*I actually have it all day, starting from about noon through until I go to bed.
What did you do about it?
How far into your pregnancy did it last?
Any suggestions for homeopathy, massage or other non-medication options?
I’ve got a busy toddler at home who just doesn’t understand why Mommy keeps sticking her head into the big white potty several times a day.
Honestly, I don’t recall being this sick when I was pregnant with her. I’m 9 weeks along now and if this doesn’t end soon, I may drop with exhaustion. I can’t sleep for more than two hours in a row at night. Even preparing food for my child is a challenge. I have to make the food for the whole day in the morning, so that I don’t have to prepare it during the day, when I feel sickest.
I know that this is a joyous time in my life, but honestly, I’m not able for it. At this point, husband is doing most/all of the cooking and anything that requires me to move makes me feel worse.
It’s like being on a small boat in a tempest, but you can’t get off!
HELP ME!
Thanks, Shibb, it’s clear you’re not doing vanity searches for my most recent morsels of wisdom. It’s all over my LJ, which is obviously below your radar as well. Hrmph, see if I get you lost in Paris again!
Now, what do I do about the morning sickness? Anyone? Anyone?
On the plus side, I only actually vomited twice. But I felt like vomiting all the time. I can’t remember what I did, except feel depressed about it. I know someone out there will have good advice.
There is a drug available in Canada called Diclectin. Wonderful Stuff! If you are coming to Canada, let me know, I’ll get you some
That doesn’t help you now though. I can tell you that when I went to the er for my migraine during my first trimester, the doctor said that before dicletin, doctor’s used to prescribe regular old gravol. Ask you doctor about it.
Homeopathic/Herbal
I have found ginger works wonders. There was a fear a while ago that it could cause uterine contractions, but it is recognized as safe. I take it in capsules, but you can take ginger tea if you find that works better.
Foods that you can usually keep down - studies have shown that watermelon is a very easy thing to keep down, and some women say that lemonade doesn’t come back up.
Other than that, small, frequent (every two hours) meals. Start with crackers and flat pop (7up, ginger ale).
On the bright side, I seem to be on the tail end of my sickness (I am 15 weeks). The doctor said that by week 16 your hormones are usually levelling out.
If you are actually throwing up several times every single day, not just feeling nauseous, CALL YOUR DOCTOR. This is not something you want to fool around with - you can dehydrate.
I had hyperemesis gravidarum (“severe pregnancy related vomitting” in medicalese) during both of my full-term pregnancies, and ended up taking antihistamines to stay out of the hospital. So this kind of sets off alarm bells for me. I won’t tell you how long I had it, it’s too depressing, but I will tell you the medicines were a godsend when the hyperemesis was at its peak.
In the meantime, you might find some relief by keeping yourself as hydrated as you can. Yes, getting dehydrated can make you nauseous, believe it or not. Stay cool if you possibly can, and sip as much water as you can stand. The water might be easier to take in the form of sour lemonade, or ginger ale. Some people get relief from vitamin B6 suppliments, ginger, or motion sickness bands.
Oh, and call in all the favors people owe you and get some help to take care of your little girl. Being sick is miserable enough without feeling guilty about your first child.
I vote with checking with the dr, too - my best friend had hyperemesis, twice, and both times she got real friendly with the ER folks who had to rehydrate her multiple times. Hers was very very bad (threw up 2x/hr around the clock, and even on meds threw up daily until almost full term, weighed as much at 9 months pg as when she GOT pg… :eek: )
I can’t remember exactly how long I had m/s myself, but it was around the 19 week mark with Gabe, and longer with Brendan, though not as severe - BTW, I read somewhere that 19 weeks is average for those who get it at all. Sorry to pass on bad news…
My friend’s advice to me, re: nausea (along with my own experiences):
Try every trick. Especially if you are really sick, it is worth a shot as long as it isn’t directly harmful. Canned peaches worked for my friend for several weeks. :shrug:
Lemon peel - fresh cut. I lived on water with a huge chunk of lemon in it. Not just lemon juice, but the combo of juice and lemon oil from the skin really helped. Used to carry a slab of lemon around in a ziplock, pop it open to sniff for immediate relief.
Ginger. Any form, good for motion sickness, too. Ginger ale doesn’t have enough ginger in it to help in a clinical sense, but the fizz plus the flavor helps some people anyway. “old fashioned” ginger ale helps. I also used the Tom’s of Maine ‘gingermint’ toothpaste - the only kind I could tolerate without yooking.
Accupressure bands (seasickness bands) help some women. There’s a battery-driven version that pulses a bit of electricity to the spot, which is supposed to be more effective. Mixed reviews.
If you are a good hypnosis subject, hypnosis often helps. If not, it may help a bit anyway. I used the New Way Childbirth self-hypnosis tapes, and for a while I had no morning sickness for a full day after listening to the first-trimester tape the night before. Eventually the benefit faded, for me (or the nausea got enough worse to wipe out the benefit). Kind of new-agey tapes, but overall pretty decent for helping you relax, especially with another kid around. If you have questions or oare otherwise interested in my experience with the NWC tapes, email me - they’ve got some plusses and some minuses.
Switch brands of prenatals if you are taking them still (some women quit because they throw them up again). The iron can really whack your tummy even if you aren’t pregnant. Prescription buffered ones are worth the effort, though the folate absorption is low. I also switched to a ‘split’ prenatal, taking ferrous glucinate (I think) separately (easier on the tummy form of iron). That was with Gabe. With Brendan, I ended up taking two doses of children’s chewables daily, which is pretty near the same thing (again, with midwife approval).
Check with your doc/midwife about B6 - I was approved to take it, and yes it did help a lot (not perfect, but helpful).
prescription pharmaceuticals. Especially with hyperemesis, which is really hard on your system. My friend had some kind of suppository med ( :eek: , but it worked better than most things). There are also other meds available. The risk of the meds is generally very low, and certainly lower than the risks to you and baby from dehydration or malnourishment.
With Gabe I threw up about 3-8 times a week (often at work - now there’s some fun…). With Brendan, not that often, but lots of continuous nausea. I usually felt better after I yooked, though. (And here I was just thinking about having another baby… talk about amnesia!)
Also, the dehydration = nausea rang a bell for me - you said you have headaches? Also a sign of dehydration. Time to get out the ice chips, juice pops, lemonade, and push that hydration, I think.
Bloodsugar crashes also cause nausea, so make sure you are getting enough protien to get you through the day (this being another trick that my friend mentioned - eat a really high-protein snack about 2-4 hours before you usually start feeling ill). And stick to low-glycemic-index carbs as much as possible - they don’t whack your bloodsugar as hard. Check out the U of Sydney glycemic index site - they have a searchable database. In general, stay away from potatoes and wheat products, and lean toward oatmeal, barley, rye for grains. Fruits with pits (peaches, plums) work well for sweet things, melons not so well. This will also help you keep your blood sugar stable later on, as your system copes with bloodsugar chages less well (reduces your risk of Gestational Diabetes if you are already using low GI foods).
Like the others, I hate to say it Anahita, but I had “morning” sickness that lasted all day, every day, until I gave birth. Like flodnak warns, dehydration is a danger. I ended up in the hospital twice for IVs when I got to the point of keeling over. As far as what helped—I never did find anything that consistently worked, so this is the best tip I can give you.
When you have a lull where you’re feeling OK, or you find a food that seems to be “sticking” for the moment–GO NUTS.
Seriously, I tried so hard to pace my meals and monitor my intake, but it got to the point where that just wasn’t an option anymore. I still remember being close to tears with hunger and exhaustion once when I hadn’t kept anything down in days and, for whatever reason, a banana went down and stayed down. I danced , I celebrated, I ate seven bananas.
Just try to get your nourishment where and when you can, and do your best to stick it out. In the worst case scenario, 9 months of sickness sucks–but it’s not forever, and as long as you’re careful and self-aware you’ll make it out OK. And kiss your hubby for me, I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d have had someone around during my pregnancy to take care of all those things I just didn’t feel up to. He’s a good guy.
Great advice. I should clarify, this frequent vomiting has only started recently (on Monday). I still feel sick all day long, though.
I’ll see the doctor about it, just to be sure.
I am hoping it abates after the first trimester. I think you could be right about the headaches being related to dehydration, because drinking too much water makes me feel HORRIBLE.
I’ll have to try the sips all day, rather than knocking back a glass at a time.
I remember that - couldn’t do straight water. Try the lemonade approach, or mix a litte fruit juice into the water, er even just a splash of lemon juice (no sugar). I found I could do that much better, even a full-glass at a time. Anything high-acid helped me keep it down (don’t know why!). If you haven’t been sucking down the water, even in sips, and the nausea just started, dehydration could be it. (though my nausea didn’t start until about 6 weeks the first time, and about 8+ weeks the second time… fingers crossed that all you have is a bit of dehydration)
My wife was sick, sick, sick with all three. The first two were four months of barfing. The latest was longer. She’d agree that morning sickness was misnamed. All day sickness was more
We kept saltines by the bed, saltines by the couch. She’d wake up and have to munch a few just to get out of bed.
Things that helped:
Ginger tablets - health food store stuff
Saltines
Sea Sickness banks. They work for a while then you have to take them off. After a rest, they seem to work again for a while. The Dr. warns that the electric kind seemed to work for a while, then they stop being effective. They’re expensive, too.
Small meals more frequently.
Don’t eat too much greasy or acidic food.
Don’t forget to drink - especially in the summer heat.
None of the techniques were highly effective - she was never without some barfy feelings; they just reduced them some.
Cooking smells were too much for her so we made menu alterations to keep the odors down (pork chops were out, etc.) You might have to make some temporary lifestyle changes until the sickness passes.
We did the in-the-hospital-for-dehydration thing too although that was complicated by what we think was food poisoning.
Keep up with those pre-natal vitamins…
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I remember one morning when I fixed a nice breakfast for my newly pregnant wife when she was pregnant with our first. Blueberry pancakes, juice, eggs. The $7.99 special.
She ate it, ran upstairs and barfed. I was so hurt. Try to manage you husband’s expectations a little.
She also interrupted a bit of “personal time”, if you get my drift (nudge, nudge) because she had to leap up and run. Pretty much ruined the mood.
Try to manage your husband’s expectations a little.
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I’m only popping in here to echo some of this advice. I was hyperemetic too, and it was horrifying. Keep water handy, and yes, small sips all day long (as opposed to gulping glass after glass) should do it. I was severe enough to be hospitalized and on IVs a couple times (“Whaddaya gonna do when WATER makes you nauseous?” I asked, but no one had an answer for that one).
Definitely the sea-sickness wrist bands (non-battery). They were such a blessing for me.
Also, I couldn’t drink water, either. What worked for me (and was more than fine with my doctor) was fresh-brewed, unsweetened decaf iced tea. I drank it in slow sips, and it stayed down and kept me hydrated.
I went my whole 1st trimester without morning sickness. “Woohoo!” I thought at week 13. “I’m not going to have it!”
Then week 14 hit and I threw up constantly for the next 3 weeks. I had no nausea, though, but I couldn’t hold ANYTHING down.
I eventually ended up doing about a 10 hour stint in the hospital with an IV of potassium and other fluids. After that I threw up maybe once and that was it. No more.
This too shall pass, I promise. Most women quit throwing up after the first trimester.
I’ll weigh in now and predict you are carrying a girl.
PS: If you are throwing up more than 3 times a day, you need to see the doc pronto. (At least that’s the rule of thumb they told me when I was carrying WV_Toddler.)
