A little caffeine is OK in pregnancy, right?

[lisams]

I have a headache that I know Tylenol won't touch (Tylenol rarely helps my headaches). Usually when I have a headache caffeine helps. My friend is allergic to Tylenol and her Dr. said if caffeine helped it was fine. I'm thinking like half a coke? Is it really that bad for the baby? I'm 13 weeks if that matters.

[kedss]

when I was still working as a preschool teacher, I had one Dr. Pepper a couple times a week. I think I stopped drinking caffeine after I stopped working around 6 months, maybe before that.

hth!

[o_mom]

I think my Doc said no more than two cups of coffee per day - that works out to around 4-6 cokes. I had a can of Dr. Pepper every day with both kids. The OB/NP never said a word about it when they did the nutrition survey visit.

[kimbe]

My doctor said the same thing.

[jennifer13]

Personally I'd go for a cup of coffee to get rid of that headache, and not worry a thing about it!
Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03
and Leah 3/24/05

[saschalicks]

Not a problem at all. I had one soda a day with DS#2, doc was OK with that.

[psophia17]

I was told a cup or so of coffee a day was fine, and I've occasionally had two cups...

[lilycat88]

I had a 1/2 caff venti latte from starbucks every day for my entire pregnancy. Nothing was ever said by my OB.

Jamelin
Mom to Susanna born 6/29/2004

[CharmedOne]

Mine too. DS turned out fine and healthy. Heck, he loves licking my coffee spoon after I give it a stir. I blame it on my mom. She said she introduced me to coffee (watered down, of course) when I was two. No wonder why I love the stuff so much! It must be in the genes. ;)

Caroline

http://b2.lilypie.com/3k5Am7/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif 13 months

[maestramommy]

Caffiene is fine in moderation. They say don't drink excessive amounts, say, 5 cups a day (!!!!). I used to drink one cup of decaf or half caf if I was really having a bad day.

[lisams]

For putting my mind at ease! I had some coke and the headache is gone! Whew!

[Wife_and_mommy]

Glad you had your Coke. I wouldn't give an occasional soda a second thought. :)



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[MarisaSF]

A physician told me that apparently the literature states that birth defects have not been associated with caffeine intake of less than EIGHT cups of coffee a day. Whoa... that's a lot of coffee.

One should be fine. Headaches are rotten! Best wishes for a headache-free rest of pregnancy!

[DrSally]

I agree with the PP that 1-2 cups is fine. Have you considered that you may have migranes? I've read and heard from others that caffeine can help some with migranes b/c it constricts the blood vessels. Maybe that's why the tylenol doesn't work. You may want to check with your doc about that possibility. Also, I think Excedrin makes a headache med that has some caffeine in it.

[MarisaSF]

All Excedrin has caffeine in it. Excedrin, IIRC, is a mix of caffeine, acetaminophen (Tylenol), and aspirin. I avoided aspirin (and thus Excedrin) while I was pregnant. I'd ask your doctor if this was a safe choice for you.

[Saccade]

Yes, please avoid Excedrin, aspirin, or NSAIDS (like Aleve or Motrin). But a Tyelenol washed down with a latte is no problem (if your doc agrees with me)!

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[DrSally]

Good to know! I've never taken excedrin, just know friends with migranes that it works for. Of course, everything's different when your prego!

[egoldber]

Actually aspirin and NSAIDs are safe to take occasionally until the third trimester, although many OBs are very cautious and say none at all when pregnant, not trusting their patients to be able to recognize when it is safe and when it is not. And many women, for various reasons, are prescribed low dose aspirin therapy for their entire pregnancies.

And I have throroughly enjoyed 2-3 cups of caffeine coffe daily since the second tri. "Fortunately" the sight or smell of coffee makes me deathly ill in the first tri.

[mommyoftwo]

You sound like you are suffering from migraines an affliction with which I'm all too familiar. I suffered from them almost every day with both pregnancies (a lot more often than I usually get them). I actually had far more caffiene when I was pregnant than I usually do because it helped me deal with the migraines. Excedrin migraine works fairly well and everything Beth said about aspirin is true. My doctor actually told me to drink lots of caffiene to help with the headaches and told me to use excedrin migraine until the third trimester.

[Rachels]

Aspirin should be avoided throughout pregnancy, but Motrin / Advil are actually Class B (the same as Tylenol) in the first two trimesters. It's only in the third trimester that Ibuprofen is a Class C drug.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
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"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[Saccade]

Sorry -- I didn't think of the poster's trimester. I usually tell my migraine patients just to stick to Tyelenol as I think it has the best safety record in pregnancy (despite the FDA Class rating, which is just a broad guideline). But I am not a headache specialist, just a neurologist (though I see lots of migraine since my seizure patients tend to have migraine too). Also, I am a migraineur myself :( .

ETA: for the OP, I hope Tyelenol plus caffeine worked. I know Tyelenol doesn't touch my migraines either, but with caffeine it sometimes comes through!

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[Saccade]

Yeah, that's why I usually recommend Tyelenol throughout -- easier to remember (though i certainly trust folks to remember what trimester they are in, in a migraine haze it would be tough to recall which trimester to take what!). You are right, we give ASA during pregnancy in certain cases, but as a routine, I just keep things simple and recommend Tyelenol for something simple like pain or headache in a woman without a special indication for aspirin.

ETA: But none of you is my patient (fortunately, as I always say, since nobody wants to be bad off to need a neurologist) so PLEASE ask your own doctor, who may feel Excedrin is just fine in your specific case! This is why I try to avoid giving medical advice online, but I can't help it because I care about you guys and hate to see you with a migraine ;)

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[MarisaSF]

Extra-strength tylenol plus a nap/sleep is generally the only "cure" for me. I wish I could just down a cup of coffee! I take excedrin when not pregnant or ttc. I used to have several prescriptions for migraines, but none were perfect. I try to avoid my migraine triggers, but since one of them is storms (barometric pressure), I don't always have control. Basically... migraines suck. Big time. :)

ETA- So cool to have an expert's (and co-sufferer's!) perspective. :)

[MarisaSF]

Extra-strength tylenol plus a nap/sleep is generally the only "cure" for me. I wish I could just down a cup of coffee! I take excedrin when not pregnant or ttc. I used to have several prescriptions for migraines, but none were perfect. I try to avoid my migraine triggers, but since one of them is storms (barometric pressure), I don't always have control. Basically... migraines suck. Big time. :)

ETA- So cool to have an expert's (and co-sufferer's!) perspective. :)

[MarisaSF]

> "Fortunately" the sight or smell
>of coffee makes me deathly ill in the first tri.

I had the same thing! It smelled vaguely like sewage. Ick! I couldn't let DH grind his coffee beans until I was far, far away. Nobody else could understand how my senses changed so dramatically. Good to see someone else had the same experience! Normally, I love the smell of coffee.

[MarisaSF]

> "Fortunately" the sight or smell
>of coffee makes me deathly ill in the first tri.

I had the same thing! It smelled vaguely like sewage. Ick! I couldn't let DH grind his coffee beans until I was far, far away. Nobody else could understand how my senses changed so dramatically. Good to see someone else had the same experience! Normally, I love the smell of coffee.