saw a horrible dr who said my baby would be born addicted

I am 35 weeks pregnant and have been on subutex the entire time. I have weaned down to 2 mg a day. I'm in a situation which has forced me to switch sub docs. I made an appt and went to see a new dr today and it was absolutely horrible! As soon as he saw that I was pregnant he became mean and nasty, and told me that he would in no way see me, and that my baby was going to be born addicted..and then stormed out..leaving me in tears. I have been reading the posts on here for quite a while, and until today I felt quite sure that my baby would be ok since I'm on such a low dose. Now I feel scared and hopeless and just plain guilty. How could a dr treat me that way? What happens if my baby is born addicted? What if there are no drs out there that will take me as a patient now that I'm at the end of my pregnancy? If I do wait until the baby is born, is it still recommended that I stay on subutex, or could I go back to suboxone? If anyone out there can help or offer up any advice I would appreciate it ! Thanks so much!

I'm so sorry the doctor you saw recently was such an asshole to you. That's terrible and I'm sure its caused you anxiety. I'm also pregnant, and when i first found out about my pregnancy, I went to see my sub doctor the next day and was in tears because I was so worried about being pregnant on suboxone (my husband and I weren't trying to get pregnant, but things happen!). In my case, my sub doctor was extremely reassuring and put me at ease by telling me about some of her other sub patients who gave birth to perfectly healthy babies while taking this medication. According to my doctor, the pregnant women she has treated had been taking higher doses of suboxone, anywhere from 8-24 mgs, and their babies were still fine after they were born. However, she did point out that regardless of the dose you take, there's always a chance that your newborn could suffer from some withdrawal. Its impossible to determine whether or not this will happen, of course, but its something we as pregnant women need to be aware of.
One thing you do not want to do is go through terrible withdrawals while you're pregnant, because this can put your baby at risk. Some women are able to taper off suboxone successfully while pregnant, without any acute withdrawal, and if this is something you want and are able to do, then that would be an option. But its unfortunate that the doctor you saw just flat out refused to treat you, after knowing that you are currently taking the medication... Was he thinking that you should just quit cold turkey right how? Its frustrating that he doesn't realize that this isn't at all good for you or your baby right now.
As another poster mentioned, I would try to find another doctor asap. I would call other practices and explain your situation until you find someone that will see and treat you. I'm not sure why you left your other doctor, but was he or she okay prescribing you the subutex while you were pregnant? There are others out there that should be willing to help you now. And to answer your question about taking subs after pregnancy, that would depend on your doctor. Some don't ever prescribe subutex and will only prescribe suboxone (like my doctor - even though i'm pregnant, she didn't switch me to subutex). Subutex is definitely more inexpensive, but not all docs will prescribe it. good luck. I'm sure you'll be able to find another doctor who knows what's best for you.

momma30 - So sorry you were treated like that. That kind of behavior from a doctor is enough to send anyone into a tailspin! I don't understand how any person can treat another human being that way...especially a pregnant woman!

I'm not sure if you have visited this website, but if not, here is a link for you to read some of Dr. Junig's blog entries on buprenorphine and pregnancy.

http://suboxonetalkzone.com/category/pregnancy/

Why that pig-headed, misinformed, pretentious, buffoon of a terrible doctor!!! How dare he make you feel horrible because you're pregnant and on sub! Would he rather have you on an uncontrolled amount of street opiates??? He is also putting you in a position where your baby could be harmed by your sudden withdrawal!

Do you have a good enough relationship with your former doctor for him/her to write you one more script while you're trying to find another sub doctor? Maybe that would get you through the rest of your pregnancy. Maybe even your Ob/Gyn could write you a script of sub to avoid the negative effects on the baby.

Make sure you follow the link Taurus gave you. Dr. Junig has a ton of good and mind relieving information on Suboxone and pregnancy. That doctor could use the information too! Not that he'll admit that he's wrong. There are a lot of success stories on this subject in "Suboxone and Pregnancy". Read through them and I'm sure you'll feel better!

Take care! I'll be thinking of you and your baby.

Amy
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Done is better than perfect!

What a heartless prick! Yes, stay on subutex and keep searching for a new doctor. It's not safe to end your treatment in the third trimester. Try your damnedest to just IGNORE everything this motherfucker said to you, OK?

Read what Dr. Junig has to say on his blog and all the other threads here. That guy is an asshole and obviously has NOTHING to offer you. Vent and cry over it, then let it go. That's my advice to you, on top of all the excellent advice you've gotten on this forum already.
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-As I have grown older, I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is a piece of cake.

-I'm only responsible for what I say, not for what you understand.

Thank you all so much. I hear so many conflicting stories. Some babies are fine, some have NAS. I will just have to wait and see. I have enough subutex to get me through until July when the baby is born. I am going to try to go back to my first doctor. The truth is, he hired my sister in law to work in his office! Unfortunately, none of my family knows I am on this medication and I really didnt want her to know. But if I have no other choice, I will have to tell her. Thanks again for all your support! I cant wait to have this baby and just know that shes healthy!!

I was on suboxone when pregnant with my second daughter. I tapered down until I was at 8-12 mg a day and when I tried to get lower than that, I was an incredible mess - depression was awful. I let my prescribing doc know and my OB/G
YN know exactly what was happening. They kept the approach "You have to take care of you first" the entire pregnancy. My baby girl was born with withdrawal symptoms. She had the shakes, she was very fussy, and she had a fever. I was so pissed at myself. I just cried and cried. I felt like everyone was talking about the loser Mom with the addicted (yet gorgeous) baby girl.

I had a substitute doctor on the weekend and he was a jerk. Basically said "You were on narcotics pregnant so of course your daughter is addicted and is suffering" and walked out of the room. More tears but my husband was actually on my side. He reminded me I hid nothing from the docs and I couldn't have worked due to my mood when my dose got lower and lower. I wrote the hospital about this doctor. I received call from the head of the hospital at home due to my letter. He was not termed but is currently attending training on suboxone and pregancy. If he did this again, he was fired. The power of the pen.

She stayed in the hospital 1 more day than a normal baby. If I held her, she was not nearly as fussy, which says a lot about a baby and the incredible bond with its Mom. I took her to her 1 week appt and the doc gave her a clean bill of health and hugged me and I cried again. (Stupid hormones! Tears all the time!) She is a healthy 4 year old now. Gorgeous. Stubborn. I still remember how bad I felt about myself seeing her little hands shake because of me. That still makes me cry. I also wonder if she will be more predisposed to an addiction due to this. God, I pray not.

If I had to do it again, I don't think I would change a thing.

To Momof2girlz:

Did they put your daughter on morphine? What did they do that they had to keep her an additional day? Just wondering if even though she was showing symptoms of NAS, she did not need treatment? How long before she started showing signs of withdrawal? Thanks so much for sharing your story. I am down to 2mg, maybe my baby will be ok..I hope.

Did you read Dr. Junig's blog post, "Withdrawal in newborns, lay off the guilt trip" yet? If you haven't, please do!

http://suboxonetalkzone.com/withdrawal-in-newborns-lay-off-the-guilt-trip/

He explains why even IF a newborn does go through some withdrawals, it's not the same experience we go through because they don't have the same brain development. There is no anxiety for them the way we have it. And remember, a huge part of our withdrawals are psychological, related to our addiction and anxiety related. Please do read it if you haven't. I predict you'll feel a lot better. Hang in there and stop feeling guilty. You staying out of active addiction IS doing the right thing.
_________________
-As I have grown older, I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is a piece of cake.

-I'm only responsible for what I say, not for what you understand.

Momof2girlz - So glad to hear that your daughter is doing great! Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing.

They discussed morphine but wanted to wait one day and she improved so much, she went home! No to NAS. She has no memory of it - obviously - so I understand Dr J's no guilt on the mother posting, but I still felt guilty. I don't live with the guilt ever day though because I didn't hide anything from the drs or my hubby. It doesn't cause me to lose sleep today or anything. I feel worse about my first daughter when I was using narcotics. Thankfully, God gave me the strength to stop using about 30 days before she was born (I knew the date due to c-section) and she was just fine. I lost it totally during the post-partum period and ended up in treatment when she was 2 months old. That was so hard, but I am a better Mom now because of it. Life hasn't been perfect... but a zillion times better.

I think you and your baby will be just fine if you are on 2 mg. My personal opinion. Just make sure your OB/G
YN, the baby's pediatrician and Dad are in the loop.