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Multiples
Drugs to Stop Contractions
I have a call in to my Dr.'s nurse (sadly my Dr. is out of the country) but can someone describe the benefits/drawbacks of using drugs to stop contractions (like the pill ones you take once or twice a day).
I'm getting frustrated--I've been to the hospital 3 times now because of having too many contractions. And they've said the last couple times I'm having a lot of "irritability" of the uterus (which they then describe as tightening of the uterus, and it feels like a contraction, so I don't understand the difference) plus some more full blown contractions. I can't really tell the difference because I can feel it all, and it's all uncomfortable and getting more painful. Some I can tell are more painful than others, I guess that's what they describe as more full blown contractions. But the "irritability" is happening constantly, so that I often have times of the day where I have what feel like "contractions" every few minutes/every 10-15 minutes/whatever (regularly). I'm sick of going to the hospital. But my Dr.'s policy is to go if I'm having more than 4/hour, and while I generally ignore that policy, I do go when the contractions seem to be getting worse than before (since 27 weeks or so they keep getting more uncomfortable/painful and more frequent) and I'm having some every 8-10 minutes (which apparently is often "irritability" but with some other contractions mixed in too, with the only distinction being the degree of pain, which makes it difficult when there's not that much difference).
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Re: Drugs to Stop Contractions
How far along are you? I am going through the exact same thing. My doctor had me on a low threshold to call if I had 5 contractions an hour for two hours. I politely told him that I would be going to triage every.single.day. Mine are usually about 10 minutes apart, but have been as close as 2-3 minutes apart. On Monday, when they were so close together, they were pretty intense, so I did call and get checked out at triage.
We discussed medicines to stop contractions, but the general opinion of my doctor is to avoid medical intervention unless there is a reason. He'd rather let my body do it's thing. IF my cervix begins to change more rapidly (it's softening, but they are fine with that at this point), then we would discuss drugs to stop pre-term labor. But, at this point, just contractions are not considered pre-term labor. They need to see a change in cervix before he'll do anything additional.
While the risks are slight, there are always risks. At this point, they do not think the risks outweigh the benefits. My doctor also said that he would really only give me meds to stop contractions in order to administer steriods. So, for now, my baseline is to have contractions all the time and deal with it. If they get stronger, more intense, or I notice ANY change, I have strict orders to call and get checked out.
I am sorry you are going through this too. It's annoying. Being off my feet helps- but I end up chugging water to avoid contractions, but then having a constantly full bladder which causes more contractions. It's such a PITA!
I just looked this up and this is what I found about Procardia. Thought I would pass it along to you. Good Luck!!
Nifedipine
This medication is also known as Adalat or Procardia and is given to the mother in the form of a pill. Of all the medications used to stop contractions or delay labor, this has the fewest side effects. For the mother, side effects include low blood pressure, nausea, headache, dizziness and redness in the face. According to the March of Dimes, there are no known side effects for the baby as of yet.
Read more: https://www.livestrong.com/article/32048-types-medications-stop-premature-labor/#ixzz1x7ifXi1C
You sound exactly like me!
I've been having BH contrax/irritable uterus since about 15w. Since I haven't had any cervical changes, my doc won't Rx anything unless I'm in true pre-term labor - she said prematurely Rx tocolytics can render them ineffective down the road when you really do need them so for now, I'm just supposed to call if I have 6+ contractions/per hour.
It's so hard to know the difference b/t fetal movement, a contraction and irritability - I totally understand your frustration. Hang in there, Hon.
Me: 32 - Stage II Endo / DH: 36 - Low count and morphology (1%)
IUIs 1-3 BFN, lap Dec. 2010, IUIs 4-6 BFN
IVF w/ICSI #1 - ER 2/8: 24R 19M 9F ET 2/13 2-5 day blasts (no frosties) = BFP - b/g twins!
E & C Born 10/19/2012
I was on nifedipine from 33-36 weeks. I figured the low risk was worth slowing down labor.
I didn't feel any side effects myself except a little jittery at first.
Boy/girl twins born at 37w1d and 37w2d
I was also on nifedipine from 24ish weeks to 36, and my reasoning was that the benefits outweighed the risks. My norm was about 5 contractions an hour, though sometimes I got up to 9+ with lots of irritability in between. I was in the hospital on bed rest so I was monitored for contractions twice a day. In my experience, on the monitor, my contractions showed up as fairly evenly spaced "mountains" while irritability looked more like little uneven hills. That said, sometimes it was hard to tell the difference just by sensation. I hope the medicine works for you!