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pregnancy and addiction
before you judge me on my story let me bring it to your attention that realize this is a problem and want to correct as soon as possible and i feel horrible about it so please do not make me feel any worse.
I am 22 weeks pregnant today and i have had an unusually stressful time with it. I was a drug addict who had been out of rehab for only 3 weeks when i found out that i was pregnant i did really good for the first 12 weeks of it but one i got into the 12th week i started abusing prescription painkillers. not alot at first only a quarter of a 30mg a day then it slowly escalated till i was doing a quarter a day up to 4 times a day which is about 30mg a day, I have gotten to the point where i am feeling withdrawls pretty well and i know that this can be very harmful to the fetus and the mother. I have been embaressed and scared to tell my OB but i know after spending a lot of time researching the problem that this would be the most responsible thing for me to do in my sitation i have an appt. with him tomarrow and i am really scared that i am going to get in trouble for using even though i am asking for help does anyone know how that works or has anyone been through this situation before it is the most stressful thing i have ever one through and i feel horrible for have let it happened. pleasee help me
-jenn
I am 22 weeks pregnant today and i have had an unusually stressful time with it. I was a drug addict who had been out of rehab for only 3 weeks when i found out that i was pregnant i did really good for the first 12 weeks of it but one i got into the 12th week i started abusing prescription painkillers. not alot at first only a quarter of a 30mg a day then it slowly escalated till i was doing a quarter a day up to 4 times a day which is about 30mg a day, I have gotten to the point where i am feeling withdrawls pretty well and i know that this can be very harmful to the fetus and the mother. I have been embaressed and scared to tell my OB but i know after spending a lot of time researching the problem that this would be the most responsible thing for me to do in my sitation i have an appt. with him tomarrow and i am really scared that i am going to get in trouble for using even though i am asking for help does anyone know how that works or has anyone been through this situation before it is the most stressful thing i have ever one through and i feel horrible for have let it happened. pleasee help me
-jenn
I am In the same position as you...I have a problem but Iam scared too be honest with my doctor or anyone else about what ive been doing... I was way worse before my pregnancy but Ive cut back and my drug prob is with tylenol 3... I used too take about 5 or 6 a day even at a time, once i found out i was pregnant I cut back to taking 2 a day, 1 every 8 hours or so.. ive been dealing with alot of fear and stress of what im doing to my babygirl.. Im 35 weeks now and have taken it my whole pregnancy with no one knowing...will she come out with withdrawls or birth defects?
Allie. You said here you are 5w5d preggo but in a post earlier in the day you said you didnt know if yuo were pregnant or not.. whats up with that?
As long as you are asking for help and doing the responsible thing I don't think your doctor is going to report you. There are women of all ages all over the world who struggle with addictions of different kinds during pregnancy. The important thing is that you realize you have a problem and are taking steps to overcome it. Good luck! It's not gonna be easy, but you can do it.
babies are not born with s.i.d.s. that is something that just happens and they don't really know why yet. they have ideas and causes but don't know why it happens to one baby and not another. there have been 3 babies in my family that have succumbed to s.i.d.s. 2 on my mothers side and 1 on my fathers. all 3 of those babies were born to non drug addicted women who took care of themselves and the babies. where as a few that i know who were drug addicts while pregnant gave birth to drug addicted babies and they all survived. the kids have developmental problems and mild birth defects (one was born with brittle bones and "knob" kneed).
below is what i found from the mayo clinic, which is a well respected medical clinic.
The prevalence of SIDS has decreased, due in part to educational campaigns about the importance of placing infants to sleep on their backs. However, SIDS remains the leading cause of death for infants in the first year of life in developed countries.
Over the years, researchers have ruled out a number of possible causes of sudden infant death syndrome, including suffocation, vomiting or choking, birth defects and infection.
Exactly why SIDS occurs remains elusive, but many experts believe multiple factors are involved. For example, it's likely that an infant must have some sort of biological vulnerability, such as a heart or brain defect, combined with an environmental stressor, such as stomach sleeping, and be in a critical developmental period before SIDS can occur. The mother's health and behavior during pregnancy also play a role.
These three factors — vulnerability, critical developmental period and outside stressor — combine within the first six months of an infant's life to form what's known as the triple-risk model.
Research offers clue
Research has offered clues as to what may and what may not be involved in sudden infant death syndrome:
* Brain and nerve characteristics. Researchers have discovered that abnormalities in a part of the brain that helps control breathing and arousal likely play a role in SIDS. Infants who die of SIDS may have brainstems that mature more slowly than those of other infants. Myelin, a fatty substance involved in nerve signal transmission, also may develop more slowly in infants with SIDS.
* Breathing. Other research has focused on the way babies breathe while they're asleep — especially their response to low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia).
* Heart function. Researchers continue to investigate the link between SIDS and long QT syndrome, a subtle electrical disturbance in the heart that causes sudden, extremely rapid heart rates. A study found that almost one in 10 babies who died of SIDS had a genetic defect in one of the genes responsible for long QT syndrome. If there's a history of SIDS in your family, your doctor will want to check for the presence of long QT syndrome in your infant. This usually can be done with an electrocardiogram (ECG) and confirmed, if necessary, with genetic studies.
* Immunizations. After reviewing the available evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that childhood immunizations don't play a role in sudden infant death
below is what i found from the mayo clinic, which is a well respected medical clinic.
The prevalence of SIDS has decreased, due in part to educational campaigns about the importance of placing infants to sleep on their backs. However, SIDS remains the leading cause of death for infants in the first year of life in developed countries.
Over the years, researchers have ruled out a number of possible causes of sudden infant death syndrome, including suffocation, vomiting or choking, birth defects and infection.
Exactly why SIDS occurs remains elusive, but many experts believe multiple factors are involved. For example, it's likely that an infant must have some sort of biological vulnerability, such as a heart or brain defect, combined with an environmental stressor, such as stomach sleeping, and be in a critical developmental period before SIDS can occur. The mother's health and behavior during pregnancy also play a role.
These three factors — vulnerability, critical developmental period and outside stressor — combine within the first six months of an infant's life to form what's known as the triple-risk model.
Research offers clue
Research has offered clues as to what may and what may not be involved in sudden infant death syndrome:
* Brain and nerve characteristics. Researchers have discovered that abnormalities in a part of the brain that helps control breathing and arousal likely play a role in SIDS. Infants who die of SIDS may have brainstems that mature more slowly than those of other infants. Myelin, a fatty substance involved in nerve signal transmission, also may develop more slowly in infants with SIDS.
* Breathing. Other research has focused on the way babies breathe while they're asleep — especially their response to low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia).
* Heart function. Researchers continue to investigate the link between SIDS and long QT syndrome, a subtle electrical disturbance in the heart that causes sudden, extremely rapid heart rates. A study found that almost one in 10 babies who died of SIDS had a genetic defect in one of the genes responsible for long QT syndrome. If there's a history of SIDS in your family, your doctor will want to check for the presence of long QT syndrome in your infant. This usually can be done with an electrocardiogram (ECG) and confirmed, if necessary, with genetic studies.
* Immunizations. After reviewing the available evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that childhood immunizations don't play a role in sudden infant death
ha, that's weird. i'm also a drug addict. i recently went to rehab at cumberland heights for 30 days and got out in november '09. i am now 5w 5d prego and i too have abused drugs during my pregnancy... i took painkillers and muscle relaxers and smoked weed and i'm still smoking cigs. i haven't done that in about a week because i found out that i am pregnant. it really is a bad idea to do this stuff while prego. i'm only 16 and i don't know a lot. but if you do that stuff your baby has a higher chance of being born with s.i.d.s.[sudden infant death syndrome] and other serious conditions. i would advise you to go back to rehab [but from experience i know you don't want to go back there] or get a good therapist that can help you. that's what i'm doing. so far so good. i personally think its okay to smoke cigs OCCASIONALLY but not all the time while pregnant because a lot of people smoke while pregnant and their baby comes out perfectly healthy... but it just takes that one time and your baby could get hurt or you could even have a miscarriage. so just think about that and get back to me :) :) :) <3<3<3
clysta is right...it's best to be honest now instead of later. it's bad whether you're pregnant or not to ween yourself off of drugs. it's best to do it under medical supervision. if you do continue through your pregnancy and for whatever reason can't or don't stop the drugs and the doctors or nurses suspect the baby is withdrawing after birth they can do drug testing and if you weren't honest and trying to get help there is the possibility they'll call child services. then it's a whole mess you'll be in.
after my boys were born they were in nicu for a day then in the regular nursery for 4 days. while there they were "roommates" with 15 other babies. 13 of those babies were born to drug addicts. those babies were in a sad state...with nobody there with them. dh and i and only two other couples were there with their children. we were at the hospital from 6-8am until the nurses told us to go home at 10 pm. so over 12 hours for 4 days...and only 2 other couples were there visiting the babies. out of the 13 drug addicted babies 12 of them had to have morphine sporadically throughout the day to control the withdrawal. don't let that happen to your baby. get the help now. you'll feel better and it'll be so much better for the baby.
after my boys were born they were in nicu for a day then in the regular nursery for 4 days. while there they were "roommates" with 15 other babies. 13 of those babies were born to drug addicts. those babies were in a sad state...with nobody there with them. dh and i and only two other couples were there with their children. we were at the hospital from 6-8am until the nurses told us to go home at 10 pm. so over 12 hours for 4 days...and only 2 other couples were there visiting the babies. out of the 13 drug addicted babies 12 of them had to have morphine sporadically throughout the day to control the withdrawal. don't let that happen to your baby. get the help now. you'll feel better and it'll be so much better for the baby.
It would be better for you in the long run to be honest and up front with your doctor now. From what I've read, they will work with you to try and wean you off of the drugs so the withdrawals aren't harmful for you or the baby. I've never heard of them taking the baby from you if they know that you are working to correct the problem actively. But you need to be honest and upfront now to avoid it snowballing in the future. If you didn't come clean about it, the baby could get withdrawals at birth, and if they check (they do drug tests where I live when the baby is born as standard procedure. I'm not sure if they would in Florida) and find anything then, the child might be taken away.
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