anyone using zofran?

[lillymonster]

I had to use it for my first pregnancy and I had terrible constipation. Well, I had to go back on it this pregnancy and again I have terrible constipation and I know it's from the zofran because I had diarrhea for a few weeks before I started to take it and I am not taking prenatals, and it is listed as a side effect.

Anyone else experience that issue and how did you help alleviate it? I started taking magnesium supplements last night and took doculax a day ago, and it was pretty rough today. I only take 4 mg and only when I really really need it.

[CrazyCatLady]

I take phenergan (sp?) when pregnant. I know a lot of other ladies don't seem to love it for morning sickness, but it works for me with no constipation.

Hope someone has some good ideas for you.

[loonar]

I didn't have a lot of luck with the traditional remedies for constipation... I was chugging juice and snacking on prunes to no avail. The only thing I found helpful at all was to eat as many calories as possible. The more I could manage to eat a normal diet, the more the plumbing improved. Good luck!

[PeachyKeen]

I take a break from zofran as often as possible. I am on 8mg doses and I take them about 3-4 times a day. I have also added some colace to the regimen but that doesnt seem to help. What does is I just stop for a day (sometimes my nausea lets up) and that helps get me going and then start it all over again. I was going to try prunes but even without HG, the very thought of eating prunes or tasting anything prune-y makes me wanna hurl.
I know it sounds gross but have you tried an enema or suppository to see if that helps?

[paintedfire]

I'm taking both Phenergan and Zofran right now. I'm always on the Phenergan, but it makes me so sleepy and pregnancy is making me sleepy enough on it's own right now. The Zofran is for "light" nausea, as if there is such a thing. I only take the Phenergan these days when it gets really, really bad.

I've heard other people say that Zofran makes them drowsy, but it doesn't do that to me. Your mileage may vary.

[PeachyKeen]

Originally Posted by paintedfire

I'm taking both Phenergan and Zofran right now. I'm always on the Phenergan, but it makes me so sleepy and pregnancy is making me sleepy enough on it's own right now. The Zofran is for "light" nausea, as if there is such a thing. I only take the Phenergan these days when it gets really, really bad.

I've heard other people say that Zofran makes them drowsy, but it doesn't do that to me. Your mileage may vary.

Aside from Phenergan there is Compazine but that one knocks ya for a loop to (big part of why i won't take either).
I just remembered from another forum there are two other medications approved for nausea due to chemo that alot of the HG mamas were discussing. Perhaps you can talk to your provider about something like Aloxi or Emends?

[luv-my-boys]

I have heperemesis in pg and so for me Zofran has been a godsend, literally I think it has contributed greatly to my health (in a good way).

Right now I have been lucky that zofran alone has been working (lately) I do a phenergen *chaser* when needed for extra sleep and help now and again when its bad.

This pg my doctor suggested a regimen of steroids. Its was a 2 wk taper of steroids (very low dose) buts it a new thing among hyperemesis pts. Not sure if it was the *thing* that has helped me but defiantely this pg is WAY better. Like I can actually eat food and dont need a feeding tube

as far as the constipation I found that if I went a day or two without and used say the phenergen it helped to get relief. However the zofran is meant to build up in your system and provide a constant level which is why its so important to take it continually at even intervals. I also used dulcolax I also found that the more liquids I had (usually IV) that it has helped with getting relief as well. Ironically I also eat oranges as normally (non pg) they tend to irrate my stomach so when Im constipated they work...like prunes I guess.

[paintedfire]

Originally Posted by PeachyKeen

Aside from Phenergan there is Compazine but that one knocks ya for a loop to (big part of why i won't take either).
I just remembered from another forum there are two other medications approved for nausea due to chemo that alot of the HG mamas were discussing. Perhaps you can talk to your provider about something like Aloxi or Emends?

Oh, the sleepiness doesn't really bother me all that much, at least not after all this time (a good ten years now, I think). I just wanted to make sure that the OP got the gist of my experiences with it.

Thank you, though!

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

I have heperemesis in pg and so for me Zofran has been a godsend, literally I think it has contributed greatly to my health (in a good way).

Right now I have been lucky that zofran alone has been working (lately) I do a phenergen *chaser* when needed for extra sleep and help now and again when its bad.

This pg my doctor suggested a regimen of steroids. Its was a 2 wk taper of steroids (very low dose) buts it a new thing among hyperemesis pts. Not sure if it was the *thing* that has helped me but defiantely this pg is WAY better. Like I can actually eat food and dont need a feeding tube

as far as the constipation I found that if I went a day or two without and used say the phenergen it helped to get relief. However the zofran is meant to build up in your system and provide a constant level which is why its so important to take it continually at even intervals. I also used dulcolax I also found that the more liquids I had (usually IV) that it has helped with getting relief as well. Ironically I also eat oranges as normally (non pg) they tend to irrate my stomach so when Im constipated they work...like prunes I guess.

My symptoms last pregnancy were really bad, but this time it isn't as bad (lets say last time was a 10 and this time is an 8.5) I wasn't throwing up as much this time, I was just unable to tolerate eating or drinking (and that was worried my midwife this time) because I couldn't even drink water. Last pregnancy it was vomiting so many times a day, I lost count after 15. And luckily zofran stopped the puking, although I still felt sick to my stomach most of the time, I could eat.

I didn't know that about the zofran, and probably why I have some days that are worse than others, because I don't take it every 8 hours, and in fact try to go a long time before taking it. I don't know about anyone else, but my prescription is 12 pills at a time that is supposed to last 2 weeks!

My midwife said with the history of zofran working, she wasn't even going to start me on phenergen, not sure why. I did try Reglan - which was awful, just awful, it made me feel terrible in a scary way.

I don't know about the other drugs, but I am still nursing my 3 year old 1-2 times a day and the midwife said zofran was an L1, she didn't look anything else up. I guess I would assume if any drug is safe for a baby, it's safe for a nursing toddler, but it's something I need to consider too.

[mediumcrunch]

zofran is notorious for the constipation it causes. It isn't unheard of for women to end up hospitalized with impactions. You MUST be very proactive about it. For me, it meant a colace, miralax and the occasional enema. Unfortunately you have to be able to drink 8oz at a time and keep it down for the miralax to be useful but in my case I found it the most effective. Any of the foodie solutions like fruit juice and pears, prunes etc....was useless because I couldn't eat.
zofran is cat B while phenergan is Cat C. Usually the only reason a provider will choose phenergan over zofran is due to cost or effectiveness (ie phenergan works for a woman and zofran doesn't. the worst thing zofran will due to a nursing toddler is constipate them a little.
Reglan seems to cause more problems than it solves for a lot of women. Me, I get altered. Essentially it made me about as aware as someone on morphine but without the euphoria/high so it took a couple days to realize I wasn't all there.

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by mediumcrunch

zofran is notorious for the constipation it causes. It isn't unheard of for women to end up hospitalized with impactions.

I had to go to the ER, not for impaction, but for hemorrhoids so bad that one burst and left a quarter size rupture. I actually had to call the ambulance because every time I moved, blood would gush. Pretty embarrassing to go the the ER for a hemorrhoid, but I thought I was going to die because I never seen so much blood and it didn't even hurt when it happened. So yes I want to be super proactive about solving constipation issues right away.

I'll try miralax, thanks for that tip

[gradstudentmommy]

I'm just curious have you tried Unisom instead of Zofran? For me the Unisom actually worked better and doesn't cause constipation.

When I did take the Zofran, I took colace, magnesium and munched on prunes. I also drank more water and Benefiber or Citrucel. That combination worked for me.

[rparker]

I was taking Zofran until a few weeks ago. Yes it made me constipated. Nothing really helped except taking less which has its own obvious drawbacks. I do think that part of it was that even when taking Zofran I was eating a lot less food than I normally would because of nausea and that causes your digestion to slow down even more. I didn't try any but my doctor said that there were several OTC laxatives and stool softeners that were safe to use so you might want to contact whoever prescribed the Zofran and look into that.

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by gradstudentmommy

I'm just curious have you tried Unisom instead of Zofran? For me the Unisom actually worked better and doesn't cause constipation.

I am not taking unisom, but I am taking high levels of b6, up to 200 mg. The midwife said I take at the same time, so I am taking b6 when things aren't so bad, but I don't think they make a difference, I still throw up with the b6 pills

[JessieBird]

Sorry not to answer your question directly - I can't offer help for the zofran constipation - but wanted to add that unisom/b6 (as prescription Diclectin in Canada but same ingredients) has been a godsend for me. I didn't stick with it during my first pregnancy because of how drowsy it made me. This time I was hospitalized with HG in March and I didn't have much choice but to give the meds another try. Sure enough, after only 4-6 days of taking it throughout the day, I was "immune" to the drowsiness side effect. At 22 weeks, I'm still taking fairly high doses of the stuff and I feel completely normal.