Can a pregnant woman be detoxed from methadone?

[Wendylee]

I am thirty years old and have been trying desperately to change my life over the past few years. I have been using on and off for seventeen years, and have been through eight inpatient treatments and many other outpatient and detox facilitys. I've always wanted to stop but it's been a difficult road. My addiction progressed to herion and I ended up on the methadone maintenence program about four years ago. The first two years were rough but thanks to the grace of God and my family I have been clean now for over a year and a half. My husband and my son have been my anchor to reality and responsibility. My husband does not smoke, drink or use drugs and never has(how we ended up together is a mystery). Also through a stroke of luck I got pregnant with my first son during a time in my life that I was clean, so there where no problems with him at birth. The only problems we have with him is the horrible separation anxiety he suffers from because of my past behavior. I have been to many detoxes during his life and he did not understand why mommy had to be gone and also while I was using I wasn't home much, so that didn't help. Anyway I have been coming down on my methadone dose since last July and I am down to 40mgs. I recently found out I was pregnant. I really wanted to be off the methadone before this happened, but that is not how things have worked out. My husband and I are happy about the baby, we are just worried. I don't want my baby to go through withdrawls because of my problems. I have a big problem with that! The bad part is everone including the clinic I go to says I could miscarry if I detox, but I have read otherwise from mothers that were in the same boat as me. I am so confused. I acually went down at least 10mgs possibly 15mgs before I found out I was pregnant, so I really want to detox if I can. Any information I could get regarding this matter I would be very grateful for. Thank you in advance.   Wendylee

[mommyto3girls]

You are doing the right thing by being on methadone. Dont let anyone tell you any different. I tried detoxing while pregnant and at 10mg and 8months I couldnt go any lower I tried 7mg and couldnt make it throught the night. But everyone is different, before you try talk to your doctor and your clinic counseler. But remember your being responsible and taking care of your baby and yourself by being on the methadone!

[str8happb]

i just found out i was pregnant 2 day 12-14-07 i am taking methadone but being detoxed i really dont know 2 much and i am very worried not to mention i am also a high risk iam currently on 14 mg what will the clinic do will they hold me on that or will i still have to detox the cinic iam currently at is understanding in no way shape or form all they care about is getting their $88.00a wk.any feed back from any mothers who gave birth while on the methadone would greatly help               thanks much......a worried mom

[a_lyn]

I am currnetly on 70 mgs of methadone and I am also 7 weeks pregnant.  I have been on methadone for almost 2 years.  I stayed at 50 mgs for a year then I started to come down but when I did that I felt terrible. I couldnt sleep or anything. So then I went back up and now I continue going up.  I was on 65 mgs when I found out I was pregnant and the doctor justmoved me up 5 mgs.  My OBGYN told me that if I detox or stop taking the methadone I would lose my baby. When I asked the doctor at the methadone clinic about it he said that my OBGYN would know more then he does.

[GoingToMakeIt]

I am so glad that you are here on this forum welcome! You should know that this post is from 2001. It is hard to see but if you look close it says 04/20/01.
We do want to hear from you so start a new post. Click the green Post A Question button and post away. :-)

[ang131]

my name is angela, i too am pregnant, i am 16 weeks along and i wanted to stop takeing my dose at the clinic. but i talked with my doctor and did a lot of self reaserch and found that it IS better for the baby not to stop my dose. my current dose is 63mg. i dont intend to go up on my dose if i can help it. after having the baby i am then going to try to get off of the dose cuz ever since i started my dosing i have experianced some acne on my face, i hate it, i have never before had an acne problem. but anyway i hope this has helped your decison.   GOOD LUCK ang.

[justmeintn]

Today is January 28, 2009.  I have been married to a heroin addict who has been on methadone programs off and on many times over the years.
My own mother was put on methadone pills for chronic pain before she passed away.  And now, my son's girlfriend, who is due to have their son May 22, 2009 has been put on it because of abusing oxycontin AND heroin.  She's not even showing yet and you can't tell she's pregnant at all.
Her mother had to sneak behind her father's back to get her on it and her father forced her off of it last week with no time to detox whatsoever.

He has no idea or does not care what effects this can and will have on the baby.  She told my ex-husband this past Monday that she hadn't felt the baby move in two days and, since I live 500 miles away and can't go to her, I sent a text message asking if everything were alright.

Her father intercepted the text and basically told me that now is the time for me and my family to leave her alone and get on with our lives.  I told him he'd lost his mind if he thought for one minute I'd turn my back on my grandson, IF he survives after what he's done to his daughter, who, btw, is 21 and totally dependent on him financially.

My son also got into a methadone clinic, but has since checked himself into the hospital and they are detoxing him with Seboxin (sp) and he has now moved on to rehab.

Her father hates my son, but this isn't about her father OR my son OR her, for that matter.
It's about the unborn baby and the withdraw he's going through due to her father's inaction to help his daughter kick her habit.  She was just at someone's house days ago begging for pills because she was "sick".  It could also cost us all the life of that precious and innocent baby.

I have to say that I totally agree with some comments made above.  Methadone is a very nasty synthetic form of opium and is much, much harder to kick than heroin.  It destroys your bones, causes you to lose your teeth, and many other side effects aside from the fact that it's extremely addictive.  Even more so than heroin.
That's not to say I'm telling anyone to get off of it and go back to illegal drugs, but there ARE other alternatives out there now that are less stressful and less harmful to you AND your unborn child and it would be in your best interest to discuss this with your OBGYN as soon as humanly possible.

Methadone is no miracle drug.  It's just a plain old drug.  Period.  And way too many rely on it to keep them off the streets and it, too, is abused.  While that may be good for some, I don't agree that it should be the case with anyone who is pregnant.
No baby deserves to come into this world having to fight an addiction to anything.  The world is cruel and hard enough without the added stress of addiction.....on both baby and mother.