Any experience with prescription anti-vomiting medication?

[PuppyFluffer]

I have reached my personal limit on vomiting. I am throwing up blood and this has got to stop.

Has anyone had any experience with prescription anti-vomiting medication?

[Lady Madonna]

When I was pregnant with my DD, I took Compazine, but had bad reactions to it and just ended up suffering until my 7th month. This time, I've got Zofran. It's stronger, and hideously expensive, but it's the only thing that has made me vaguely functional. I'm still puking a couple times a day, but the unending nausea has let up enough to let me at least pay attention to DD.

[boscopup]

I've had several friends use Zofran, and they had good results. One was hospitalized due to dehydration, and she tried phenargen, but it didn't work. They were just starting to use Zofran in pregnant women at the time, and it was still considered somewhat "experimental" to use it that way (it's been used in cancer patients alot longer). But like PP says, it's hideously expensive! Hopefully your doctor can give you lots of free samples. ;)

[the_lissa]

've taken diclectin both pregnancies. Without it, I end up hospitalized because I throw up so much, I can't even keep a sip of water down, and end up horribly dehydrated. Diclectin is not available in the U.S., but many doctors recommend b6 and regular strength unisom, which is basically the equivalent of diclectin. I take two before bed and one twice throughout the day.

[jassyp101]

I also had terrible hyperemesis to the point where I was non-functional. I used Zofran and Phenergan. I was sick until the 7th month...almost due now and can't wait to meet the baby. :)

Phenergan is cheaper than Zofran. Zofran is very expensive, but it does work. Phenergan worked for me too and it's much cheaper.

Good Luck!

[PuppyFluffer]

I don't have hyperemesis. I dont throw up all the time....but when I do, it's bad. I just puke and puke and puke and I tear up my esophagus so bad I throw up blood, then I salivate excessively, trying to spit most of it out, because if I swallow all that salive, it will make me throw up again. I've had days where I've not thrown up at all. Today, I've thrown up 5 times. My throat is so sore, it's hard to eat.

I am trying B6 injections tomorrow. I'm about 11 weeks.

[the_lissa]

I've read, and it was true for me, that a lot of women don't have success with b6 alone. So, if that is the case for you, try it in conjunction with unisom. I hope you feel better.

[annethcz]

I can totally relate. I have what I consider to be borderline hyperemesis. I've actually stopped eating for the time being because it's better than throwing up every time I eat. I still retch and heave, but it's better than the constant throwing up of food.

I've done a fair amount of research, and before I make the leap to getting a prescription (which means finding an OB expressly for this purpose), I'm going to try the unisom/b6 combo. From the reading I've done, it appears that (in Canada at least), diclectin (unisom/b6) is classified as a class A drug (least likely to cause fetal abnormalities), whereas most of the prescription drugs are a little more risky and are classified as class B or C drugs.

I'm going to try the unisom/B6 for the next couple of days, and I'll let you know how it works.

[ma_Donna]

I was very sick with DS for most of the pregnancy, but not nearly so this time around.

With DS I tried phenergran, worked a little, but made me very sleepy. THen tried Reglan and it did NOTHING and I ended up in the ER for rehydration and found my salvation - Zofran.

I tried phenergran again this time and it did nothing and only used about a dozen Zofran this time around - still lost 12 lbs, though which is fine since I'm overweight.

Zofran does NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE. You may have to try a couple out to see what works for you. My midwives were able to prescribe these for me.

I hope you feel better soon!
Good luck!!

[RosesToys]

I took Zofran when pregnant with my dd. I was in rough shape before they started me on it. I hadn't been able to keep anything down for 24 hours at all. :(

It was a holiday weekend so my OB sent me to the ER to get IV fluids. That was a nightmare due to the bitch of a nurse I got. :(

The Zofran stopped the vomiting for me. I had tried Phenergan and that doesn't do anything for me. I still felt nauseous for most of my pregnancy, but it was so much better to at least not be vomiting.

This time around, I'm just going it on my own so far. I'm only 7 weeks, but the nauseau is not fun already. I imagine I will probably have to take Zofran again this pregnancy, but I'm waiting a bit to see if I can survive without it.

Good luck. Marathon sickness sucks.

[solstar]

I was on Phenergan and it made sleepy and I will still vomiting (hyperemesis) throughout teh preg.

[merrick]

I tried everything, prescription and non prescription. Zofran is the only thing that helped, and even that didn't completely get rid of the nausea/vomiting. I was on it until just a couple of weeks ago, and I'm 36 weeks now. I agree though, you'll probably have to see what works for you. Zofran didn't have a lot of side effects for me, except for constipation.

[Belle]

When I was pg with my dd Zofran was the only thing that worked. I tried the B6 and Unisom combo and that didn't work. When I finally called my dr begging for help I was very weak and hadn't been able to keep any food down for 3 days. I took zofran for five weeks. It was wonderful. I could actually eat food again. After those five weeks I was only throwing up once or twice a day for the rest of my pregnancy so it was a lot better than before. I had good Rx coverage at the time so the price wasn't too bad. I have no Rx coverage now so if I were to take it again it might be too much.

[PuppyFluffer]

Those of you who took Zofran, what type of dosage schedule did you use?

I am experiencing random vomiting. It does not happen every day. I can go one or two days without vomiting. If I am going to vomit, I just get this feeling, I can hold it off but I cannot prevent it. I go to throw up and I throw up and throw up and just can't quit til I"m dry heaving over and over. It's rather violent. I am tearing up my esophagus mechanically from all the chewed food coming back and chemically from all the stomach acids - therefore Im throwing up blood. Last night, it was a lot of blood! My throat hurts so bad it's hard to eat but if I don't eat, I'll vomit again. I have to keep something in my stomach. I also have a lot of salivating after vomiting - like profuse. If I swallow it, I end up with all this saliva in my stomach, mixed with the blood and I vomit again - which is often not just one upchuck or two - it is over and over again dry heaving. Then I feel sick and horrible for hours or the entire day til I puke again. But it's not every day.

So I wonder how I would dose for that using Zofran? Is it something you just take daily? How often?

[veganf]

've taken diclectin both pregnancies. Without it, I end up hospitalized because I throw up so much, I can't even keep a sip of water down, and end up horribly dehydrated. Diclectin is not available in the U.S., but many doctors recommend b6 and regular strength unisom, which is basically the equivalent of diclectin. I take two before bed and one twice throughout the day.

I'd try this first too. It's working pretty well for me. I'm tempted to take a second dose later in the day, but I can usually manage with a single dose. I take 50mg of B6 and the CVS generic form of Unisom (doxylamine succinate) 1/2 pill = 12.5mg. It does make me sleepy, but less so if I can eat when I take it. I started it at 15 weeks (I'm 21 weeks now). Within 2 days I stopped throwing up most days, and within 2 weeks I got my appetite back. Whew! It's cheap and I think it's relatively safe compared to the prescriptions available out there. Here's a brief bit of info on it: http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/tn9124.asp

- Krista

[PuppyFluffer]

I am taking my prenatal vitamins and an additional B6 supplement of 200mgs. I also take an additional B12. I see no difference in the oral vitamins.

I printed out the above link about the Unisom and am taking it with me to my drs office. Thank you very much. Gotta run, off to the dr now.

[stellimamo]

I had hypermesis too- vomitting 10-16 times a day. I tried ginger, B12, apple cider vinager, motion sickness bands, and then went to meds. I tried compazine, phenergan and then zofran. Zofran finally worked but as everyone has said it is super expensive. I had a heck of a time getting my insurance to cover the medication. My OB actually had to write a note to convince the insurance I needed that particular med.

I've heard some women have great success with the motion sickness bands.

Good luck !! Hope you feel better!

[ma_Donna]

Zofran dosage
I have 4 mg tabs and at the end of sickness this pg experimented with 1/2 a tablet which also worked, but things were getting better at that point, too.

I don't remember how, but I quickly learned what days I needed Zofran and which I didn't. This time around I just took them to break a cycle. My goal wasn't to stop hurling all-together, but remain functional and out of the ER!

There were a couple of occasions when pg with Noah that I took 2 (8 mg) which was the strength prescribed to a friend of mine that had it worse of than me.

HTH

[PuppyFluffer]

I'm back from my family practitioner (former midwife). She is very confident that the B6 injection will help. She is having a pharmacy formulate it in single dose vials to avoid any preservative. I have to get 10 of them. I hope they are not expensive. BUT, if they work, I don't really care!

It it doesn't work, i'll try Zofran

[Jish]

With my first I didn't vomit much, but I was constantly debilitatingly nauseaus all the time. I was put on Phenergan to keep me out of the hospital and it worked great for me. I was able to get my dosage down to a quarter tablet every 4 hours and as long as I kept on top and didn't miss a dosage I was great.

With #2 the symptoms were the same, though I vomitted more. Phenergan didn't work so I was put on compozine. I didn't like it as well, but it made it so I could function enough to take care of my firstborn.

With my third, the only time I felt sick was when I would take extra B12. I cut it out and I felt so much better and would say that I really didn't have much nausea after that. You may want to consider cutting out the extra b12 for a while and seeing if it helps.


With this one, I was nauseaus, but was able to keep it at bay by taking half a Unisom before bed each night. I doubted that it would work because it didn't work with the first two, but it did with #4.

Thus, what works for some people doesn't work for others, and what works for one pregnancy might not work for another. Don't discount anything because it didn't work for someone else, it may work great for you.

Good luck. (insert a happy and hopeful smilie here.)

[Lady Madonna]

I have 4 mg tablets of Zofran, and the instructions are "3 times a day, as needed". There have been days when I've taken three in the course of the day, and days where I haven't needed it at all. I've taken it once today, and still vomited twice, but have almost no nausea.

I have also used the B6/half-a-Unisom combination, but usually at night. It helps enough that I'm not waking up at night to vomit, but I do sometimes feel nauseated in the night.

I hope the injections work!

[annethcz]

I've been doing the unisom/b6 for the last day and a half, and it's working pretty well.

Yesterday I was able to eat a little and I drank a TON. I barely urinated all day after drinking so much, I shudder to think how dehydrated I was. Anyway, I didn't vomit once yesterday while on the unisom/b6. I will admit that I am using it agressively; I've been taking a whole unisom + b6 at bedtime, half a unisom +b6 in the morning, and another half a unisom + b6 in the afternoon. This is basically the recommended dosage for prescription diclectin. The only difference is that unlike the diclectin, unisom is not delayed release. I did feel pretty tired yesterday, and DH stayed home with me yesterday to take care of the kids in case the drugs totally knocked me out. But I am home alone with my 4 kids today and I decided to continue with the drugs, although I may be a little sleepy, I'm pretty sure I can remain conscious and somewhat alert.

Karen, I hope that the b6 shots are enough to turn it around for you!

[Sugar Magnolia]

I was on Zofran with this pregnancy. We tried everything to help with the constant vomiting and although I was nervous about taking it, Zofran was a life safer for me. I was able to take care of my boys and function. It is expensive and my insurance did not cover many pills a month, so I would cut them in half and they still helped.
Good Luck!

[annethcz]

Karen, how's it going? I've been thinking about you.

The unisom/b6 combo is still working pretty well for me. I'm much less nauseated, and I'm only throwing up a couple of times per day now. And, most importantly, I feel like a functional human being. I've been able to do laundry and other things around the house. I've been able to take care of my kids- it's truly amazing.

I hope that the B6 injections are making a difference for you!