Pregnant or Breastfeeding? Buprenorphine, Suboxone, Subutex or Methadone - Safe for Baby and Mom?
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Is Suboxone safe for use during pregnancy? Will Suboxone cause NAS (infant withdrawal symptoms)? Is Suboxone better than methadone for use during pregnancy?
If you are pregnant and addicted to opiates, you have 3 choices:
- Keep abusing your drug of choice
- Try to quit using and suffer through withdrawal and detox
- Get into an opiate substitution program and use methadone or Suboxone
The first 2 choices are not advised. Continuing to abuse drugs subjects the fetus to a lot of environmental risks, disease and to a reduced likelihood that the mother is going to take good care of herself during the pregnancy.
Trying to quit cold turkey and going through a hard withdrawal is also very risky. Opiate withdrawal is tough on the body, and the risk of miscarriage during a period of withdrawal is also very high.
This leaves getting on methadone or Suboxone as the only alternative remaining.
Is Buprenorphine Safe During Pregnancy?
At present, Buprenorphine is listed as a category C drug for use during pregnancy. This, in the case of Suboxone, means that although scientists think it's probably OK – enough study has not yet been done proving that this is so (the manufacturer does not recommend that it be used during pregnancy).
Methadone has been studied very extensively for use during pregnancy and has been proven safe for both the mother and fetus – and thus the accepted protocol is to recommend that pregnant women take methadone instead of Buprenorphine.
Pregnant women who cannot or will not take methadone may be advised to take buprenorphine instead. Although doctors cannot say with absolute certainty that buprenorphine is safe, the available evidence indicates that it is not harmful to the mother or fetus, and if the mother cannot or will not take methadone, buprenorphine is likely preferable to no treatment or a cold turkey detox.
Suboxone is a medication that contains buprenorphine and Naloxone. The naloxone is added to the buprenorphine to lessen the odds that a user will abuse the medication. Because Naloxone can sometimes cause symptoms of opiate withdrawal, pregnant women wanting to take buprenorphine are normally advised to take Subutex instead. Subutex is exactly the same as Suboxone, but it contains no Naloxone, only buprenorphine.
If a women becomes unexpectedly pregnant while taking Suboxone – her doctor will probably recommend that she switch to Subutex, but not switch to methadone or any other form of treatment. Switching after she is already pregnant carries an unacceptable risk of stress on the fetus. If a woman plans on becoming pregnant, her doctor will likely advise that she first switch to methadone or naltrexone before getting pregnant.
Does Subutex Cause NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome)
If you take Subutex while pregnant, your baby will be born addicted to buprenorphine, and will likely go through some degree of NAS.
Studies indicate that over half of babies born to Subutex using mothers will suffer this infant withdrawal period to some degree. Many infants with NAS need only a few days of additional cuddling, attention and quiet – some infants will need treatment, such as with an opiate tincture.
The likelihood or severity of NAS in babies born to methadone using women does not seem to be influenced by the dosage that she was on. Therefore, with methadone at least, women are not recommended to attempt to reduce their dosage drastically in an attempt to spare their baby NAS. Quick reductions in dosage are associated with miscarriage inducing withdrawal and a higher risk of relapse back to a drug of abuse.
Is Methadone better than Subutex During Pregnancy?
Methadone has been very well studied for a long period of time, and it is known to be safe for both the mother and unborn child.
Preliminary studies of buprenorphine indicate that it is also safe, but there is not yet sufficient clinical evidence to allow for a recommendation of use.
Several studies that have compared methadone and buprenorphine use during pregnancy indicate that the NAS symptoms are worse and felt for longer with methadone.
Can a Mother Breastfeed on Subutex?
Buprenorphine is passed through the milk to the infant, and the manufacturer of Subutex does not recommend that it be used by nursing mothers.
SAMHSA has looked at the issue and has said that since buprenorphine is not well absorbed in the stomach, babies getting it through breast milk seem minimally affected by it, and that Subutex using women can breastfeed.
Summary
Unfortunately, there are no guarantees about the use of buprenorphine while pregnant, and a woman and her doctor will have to make a decision based on individual evidence about what medication is best for any particular situation.
The initial evidence indicates that Subutex offers a safe means for a pregnant women to stay off opiates of abuse, and that babies born to Subutex using mothers suffer fewer and less severe withdrawal symptoms than do babies born to methadone using moms.
On the other side – methadone has been studied and used for a very long time, and it is known to be a very safe medication for use during pregnancy.
Using either Subutex or methadone is preferable to cold turkey style detox or the continuing abuse of opiates.
Because Suboxone contains Naloxone and Naloxone can cause symptoms of withdrawal, pregnant women are advised to switch to Subutex.
- Methadone Pregnancy Information
A great forum community for women on methadone who are pregnant, or who have given birth while on methadone. Lots of support and real-life info here!
Research and Clinical Findings
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What Have Your Experiences With Buprenorphine and Pregnancy Been. Lets Help Each Other Understand this Situation Better!
Hi BSecret,
Thanks for your comment and I am so happy to hear how well your pregnancy has been going! Best of luck for the big day, and please let us know how everything goes.
I am almost 13 weeks along and I just started getting really bad morning sickness. I had my first child on methadone and she went through some withdrawls, I said I would not do it again. I finally got off Methadone about a year ago. But I am on Subutex now. I was just about to drop to 1 miligram and then jump off and I found out I was pregnant. I am married and have been in recovery for 7 years now, straight as an arrow. I worry now about my unborn child because of the morning sickness, It started about 2 weeks ago. I was good for the first 10 weeks, then all of a sudden I started feelings so sick and aware of every little scent in the world, parranoid of eating rotton food. It is funny. I definatly feel alot more alive and alert on Suboxone/subutex now that I am pregnant. I have always stayed pretty low on it. I am at 4 miligrams now.
please help.... i am 11 weeks pregnant and i am on subutex and my doctor wants me to try methadone? i am very scared what this will do to my unborn baby. if you have anything that can help please let me know.
thank you
I'am 7 and a 1/2 months pregnant and my baby is due 12-2-08. I have been on suboxen the entire time and I'am really scared that my baby will be affected by it. But I was taking 20 to 30 lorcets a day and now i dissolve 2 tablets a day. I do believe that is a better approach, but im scared it is not enough. My fiance does not know that I'am treating my self with suboxen. so i dont know what to say to him if something goes wrong and I dont know how to get off of them. I had to go with out them about 2 months ago and took a few pain pills. So i know that im not cured. Is there ever gonna be a day that i can feel normal with out having to take a pill? What should I do. I dont want my baby to be sick and I dont think its safe at this point to go cold turkey. I wonder if I reduce my dose to just a 1/2 of a tablet only when I star feeling withdrawl symptoms if I can slowly wing myself of them. Is there hope for my child to have no NAS or not. I pray and I have faith. So I'm hoping that will help. Good luck to anyone im my situation or a similar one. God Bless. P.S. I'm also looking for name suggestions for my baby boy. Feel free to comment. Thank you
I am no doctor but my doctor did tell me that you SHOULD NEVER FEEL the feelings of w/d...hence the need for the subutex. I wouldnt recomend "white knuckling" it so to speak....in fact my need for the meds has INCREASED in this pregnancy something that I was told may happen. I am worried about the w/d of my infant (due Oct. 30th) and cannot seem to get any definitive answers on what to expect. I know (as we all do) what hell detox is and really dont look forward to seeing my baby boy suffer like that. Does anyone know what I have ahead of me?
I am 23 weeks and I am on subutex. I worry everyday what will happen when i have my baby. I am very scared but I know that I am not ready to get off. I wish I could talk to people that have been throught the whole proccess to see if there babies had wd. I heard that it is a 50/50 chance and its not as bad a babies on methadone. If anyone has any answers i would love to hear. Also i am carring very very low? Will i go into labor early??
My son and wife just had a baby. Both were on subxone. It there anyone out there that was on subxone while they were pregnant whose child is a few years old. My grandchild seems to be healthy. she weighed 9#but is jaundice. Any comments or information would be greatly appreciated.
jacarlson2003@yahoo.com
to the person who is afraid of being on Subutex while pregnant. I have had a baby on methadone and she did have withdrawl but the doctors where so careful with her, they treated her like she was there own. Doctors love chidren and don't want to see any of them suffer. Also PLEASE do not go down on your meds while you are pregnant, that could cause a misscarage and for your baby to be very uncomfortable in the womb, how you feel could be how she/he feels, OK, always talk to doctors and nurses about anything you take or stop taking, Very serious for your babies health, try not to stress out and DRINK tons of liquids to keep the fliud around the baby as fresh and clean as possible. I hope I have helped you. I have read about other babies born on subutex going home the next day, I would breast feed to help comfort the baby, they say very little goes into the breast milk and does not absorb well through the stomach. Pray to God and have faith that he is watching over your child. but we must do our part, and EAT VERY healthy and sleep when we need to.
God bless all of you that are scared, we will be OK, I am almost 5 months, I am on 6 miligrams a day of Subutex, I was at 2 in the beginning but started to feel withdrawls and went up alittle at a time, I think this is holding me fine. I hope this helped. Also talk to the nurses at the hospitol that your baby will be born at, maybe they have some real live experience that they can help us with. Write back anyone that has had a baby and tell us your experience PLEASE.
Hi all, I am a drug worker, but also a drug user....I am on a script myself and off the record my husband and I are having a baby. I'm on subutex (6mg) but thinking such is life as I have met many mothers through my career that carry very healthy babies full term and their chilldren suffer very little at birth.(I'm not being casual about this though) Subutex is licensed for use on pregnant women, as is methadone, although siboxone isn't at present as it's still relatively new and not very well tested. (Although don't panic if you're on suboxone) The advice is for women on suboxone to tranfer to subutex if pregnant...or methadone. Yes, there is a possibilty that your child will suffer some withdrawals, but you should be assigned a specialist midwife who is experienced in dealing with substance use, illicit and otherwise, who should be able to give you advice and support. The biggest barrier to overcome is people's judgement of you. All the babies that I have known born to prescribed mothers (which is many) have grown to be healthy and fit. Some have withdrawn more than others but none for more than a couple of weeks and many of the recorded symptoms are subjective. Your baby will be monitored on a scale, again which is subjective in many ways. (does your baby cry more than others, twitch maybe, sleep less??....alll baies are different so the scale has a slightly limited use) Yes, if you feel able to reduce in your 2nd trimester of pregancy (mid term) then do as long as you do it under very close supervision and VERY gradually. Do not alter your dose in the first 3 or last 3 months as it is very dangerous. Please.....as ditressing as it is, please accept it is better to have child that needs a little clincial help in the first 2 weeks or so than to lose your child during the pregnancy, especially late on due to ill advised reduction of medications. The guilt may be there, I understand that, I really do, but your child will be happy long after that has subsided, if you alter your own dose too radically the child may never be there at all..... take care ladies......
P.s. I work for a peer led organisation where all advice workers are in treatment ourselves. For non pregnancy specific info about drug treatment...although we all have experience of drug treament during pregancy as well feel free to go to m-alliance.org.uk and go the forum to get involved in debate and have questions answered as best as possible.
Hope that this helps someone and that you all have beautiful bouncing babies now....sure you have.....
Hi, everyone I was reading over all of your comments about pregnacy and breastfeeding with the suboxone, it was so nice to hear some of your experiances of a drug that saved my life, with the help of the members of NA group in my home town. I was on suboxone the whole time I was pregnant taking 24mg a day, I gave birth to beatiful baby boy. He was born at 36wks, but my other to children where born early as well and I took nothing with them except vitamins. I did have alot of problems with the nursing staff at the hospital because they were uneducated about the medication, and they made what should have been a joyus time a time to say what a bad mother I am to have taken such a medication that is so harmful to unborn babies. My babys lungs were inmature due to his gestational age, and the specialist that came in reasured me that this was due to him being born early, but those nurses had there own oppionon, and you know what they say about oppionon there like a-holes everyones got one!
I am also looking for info on babies born on suboxone.
I was on methadone years ago and gave birth to a very healthy (but premature baby, born at 34wks) she had no withdrawl and was able to go home the next day. The hospital called child protective services, and i had to have my husband at the time sign my daughter out of the hospital and i wasn't allowed to be alone with her until they continued their investigation for 2 months and made sure i was following the clinic's rules etc.
this time I'm on 16mg of Suboxone and I'm hearing conflicting stories. My boyfriend has no idea of the stigma that surrounds suboxone. and i'm SO afraid of the baby having withdrawl and the whole thing of being involved with child protective services again. it's so humiliating and degrading. i've even thought about trying to ween myself off of it in the next couple weeks so i dont have to go thru this again.
has anyone attempted detoxing from suboxone during pregnancy? and how did you baby turn out after birth?
To all pregos on suboxen I wanted to share my story, but it has to be quick bc i have to go to work. I got pregnant w my 3rd baby while I was on Methadone pills not liquid. Pills I bought off the street bc cheaper than perks. N E way took 20-40mg a day. Unexpected pregnancy, have two other kids,but wasn't on N e thing w them. My husband didn't know so I had two reasons that I had to get clean. My friend took me to sub dr, bc i was on a low dose on meth he started me on 2mg once a day of sub, had to wait for wd symptoms to start. After 5 days went to 1mg and then off. I have to say the first 5 weren't great but NOTHING like cold turkey. Really just anxiety about the unknown and waiting for sickness to kick in but never did. Once I was off completely tired but who isn't tired prego,2 kids and working. My daughter was born in MAY and was and is PERFECT.By the way I was 18 weeks pregnant when I started suboxen. She is 6 months now crawling, laughing and is a BEAUTY!!!!!!! NOT one withdrawl symptom. Don't stay on sub longer than 14 days. Start and wean quickly. All the people I have asked and all research shows the quicker the better-for those who need to get off and not do a maintence. Maintence is different. Hope this helps.... GOOD LUCK MOMS. You can do N E thing if you put your mind to it.
everyones story has helped and i want to says thanx first.
right now im 7 months pregnant with my 1st child and on methadone for almost a month. i REALLY do not want to be on anything when the baby is born but my clinic doesnt want me to go down too far and will not switch me to suboxone. im strongly thinking of going to a private doc to get on subutex. im so scared and feel very lost. is it possiable to only be on suboxone/subutex for a week or so? i have so many questions that anyones help will be greatly appreciated. if you have any information of any kind, ecspecially dealing with switching from methadone to suboxone/subutex, your insite will assist me in ways i could only imagine! THANX
My daughter is due to have her first baby in 3 wks. Has been on subutex weaning off to now being on nothing for two days and she is having trouble sleeping, etc. Any suggestions to calm her before the baby is born.
i was on methadone and now have swtched to suboxone. As soon as i made the switch well about three wks later i found out i was pregnant. i cannot seem to find any info on the internet about suboxone during pregnancy i am not planning to wean myself off while im pregnant. but do want to know if it is safe to take? i do not want do have a baby with any withdraws b/c i know how much i dont like them. i take two 8mg tablets a day one in the morning and one at night. if anybody has and info it would be great thanks alot. ellie
My husband has been struggling with pain killers for about three years, then after a spinal fusion I got addicted. I was up to 20 Norco's a day after only a year of being on them. I found out I was pregnant and decided to ween off but I simply couldn't. I developed restless leg syndrome from the surgery and if I didnt take something I literally would go seven + days without sleep. In my fifth month of pregnancy I decided to start taking my husband's suboxone. I only take about 1 milligram a day but I do not want to have any issues with child protective services. I'm in texas so they r probably strict I am thinking of weening off the suboxone since I only have 6 weeks left of the pregnancy. Do you guys think this is safe? I have not told my OB about my issues. In fact she prescribed me some pain killers when I told her about the RLS. I basically directly lied to her by not telling her about my problem. I need some advice to build up the courage and talk to someone or (if its safe) ween off so I dont have to deal. Help! saideviola@yahoo.com
I used heroin for two years and was devastated when I discovered I was pregnant. The heroin messed up my menstrual cycle so I continued using without knowing I was 3 months pregnant. Once I found out I was pregnant I didn't know what to do, my family wasn't aware of my addiction and I worried about the baby's health. I was so ashamed of myself I couldn't build up the courage to tell my doctor. I tried several times to quit on my own and the withdrawal was unbearable. I continued to use until I was 5 months pregnant. Every time I would use, the guilt I felt was unexplainable. I finally broke down and told my mom. I wanted to be sober for my son and myself. I called around to different detox centers and got information on different recovery methods. I knew people who were on methadone and wanted to find an alternative. I was admitted into detox and was put on subutex. I'm now 36 weeks pregnant and still taking the subutex. My doctors tell me my baby boy is healthy but I can't help but worry that my past may effect him. I don't know how I will handle the guilt if something is wrong. My selfish ways of dealing with issues has always been solved by using. I want to continue to be sober and be a good mother to my child. I pray every day for my son's health and for the strength to stay sober. I feel for any and everyone dealing with addiction. Your comments are encouraging and appreciated. God Bless.
i'm 7 1/2 months pregnant and take 40mg of subutex a day and so far my baby girl is great, she's growing fine, no problems. i just wanted to say that it is very very very dangerous to try and wean yourself off of the subutex/suboxone while you are pregnant! i seen a doctor that specializes in pregnant addicts/recovering addicts on methadone and subutex/suboxone and he said that reducing your dosage can seriously harm the baby. also please ladies, make sure your doctor knows that you are taking the subutex, it changes a lot of things!
i am also on subutex and am seventeen weeks pregnant, my nerves are completely shot, they want to put me on prozac as well but i am scared to, i had cold turkeyed benzos when i found out about my pregnancy , it wasnt the best thing to do but i did it baby is fine but mommy isnt my depression and anxiety are bad, i am prescribed 24 mgs of subutex but only try to take twelve a day, , i am also concerned about child services they got involved with my son and me when i gave birth to him while on methadone, unfortunately i wasnt ready at the time to stop using this was about eight yrs ago, i gave my two children up to there grandparents , i had actually gotten clean for two yrs then because of a disability got sent to pain clinic, i opted for subutex because i felt like that was the best way to go for me, to keep me clean of heroin and other drugs, methadone never helped me i used cocaine on it and also heroin, while being on subutex i never relapsed , i was prescribed .5 mgs of xanax but took as prescribed, i didnt think i could get pregnant, i am 38 had bad thyroid problems and never got my period , i was alone for two yrs and had sex twice in two days and bamm , now i am terrified, my son never went through serious withdrawal on the methadone, but i dont know anything about subutex any women who want to support each other through this email me at ashlasl@verizon.net
iam 8 months and i have been on suboxone for the last year no one in my family knows not even my doctor and what happpens to me when i go into labor and there is something wrong im so worried to tell any of my family what i have been doing and what about social serivces do they get involved when i have my son and what happen then ??????? can someone please help me im going crazy i have been drug free for the last year just been taking 2mg a day the sono of the baby looks fine but they really havent said anything at all really i guess thats my fault cause im so chicken to say anything to anyone im afraid to loose my family over this p[lease help me
I want to thank everyone for their comments. It has been very informative. I have a few questions myself......... To start, I have been on subutex for a little over 2 yrs. I started out taking 8mg (1 tablet) and over the years slowly took less and less. I am 14 weeks pregnant and for the last 6-8 months I have been breaking off a tiny flake (literally). It definitely has to be under 1 mg/day. I know it is usually recommended not to get off during your pregnancy-especially in my situation because I have been using it for years before I got pregnant. My girlfriend just had a baby and she was using atleast 8 mg a day and used a few times while being pregnant. Her son is 15 months and is doing great! However, when he was born, he had to stay in the hospital for about 3 weeks to detox. He was not just detoxing from subutex but also the small amount of heroine that she used. The two things that really worry me are: CPS and breastfeeding while still on subutex. I havent used drugs in 2 years so Im not worried about being drug tested but just the thought of CPS involved gives me cringes. I dont want them to think I'm a bad mother being on subutex. Has anyone dealt with CPS that was only on Subutex (no other drugs used)? What is the process? Can they take your baby for having even trace amounts of Subutex in your system? And finally, i have always heard that you cant breastfeed while using subutex. My doctor is investigating so i dont know his option just yet. But i just read that the SAMHSA has stated, "...buprenorphine is not well absorbed in the stomach, babies getting it through breast milk seem to be minimally affected by it and that Subutex using women can breast feed". Has anyone else heard that or has breastfed while taking subutex?
I am 4 mnths 2 weeks pregnant, and I take about a half of suboxen a day but I have not told my dr because I am scared, I have also used off and on my whole pregnancy... Does anyoen have any comments on this one , can anyone tell me what to do at this time ?? I go back to the dr on the 23rd to find out if its a boy or girl im excited about that.. I just dont want the state to get involved and take my kid away that would kill me :0(
Hi all,
I found this site looking for information on infant suboxone withdrawl. My daughter just delivered her lil girl on weds. she has been on suboxone the whole pregnancy and is monitored by addiction specialist. she asked the dr if she should switch to subetox and he said no because he was worried about her not having the opiate blocker that suboxone has. the baby weighed 6 lbs 5 oz but she is in withdrawls. she was just transported to childrens hospital. she seems to be shaky and sneezing alot and them are symptoms of withdrawl. she has fluctuated between 5 and 10 on the finnegan scale for withdrawls. the sad part of this is the pediatrician and the nurses at the hospital had no knowledge of this medication none. So they called the childrens hospital and geuss what they didnt either. they are treating her like other babies in detox and I know she is where she needs to be while she goes through this. But to me this is ridicoulous that no one knows anything about this medicine. And to top that off my daughter who has been clean from opiates for 18 months was treated horribly. They even called social services. Something that we have been looking forward to for 9 months and they (the staff) out of ignorance has turned it in to something to be ashamed of. I am proud of my daughter that she is no longer using herion or oxys and that this is safer and keeping her alive and well. The medical community needs to acknowledge addiction as a disease and educate themselves on treatments and treat patients with the respect they deserve for wanting to be well.
That is my 2 cents on it. I wish you all very well and my advice to you all is to try your best to educate your dr.s and nurses. If they dont want to listen make them.
Good luck to all
to tami and all the moms, i am sorry your daughter is going through this, i suggest you get as much info on subutex for the doctors where your grandbaby is being dtoxed, and have your doctors sub doctor get involved, this is sickening, i was clean of of heroin when i got pregnant with my son, was on subutex and i make sure that the obgyn and my sub doctor have regular contact with each other, supposedly subutex is supposed to have less withdrawals than methadone, and my nine yr old son was born on methadone and i had same obgyn, they kept my son in hospital for two days only and i was able to give hime phenobarbitol myself, but there is one thing i want all the mothers to mention to there doctors before you give birth, NO NARCON, this is so terribly important, they can give it safely to babies on methadone i think but not subutex, narcon is a drug they use if the baby dont breathe right away, they need to use something else, or the baby will go through horrible horrible problems, i cant stress this fact enough, also mothers to be i suggest going down a little on your dose before baby is born, so that the pain meds they may use might help more, the epidural wont affect the subutex and i have been reading that tramadol can be used with no problem, also for the girls afraid to tell the doctors, YOU MUST TELL THEM SO THEY DONT USE NARCON ON THE BABY, AND THAT THEY KNOW WHAT TO USE WHEN IT COMES TO PAIN MGT FOR YOU, they will find out anyway , and do not feel ashamed, subutex and methadone are licensed for pregnant moms.. if you dont tell it will only hurt you and your child goodluck all ashla
I am 8 months prego and wondering if it is safe to get an epidural while on Suboxone?
Hey all mommies & mommies 2 be! I hope all is doing great this can be a scary time on it's own let alone when you have the addiction problems on top of it the way we do! I have been fighting opiate addiction for about 7 years now and still at time feel that this will be the death of me. I was on pain pills with my last pregnancy and during my 7th month I was addmitted on the labor & delivery floor for 2 weeks and they put me on methadone, they wanted me on it during delivery and I told them NO, that was the whole reason I wanted to be clean so my son would not have to go through that!! So I took my last pill and my son was born EXACTLY 30 days later at 35 weeks and was PERFECT!! Stayed clean for a while, then relapsed went on methadone for 2 years switched to Suboxone been on that since February and I am now 7 weeks pregnant and my doctor is taking me off of it eventhough my ob says to go SLOW, I have gone from 3 pills (24mil) to 1 sometimes 2 a day now yesterday my dr gave me 10 pills and told me to taper myself!! IS HE CRAZY??? he said he can't be responsible if something is wrong with my baby, but I think it is MORE dangerous to do it this way! IS THIS SAFE OR SHOULD I BE GOING SLOWER??
i just found out i am pregnant i currently am perscribed subutex i was on methadone for 3 yrs and just made the switch 2 weeks ago the plan was to take subutex for 2 weeks then suboxen now my doctor will not perscribe either. i have read a lot that pregnant women have taken subutex during pregnancy i dont want to stop cold turkey i live in pa and cannot find a doctor to help any ideas?
my friend and I both just had babies born while we were on subutex. neither baby had any simptons of withdraws. In fact, there was nothing in their urine when they aere born. subutex is the safer choice. Just be sure you are not on suboxone!!!!!!!!!!
My son was taken to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus NICU due to withdraw from subutex here is our story:
I took 8 mlg of subutex per day during my pregnancy and I just had my son 11 days ago. I was told by my subutex doctor that he would absolutely go through Neo Natal Abstinence Syndrome 48 hrs post birth. I spoke with my OBGYN every single appt about what the plan was following his birth. She never gave me a direct answer. After giving birth last Saturday at a hospital with a NICU I questioned the resident pedicatricians, his pediatrician, any nurse who would listen , my doctor and all of them said he had low NAS "scores" we are discharging you. We were sent home 36 hrs post birth (on monday) and at 48 hrs he was in full blown withdraw. I called the pediatrician who said he is just fussy. A routine home nurse post pardum visit was scheduled for Wednesday. On Wed she noticed my son was struggling. He weighed 9 lbs 6.5 oz at birth and he lost nearly 2 lbs , anything above 10% is too much. He was only taking .5 oz of formula every 4 hrs and a baby that size should take 2.5-3 oz every 4hrs. His jaundice reading was high. His resting respirations were double what they should have been. He was rubbing his fists against his mouth, yawning, flaring his nostrils and having lose stool every 30 minutes. All of the above are things they "score" the baby on. Scores should be below 8. When he was admitted he scored a 22! The home nurse called the pediatrician who gave her a run around, she said all babies are fussy and thats when the nurse demanded that she get him admitted to Cleveland Clinic NICU. Needless to say when he was admitted the team was amazed he was ever released from the hospital in that condition. It turns out the Cleveland Clinic Satelite Hospital that I delivered at had never experienced this type of issue before but no one was humble enough to admitt that they did not have the proper experience to deal with him. Its been a week today that he was admitted. He was put on an IV for liquids and methadone. The clinic does major surgery on babies every day sometimes the babies are on pain meds for weeks or months and the way they are weened from the meds is no different than the way my son is being weened. They put him at .004 miligrams of methadone every 4 hrs for 4 days. On day 5 the methadone was given every 8 hrs, then every 12 and today he is on 1 dose every 24 hrs. He will remain on this dose until Saturday and then he will spend two weeks on a dose every 3 days. We are so luck to be in such an outstanding hospital. Every day we meet with the neo natal team that is assigned to him; a neo natal pharmacist who specializes in weening babies from opiates- she has done over 160 weens, two doctors that monitor him, a nurse practitioner/case manager and a nurse that is assigned to take care of my son and one other infant.They say he may come this Saturday and continue the process at home. The advice I wish I had been given is this: be persistent, deliver at a hospital with a NICU, while you are at the hospital demand to speak to a nicu doctor, find a pediatrician early and before "hiring" them to take on your child's case ask them if they are familiar with weening an infant and if they are not ask them to refer you to someone who is, ask your subutex doctor to help you find an OBGYN and a Pediatrician familiar with this process. If your baby is extremely fussy and you have been told they are not going through withdraw do not listen and immediately go to an ER with a NICU. Inner city ER's will be more familiar with this type of issue as opposed to a suberb hospital. Look up the Finnegans NAS Score this will help you know if your baby is experiencing withdraw. Whatever you do if you think your baby is withdrawing take them to the hospital your child needs medical assistance. Jaundice left untreated can lead to brain damage! Infants who are withdrawing are at a higher risk for SIDS!
We have been told by experts that he will not have trouble in the future that he will be healthy and happy when this is over.The visiting nurse who came to our home was an angel sent here to save my sons life.
I am almost 36 weeks and have been on subutex for almost 2-3 years. I have been on it for so long its been almost impossible to think about getting off. The time period i was thinking about going off though i found out i was pregnant. I take about 2-3 milligrams a day.. depending on how i feel. I am not worried about the safety of my child at birth because i know people who have had babies safely. What i want to do is breastfeed. I have read yes and no so many times i don't know what to do. All i want to hear is that more than one person has and there child has been safe. I would never want to harm my child nor ever get her sick. I am on such a low dose and it would be such a small amount absorbed. My heart is telling me yes.. I guess i just want someone to back me up a bit. Please if anyone has any informational FACTS on someone who has breasted please contact me AjaBigham@yahoo.com Thank you So much everyone.
Hi, I had a baby boy four years ago on 2 mg. I did not tell my doctors, midwives or hospital, as i felt baby would be fine. I was certainly ready to tell if i saw any withdrawals. I saw none. and i had had 2 previous babies not on subutex, so i knew what to expect. He was and still is fine. He was taking steps at 8 months so he was also fine developmentally. I breast fed for two years, and had no probs with that either. This time, i fell pregnant very accidentally in the middle of using shitloads, daily. I used until i moved to a small towm and am now on 16mg, subutex. This time i am worried because my dose is so high, i am really going to try to cut down but i have only been on subbies for two weeks, so i am only beginning to get over my other addiction. I am 20 weeks preg. this time i have told my preg doctor and had to spell, several times, subutex. So i am hoping the hospital know more. Anyone been on a high dose? I am worried about withdrawals. Love to everyone, and best of luck!
hi all i wanted to be able to share about my pregnancy and subutex experience, i was on sixteen mgs and i just gave birth seven days ago, my son was born very healthy, very little withdrawal and did not need medication or did not have to stay in hospital more than one extra day, he was a bit fussy first few days but nothing we couldnt cuddle him through, he is now through withdrawal and very relaxed alert and strong, any woman who would like to talk about this with me feel free to email me ashlaslverizon.net
Hi
Hi ashla, I sent you an email I hope I have the address right. Is it supposed to be ashlasl@verizon.net? In case it isn't I was wondering if you breastfeed? I also take subutex and am 35 weeks pregnant. I keep getting alot of conflicting information about if I am able to breastfeed. I was hoping to quit taking them before the baby comes. I tapered down to 1 mg. a day, but am having a very hard time quitting completely, even from that small of an amount. I am so happy to hear that your son is healthy and happy. I am constantly worried about the health of my baby. My midwife doesn't know much about subutex and often makes me feel even more guilty than I already do. It's nice to hear about someone who has been through it, and everything is ok. Thanks
Hi ashla, I sent you an email I hope I have the address right. Is it supposed to be ashlasl@verizon.net? In case it isn't I was wondering if you breastfeed? I also take subutex and am 35 weeks pregnant. I keep getting alot of conflicting information about if I am able to breastfeed. I was hoping to quit taking them before the baby comes. I tapered down to 1 mg. a day, but am having a very hard time quitting completely, even from that small of an amount. I am so happy to hear that your son is healthy and happy. I am constantly worried about the health of my baby. My midwife doesn't know much about subutex and often makes me feel even more guilty than I already do. It's nice to hear about someone who has been through it, and everything is ok. Thanks
I am 5 months pregnant and my husband has been on Suboxone for a few years now, I have never taken it but I was wondering if it would harm the baby in anyway. (?)
I was very pleased to see this post on the net. I want to say to all the Mummies to be out there who are on Subutex - please do not worry. i had my son 4.5 years ago while I was on 10mg of Subutex throughout my whole pregnency. I gave birth to a beautiful healthy little boy who suffered nearly no withdrawal symptoms. The, perhaps, few that he did have were completely manageable with extra cuddles and feeds. My biggest reccommendation is DO NOT let the doctors talk you into putting your baby straight into special care BEFORE the onset of any withdrawal symptoms. I was told that they would be taking my son directly into special care before symptoms even occurred, this made me so upset as i felt that i was completely confident at knowing what my baby needed and that i was right there at the hospital anyway so why the need to take him away. So, i went and saw the head doctor at the hospital to let him know my feelings on the subject. Thankfully they let my baby boy stay with me, this was the best decision i have ever made. I feel that if my son had been taken away from me then the likeihood of withdrawal would have increased because being right there with me i was always able to comfort and feed him. I had to stay in hospital for 7 days but on the 7th day i was released to go home with my perfectly happy and healthy little baby boy. My son is now 4.5years old and is a bright, smart and energetic little boy. I am soooo happy that i chose to have him.
I am now 10 weeks pregnant with my second baby and i am on Suboxone. I must admit that i am very worried as last tuime i was on Subutex and have heard that it is possibly safer that Suboxone. Any information regarding this would be massively appreciated.
I would really like to wish everyone the best of luck with your babies.
My sister had a little girl one month earlier than i did while she was on Methadone. She was also using at the time and her little one needed Morphine after birth and was in hospital for 3 weeks. In saying this her girl is now also 4.5 and she really is a very bright, smart and truely beautiful little girl.
Also meant to add above also that yes i breastfed. I fed my boy for 2 years. It was the best experience ever and i certainly recommend it to everyone if that is what they want to do. It is an amazing bonding experience and I believe it definitely helps with limiting the withdrawal process as they are close and it is very comforting for them.
Good luck all. Please say if you would like my email address and I will get it to you :)
To Claire: Subutex is preferred over Suboxone because it does not contain Naloxone more commonly known as Narcan.
To Desi: I was told not to breastfeed by my obgyn who could not even spell subutex because she never heard of it.When my son was admitted to the cleveland clinic doctors said had I breastfed my son his withdraw symptoms would have been much less acute. I never could get him to latch on so I pumped for a while and when he consumed my breast milk he felt much better
To Azande: I had a dr who was not familiar with subutex Run the other way. Ask your subutex dr to help you find an OBGYN and if that is not possible ask your sub. dr to consult with your obgyn. I made the mistake of trusting that my dr would do her "homework" and although I could tell she did not like me due to my drug addict history I thought she would do her job-she didnt! They released us from the hospital as a normal baby would be after two days and he went into acute withdraw soon after. From what I learned it is a mystery why some babies withdraw and some do not and the severity is different and it does not always have to do with the mgs the mother was taking. I was taking 8mg
What was recommended to me after we were admitted to a hospital with experience was this: breastfeed, keep the mother and child together, luckily the nicu he wound up in had rooms for babies that were more stable and I could do skin to skin contact while cuddling to calm the baby down. In our case he was having serious complications because of the withdraw. His resting respirations were 107 when they should have been 60! His heart was beating out of his chest, he lost a lot of weight and was really dehydrated to the point he needed IV fluids for a few days, his jaundice level was rising
Jaundice left untreated causes brain damage so its really important to find drs that know what they are doing. I regret not delivering at an inner city hospital because they have way more experience
My son was sent home with Methadone to continue a slow wean. Every five days his dose was lowered. It started out at every 3 but he could not handle it. Today was his last day. He seems happy and more importantly he seems like a normal baby
To Claire: Subutex is preferred over Suboxone because it does not contain Naloxone more commonly known as Narcan.
To Desi: I was told not to breastfeed by my obgyn who could not even spell subutex because she never heard of it.When my son was admitted to the cleveland clinic doctors said had I breastfed my son his withdraw symptoms would have been much less acute. I never could get him to latch on so I pumped for a while and when he consumed my breast milk he felt much better
To Azande: I had a dr who was not familiar with subutex Run the other way. Ask your subutex dr to help you find an OBGYN and if that is not possible ask your sub. dr to consult with your obgyn. I made the mistake of trusting that my dr would do her "homework" and although I could tell she did not like me due to my drug addict history I thought she would do her job-she didnt! They released us from the hospital as a normal baby would be after two days and he went into acute withdraw soon after. From what I learned it is a mystery why some babies withdraw and some do not and the severity is different and it does not always have to do with the mgs the mother was taking. I was taking 8mg
What was recommended to me after we were admitted to a hospital with experience was this: breastfeed, keep the mother and child together, luckily the nicu he wound up in had rooms for babies that were more stable and I could do skin to skin contact while cuddling to calm the baby down. In our case he was having serious complications because of the withdraw. His resting respirations were 107 when they should have been 60! His heart was beating out of his chest, he lost a lot of weight and was really dehydrated to the point he needed IV fluids for a few days, his jaundice level was rising
Jaundice left untreated causes brain damage so its really important to find drs that know what they are doing. I regret not delivering at an inner city hospital because they have way more experience
My son was sent home with Methadone to continue a slow wean. Every five days his dose was lowered. It started out at every 3 but he could not handle it. Today was his last day. He seems happy and more importantly he seems like a normal baby
Thank God for this post....
I was on Suboxone and switched to Subutex as soon as i found out i was pregnant. (I was four weeks along when i found out.) I am only taking 1 mg. per day. 1/2 mg every 12 hours. I also want to stop completely, but it is hard. I am now 10 weeks pregnant. Is it dangerous to stop completely, since I am not taking a high dose anyway? I'm scared to death!
I am 10 weeks pregnant. I have been on suboxone for almost a year. because of it being so expensive,my husband goes to the doctor and we both take his, one-half a day. When i found out i was pregnant, i did some research on-line and found it was safer to take subutex. I told my husband to tell the doctor to switch him, which he did. I went to my first OB appt. Monday and told them i was on subutex. now that i have read all these comments i'm scared that i will get in trouble for not having a prescription. What am i going to do now?
sweets4441-
i am am the same boat as you.... i am 11 weeks and 1 day... i am terrified of stopping the subutex, and i owe my doctor so much money that he will not prescribe me any more.... i have 5 2mg tablets left that i am breaking into little flakes... i guess i am taking about .25 mg twice a day...
how many mg are you taking a day?
we are going throug the same exact thing! you can email me if you want at stacielbell@hotmail.com.
There really is no comforting answer to wheather subutex is safe or not during pregnancy. I was told various things by different doctors throughout the 9 months. I worried everyday that my son would suffer from NAS. I was anywhere from 4-8Mg a day. Not very much. He is currently still in special care due to NAS. This is day 10 now. This is by far the hardest thing ever. I begged the doctors to ween me off at the beginning of my pregnacy but was constantly advised against it.
My suggestion is if you think you are strong enough to ween yourself in the beginning do it!! It gets dangerous after the first couple of months. Even then it can be risky. I wish I had. I went half way cold turkey and turned back. If you can't it's ok. Your baby will most likely be healthy other than the obvious and he or she will make it through withdrawals. You have to do whats right, safe and healthy for you too.
My son is very healthy otherwise and I have not spent a night away from the hospital. It can take anywhere from 1 week to 2 months for the entire process. It breaks my heart. Every time I step foot in the hospital, I see another mother who delivered normaly (I also had a very bad birth experience)hapily taking home there new baby after 48 hours or less and it sinks my heart every time. i just tell myself I did the best I could and what I thought was right and I will be taking my beautiful son home soon. It will make that time all the more special.
I never used at all during my pregnancy. I had already been on 4 mgs a suboxone, a tiny amount. By the time my baby was born I was only on 2 mgs. I do not smoke, I do not drink coffee. My daughter had to be treated for withdrawal symptoms. It was the worse week of my life. I thought because I was on such a low dose she wouldn't have to be treated, but she did. Because of the half life of Subutex being so long >72 hours, it took four days before the intense withdrawals showed their face. She didn't have seizures, or convulsions, but she cried a lot, and couldn't settle easy, she had skin moddeling, and an increased moro reflex. If you want some information about how it will be when you go to the hospital (every place is different) look up the "Finnegan scoring system" because this is what they use to treat the babies. They come in and "score" your baby every three hours. They even wake them up. It really sucks, but you get through it. My daughter went on Phenabaritol and was off it in 5 weeks.
hi, i had both of my babies on suboxone and i can honestly say that you cant ever really know how your baby is going to be able to handle it. my daughter was born march 23 2008 and i was taking 16 mg of suboxone in that pregnancy. when she was born she did not suffer severe withdrawal at all, in fact they only kept her 3 days just to make sure she wasnt going to go into severe withdrawal and then they released her. she never had to be weaned or medicated at all. and the highest her nas scores ever got was a 4 which is very low and her symptoms was only sneezing yawning and a slightly bit of fussiness but nothing we couldnt cuddle her through. now on the other hand, i just delivered my baby boy on september the 8 and i am just stunned by how badly he is suffering through withdrawal. he is in nationwide childrens hospital in the NICU and has been there since he was born and he just turned a month old yesterday. his nas scores have got as high as a 16. they are weaning him with methadone and it has been a yo yo of a time. now in my pregnancy with my son i was on a much higher dose of 24-36 mgs a day. this probably plays a big part in why he is having it so hard and the doctors said his body weight could be part of it since he was 8lbs and 4oz at birth and my daughter was only 7lbs and 1oz that he has more body weight to have stored the suboxone. they also said that they do not know why but that boys always seem to have worse problems with withdrawal than girls the docs noticed. so girls please remember that the higher dose you are on the more trouble your baby will probably have. i would highly reccomend that if you can make it on a low dose than do so because i regret not lowering myself from such the high dose that i was on in my sons pregnancy. i was not smart enough to stop and think about it or even read up on it. i just assumed that hey since my daughter did so well then my sons gonna be born on suboxone as she was and do just as well as she. no more than 8 mgs a day i reccomend if you want a better chance for a withdrawal free baby, but remember though every baby is different, the docs told me they have had women on 36 mgs a day have a baby and the baby be fine and they have had women be on 2 mgs a day and have a baby with withdrawals. atleast if you have your baby and it does suffer withdrawal and needs medicated or tapered just remember that atleast you were on the suboxone and not the street drugs and your baby didnt have to be exposed to the street drugs. either way if your on suboxone atleast your trying to change your life and your trying to do whats best for your baby, obviously no drug is GOOD for your baby but its better than the alternative
My Brothers girlfriend gave birth three days ago and was taking under 1mg of Subutex, she has ben clean for over a year hence the small dose. The clinic advised her it was safer to stay on the sub rather than come off while pregnant, as it could potentially cause more damage to the feotus, but the baby would probably need to stay in a special unit for a couple of days.
Now he has been born, a very healthy baby, but is being weaned off the drug, he suffered a little jaundice and slight irritation, but cuddling helps. Every baby is different, depends on the weight and how much of the drug was being used. Research before you think of getting pregnant if you can, there is so much conflicting information.
The stigma attached to taking any drugs is ridiculus, both my brother and his partner have been clean for well over a year, a lovely couple and proud parents, but still have to go through the protocal of seeing councilors, social workers and all other types of officials to make sure they are suitable parents!. The baby may need to stay in for anything up to four weeks, all dependant on how quickly the drug comes out of his system, so bare this in mind, especially if your on a higher dose.
Also they have been told it is absolutly fine to breast feed, in fact smoking and alcohol does more harm when breast feeding.
Hope everything goes well, and keep yourself in the know, there are many options.
hey ladies... i am having a baby on tuesday...thats in 5 days...i also am taking 12mgs of subutex daily, and am petrified of my babe going thru withdraw. it seems that in my case, the docs really are clueless on this drug. even the anesthesiologist, whom i met today, had never even heard of the drug. and she administers pain meds!! so i will def. come back n let you all know what happened with baby. most of my fam. also has no idea bout the fact that im on subutex, but all of my docs do. and suprisingly they all give me props for doin the rite thing n not usin dope. im just so scared to tell my loved ones the truth if the baby goes into the nicu. but the neonatologist has said it is maybe a 70/30 chance baby will not go. so odds are ok. i have done so much research on this topic, and i believe i am doin the best i can. i also am planning to breastfeed, basically to keep me constantly knowing that i have to feed baby n shouldnt get high. so listen, i will keep yous posted, and subutex has saved my n my childs life, so ladies stop beating yourselves up about this! also if anyone else who has recently had a baby while on subutex let me know... i love all the info i can get. ashleysoska@hotmail.com xoxoxoxo
Hi,
I really felt the need to post here with all of u. I used viccodin, and any other pain pill I could get my hands on for 6 years, when I finally decided it was time to seek treatment, in sept it was a year ago that I went on suboxone, well I found out a few weeks ago that I am pregnant, I thought 5 weeks, turns out I'm 9 weeks, apparently I had a regular cycle then though I was pregnant... anyway I tried to quit cold turkey as soon as I found out and thought I was going to die! My sub doc switched me to subutex when I told him and I am taking 1 mg a day now and feeling awesome, but I'm very concerned for my unborn child.. I plan on weaning down to 1/2 mg this week and would love to be completely off b4 I give birth but I'm not sure if I am strong enough to get thru the withdrawals this time.... my bf has no idea I'm on the subutex and I am not planning on telling him (he does know I had a drug addiction problem b4 we met... anyway, I have not told my obgyn because I do not want my bf to find out.. but I am most concerned with my baby having withdrawals at birth.. i'd also like to breastfeed for a while and keep hearing conflicting stories on whether its safe or not.... i'd love to talk to other mothers who have or who are going thru this as well, my personal email is MeandTree2@gmail.com please, please email me if you would like to talk/share experiences, I could use some support right now.
Thank you for your time!
i posted in here when i was 7 1/2 months pregnant with my daughter, i was taking 40mg of subutex a day and i just wanted anyone reading this with questions about taking subutex while pregnant that my baby turned out PERFECT! she was a week late, 6lbs 13 oz 19 1/2 in, she had NO withdrawl symptoms! she is now 6 1/2 months old and is developing very normally, she's actually done everything (smiling, talking, crawling, etc) very early! good luck ladies!
BSecret says:
16 months ago
I have been perscribed to subutex throughout my pregnancy, and my doctor has been extra cautious and we have been doing weekly ultrasounds, checking on weight and growth, and everything is just fine baby is healthy and big, I am due in about two weeks so I haven't experienced what the withdrawal symptoms will be like for my baby, and I am not looking forward to it. But I have had a consultation with the neonatal nursery, and the doctors said only 50% of the babies with experience any withdrawals symptoms and the babies that do only experiece mild withdrawal symptoms. Once my baby is born I will be happy to report on how everything went.