Nausea Medication Questions « Back to Group Discussions

[nettlesoup]

I'm now 15 weeks and still have all day nausea which is as bad as ever, but I'm never actually sick. At this point I'm beginning to think that I may have nausea for a good while longer yet, and that thought is tempting me towards anti nausea medication. Can I take it when I'm not actually being sick, or is it for people that have it worse than me?

Also, I'm not a fan of medication, and am a bit unsure about taking these things when pregnant in case it goes to the baby, or had adverse reactions for the baby that we might not know about. But at this point I I really don't want to be feeling like this for another few months! Is it effective against nausea? Thanks for any advice!

[thefreckledmama]

I've always just had nausea, never vomiting. If you haven't tried it, ginger-pickled, candied, etc., always works so so well for me. I've also heard great things about those sea sickness bands you wear on your wrist.

[nettlesoup]

I've never tried ginger, but I have tried sickness bands and unfortunately they did nothing for me at all

[SuzieSmiles]

Have you ever tried taking Apple Cider Vinegar? I could go on and on about all of the health benefits, I highly recommend it.. just google it for morning sickness, some women swear by it!

I didn't 'get sick' either but had awful nausea for a few weeks (thankfully gone now but I know how you feel).

I was taking apple cider vinegar faithfully every morning for the past couple of years but then I was burdened with taking this darn thyroid medicine 1.5 months ago (which is the first med I've ever been on and I hate taking something while pregnant, so I understand your concern). Anyway, I got out of the habit of my morning dose of ACV since taking the thyroid med but got back on it a little over a week ago (I'm taking 2-3 doses per day now before meals = 1 heaping TB w/little water) and feel much better all around. Hope you're able to get in under control soon.

[nettlesoup]

Thanks for the suggestion, I had never thought of that! It seems that fermented foods help a lot. By drinking kefir twice a day, my morning sickness is far milder than it would be otherwise. I have learnt not to forget to take it!

But there doesn't seem to be anything that takes away the nausea completely, which is why medication is becoming tempting. I'll be fine for a while after drinking kefir or eating something, but it always comes back until the next time I eat.
 

[MamaMash]

I took Zofran from about 7-12 weeks for my ms. But, I actually get sick. All the zofran did was stop the actual throwing up. I was still just as nauseous as ever so I wouldn't suggest that one. Have you thought about b6 and Benadryl? It didn't work for me but I know it has worked miracles for some. Ginger snaps also seem to help me. And mint tea. But, only now that my ms is very mild and random. Good luck, I hope you get relief soon!

[nettlesoup]

That's good to know about Zofran, thanks! I think the best thing for me to do is just cope and eat frequently. I will try ginger though.

[aidenn]

Candied ginger was my lifesaver for my MS.  I also took a B-complex vitamin at night and that seemed to help.  I recall seeing mrsandmrs say the b6/Unisom was working well for her as well, thought maybe she could update?

[katalopolis]

If anyone's interested in making their own candied ginger, it's basically one of the easiest things ever, especially if you have a slowcooker. Basically cubed or sliced or whatever you want ginger, sugar and water (we also put the ginger peels in a cheesecloth sachet in for extra gingeryness) and then put on a low simmer for hours. It makes the kitchen smell AMAZING and you can even use the now-ginger flavoured sugar water (basically a ginger syrup) in water as a way of making plain water taste a bit better which is something I've been struggling with.

[thefreckledmama]

What ratio of sugar to water do you use, or does it matter much?

[nettlesoup]

Thanks Katalopolis! I'll definitely give it a go, it sounds really easy.
 

[katalopolis]

Originally Posted by thefreckledmama 

What ratio of sugar to water do you use, or does it matter much?

I can't remember off the top of my head but it wasn't that precise. I just filled the rest of the slow cooker with water. Figured if it wasn't sweet enough by morning I'd add more sugar or water or something.

[amanda bee]

thanks katalopolis!

[mrsandmrs]

b6/unisom worked really well for me - usually by dinner time the next day i would be nauseous again, but it was worth it to get through the morning and afternoon without being sick. if i did not take unisom, i would pay for it dearly.

i tried ginger (fresh, candied, chews, tea), sea bands, hard candy, etc and had very little relief. jolly ranchers worked pretty well, but to be honest, they tasted terrible to me and i couldn't eat them enough for consistent relief. i got some relief from tea with lavender, lemon and mint, but i didn't want to drink it all day every day. i chewed gum but had the same issue as jolly ranches. i also tried snacking & drinking a lot of water, which helped a little, but not as much as i expected. oh, and i got acupuncture. that helped, but only for abt three days, and i can't go every three days! 

nausea is so terrible. i hope you're feeling better soon! i kept reminding myself that it would end some time - whether it was 2 weeks or 28 weeks, only time would tell. i'm almost 15 weeks now and i have more good days than bad days but that is a VERY recent development. good luck!

[nettlesoup]

I was told that we should avoid lavender as it promotes periods.

Thanks for the advice! I think I'm just going to continue as I'm doing and hope it goes away soon.
 

[mrsandmrs]

i've heard that as well. the tea i bought didn't have much lavender in it, and i didn't drink more than a cup a day (this is part of why it didn't bring me enough relief). obviously i'm still extremely pregnant, so i guess that worked out ok. 

i think it is so funny how there are ten million "remedies" for pregnancy-induced nausea. it is amazing that one thing can work for someone and not at all for someone else, etc. the diversity of the human experience is amazing. 

good luck! are you having at least intermittent good days by now? 

[nettlesoup]

It's not as bad as it was a month ago, but every day is pretty much the same. As long as I eat frequently it's not too bad, but it would be lovely if the nausea just went away completely.

You're right about the remedies! It's funny how so many people find sickness bands useful, yet they do absolutely nothing for me. Although I'm sure they did work for me in my last pregnancy! But so far I've found that by far the best remedy is kefir. If I didn't drink that stuff everyday I would feel far worse! I learnt pretty quickly not to forget to drink it! And annoyingly fizzy drinks really help. But once my partner's water kefir has fermented for a few days, there will be enough for me as well, and that's almost as fizzy as lemonade. And I assume it would also have a positive effect like my milk kefir does.

How are you feeling now? I hear it is much worse when you have twins.

[mrsandmrs]

I thought the sea bands helped me sometimes, but other times they did nothing at all. Oh, I also did aromatherapy with lemon & mint (a few drops of essential oil on my palms, rub them together until warm, put them over my face and breathe in) which helped a lot but was not consistently helpful, i.e. i would have to do it every 20 minutes which is too much maintenance for me. You're totally right about the fizzy beverages. I got really obsessed with a Jamaican Lemonade Spritzer from RW Knudsen for a while. It has magical powers, I swear. Fizzy kefir sounds good! 

This week, I have had almost all good days. A couple days I have found myself gagging around meal time, but I haven't actually gotten physically sick in days and I am not really nauseous in between meals. I have been actually hungry & able to eat a good amount of food, which is exciting. I felt bad for starving the twins. I would say I am having more good days than bad days now. I think my last acupuncture appt helped me a lot, but the biggest thing is time passing. I was terrified that I would be one of the 10% who have nausea for the entire pregnancy. 

Were you this sick with your last pregnancy? 

[nettlesoup]

That's great that you're feeling so good now! It must be such a relief. I'm quite jealous!

Last pregnancy I was nauseous until about 13 weeks then I felt fine. I made the mistake of assuming it would be the same this time round, so I ended up being really disappointed when I was still feeling ill well after 13 weeks. But I think in general it was milder last time as well. Maybe it'll be gone in time for my sister's wedding when I'll be almost 20 weeks.