Unisom Advice Please - When to Stop?

[crosscat]

I've been taking Unisom + B6 before bedtime for morning sickness based on my OB's suggestion after I refused prescription nausea meds. While it did not completely relieve my nausea, it has made a big difference.

Now that I'm beginning my second trimester, I'm feeling so much better. I would love to ditch the Unisom. I tried stopping once at nearly 12 weeks, because I had a great day and assumed (naively) that my morning sickness had ended. The next day I was miserable. I went back to taking the Unisom the next day, and felt better. I'm 14 weeks now, and I'd love to stop taking it, but I don't want to find myself in that situation again. It was so awful!

So my question, for those of you who have used Unisom for m/s, is when/how to stop taking it. Did you go down to half a tablet instead of a full tablet for a while? Do you remember how far along in your pregnancy you were when you stopped taking it and/or tapered down?

Any advice is welcomed and appreciated!

[Kleine Hexe]

I don't know. I'm not there yet. Maybe cut to half and see how you feel.

[Gnatty]

I tapered off by taking 1/2 tablet nightly for maybe a week.
I think I was at about 14 weeks.

I did have mild nausea occasionally thru the rest of my pregnancy, and threw up a few times in my 2nd and 3rd trimesters...mostly triggered by smells. *gag!* So you may want to try out some other remedies (ginger [didn't work for me], peppermint tea, etc) for milder nausea later.

[the_lissa]

I've been taking Unisom + B6 before bedtime for morning sickness based on my OB's suggestion after I refused prescription nausea meds. While it did not completely relieve my nausea, it has made a big difference.

Now that I'm beginning my second trimester, I'm feeling so much better. I would love to ditch the Unisom. I tried stopping once at nearly 12 weeks, because I had a great day and assumed (naively) that my morning sickness had ended. The next day I was miserable. I went back to taking the Unisom the next day, and felt better. I'm 14 weeks now, and I'd love to stop taking it, but I don't want to find myself in that situation again. It was so awful!

So my question, for those of you who have used Unisom for m/s, is when/how to stop taking it. Did you go down to half a tablet instead of a full tablet for a while? Do you remember how far along in your pregnancy you were when you stopped taking it and/or tapered down?

Any advice is welcomed and appreciated!

I take 4 a day all 9 months because it is the only way I can stay out of the hospital.

[cj'smommy]

Honestly I would try and taper it off and see how you feel. That's what I did. I stopped the Zofran first but slowly took myself off the Unisom just to make sure.

I knew it was time to stop the Zofran when I forgot to take a pill once and realized a couple hours later I felt ok.

[radiowave]

I have been taking half a unisom occasionally at night, because I have so much trouble sleeping (I am 23 weeks pregnant). I have been concerned about possible negative effects on the baby. Does everyone agree that is is safe?

[the_lissa]

In Canada, diclectin, which is b6 and unisom, is the only class A drug. I also took 4 a day through 2 pregnancies, so yes I think it is safe.

[lcaitlin]

I'm almost 17 weeks and also refused the strongly encouraged zofran and other prescription drugs. But I have had to take max doses unisom and zantac (anti-acid heartburn medicine) religiously to be even semi-functional.

At 14 weeks I decreased to half a tab every night. same thing as you -- the one night last week I didn't take it led to a miserable pukefest the next day. so hard to get back on track after that!

so I have not dared stop at all. I keep wanting to wean off of it, but I know in my heart that I'm not there yet and that it does continue to help. but I'm getting by with just the half-tab per night. one thing though -- I ran out of b6 recently and found that not taking it didn't make a difference anymore (I used to notice for sure when I missed a dose), so I just do the unisom now and it's fine. I think too much b6 isn't a great thing either, so maybe you can decrease or stop that part.

my midwife assures me that it is ok to rely on the unisom for now until I'm really feeling better for a consistent amount of time. I don't feel great about taking it still, but you have to do what you have to do and this sickness is a hard road to be on, so I don't beat myself up too much about it...

good luck!!

[poetesss]

Just have to say here that hearing about all these people using unisom is easing up my guilt a little bit. Last time I just put up with the morning sickness but this time I don't really have it in me to sit around and be nauseated all day. I was just having these nagging thoughts about it, but it's comforting to know that so many other people use it even more often than I have been.

[ripcurlgirl26]

I have HG my first pregnancy and had to take a full Unisom until around 25 weeks, when I was able to cut down to half a pill without throwing up all day. However, I had to stay on half a pill for my entire pregnancy. *sigh* I hope you feel better, it really is the pits.

[crosscat]

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences and advice with me! I will be brave and start trying half a Unisom and see what happens.

By the way, my heart goes out to those of you who are struggling with HG. :Hug

And please don't feel guilty or scared about taking Unisom for morning sickness. Of course it's best to avoid any drugs during pregnancy, but being able to nourish your child and/or get enough rest is also very important! From what I understand, Unisom is considered safe and your baby should be fine. I just think it's best to strive to use it as conservatively as possible in your own unique situation.

I hope we're all feeling better soon!