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Reply: Opiate Detox while Pregnant....Pros & Cons of Subs...

Hey! I'm 29 now but when I was 25 I had been addicted to opiates for roughly 8 months...

Posted by lesliegrayrn

Hey! I'm 29 now but when I was 25 I had been addicted to opiates for roughly 8 months when I found out that I was pregnant. As an RN and someone who already wanted to quit abusing oxycontin, I assumed that quitting cold turkey was the best way. So at first I tried to wean myself off with suboxone in minimal doses and only when the w/d symptoms were unbearable...

Well, needless to say, outside of a rehab facility that was impossible for me (as i assume it would also be for most addicts). So I just had to quit. Cold turkey. Around 11 weeks, on day 6 of my cold turkey w/d's, I began cramping VERY badly and within an hour or two began to bleed. I accepted that I was just going to miscarry. So I called someone to take me to the ED. When I got there, as I said before, I just figured that a miscarriage was inevitable but when they did the ultrasound, there was my baby, turning flips and playing 'happily' with a perfect heartrate. However, because of the involuntary contractions of smooth and skeletal muscle in the body during w/d's, my amniotic sac had detached almost completely from my uterine wall and I had a large active bleed in my uterus. I was put on complete bedrest for the next 3 months until the 'scab' was reabsorbed by my body.

Obviously the guilt that I have dealt with was (at times) overwhelming... But now my son is 4 years old and perfectly healthy. I had no other complications during pregnancy or after his birth. Now that I have done my research and I know how high the miscarriage rate is if a woman quits opiate use during pregnancy, I would never do that again. I even have several friends who have since then found themselves in a similar situation so I always tell them my experience and encourage them to do their research.

Research has shown that you can use subutex during pregnancy with the least side effects and the mildest withdrawal symptoms for baby. Methodone is very hard for baby to w/d from and suboxone has very little research regarding the effects on a fetus... Suboxone also can interfere with the meds given during labor where as subutex doesn't.

Hope that helps!View Thread

Posted bylesliegrayrn

6 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Opiate Detox while Pregnant....Pros & Cons of Substitution Program Hey! I'm 29 now but when I was 25 I had been addicted to opiates for roughly 8 months...

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