Preventing/Reducing Morning Sickness and Hyperemsis Gravidarum (herbs & more!) - Page 8

[JewelSun]

What is GAPS? Is it possible to be a low carb vegetarian?

[dayiscoming2006]

I don't know about the low carb thing. I personally did low carb/candida diet before I got pregnant with my 3rd and then for about a month of the pregnancy after I found out. I was so sick from it that I had to add more carbs in. I felt like I had no energy on that diet and it just didn't work well for me. I think the most important thing is to eat lots of healthy foods. Veggies, fruits, high quality meat, dairy and some healthy grains. Yes, I believe there are good grains out there. To each their own, but that's my thoughts and I thought maybe this could add something to the thread.

I really appreciate this thread. I was taking 150 mg milk thistle a day for quite a few months before I got pregnant for supporting my liver function, but not as preparation for pregnancy. I have upped it to 300 mg for a week or so and now my friend told me that she read that the recommended maintenance dose (non pregnant) is actually 600 mg? Any thoughts on that?

I ordered some B6. I'm going to try 25 mg - 3 times a day. My prenatal has 15 mg and I read you aren't supposed to go over 100 mg a day? I usually have awful nausea and minimal vomiting during pregnancy, but it totally sucks. I am thankful I don't have things as bad as many of you. So, I'm not complaining, just hoping to minimize sick feelings as much as possible. I'm only 4.5 weeks right now. I usually don't get sick until the 6th week.

[pek64]

I am so sorry to see that ginger is not working for some. I didn't learn about ginger until I was no longer going to have more children, so I never tried it for pregnancy. I have had wonderful success using ginger tea for both flu related nausea/vomiting and low blood sugar nausea.

For pregnancy, high protein and frequent eating worked best for me. I even ate right before going to bed if I'd been active in the evening. Fruit or sugary foods made it worse for me.

Good luck to all, and congratulations!

[i*wish]

I've read this whole thread. May be pregnant with #4 but not sure and too scared to test! I figure it is what it is.... Anyway, I've had debilitating nausea with my 3 pregnancies and so I've got some milk thistle here to try. My question is do you take both capsules (or all three if pregnant) at once? Or space them out? I'm having so much trouble remembering to take it twice a day the it occurred to me, maybe I can take both at once...Any insight is much appreciated!

[amylove10]

Thank You everyone for such amazing information. I've had two pregnancies with severe undiagnosed HG (children now 6 & 4), I lived in a small country town in Australia and for both pregnancies had constant severe N/V from 4 weeks until I gave birth, could not really eat at all, lost about 15kgs each pregnancy,had many trips to the ER and thought I was dying (which I kind of was), had teeth loosening (and later having to be removed) and between my Doctor, ObGyn and private midwifes (as I was Homebirthing)  was still told it was a normal part of pregnancy!

After researching I now know its HG. I've been researching for the last year or so and have now found this great empowering forum!

I am currently 7 weeks pregnant with our third baby and have left a gap of 5 years between this one and out last beautiful bub to give my body time to recover and prepare (Also just dealing with the emotional trauma of HG). 

This time nausea started around week 4 when I actually thought i had a stomach bug, then around week 5 we had a positive test and I jumped on to the net and found this information about MT, B6, etc.

I started taking MT, B6 with ginger, Ginger elixer with apple vinegar cider & Manuka Honey. I'm also doing banana shakes with spirulina,chlorella,bee pollen,LSA, and raw cacao x 2 a day as well as wearing a B12 patch.

Straight away the heavy nausea started lifting, there are still waves of mild nausea but I've have actually had some days with almost no nausea!, I've even been able to ride my bike and do shopping. I'm excited about also looking at the high protein diet. I'm going to try and order the wild yam and false unicorn tincture on-line.

An interesting side note is that Kate middleton (Prince Williams wife) has been diagnosed with HG. And now suddenly in Australia there are articles about it everywhere, Im hoping this will save lives and stop people telling women to just "get over it" and have a dry cracker...because as we all know there is a bit more to it than that!

[amylove10]

For i*wish,I was taking all 3 capsules at once but have just got a really high dose in the one capsule (35grams in one) as I was finding it hard to keep the three down.

[tmbulin]

This thread has shifted my thinking in that I believe that I can have another pregnancy, an that I will be HG free. I am so thankful for this thread and grateful to be able to read about everyone's experiences. I've been studying this thread and conducting my own research, and have started an herbal/natural protocol a few months ago. I've also changed my diet to include natural and organic (non-processed) foods. I've also eliminated gluten.
I don't plan to start ttc until November 2013. My son is 16 months now and I want him to be a little older. I also have academic and professional commitments until that time (just in case I do not avoid HG).
I'm curious to know how those of you that are currently pg, and have implemented the protocol are doing? Any advice or pointers for me in my prep?
Again , thank you all!!

[CookAMH]

Another Success Story

I really agree with milk thistle being a significant aid to reduce HG. I was pretty nauseous (not HG) with my first pregnancy, all day long. I'd have to go lay down in my car at work and wore seabands and took ginger all day.  Before my second, I took milk thistle for 8 months before conceiving, and was only nauseous a handful of times that whole pregnancy. I noticed it came back within a couple of days of skipping MT the first trimester, so it was important for me to continue taking. I stopped taking it around 13-14 weeks. I was *pretty sure* it was the milk thistle. I was still very fatigued, but not sick. Leading up to this third pregnancy, I took MT again for about 8 months prior to conception. I don't have much nausea now (7 weeks), if anything it's very mild.

Something else I found in my research this past year was a deficiency in magnesium influencing morning sickness, though I do believe MT is more significant. I started supplementing with magnesium about 4 months ago and feel it has helped lower the level of fatigue this time, so far. (again, only 7 weeks at this point).  I've also restored nutrient levels in my body much better between pregnancies this time, which I also believe plays in.  I eat a largely traditional foods diet. http://www.mommypotamus.com/the-real-cause-of-morning-sickness/

Edited by CookAMH - 1/20/13 at 10:11pm

[Nezabudka]

Please someone help me to understand. In the book Naturally healthy pregnancy which I do not have but heard about the author tells us to take milk Thistle with at least 70% of Silybin. Then she talks about which one to buy and it is Milk Thistle Phytosome by Natural Factors. Well i bout it and it contains 15% of silybin as indicated on the back of the bottle. Do I buy something else or should I stick to this one???

[tmbulin]

Nezabudka - I'm not sure, but I believe that book is pretty dated. Maybe the company changed the composition of silybin since that time. In all of the research I've done, I keep seeing that 70% is very important, so it might be best to get Milk Thistle that meets that requirement.
I've been taking Milk Thistle in a tincture (with Dandelion Root and Tumeric) since September 2012, and the milk thistle capsule for about 2 months.
An herbalist makes both the tincture and capsules for me, which I like because I can speak to her directly about my specific requirements. I would be happy to provide you with her business information if you are interested, just PM me for that.