Medicine for nausea/morning sickness in pregnancy?

[daisymommy]

Well, it's been about a week since I last was on the boards. Since then I have been soooo sick with all day long morning sickness. I am thankful that I'm not actually vomitting, but I feel like I want to--nearly every second of the day. It has obviously affected how much I am eating, and my activity level. I'm just a bump on the couch, feeling like I don't want to move. UGH.

I went to my 1st prenatal appointment, and discussed this with my OB. She offered to write a prescription for an anti-nausea medicine, but at the time I declined because I didn't want to be taking any unneccesary drugs while pregnant. But now, I just am lying here feeling miserable, thinking there is no way I want to feel this way for another month or so till I am past the first trimester. I am not at all enjoying being preggo, and I have waited for this for 2 years now.

So, what meds. have you mama's taken during pregnancy that worked well for you, with the fewest side effects? I think there is one out there that starts with a Z--Zofran maybe? But I thought I heard it makes you really tired like an antihistamine? Something that will not work for me since 3 Joshua is home with me 24/7.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have. FYI...I've tried the whole Saltines, 7-UP, ginger, yada-yada-yada approach. Not cutting it! :)

[g-mama]

Zofran is the one most people use. It did not work for me with my second pregnancy, but it was a wonder drug this time around. There were no antihistamine side effects - maybe you're thinking of Phenergan? I tried that with my first pregnancy and it did nothing to help the nausea but made me unbelievably tired. The biggest side effect I noticed with the Zofran was constipation - sorry, TMI.

I know how bad it feels to deal with all day sickness and have another child to care for. Hugs to you, mama. Hang in there.


Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
and a *THIRD BOY* coming in December '05

[trumansmom]

Zofran was a life saver for me! I lost 20 pounds in the first 5 months of pregnancy, and ended up having to get IV fluids. It definitely made me feel MUCH better.

And to add one more thing to your "yada-yada-yada" list, have you tried Propel water? Someone suggested it to me, and it did help me. It may be the B vitamins in it, or it could be that it just happened to be what worked for me.

Good luck. I found being pregnant with a toddler, no matter how very much wanted, intended and celebrated that pregnancy to be, was very, very hard. However, Eleanor was definitely worth it!! :)

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04
Independent Consultant, Do-Re-Me & You!

[MartiesMom2B]

Zofran was my friend. Please get it if you are miserable. None of the old wive's tales to cure morning sickness worked for me and the morning sickness made me so miserable that I was depressed for a good bit of my pregnancy.

-Sonia
Mommy to my Strawberry Shortcake lovin' Martie

[kensjen]

I agree with Kristin. Zofran is what I have been taking...for about 12 or 13 weeks now. I didn't want to take it in the beginning either, but that only lasted a few days! LOL I also began to quickly lose weight and had to be hospitalized for dehydration...so I really needed it. It has helped me, but is not the miracle drug I had hoped for. I think it just depends on how sick you are, for me it just took the edge off. But hey, that is better than nothing!

There are other things you can try such as B6, Unisom, etc...there were suggestions in an old thread. They didn't help me, but maybe you would be more comfortable trying that first? Although I know all you want is to feel better!! I hope you do Amy, I wouldn't wish this on anyone!

And yes, constipation is a side effect, but it doesn't make me tired. (phenergan does, I'd stay away from that) My midwife did recently mention that she would like for me to wean off of it, if possible, I guess I have been on it longer than most of her patients. I am taking half of what I used to take and it is getting better.

I hope you find something that works for you, so you can enjoy being pregnant!


ETA: Also, check with your insurance to make sure they pay for it. It is a VERY expensive drug. My insurance only allows me to get a 5 day supply at once which retails for around $400 (that is for 8 mg, twice a day, I have cut it down to 8 mg a day recently....just a bit of info you probably didn't need!)

[nd93]

There is an over the counter medicine called Emetrol that is for nausea. My OB recommended it for my first pregnancy. I can't remember if it helped or not though! But look it up and maybe ask your OB about it.

[annex]

FYI, if you're not actually vomitting, Zofran may not be for you. It tends to be more useful in preventing vomiting than nausea (it's not an antihistamine type drug). You might do better with a Unisom(Doxylamine)/B6 otc combo, Meclizine, or Phenergan. If you split the pills up into smaller doses, it helps negate the drowsiness effects.

You can also call the Motherisk Nausea & Vomiting in Pregnancy helpline to get recommendation for safe treatments:
http://www.motherisk.org/sickness/index.php

Hoping you get some comfort soon, I know how much the 1st tri sucks,
Anne

[Corie]

My husband brought this home from the pharmacy and it
came right back up!

[nd93]

Oh Dear! Maybe that's why I don't remember much about it, maybe it didn't help much?

I guess if you decide to try it, be careful!

[kensjen]

That is true, it is more to stop the vomiting. If you only have feelings of nausea, and not vomitting, you may want to try something else.

[Karenn]

Zofran was my little magic pill. It helped *so* much. I bet if you do a search for "zofran" in the lounge you'll find several threads on it. I was vomiting, but not as much as a lot of people. It still helped me feel 10 times better. I found I was usually able to get by with just one a day. (My insurance limited me to 12 pills/month so I had to ration them.) I was usually feeling pretty yucky again by the last 6-8 hours, but I could also usually tough it out till the next pill. The only side effect I had with Zofran was constipation. If you go this route, pick up a big bottle of metamucil at the store when you get your prescription!

A girlfriend took one unisom at bedtime every night and that got her through. I wish I would have tried that first just because it's so much cheaper and more easily available than Zofran. I was worried about the sleepiness side effects of unisom with a toddler, but I think I would have been OK just taking one at bedtime each night.

I'm so sorry you're feeling sick! I know how awful it is!

[Momof3Labs]

I tend to be fairly nauseous (but don't vomit) during early pregnancy (well, it is still going on this pg). Eating sour candies helps a LOT (Sour Patch Kids are my favorites - go figure!!). Others have reported success with ginger flavored things - Trader Joe's has ginger candies, I believe. And as hard as it is, try to keep something in your tummy most of the time.

Or try Sea-Bands, which use acupressure to reduce nausea. I'm not sure that a drug will help you since you are not vomiting.

It's hard being pg with an active toddler at home!!

[g-mama]

I rarely vomited, just felt super nauseous all the time, and Zofran did help me. I wanted to add my experience (in contrast to some others) so that you would consider at least giving it a try.


Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
and a *THIRD BOY* coming in December '05

[Wife_and_mommy]

Sours worked wonders for my nausea. I downed at least 10 lbs of sugar in all the sour Altoids I ate for all the weeks I was sick.

(pepper)Mints also worked for me with DD and I was able to do them for about 3 days this time. I NEVER want to taste another mint for as long as I live.

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http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/dogdogcrd20040405_4_My+child+is.png

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[Rachels]

Zofran did not help with my nausea. It stopped the vomiting, but I felt sick as a dog nonetheless. What worked best, far and away, was Unisom. There are two types, one made with doxylamine succinate and one with diphenhydramine. It's the first type that stops morning sickness. It works even better in combination with B6, but on its own, half a tablet every six hours really kept my HG under control. It took me a few days to adjust to the fatigue, but ultimately it was not a huge deal. It's so good for nausea that I'll just keep it on hand now just in case.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
New baby coming in October!
(Holy smokes, it's a boy!!!)


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

[daisymommy]

Thanks gals, so very much! Is the Unisom an over the counter med.? For some reason it seems like I've seen it on the shelf? My midwife said she has some samples at the front desk in her office for me, and that she'd like to talk with me, so I'll go tommorrow and see what she has in mind. I'll have to check and see if my insurance covers Zofran, and if so, try it out. If not, then I'll definetly try the Unisom! I've never heard of it before.

Oh, and FWIW...I think it was Phenergan (sp?) that I took when I was preggo with Joshua.

[babyready]

Yes, Unisom is sold OTC. It is a sleep aid. It was the only thing that helped my MS. You would think that it would have helped my insomnia too, but no luck.

Good luck, I hope you're feeling better soon. I remember how awful it was to be sick all the time!

[kdeunc]

I just wanted to let you know that I too had good results with Zofran for nausea but not vomiting. It was wonderful to finally find something after suffering from morning sickness (all day nausea) for the first 16-18 weeks. I hope you find something to help!

[Karenn]

Even if your insurance doesn't cover Zofran, you might be able to get by on samples if that's what your Midwife has for you. I know they kept my OB well stocked so that my OB was able to provide almost as much in samples as I was able to get through my insurance.

I'm pretty sure Unisom is an OTC sleep aid.

I hope you're feeling better soon! Being sick is just so yucky!

[annex]

Just adding that if you try Unisom, make sure to get the tabs (not the gels.) The tabs contain Doxylamine Succinate, which is safe in pregnancy, the gels contain something else which isn't. You can save a few bucks by getting generic or store-brand "Sleep Aid tabs" / Doxylamine Succinate, as well.

[psophia17]

I'm just getting to this thread - hopefully you've already found something that worked, but in case you didn't, when I had my 24/7 motion sickness during the first trimester with DS, while eating butterscotch hard candy all the time helped, what really did the trick was having a full stomach. I nibbled all day long - crackers, candy, anything with carbs, basically, and I would wear Seabands during my 1.5 hour commute, and if nothing else, they were so uncomfortable that I would forget how icky I felt while I wished they were looser.

HTH, and feel better soon, beautiful! :)

[essnce629]

The Unisom/B6 combination was the only thing that "cured" me of my morning sickness and allowed me to continue going to nursing school full time. You're supposed to take a 1/2 tablet of 25mg Unisom (blue tablets, NOT the orange capsules) and 50mg of vitamin B6 every night before bed. Taking it at night would completely relieve me of all morning sickness the following day. If I forgot to take it at night and took it during the day it did nothing for me (these were the days I had to leave my clinicals sick as a dog). Taking it at night should also keep you from feeling drowsy during the day. Both my midwife and doctor ok'd it for me and I took it every day for the first 4 months. The only other thing that provided me relief (before I found the Unisom/B6 cure) was drinking Coke slurpees from 7-11! It's only temporary relief (would keep the nausea down for about an hour), but when I had to get out of the house for an appointment, etc it was a life saver! During the first 2 weeks of my morning sickness I knew where ALL the 7-11s were within a few miles of my house! It works because of the coke syrup and the coldness of it. Good luck!

***Latia
Conner 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif 2 years & counting! http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9870.gif

[LucyG]

I was prescribed Phenergan this time around. While I was not vomiting, I did feel the same as you described for about six weeks (weeks 5-11). My first pregnancy was that way, too. I resisted taking the Phenergan, but did finally take 1/4 of a pill on several nights. My morning sickness has always been worse at night. The medicine allowed me to get to sleep, and I always felt better in the morning.

I read a lot about taking Unisom and vitamin B6. My midwife ok'd this for me, but the one time I tried it my chest felt very heavy, as if I wasn't able to breathe as well as usual. But, I think that combo. does bring relief to many. The other thing I tried was motion sickness wristbands - Sea Bands, I think they are called. They put pressure on your wrists and are supposed to help nausea. I'm not sure whether they actually helped or not, but, psychologically, I felt that they did.

I also ate a lot of Quaker popcorn cakes. For some reason, the saltiness helped me. Sweet foods really turned my stomach.

Good luck to you! I've just been there, and I know how yucky you are feeling.



http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif[/img][/url]
nursed for 2.5 years!
And . . . Blessing #2 due in March!

[Rachels]

The gels are actually safe to take-- they're diphenhydramine, which is the same thing that's in Benadryl. They just won't work much for nausea.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
New baby coming in October!
(Holy smokes, it's a boy!!!)


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

[niccig]

Another yada yada yada approach that worked for me...plain potato chips. I don't know if it was the salt, but it sure worked especially when driving. I had packets stashed in the car. Also, and this probably won't work for non-Aussies, Brits, NZers or South Africans, vegemite/marmite/promite is packed with B vitamins and salt. I kept a jar of that in my purse. But if you're not used to it, the smell and taste will probably make you ill.

I hope you start feeling better soon.