So I’m 8 and a bit weeks along with irishbaby, and sick as a dog from when I wake up right up to when I sleep. I took today off work because I just don’t have the energy to do anything, because the last thing I ate that stayed down until today was a sandwich at Tuesday lunchtime.
I’ve found pasta with butter, warm milk, ice lollies, popcorn, carrots, apples, celery, miso soup and cucumber are the only things I can eat at the moment.
I can’t cook because of the smells (actually I can’t open the fridge door or go to the canteen at work either), so irishfella is existing on takeaways, ready meals and toast. My mum is going to make us some food for the freezer and bring it over tomorrow.
Anyone got any advice?
My mum had 16 weeks of this with all 4 pregnancies, so it looks like I’m in this for the long haul (thanks mum).
Something that helped me a bit was to never let my stomach get empty…I nibbled constantly all day. Even keep some crackers (or whatever) on your bedside table so you can eat a couple before getting up and moving around. (Got that advice from my OB.)
Yep, me too- and I had a full trimester of “24 hour sickness” with each pregnancy (“morning” sickness? Where do I sign up?). I wished I could just throw up and get on with my day, but I never did- just nauseated 24/7.
Crackers, pasta- good stuff. Also, making sure that I ate whatever made ME feel better. Anyone who said “Um, should you really be eating that? Is that good for the baby?” got a smack.
Nibble, nibble, all day and all night- it’ll pass (as soon as you get really used to it!).
I had 24 hour sickness. Like as in, wake up dry retching in the middle of the night and becoming dehydrated because even water wouldn’t stay down. Tried everything, nothing worked, went to homeopath…instant cure! I’ve never been so grateful.
I never threw up - pregnant with 2nd, but this second child gave me a whirl of nausea the first few weeks. I spoke with my Ob about it and he prescribed me some medicine, which was basically a bunch of B vitamins in 1 pill. It did help.
Ginger mints were also my friend and small snacks throughout the day.
Well, I guess I’m glad to know there really isn’t some secret remedy doctors have that they won’t tell the rest of us!
Ginger was always too hot for my stomach. My favorite thing was pear juice, which can be a bit tricky to find around here. I was able to get it at Whole Foods or Wild Oats, I don’t know what the Irish analogue would be. I swear, for three months I lived on fried egg sandwiches and pear juice.
Some people really like mint water - add one drop of peppermint essential oil to 2 or 3 liters of water. Shake frequently, as the e.o. likes to come to the top and make your lips tingle.
I’m not keen on the anti-sickness meds- Cyclizine and Phenergan zonk me out and Zofran just doesn’t (imo) have a long enough safety record in pregnancy for me to be comfortable with it, although I know lot of people swear by it.
I’m taking vast amounts of folic acid and a prescription strength multivitamin with iron anyway, I doubt any more B vits would help!
Gingerale was helping, but I’ve vomited too many times after drinking it now for me to associate the flavour with anything good.
I had a little panic on Tuesday that this sickness was either due to a problem or twins and so I used one of the few perks of my job- I got one of my OB friends in my hospital to scan me quickly during their break. The little one is quite happy, and there is definitely just the one!
I brought up dinner (pasta and an ice lolly) so I’m going to try a cup of warm milk and some toast before bed.
If I’m sick again tonight I think I’ll take another day in bed- I’m exhausted. Like my sister-in-law (27 weeks pregnant with number 3) said, if you felt this way for any reason except pregnancy, you’d be in bed, but because it is just “morning sickness” you try and power through, with variable amounts of success.
I will definitely try the mint water- mint alcohol-free mouthwash is a flavour I’m becoming very used to!
Things that may help: Hard sour candy (lemon flavored). Saltines. Water with lemon juice in it. This may sound silly, but quite literally sniffing freshly cut oranges or lemons. Doxylamine succinate and vitamin B6 (in high concentrations - talk to your OB/NP/Midwife). Switching to a prenatal vitamin without Iron.
I had hyperemisis gravidarum (i.e. morning sickness so bad they give it a fancy name? Hardee har har har) up until 19-20 weeks with this pregnancy. I’m just about to hit 31 weeks now. I’ll be honest with you… by the time I hit 14 weeks and had tried everything in the book, I was begging for Zofran. Current studies show it’s perfectly safe. I worship the ground the inventors of that drug walk on. It was a life saver. It allowed me to function, to regain some of the lost weight, to remain hydrated and, quite possibly, to remain sane (and safe).
I feel your pain, sister. I feel your pain. If you’re still barfin’ up a storm or feelin’ like it beyond the first trimester, consider the Big Z. Honest to God, it’s a good thing ™.
Zofran was also my lifesaver. The only problem I had was that it stopped working after a few weeks. The only non-prescription thing that worked was sucking on Jolly Ranchers or other hard candy. The problem with those is that they have a tendency to cut up your mouth after a while.
Can you drink milk at all? I have found that drinking meal replacements (Instant Breakfast or Slimfast) will sometimes get me through a period of nausea. It’s been about 30 years since I was last pregnant, though, and the medication I used for the worst of it has now been banned.
Certainly you should visit your Doctor or midwife if you are too ill to persue normal, every-day activities.
We use Zofran, Phenergan and Reglan extensively in my work with high risk and complicated pregnancies. Reglan (metoclopramide) is a GI motility drug that keeps things heading “south” as it were. It is a pregnancy category B (safe) and available in a pump infusion here in the U.S.
I had the 24 hour sickness for about 24 weeks, so I have total sympathy. My mother had the same thing with both her pregnancies, so I have decided this is genetic. Diclectin helped some. The acupuncture band left a dent in my arm but didn’t do much for the nausea.
In terms of food/drink, I just played it by ear. Minty things were vile, ginger stuff was nice but didn’t make the nausea any better. I couldn’t stand the taste of OJ or regular milk but could drink chocolate milk. The smell of coffee was enough to get me to leave the room pronto. I survived on baklava, spaghetti/lasagna, crackers and bland fruit (bananas) and bland veggies.
Ginger snap cookies worked well for me. I didn’t have the 24hour nausea, though, I had more of “evening sickness”. With the two girls, at least, I would be ok up until about 6pm and that’s when it all went down the toilet…literally. With my son, it was a little more round the clock, but less intense. Ginger ale with crushed ice was my savior with him and the ginger snaps helped the “nausea but not quite vomiting” feeling.
I’ve heard that simply sticking ginger root under your tongue when a bout of nausea hits can stop it for some women. Some women I used to work with swore by it.
My wife could almost always eat bagels with apple butter, and Tazo Chai tea from Starbucks worked to calm her stomach as well.
Best of luck to you, these weeks are hell. As a husband I remember feeling so useless.
