Hypopituitarism, Pregnancy & Pain Management: What You Need to Know

Question
 I have severe chronic pain due to migraine headaches and fibromylgia and was diagnosed with hypopituitarism last year.  I'm wondering if it is dangerous not to treat my pain during pregnancy because I don't produce cortisol to deal with the stress.  Is taking one to two percocet a day likely to cause birth defects?  Is there a safer opiate pain reliever?

Answer
Dear Amy,

Percocet is a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is perfectly ok during pregnancy. It is the oxycodone that is of concern. Generally, oxycodone is considered a FDA Pregnancy Category B drug. This means that controlled studies done on animals in reproduction do not indicate risk to the fetus but no adequate and well-controlled studies have been done on pregnant women. There is limited human data but no association with congenital defects is reported during 1st trimester exposure. With prolonged use, it may cause neonatal withdrawal. It could cause breathing problems or addiction/withdrawal symptoms in a newborn.

As to whether there is a better choice of medication for your diagnoses, that would be a question for your doctors. They would be much better suited to answer that for you; but of many narcotics, this seems to be one of the safer ones in pregnancy to my knowledge.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda