Diazepam during pregnancy?

[yellowcal]

It can't be safe can it?

 

Went to my neurologist yesterday for yet another checkup regarding my migraines and while going through the normal questions I am asked at every visit I answered 'yes' to having trouble sleeping sooo he prescribes me VALIUM?!? I looked at him when he handed me the prescription and was like "I am pregnant, I can't take this!" and he basically told me it was safer than most other medications. Are you serious? just had it filled and am calling my OB before I take it but after googling it and stuff it just doesn't seem too safe (Most says it is a big NO NO!). I am trying to avoid any medications that I can possibly avoid during this pregnancy so I will probably never take it anyway but geez.. Just seems like the last thing a doctor would prescribe. What does everyone else think?

[metrogirl]

The only thing the doctor ever let me take for my migraines when I was pregnant was Tylenol with Codeine and only then did I take it when I thought my brain was going to explode.

[yellowcal]

It wasn't for my migraines, it was because I told him I was having trouble sleeping. Just seemed a bit crazy to me.

 

I am on other meds for my migraines (Demerol currently) and I only take it when I absolutely need it.. so far have only taken it once since I became pregnant.

[Seraphim]

I would call your OB. I was lucky to only ever have one migraine while pregnant, being pregnant seemed to fix that for me, thankfully. I was always SO wary of medications while pregnant. It is hard to decide whether a suufering mother or medications will harm a fetus more. I don't know. I took absolutely nothing not even a tylenol and my son has a lot of issues. Some people take tons and their kids are fine. It sometimes appears to be a big lottery, ya know? I would definitely get an OB's opinion though.

[renaissancewoman101]

Do they really restrict meds THAT much when one is pregnant? How do people deal when they have chronic conditions where they HAVE to take meds on a daily basis (blood pressure, asthma, etc)?

[yellowcal]

Do they really restrict meds THAT much when one is pregnant? How do people deal when they have chronic conditions where they HAVE to take meds on a daily basis (blood pressure, asthma, etc)?

 

It is one of those things where you have to outweigh the pros/cons and risks when pregnant. Alot of times they will change your meds if they are unsafe to something that is alittle safer if it's a chronic condition. My friend who has seizures is on a certain medication (cant remember which one) that can be extremely fatal in pregnancy but under her doctors care she still is on the medication because nothing else works and if she doesn't take it not only is her babies life in danger but so is hers. So in cases like that the risks of not taking the medication outweigh the risk of actually taking the medication and harming the baby.

[Seraphim]

Do they really restrict meds THAT much when one is pregnant? How do people deal when they have chronic conditions where they HAVE to take meds on a daily basis (blood pressure, asthma, etc)?

 

I stopped all my asthma medications Ren because they were steriods. There are SOME medications for people with critical conditions, yes. They limit ALL medications that have no studies on fetal development. I was not allowed my migraine medication becaise it had no such study. When I was pregnant with my son even though I was a fountain of vomit all day long my dr even refused to perscribe anything for that and I had gained NO weight even by 30 weeks. You never know what a medication can do to a baby.

[yellowcal]

^ Exactly and even medications that have been "studied" the studies aren't always 100% so if an OB isn't sure about how safe a medication is they would just prefer you not to take it. Think of it like drinking alcohol or doing recreational drugs, they really are no different in instances like this. To a fetus what seems like a safe, normal medication can be extremely fatal or cause severe birth defects.

[Seraphim]

Think of the anti vomit medication women took in the 60" and early 70"s all those babies were born with no hands and some no feet etc. Dr's told women " ohhhh it is safe NO PROBLEM" Tell that to the people with no hands. Personally myself I avoided EVERYTHING.

[Jeen]

It is important to consider that there will be a risk to you and your child from taking a medicine during pregnancy but also a possible risk from stopping the medicine e.g. getting ill again. Unfortunately, no decision is risk-free. It will be for you to decide which is the least risk. All we can do here is to help you understand some of the issues, so you can make an informed decision. For your information, major malformations occur "spontaneously" in about 2-4% of all pregnancies, even if no drugs are taken. The main problem with medicines is termed "teratogenicity" i.e. a medicine causing a malformation in the unborn child. A medicine causing teratogenicity is called a "teratogen". Since a baby has completed it's main development between days 17 and 60 of the pregnancy (the so-called "first trimester") these first 2-16 weeks are the main concern. After that, there may be other problems e.g. some medicines may cause slower growth. The infant may also be affected after birth e.g. withdrawal effects are possible with some drugs.

 

Very few medicines have been shown to be completely safe in pregnancy and so no manufacturer or advisor can ever say any medicine is safe. They will usually advise not to take a medicine during pregnancy, unless the benefit is much greater than the risk.

 

It may be helpful to know that in the USA, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) classifies medicines in pregnancy in five groups:

 

A = Studies show no risk, so harm to the unborn child appears only a remote possibility

B = Animal and human studies indicate a lack of risk but are not fully conclusive

C = Animal studies indicate a risk but there is no safety data in humans

D = a definite risk exists but the benefit may outweigh the risk in some people

X = the risk outweighs any possible benefit

[Catdancer]

I took several meds during my pregnancy. In fact, I've never been on so many meds in my life! At one point, I think I was around 5 weeks, I was having horrible pain in my chest, they thought it was gall bladder, but turned out to be my chest wall was inflamed and every time I moved, it caused pain. I took a course of steroids, Prednisone, for 7 days. The pain was too much for me to bear and caused too much stress on me and the baby, so the risk of not taking it outweighed the risk of taking it.

[Hope75]

This is a class D drug which is known to be teratogenic in animals and with a possible link to teratogenicity in humans, so I would not take this unless you have no other options.

 

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[Hope75]

It wasn't for my migraines, it was because I told him I was having trouble sleeping. Just seemed a bit crazy to me.

 

I am on other meds for my migraines (Demerol currently) and I only take it when I absolutely need it.. so far have only taken it once since I became pregnant.

 

 

If you are having trouble sleeping with the approval of your OB you can try small doses (25mg) of Benadryl which is class B and safer than Valium.

 

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[Catdancer]

I took Tylenol PM when I couldnt sleep during pregnancy. It's just Tylenol and Benedryl.