Evidently there is quite the discussion going on over at the Storkcalling Blog about whether or not it is safe to take Sudafed PE while pregnant. Let's see what all the fuss is about....
"A friend of mine e-mailed me the following story on Sudafed and Sudafed PE."
"A few months back, I had a terrible cold. My doctor told me to take Sudafed - Regular Sudafed, not the cold and cough, or any of the other combination ones. We already had that Sudafed at home, so I started taking it. About 5 days later, the cough had gotten bad, and I don't like taking cough medicine, so I called the doctor to see if I could take Sudafed cold and cough.
I checked the ingredients on the sudafed website, and they were the same as taking regular Sudafed and Robitussin, which is allowed when pregnant. [my husband] went to the pharmacy to get it for me since the doctor said those ingredients that I read to her were ok. Luckily, he told the pharmacist I was pregnant, just to make sure they said it was ok, and they told him I could not take it. I told him my doctor said it was ok, and went over the ingredients with him.
Her information was outdated. A while back, Sudafed changed their formula because people were using it to make crystal meth. You can still buy regular Sudafed, but it is behind the counter, and you have to sign for it. What they now sell as "regular" sudafed over the counter is Sudafed PE.
I called the doctor to see which one I was supposed to be taking, and the nurse told me NOT to take the PE because it can constrict the blood vessles around the placenta. She said as long as I still feel the baby moving, everything is ok, but not to take it anymore. I called my friend and she was also taking the Sudafed PE and had another friend who was pregnant and had also taken it not knowing that there were 2 different ones out there."
It is important to know that due to the fact that original Sudafed is now behind the counter because illegal substances were being made from it, the makers of Sudafed have reformulated their product (now Sudafed PE) with a different type of decongestant called Phenyleprine, which is a vasoconstrictor. This ingredient, while useful to help nasal congestion by constricting the sinus blood vessels could also conceivably constrict the blood vessels around the placenta in pregnant women.
I read this story to my friend, Lori, she's been a nurse for over 16 years and she definitely knew the differences of the Sudafeds when I read the article to her. While she does note that regular Sudafed has been safe for pregnant women for years, she highly recommends you always check with your doctor first. But what if your doctor and the pharmacist don't agree don't agree on the safety of certain medications? Nurse Lori says, "Go with what the doctor says!" While pharmacists know all about drugs and medications only your doctors knows all about you!
Jim, at Storkcalling, recently received a response to a letter he wrote to Pfizer Consumer Health Care, regarding the safety of their products while pregnant. You can read Pfizer's response here.
Add to:
I tried not to take anything while I was pregnant. I didn't trust it, even if it said it was ok.
Posted by: Jenny | May 7, 2007 11:35:55 AM
I want to know if Sudafed for cold and cough is safe during pregnancy?? i am 5 months pregnant and took 2 Sudafed twice and i am quite worried now
Posted by: Parveen Emrith | Sep 5, 2007 12:03:37 PM
Thank you SO much for your post. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and have been avoiding medicine through my whole pregnancy. As luck would have it I just got a horrible cold and didn't want to risk being sick and being a germy mess when my baby arrived so I decided to take Sudafed PE - Nasal Decongestant. Right before I took it i found your article and realized that what I had purchased was not what my doctor had prescribed. I drove back to the drug store and got the regular kind. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Posted by: Cristy | Jan 25, 2008 11:21:54 PM
Cristy, you are so welcome. We are so glad that our story helped prevent such a mistake. Please let us know when your bundle of joy arrives. Hope your cold is behind you for that beautiful event. We hope to see you visiting all our "Shaks" in the future.
Posted by: Kathy H | Jan 28, 2008 12:45:04 PM
thanks for the article! I have a terrible cold and my dr said it was ok to take sudafed as long as it didn't say extended release or releif but I'm a little hesitant about taking it now. I'm 14 weeks and have taken 2 pills yesterday and since I can't feel my baby move yet I'm just going to steer clear of sudafed until my dr appt next week. Thanks again!
Posted by: Lisa | Mar 8, 2008 11:41:31 AM
I'm 16 weeks pregnant and I've had a cold with a very bad cough for about a week now. I've been so afraid to take anything because I don't want to hurt my baby. My doctor told me the same thing that I can take sudafed the one where you have to get from the pharmacist. Well it was kind of late so they were closed so I just picked up what was on the shelf. I thought it would be ok to take. But I was so scared to take it though. I ended up having a really bad cough attack one night and I had to take something so I ended up just taking one pill of the sudafed. I've been freaking out ever since. And now that I've read your article I'm even more nervous. You know someone needs to come out with a medicine just for pregnant woman to take so we all know it will be safe.
Posted by: Sharon | Apr 30, 2008 8:42:22 AM
So what we're saying here is that the original Sudafed, the one that contains ingredients suitable for meth additcts is SAFER than the one with Phenylephrine? I think they're both bad. Pseudoeephedrine is a derivitave of ephedrine. It also has the potential to induce hypertention. It even says on wikipedia that decongestion techniques such as saline solution should be tried first. Makes sense to me.
Posted by: Lauren | May 5, 2008 8:40:11 AM
i had being taking sudafed pe but i knew there was something fishy about it i remember long time ago when i was pregnant with my first baby it was different i just called the pharmacy and they told me to go and ask for it they have it behind the counter and you have to sign for it im no doctor or pharmacist if they say sudafed pe is not good for my baby i trust them.
Posted by: julie | Jun 3, 2008 4:33:47 PM