pregnant & on methadone

[lacyb]

So I have been on methadone for 3 years and now I'm pregnant. The doctors say that it is the safest choice, I have heard many different things about suboxen but not sure about it myself. I am trying to do a slow taper so by the time the baby comes I would be on a really low dose. What should I do? I feel so damn guilty putting this crap in my body every day knowing that its going to my baby. What do I do? PLEASE HELP!

[Gtowngirl]

Hey, im here...it makes me feel so good u replied to my post. I'm about 18 days away from my sceduled c-section on jan. 14th and I'm counting down the days and happy and nervous. I talked again to my nurse and she said they will be there with there guns blazing with great reports to cps since they do have to get involved. I have done everything in my power to give cps all the info and good reports they will need to see I'm doing everything I can to be clean and a good mommy. So I will just have to keep my faith in god that he will keep leading me down the right path...so I will have my phone with me so I can keep u posted min. By min. So u might have an idea to what u can expect.  I hope u looked up METHADONEAND PREGNANCY.com AND THEY HAVE HELPED ME A LOT ON WHAT TO EXPECT NOW UPTO WHEN I'M IN THE HOSPITAL. Let me know if u found it. And go to my profile and we can be "friends" so we can keep up with each other. How are u doing so far? Keep in touch cause its nice to know you understand how and what I'm going through! Contact me cause I'm excited to here how u are doing. I'm going through "nesting" stage and putting final touches on the baby room and its fun. My husband works 8hours away and I also have an 8 yr.old to take care. Of so doing all this by myself is tough but fun too. I love looking at a the little outfits and getting everything ready...18 days and counting and my hubby won't be in till the 13th so keep me busy with how you are doing...I'm here anytime...support u and if there is anything I can do pls let me know, angels be with you~gtowngirl~

[LonleyMom]

I know where you are coming from, don't blame yourself, we often get caught up in things and before you know it spins out of control, I was on tramadol which some people say OH THAT iS NOTHING, but its very addictive and the Withdrawl is worse than percocets, I got off them when I was pregnant with my son, But I am back on it again and I wish I had NEVER done it. I shoulda stayed off and once I get off this time, I promised myself it would all be DONE! You can do it Mamas and even if they have to taper your baby, it was better than going out and getting HIGH! Its not like he is going to remember it and I am sure that he will be fine, many babies are!

[lacyb]

Gtowngirl thank you so much. It feels good to have somebody on the same boat as me. I am very optimistic now. I am trying to eat extra healthy stuff and keep up on all my vitamins, I know its not gonna make the methadone any better but I'm trying to provide as much extra healthy nutrients as possible.  Thank u Gtowngirl ;)

[lacyb]

Thank you so much, I have been able to really connect to your story and situation. You have brought a sense of relief to my pregnancy. Thank you please keep me updated with the progress of your baby after delivery and my prayers are with you sweetheart.

[Gtowngirl]

Please listen to what I have to say. I'm pregnant and am on methadone. I went through much guilt and did a lot of research. Stay on the methadone. If u can taper a little to make u feel less guilty, try it. But YOU CAN LOSE THE BABY IF U GO THROUGH WITHDRAWLS. So at any point u start to feel w/d go up 2-5mg. And try and stay at a steady dose. Please DON'T LET PEOPLE DISCOURAGE U OR MAKE U FEEL BAD. U ARE ACTUALLY BEING A GOOD MOTHER BY KEEPING U AND YOUR BABY STABLE. PLEASE GO TO THESE SITES AND READ ALL THE INFO AND I PROMISE IT WILL HELP U UNDERSTAND HOW STAYING ON METHADONE IS THE RIGHT THING. DON'T GET TO MANY PEOPLES OPINIONS IT WILL JUST MAKE U CONFUSED AND GUILTY. SO FAR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSTED GAVE U GREAT ADVICE. Go to METHADONE AND PREGNANCY SITE. JUST GOOGLE METHADONE AND PREGNANCY. And u will find all the questions and answers u will need. U will find this site to have doctors, nurses and patients who have answers to all the questions that will arise through out your pregnancy. I ended up printing them out and passing them to the people and nurses at my clinic and they were very appriciative of the latest info to help other mothers to be. If u need help or have any questions please feel free to ask me or PM me on my profile site anytime. You are being a great mother already by making sure your doing right by you and your babys health. I'm due in 3 weeks and still feel nervous over what my baby will go through once I give birth, but I know god will take care of us and the doctors know exactly what to do if he does experience withdrawls. Talk to me anytime~gtowngirl~

[acl1213]

I was on methaone when i had my baby girl 2 years ago. She suffered from withdrawals. She was in the nicu for 16 days. I got to finish her detox from methadone at home. If not she would have been there for a month. I know all hospitals dont let u wean them at home but I was very lucky mine did. Not trying to scare you or make you feel bad but it was so hard to watch my baby suffer. I was on 95 mgs and I wish I had tapered some. I just got off methadone 42 days ago and during my taper I didnt notice any signs of withdrawal till I was at about 30 mg. Everyone is different though. But if I were u I would lower my dose till you start to notice changes. Then stop so your baby wont suffer. That will give your baby the greatest chance of being withdrawal free. Just be careful because the later in your pregnancy your dose wont hold you as long. Even if your baby does suffer from NAS you will get thru it and your baby will get better and wont remember it. Just do what is best for you and baby.

[Jenelle2020]

Hi lacy, congrats on your pregnancy! I have been on methadone for 7 years and have been tapering for nearly 3 years, my highest dose was 130mgs, I am now down to 8mgs and will be off by April of next year, obviously going very SLOW with my taper. How much methadone are you on? It is quite easy to drop  down from a high dose, I am not allowed to give you tapering advice but for me when I was at high doses I dropped 10mgs every 5 weeks with no problems. Then when I got to 65mgs I dropped 5mgs every 5 weeeks, then when I got to 29mgs I dropped 1mg/week and now 1mg every 10-14 days. Just giving you an idea of what worked for me. I doubt you will be able to detox right off it, as the others said, the baby will feel any withdrawal that you feel, so the best thing is to deal with your doctors on a tapering schedule, if that is what you choose to do. I wish  you the very best in whatever way you decide to go, and I am totally open to a private message if you like, and we can chat more about it. So take care and please keep us updated as to what is going on.

[Teresa1717]

You are NOT a horrible mother at all. Quite the opposite. You care enough about your baby to try and do this the right way. Youve been honest and up front and not everyone does that. So please dont think that. Your doing the right thing here. Just stick to your plan and dont be hard on yourself.

Keep us posted on how things go!

[Pat1956100]

You did the best thing for your baby.  You were honest with your doctors and you are going to follow their advice.  Good for you because it's a hard thing to do.
The best thing you can do now is just relax and eat as healthy as you can.  I am sure you are on prenatal vitamins.
You did the right thing sweety and it sounds like you have terrific doctors.
Keep us posted on your progress.
I wish you all the best.
Hugs
Pat

[lacyb]

Thank you all for the answers, comments and support. So I am on methadone have never tried suboxone. I was just wondering if anybody had experienced switching to that medication. I have a wonderful OB, we are very close he was there for my previous pregnancies. So I came clean and told him I was on methadone, he knew about my previous problem with pain killers so he said methadone is the safest choice if anything. He reassured me that when the baby is born he/she will go to their NICU where they have doctors that are specially trained to take care of detoxing babies and the other thing is that the baby going through withdrawal is not guaranteed. Some babies don't suffer from withdrawal. I am also seeing another doctor from the methadone clinic,I meet with him once a month and he also told me its a 30% chance that the baby will go through withdrawal. I asked about tapering off of methadone completely during my pregnancy and the doctor said that the baby could suffer withdrawal inside me and there would be no way to treat it :( so I think I am decided on staying on the methadone but going down on my dosage slowly throughout my pregnancy so I will on a low dose by the time of delivery. What do you guys think,am I a horrible mother?

[Brightfutureahead]

Hi lacyb :) As a general rule I would follow the advice of your OB. Like Teresa said, if everyone is on the same page and agreeable to an outlined plan than baby will have lots of help and resources in the medical facility when that times arrives.

Is your OB supportive and giving you an action plan?

[jlannspr]

Great choice on deciding to quit for you and your baby when the time is right. I do not have experience with your question, just want to say hang in there, and be sure to keep your doctor in the loop.

[Teresa1717]

HI and Welcome. While I dont have any experience personally with methadone or subs, I can tell you that staying on them (whichever one your on) is the best thing to do while youre pregnant. Your baby feels whatever you feel. You started off by saying that your Dr's think this is the safest choice? Is that your OB? Do you have another Dr who is also involved in your care? I would say that if this is what your Dr's want you to dol you should follow their plan.

Many women have stayed on methadone through their pregnancies and gave birth to healthy babies. Your baby may have w/d's once born but the medical facility will be able to deal with that so they can detox your baby safely.

Its slow at night so hopefully someone with more insight will come along to help. Congrats on your baby !!