Factors in Morning Sickness, what causes it for you?

[ComaWhite]

My 3 previous pregnancies I got away with a small amount of nausea for a few weeks... this time around I have full out 'morning sickness'... that lasts all day and becomes horribly intense between 8pm - 8am every night/morning. I am having great difficulty even getting my daughter ready for school in the morning. I usually puke my guts out when I first wake up and at random times during the day if a person mentions the wrong food to me or if I get a smell of something that doesn't agree. I spend most of the day on the couch trying not to trigger my motion sickness. There seems to be no signs of it letting up and its getting worse.

The difference between the pregnancies is that my first 3 were girls from the same dad and my hgc levels were normal(light lines on test strips, only got a dark line several weeks into the pregnancy, im a test junkie....)
This time around, my 4th pregnancy has a different father, hcg levels high; I got a dark + at only 7dpo and at 11dpo the test lines were darker than the control lines.

Could having a different father be the determining factor? Or maybe could it be a boy this time around?

Im just confused as to why it would be so different this time around after having 3 previous pregnancies all the same. Ideas? Experiences?

[Mosaic]

Every pregnancy is different... there is no rhyme or reason. My first pregnancy was a breeze, and now I'm 33 weeks along with #2 and still sick. Same father, both are girls, etc. Just luck of the draw, I think.

Hope you feel better soon!

[3sweetsurprises]

I had terrible ms with my first. Seabands helped with the motion sickness part. With my second tea helped a lot. I would drink either pregnancy tea or a mix of mint, red raspberry leaf, and nettle. I hope you find something that works. I had hypermesis (sp) gravidarum with my first and didn't know it.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by ComaWhite

Could having a different father be the determining factor?

This is my 3rd pregnancy, first with new father... the last two were similar (though still completely different, hard to explain) in the morning sickness... First was so severe I was nearly hospitalized (HG)... second was severe but it came and went...

This one has been constant but never what I would consider severe... I havent thrown up other than in the mornings and rarely do I actually have anything in my stomach when I do (eating helps, with the first two eating made it worse)

My doctor had two children with pretty bad morning sickness with one father, and then identical twins with almost no morning sickness at all with another father... and is convinced that the fathers genes do play a small part in it. Not a huge part, not enough to be the difference between HG and no sickness at all, but possibly enough to send someone with bad morning sickness over the edge into HG.

[Plummeting]

This is my second pregnancy with the same father and both have been completely different. I had no morning sickness at all with DD and terrible morning sickness vomiting several times a day for months with this baby. We don't know the sex this time, but studies have shown there is no difference in the incidence of morning sickness when carrying boys vs. girls, so that should not matter, anecdotal evidence aside. Actually, the only study that showed any difference showed a very slightly higher incidence of morning sickness in women who were carrying girls, not boys. No other study found that, though. Every pregnancy is just different.

I didn't find much that helped mine. I drank so much ginger tea at the beginning that ginger started making me sick - guilt by association, I guess. Very sour lemonade helped, as did minty gum, but the effect was minimal. Neither were a cure. I just had to eat what I could throughout the day, as having an empty stomach made it worse.

[lotusma]

my dh and i are on baby #5. our first 3 (when i was 18, 22 and 25) were a breeze in regards to no morning sickness. these last 2, the m/s has been horrendous. (@ age 33 and 35) i think it just depends on how well your body deals w/ the onslaught of extra hormones.

eta, my kids are all boys, fwiw.

[liz-hippymom]

could it be twins?

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by liz-hippymom

could it be twins?

Theres no reason to think that being sick = twins. Its a fairly common misconception, considering I was much more sick with my singletons than either of my cousins or my doctor were with their twins.

[BlackSheepPDX]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

Theres no reason to think that being sick = twins. Its a fairly common misconception, considering I was much more sick with my singletons than either of my cousins or my doctor were with their twins.

She said her hcg was high. That would inspire the question, for me. And a faster onset of hormones in that case, could be messing with her.

To the OP:

Drink plenty of water, and eat frequently. Mine was always a function of keeping my blood sugar stable and being hydrated enough to flush the hormones. As much as food seems like the last thing you want when you're queasy, it can very much be the cure. Some say proteiny things are better...I certainly found the traditional carby saltine remedy to be a waste of my time.

[kosheng]

an extra daily evening dose of vitamin b6 helped me incredibly this time around. the same things triggered it for me~ smells, certain foods, gross things in general, but i learned also that not enough sleep would get me faster to the bathroom than when i was well rested.

i'm 21 weeks and feel much better. hopefully this passes quickly for you!

[HeatherB]

With HCG that much higher, twins are definitely a consideration.

For me, fatigue has always been a trigger for nausea. Even into the second and third trimesters, if I'm not getting enough rest, I get sick. Also, of course, blood sugar levels (eating consistently/constantly) helps, and I hear great things about B6.

Hope you get it sorted out soon!

[ComaWhite]

Thanks for all the replies, I am 11 weks now and it has let up considerably with only a bit of nausea at night time.

Letting myself never feel hungy and never feel full helped a lot.

[JessieBird]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

Theres no reason to think that being sick = twins. Its a fairly common misconception, considering I was much more sick with my singletons than either of my cousins or my doctor were with their twins.

Three weeks ago, I spent a week in hospital for HG. For various reasons, I didn't get an ultrasound until day 4. EVERYONE - doctors, nurses, lab techs, all the professionals who shouldn't have been speaking so lightly about something they really couldn't be sure of - told me that being so sick could very likely be due multiples. In the hospital I was at (large city hospital obstetrics ward), the attending OB said they see about 20 women hospitalized for HG a year. She said about 15 of them (75%) are pregnant with multiples. So at least in this small sample, there is definitely a case to be made. They had me freaked right out and I was very relieved to see just one.

Anyway, I'm glad you are feeling better, OP. Morning sickness SUCKS. I hope things stay better for you! I feel worst at night too and my biggest trick is to go to bed before it gets really bad so that I miss the worst of it. I usually go to sleep around 7 with DS these days! I have no life and it's pretty depressing sometimes but at least its temporary. I haven't discovered any natural or habitual approaches (snacking, protein, teas, seabands) that make any difference at all. Drugs have been the only way to go for me unfortunately.

[sostinkinhappy]

Originally Posted by ComaWhite

Im just confused as to why it would be so different this time around after having 3 previous pregnancies all the same. Ideas? Experiences?

Join the club! I had three pregnancies (1 girl, 2 boys) and no real morning sickness with any of them. Nausea, yes, but no vomiting, etc. I could mostly function during the days, even though it was tough sometimes.

This time around though I am pregnant with a girl again...vomiting all the-stinkin-time, lost 36 lbs in the first 20 weeks, developed hyperemesis gravidarum, had hospital visits, IVs, the whole 9 yards. Bright colors made me sick, loud noises made me sick, my kids jumping up and down made me sick, TV shows that had too much movement in them made me sick, food of all kinds made me sick.

I have no idea why it was so very different this time around and have questioned everything - maybe because I am 37 instead of 19? Maybe because I live at sea level now instead of at 6000 ft above sea level? Maybe because I am coming off of a couple of very stressful years of school?

I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason - it just is different and it is what it is! Fortunately, it eventually passed and by about 22 weeks I was feeling somewhat human again. Some smells still bug me (chocolate being one of them) but for the most part I am much better. I have even managed to gain about 16 lbs or in the past 10 weeks which feels like quite an accomplishment at this point.