At my first OB office visit I was presented with a long list of medications to avoid during pregnancy. Also, as any of you on the Dexcom know, when starting on my CGM I was given a list from my endo of medications to avoid that will interfere with it. My question is this: what do I take for pain that does not have acetaminophen but that is safe for pregnancy? My OB wrote me a prescription for hydrocodone (sp?) without Tylenol, but when I took it to the pharmacy my pharmacist said there was no such medicine. Am currently waiting for my doctor to get back with the pharmacy to get me a prescription. Anyone else in the same boat??
Obviously this won’t work for everything, but I make myself drink a big glass of water when I start getting a headache. Most of the time, that takes care of it. If it doesn’t and I want to take something, I’ll take a Tylenol and turn of my Dexcom for 6 hours. (I wouldn’t generally want to do this before bed, though.) For some people, just adding a little more caffeine back into your diet will help if you’re having daily headaches.
But of course, more major pain will need something else. Good luck on getting the hydrocodone. It may be that it’s not commonly carried without Tylenol in pharmacies (but may be more common in hospitals). You might have to call around.
I am not a female so I hope you all don’t mind me posting this but I have made many such inquiries because I cannot tolerate ibuprofen. The only way to get Hydrocodone without tylenol or ibuprofen is at a compounding pharmacy (which I am not sure the cost or if insurance will cover this). In order to get any narcotic without tylenol you have to move up to schedule 2 (hydrocodone with tylenol is schedule 3) narcotics which tend to be more potent (I am not sure how safe during pregnancy either). These include medications like oxycodone and morphine.
I have been wondering this exact thing. I’m not pregnant yet, but have a Dexcom now that I totally rely on to prepare for pregnancy and of course will want to use when pregnant, and have no idea how the no tylenol thing is going to work? I’m actually kind of frustrated that I didn’t know this about tylenol prior to gettting the Dexcom b/c I also have a really bad stomach which ibuprofen can irritate, but I choose that over tylenol now b/c I still want my dex to be accurate! sigh.
Just wanted to provide an update…My doctor called me today and let me know that she wrote me a prescription for Oxycontin, which I couldnt believe! That is very scary for me, knowing what a dangerous narcotic it can be. I want to trust my doctor who is a very well respected high risk OB in my city, but cant help but be nervous to take it. I have done a little bit of research about the effects on pregnancy, and it appears that there are no shown birth defects, but if taken in the end of pregnancy it can lead to withdrawal symptoms in the newborn. I would assume that would happen if I were taking the drug consistently…I really have not had much need for a pain reliever except for the occasional headache (which I have learned to remedy naturally) and more recently some back pain if I am on my feet for long periods of time. I am also experiencing extreme restlessness in my feet and legs especially at night when trying to sleep and am wondering if the Oxycontin will help or hurt the situation? I am desperate for information…Anyone more educated on the subject than myself??
I don’t want to hijack Oh! Baby! discussions but have some experience in this realm and figured I could help alleviate some of your fears. Actually it is interesting you should mention restless feet and legs which is the exact reason I have to occasionally take the same medication as I have Restless Leg Syndrome (which I understand is more likely to happen in pregnancy and Diabetes). Oxycontin is just an extended realease formula of oxycodone which is the same active ingredient of much more used medications, including one you may be more familiar with, Percocet. The reason that Oxycontin has gotten so much press and has been so sensationalized is because often it is given to people in high doses (doses you cannot get percocet in). Some of these patients see profit in this as they can sell it off to abusers. One other reason this is attractive to abusers is that it does not have the acetaminophen in it so they do not have to worry about liver toxicity when they take it in high doses and it also makes it easier to give intravenously (just like heroin) . Believe me I had the same fears as you so I researched in depth before I decided to take it.
My restless legs got so bad I decided to just go ahead and take it (besides my Dr. at the time assured me if used correctly there is little chance of addiction). I only use it when it is so bad I can’t sleep and I have never had any problem with withdrawal or anything like that. As far as the baby is concerned I highly doubt your OB would continue to write enough prescriptions for this to happen. If these symptoms are bad enough take it. Make sure you are only taking it on occasion and that you are taking it at or less than the level the doctor prescribes. If you react to it anything like I do you likely will just want to sleep when you take it. I hope I have helped a little. Good Luck!
I was told acetaminophen is fine. I’m with a high risk ob as well. Things like aspirin or Ibuprofen are things to avoid so is lortabs of any kind and other narcotics. They affect child development.
Thank you MossDog! That post did alleviate some of my fears and am now considering filling the prescription and using only on occasions that I really need it. Thanks again!
I had a whopping headache the other morning and tried to will it to go away to no avail. I just decided to take Tylenol and put my Dex away in a drawer for a few hours until it started being accurate again. It was only about 6 hours without the Dex which was not so bad! And my headache went away quickly!