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December 2010 Moms
Anyone else prescribed Fioricet?
I have been having horrible daily headaches for the past few weeks that make me dizzy & give me blurred vision. My OB prescribed me Fioricet on Friday to help. At the time, I had been suffering thru the same headache for the 3rd straight day & nothing else was working. I spoke with the pharmacist when I picked up the script as well & she said that it was fine to take in pregnancy, so I went ahead & took one that evening because I just needed some form of relief.
This was also the same day that my house was apparently struck by lightening which blew up the box that sends our cable/internet signal to our house, so I couldn't do my normal research before taking it. It was pretty amazing and did indeed knock my headache out in a matter of about 30-45 mins, so I didn't have any complaints. When the cable guy came to the house yesterday and got our cable & internet back on, I didn't think about looking it up online as I honestly felt fine & didn't need to take it.
This morning the headache is back & growing more and more as the time passes, so I decide to research the med before taking it. It is a class C, which automatically scares me a bit, but webmd also recommends only taking in pregnancy when absolutely necessary. I completely understand that my doctor wouldn't prescribe it to me if it wasn't safe, but I am still concerned about its safety. I know that I will not take it unless absolutely necessary. I didn't suffer from migranes before pregnancy, but am pretty sure that what I am experiencing is pretty similar & get to the point where it is totally unbearable. I have left work early on several occasions because they were so bad.
Just wondering if there are any other ladies out there that have this med & have been ok'd to take it in pregnancy, or those who have taken it with past pregnancies & were ok, so I don't feel so terrible about taking it myself when I really need it. I just need a lil piece of mind here. Thanks!
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Re: Anyone else prescribed Fioricet?
It isn't just caffeine and acetaminophen. It also contains a barbiturate (butalbital) as well. I wouldn't go taking it willy-nilly. I was on it for years and even not being pgregnant, there was a limit to how much I could take.
This was my major concern. Obviously we are allowed to take Tylenol & caffeine in limitation, but a barbiturate, really? I will definitely not be taking it on a casual basis because it makes me feel quite loopy & I am staying away from meds as much as possible anyway, but it was nice to get confirmation that it does not transfer to the fetus for the desperate times that I do need to take it.
That is interesting because it isn't listed on the active ingredients on my prescription. I have a generic version, but I'm quite positive that the doc said it was fioricet...hmmm, I'll have to start asking more questions.
Mine is generic as well & reads BUT/APAP/CF50-325-40. BUT is what signifies the barbiturate ingredient, APAP, is acetemetophene, and CF is caffeine.
Hmm, I threw my paperwork on it away. Mine didn't have the abbreviations, just had "Active ingredients:..." like a regular bottle does. Maybe I heard wrong and they prescribed me something that sounded like fioricet, but I'm pretty sure thats what she said. However, I'm not going to say it doesn't have a barb. in it, obviously it does, it is entirely possible I read mine wrong. Either way, if you have a migraine, take it. Like a pp said, it doesn't cross over into the placenta so baby isn't getting the meds. I got migraines before pregnancy, and if you are having symptoms, they don't always include the head pain. I let mine go before calling my OB for a prescription, and ended up almost passing out. My OB said that it was more than likely my migraine symptoms compounding since the tylenol hadn't taken care of it completely. Migraines are nothing to mess with, and if your OB said it was alright, take enough to get rid of the migraine at least! Migraines suck, don't suffer!
This was actually what is listed on my bottle. I copied it out while reading it. The literature that came with my script did specify that is was partially a barbiturate. If you search on Webmd, you will get the exact same information that is printed out from your pharmacy.
Agree on the point about taking it though, I would not have asked for help if I wasn't desperate & will definitely take it when they get really bad.
I was prescribed this (by the same OB) both this pregnancy and my last. I only used it 1 time with my last pregnancy because I magically had no bad headaches throughout the pregnancy, this time however the headaches have been INSANE. I use my Fiorecet pretty frequently (a couple of times a week), but I don't always have to use it every 4 hours each day that I take it. I did express to my Dr. that it made me nervous taking it so often, and she told me I have nothing to worry about. I even had to call the Dr.'s office over a week ago to get my Dr. to call me in a refill, & while the nurse seemed like she was kind of giving me a hard time about me aleady needing a refill, my Dr. had no hesitation to call me in one, and even gave me an extra refill for after I finish this bottle.
My Dr.'s reassurance did ease my mind a bit, but what helped even more was having our u/s last week and seeing that my LO is just as perfect as can be right now. I still try to take the Fioricet as little as possible, but I definitely don't have the guilt I used to when I do take it.
And as for everyone's concern about the barbituate. The biggest concerns about barbituates during pregnancy isn't really over any "defects" it can cause to a fetus. The big concern is that if barbituates are taken in excess during pregnancy, and close to the EDD, then the baby could be born addicted to the barbituate, therefore going through withdrawals after birth. Considering this, taking Fioricet even a couple of times a week during your 2nd tri is not going to cause you to have a barbituate- addicted baby. & the restrictions (even for a non- pregnant person) are mainly due to the acetimenophen (sp?) in it. No person, pregnant or not, should exceed an intake of 4,000mg of acetimenophen within a 24 hour period, & since it is 1 of the main ingredients in Fioricet, there is definitely a limit on how much any 1 person should take within a 24 hour period.