Im 4 months pregnant and been taking Tramadol the whole pregnancy

I weemed myself off oxycontin in one week when I learned of my pregnancy. It hurt but I had to. Hot baths and bengay.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Tramadol is in FDA pregnancy category C; animal studies have shown its use to be dangerous during pregnancy and human studies are lacking. Therefore, the drug should not be taken by women that are pregnant unless "the potential benefits outweigh the risks".[30]
Tramadol causes serious or fatal side-effects in a newborn[31] including neonatal withdrawal, if the mother uses the medication during pregnancy or labor. Use of tramadol by nursing mothers is not recommended by the manufacturer because the drug passes into breast milk.[30] However, the absolute dose excreted in milk is quite low, and tramadol is generally considered to be acceptable for use in breastfeeding mothers when absolutely necessary.[32]

Wow!! I am posting as a mother of two, that both survived tramadol pregnancies. I would never recommend it but I hope this gives you all a little piece of mind. During my second pregnancy I took more then the first, about 6 pills a day. I felt guilty every day!!! So guilty that this is the first time since the birth of my babies(2yrs ago) that I'm able to reach out to others. Although they are both fine now, my 2nd child did have some problems as a newborn. I will never know if they were fault of my tramadol use or not. She had failure to thrive at 2 mos. and was diagnosed with Torticollis at 6 mos. I was told the best way to keep the baby from withdrawl is breastfeeding!!! I don't know if it helped but it definately made sense. I truly feel for all of you. Please feel free to ask me anything else!

I took tramadol during my pregancy. I took several drug vacations in between refills. I would be on it for 1-2 weeks, then go off of it. That way, my baby would no be born addicted to it. It was very painful when I went off of it. Out of all the things to withdrawl from Tramadol is the worst. No matter how you cut back, you will feel it.

I don't know the long term effect on her. By only taking it when I had to and only at scheduled times, two weeks a month, I hope she will be okay. So far, she is three months old and doing awesome.. She was 6 weeks early because my body couldn't carry her anymore. She smiled at 9 weeks. She is starting to bare weight on her legs and hold her head high. They kept her in the hospital for 9 days. The only reason they gave me for keeping her: She had to reach 35 weeks gest. before she could go home.

From the beginning she breathed room air, and ate on her own. She had no problems BFing or bottle feeding. She did both right away. I was angry that they kept her. The hospital wanted her to reach that gest age before coming home. She is the best baby in the world.
She only cries when I have made her mad or don't get her feed quick enough. :-) She is awesome. I don't know if this helps, but talk it over with her OB. READ READ READ, that way you aren't in the dark.

I am 22 weeks and saw a Perinatologist when I was 14 weeks and was told that Tramadol is not a drug that they worry will cause birth defects. Every doctor I have talked to, and believe me I ask everyone I can get my hands on, has said that while it is not ideal to be on any medication like this it does not cause birth defects. My goodness with my third baby my doctor gave me Ambien to sleep and that is a very addictive controled substance and I never saw any problems with my baby! I hope this helps to relieve some stress!

Hi guys. I am 8 weeks pregnant and I am in the home stretch of completely weaning off of Tramadol. There has been some crying, some moments where I yell at my kids more often and just lie around not wanting to do anything but it has to be done. I don't have chronic pain like most of you, I became hooked on Vicodin in July '08 due to a broken ankle. I never stopped after the cast came off and in July '10 I switched to Tramadol because I thought that it was an easy way to get off of prescription pills altogether, and it was a lot cheaper and easier to get online. I didn't realize that I was just trading one addiction for another. Anyway in the past I always talked about quitting, but my desire wasn't strong enough. It will never work if you don't want it 100% - don't feel bad if you aren't there yet. Everyone is different. Good luck to all and thanks for sharing your stories. Reading them is really helping me.

I took tramadol & ambien the first 6 weeks I was pregnant. Once I found out I was pregs I stoped. Then in the midle of my second trimester I started taking the Tramadol again. Not much maybe (1) 50 mg pill every other day. The third trimester it increased to every day. I stoped two weeks before my delivery. My daughter is one now & she is fine & healthy. She has hit every milestone early.

Now I am 16 weeks pregnant & I am worried not just about the tramadol but everything else I have had to take. I was recently diagnossed with add so I was taking adderal, tramadol & ambien the first six weeks......until I found out I was pregs. I stopped for a while but the headaches have been so bad that I had to start the tramadol again as well as some Tylenol PM (for headaches & insomnia) & my OBGYN gave me fioricet for the migrains (which I don't like taking I would rather the Tramadol but sometimes they weren't enough). It pains me everyday but I don't know what to do. I can work or take care of my family if I have headaches & don't sleep. I cant wait for these 40 weeks to be up so I can go back to taking what I need with out feeling guilty.

Look guys everyone that is so worried about taking tramadol while pregnant I wouldn't be too worried. I think doctors like to get you more spooked than anything. I have had FOUR kids while taking 15 to 20 tramadol a day. I was hooked hard and I am still hooked hard. My youngest is 10 months old. I am not here to lie but to give honest feedback. Don't get me wrong I was trying to quit with each pregnancy and it was hell each time and I just couldn't do it with my other little one's to take care of with my husband at work. Pain is pain. I am not even sure if i take it for pain anymore. But all of my kids are healthy and whole and nothing is wrong with them. Also DO NOT TELL YOUR DOCTOR!!! I did this with my last child to get help and he flipped and labeled me a drug addict wouldn't hardley help me at all. Had me sit around his office one day for 6 hours waiting to hear from him on how he wanted to proceed on weening me off. He was such a bastard. Plus it is by law that they must report it to social services so expect a call ladies and a visit. If you plan to quit do not get it from your doctor.

Anyone who took tramadol throughout your pregnancy could you contact me, I have some questions.
Thanks!!

well today i found i was 5 weeks prego nd i take vicodin i told my doc nd he told well i hope u get well like what kind of mess is thst

I had my baby!!! I had posted earlier. This is my third and I weaned down from 600 mg/day to half of 50mg or half an Ultracet a day but was never able to stop completely. My baby is a week and half old and so far doing very well. No birth defects and very healthy. He was a bit smaller than my other two, but I don't know if that is related or not. He's growing well and already gaining lots of weight. I am breastfeeding and back to about 200mg/day. (I breastfed my second and took it the whole time and he's healthy big and super smart.) Also, they gave me vicodin after my c-section. I am still worried about long-term effects. I hope that he develops well. I did my best to cut back as much as possible. He showed no signs of withdrawl and is a very content baby. I will post again later on with another update. Hope you all the best and keep trying to cut back as much as you can...

I feel for all of you so much, I've been taking Tramadol off and on for four years for bulging lumbar discs, it has spiraled in and out of addiction, and now I think I might be pregnant. I haven't found any research that definitively says it will harm a baby, from what I can tell the research really hasn't been done. I've gotten off the drug several times and it has been hard (depression, chills, sweats, heavy-tired feeeling, etc), but in my experience that passes completely after 2 or 3 days when I cut down to 100mg a day, then 50mg, then 25mg in the evening (to prevent the muscle withdrawal that prevents sleep). I know it can feel unbearable at the time but it will pass! By the fourth day I've always felt good as new! And I've never had cravings like when I quit smoking, just the heavy-icky feeling that is so tempting to make disappear by popping one of the tempting little pills. For me it's easier in the long run to cut down quickly rather than drag it out, because more slowly only prolongs the withdrawal symptoms, of course that can be different for everyone. When I've decided to quit, I've thrown out all my pills (50mg) except for the 4-5 I need for the next few days to quit, so that I know I'm committed. 

For anyone who suffers back pain, I can get by without Tramadol when I consistently do Pilates, even just 20 minutes a day for a week will cut my back pain down to a manageable level. Also if I introduce something new and healthy into my life, like taking a green drink daily, something to boost my body, it helps the withdrawal. For me it's vital to create new healthy patterns to replace the old pill-popping pattern, simple things like taking a walk or stretching daily, taking a bath, etc, even this little bit helps so that I'm not feeling just the void of the drug, I'm filling the vacuum. If you have chronic pain obviously it's important to find alternatives to heal it as well, there are lots of natural alternatives out there for a lot of things that are usually treated only with drugs by doctors.

If I am pregnant I will get off tramadol quickly. I've gone back to it when my life has gotten busy or stressful and my back got thrown out, but I have been off it successfully for over a year at a time and only went back when I fell and hurt my back again, next time I would just take Tylenol or whatever so the addiction cycle didn't start again. I've slipped back into the addiction several times, but I know from experience how good I feel after I push through the withdrawal, so for me it's worth it to quit. If I have pregnancy as a motivator, I think I can finally make the cycle stop once and for all.

I just want everyone to know that if you want to get off this drug you CAN do it, the withdrawal can be nasty but is much quicker and easier than other things like opiates, smoking, etc. When you're feeling surprisingly fine relatively soon, it will be such a relief and so empowering!!! Best of luck to everyone! 

I have been takeing tramadol for 4 1/2 years now i was takeing 4 a day i found out i was pregnate  i started to wing myself off even though my family doctor said it would be okay to take it, i was worried because i had a miscarriage 6 months prior to this pregnacy and in my mind thought maybe it was because the tramadol, my obgyn said DO NOT TAKE TRAMADOL, so i was completely off of it for 3 months im now going in my 4 th month of pregnacy but its been horrible ive been in pain laying in bed all day lacking in house work and being a mommy to my little boy so i broke down and took one i felt 100 percent better was able to do the things i havent done in 3 months its been four days now ive taken one a day ,but i feel so guilty everytime i take it, mainly cause theres no research on pregnacy and tramadol exept for others personal experience anybody else taken tramadol and had healthy babies please let me know or if youve had a bad experience anything that would help would be appreciated.

I am going to have my baby hopefully any day now, she is due in a few days. I stopped taking tramadol for a while during my pregnancy but couldn't take the pain the last month or so & started taking them again. I do not have a good relationship with my doctor, which sucks! & I am nervous to even tell her anything. I do not want any authorities being involved in my life, I mean idk if they would be. It's not like i'm doing Heroin or cocaine or anything! So idk what to do...Should i tell the dr when i go into labor??? Please if any1 has an answer let me know asap. Since i only have a few days left. Thank u

 

i am now 14 weeks preg. and i have been on tramadol for 2 years for my headaches. i take 2 at night and 1/2 in the am. i am slowly getting off. im really happy to see im not alone in this, there are girls just like me out there. please, if there is anyone out there that has already had their child while on the tramadol. please write me to let me know how their baby is (healthy or any kinds of side effects). please email me to explain..... i heard so many different things about taking tramadol while being preg.  ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use