Has anyone been prescribed this drug? Tell me about your experience! Why was it prescribed? how often did you take it? did it work? when did your ob take you back off? Did you have any side effects?
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Yes! I took it from 32 weeks until 37 weeks. It was prescribed after my second preterm labor incident. I took it every 6 hours and took the maximum dosage. My OB had me go off it at 37 weeks and fully expected me to go into labor shortly thereafter - jokes on her as I went to 39 weeks (scheduled c section for breeched baby).
The only real side effect I had was if I stood up my legs turned bright red. It was really, really weird. I ended up googling it and it turns out it's a fairly common side effect. Since it's a blood pressure medicine and I was on such a high dosage, my blood pressure was super low on it and sometimes I would get dizzy.
Wall me if you have any other questions!
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I took it last year when I was pregnant with my daughter. At 28 weeks I went into preterm labor, for reasons unknown. I was put on bedrest but went into labor again at 32 weeks. I took Procardia every six hours from 32 to 36 weeks. The only side effect was that I was tired because I had to dilligently take it every six hours, which meant waking up once a night to take it
As I was creeping toward the sixth hour when I would take another dose, I would start to have contractions again. So it was actually very effective in preventing preterm contractions/labor for me (in combination with bed rest). Similar to LBee, my doctor thought I would deliver right at 36 weeks...but my baby hung in there until 39+5 after my water broke and they jumpstarted labor with a whiff of Pitocin.The only thing I didn't like was that it is used off label for preventing preterm labor so there's no really indication of how well it works or how 'safe' it is. But my OB felt this was the preferable option compared to being born before 36 weeks. Good luck!
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I'm considering starting this medicine as well, as I've been having pre-term contractions for the past 2 weeks on and off, with being hospitalized twice because the contractions were very frequent (2-3 minutes apart). I was given terbutaline last night, which helped for a short time, but the contractions started up again this morning. I'm concerned as my doctor explained there are risks of cardiac activity with this drug - heart attacks, etc. Did your doctors discuss that with you at all, and what made you feel comfortable proceeding?
My cervix is closed and my fetal fibronectin tests continue to be negative (one at 28w and one yesterday at 30w).
Thanks for your feedback!
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@SunshineMcC: I completely and totally trust my OB and if she tells me a medicine is worth the risks I believe her. I did take it until 34 weeks, but only as needed. I only had to take maybe 6-7 of them, as I was only told to take it if I had more than 6 contractions in an hour. Now that I am almost 36 weeks my contractions have slowed down quite a bit (weird, I know).
I did have some uncomfortable side effects that I did not like, but I decided it was worth powering through for the few times I had to take it. I had a lot of dizziness and it made my heart race. But they watched me in the hospital while I was having those symptoms and they said that none of them were dangerous to me or the baby...just annoying.
Sorry you are going through this. It's no fun
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@Mrs. Lion: Thanks so much for sharing. My doc sent me home to take it easy the next few days to see if limiting my activity will help at all - I typically commute downtown an hour and have a good amount of walking each day (5-7K steps). I have a follow-up on Monday, so they're going to monitor again and check my cervix and see how things are looking at that point. It's scary and annoying to be dealing with it so early - I'm at 30 weeks now. Did you start it at 31 weeks? Were you dilated at all or showing other signs of PTL? I'm trying to understand when contractions are too many, if you're not dilated or showing other PTL signs. So confusing! Congrats on being at 36 weeks - I bet that's a relief - glad to hear your contractions have slowed down!
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@SunshineMcC: No dilation. My contractions did get worse with activity, so I was on modified bedrest from 32-34 weeks. I had to find full time childcare for my 22 month old because I couldn't pick him up. It is really scary and overwhelming...and unfortunately there is no way to know if your contractions are leading to PTL. I just tried to take it easy, and called my OB if I had 6 or more in an hour. Now that I am past 34 weeks I am only supposed to call if they are 5 minutes apart and a minute long, so I have only had to call once.
Hang in there. I know this isn't easy. But the fact that they are just contractions is good!
As I was creeping toward the sixth hour when I would take another dose, I would start to have contractions again. So it was actually very effective in preventing preterm contractions/labor for me (in combination with bed rest). Similar to LBee, my doctor thought I would deliver right at 36 weeks...but my baby hung in there until 39+5 after my water broke and they jumpstarted labor with a whiff of Pitocin.
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