So, I’ll start with the obvious: don’t try and detox from opiates, subs, or done cold turkey while pregs (or ever imo) but I did want to share my story in case it helps anyone..

I was tapering from methadone when I got pregnant. I had been tapering for a long time (6 yrs on methadone, addict prev 4). I spoke to the clinic dr about it and she told me that if I was not concerned that I would start using again during the pregnancy (which I was not worried about) that without question I should get off of it before baby arrives. So I went down in 5 mg doses each week until I hit 10 mg, then 1-2 mg every few days. By my 25th week I was finished! If I can do it, anyone can. I’ve been addicted to some or many things since I was 16, and methadone became my security blanket for yrs now. I’ve not been able to get off before bc I’ve always s been terrified of the withdrawals, but at the pace I tapered I felt nothing until I got to 8 mg. Never was baby in any w/d, how I know this is the worst I experienced is restless legs, sleeplessness, and stomach issues ... nothing an Imodium couldn’t fix.

A couple thoughts I’d like to share..

-personally, I realized that pregnancy was the best time for me to taper off, bc the withdrawal symptoms were all also pregnancy symptoms ( restless leg, achy, insimnia, making it easier for me to not obsess 24/7 that I was in w/d.

- the stigma and guilt of my baby possibly having NAS (neo-natal abstinence syndrome) was the strongest motivator I’ve ever had. I’ve known people whose babies spent 59 days in NICU withdrawling from methadone and couldn’t handle the stress of 9 months of fear of it. Plus my friends and fam don’t know about the m-done and explaining that would be too much for me

— don’t hang out around a few mgs at the end thinking that you’ll get sicker when u hit 0 mg- I wish I had gone down 1 mg every 2 days at the end but got scared and hung out at 3-5 mg for so long, I actually felt BETTER at 0!

- be prepared that there is very little literature on getting off while preggo out there, which was so hard for me. I saw a high risk doc, OB, and suboxone specialist before deciding to do this to make sure it was safe, and as long as mommy isn’t feeling strong w/d, it is safe. My docs told me that the only reason tapering while pregnant is not pushed more by medical communit is two reasons 1) risk of mothers trying to go cold turkey or dropping too quick and 2) risk of methadone mothers stopping monitored maintenance leading to illicit drug use during pregnancy.

im 8 weeks off and feeling great! Baby coming in just 2 months! I wish someone had detailed their full experiences for me to read so I wouldn’t have felt so alone, so any questions feel free to ask! Good luck 🍀

Methadone and Pregnancy