Please help, Q about pain med use during pregnancy

OOh man....just found out that Im pregnant, yes again, and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with taking tramal and voltaren during pregnancy? I know for sure they dont give tramal here during pregnancy and I dont have anything else to take besides paracetamol and voltaren. Im not even sure if the first trimester is ok for voltaren. I have taken vicodin before with no problems and oxcycodon. 

Please if anyone can comment on the safety or their own experience with it, I would apprieciate it as I am suffering but dont want to cause birth defects either. I did google and got something that said tramal is not to be used, but I hate googling things and dont always go by that.

And please, I dont need any lectures about use of pain meds during pregnancy, that is not my what I posted my question for. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Tina, I may be around 6 weeks ( based on LMP )...I just took a home pregnancy test and have not gone to doc yet. The point of my question was to find out if anyone had taken them safely during the first trimester cus I know when I do go to the OB/GYN here they will not allow these meds and im sorry but tyelenol does nothing.!

I will be going back to the states soon but not sure how long it will take to get seen and all that once we are settled there, so until that time comes, I just want some answers.

I meant to say congrats on your pregnancy, by the way :)

I understand your desire for answers.... but I would definitely encourage you to let your doctors know of all the medications you are on, as soon as possible..... and that you've had a positive pregnancy test.

Even if someone here has *safely* taken something during pregnancy.... it doesn't necessarily mean it's *ok* to take, you know what I'm saying?

On the other hand, there are some meds that can't be abruptly stopped.....

For all of these reasons, I would definitely seek answers - asap - from your OB/GYN.

Congratulations on the pregnancy! I have to agree with the other posters, an OB needs to know right now that you are needing to take these medications. I know there are quite a few pain meds that are considered fairly okay while pregnant, but a doc needs to determine that. Also, they need to help you to back off of any strong meds that are not so safe, since quitting cold turkey may not be the safest route for the pregnancy either.

I don't know anything about docs out of the country, but every OB I have seen in the US talks about risk vs. benefit on medications while pregnant. They *usually* would rather help you manage your pain the safest route possible than risk your blood pressure getting high from extreme pain.

Snowbunny21--

Im no way does the anesthesia cause problems for an early fetus. With my last pregnancy I had emergency surgery right after I found out I was pregnant because I had a very rare condition Heteroeptopic pregnancy where one twin was in my tube ( i had to have it removed as it burst ) and the other twin survived in my uterus. No doctor even new at that time I had the twin in my uterus. I found out 10 days later.

During the surgery I was under GA and after I was on pump contolled morphine and then took different types of strong painkillers that I cant remember the names. But anyhow, GA does not cause harm to an early fetus. I went on to deliver my daughter just fine.

Also, I am coming to the states soon, but I didnt say I have appts set up.

Tiredredhead --thanx for the advice....and also thnx for tip RM I will call and pre-book with my OB that been with before.

I guess I misunderstood your comment below quoted from your first thread on here about your back as I was specifically asking about seeing Drs. for your back/hip issues when you get to the US.

"Snowbunny...Ya I will be seeing some doctors when i arrive."

 

No worries there as I just thought you could get someone lined up now to see.

 

At this point there is really only two options....Telling the Drs. in SA about your pregnancy and let them help you taper off the medications....Or continue taking your medications and not tell anyone until you get to the states and find an OB/GYN....But not sure when you are coming to the US so this could be awhile.

It seems risky to do the former...but obviously your choice...As mentioned...since you are not on very strong medication for pain....all I can say is what I would personally do. As Tina mentioned...the medications that you are on are in the C category and not listed as safe.

It's all about good communnication with Drs. to make sure that they are monitoring you and the baby if on any medication.

We wish you and your baby well in whatever choose..

 

 

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 12/6/2012 12:12:01 PM (GMT-7)

Brynlee,

I've had 9 pregnancies (I have 8 children) - which includes a miscarriage after an ectopic pregnancy; another was a twin birth; two of my pregnancies involved medications (including antidepressants, narcotics, etc); and on down the line. So - while I'm not a doctor - I feel pretty well versed in this subject :)

Re: general anesthesia.... just as w/ most anything during pregnancy - it *can* cause issues, even to an early fetus. This doesn't mean that it will (as you said, you went on to deliver a healthy baby)... but it can cause miscarriage/preterm labor - especially during the first trimester. I think SB was simply saying to let your doctors know that you just had GA, as well as informing them about your medications and so forth.

I think what we are all trying to advise you is that the best thing you can do for your baby is to be under the care of a good OB, as soon as possible. Yes, sometimes medications are necessary.... but that's a decision only to be made between you and your doctor.

Take good care -- Tina

Thanks for your post Tina...yes...that is all that I meant is it's all about communication between you (Butterfly) and the Drs.

good morning butterfly
where will you be moving to and when?
Hope all goes well with your pregnancy, you must be so excited.

Have a good weekend
suzane

Hi pink, please dont worry yourself to death, as I stated before, my ex.continued anti depressants (amd a few other things that I didn't know about that we're not allowed to talk about here) all during her pregnancy with my son. And not only is he ok, but my mom gave him a couple tests the other night (shes a school psychologist, and was very curious ) and he did better than 90% of the 5 and 6 year olds she tests. Human beings are very sturdy things, I find it ironic that people made a big deal about fetal alcohol syndrome about 10 years ago, when, before we had ways to purify water, the masses primarily made beer lol. In fact, if you've heard of the pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock, the first thing they did before building houses was to set up a brewery. Just a little history lesson. There are precautions a mother can do to protect her baby, but some times, as my family learned last year, those precautions don't do anything. Last June, my 5 y/o nephew past away from Chiari malformation. No one knew he had it until he was dying, and he passed 32 hours after the Dx.

I really don't want to dig up the past, but I'll say, don't go around living in fear, just live, and you can't control what happens. The best, most cared for pregnancy can end in sadness, whatever happens, we're all here for you, and will support you through all of it. Good luck Pink, and keep us posted, we all care, and wish you the best. Keep strong, and don't loose hope.

Hi Pink! And congratulations! First, enter my name (and pregnancy or something related to this subject) in the 'Search' at the top of the page and somewhere it will bring up this topic - there was a discussion about this very thing a while back. I have a lot of first-hand experience with this subject (as do a few others on here), as well as hearing other women's stories who have gone through it (from the high-risk practice that I went to). Of course the obvious thing is to talk with your physician about it. And yes, of course these medications (and many others) 'can' cause issues during the first trimester - but, the chances of any damage being done to your baby are extremely low and the odds are greatly in your favor that everything is fine, so please do not stress yourself out worrying about it. I am not a doctor, but I am speaking from experience and a whole lot of research. Stress can cause its own damage! Speak with your doctor and then you will make the decisions that are best for your baby and yourself. We hear all kinds of scary stories about things that can hurt a developing fetus and of course we want to do our best to limit the possibility of anything bad happening, but fetuses are actually pretty hearty little buggers! You guys are gonna be fine. C:

Oh how we all understand pain and most of us ladies understand pain and pregnancy. I am not sure if you want this information or not, but I will give one other personal experience and you can decide how you feel from there.

I was pregnant four times....I have one live child. My last pregnancy (before my daughter) was twins. They died too. All were losses before birth, however, I think anyone who has ever lost a wanted pregnancy can tell you that the emotional pain of that loss is very real. My losses were a direct result of a condition called uterine artery resistance. It is basically the same thing that causes heart attacks and strokes in some people. Bottom line is poor blood flow. Anyway, I promise you I can understand how many worries you have right now and how much that makes your pain levels rise.

My family is well aware of my condition and understands that it is genetic....we all have it to some degree. For my oldest sister and first cousin, it meant their first children were born with what turned out to be very serious cognitive problems. The cousin lost her next child and had no more. The sister had one more unexpected, but used the same medications and some treatments that I had to use. My younger sister was luckier...at first. Her first child was, and still is healthy....both physically and mentally. Her second pregnancy was a loss. Her third......well, she refused to believe that she could possibly have the same genetic problem we did, so she would not consider interventions. He is 11 years old now and has developed very serious mental health problems.....he is attempting suicide on occasions and has never even made it to puberty. He's been under psychiatric care for four years now. My daughter is thankfully perfectly healthy both physically and mentally (except perhaps a little anxiety, which may be genetic or may be learned behavior).

I mention all of this to say only that people here are giving you the best advice they can and only want the best for you and your child. What you do now may seem perfectly fine....and it may be fine forever......but it may not. Only you can make that decision and only you will have to live with the decisions you make. Nobody will judge you either way. I know I had to make some very hard decisions for myself. At the time, I did not have all of the medical problems I have now, but I did have some pretty serious ones and the risks of treatment had to be seriously considered. Some things I treated and some were not worth the risk.

I hope you and your baby will be perfect during this pregnancy and for all the years to come and I hope you will be able to move back to the US very soon.

Good luck to you my friend. You will be in my prayers.

Hi Pink! Tramal is not an SSRI. It is a centrally-acting, non-narcotic analgesic only. There has been some info on the internet that Tramal (tramadol) has some SSRI properties, but that is not true. The problem is that mixing tramadol with SSRIs or SNRIs may cause serotonin syndrome.

How are you feeling? I hope all is well!

Have a peaceful day......

Post Edited (Splashdancer) : 12/20/2012 1:53:05 AM (GMT-7)