Community› The Bump Message Boards› High-Risk Pregnancy
High-Risk Pregnancy
New Discussion

Prescribed Painkillers In pregnancy- any advice PLEASE!!! x

debloudebdebloudeb member
in High-Risk Pregnancy
Hi Everyone, I am currently 30 weeks pregnant with huge anxiety and guilt over taking my prescription medication - tramadol. I have a chronic pain condition with my bladder which I have had since I was a child and I have been on a fairly low dose of tramadol to help manage this for the past few years. The tramadol hugely helps my quality of life and allows me to continue working. Without it I suffer chronic pain and recurrent utis and very rarely sleep more than 3 hours a night. During pregnancy my bladder issues have increased due to hormones and pressure from baby and sadly I have not been able to stop taking these. I was advised by consultants, GP, and midwife that not sleeping and constant pain could potentially have its own negative effects on baby and I have managed to get my dose down to the lowest possible 50mg once daily or every other day. the days I do not take this I spend most of the time on the toilet and I don’t sleep at all. I am so scared of what this medication might do to baby and of neonatal withdrawal but I have been reassured by health professionals that a low dose is relatively safe and benefits of me remaining pain free and getting sleep outweighs the risks. Has anyone been in a similar situation with these meds or other options for pain during pregnancy? TIA xx
Report Reply to Post

Re: Prescribed Painkillers In pregnancy- any advice PLEASE!!! x

  • 00kim0000kim00 member
    At this point, I think it's probably late to be exploring other options for pain management; you'll have to wean off of your current meds, then experiment to see what might work, which could take months. Personally, I have 2 options for my chronic pain, nortriptyline and Norco. While it's best to be on neither, after doing my research I learned nortriptyline was the better option so I got that down to the lowest effective dose and dropped the Norco.

    It sounds like you're doing all the right things! You're in communication with your doctors about the best risk reduction, and got your dose as low as you can. If you haven't yet tried pelvic floor PT (different than regular PT- you do need a specialist!), acupuncture, or psychotherapy focused on pain management, those are all options you can try now that can supplement what you're doing and maybe get your dose or frequency of meds even lower. They also don't require more meds that come with their own risks, but unlike meds, their effects can be subtle and take more time and effort. Some people swear by chiropractic care, though personally that's always made my pain worse. Depending on your condition, there may be other options, too; you are could try googling (your condition)+alternative therapies, then run anything you find by your OB.
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • knottieb4439e893816334eknottieb4439e893816334e member
    If you have to take pain killers then take the pain killers. Chronic pain during pregnancy can cause more harm for you than drug risks to the baby. It’s better to get rest and relax. Do not feel guilty. You have a condition and your body needs medicine help. If your baby has to detox after it’s born then learn about the healthiest detox scenarios for your baby. Watch videos on how to recognize the signs and make a post birth plan for your baby in case withdrawal is apparent and make sure your birth partner is on the same page so you make the best choices for your baby. You get to decide what happens for treatment. Make a plan. Get educated on baby detox processes.
    Report Reply
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"