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Avatar universal

what's worse for baby?

Does anyone know if it is more harmful for me to try to endure chronic excrutiating pain while pregnant vs. the Vicodin my doctor put me on to control it?  My pain is related to the need for a root canal which has been put on hold for about a week due to the need for a specialist.

thanks for any advice


This discussion is related to prescription Narcotic and pregnancy.
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202436 tn?1326474333
I had a wisdom tooth removed in my third trimester....i was put on hydrocodone....I also know a woman who was put on morphine in her 3rd trimester for pain....it's ultimately up to you.  I would however try to stick with a class a or b drug as opposed to c unless you absolutely can NOT take the pain.


Some other suggestions would be clove oil that you put on the gums around the tooth.

heating pad or very warm rag to your cheek near the tooth

I have another suggestion but would probably get chewed out for it...so if you're interested PM me.  LOL

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363110 tn?1340920419
I wanted to add to the only taking it when it becomes unbearable: I figured that you'd only take 1-2 pills a day rather than my 6 (some days, not every day I want to clarify!). :)
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363110 tn?1340920419
Just remember this is YOUR decision to make, and by posting your question you'll get conflicting views both pro and con. You also have gotten the opinions from 2 doctors.

I'd say take it all into account. But if you feel you need the medication badly enough, then go ahead and take it. Your obviously well aware of the risks and benefits now.

If you do decide to take the medication, please don't freak out too badly about it. I personally believe a couple days of the medication will not do harm. honestly I'd worry more about myself than I would you, because when I have the medication and I'm hurting badly, I do take it as prescribed every 4 hrs. You seem as tho your taking it when the pain becomes unbearable.

If you have to, call your OBGYN and ask if taking 1 extra tylenol with the 1 vicodin pill would be safe. Sometimes doing that will be enough to make the pain go away for an extra few hrs other than the vicoden would by it'sself as the 1 pill.

just remember, ask your OBGYN first because too much tylenol is harmful. I know most vicodin is only 500 mg of tylenol or = 1 extra strength. my OBGYN has ok'd me to take up to 2 extra strength tylenol if I really need it and don't want the vicodin..
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Avatar universal
sweetangel, the reason the 2nd trimester is safe is because all of the vital organs and nervous system are formed in the 1st trimester. Narcotics would have a major affect on that development in the 1st trimester. During the 2nd trimester the baby is still affected and damage can still be done to the already forming organs. And the baby will, in essence, be taking the drug with the mother, no matter what stage of pregnancy.
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Avatar universal
From personal experience---your baby will benefit if you don't take the medicine. It is advised that you only use medication, such as Vicodin, in extreme cases when the benefit outweighs the risk.

If you can find out what the risks are associated with Vicodin during pregnant, then you can make an informed decision.

I slit my thumb clear open (could have severed it actually) while pregnant. I had to get stitches. I was in excrutiating, blinding pain for days but I endured it because I refused the pain meds. Not to mention I couldn't use my entire hand, or even my arm, because I severed nerves which affected that entire part of my body. So I had a toddler that I couldn't change or do much for, plus my husband had to help me get dressed and even shower.

Was it worth it to me to endure that? Yes. But again, you have to make your own decision based on the information you find about the side effects. Is it possible to wait until baby is born to do the root canal?
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Avatar universal
thank you for the feedback/  sometimes these decisions are difficult and i do worry about the effects of the drugs. I am 34 weeks.  My dentist said that when we are in severe pain our bodies make chemicals (adrenalin and epinephrine?) that are harmful to the baby.  I called my OB who said that is correct and the pain is better treated.  BUT with everything there is about the negative effects of alcohol, It's hard for me to believe i cannot be doing damage to my baby by taking narcotics.  The pain is too much to tolerate however.  Last night I was shaking and crying before i finally took the pill.
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363110 tn?1340920419
I'm with Sweetangel7~ How far along arey you?

Bad pain affects your WHOLE body. it can literally make you sick, which in turn can affect the baby. I doubt it would cause miscarriage or anything severe like that. But I believe chronic pain can affect your quality of life and therefor your baby also.

If your past your first trimester, I say go ahead and take the vicodin as long as your on a reasonable dose and they can eventually take care of your pain.

The way my doctor told me was that any medication that's safe during labor, after a csection and during breastfeeding is safe while pregnant. The only real risk is a depressed or floppy baby. Meaning the baby would be a bit sleepy at birth and require a few hours of watching.
he said as long as it's a reasonable doseage that the baby shouldn't get addicted to the point of serious withdrawals. (I had 2 other OBGYN's confirm all he said at different times! in front of my mom no less)

Me personally I'm on Vicodin 5/500 every 4 hrs as needed for both migraines and leg pain. :) Of course when my son is born they're probably going to medicate him due to skin tears and rips from his skin problem at least for the first couple days of his birth.
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435139 tn?1255460391
How far along are you?  This is a personal decision, I don't think the baby will be affected by you being in pain from the root canal problem unless you are in sooo much pain that your vitals are being affected (high bp, respiration, and heart rate).  I'm not a doctor so I don't know for sure, but I don't think mom pain necessarily means fetus pain or detriment.    Vicodin is a class c drug...no studies to show whether it is or isn't safe.  If you can tolerate the pain, then you should try to because they say that really no medication should be taken while pregnant.  The reason why I asked how far you were was because I read that medication is supposed to be safer to take when you are in the second trimester...nor really sure why...Good luck with this decision and I hope you feel better!
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