially in the first trimester when miscarriage rates are already increased. Slowly begin to cut down the amount that you take so that you can be off of them before the baby is born. The last thing I want to do is subject my baby to opiod withdrawls. The best time to try to have your amount decreased to the point where you can quit is during your second trimester. Reason being is that during your first trimester the chance of miscarriage significantly increased, and during your third trimester your blood flow significantly increases therefore you have to increase the amount of medication you take in order to not have your baby or yourself experience withdrawls. The FDA categorizes medications using an A B C D rating. These different ratings categorize the affects a medicine will have on fetuses. I have research intensely the effects of opiods while pregnant and have found that Oxycodone is categorized by the FDA as a Category B drug for pregnant women. Category B medicines are ones "that have not been adequately studied in pregnant humans, but do not appear to cause harm to the fetus in animal studies. Medications that have been shown to be safe for use in pregnancy in humans (but have caused problems in laboratory animals) are also given a Category B rating." (http://back-pain.emedtv.com/oxycodone/oxycodone-and-pregnancy.html) I have also done research on drugs such as Suboxone and Subutex. Both of these drugs are assign as a Category C by the FDA, meaning these are not as safe for use during pregnancy as a Category A or B. Category C is defined as, "is given to medicines that have not been adequately studied in pregnant humans but have caused fetal harm in animal studies." (http://pain.emedtv.com/suboxone/suboxone-and-pregnancy.html) Another source of information I found on Suboxone and Subutex shows the same information. The link is http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/UCM191529.pdf and the part related to pregnancy begins on Page 12. Based on the information I have found, I have decided that I will slowly be tapering myself down so that by the beginning of my third trimester I am completely off the medication, thus lowering my withdrawls for both my baby and myself while pregnant and afterwards. I do hope this helps. I have been reading many posts by people and none have contained sources for me to review myself so that I can make my own educated decision. Therefore, I have tried to include as much information, valued sources, and even my own opinion in order to help you during this very difficult and heart-wrenching time. I do wish the very best for both your baby and yourself.
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Hi,
I am in the same boat that you are in and was wondering how you were doing and if you could give any advice. I am so scared and nervous and not sure what to do. Any advice at all will help. Hope all is well!
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