I am addicted to painkillers and pregnant.

Believe it or not it's not as bad as you think! I was taking hydrocodone, about 30 mg a day, when I got pregnant. I weaned off of it quickly and just dealt with the unpleasant W/D...not much worse then my 1st trimester anyway! In my 2nd trimester I was put back on it for gallbladder dysfunction and I was having severe attacks again as I grew. I took myself off about 3 weeks before I delivered. My dd was born full-term, healthy, and with no complications! Your OB will want you off any pain meds several weeks before delivery, so your baby won't go through W/D just after birth. Supposedly, it's easier on them in-vitro. If you are still on it at birth they will give Narcon to the baby to counter W/D. I would highly recommend you wean yourself off ASAP, unless you absolutely need it! Just don't do it cold turkey, because you don't need the added stress on your body right now and neither does your baby. If you need it for pain just make sure not to take it for longer then 5-7 days without taking a week or two in between off, so the fetus doesn't become dependent! Talk to your OB and NO MATTER what be HONEST! It is vital! Even if you are afraid to say you are addicted, just tell em' you are currently on it for pain mgt. and need supervision while weaning! Good luck and don't fret over it too much. I did and it was okay in the end! Just DON'T push your luck, because anything is possible. I don't want you to think you can do it without consequences throughout your whole pregnancy. However, it sounds like you are truly concerned and want off of them and I wish you all the luck...you can do it...for your baby! Take Tylenol to help ease the W/D discomfort, a good prenatal, lots of water & hot baths, plus make sure you give yourself at least 3 days off after your last pill to sleep, sleep, and sleep some more! I would start by cutting your dose in half for a week, then cut that in half for a week, and so on. You're not taking a lot for an addict, so that is a benefit to your baby! Based on your listed dose you may want to try a schedule something like this:
1st week: 5mg (cut 10mg pill in half) 4 times a day
2nd week: 2.5 mg 4 times a day
3rd week: 2.5 mg 2 times a day
4th week: wait out as long as you can and take 2.5 mg ONLY when desperately needing relief from W/D.

After this you can expect to have some slight discomfort for a few days, but it will be much easier then cold turkey! I've done this several times when I wasn't pregnant and it was much easier then stopping too fast, which I've done too! Codeine is sometimes used for hydrocodone W/D, but it is a class C drug for pregnancy so I wouldn't do it! You may want to research herbal supplements used for a calming effect that are safe during pregnancy and that will help with the anxiety and restless feeling you will get when tapering! Also, look into safety of B vitamins while pregnant and if safe take them to help counter W/D.

Make sure to get medical advice with any approach you take before making changes or taking anything! Good luck!

Ive been an addict for over 10 years. I use 2 to 4 10mg hydros a day. After finding out i was pregnant i stressed for a week over what to do. i finally went to the computer for help and found this article. It really helped! The hardest part was admiting to the doctor i had a problem but after i read the article i was able to and my doctor was so helful and understanding. Thank you so much for your help!

I have been so stressed out! I found out a few weeks ago that I am in fact pregnant!  I am on a high dose of hydromorph contin (Im in Canada and I am unsure what the equivalent is in other parts of the world) for a severe back condition although I will be the first to admit I now take them more for addiction than pain. When I first found out I was pregnant I tried getting off of them completely and failed miserably, I felt like I was dying! It was the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life and I dont think anyone can quite explain it properly, the only people who would understand what the feeling is like is if they have been there before themselves! Everyone is so quick to judge!  I am a successful social worker who works F/T and also the mother of 2 boys.  No one knows of my addiction especially my husband or I would be a single mother, he does not believe in taking pain meds for any reason! My concern is this, what damage have I may already caused with my high dosage usage?? My plan is to begin weaning now, I'm thinking I am close to 10 weeks pregnant.  My weaning has started today so I hope to be off all meds 2 months before I am due to give birth.. I just want some reassurance that everything is going to be okay. I have even considered abortion cause I will not be able to explain to my husband why sommething is wrong with our baby.  I am soo scared and cant beleive I am in this position.  My husband and I were trying for 5 years to get pregnant with no success so I kind of gave up the dream of having any more children years ago so this came as a shock to find out the test was positive.  Please help me if you can.  I dont need to be judged and would prefer to hear from anyone who has been in this same position, even if the end result wasnt positive, I would like to hear.  thanks for your time..

Hello, I just saw your post on this site, I am also dealing with the same issue and I was just woundering did you recieve a comment back? I also would really like to know what damage this could have caused to my baby and I don't know who to ask and when I read ur comment it sounds exactly like my situation so I'm just woundering if you had any luck in recieving any feedback if so can u please let me know? Thank you and good luck, it's hard I know, and very stressful to think about any damage being done to baby. Please let me know

No I received no feedback at all after my post. I am now any day away from giving birth & still on the hydromorph contin. I have reduced my amount significantly but just couldn't get them off them completely no matter how hard u tried. I'm sitting in my dr office scared out of my mind cause I know I need to be honest with him at today's appointment. He took me off them completely a few weeks back but I found a different source who I am paying a fortune. I don't really know why but I cannot get myself to get off them even knowing all the concequences. I may lose my husband and that for some reason is still not enough of a reason for me :(

Hi ErinPete
I was curious what ended up happening with your baby. I just found out I am 10 weeks pregnant and am trying my best to wean off of pain pills, norco 10's and I am so very scared that my baby will have brain damage or something horrible. I know this was a while ago, but wanted to see I cant find any disscusions about outcomes of MOther's that quit while pregnant and what happened. I hope this finds you well I am freaking out and I hope you get notified of this message.

Hello. I am on day 5 off hydrocodone. I am also 8 weeks pregnant. I found out I was pregnant and immediately wanted to stop taking the hydrocodone but it was hard. The first 2 days were hell the 3rd not as bad. The 4th and 5th day I woke up back to normal still slightly achy. Drinking water with lemon juice helped with the cramps and nausea. Icy hot rub and heating pads helped with the aches and muscle spazzes. Also Tylenol emergen c packs and vitamins helped. Hope this helps someone!

Don't quit cold turkey! I am a nurse and you going through withdrawal is hard on you and baby! Your OB doctor will tell you the same thing.. Try to wean down.. Best of luck to you and baby!!

Hello I wanted to know what ever happen with the baby after the birth ? I'm a week until my baby birth and I'm scared also

Did you ever receive an update on this post? I'm curious as well

Hi, can you please update us with what happen after baby was born? How is the baby health and what happened? Did he or she experience any withdrawals and or does the baby have any other issues? Any information you can provide would be extremely helpful! Thank you so much

I just found out I'm pregnant last night I took a test, my last period was Oct 7th so I'm thinking maybe 2or 3 weeks. I'm so scared because I'm addicted to pain med been wanting to get off them but never new how, this is actually the first time I even looked stuff up on a computer and everything I read scares me like I've never been in my life. I don't even know if even writing this is a good or bad thing and I just want to know what the first thing to do. Can anyone help????

Thank you for the advise, you also helped me from driving myself crazy thinking about everything.

Is there anything your ob/gyn can give you to come off painkillers while pregnant?