Laura,
Thank you so much for your post. It brought me allot of relief this morning. I am about 15 weeks along ans have taken 4-8 tramadol per day. I hurt all over if I don't. I am tapering down and hope to be off completely by the time I deliver.
Again, your post was very helpful. I check this site almost everyday.
I have taken Ultram on and off since July of 2012 following a bad horse accident that resulted in a severe muscular and nervous issue in my knee. I was given the tramadol after months and months of cortisone injections and physical therapy on the basis, like many of you, that is was non-narcotic and did not have the side effects of many of the opiates out there. Boy, was that one of the biggest lies I have ever been told by a doctor (I am sure they don't know that the things they tell people aren't 100% true.. many doctors have never taken a tramadol, I'm sure...) I didn't get pregnant until December of 2012 and was still taking the tramadol, sometimes just three or four a day, and on bad days, around eight pills. When I found out I was pregnant I had plans to wean off of it before I was far along so that my baby would have no problems. I couldn't wean off, as it turned out, and ended up staying on tramadol the entire pregnancy and being completely truthful w/ my OB. He told me to tell him if I were to take anything else, like Vicodin or Percocet, but that the tramadol wouldn't harm my baby at all. He said she wouldn't have withdrawals or anything of that sort. Sure enough, she was born the following August, perfectly healthy, not low birth-weight, and with no withdrawal symptoms. A drug test (she was five days early) is mandatory if your baby is early by any amount of time, so I was surprised to hear that the drug test showed there was NO levels of ANY drug in her body. I don't know how or why, but I don't think we women are getting all the facts, whether it be to as how the withdrawal symptoms are going to be or it being whether or not our baby will be exposed to the drug while they are utero. Mine was not, whatsoever, and I find this surprising to say the least, but I am very thankful for the fact as well. The withdrawal symptoms from Ultram are like none that I have ever experienced from any drug before. They last for so long, and they are so hard to deal with compared to symptoms for other drugs that I have had to take before. My advice to you women is NOT TO WORRY.... stress on your unborn baby from constant worry and mental agony can have an effect on them even after they are born and that is something you do not need. Do your best to lower your dose if you can (I continued to take up to 8 a day sometimes while pregnant and my OB said this was not doing harm to my baby.) He said that the only way I'd get negative side effects if I was only taking Ultram was if I were to take 20 of them a day. Literally. He is the doctor that has delivered all four of my children, which were all perfectly healthy babies, they slept all night, ate well, and had perfect Apgar scores at birth (no delivery problems during or afterward). I breastfed on Ultram as well ( 8 pills a day ) with zero symptoms whatsoever at any point in time. I realize there is lots of info out there saying scary things about this drug but they human body is a wonderful organism and I believe it really does protect our babies from whatever drugs that are in the body as best as it can. You women are doing the very best that you can and sometimes that is really all that you can do. Just try your best, keep your head up, and do all you can for you and your babies, and your little unborn baby. Honestly, the chances of an opiate related birthdefect are almost nil.. this came direct from the mouth of my obstetrician. Ultram is a very difficult drug to get off of (to say the least!). If you can wean off of it, that's great, by all means, it's worth one try if you feel like you can bear the withdrawals (I never could, and I tried many many times) but I have never heard from any doctor ( and I have asked many different ones since my daughter has been born about their opinion concerning the drug during pregnancy) and they all have the same opinion: it's not going to harm your baby, and if they are born w/ withdrawals, they would be very slight, not noticeable even, and subside within a couple days or less. Chances are they won't even be exposed to the drug just like my baby. Best of luck to you all!
I am due next month and am still on tramadol. I take 2 50mg twice daily sometimes three times. My regular doctor knows of course but i am to ashamed to tell my obgyn , hell my husband nor any other family members know. I am just to ashamed and disgusted with myself. As with you i am scared sh*tless about if my son is going to be normal or what so far he is been normal,normal heart rate normal movements , and normal growth as far as measuring my tummy. I wanna know if any mothers have kept taking it up to the day and how did their baby come out ? was there a withdraw was the doctor able to tell the baby had a withdraw? I am scared to . let me know how you are doing and if you find anything new out. I'll do the same. Good to know i am not alone.
Hello, yes, as i already wrote (as a "guest", 10 months ago, page 13, "Lara from Germany"), i also took Tramadol in the first Trimester. If you read my post, you can see that i took it during the whole pregnancy. My Baby is now 13 months...she is 100% healthy, walks and is a real sunshine:-) She has no problems at all!! Many greetings from Lara:-)
Who ever you are that had the horse accident and posted your story..THANK YOU SO MUCH. You really put my mind at ease a little. I am in the exact situation you were in (taking the same dosages..up to 8 on bad days).
I am 18 weeks pregnant and cannot seem to stop taking tramadol. The withdrawals are unbearable. And my doctors (it's a group practice) are against almost any type of medication during pregnancy, so I have not told them. I am facing this all alone as I have not told family or friends either. I have been worried constantly.
Your post is the first thing that has given me even the slightest bit of relief. So again, thank you for taking the time to post. It doesn't sound like you are currently pregnant, so you coming back to post your story is truly appreciated.
Blessings all
To all my fellow prego-friends out their suffering chronic pain conditions: I have Fibto, adrenal insufficiency, ADHD, bipolar, osteoarthritic bone spurs in my spine and shoulders, migraines, severe GI Issues, monthly severely painful rupturing ovarian cysts, and never-ending fatigue. I was prescribed several kinds of meds for 2 years, including, tramadol, noro, Vicodin, OxyContin, lyrica, cymbalta, abilify, Prozac, Xanax, steroids, just to name a few. I was finding some relief & management of my symptoms from these but was sick of being addicted to pain meds just to function & tired of being my doctor's guinea pig!! I was 6 weeks pregnant when I found out about the pregnancy & started doing my research on natural methods of pain relief & energy that was safe during pregnancy. Not much hope on the Internet but God hade meet a person who has changed my life. She shared her story with me about a all natural detox & nutritional rebalancing program that is very safe, healthy, & works amazing wonders for eliminating pain & fatigue, and many other awesome benefits. I tried the system and felt better unjust a few days & am completely off meds in just a few short weeks!!!! NO MORE PAIN & I HAVE ENERGY GALORE!!! This is going to be the most amazing, healthy pregnancy of my 3 babies!! I'm so excited to enjoy this experience drug-free & pain-free!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! Feel free to private message me for hope of having a safe & drug-free pregnancy! Sharing hope! Jillian
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Thank you everyone for all your insight on tramadol and pregnancy. It has helped me realize some things. I plan on cutting down significantly. All and all, the best outcome would be to quit though.
Thank you so so much for posting. I am 9 weeks along and take 2 per day. I feel so guilty but just cannot cut down due to extreme tiredness and other symptoms that leave me unable to care for my other children. Hoping to stay only at 2 and get through this pregnancy. Does anyone know if prenatal drug screens test for this drug (I haven't told my doc so I have no reason to believe she would suspect any use)? Or the typical urine tests? Are there typically drug screens done at birth even if no use by the mother is suspected? These are the things that worry me.
Hi, my experience is that it is not detected in urine tests and I dont think any drug screens are done at birth -- Again, just my experience, hope this helps
I had twins and was prescribed tramadol by ob doc for my back that I learned later was fibro so just to ease your mind I have two healthy baby boys that had no withdraw symptoms at all . I fear that I would not have made it thru that pregnancy with out an understanding doc...
I browsed this site while pregnant and wanted to come back and share my experience for those looking for actual experiences. Im giving this information candidly for the purpose of those looking for answers and experiences. Taking the time to post a response in judgment and tell me how bad of a mom I am is a waste of both of our times. I am doing this only to share my experience and encourage others to share theirs as well so those who are going through the issue of taking tramadol while pregnant do not feel alone like I did until I found the site. I have had two children while taking Tramadol. My first was two years ago. I planned that pregnancy and had weaned myself to 6 tablets a day(50mg) before I got pregnant. I took this the majority of the pregnancy, sometimes a little more, but never higher than 10/day. My daughter was born at 39 weeks, 2 days and had no signs of withdrawal whatsoever. She is two now and is very smart and even advanced on her milestones. My second pregnancy was not planned. I was abusing tramadol heavily, sometimes taking up to 40 tablets a day when I found out I was pregnant. It was not planned or expected. Quite a surprise actually. I did not test positive on a pregnancy test until I was 8 weeks along by my dates. When we saw the OBGYN the ultrasound showed that the gestational age was showing conception to be 10 days after my husband an I had had intercourse and that meant the baby was likely not growing right and somenthing was wrong with pregnancy. We prepared to miscarry but fortunately the pregnancy remained viable. I immediately cut down to 20 tabs a day, then 16. It was very hard to get past 16 for a while so I just went slow. By the time that delivery came I was taking 5-6/day. The last month there were four days that I took a little more, but no more than 8 tablets. My son was born this past Monday and has had no symptoms of withdrawal. We went home at 24 hours. He was 6 lbs 10 oz and has started gaining weight back towards his birthweight. His apgar was 8 & 9. He only cries when he is hungry or needs his diaper changed. He has normal pees and poops. While I dont advocate taking tramadol while pregnant, I understand why a person does or would and can empathize with your questions. I did read the study that a woman who admitted to 300mg tramadol/day had a baby that had seizures. I have to wonder if she was truly honest about the dose she took up until delivery. I think if you stick to 300mg daily with an occasional extra dose then you can probably count on the baby having no withdrawals. The earlier the baby the more risk for withdrawal so those who had babies at 37 weeks or earlier really were on a different spectrum of expectations than I. One thing that helped tremendously with withdrawals was Zofran. I dont know why, but when i took 4mg of zofran three times a day the withdrawals were significantly reduced. If you are taking tramadol while pregnant, the number one thing to worry about it the withdrawal. This should be okay so long as you wean yourself down to 300mg or less/day. Atleast it was in my experience. The second thing is what the meds have done to the development of your baby. I recommend getting all the testing offered to you by maternal fetal medicine, especially ultrasounds. My doctor did not know about my tramadol use and I decided not to tell the pediatrician either. I think I included everything that one could have a question about, but if not, I will watch the board to see if any show up.
lawmomRN, I can't thank you enough for your candid and detailed post!! I am now 12 weeks, and just had an ultrasound. Things look good so far and I am still taking just 100mg/day, some days even a bit less if I can stand it. I am certainly thankful for this site and the people on it! also big thanks to the others who replied to my guest post on 9-21-13. i will plan to try the weaning through breastfeeding if i cannot get off these before i deliver.
Wow, lawmomRN..I really appreciate your post. It was very helpful. I took an average of 6 tabs per day during the 1st trimester and went back up to about 8 or 9 during the 2nd. I am just now entering the 3rd and I am beginning to cut my dosage to where I'm to 4 or 5 by the time I deliver, I am very scared, so your post really helped me. I will try out the Zofran to see if that works for me with the w/drawals. I do have a question, did you ever take multiple tablets at the same time? Occasionally, some mornings I feel like absolute poop and I take 2 or 3 at the same time. I feel guilty as hell, but this pregnancy has really taken a toll on me. I wish I would have gotten off tramadol before we even started trying to conceive.
Hi ladies,
I promised myself that I would come back and post after I had my baby. Well here I am..I had my baby 3 days ago. Here is my story:
When I got pregnant I was taking about 12-15 tramadol (50 mg) per day. I was scared to death and immediately cut back to only 4 pills per day. I barely had enough energy to take care of my 2 year old and by the second trimester, I was back up to about 7 pills a day. So from the 2nd trimester until I gave birth I would take anywhere between 7-10 pills a day (depending on the day). I, by no means, am proud of this..I just want to be honest here so anyone going through this will know they are not alone.
My baby came a month early. I am not sure if this is related to the tramadol or not. (After my baby came, they said they thought the due date might have been 2 weeks off..they said his measurements measured the same as a 36 week baby not a 34 week). My OB did not and does not know about the tramadol I was taking during pregnancy. Other than being small (5 pounds) from being premmature..he was perfect. After the first day, my baby got a bit jaundice, but they had this under control within the day. They kept us for 2 days in the hospital (this is standard) and we are at home now..safe and sound :)
He had no withdrawal symptoms at all. I am breastfeeding and still taking about 6 tramadol per day. I don't know if this is helping with what would be withdrawals, I assume so. He doesn't cry that much (only when hungry) and sleeps soundly.
While pregnat, I took unisom for my insomnia, percocet a handful of times for a toothache, remeron a few times for rest, and benadryl for sleep. That is just an fyi incase you wondered if there were anymore meds involved.
To any of you taking tramadol while pregnant, it is going to be ok. I know you are scared..I was terrified throughout my pregnancy. I would advise to try to get off these pills before getting pregnant. If it is too late, however, just try your best to cut back during the first trimester while the baby is developing. I told myself that I was going to cut way back when it was close to delivery time..but he came early..so I never had the chance.
If you guys have any questions, I will check back in. Good luck ladies!