nausea to the point of not eating....cant cope

[orchid11]

Hi I'm going to the doctors today as for the past 4 days I've been unable to eat hardly a thing ( except a few crackers forced down ) my doctor friend said there were quite a few meds prescribed that are thought to be safe - has anyone got any experience of these? I'm 6 weeks 4 days and feel horrendous-had to call in sick to work and now I'm just laying still....thought this was going to be much more enjoyable!

[Mosaic]

Yes, unfortunately there are several women here who have BTDT with the pregnancy nausea! It's awful! The meds do help in at least some cases, so I hope you're feeling better soon!

[TillyBarry]

Orchid,

I know how you feel as I suffered this with my first pregnancy.  I was out of work for awhile, miserable.  I took Reglan, and then when that didn't work a more expensive, and effective medication called Zofran.  There are no studies on the safety.  My son is healthy.  If you do take Zofran please remember a stool softener because it causes severe constipation.  But it really helps, and makes like bearable.   I have heard hypnosis helps, and reiki, but I never tried them.

[katelove]

I used ondansetron (zofran) too. It didn't get rid of the nausea but it made life a bit easier. I second what Tilly Barry said though, be *obsessive* about bowel care. Ondansetron is worse than opiates for constipation. I used metamucil and coloxyl with senna every day and managed to keep it under control once I realised how big a problem it is.

All the best. I hope you feel better soon. M/s is *horrible*. 

[DoubleDouble]

Happened to me, too. Here's my story (a whole novel really): at about 7wks I was vomiting a lot. One day, I started vomiting at 11 in the morning, and from about 3pm till late evening it just went non-stop. Nothing will stay, not even water. I managed to fall asleep, and next morning peed about two tablespoons worth first thing in morning and kept vomiting till the afternoon. I didn't even have to pee at that point, there was no water left in me. I'd take a  sip and it comes right out. I was checking the signs for bad dehydration and thinking I'd have to head to the hospital. Then the vomiting eased up, just for a couple of hours, and it was enough to get the nausea pill in. I think, if my hormones were even more out of whack, I would not have gotten that break, and then hello hospital. I just was lucky.

After all that barfing, my stomach hurt like a velociraptor clawed it. So I survived for a couple of days on eating fruit compotes with potato starch boiled in - that stuff is gold for a disturbed stomach. It soothes the irritated membranes and - if necessary - it's very gentle when it comes back up.

A few tricks: if you know you will vomit *soon* and it's inevitable, drink some water with baking soda. I learned to do that for my migraines - empty stomach vomiting is pure acid and it burns. So, baking soda neutralizes it, if you have a minute left to get it in.

Find out if any snack helps you to feel better - for me, if I don't get enough protein, I feel more nausea in general. So that's my strategy, to always get proteins, proteins, proteins. The snack that can "set" the stomach for twenty minutes and give that medicine a chance to work - for me it's potato chips or salted popcorn. I think "dry and salty" do the trick by sucking up moisture there, or something. So if it's a choice between hours of barfing or potato chips, I choose potato chips.

Keep a close eye on nausea, and don't be shy taking medicine for it, if you find that it is getting worse.

Also, ask your doctor - maybe your nausea meds come in form of suppositories? Trying to take nausea pills when barfing is kind of an epic fail, from the engineering standpoint. I got some prescribed.

I think that vomiting has also "unglued" my esophagus - the stomach doesn't "close" that well anymore, food just comes right back up with no resistance. It's so annoying.

My mom had no nausea when she was pregnant with me (with her second pregnancy, yes.) I was hoping for same, no luck. Advertising is all lies! 

[cameragirl]

Unfortunately, I tried a few of them. I finally got Zofran after losing 20lbs, and it was a big change. I still felt like crud and was queasy, but I wasn't having violent vomiting attacks 8 times a day. I know that I also tried Reglan, which is usually the first shot because it is less expensive. Reglan works by speeding up digestion, so it may or may not work for you.

[Triniity]

I had hyperemesis, so I feel for you. I am just wondering, Odansetron (Zofran) is not considered safe in pregnancy around here. Don´t wanna make you afraid or anything, but there are a couple of drugs that are considered safe, at least here, but than, that might just be different in your country (isn´t that weird?) 

Vomex is considered safe, Dimenhydrinat is the stuff in it, and - at least here - you can take suppositories (which is not that great, but I was happy about it when I was vomiting so badly that I could not get the stuff into me any other way) It makes you quite sleepy, which I found alright since I was lying on the couch the whole day anyway, so that made the time pass quicker.

Agyrax (Meclozin) is another one, that is considered the safest drug for pregnancy, it´s not available in germany, but it helped so well that I ordered it via international pharmacy and took it prophylactic, and I did not suffer that much this pregnancy, which was so good! 

My midwife did acupuncture, which helped a little bit. Sucking on lollipops/candy helped, too. 

I had to get i.v. fluids with the older two, but than with this last one the prophylaxis really did it´s thing. 

Hope you´ll be better soon!

[TillyBarry]

Trinity,

where are you from?  I too worry about the safety of Zofran, not because I see anything out of the ordinary with my son, but because it is a new medication.  I am newly pregnant.  Just 4 weeks.  and I know the nausea is only about a week and a half away.  I don't want to take Zofran again but I need to work, and take care of my son, and just function.  I have read the excellent thread on here about preventing relieving NVP of pregnancy and have started many of the supplements suggested.  I may also try the bean thing too.    I am dreading it.

[Triniity]

I am from germany. I read a study about prophylactic medication before the hyperemesis sets in (I researched it before getting pregnant, I was so afraid ) and there agyrax was mentioned. And it worked well, I felt nauseated, but did not throw up once, did not loose any weight. that was great! 

Obviously, I can only tell you about my experiences, which might mean nothing, but according to the study my risk of having another hyperemesis was above 85% - enough for me to try it. 

[cristeen]

If you're not actively vomiting, I'd try some more "natural" methods before resorting to drugs, because they can have some nasty side effects.

Once you have food in your stomach, it's often easier to get more in. 

With my first pregnancy, PB crackers or a mild cheese could go down in that small window where I could manage food first thing in the morning.  With my second pregnancy, it was apples.  They had to be crunchy.  But munching on an apple gave me about a 20 minute window to eat other foods (like an egg).  Once the egg was in, the nausea would settle down until my BS dropped again, which meant eating small amount of protein-rich food every 2 hours through the day.  But both pregnancies, I lost weight because of the nausea restricting food even though I rarely actually vomited. 

Other options include ginger ale (try a natural brew like Reeds or Maine Root if you can find it - most mainstream sodas have very little ginger in them), candied ginger if you can stand it (I get it at Trader Joes for cheap), there are even ginger candies, or pickled ginger (like you get with sushi).  Again, if that helps the nausea subside, eat while you can.  Get some protein in your stomach.  For many women, nausea is linked to low blood sugar.  I know some women swear by apricot nectar instead of ginger ale - there are literally dozens of things that work for different women, it's often a matter of trial and error.  If something doesn't sound actively revolting, try a sip/bite.  If that stays down, try a second.  Then a third.   And then wait 5 minutes and see how you're feeling... can you handle more? 

Some women find B6 resolves nausea nicely, although if you can't keep the pills down, it's not going to help.  Are you taking a prenatal?  What time of day are you taking it?  If you're taking it in the morning, try at night, and vice versa.  My PN has ginger in it, to help prevent the nausea that can come along with the pills, and so far it's been great, I haven't had any nausea this pg. 

HTH

[iowaorganic]

I have been there and am there right now.  If you aren't vomiting- try to bury the nausea.  I like apples- must be the pectin.  I also like apple or grape juice (they taste the same both ways :)  Everyone suggests crackers and ginger ail- but I read in some health book that slaty potato chips and lemonade (something about the salt and sour combo.  I tried it last night and it worked great!  Just be sure to chew really really well.  

eta- if you are vomiting- try getting Vitamin B shots- those things are awesome!

[cameragirl]

I had a coworker that SWORE by drinking pickle juice to keep herself from vomiting. It made ME want to vomit watching it, but she didn't get sick much at work. I'm guessing if the store-bought stuff worked for her, lacto-fermented pickle juice would be that much better. At least you'd get nutrients and probiotics.

I liked lacto-fermented ginger carrots when I was in the first trimester. They're fizzy and wonderful. I like to shred the carrots or slice them very thin. I like ginger though - I'll eat the pickled ginger by itself at when we go for sushi.

I bet the salt in potato chips would help you retain water, and in that keep your blood pressure up. That was a huge problem when I had hyperemesis. I'd get so light headed that I'd have to lay down after vomiting.

[DoubleDouble]

Just came across this in Hungover Owls and had to post it here. It's a battle I fight every day:

http://tumblr.com/ZLnKDyB66hso

Operation "Don't vomit up dinner" will be underway next.

[BaileyB]

Zofran and lots and lots of Zantac! I could only munch a little on cheetos with my first. Even water gave me heartburn to the point where I threw up. I found that unflavored unsweetened sparkling water was a lifesaver! Take little sips. I was told that if you puke more than 10 times in 24 hours to go to the hospital and they will give you IV fluids. Those are lifesavers.