Friendly Reminder to Treat Morning Sickness BEFORE it hits...

[Spark]

Hey, just a reminder to start treating morning sickness before it hits. If you treat before it sets in, it will be less than if you wait until you're sick to start treating. www.motherisk.org one of the foremost researchers on morning sickness and hyperemisis recommends starting treatment for those with a history of bad morning sickness before M/S kicks in.

There is a long list of proven natural treatments HERE I think my favorite combo is Milk Thistle & Wild Yam root. B6, ginger tablets and lemon water are really nice, too. But, take a look & see what you think might work best for yourself. Remember, the earlier you start, the more likely they are to balance you out.

Now, keep in mind as VeganF pointed out further in this thread, that morning sickness is good for the body to an extent. http://www.greenjournal.org/cgi/cont...tract/95/5/779 At the same time, if you've been incapacitated from M/S or HG before... starting preemptive treatment will do much more for you than just reacting when it hits.

Ugh, Morning Sickness & HG. No fun! Can we put a ban on the ": puke" smilie right now???

Wishing you all healthy and happy 9 months!

[Spark]

Oh, so I thought I should mention what I'm taking right now:
150 mg of B-6 spread out into 3 doses
1 unisom at bedtime (along with one of the B-6's) - I take this only because of my history with severe Nausea and Vomitting in Pregnancy (NVP)
Wild Yam Root in pill form 3x per day
Milk Thistle 3x per day
Extra folic acid (800 mcg total)
Probiotics
Water with lemon

(Why Unisom? If you need even bigger guns than Wild Yam Root, starting 50mg B-6 with one traditional Unisom (doxylamine succinate) at night before bed may be the right option for you. As Morning Sickness kicks in then, you can increase to 25 mg of Vitamin B6, three time a day, together with half of a Unisom tablet (doxylamine succinate), i.e., 12.5 mg three time a day. Make sure you don't confuse the gel Unisom for the traditional doxylamine succinate kind.)

[finnegansmom]

So b-6 is good for morning sickness? I didn't know that. I'm still taking the 150 mg once a day for my short luteal phase.... I was too scared to stop. Should I just spread it out over 3 doses? I was unsure if it was too much and could be dangerous to the baby...

[veganf]

I have all Oops babies, so it's hard to start early. I posted in your pregnancy resources thread last week actually. Most of the remedies simply do nothing for me.
The only thing I haven't tried is the wild yam root and acupuncture. I'm going to try to get some wild yam root next week. And we have different health insurance than last time, though I have my doubts if acupuncture will be covered, but I'll certainly try if it gets really bad like with my third.

I'm already starting back on the dandelion root and added B6. I have both plain dandelion root and a dandelion root milk thistle combo.
I am not willing to use Unisom unless absolutely necessary, though I took it for 10 weeks with my third pregnancy.

Of course taking anything means actually being able to choke it down, which can be difficult to do with the heightened senses of pregnancy!

[mrs rockstar]

Going to the health food store today. I didn't have bad ms with my first two but I don't feel good at all this time.

[4Marmalade]

A question about B6. I can only find 100mg doses. Are they a type of tablet that I can cut in half to spread the dosage throughout the day?

[Spark]

Originally Posted by finnegansmom

So b-6 is good for morning sickness? I didn't know that. I'm still taking the 150 mg once a day for my short luteal phase.... I was too scared to stop. Should I just spread it out over 3 doses? I was unsure if it was too much and could be dangerous to the baby...

150 mg is just fine. Yes, splitting it up makes it easier for your body to absorb, especially if M/S kicks in for you.

So, did it help with your lutal phase? I guess so, huh?

[Spark]

Originally Posted by veganf

I have all Oops babies, so it's hard to start early. I posted in your pregnancy resources thread last week actually. Most of the remedies simply do nothing for me.

Ooh, yes, I responded. I was glad you posted your experience. I wrote you some questions. I'm sorry you didn't get any relief from what you tried. I hope this time is much easier for you.

[Spark]

Originally Posted by Mama to one

A question about B6. I can only find 100mg doses. Are they a type of tablet that I can cut in half to spread the dosage throughout the day?

Yeah, I'd just go ahead and split them in half. I bought cheap B6 from a grocery store because we weren't sure if we were going to TTC & I wanted to prep but not spend big bucks. The cheap kind I bought only comes in 100mg. So, I just split them. they have a handy line on them.

The higher qaulity B6 comes with vitamin C for added absorbancy. My cheap form does not, so I just usually try to take it with some kind of C either with my vitamin or with some C food.

[ekblad9]

Why start the unisom now? Does it help prevent it or build up in your system or something? I've tried mass amounts of b-6 and all that before. It never helped all that much but did sometimes take the edge off. What about herbs? I know those take a while to build up in your system. I'm starting with those this time. my b-6 also has b-12 and folic acid in it. Is that OK?

[Spark]

Amy, the reason to start immediately is because study after study has shown that it lessens the severity of nausea & vomitting during pregnancy. If you start treatment when the symptoms are in full swing it's a lot harder to reverse the symptoms. Here is the most well known study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...934&query_hl=2 I know you mentioned trying Zofran this time around. If you can take that study (there are others, too, but this is the best known) to your Dr. and request Zofran (or generic) now before your symtoms you may have a better time getting insurance to cover it. If you really want to go the Zofran route, you could start 2-4mg once a day.

Motherisk has done oodles of studies with B-6/Unisom (called Diclectin in Canada) and they can actually help you come up with a game plan suited just for you if you give them a call. They are VERY helpful. They'll asnwer any questions you have, too & create a file for you at their organization.

Herbs, just like medicine are best when started BEFORE nausea and vomitting kick in. I'm 4.5 weeks pregnant. Usually I'm queasy at this point. Nope. Not in the least. I'm HUNGRY. I hope it keeps up! I'm soooo happy!

I don't know the upper limits of B-12 & folic acid. I'd just make sure that if you top off B-12 to 150mg, that you're not overdosing on the other vitamins in there. But, all in all it's nice to do B-vitamin combos.

[ekblad9]

I have some Zofron here. I just hesitate to take anything unless I"m totally desperate. I know it makes sense that when you feel sick you don't eat and then you throw up and it's a vicious cycle. I just am afraid to take anything unless I have to. I am pushing the herbs and that's making me a bit nervous too. I'm just a wreck all the time, LOL. I"m terrified of the sever m/s I know is to come but also of the drugs or herbs that might help it. I feel like I have to suffer through it every time. I feel selfish if I try something and it hurts the baby. But I worry about who will take care of me and my kids while I'm pukey for 4 months.

[nubianamy]

I take B6 and did with the first pg (50 mg/day) and I'm sure it helped with the m/s. Why the unisom?

[Spark]

Maggi! I live in Ann Arbor, too! The Unisom is only needed if you had severe morning sickness or hyperemsis in previous pregnancies. So, if you were able to semi-function, it's probably not for you. There are soooo many herbs in that link in the OP. If you feel like you want to try something else, you might find something listed that sounds appealing.

[mrs rockstar]

And I know this is probably a yes duh question but all of this is safe while breastfeeding, yeah? I've checked all the regular places and am coming up with yes duh answers there too but I like to hear it from real people too

[ekblad9]

Originally Posted by Spark

Maggi! I live in Ann Arbor, too! The Unisom is only needed if you had severe morning sickness or hyperemsis in previous pregnancies. So, if you were able to semi-function, it's probably not for you. There are soooo many herbs in that link in the OP. If you feel like you want to try something else, you might find something listed that sounds appealing.

I'm in Canton! Not far from you ladies!

[finnegansmom]

Originally Posted by Spark

150 mg is just fine. Yes, splitting it up makes it easier for your body to absorb, especially if M/S kicks in for you.

So, did it help with your lutal phase? I guess so, huh?

It DID! I had 7-8 day LPs for 2 months and then we got pregnant on the 3rd. I'm still nursing ALL the time especially at night since we cosleep so we were pleasantly surprised with the +!

I'm going to split up the dose, thanks for the info. I was dreadfully nauseous the whole first trimester with my DS. Blah....:

[nubianamy]

Claire, how nice to meet a fellow Ann Arborite! And Amy, you're so close -- perhaps we should get together sometime. A little MDC mini-meetup.

Thanks for the clarification about the Unisom. I'll keep it in my bag of tricks.

[Spark]

Originally Posted by mrs rockstar

And I know this is probably a yes duh question but all of this is safe while breastfeeding, yeah? I've checked all the regular places and am coming up with yes duh answers there too but I like to hear it from real people too

All the herbs and recommendations listed in the link in my siggie & linked in the OP are safe while breastfeeding.

The unisom & Zofran are class drugs though, so they do carry some risks. It's one of those risks outweigh the benefits if you haven't had more than regular old morning sickness.

[Spark]

I tried to reply to you before, but kept getting the "server busy" page.

Originally Posted by ekblad9

I have some Zofron here. I just hesitate to take anything unless I"m totally desperate. ... But I worry about who will take care of me and my kids while I'm pukey for 4 months.

Maybe you need to read more of the research done on preemptive treatment. I mean, the thing is, yes you could wait until you were totally desperate, but you would never get the relief as if you started following a protocol now. By starting a protocol (whether that's just herbal or a combination) statisticly speaking, not only will you delay the onset of NVP but also the severity and duration.

Well, the herbs are totally safe & can be started now as long as their within the recommended doses. Weighing the risks of Zofran definitely has to be done. It's category B. Certainly not like taking a Tylenol, but not like doing steroids either.

You Canton girl, you! You're right around the block from us.