Chronic Pain

Congratulations, Sasha! I'm so glad this site has helped put your mind at ease. Much credit goes to Nicole (aka IceCreamGoddess) who started this thread and still comes back to share from time to time.

In your search for a doctor, see if there are any obstetricians that specialize in high-risk pregnancies in your area. They usually have the most experience in dealing with women who need to take medications during their pregnancy.

I wish you and your baby the very best!

Karen

Thank you.. just what I needed - a thread of hope...

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I just found this site, and thread.... this has been an incredibly difficult time for me, and I have been quite lonely in my struggle with medical issues and pain.

One of the biggest is that my husband and I were trying to get pregnant when this began....

Now, 2 surgeries, and chronic pain later... I really want to have a baby.

It is helpful to me to read about many of you who have successfully done this! I thought that taking the pain medication would prevent me from this.

I have made appointments with my OB and my pain mgmt doc. What would you recommend I say, bring with me to have them be open-minded to me trying to get pregnant while still taking the pain medication?

Ant advice would be helpful. It would feel as if one thing in my life might be normal again.

Hello Ladies,
Its been a while... a long while of thinking, debating, researching and figuring out whose needs/want take priority...in the end, I always knew that my hubby and I would decide to try for a baby, despite the seriousness of the meds I'm taking. Now that we're going for it and definitely trying [poor man is getting worn out], I'm worried whether we can even have kids. I guess part of chronic pain is the chronic worrying, and now that I've stopped worrying about whether we SHOULD, I now worry whether we COULD. Crazy, eh? Wish us luck...I'll keep you posted.

Hi! I currently have a 14 month old son. When I was 4 months pregnant with him, my chronic rib pain began. I have had numerous tests done, and nothing has been found (yes, I had my gallbladder checked). I ended up on bed rest for the last 2 months of my pregnancy because of the pain. I still have the pain, and it gets just as severe as it did during pg., it just takes a little longer for it to get that bad (a couple hours vs. 10 minutes standing or sitting). I am losing faith in doctors. None seem to care, even though I am only going to be 25 next week. Someone my age SHOULD NOT be in this kind of pain! One person told me to avoid carrying my son. Are you kidding me?! Ha, thanks for giving me a place to vent.

Hello Nicole,

I am approximately 14wks pregnant and am suffering from chronic shoulder pain and headaches. I was advised by my doctor to only take tylenol while im pregnant. Tylenol doesnt even touch the pain of a headache or my shoulder pain so i have started taking ibuprophen which seems to make it alot more tolerable when i am really hurting. I researched it online and it said its fine to take every once in awhile but not for chronic pain management while pregnant especially in the last trimester. Please help???

Hello Kathy Lee Richards,

I posted below about being pregnant and having chronic shoulder pain and headaches that only has been getting worse in the last two weeks. Im concerned because taking ibuprophen is not recommended for chronic pain and tylenol doesnt even touch the pain im experiencing. What do you recommend? I am 29 years old and this is my first pregnancy.
Thanks,
Eve

Hi Ladies,

I'd like to welcome each of you to ChroicPainConnection. I'll reply to each of you individually in this post.

Countess Drug-ula –

I do wish you luck! Many years ago I went through a period of wondering whether I could get pregnant, so I know what that feels like. Thankfully, I now have three children and eight grandchildren. I hope things go as well for you and you have a baby soon. Please keep us posted.

randr –

Whoever told you to avoid carrying your son must not have had children. It's virtually impossible not to lift and carry a 14-month-old child at least part of the time!

I'm sorry to hear you're still having such severe rib pain. Unfortunately sometimes doctors don't take pain seriously in a younger person – why I don't know. But don't give up! You deserve to know what is causing your pain and what can be done about it. If you haven't already done so, you might try seeing an orthopaedic specialist. They deal with the musculoskeletal system and should be able to find out what the problem is. Don't let doctors intimidate you or brush you off. You are paying them to provide a service and they need to do whatever is necessary to give you an accurate diagnosis. If you find it difficult to be assertive with doctors, you might try taking someone with you, such as a husband or other family member, who can give you support and help insist that the doctor do whatever is necessary to identify the problem. Good luck to you!

Eve (kittykat)

The issue of whether to take medication and what kind to take during pregnancy is a tough one. Of course it's best to take as little as medication as possible, but sometimes people with severe chronic pain have to find another option. As you've probably read in other posts here, women have even taken opioids like oxycodone during pregnancy and had healthy babies. But it's unlikely that a regular OB will prescribe anything like that. If your pain gets severe enough to require something that strong, you'll probably have to see an OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

Be sure to tell your doctor that Tylenol doesn't touch the pain and ask for a recommendation on using ibuprofen – maximum dosage and how long in the pregnancy you can use it.

You might also consider trying some non-medication therapies for pain relief. Acupuncture can be very effective for the types of pain you mentioned. A TENS unit is another good possibility and it's something you can have at home and use whenever you need it. Also, some types of massage therapy can be helpful for head and shoulder pain.

I wish you the best and hope you're able to get some relief soon. And I hope you'll keep us posted on how you're doing.

Karen

Just wanted to say thank you all. The info has been very helpful. I recently got married and the husband and I have been talking about our future and children. I've had chronic pain for about 5 years now from repeated inguinal hernia repairs. I have scar tissue neuromas. I've always wondered if pregnancy was even possible for me and reading your stories has given me lots of hope. Thank you ladies and keep up the inspirational stories!!

Hello anyone out there. I am a 2 yr old reflex sympathetic dystrophy/fibromyalgia/interstitial cystitis pt. for 5 yrs. I am 15 wks pregnant (unplanned, shocked & thrilled). Stopped taking all meds but 1 transdermal narcotic (unfortunatey doesnt help manage pain at all at this dose, just prevening withdrawal). There is such a lack of information, support, encouragement, understanding and compassion for pregnant chronic pain pts out there. I am having an exceptionally hard time coping w pain right now. I dont know what worries me more: taking any sort of meds while pg (esp opiater tca)or worrying about the effects of the physical pain & stress on the baby. I am so confsed at a loss. Also i am going 2 - 5 days at a time w out sleeping. Any advice aboutpain or sleep meds, coping, etc, anyone wanting or needing to talk please let me know. Ironically, in my "previous life" before chronic pain took over in my early 20s i was a RN specilizing in maternal-child health, l & d. If I can be any help to anyone i will do my best. However, i had virtually no experience w chronic pain pts during my career.The only babies i ever saw tha had been exposed to narctics were those withdrawing from methadone b/c of mom's addiction-maintenance (as more health care workers look & treat me like an addict i must say i have much more empathy). I feel like i'm starting at square 1.I want to do the best thing for this baby. How do I balance that and caring for myself, surviving & hopefully enjoying this pregnancy?

My husband and I are so happy to find this sort of support group for people like me who are scared, pregnant, and in pain.My pain was always so bad that I would just wish to die before I got the best news of our lives,im filing our dream of bringing life into this world. I guess what I went through isnt the first time anyone has gone through it. The pain so bad you dont want to get out of bed, finding out your pregnant gives you the best feeling you ever had,then your brought down by a horrible reminder that you could be the cause of harming your own unborn child. You see I have a neurological disorder and have gone through many surgeries and had another coming up in January that I wont be having for great reasons. I just found out I am pregnant with my first child two days ago, I am not too sure how far along since I have been getting my period. I am SO scared because I have been on narcotics for years and for the past 8 months I have been on oxycotin. I have been trying not to take my meds but I just cant,the pain is so bad at times that it ruins my quality of life but the quality of our unborn baby's life is SOO much more important I just dont know how to deal with the pain yet and pray its not too late cause I dont know how far along we are.I feel like I'm going crazy with worry which is causing stress...grrr well thanx for letting me vent =/ please prey to any god you may prey to,I am SO scared...I do have an appointment with a specialist on the 21st

I was wondering if anyone with CRPS while they were pregnant did the baby's heart rate go down one day not very low but it worried me. I have had CRPS for three years now and i am 24 and this is my first baby and i am 8 weeks and i have been off my meds now for awhile. Im just concerned the Docs think it could be because of my diease that is why it went down some and they are worried so that makes me worried. I havent had any cramps or anything everything else is going according to what it should so i was just wondering if anyone else had a low fetal heart rate on one u/s i go back to the doc to see if it came up on monday but would love some feedback.

Thanks whitney

First off, I just want to say How Gratefull I am to have found this message board! To everyone who has posted here & shared your stories, Thank you for your bravery! It is a shame that resources are so limited on this subject.

I have suffered from a chronic pain condition for 11 years now, having numerous spinal surgeries to try to minimize the pain as much as possible & also to stablize my lower spine & neck. I am now newly pregnant (almost 6 weeks) and don't have my first OB apt for another few days. It will be the first time for me to see this Dr. and I honestly expect the worst reaction from them. As for my Pain management Dr., I have had a Wonderful caring Dr for a year now, after loosing my previous pain management Dr due to retirement & then getting stuck with his replacement for more than a year who was less than enthused about treating me. I've already had more than my fair share of Dr.s who are more judgemental than helpful; and even though My current pain managment Dr. is absolutely wonderful, I'm scared to death of telling them I am pregnant, that I will get dropped as a patient.

My DH is wonderfully supportive, and has been my ONLY real support through the years & numerous surgeries. Yes, we are concerned about the medications I am on, but we also know that it is important for me to be in as little pain as possible for the baby's sake.

Any support or advice you Ladies could share with me would be most helpfull & most appreciated!

Hi all- I am new to this site today and super excited to find it!! I am pregnant with my fifth baby and have been living with chronic pain for longer than I can even remember. When I had my first daughter my fibromyalgia kicked into high gear and set me on my path to pain management. I had it for years previously but was able to manage it unmedicated until then. It wasn't until my third baby that I had a serious need to continue pain treatment throughout my pregnancy. Wow was that ever a fun thing being told sorry can't help you-if you cared about your baby you would get off everything! Forget the fact that there are safe medications-forget the fact that there are also sever consequences to having serious untreated pain and the stress it puts on your body and baby-just push aside the facts that you do have a life and responsibilities outside of being bed ridden from pain-just find a way to deal with the pain unmedicated so there is no discomfort to an uninformed and lazy physician. In essence I honestly feel that reading between the lines those things are exactly what I was being told. I was so hurt and betrayed thinking all this time I have trusted my health and life in these peoples hands and they do not care about me at all-I'm not a person to them-If so I wouldn't be so easily dismissed-RIGHT? If it was a matter of just dealing with the pain without medication and that was actually possible- I WOULD HAVE BEEN DOING SO ALL ALONG! I mean really! the nerve of these people to think its all so simple-that I have been taking these medications for fun-that I don't really need em at all! That is what is implied in saying just take some tylenol it works wonders for all the other pregnant women! Oh how I wish I could be one of them, not deal with the scrutiny and judgment of uneducated opinionated people who truly have no clue not one about what it feels like to live in my body with my pain! To be made to feel like an uncaring addict who is so selfish they would risk the health of their unborn baby to save themselves from being uncomfortable-HA! Uncomfortable is just about the understatement of the century, and addict-I love that one-I'm addicted to being able to take care of my children and get out of bed and go to work 6 days a week and actually participate in my own life rather than lie in bed in agony and tears, If I am an addict it is only to those things and not to the pills that make those a possibilty for me! I would love to never take another pill and never worry about how bad today will be even with the pills, but some of us were not given that path in life and so we find a way to live still past all of the hardships and to make it work for us. I'm on my fifth child and still everyday I struggle to have anyone understand what its like to live in the pain that I do, and why I haven't any choice in my need for medication. Finding any doctor to treat me is near impossible and still after 2 completely healthy pregnancies and children I have to re-explain how I have done the research myself and have 2 wonderful living happy healthy proofs that it is possible to have children while being medicated for chronic pain. I wish I could be more positive to those of you out there who are just looking to hear it's not that hard but it would be a complete lie. It's beyond hard but it IS POSSIBLE! Keep your faith do your own research and prepare yourself for anything because that's reality. It won't be easy to find a doctor who knows anything about treating a pregnant woman with chronic pain and even more disappointing is they aren't willing to look listen and learn either. The research and proof is out there and they just don't want the hassle. So take it upon yourself to be their educator in any way you can and do your very best to find a doctor before pregnancy rather than after because you WILL be put in a bad position on your medications if not. However there are plenty safe medications that you can take to help make the dream of being a mommy real-and just living with pain should not be the deciding factor in if you can or should! I wish the best of luck to anyone out there who has ever been or will ever be in this position and feel so completely helpless, it is possible and it is worth it, but it is not easy.