8 week pregnant and have been taking tramadol. Has there been irreversable damage to unborn baby

[HLSince89]

I was prescribed Tramadol pre-pregnancy for back pain. I just assumed the Doctor knew what I was on, as he went down a list of medications, or medications I stopped. He never mentioned anything regarding Tramadol. I called his nurse, but she never called me back yet. I feel like I caused damage to the unborn baby. I know this med is a category C med for pregnancy, but what I want to know is if there are defects heard of this early on taking this med?....HELP, I'm pulling my hair out!

[Anita]

Don't panic. First of all, I'm guessing you've stopped this medication because yes, it is not good for pregnant women to take. It is not the worst drug in it's category, but it could cause some unwanted side effects in newborns. Hopefully you haven't taken the drug too long, that would make a big difference. Also, you didn't say how far along you are or how long you've been taking it since you found out you were pregnant. You need to talk to your doctor, if the nurse doesn't call you back, call them and explain to them how nervous you are and how you need to talk to someone STAT! Maybe then they will listen. Tramadol can cause some birth issues like withdraw symptoms, cleft palate, seizures, rapid heart beat, premature births, etc, so you are right to be somewhat concerned and need to discuss this with your doctor. But if you haven't taken that much, your early in your pregnancy, and you stopped taking it immediately when you realized that you shouldn't, there's a good chance your baby will be OK. Take care of yourself and your unborn child. Best of Luck to you.

[teddybear]

I took tramadol thoughout my entire pregancy and gave birth to a happy, healthy baby boy. I took 4 per day for extreme lower back pain. My boy is 2 1/2 years old and except for a few colds has never been sick. I'm not say that this is a typical result of taking tramadol during pregancy, I'm just letting you know of my experince.

[tinmuning]

It's always a tough decision when prescribing any medication to pregnant women. So when your doctor prescribed Tramadol to you, he or she has already studied the benefits versus the risk of the drug to you unborn child. As long as you follow the prescription and get the usual check ups, you'll be fine. Of course, as much as possible we want the pregnant individual to take the least amount of medication as possible.

[healthyheart]

Well since the deed is done don't anic and worry about it...it may or maynot have effects on your child.keep good hope and positive thinking and pray for the best.I wish you luck.

[perry]

at a pregancy time try to avoid it as much as you can!

[Every1is=]

I would just make sure that you are off the stuff for a while before the baby gets born, so it doesn't need to feel withdrawel symptoms which cannot be good for it anyway you turn this. It cannot tell you that its feeling like crap when it gets born, but if you slowly build down to 0 then there will not be a problem I would think. There are many more persons taking that druk, but of course, since the drug does things with certain neurotransmitters, it will never be known if it will or will not have any (ill) lasting effect on the baby. I would think that genetics are the thing to worry about most in conjunction with food etc. during pregnancy. Not a little usage of tramadol. Long time high dosage use.... I would definately not do. Not because it might or might not have an effect on the kid but because if there turns out to be ANYTHING wrong with the baby now or later in life, you might be worrying yourself for a thing that you will never know the answer too.

Hell, maybe the serotonin transporter genes will be more activated during growth and you will produce the happiest most inquistive baby ever!!

Just try and limit the usage, thats all I'm saying. I do not believe you should worry too much, for good or bad reasons/things to happen. Just use when needed. Since you are the "growing chamber" for the baby, you are just a tad more important than it..... ;-) And if you are feeling stressed and pain during your pregnancy all the time, I CAN imagine that could also have an effect on the development due to higher stress levels (cortisol etc etc etc etc) within yourself.

Just go with the flow. Have a bit of trust in nature...

Its ashame you weren't more specific on frequency and amount of usage, period etc. But even then NOONE on earth will be able to give you a definate correct answer to your question.