addicted oxycodone pregnancy

I am a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse) and I don't want people to be fooled by the last person who just posted...we have babies in our unit all the time who are withdrawing from Methadone and its terrible..they cry and cry with no relef and even when they are put on Methadone it takes weeks sometimes before they can go home. We haven't had any infants since I have been here that were only positive for oxycodone..usually its that and crack and all sorts of nonsense..the research that I have seen seems to say that continuing as prescribed oxycodne is okay for baby. While nothing is 100% you will be wose off with the Methadone by far.

Thank you NICU Guest for this post.
I'm 33 years old, and i've been taking almost everything under the sun in France -amitriptylin, codein, tramadol- because a chronical pelvic pain caused by a surgery (Crohn fistula) in 2006.
I've been delaying my first pregnancy for 3 years because of the meds for this horrilble pain.
Now I'm trying OxyContin since 6 weeks and it works great -20 mg twice a day, LP tabs. At last!

BUT there is no real medical study in Europe concerning pregnancies under Oxycodone, I hope i will find on american forums or chats something to hope.

Anyway, here is my blog: http://www.dezingue.blog.lemonde.fr , the blog talks about pudendal nevralgia and pain killers. It's written in French but don't hesitate to leave a commentary in English if you have a positive witness concerning pregnancy and oxycodone.

Thank you very to all of you.

First, I am glad that you have a healthy/happy baby...but I have a major problem with your advice. You either shot-up, snorted, smoked, or chewed your RX. There is no way you were put on Methadone for a normal and prescribed dosage of your medications. Also, Methadone is way more dangerous to take than prescription medications.
One last thing...if you are taking Oxycontin/Codone there will be NO, NONE, ZIP "devastating mental defects" that are afflicted on the baby. I have a bionic leg. The mishaps from the implants have rendered me all but disabled and as a result I take 80mgs of Oxycontin every day plus up to/as much as 3, 7.5mg three times a day of percocets for break through pain. I have a 5 year-old who is in the second grade (instead of kindergarten) and I am trying to have our second child(I had to wait for my leg to heal). So if by 'defects' you mean a 5 year-old that understands actual physics...then I'm okay with that.
To quote Lil' Wayne: "Check the facts and pay attention." You either omitted a drug abuse or you went to a OBGYN who studied under WalMart-U.

Hi I just found out a few days ago I was pregnant. I have been addicted to oxycodone 5mg and oxycontin 10mg for about 7-8 months now. I have heard quitting cold turkey can hurt my baby. I want to quit but in the process of quitting I don't want my baby to suffer or worse miscarry. Is there any "right" way to ween myself off of the drug? If anyone has ANY advice I would be very greatful. My first child did not have to go through this and is very healthy and intelligent. I do not want my second to end up with any birth defect or disability because of my problem. Please if you could help me out I would really appreciate the advice!
THANKS SO MUCH!

I was prescribed oxycodone thru my whole pregnancy do to some serious back issues! Well I was never explained any risk that this medication might cause harm or withdrawl or addiction to my unborn baby nor was i explained the risk to myself or the baby if i stopped taking the medication. The only thing I was told was it was a catagorey c anad there was no facts that it will harm an unborn baby!! So the dr left me on the medication and I was induced at 38wks, 2days after the baby was born they started noticing withdrawl symptoms that the baby was having. My baby is one week old today and she still isnt home from the hospital they had to put her in nicu. Mind u my baby was 8lbs and otherwise healthy!! So my suggestion to anyone who is questioning this drug use during pregnancy well this is where I stand with it and if u dont want to c ur baby go thru withdrawls and suffer I would suggest u stop the medication as soon as you find out u are pregnant or talk to ur dr about getting off the drug asap. If I had to do it all over again I would suffer sever back pain n leg pain for the special life of my baby and not allow her to go thru such hell.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Yes I am angry at my ob and my high risk doctor they could have explained this to me in advanced no I was shot down when it was time for discharge and they said the baby couldnt go home yet they wanted to observe her one more day and one more day turned into a life time for me!!! GOOD LUCk

Girls,

The above posting is what really happens to ur newborn. My daughter just had her baby boy 7/30/11. Her doctor told her that nothing will happen to her baby if she continues taking oxycodone. He was so wrong. Her baby is in really bad shape. He is having tremors, screaming all the time, doesn't want to eat, is having diarrhea; he is basically in hell right now. The hospital put him in NICU fairly quickly. They started him on methodone to help him withdraw from the oxycodone. Sounds like the baby is a drug addict. How ridiculous. They said he can come home tomorrow and now they r changing their minds coz he is back having withdrawal symptoms. He is fighting for his life. A little baby. He can die from this. It can affect his heart, liver, brain, and kidneys. He may develop SIDS which is where a baby is found dead in his bed and no-one knows why. If he makes it through all this, he still may have permanent damage. Please DO NOT believe these people who tell u otherwise. And if u decide to stop taking the oxycodone, u must get professional help for ur withdrawal and there is a chance that the baby could die while u r withdrawing. This is the truth about oxycodone and pregnancy.

Dear friends, I have a three year old son. I took oxycodone for years before I got pregnant. Once I found out I was pregnant, I alerted every doctor I was seeing. My ob, my perinatologist, my pain doctor. My ob (midwife) was the only one who told me to quit cold turkey until my third visit with her when she became educated on the topic. I worked a plan to taper down on my pain medicine with all three doctors. The Reason for this was because the ONLY harmful affect to my baby (I was assured) was he would experience withdrawal symptoms at birth. No defects metal, physical, or otherwise. I tapered to where I felt comfortable ( because if you are in distress, your baby is in distress). I tapered very very slowly. Listened to my body and it literally told me "ok can do with less today" and so forth. Delivery was early about 4 weeks because I had ruptured from too much exercertion. Had nothing to do with my medication. My son stayed in the NICU for just over a week because he needed antibiotics because I had ruptured. No other reason, just to be proactive against infection. During that time he did become jaundice like lots of babies do, and he healed like lots of babies do as well. My son is beautiful and healthy today and was the day I brought him home from the hospital (he is three). Do I worry about his physical and mental health? Sure I do, but I can tell you no matter what your situation, as a mother, we always worry about the health of our children. I Pray my son stays healthy and happy always. Please be honest with your doctors, the medications are not harmful as far as defects etc but can cause withdrawal at birth, but if you slowly taper your dosage during pregnancy with doctor supervision, there are minimal symptoms. Be careful with your baby and be educated. I had some nasty nurses as well. I am not saying this is not a big deal or not to worry about it, but if you are in this position know your options and find the right plan for you and your baby. They look at this issue as a whole "drug addicts". Listen to your body and get second and third opinions until you find an educated doctor you trust. Good luck.

were you taking alot of methadone? i was addicted and i no longer have withdraw it was just a weekend thing. I no longer withdraw will my baby be ok?

Now days u go for help being pregnant and they just take ur baby. They dont care.

My wife and I both take oxycodone for different pain issues we have. She has terrible joint and muscle problems. I suffer from back and knee pains. I take 7.5mgs 5x a day, she takes 15mg 2-3x a day. We were taking these while she got pregnant. What effect will this have on the baby. Should she continue to take the pills for her pain? She wants to stop but is going thru bad withdrawl symptoms. What is better for the baby? stop taking them and go thru the withdrawls or continue to use them but just lower the dosage? She is less than 10 weeks pregnant.

I cannot believe what I am reading from a NICU nurse. Are you serious when you say that a baby would be worse off with methadone than with oxycodone. You may want to go back to school.....or here's an idea.....look up methadone and oxycodone and see maybe that they are virtually the same medicine other than the fact that methadone is synthetic opiate and oxycodone is a real opiate. The withdraw from both of these medications is very powerful. There are no known birth defects that opiates cause however testing has not been done because there aren't to many pregnant women that would risk that. If you are truly in pain and have taken pain meds for chronic pain then you need to talk to your OB and follow what they say. There are many doctors out there that are afraid to give a pregnant woman ANYTHING as far as medications are concerned. There are also a lot of misinformed, judgemental people out there that will make you feel like sh*t because of what you are taking. Those are the people that haven't had to deal with horrific pain and that are just plain ignorant. As long as you are being followed by a physician you're ok. Yes the baby is going to go through withdraw and yes it will suck and make you feel like less of a parent. That's the purpose of the NICU. If you are ever judged by a nurse or physician or they say ANYTHING to make you feel like a bad person there is a reporting agency for every state in America. These people need to be reported and need to go in front of the board and explain why someone in their profession is treating someone badly. The "nurse" that spoke out on this website is probably an assistant that helps change the babies diapers and not a real healthcare professional.

Hello I was on oxycontin for four yrs. N got pregnant n my son is now three. N hes fine. Was born w a lil w draws. But the drs helped w that. N the nicu.. n after ten days he was fine. Got to go home n no problems since. Hope this helps...

I am new to the site. And very grateful that there are people willing to offer their personal advice, whether professional or not, without harsh criticism and judgement. Here goes. I am currently 29 weeks pregnant. Throughout most of my pregnancy, I abused oxycontin. Though I was rather clean during the first trimester. Most of the abuse took place during the second trimester. I had great prenatal with great midwives, healthy blood work results, a few ultrasounds that indicated she was healthy and coming along rather well. I eat well, exercise and recently got myself out of the abusive relationship which helped me propel into the addiction. Initially I did not want this child. Probably because she was partly his. And this man who claimed to have loved me turned out to be an abusive, controlling drunk. I left him in early November. And to my amazement, I had a sort of epiphany. That this child's life was so much more than I had made it out to be. That she was so much greater than the drugs, the BS. I slowly tapered myself off. Lat time I got high was Thanksgiving day, November 22, 2012. No doubt I felt her pain, she was restless as much as I was. I went to my OBGYN yesterday, Heard her heart beat at 150 beats per minute. No, I have not been upfront with my doctors or midwife for ALL the obvious reasons. As of today, I have been clean 12 days. My due date if February 20th, 2013. Here are my questions:
1. Have I seriously hurt my daughter? And if so, what are the consequences?
2. Will she be born addicted? Will she have to go through with drawl again? Once in uteri and again out of uteri?
3. Will they test her liquids upon delivery for drugs? And if so, what are the consequences? ie. child services
4. Is she still getting high because the toxins are still present in the placenta?
5. What more can I do on my behalf to clean up the mess I have made for my baby girl? H2O consumption, herbal remedies, coming clean (though that would be my last option for the obvious reasons).
My decision making has clearly been poor and I have to live with it for the REST of my life. So please be kind, and hold all criticism. I have tortured myself enough with the lack of sleep, the constant self punishment (think mentally not physically). All advice, suggestions, relations are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

norcalmama, I am sorry to hear about your situation, hang in there. I am a mom and a chronic pain patient. As well as that, I studied drug counseling in college and wrote my thesis on the effects of oxycontin in todays society, including use during pregnancy. Oxycontin, like many other opiates and opiods are considered category B during pregnancy. It is not known to be directly linked to birth defects. I want to commend you on stopping, I am sure that was very difficult. Since you are stopping over two months before your due date, it is very safe to say your daughter will not go through withdrawals, as long as you stay clean. Since you have stopped taking it, she has stopped receiving it as well. You ran the risk of going into preterm labor from withdrawal, but very fortunately you did not, thank god. When you get checked into the hospital at labor and delivery, they will draw blood from you but that will only reflect the last few hours. Some hospitals do something called a meconium test. Meconium will show anything ingested from about week 12 and on. Some hospitals run a meconium test only if they suspect drug use, and some do it automatically. A positive drug test usually requires CPS involvement. You can look up your state laws and see what it says. I live in New York and it requires CPS involvement. If it comes back positive, they may require a urine screen from you, which will be negative also. Sometimes honesty is the best policy, but I understand how difficult that would be. Try not to beat yourself up about this, try not to stress. I know you are probably saying thats easier said than done. You getting clean is a huge step and you should be very proud of yourself. If you need anymore answers/ advice/ or need to talk more, just say so and we can send emails to each other, so you have some support through this all.

I know your post was posted a long time ago, but I wanted to find out what you ended up doing for your pregnancy. I have been on percocet for 3.5 yrs, I am disabled vet and suffer from chronic pain for multiple injuries/health issues. I have researched and researched and trust other women's experiences more than what a doctor has to say. I miscarried earlier this year and we are about 5.5wks pregnant now. I am considered high risk and was last time as well. I worry about the withdrawal on the baby post-delivery, but even with a high tolerance for pain there is no way I could go without pain medication. I already sit on ice packs, use heated pads, and cold masks on top of my percocet. I have Anxiety and take zoloft, which I wanted to tell you has helped with the irritability of using narcotics (you know what I'm talking about). The Zoloft has been a saving grace as I am an angry violent type of Irish/German girl. Something to look into maybe down the road for you. Anyway, I had a very bad experience with my miscarriage, so I am a little petrified about losing this one and just reflecting back to all the c**p I'm on I would appreciate to hear the rest of your story =) Thank you.