Chronic Pain

Hi Elizabeth --

Don't you just love these compassionate doctors? Of course, it depends on what meds you are on, but there are meds you can take to deal with the pain while you are pregnant. They probably won't knock out all of the pain (like I can find one that will-- NOT!) but they will at least make it bearable. Read my previous post for what my OB/GYN said.

What's not acceptable is for you to be in constant pain while pregnant. As you've no doubt seen on these pages, it's harmful to the growing fetus for its mom to be in a heightened state of stress due to pain. Yes, you want to take as little medication as possible, especially during the first trimester, but that doesn't mean no meds at all. The other things to try are non-med treatments such as massage, heat/ice, yoga and relaxation exercises. Good luck!

Elizabeth and Bonnie,

First of all, CONGRATS on being pregnant! I know it may not seem so wonderful when you think of the pain related, but truly you still need to take time to celebrate this miracle of life!

Second, doctors are a mixed bag.. seems to me that there are so many out there that are just afraid to get involved. They don't understand chronic pain and pregnancy, so they don't want to help us. I was fortunate enough to have a doctor that, even as nervous as I knew he was, helped me... when he didn't have the answers we needed he helped me find them, referred me to some other doctor / specialist, etc.. and worked closely with my OB/GYN so that I was watched VERY closely. I was considered high risk simply b/c of the pain meds. Had an ultrasound almost every month, and they watched my little girl carefully, and all was just FINE!

I worried about the same things you both are, and I was told by *some* doctors that my baby may be affected by me taking medication. The alternative was being in pain and actually more doctors told me that THAT was putting my baby at more risk than the low dose of meds. The stress and pain would be more harmful. It's so hard not to feel guilty and people can be sooooo mean and judgmental. You have no idea how many times I doubted myself and cried and was SO ANGRY at my pain for putting me in this position. It was a few good friends who kept reminding me I was doing the best I could.

I am sitting here typing and listening to my six month old babble and coo happily in the background. She came out perfect, and in my eyes has remained perfect!! I know this road is hard... but be open with your doctors, be good to your body, and try to not let your mind take over with the "what if's". In my opinion (I am by no means a doctor) Vicodin is one of the safest IF you have to take a medication. I have found it's also one that doctors seem the most comfortable with, the med they give you in the hospital, etc. Every medication has warnings and risks, but so does every pregnancy that doesn't have pain invovled ya know? These are the cards we are dealt and we will do the best we can for our babies, meaning... we have to take care of US first or they will be no baby! So be good to yourselves!

I'm here if anyone wants to talk.. I've been in your shoes! It's not easy... but it's SO worth it.

Oh, and btw, as for the Duragesic patches, I did talk to some docs about this so PM me and I'll give you the info I received.

All my best to you brave women!!!

Nicole

Hi Nicole --

Well, it looks like the TENS unit is out -- my chiro doc said it can cause the baby's heart to stop beating. Do you know or does anyone else know if that's the case? I can't get ahold of my OB/GYN unitl next week, and I'm so frustrated I could scream. I actually started crying at the chiro's today when they said that. (They were trying to put my SI joint back into place for the 3rd time this week.) I'm really starting to lose it. It's like there's nothing I can do to relieve this pain that won't kill my baby.

thank god for this website, every time I see something someone wrote I feel so much better and not alone. Every thing you guys talk about I can relate to, lack of knowlege of doctors, unwilling to help or even say an opinion, trying to get them all on the same page. I take 4 percocet a day and all the research I did leans towards it being alright (certainly not ideal, but manageable). And I had to do all the research, noone at Group Health could relay anything (except one pharmacist printed a few articles). Just exhausting besides that whole being pregnant part. And so few people understand how exhausting it is to treck to 3 or more appts a week (massage, acupuncture, pain clinic, pain psychologist, med management, etc.) and pulling my poor 2 year old all over with me. Thank you so much all of you for everything you write, it makes me feel like I"m not going crazy and I'm not alone...at least someone understands!! renee

thank you for your response. I am trying non medical treatments. but I know that is not enough. My doctor said that many woman when pregnant come off their meds and just take tylenol and heat packs and are fine. I just started to cry. are those woman in the same intense pain I am in? what do they expect you to do . I don't want to injury my baby but I need to live and take car of my other four children.
elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth and all other lovely ladies.

Good news on the pain front, at least for me. I've found a new chiro and she's really helping with my back. Unfortunately, with my problem (hypermoble joints, aggravated by relaxin), I'll have to go 3x a week until the baby's born. But it has lessened the pain somewhat.
Elizabeth, I don't know if you have tried chiropractic or if it would be appropriate for your condition. But it seems to be helping me (today, that is -- tomorrow -- who knows!)
Keep you chin up, and know that you are not alone. Try to do something nice for yourself this weekend, OK?
Bonnie

finding a ob/gyn to treat me during pregnancy is proving to be a problem. where did you manage to find a doctor? i would love some help.

i would love to find out where you are located. i am pregnant and have not been able to find an ob to work with. would it be possible for us to communicate? dwebb2@windstream.net

quote:

Originally posted by Thankful-for-my-many-blessings:
Good evening, ladies. I found this post several weeks ago when I found out that I was pregnant and frantic. Nicole was so kind and helped ease some of my concerns by sharing her story with me. Thanks Nicole! Since then I've been reading everyone's post. I can so relate.

A little about myself... I'm 12 weeks pregnant! Yeah! I have several chronic conditions, I've had 5 brain surgeries and spinal surgeries, including: being fused from the skull to c-6 employing rods and plates (I can't move my head at all from left to right), I have a VP shunt (in my brain that drains into my stomach), and lots of other fun stuff. So as you can imagine, I deal with some nasty chronic pain issues.

I am very fortunate to have found a great OB. I am high-risk and he is a Maternal-Fetal Specialist. He has lots of experience working with patients in chronic pain. I highly recommend that you all look for a doctor like this. I'm not seeing anyone else currently other than him consulting with my neurosurgeon. He has completely taken over my care while I am pregnant.

I'm not sure if this helps anyone. I just wanted to try and give you gals some hope. I really thought that I would never be able to have children because of my health, pain, and fertility problems.

Bottom line, you can take some pain medicines and have a healthy baby. Most importantly, you need to find a knowledgeable OB to oversee your care.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions.
Stac

I am so happy to have found all of you. I am so sorry that you are in the same boat I am in, but it is comforting to know that I am not the only one. I also just found out I am pregnant. I have chronic nerve pain from a pars defect in my L5 S1 vertebrae. I have been dealing with all of this for over five years. I am currently on Ultracet for pain and Neurontin for nerve pain management. My doctor is still not sure how he is going to handle my pain. Last pregnancy, my hormones actually helped my nerve pain in the first trimester then I had nerve blocks injected. Is anyone else on Neurontin. My doctors are consulting to determine my best treatment.

I'm so sorry some of you are struggling so much. To address some prior posts, I have no knowledge of the TENS unit and pregnancy, but can ask around. I also am not familiar with Neurontin during pg, but do know of a bunch of women who stayed on Ultracet during pg and their babies did great.

Finding a supportive doctor is SO SO SO hard!! It is aggrevating for me that they shy away from us because we have pain. There ARE answers out there, they just have to get off their butt and find them! That's their job - to care for patients! I'm soooooo annoyed with this. My doctor was uneasy about things because I was a fairly "new" situation for her (my OB), whereas my pain doc had dealt with a few pregnancy pts before. My OB made the effort to talk to my pain doc, and then also sent me to a fetal and maternal medicine specialist to check on the baby, me, and also determine if I needed to get off my meds prior to delivery - I didn't. I was blessed in the fact that this maternal med doc was also - get this - a chronic pain sufferer. He was also the one I called on when I wanted to breastfeed and none of the other doctors thought I could take any meds if I breastfed, but he is the specialist on all of this and worked with me to take some meds while breastfeeding. I was able to breastfeed for nearly six months... that's about six months longer than I had thought I would! I guess what I'm saying is keep being your own advocate, seek out doctors that are educated or willing to help you find the answers you need. That Godsend of a doctor told me 'nicole, there is no reason anyone should ask you to be in pain' and that has stuck with me day in and day out!

I've been trying non medication alternatives (massage, acupuncture, etc.) for chronic neck pain (of which they aren't sure exactly what the problem is, which is very frustrating to be in pain every day and not know exactly what to fix...but when I got pregnant I did a ton of research on my meds (percocet) and it looks alright (nothing is best obviously, but not possible for me). Then my PCP came back from a 7 month maternity leave and said "I don't feel safe giving you that, so you need to stop taking it after a one week taper" and after being on it 2 1/2 years...she said "we'll hit it with everything we've got". I should have said-ummm and where have you been, cause I don't know what else I can hit it with???? In all my spare time taking care of my 2 year old and working full time from home...anyway, at least the midwives took pity and gave me a script until I switch to a spine doctor to manage medications for me (hopefully she understands what chronic pain every day is like?? not many people do) One nurse told me, well having kids is painful, welcome to motherhood" I just went home and cried... It's just been hard being jerked around by my medical "team". along with all the other things that seem to go wrong, I almost forget I'm pregnant sometimes. Anyway, here's to hope for everyone. Thanks for listening.

Renee, that is awful! Ask your PCP if she isn't comfortable rx-ing you pain meds during your pregnancy then can she PLEASE refer you to someone who UNDERSTANDS chronic pain so you can explore your options? Your condition isn't something that will just magically go away, especially chasing a toddler around while pg. Do they have pain doctors in your network of physicians? I would push and push, be your own advocate because nobody else will. There may be doctors out there willing to learn with you, as mine was. There are specialists that exist for medications during pregnancy. It amazes me that so many doctors just say "get off the meds" without even looking into it for you with someone who has studied it. Perhaps you may not be able to stay on the percocet, but there are other meds you can be on. Your pain may be a tad higher, but at least you'd have some relief - hopefully enough to get your pain managed most days. Don't give up... switch docs if you have to, exhaust the resources of your midwives, keep searching and learning and sticking up for yourself. Remind these people that your condition is not going to get better tomorrow, you need support, you fear for the stress that withdrawls and daily high pain levels will have on the baby! Ask questions and be confident.

Keep us posted and know you have lots of people here supporting you!

Nicole

Hi everyone --

Renee, I'm sorry you got that kind of reaction - -I did too, from the nurses at my spine doc. The thing to do is just keep trying different docs., do your research on your condition and stay on them. It's your body and your baby. Just know you aren't alone in this.

Hello ladies...
I'm new here and feel incrediably greatful to have found this site, like the rest of you, I'm feeling alone and very guilty. I've read the previous posts and one thing that I do know for sure is that TENS units are a no go during pregnancy. I just had this conversation with my pain doc a couple of weeks ago. The electric current is not safe for the babies heart.
I'm fortunate because both my OB and pain management doc continue to treat me. I think that when you're looking for an OB, look for one that is PRO-life. Doctors treat women that are addics and on methadone everyday. Surely, they wouldn't encourage those women to stop taking methodone!!! Doctors that are truly pro-life realize that they can't always have it their way.
Anyway, I take oxycontin and percocet for chronic pain. I'm 5 months pregnant and am doing really well. I feel better now then I did before I was preggo!! It's great. I saw my pain doc this week and he is encouraging me to stop my pain meds until I have the baby. He has said that he isn't taking my meds away, but he wants me to detox so that my baby doesn't go through withdrawal.
I'm wondering if anyone has expereinced this first hand. I'm scared of withdrawal, but I'm terrified of the pain. I know that this is a personal decision that I have to make, but what I'm trying to figure out is what the consequences will be for my baby. This makes me feel really guilty that I'm trying to decide which one of us should suffer...Has anyone detoxed from pain meds??? Has anyone had a baby that went through withdrawal??? Thank you very much any feedback is much appreciated

Hi Ms. Morgan --
When I had my first baby, I was on morphine for pre-term labor towards the end, and she did not suffer withdrawals. But -- and this is a big one -- I went off it about 5 days before the baby came. Of course, then my blood pressure skyrocketed and I developed pre-eclampsia. If you feel like you can't get off them before delivery, just make sure everyone involved in your newborn's care knows that withdrawal is a possibility so they'll have support available. (And that you have a valid prescription. so you aren't arrested -- a real possibility in some states!!) I'm on Vicodin now and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get off it before my next baby comes in January (if I make it that far!)