Detoxing from Methadone while pregnant

Hello. I'm in the same situation (well, my sister actually, but I'm right by her side). Since you posted this a while ago. I was seeing how things went. She's on 25 mgs of methadone and wants off of it very much. Did you get off of it? How did things go. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for listening.
Gillian

I have a question? If your child is born on methodone..can DCF take the child from you or have any reason to take your baby. This worries me so much, my boyfriend thinks they will take the baby from me. I really dont know what to think or feel at this time! See i have another DCF case going on at the moment because of my former drug use of heroin. But ive been clean an have not been on it ive been in the methodone maintnence program now and am taking outpatient and parenting classes.. Honestly what do you think my chances are?

Ashley6966,

Sorry about your problems, but congratulations are being in a maintenance program and getting your addiction under control.

Unfortunately, it is hard to say what is going to happen. Every case is different. But, if you have been clean and you have a good record at the methadone clinic, you should not have any problems.

Your OB has to know that you are on methadone. He/she is your best resource. It is probably best to get this addressed and taken care of before the baby is born. This will show that you have the baby’s best interest in mind. That you are a responsible adult, addressing the situation, before they become a problem. The last thing you want to do is try to hide the fact that you are on methadone.

Good luck.

Hi Lalucy,

We can certainly hope and pray for the best...that your 2nd child won't be addicted but what are the chances he or she will be. If you have one child that is and you continued to engaged in the same risky drug behavior, what are the chances that ther 2nd one will be?

Please don't decide another child's fate by continuing poor choices.

Good Luck

Faded Rose

She is not using illegal drugs, as a matter of fact many people are on methadone for pain as well. It is a prescribed controlled substance not heroin! She is using it to overcome a drug addiction, not to get high! If you dont know what it is like to have the disease of addiction or to suffer from severe pain aeveryday, than you have no right to give your opinion on this matter in the first place! People com eon here for help, no to be preached to or put down! I suggest you answer questions in a forum you are educated in and stop ooking for ways to put people down!

faded rose-

please educate yourself on methadone and the disease of addiction in general. you should not post your opinions on message boards such as these until you do so. this girl is in a methadone program where doctors and counselors (educated professionals, not volunteers) are involved; she is doing the right thing. i don't know if you actually read her post or just automatically judged after you saw the words "detox" and "methadone", but she is trying to do what is right by her baby and asking for help and advice. it is people like you that shame the human race.

faded rose-

please educate yourself on methadone and the disease of addiction in general. you should not post your opinions on message boards such as these until you do so. this girl is in a methadone program where doctors and counselors (educated professionals, not volunteers) are involved; she is doing the right thing. i don't know if you actually read her post or just automatically judged after you saw the words "detox" and "methadone", but she is trying to do what is right by her baby and asking for help and advice. it is people like you that shame the human race.

Hello. I was in the same situation myself almost 4 years ago. I was already coming off of methadone slowly when I became pregnant. Heres the thing. I know that you think detoxing from it is the BEST thing for your baby, but actually its the worst thing you can do. I is ok to lower yourself graually but you should NOT completely stop taking methadone while you are prgnant. It will cause more harm to your baby than good. You have to realize that whatever your feeling like while detoxing ( which is 10x worse than any other opiate detox) your baby is feeling and going through as well. I know you said you have had a baby on methadone once before and i am not sure what your expeience with that because every case varies. My daughter who is now 3, had absolutely NO withdrawl at all and was perfectly healthy. I was down to 25 mg. of methadone when she was born. When I had her I came off methadone and it is NOT easy. I had a severe seizure and was hospitalized for seversl days. I could not sleep for months! It was absolutely terrible! If I had chose to detox from it completely while I was pregnant, my daughter might not be here today. I am not sure what your clinics policy is on it, but from my experience of the 4 different clincs I went to, the are completely against you setoxing while pregnant and now I know why. In the end it your decision to make but I wanted to let you know my experience first so that you could look at it from both sides.

I totally agree. It is very dangerous to detox quickly or stop taking methadone during pregnancy. It can lead to fetal death or extreme loss of amniotic fluid due to dehydration, and you could have premature labor. In your 3rd trimester, your baby needs more from you and the amount of blood circulating and fluids rises in your body, so most clinics advise to raise your doddose in the third trimester. However, you lessen your chances of withdrawal symptoms for your baby if you are at 30- 50 mgs. Its up to you if a split dose is right for you; its worked for me with this pregnancy. I stayed at 85 during my first pregnancy because the doctors suggested it;and he was born a month and 1/2 early, had to stay in the NICU in an incubator for 3 wks, and had a double hernia. That was awful. My neonatologist this time has me tapering from 90 to 40 or 30 depending on how I feel. The doc said hes never had a baby born with withdrawal symptoms. It has been great so far. I really wish you the best.

I totally agree. It is very dangerous to detox quickly or stop taking methadone during pregnancy. It can lead to fetal death or extreme loss of amniotic fluid due to dehydration, and you could have premature labor. In your 3rd trimester, your baby needs more from you and the amount of blood circulating and fluids rises in your body, so most clinics advise to raise your doddose in the third trimester. However, you lessen your chances of withdrawal symptoms for your baby if you are at 30- 50 mgs. Its up to you if a split dose is right for you; its worked for me with this pregnancy. I stayed at 85 during my first pregnancy because the doctors suggested it;and he was born a month and 1/2 early, had to stay in the NICU in an incubator for 3 wks, and had a double hernia. That was awful. My neonatologist this time has me tapering from 90 to 40 or 30 depending on how I feel. The doc said hes never had a baby born with withdrawal symptoms. It has been great so far. I really wish you the best.

You and your baby should do just fine! What a lot of people dont realize is that your baby is going to detox from it even if it is not born yet, and it is a lot more dangerous for the baby to go through this before it is born (while it is still developing)than it is when it already born. Its a hard thing to go through and there is definately a sense of guilt that comes with it, but knowing that you did the best thing you could do in the situation given does help. They had also suggested that I go up in my dose in the third tri-mester as well because the baby is taking it to so you will not get as much. I chose not to higher my dose though because I was not terribly sick just uncomfortable and only in the morning until I took my dose. You will will probably feel a little uncomfortable but like I said nothing too bad and it wont last very long. In the end it is well worth it because chances are the baby will come out with no adddiction to it at all. My daughter was a little small, bu then again so was my son and I ws on nothing with him so it may just be me! Either way she was healthy and ate good. Slept fine, and had no withdrawl. She is now a very smart little 3 year old girl and I am very happy with the choice I made.

You and your baby should do just fine! What a lot of people dont realize is that your baby is going to detox from it even if it is not born yet, and it is a lot more dangerous for the baby to go through this before it is born (while it is still developing)than it is when it already born. Its a hard thing to go through and there is definately a sense of guilt that comes with it, but knowing that you did the best thing you could do in the situation given does help. They had also suggested that I go up in my dose in the third tri-mester as well because the baby is taking it to so you will not get as much. I chose not to higher my dose though because I was not terribly sick just uncomfortable and only in the morning until I took my dose. You will will probably feel a little uncomfortable but like I said nothing too bad and it wont last very long. In the end it is well worth it because chances are the baby will come out with no adddiction to it at all. My daughter was a little small, bu then again so was my son and I ws on nothing with him so it may just be me! Either way she was healthy and ate good. Slept fine, and had no withdrawl. She is now a very smart little 3 year old girl and I am very happy with the choice I made.

As I write this I am in tears...I am 2 months pregnant and am taking 25 mgs of methadone a day. I have only been reading horror stories over the last 24 hours of babies born addicted to meth as it is what my husband ahs been throwing at me to get me to have an abortion; telling me that WHEN our baby is born with disabilities, will I be able to live with myself?!! I don't want to nor do I actually feel that I can go through with an abortion, however from what I've read, if my baby is born an addict inevitably, is it selfish of me not too? My family ( who consist of my sister and mother) have no idea that I have ever had heroin or methadone, I can tell no-one as I am scared that officials would take my other children from me! Can anyone please give me real advice? Please don't judge me-God knows I am so sorry!!

zoelee,

If you are on the methadone from a clinic for management of opioid addiction, then there are options for you. You will have to notify your OB that you are on the methadone. It is possible to wean you off of the methadone over time, so that you do not experience any withdrawals (which can be very stressful for the fetus). This way, the baby will not be addicted to opioids when it is born.

But, you will have to live with not being on the opioids. Are you ready to stave off the cravings that you will probably have? This is a psychological problem, and there is help for that also, through counseling. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is ask for the help.

In some cases, where patients are on opioids for control of chronic pain, they are able to remain on the opioids for the whole pregnancy. Sometimes their babies will show signs of opioid dependency upon birth, but the pediatricians are aware of the potential problem and deal with it at the time. The baby can be weaned off of the opioids, just like an adult, without having to go through withdrawals. But, this is usually only done in cases where the mother HAS to have the pain medication to be able to function.


Again, you have options available to you. Even patients who are on heroin or are getting pain medication off the street have options. You just have to ask for the help. And again, if you are in a program to help with opioid addiction, you should not be afraid of the authorities. You are in the program to get help.

But, your OB is going to have to know. He/she will help you with the weaning off of the methadone, if that is what you want to do.

Again, you are going to have to ask for some help. It sounds like your husband may just not want this pregnancy. You are going to have to have a heart to heart talk with him. You are going to have to make sure that you both want and will care for the baby after it is born. It sounds like he is trying to “guilt trip” you into having an abortion. Again, the two of you really need to talk, and if necessary go to the OB together to discuss options.

Good luck to you.

Thank you Gealic, I know that I should find the courage to ask for help for the sake of this baby, however the problem is that my husband and I were both smoking heroin for around 2 years ( I have never injected ) and it is my husband who has signed up with the drugs team from whom he receives his methadone prescription which he has always shared with me without any authorities knowing as we were always scared that they may take our children if they were to know that we both had a dependency..As far as not have any heroin any more, I am more than to stop have abstained for almost 4 months now. I have reached that 'point' mentally where I am ready in every way to stay off heroin.
I am just so scared of putting my baby through any unnecessary pain as a result of my own selfishness.
I would love to journey this path with my husband but what matters to me are my children, they come first and he has a choice to be a part of this or not - that's a choice for him to make.
I am thinking that I continue on the 25mgs for a few days and begin to reduce by maybe a couple of mgs every couple of days?
Thank you again for your response Gealic - I very much appreciate it!