suboxone & pregnant

[brklyn208]

I am 9 months pregnant and have been on suboxone for almost a year now. I have has tests done and a number of ultrasounds and the doctors say the baby is great. But I am really concerned about whether I should withdrawal before I have the baby or just have the baby. I have been doing some research on suboxone and infant withdrawal and so far have found that infants do not go through any withdrawal sysptoms. But it's not good enough for me. If there is anyone out there that could help me with what to do or give any advice please help me!!!

[Blonde2326]

Hey how was it as I’m preg with my second n on subutex and want try to cut it off at 30 week as I’m only in .30 of a pill I break it up n he will only prescribe me Suboxone started now dunno why he won’t keep me on subutex

[flygurl20]

I am 4 months pregnant and taking 8mgs of subutex a day and scared it will effect my epidural?? Any answers please?

[trinityzmommy]

Im pregnant now and just found out so i stopped and the withdraws were to bad and everyone said that would make me lose the baby so now Im taking suboxen from the street and after research on that i don't know if i can come off of it or not. I also have to pull two weeks in jail soon and Im scared to death that my withdraws will hurt or even make me lose the baby. can anyone tell me any info on what to do please.

[luvinmylilgirl]

If anybody has any questions feel free to ask and I'll try to help the best I can. My daughter weighted 7lbs 10oz. and 20.5 inches long. She didn't start showing signs of withdrawals until she was about 35hrs old, and it can start to show from immediately after birth to 3-4 days after birth. Hope this is helpful.

[luvinmylilgirl]

I'm new here but I'm going through a really tough, hard, and EXTREMELY difficult time.
I just had my daughter on January 30th 09, and I was on subutex throughout my entire pregnancy. I was told not to go through withdrawals during the gestation cause it can harm the baby, on the other hand I was told the baby would not go through hard withdrawals. That they would be very mild, if any at all. Now for a week my daughter has been in the NICU for withdrawals. They have her on morphine and are starting to taper her down, but this is by far the worst thing I have ever seen or done. The guilt of knowing I done this to her, and knowing what she is going through is just awful. My poor baby is suffering cause of me and my feelings of not wanting to withdrawal, and I only done 2mgs a day. I hope this helps all who need it. I wish everyone the best of luck...

[nursenomore]

Before i recently started my treatment with Subutex for opiate addiction, because I am of child-bearing age and female, my doctor explained the pros and cons of taking the medication if I became pregnant unexpectedly.  He specifically put me on Subutex and plans to keep me on it for the duration of treatment because it does not contain naloxone, which has been documented to be harmful to the fetus during pregnancy.  Only Subutex contains naloxone, which main purpose is to defer being abused by people who try to snort it or crush it up and inject it into veins to get high.  He also said because methadone is a much older and much more understood medication for treating addicts over the years, it has been deemed safe to use at the smallest dose possible, for pregnant women.  But, because methadone is different from Sub in many ways, it can be dangerous to take as well for some b/c it tends to cause severe dizziness, increased nausea/vomiting, and methadone is much more widely abused and there is a possibility of overdose whereas overdose and death from abuse of Sub is very uncommon.
The active medication present in both Subutex and Suboxone is buprenorphine, a pain med that has been around and very frequently used for around 50 years.  Because chemically it's an opiate agonist/antagonist, it carries many of the same side effects as opiate agonists like morphine, codeine, etc...., except it provides very little euphoria for most.  Buprenorphine carries very little chance of being abused, craved, and addiction, as researched and documented over the years.  But,it was only available in liquid form for injection until more recently, developing an oral solution, then as a pill.  So, there is sufficient data and research of the effects buprenorphine has on a developing fetus and pregnant mother,throughout pregnancy, passing through milk, and effects on the neonate or new born.
Hope this info helps you out!!  Please do further research on your own from reliable and professional resources, or get a couple more opinions from other ob/gyns in your area!!  i'm not an expert, but from what I know and saw working in the E.R., withdrawing from your sub treatment without professional supervision right now is probably not safe for you nor the baby, and could very well put you and the baby at risk for major complications.  Please get all the info you can get before amking the decision.
We all wish you and your baby the best of luck and health!!!!  Congrats!!!!

[NinNin414]

Hi I just read your question. I just had a little boy 2 weeks ago and I was on the subx.program for a 1 year now and my question for you before I get started How many milagrams of subx. are you taking? I  was on 8 mg in the beginning of my pregnancy and then when I was about 5 months I wend myself to 2 mg everyday for the rest of my pregnancy and then when I was about 8 months I wend my self off with no withdarwls .I had my son an he is perfectly healthy and he went through no withdrawls. So what I am trying to say is it will be better for you to wen your self to a lower dose .well I hope I helped a little.  And Congrats on the baby..


.

[Soultana]

Congratulations!!! I wish you guys the best..this is awesome news. :-)

[Flutterby111]

Congrats!!!  I was just reading up on this!  I was taking percocet while pregnant for acute pain, but not abusing at that point, but after I had her starting abusing and went through withdrawls, and the thought of her possibly going through that made my insides churn.......I"m SO HAPPY for you and her and your whole family.  What a blessing....Congrats!!!!! Did pain meds work on you during labor?

[brklyn208]

I DID HAVE MY LITTLE GIRL SHE WAS BORN 2-8-08 WHICH IS MY SON'S BIRTHDAY TOO!!! WEIRD ISN';T IT?  AND I AM VERY THANKFUL TO SAY THAT SHE DID NOT GO THROUGH ANY W/D AT ALL!!! SHE IS PERFECT!!!!! I AM SO THANKFUL TO ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR HELPING ME GET THROUGH AND ALSO VERY THANKFUL TO GOD!!!!!

[runt316]

I am so new to this site & really don't know how to use it well enough yet, so I just now saw another response I got from you. I'm sad I didn't see it earlier, because I check these things everyday & just figure I had nothing. Just wanted to know how everything is going for you. Did you have your baby yet? I'd love to hear back from you.

[Marce4]

I'm an L&D nurse in a very busy suburban hospital. I also work in Prenatal Testing.  Subutex is recommended over subuxone but I think the jury is still out on what lasting effects it will have on the baby. It is one of those things that we have no control over. The baby may or may not have w/d symptoms but it is too late to do anything about your use now.  The most important thing now is to make sure that everyone is on the same page at your delivery.  NICU should be present at the delivery. And everyone involved must be aware of your history.  They will and can manage the w/d for baby after pregnancy so focus on being well informed and prepared for your delivery.  If you have had good prenatal care and good testing results, then the baby should be fine.  I think this is a good learning experience for us all and hopefully will prevent other mothers-to-be to be more informed and make good decisions.

Good Luck and enjoy your baby!!!!
Peace

[girlybuff]

They will have to give her an epidural for pain during labor and then probably increase the SUb for pain management thereafter.
I posted to you on the maternal forum.  Read it.
hese docs are playing with fire.  It's such a new drug they have no idea the long term damage which is why it really should be used for short detox only not as maintenance.

[avisg]

How are they going to handle labor with you on sub ? Normal pain meds are not going to work to control your pain durning delivery .Make sure everyone tells you what will be happing before the day comes .I have some info on it let me know if you would like it.

[msinsane]

i think its messed up your obgyn is telling you its up to you and i would definately stay on this forum and keep posting i know there are a few people who will know alot more about sub and it is wonderful you are off the opiates and i do not blame you for being scared i think your dr.s did something wrong i know sub isnt to much like methadone i am gonna do some research and see what i can find i would be scared to and it is obvious you are trying to do whats best for your baby you have made steps to improving especially being off opiates as long as you have. This is when we need the old timers to come in i have had alot of good information sent to me but unfortunately nothing on this..... i wish you the best and i dont think i would stop it now i really cant give you the right advice you need to speak with someone in the medical field asap and if its true that there isnt a lot of information on sub that has to do with pregnancy then i would be po at the dr.s for even taking that chance with your child......good luck if you need to talk im here....msinsane

[brklyn208]

yes i have been on the sub program the whole pregnancy. and my family doctor gave me the sub. i have no clue why my doctor would have me on this for so long...at the time when i was prescribed i had no clue about suboxone at all!!! and alot of people have been telling me lately that i didn't have to be on it for this long...but i had no idea! I thought that it was like methadone.  and i asked my ob about what i should do and she said it was up to me....doesn't help me!!! now i am hearing that i shouldn't go through w/d now!!!! very confused. and the only thing that i've taking while pregnant is the suboxone....no  drugs and i'm happy about that but very worried now that it;s the end and just now found out all of these things!!

[msinsane]

i do not think toxictome was trying to be hard on you i think we are all trying to understand how after 9 months you are just now wondering these questions i would def take the advice of IBKlean

[msinsane]

you have been on the sub through out the whole pregnacy right? did your obgyn give you the sub or did another dr. do the dr. communicate i know when i was pregnant i needed a tooth pulled real bad andthe dentist would not do nothing without a written statement from my other dr. i think it is wonderful you are not on pain meds but being on sub for that long i would definately have the drs communicate with each other you are 9 months preg right? i wouls've researched this a while ago it is a blessing that you have the opiates out of you. i also heard a little about sub but i do not know alot i never heard of long term use like that stay on this forum and hopefully someone can help. did you ask both your doctors these questions?

[brklyn208]

YES...YES...YES...that was the first thing I told my doctor at the first visit when I was 8 weeks pregnant!!!! And they know that it is a category C medicine...and if you read my previous comments I did say that all tests and ultrasounds were done and the baby is great!!!! The thing that i am worried about is the baby w/ding when she is born. I DO NOT abuse drugs I am on Suboxone as a maintence program. And I did not know that I could have just used it to detox and have been done with it. So when I found out tthat I was pregnant my doctor told me that it was my choice to stay on it, b/c tests came back ok and ultrasounds were great also. And they said that w/d that early in pregnancy can cause a miscarriage. So I waited and...it really scares me to w/d now b/c of stress on the fetus at least she can be monitored when born or not go through any w/d at all. I want to do the best thing for my child and I'm very scared and losing alot of sleep over this...i just sit and think about it all day long!!!

[avisg]

here is some more info .

Concerns regarding the use of buprenorphine in pregnancy
There is a lack of adequately controlled prospective studies of the use of buprenorphine in
pregnancy to establish the safety of the use of the medication.
Particular concern should be given to the following areas:
1. Babies born to women maintained on buprenorphine during their pregnancies may experience
a neonatal withdrawal syndrome related to buprenorphine.
A growing body of evidence is being collected regarding the association between buprenorphine
in pregnant women and the neonatal abstinence syndrome. There is insufficient data to comment
on whether this is more or less likely with buprenorphine than methadone, if or how the severity
and duration compare with methadone. The benefits of methadone maintenance treatment for
both the mother and the baby strongly outweigh the risks from the neonatal withdrawal
syndrome.
2. Respiratory depression in the newborn may also be associated with maternal use of
buprenorphine.
Buprenorphine crosses the placenta in amounts that may be reduced compared to maternal
circulation (Nanovskaya, Deshmukh et al. 2002). Buprenorphine may, therefore, cause
respiratory depression in the newborn infant. There are inadequate clinical data to describe this

[avisg]

plz tell your ob that you are taking it .

Suboxone is in the FDA pregnancy category C. This means that it is not known whether this medication will be harmful to an unborn baby. Use of this medication during pregnancy may cause withdrawal symptoms in a newborn baby. Do not take Suboxone if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment. Suboxone passes into breast milk and may be harmful to a nursing baby. Do not take this medication if you are breast-feeding a baby.

[GoingToMakeIt]

PM 1234betterlife. She is an RN for an OB unit.

[toxictome]

Have you shared this info w/ your ob/gyn? If not, I would come clean w/ the dr.

I don't really know anything about it..

[brklyn208]

That would be great if you could find out more information for me....I just want to get one thing clear I DO NOT abuse drugs....and I have not for a year now...the only thing I know is that being on suboxone is like being on methadone...and I've heard that babies w/d from methadone is only a few days and sometimes not at all. But that is just what I've heard and read!! And i asked a doctor another forum what he thought would be best and he said not to w/d while pregnant it could be very stressful on the fetus and if the baby has to go through w/d that it would be better outside of the womb. But it still hasn't helped me. I live in PA. So if you could find anything out for me that would be great. My doctors do know that I am on this and I have had level 2 ultrasounds and various tests done and everything came back great she looked fine, so that was a relief !