Lin, useful info re pregnancy & opiates

From: Jo Eslick (wallamara@hotmail.com)
Wed Dec 12 18:06:09 2001


Dear Lin,
 
I am a little concerned that you and your doctors are not worried about the drugs you use for pain relief will have little affect on the fetus in uterus, if indeed it does turn out that you are pregnant.
 
During my last pregnancy I suffered from the cruelest kind of pain I have EVER had to endure.  I did this using all of my diversional therapies to help me cope with pain. (If you read my quilt story you will see a brief mention & description of what happened during that time.)  When I could no longer cope on my own with the pain, my doctor would admit me to hospital for rest & pain relief.  At that time the only drug considered safe for my baby was injections of pethadine.  I would only accept this treatment for short periods of time, because I was terrified that I would later discover that pethadine did in fact have an affect on my baby.
 
During that pregnancy I ended up in hospital for approx. 3 months out of the nine & a half months of the pregnancy.  I was admitted to hospital when I was so tired and unable to focus to keep up the diversional therapies to help me cope with the pain.
 
Lin, I really think you need to sort this out as soon as possible, because a fetus is most vulnerable during it's first 3 months of development and growth.
 
Here is a website that has some relevant & important information.  I suggest you read this as soon as possible and then contact and make an appointment to see your doctor.
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/aadac/addictions/beyond/beyond_opioids_pregnancy.htm
 
Love & hugs
Jo

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