what to expect with a baby addicted to methadone and xanax?

I have been battling a heroin addiction with my niece since Oct 2010. Though she claims she was addicted for a year I know she was mixing xanax etc for awhile now. I have to say it is a horrible deal from every aspect. But she was pregnant for the third time. In late december my nephew was born. When I saw him I cried. He looked so sad we couldn't hold him he was taken to ICU and lay in a bed with no clothes on and a fish bowl looking thing over his head to hold the oxygen tube. Wires every where an IV in the top of his head! It was a very sad deal. He was in the hospital for about 2 weeks and went home on methadone. Good news to date he's doing wonderful and methadone free for nearly two weeks. I know the baby has to have the methadone until they are born I get that! My issue is the methadone clinic in my opinion does nothing for helping these people detox! When my niece got out of the hospital I tried to encourage her to go to inpatient care millions of people are successful with inpatient treatment. We had talked about it she was considering going she was positive about it but when she talked to her counselor she was against it! Nope that won't work! Well news flash for them she can't afford this c**p! We need to try and encourage the healing not give them more excuses! Its like they are drug dealers in white coats! I do understand every situation is different and I am not passing judgment on anyone! But when DHS has taken your kids and you need to get it together why don't we promote that! I really think that the clinic could do more to help in figuring out what will work for these people! I am her main support system and do help her financially help her but I will not pay for methadone! They don't think about how mental this addiction is! I know with her the thought for not having her 77 dollars a week she just goes out of her mind very irritable and makes comments like she hopes she doesn't make it through the night! In my mind if my 2 month old nephew you can do it so can she!! Honestly best of luck to everyone and remember to be patient with your support systems and keep in mind its hard for everyone involved !

Your all idiots if u r taking methadone before pregnancy you have to continue or the baby will die in the womb! My wife takes it for pain and the doctors told her and I witnessed this that she would have to continue or she would endanger the welfare of the child while it was in the womb. He was born this march and was fine they did not have to give him morphine as they do to other babies. It is a fifty fifty thing the hospital said and as far as that jackass up above goes the baby will not develop slower. You all should be ashamed of yourselves judging people for helping themselves get off heroin under supervised drug administration. Methadone is a godsend for addicts.

I am a nurse and have recently adopted a baby boy who was born addicted to Methadone.  The first few months of his life were very hard for him.  Most babies start to withdraw within 96 hrs, but the process can take up to 2 weeks to start.  I took him home from the hospital and after about a week, he'd scream and tense up and just seemed to be in so much pain.  This went on for appx 3 months.  The withdrawels can cause extreme cramping in the limbs and stomach.  Withdrawing from Methadone can make an adult have increased sensitivity to discomfort and cramping, aches, nervousness, sleeplessness, sneezing, cramping of limbs, bone aches, flu like symptoms (doope sick) and cause deficiencies.  Imagine that intensified on a baby who is still growing and developing.  It can interfer with brain growth and can compromise effects on neurological system and protein production. 

My adopted son is now 2 1/2 yrs old.  He is very handsome, smart and atheltic, however, he has horrible mood swings and will arch his back and throw himself back and hit his head or hurt himself at the blink of an eye - his mood will just change from happy to "LOOK OUT"!!  He has trouble eating and drools excessively.  I have 5 other "birth children", one with ADD and learning disabilities but nothing prepared me for this!!  He has sensory disorder and is severely attached to me.  He is the love of my life, but I can't imagine how much easie his life would have been for him if his mother didn't use drugs during her pregnancy - including Methadone and Xanax.   

Some people get lucky - I guess, but the doctors don't do enough to try to wean people off of Methadone.  It's like a drug for life and I don't think anyone has all the facts as to the long term effects of this drug. 

so very sorry!

I think this is a really unfair post. A lot of women get pregnant while on pain medication and are then put on methadone because it is a safter alternative to other opiates. Many times, most I'm sure, women get pregnant accidently and personally, I think killing a baby by abortion because of this is a terrible alternative. As long as the woman is steady on her dose and not abusing methadone or any other drugs, this is taking the high road in my opinion to abortion. Until you are in their situation, maybe you should not be so quick to judge.

You girls really should use birth control with your addiction holy c**p- what amazes me is, what about the drugs or methadone that could cause withdrawl, learning developments, slow growth, mental retardation or even death? Do your innocent baby a favor and give your child up for adoption soon as he/she comes out, if none of you are smart enough to not get pregnant when your an addict your far from being smart enough to provide a loving, stable, mature environment for a child.... Some people disgust me. And Anyone who tries to justify "accidents happen", or whatever silly excuses you have as to why your having a drug addicted baby, Get on birth control and use a god damn condom it's that simple! Holy sh*t eh? Who would have thought?!? God damn custy, deadbeat neglectful egg donors. Don't even call yourself a mom, your not a "mom", your a selfish, immature girl who doesn't deserve the gift of giving life...

Your rude. U can f off

Are you truly out of your mind? Who are YOU to judge the reason a person is on methadone, really? Ever get in a terrible accident and need pain management oh holier than thou? Not everyone on methadone is a drug addict. And even if they WERE, they are doing the right thing by having the baby on a safe medication. Please, before you post know what the heck you are talking about.

Hi people, I myself was born addicted to methadone and diazepam and suffered quite severe withdraws at birth.

I definitely have had allot of physical and psychological problems thou out my life, i am now 21 and still suffer from many debilitating conditions which i will now list:

#SEVERE ANXIETY THOU OUT MY ENTIRE LIFE.

#ANOREXIA (BASICALLY NEVER FEEL HUNGRY)

#RAGE/SELF HARM,HEAD BUTTING WALLS, BITING MY CHEEKS, PUNCHING MYSELF IN THE HEAD/PUNCHING WALLS(THIS IS NOT REELY A PROBLEM AT PRESENT AS I HAVE A WONDERFUL SON TO KEEP ME FOCUSED AND FEEL LOVED BUY SOMEONE!!!

#LOW MUSCUEL TONE AND LESS ABLE TO SUSTAIN ACTIVITIES/MUSCULAR FATIGUE/ LACTIC ACID OVERLOADS

#CHRONIC BACK PAIN SINCE BIRTH

#EXTREME SENSITIVITY TO PAIN/SUNLIGHT/STRESSFUL SITUATIONS/ HEAT EXHAUSTION

#ERRATIC SLEEP PATTERNS/SLEEP DISTURBANCES/NIGHT TERRORS SINCE BIRTH/INSOMNIA

#CHRONIC DEPRESSION ALL MY LIFE

#LOW SELFSAME/BLAMING MYSELF FOR ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURE AROUND ME

#ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

#EXTREME DIFFICULTY MAKING FRIENDS

#CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

#CHRONIC PAIN DISORDER/NERVE PAIN

#DAILY CHEST PAIN

#AGORAPHOBIA

#MANIC DEPRESSIVE PHASES

#PTSD

#SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HEAD INJURYS ( DUE TO RAISED PRESSURE ON THE BRAIN DUE TO HAVING A SMALLER THAN AVERAGE SKUL

#LEARNING DIFFICULTIES 

#HALLUCINATIONS/VISUAL DISTURBANCES

#ADDICTIVE NATURE 

#SLOWED HORMONAL DEVELOPMENT( AT THE AGE OF 21 I LOOK MAYBY 17)

#STIFF JOINTS/ JOINT PAIN

#TENDINITIS

#PROBLEMS SUSTAINING A HEALTHY WEIGHT( AT THE AGE OF 18 MY BMI WAS 14.8!!

#ATTACHMENT ISSUES

#ALLOW MYSELF TO BE ABUSED/ USED BY OTHERS

#TERRIBLE AMUNE SYSTEM

#PARANOIA ALL MY LIFE

#QUITE BAD OCD

#ALAPISHIA SOMETIMES

#ATTENTION DIFFICULTIES

#A GENERAL FEELING OF BEING ILL CONSTANTLY

#SEVERE DEATH ANXIETY

#IM VERY IMPULSIVE AND SAY SILLY THINGS ALLOT/DON'T KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP

#SEVERE VITAMIN D DEFFICIANCY

there you go and this is just off the top of my head... in sure there is more i could add, the only ambition i have in life is to one day feel normal and not an outcast oh and to the best dad in the world.

So you lot now your child will not be able to understand there are these problems until there late teens, basically they will just fink it is normal to hurt all the time and they will fink they are an outcast in there pier gropes because they are just a boring person or something along these lines. although you child will seem very intelligent from a young age and would be able to have an in depth conversation about things separate from them they will find it very hard to relate to people there own age and will most likely get on better with adults, but will find it very difficult to ask for any help with there problems as this will be all they have ever known now.

when they get to there teens the learning difficulties will start to show up and so will concentration and motivation issues and ptsd and everything else.

I hope this is helpful to someone!

you are not selfish for taking drugs, you just want to be happy probably due to some traumas in you like weather that be birth trauma or any kind of trauma that has affected you. i do believe you should probably not got pregnant buy this does happen even with contraception, and i am glad my mother had me even though i am screwed up i still have my life its better than not existing at all. 

btw i have also had numerous traumas since birth which have exaggerated my problems.

SO TO HELP MINIMIZE YOUR CHILDES MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS THEY NEED LOTS OF STIMULATION FROM BIRTH A LOVING AND CARING ENVIRONMENT AND JUST LOTS OF SUPPORT AND THEY NEED YOU TO BE THE BEST PARENT POSSIBLE, LIKE NEVER THREATENING THEM WITH SPANKING OR ACTUALLY DOING IT AND TO NOT EVER EVEN SLIGHTLY MOCK THEM OR LAUGH AT THEM DOING SOMETHING STRANGE AND THINS ALONG THOSE LINES AS THIS WILL SEVERELY AFFECT THE SELF A STEAM AS THEY ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO EVERYTHING. PLEASE TRY TO LOVE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND TRY TO BE A FRIEND AS WELL AS A PARENT AND BASICALLY ENCOURAGE THEM BUT NOT PRESSURE THEM AS THIS WILL STRESS THEM OUT TERRIBLY AND THEY'LL BELIEVE THERE REALY DUMB FOR FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE DOING SEEMINGLY SIMPLE TASKS.

IF YOU START THEM ON MEDICATIONS THIS IS PROBABLY A BAD IDEA AS THIS WILL DISCONNECT THEM FROM THE REALITY OF WHAT THERE PROBLEMS ARE AND THEY WILL GET WORSE OVER TIME AS THE PROBLEMS WILL JUST BUILD UP FROM BEING HELD DOWN AND WILL EXPLODE OUT ONE DAY...... ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE THE WORST FOR THIS AS IT IS A 24/7 SUPPRESSANT

THANKS FOR READING THIS IF U DID. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS OR COMMENT!!

First I want to say that this is all new to me. I have heard of zanex but have never thought I had any close ties to it until 2 days ago. My sons girlfriend gave birth to my first grandchild on Sunday night. Everything looked fine and the baby looked healthy. Then he started having problems with feeding, they switched his formula and still had problems, next thing I knew he was being taken to Nicu. ( I am still in shock). Then I am advised by my son and his girlfriend that she had tested positive for zanex and that the baby was going through withdrawals. I couldn't beleive it and I had no idea that she was even taking any drugs. She said she had taken a half of zanex on friday night and that she had been prescribed them in the past for depression and anxitey. She said she had not taken them regularly, maybe 4 time through her whole pregnancy. So I need a little advise and a little information if ny one can help me that would be greatly appriciated.

First: What happens to the parents of a child born additice to drugs? DCF is already involed and will be conductuing an investigation of their home ( which is clean and in good condition). Are the parents arrested and charges with a crime? I am sooo scared that I will not be able to be a part of this childs life!

Second: As a grand parent on the fathers side, do I have any rights at all? Girlfriends mom lives in another state ( not sure if she knew her daughter was taking any drugs) and girlfriend has no family at all in the state we live in.

My heart is broken and I am praying every minute of the day that God is watching over this precious little baby and will guide him through this difficult situation he has been brought into!

hi heartbroken granny sorry to hear you got these problems arising....
i am in uk so things work a bit differently here but i doubt the child would be removed especial if the mother has bin prescribed zanex even if it was in the past... basically a doctor has given her this crutch (zanex) to lean on when she is down and it must be expected that she will need zanex sometimes throughout her life.

I doubt anybody would get arrested!

my mother was allowed to have me for a couple of years until her heroin addiction got in the way of caring for me and my siblings who were also born severely addicted.

it does not sound like illegal potent narcotics are the issue here, just someone trying to cope with there anxiety with would be exaggerated by pregnancy.

basically does not sound like she was abusing drugs to get high but was just trying to sustain a healthy mindset.

a mother suffering bad anxiety / stress throughout pregnancy could be more damaging than someone self prescribing, as anxiety can lead to self neglect which in turn would be harming the baby.

you would have rights to see or even take on custody for that child if this was agreed as you are blood related and interested in having a bond with the baby.

hope this reassures you and i hope for the best.
keep us up to date with the situation i would like to be of some support.

george

you have A LOT of nerve lady you dont know what any of these women have been through or go through that would make the be on "drugs" they are not taking heroin, crack ect. they are taking PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS!! Prescribed by health PROFFESIONALS!! SHAME on you!! There is a special place in hell for as****e judgemental ppl like you!

Obviously your spelling was a result of methadone as well???


So many ignorant people out there. I'd rather my baby be uncomfortable for a time he/ she won't remember than the baby be dead from a miscarriage.

Methamphetamine is NOT methadone. Methamphetamine is crystal meth, aka glass, crystal, meth, crank.... Methadone is a synthetic opiate that is fda approved, safe for mother and baby, while methamphetamine is an illegal harmful street drug safe for no one. Big difference.

If you don't no what the hell your talking about than u shouldn't even post nothing! Aparently you had some kind of question pertaining to this matter or you wouldn't even be on this site! Don't be ashamed of what you do and don't down other people for there questions! SMH