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Pregnant and withdrawing from opiates

edgewise1

edgewise1

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
622
Location
western North Carolina
First of all this is not a thread about me. I'm 58 and a male so......

This is about a very good friend of mine, even a younger sister you might say. She is due the first week of December so second trimester (?) The amounts she is/has been taking are not large, maybe two to four 10/325 percs a day. She does augment with xanax when she can get it but without opies she does not take benzos so I don't believe they are a problem. Percocet is a pregnancy B drug. Her physical wds should be over fairly quickly, but she is already dreading the psychological part she knows is coming. She is in a situation which is going to be difficult from which to remove herself and she only receives around $300 a month for child support.

I have spoken to her at length about triggers and how she is going to need to do everything in her power to minimize these. I have also advised her to get information about the AA/NA meetings in her town and to attend as many of these as she can. She lives about 45 miles away in a medium-sized metropolitan area so finding meetins to attend should pose no difficulties.

The reason I'm writing is to find out information about what substances she can safely use to quell what I assume to be the onset of PAWS.

Any help you can provide will be appreciated more than you know!!
 
Wow, I wanted to do a quick google search for you before responding and there is nothing useful out there! The first hit looked promising because it was titled, So you are addicted to opiates and pregnant. Sounds good but it had no information other than about pregnancy in general and opiate addiction in general. My suggestion would be to look at the list of what is most commonly prescribed and recommended by those that have gone through withdrawals (melatonin, magnesium, loperamide etc) and then consult a pharmacist about taking them during pregnancy. No need to mention why.

The other question I have is whether or not she has an OB that she can be honest with. Despite any judgment this doctor may have, I think her health and her baby's health should come first. Is she in any kind of support group yet? She is going to need that not only for now but especially once the baby is born. That can be a very stressful and lonely time under the best of circumstances.

Best of luck and I admire you for being such a good friend.She's got that going for her and that is no small thing.<3
 
Hi herbavore. I was hoping you might respond to my question!

She does have an OB and has told her about the problem she has. She has a day urine test at each appointment. Her first test showed positive for the percocet, benzo's, and weed. As a result DSS was involved and my friend is worried about this. On her last two tests she had her 11 yo daughter's urine for the test. I guess she is fortunate it was not tested to detect pregnancy hormones. So her OB knows she HAD a problem but does not know she HAS a problem.

I really did this the lazy way as I did not do any searching on my own. I guess this is what I need to do. But any and all responses are appreciated!
 
From what I have read detoxing off opiates while pregnant is not advisable. I think the current thinking is to go on a maintenance program until after the child id born. Detoxing can put a very large stress on mother and baby which can result in complications. I would advise you seek quality medical help as soon as you can.

Congratulations on the pregnancy:)
 
Yes I couldn't agree more with NSA, I had a baby 8 months ago while on a fairly high dose of oxy for pain management. My prescribing doctor took extra measures with me sending me for several ultrasounds and fetal movement tests. When I had c-sec they had 2 doctors from the NICU incase baby had a hard time breathing but he was good. None of the doctors I saw advised lowering my dose or withdrawing that would be more harmful than good. I wish her all the best ❤️ You can PM if you like.
 
I'm no expert but my immediate thought would be to not detox during pregnancy. How you then go about detoxing a baby from opiates humanely god only knows though.
 
Is your friend getting the Percocet prescribed? It shouldn't be an issue since in many cases the benefit outweighs the risks. It's the marijuana and Xanax that could land her in trouble with DSS. Using her 11 year old daughter's urine in order to pass a drug test is not indicative to me that she wants to get clean. She must realize once the baby's born, she will be screened again. Just my two cents.
 
another thing is.... if the doc suspects she is still using, he may test the baby's meconium(first poop) after the birth. any drug that was used up to 6 months(I think) before baby is born can be detected. at least that's what my doc said. I got put on MMT while pregnant and as soon as the baby was born they tested the meconium. not saying it will happen for sure tho, but it happened to me.

would be smarter for her to be honest and say she relapsed then lie about it.
 
Great, and very helpful responses. I haven't spoken to her today and she was to call me regardless of how she felt. I will follow up on that in a bit.

No, she is not prescribed any opiates. She is buying them from individuals. I had to give my pain meds to a trusted friend who kept them locked in his gun safe. I would take a full days of meds plus one dose with me. Once she figured out I WAS NOT going to share mine (I need mine for real pain while she uses to get high) I had no problems and I brought them home. Of course I keep them in a fannypack that is with me 24/7.....either strapped on my waist, sitting beside me, or hanging on the bedpost next to my head. She not getting anything from me. Anyway, I sometimes go off on a tangent but this is about her and not my meds.

So in the middle of editing she calls me. I spoke to her about going to the ob and telling them that she is still having a problem. But she is adamant about getting off of this come hell or high water! Monday was the last time she took anything and that was a 10. mg methadone tab. This is a drug she does not take very often. As I said she seems to have her mind made up and she has not had a lot of pills to take since the beginning of 2014 so she may be able to do this without too much stress on the baby?
 
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A medical person (doctor) needs to be the one to tell her what will be best for the developing baby. I would swallow my pride at being labeled if I were in her position and seek out the best medical care I could get and tell the doctor everything. I understand why she wants to do this but if it is actually safer (and none of us are qualified to say yes or no) to stay on some kind of maintenance dose, then having a trusted medical person monitor it would be the best thing.

In the end, she is going to do what she wants so I guess the best thing is to encourage transparency with a doctor and just support her emotionally whatever she decides.
 
Had a friend that just went through this. Couldn't figure out why she had such an issue dropping her small habit (her body goes nuts) but for whatever reason her body really did want to hold onto that 30-40mg of oxy a day habit. She tried a couple times to stop because she didn't want to lose her child after giving birth. Her body went nuts and I think it was blood pressure issues landed her in the hospital. At that time she just broke down and told them why.... they gave her a couple weeks worth of opiates so she wasnt right back in their face. We have a womans rehab that will detox pregnant women within the first and possibly second trimester. She was past then at this point... so in the end everything did come out and she gave birth and child services took the baby within a couple of hours of her having it at the hospital. Unsure where she got the last of her opiates for the rest of the pregnancy but she quit searching and talking about them so I assume her Dr gave her a script. The only positive side about all of this is she gets her chance now to pull things together. I don't know the specifics but it was pretty much stay clean, attend classes, and check in. She said it would be a few months probably. She has also dropped off the face of the earth maybe cleaning up or going down a hole. For your friend if it does go bad maybe she will at least get the chance to fix it. Nice of you to care.
 
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