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I'm pregnant and I'm on pain meds, please need advice!

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Posted 9/11/2015 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, I just found out I'm pregnant and I'm worried and scared, I've been on strong pain medications for a while, I've had back surgery and i also have a stumulator implant. I don't know what to do, if I should just stop taking the medication, but I'm scared I won't be able to stand the pain, I don't want to hurt my baby in the process. Please help!
Posted 9/11/2015 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
Call your prescribing doctor at once. He or she will advise you on what to do now. Developing fetuses are more resilient than you'd think. Don't panic and don't beat yourself up. I'm confident you and your doctors will be able to bring you and the baby through just fine.

Oh, goodness, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 9/11/2015 10:00 PM (GMT 0)
I never thought I would get pregnant, I had a hard time getting pregnant that first time, my husband and I tried for 7 yrs. Till finally a miracle happened, now my son is almost 8 yrs. Old and they had told us I couldn't get pregnant anymore, so it can as a total surprise. But now it's more complicated since my back is really bad now and sometimes I can hardly walk. I've been on pain meds. For more than two yrs. Since a little before my back surgery, so now I'm scared to think of all the pain and with me being pregnant will have complcations. Thank you for your advice, I'll call my doctor asap!
Posted 9/11/2015 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW Mary and congrats on expecting the baby.

I'd definitely talk to your prescribing Doctor as soon as you can.I'm sure they'll get you through this.

Take care and God Bless.

Rick
Posted 9/11/2015 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
See the doc and keep in touch with the forum when you need some encouragement. It will be tough getting off, but you have friends here who care.

A new baby! What a blessing! It will be wonderful.
Posted 9/12/2015 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the chronic pain forum. I would get in contact with my prescribing dr immediately & then my next call would be to get in with an OB that handles high risk patients. The dr can wean you off the medications without causing you to suffer with withdrawals. The reason I suggested a high risk OB is you being on the medications that you are currently on right now & you mentioned thinking it would be impossible to get pregnant again.

Congrats on the new baby. Keep us posted on how you are doing.
Posted 9/12/2015 6:16 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all so much for the advice, I have an appt. Next week with my doctor, hopefully he will be able to point me in the right direction. I've been so scared, I never thought I'd be in this situation, pregnant and in so much pain at the same time, what scares me the most is that the pain will be too much for me with not being able to take pain meds. I could barely handle the pain while I was taking them, I can only imagine how it will be without them. Being pregnant now is a miracle and I don't want to jeopardize my baby's health. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you once again
Posted 9/12/2015 9:38 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome Mary to the forum and congratulations on the baby. We have several CP Mom's who have successfully delivered healthy babies. I was extremely high risk at 42 a chronic pain patient and with a previous abruption that ended in a emergency C-section,you might say about as bad as it gets! My OB sent me to the Women's clinic at a University hospital and I am forever grateful. I was weaned off a lot of meds and I was not left totally out there without any though the meds I took were changed to some that have the least amount of known risk to your unborn child. I am definitely not a advocate for methadone,that's another story,but it is a better choice during pregnancy. Thousands of women have carried to term successfully and had relatively addicted free babies on it. The best chance you have is completely off but if that's not possible and don't beat yourself up if its not,pain and withdrawal can carry dangerous risks to your unborn as well,then be adamant about staying at the least amount possible. Your baby may be born and have some withdrawal symptoms shortly after birth but will be kept as comfortable as they can make it and wean baby off as well using phenobarbital over a few days. These babies usually do well. If you are switched to methadone you will want to switch back to your regular meds after giving birth. Whatever you do you want to make sure your prescribing Dr and the OB are on the same page and if you have a OB that's adamantly against any pain meds and not experienced in treating CPers I would say find one who is.

Good luck to you and I forgot about the stim,I have seen some drs that say leave it off some say at certain times during pregnancy and some say it doesn't effect the fetus and I honestly don't know how I would stand but if I could live without it I would.
Posted 9/12/2015 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you ,Vickie... I really appreciate your advice and your support, I've felt so alone and scared. I haven't even been able to tell my husband or my family that I'm expecting, I don't know how to tell them, they've seen me suffer and seen me in complete agony these past few years and I know that they will just worry even more. My husband is a saint, he's been with me every step of the way, never leaving my side and I know when he finds out he's going to be a daddy, he'll be happy but mostly terrified for me, he's seen how hard it's been for me. I hope my doctors can reassure him everything will be Ok, just to ease his mind.

I'll keep in mind what you said about the stimulator, I haven't turned it on since I found out I was expecting, I'll also talk with my pain management doctor and see what he thinks about that, it's been a little more painful with it off since my back gets really stiff and I could hardly get out of bed on my own. Thank God for the hospital bed and it's remote control... I see my Regular doctor on Tuesday and hopefully he'll be able to refer me to a good high risk OB that can help me wean off the pain meds. If not I'll do as you said and look for another that will be willing to help me through this.


I'll kept you posted...thank you once again!
Posted 9/13/2015 1:11 PM (GMT 0)
Mary, your PM dr & OB should work together. This is not unusual at all. Try to calm yourself down, I know you are scared & anxious but thats not going to help you either. Good drs will know how to help you.

Take care.
Posted 10/10/2015 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone, so I went to see the Ob/Gyn and I really liked him, he was very supportive about my situation and very understanding about my pain. He recommended I continue taking the pain medication and to try to wean off it by the time I reach 34 weeks. He also said that depending on what my back surgeon thought, he might have to do a C-section to avoid any back complications. I pray to God everything works out and that my baby grows and develops healthy and without any complications. I'll keep you guys posted on how everything goes as I get a farther along. Thank you for all your support.
Posted 10/11/2015 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mary, glad that you got in with a good dr. Does he handle high risk patients or not? What pain meds are you currently taking? Does this dr have experience in handling your type of situation. Leaving you on the meds depending on what you are taking until 34 weeks sounds like a long time. Is he/she working with your PM dr too? Sorry for the questions, trying to get an idea here.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.
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