TMI - "Morning" Sickness is a Crock!!...and Other Tales of Pregnancy Woe

In My Humble Opinion
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Before I start my (long, gross) rant, please know that I will be directing my concerns to my doctor in a phone call tomorrow and an office visit on Tuesday. I am not looking for medical advice, just a place to rant.

DoperGuy and I found out we were (are) expecting right around Christmas. Best Christmas present ever!! For a few weeks I felt better than I ever had in my life. I was a little tired and peed nearly constantly, but mentally I felt amazing!

Around week 5, everything changed. Ever since, I’ve been nauseous as hell. “Morning” sickness - hell, try morning, noon, night, middle of the night… Time of day has fuck all to do with it. From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed, I feel like complete and utter crap.

Forget weight gain…in the past 6 weeks, I’ve actually lost 15 pounds!!

I’ve tried two different anti-nausea meds. The first didn’t work due to reasons that are way TMI for this thread. The second made me feel like I was losing my mind.

I’ve also been stuffed up for about 2 weeks. I know this is a side effect of pregnancy. Mucous production goes into overdrive - everywhere. But come on, quit it already! The post nasal drip is having a field day with my stomach as well as my breath. I’m stuck in a horrible catch 22 here. If I don’t constantly brush my teeth, my breath gets so bad I can’t stand the taste of my own mouth - more nausea ensues. But when I do brush my teeth, I gag so badly it’s all I can do to keep from puking right into the sink!

The doctors tell me to keep eating, that it’s the only way to help the nausea. I try, really I do. But you try eating food when every single thing tastes - and now smells - like shit and everything seems to make me feel worse rather than better.

Speaking of smells… every room in my house smells different. Disgustingly different. I can’t open the fridge without gagging.

TMI WARNING!!

And speaking of shit… I can’t - shit that is. I thought this wasn’t supposed to hit until the second trimester. I’ve gone a grand total of 3 times in as many weeks. I look like I’m about 5 months pregnant when I’m less than 3. At first, I just chalked it all up to not eating much. Not much in = not much out, right? But this is getting ridiculous!

I just have to keep repeating to myself that it will eventually get better. I’ve got less than 2 weeks until I’m officially through the first trimester. Even if I’m one of the rare ones that is sick the whole time, I only have to get through to September.
If you actually made it this far, thanks for reading. No matter how much he loves me, this is something that DoperGuy just doesn’t understand and I desperately needed to get this off my chest.

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Shoot! I meant to put this in the pit. Could someone kindly report this for me? Thanks!

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Well, I can’t relate too well to the nausea – I thankfully didn’t get sick with either pregnancy – but I can surely sympathize with the other stuff! I’m 29 weeks along and my nose is constantly stuffed up, and constipation has been a problem too!

THe good news is if you’re 11 weeks pregnant then you’re closing in on the end of the first trimester, and lots of this stuff may get better around that time. In the meantime, even if you can’t eat, try to drink lots of water cause that will help with the other problems. And ask your doctor if you can take a stool softener or even something like a glycerin suppository to get the mail moving. Trust me when is say that you don’t want to add hemorrhoids to your list of complaints.

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If it’s any comfort, one theory is that nausea during early pregnancy keeps you from consuming anything that might be harmful during that crucial stage of fetal development. Heck, it darn near keeps you from consuming anything at all except maybe dry crackers. I can’t remember where I read it, but there was a study that suggested women with lots of nausea had fewer miscarriages (or was it birth defects?).

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As an FYI: For some women, severe “morning sickness” is actually a medical condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. You may want to read the site at http://www.hyperemesis.org/ and talk to your doctors about the treatments discussed on there. In some cases it’s necessary for pregnant women with HG to be on IV fluids in order to avoid becoming dehydrated, but with proper medical care it can be controlled with a good outcome.
Hope you start feeling better soon!

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Thanks for the link. It’s something that I’ve been concerned about, but my doctor isn’t as worried. So long as I can keep drinking fluids, I’m ok by their books.

I’ve been to the ER once so far. I was so dehydrated and sick for so long that I wound up with what I think was a panic attack. I knew that I was fine, yet couldn’t catch my breath or stop crying. They diagnosed me as being dehydrated, gave me two bags of IV fluids, some anti nausea meds, and sent me on my way. I felt great for a few hours - blessed relief!

At my last (which was also my first with the OB) doctor’s appt., they said I was starting to get dehydrated again and to start drinking more or go back to the ER.

Lately, I’ve been judging my hydration based on the color of the pee - clear is supposed to be better, right? I’ve been doing much better the past few days with that at least. Granted, I’ve had the past few days off due to the nasty winter storm we got.

I’ll talk about my risks for HG with my Doc on Tuesday. I started out at 180lbs and gained two in the first few weeks. Now I’m down around 165. So I’m right up there with the weight loss criterion.

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YAY! Someone else (finally)that has the same symptoms I had…errrr…I mean,…BOOOOOOOOOOO …

I didn’t have nausea, but the stuffed up nose was a PITA. And I was stuffed up from conception to the day after delivery, I feel your pain, sister. By the third trimester of the 2nd pregnancy I was using nasal spray frequently and one friend thought I was an addict. No, I was just trying to breath.

My only recommendations are to stay in cooler rooms ( cold air really helps open the sinuses) and stay out of hot areas. ( I know, it is a “duh” thing, but…) Anything above 70 degrees made me miserable breathing wise.

Ask your doctor if there is anything OTC you can try to help with the congestion.
As for the nausea, I can only offer the granola crunchy goodness kind of advice that you will run by your doctor to see if it is ok:

Ginger Tea ( Ginger root from the store @ about $2.99 a pound, cut off a half inch and boil it in water. Ginger is a natural anti-gas and stomach settling kinda herb. )
More stuff
Congrats on the baby! When you hold that bundle in your arms at last all your present miseries will fade into a distant blurry past.

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Oh hon! :fluffing pillows: :setting ottoman in just the right spot: :magazines handy:

It’s a miserable time, BTDT!

I was fool enough to go to ENGLAND (trip was paid for months prior) during my 8th week of pregnancy! Talk about miserable!

Ginger soaps (in the shower, not to eat), Nutter Butter cookies, vicks vap-o-rub for the stuffy nose (my OB said it was OK anyway, may want to ask yours), almonds, gatorade.

I had to stay away from all meats (particularly raw) for a long time.

It gets better, I promise!

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[Hugs]DoperChic[/Hugs]

Congrats!

I have discoved that the “Morning” part of Morning Sickness is a contraction for “Morning, Noon, and Night.”

Best of luck to you. The ladies here have lots of great advice. :cool:

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ugh, that sucks. I remember feeling like that, and then one day around 13 weeks it all just got better. I hate hate hate nausea too, so I am sympathetic. I wish I could just puke and be done with it.

Have you tried those acupressure wrist bands? They worked a little for me, maybe just placebo but they can’t hurt.

I am trying to forget how bad it was as we are trying for another one now. I tell myself it will be different next time. Right?

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This may be worth a try.

I’ve always been gagged by my toothbrush. Dunno why-- just is. Every morning when I brush my teeth, I gag at least once.

I’ve found this to be very helpful: Make sure the water you’re brushing your teeth with is very cold. Have a glass of icewater on the sink next to you. When you feel gaggy, take a swig and swish your mouth with it. I don’t know if the cold numbs some kind of “nausea nerve” in your mouth, or if it’s because the icy coldness just momentarily shocks your body out of it, but it does seem to help.

Ask your doctor if it would be okay for you to drink SlimFast or Ensure for the extra calories until you get your appetite back. The French Vanilla ones are pretty good if they’re served cold. I’ve always had problems keeping weight on, and I’ve found them to be really helpful. (Might even be helpful in getting you some more fiber.)

Can you sip broth? It might help with the taste in your mouth and the salt might help with your nausea.

Good luck, hon. You’ve got my sympathies. I hope you feel better soon.

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RuffLlama, now sleeping soundly in his crib, was born 10 months ago. Pregnancy…both wonderful and ICK.

I didn’t have any “morning” sickness, really, but I did get pretty fickle and weirded out by food 1st trimester. I remember going to BF Chang’s for dinner with a friend, and the smell about killed me. I brought home my leftovers, but then the smell that greeted me when I opened th fridge sent me running upstairs to hide. I asked DeathLlama to take it, eat it, and throw anything left in the outside trash can while I cowered behind locked doors.

It did more or less stop around 16-20 weeks. Constipation…I didn’t really have that; I made sure to eat my MiniWheats every day. Apparently, the prenatals are notorious for causing constipation, so try and counter them with lotsa fiber–if you can stomach it!

When’s the ultrasound?

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Speaking of been there done that. A bit of a cautionary tale for you: my doctor kept asking me, “how’s the morning sickness?” and I kept answering “it’s awful!” Neither of us thought to question the other further, until I was six months pregnant and down to 96 pounds (I started out at 104). Three days in the hospital on IV fluids = ugh. So, yeah…try not to get dehydrated. Dehydration is a vicious circle - you’re nauseated, so you don’t drink enough, which makes you nauseated, so you drink less… um… ad nauseum :eek:

And yes, constipation - are you taking iron? It sometimes does that.

Good luck to you!

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I didn’t have the terrible morning sickness, but I did get sick every time I brushed my teeth until someone on another message board (or maybe this one) saved me by suggesting the following: Burt’s Bees Lavender Mint toothpaste and an electric tooth brush. I swear it was like a miracle. The toothpaste is expensive, but very mild and not all foamy like the regular stuff. The electric toothbrush helped because it had a small circular head and I was able to control it better than the regular tooth brush. I felt so much better after I could brush my teeth again! YMMV of course.

Hang in there! Here’s hoping it gets better for you soon!

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This is by no means a common suggestion, but the only thing that helped me with my “morning” (also all day and all night) sickness with the last pregnancy was pear juice. Not the “pear flavored” apple juice or “pear nectar”, but Knudsen’s Organic Pear Juice, which I got at Whole Foods and/or Wild Oats, I don’t remember. It was amazing stuff for me. Not sickly sweet and nauseating like apple juice, but thick enough to actually settle my stomach without me having to swallow real solid food. It goes wonderfully with fried egg sandwiches on toast with lots of fresh black pepper.

Keep trying stuff. Try weird stuff you normally hate. Sometimes the oddest thing turns out to be just the ticket. One of my most die-hard granola crunching vehement vegan hippie friends has found that all she can keep down while pregnant is Quarter Pounder with Cheeses from McDonalds. I only make fun of her a little bit. :wink:

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Sucking on a lemon wedge can help cut nausea. I found that it worked better than I could hope. My dietitian suggested it as something her chemotherapy patients found helpful.

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My wife caught a bad case of OCD, whereupon she felt a terrible weight of responsibility for everything.

She even once turned herself in for election fraud.

Yup, you heard that right. We had recently moved and, using her old drivers license, went to vote in our old precinct.

After she was done voting and had driven about a mile away, she became afraid that she had broken the law and that she was going to be thrown in jail and we would be ruined by her felony and I, and the baby, would end up hating her forever. And that was, I think, the first 15 seconds. By the time she was done unravelling all the known and (worse!) unknown consequences, the child was in jail as an accessory and I was sure to leave her for another woman.

So she drove back to the polling station, marched up to the woman sitting at the first booth, and admitted what she had done, figuring that if she turned herself in they would be more lenient.

Her problem was made even worse by the womans reaction: she was pissed, and she shut up. She stopped two other people, had a five minute consultation (all the time glowering at my wife, to hear her tell the tale), passed a form to my crying and pregnant bride, and growled “fill this out and sign it.”

It was a change of address form.

Physically, however, her pregnancy was fine and she had a relatively easy first birth (compared to the 24+ hours of Labor Day tales), from start to finish it was a mere 5 hours.

Emotionally… t’was was a whole other story.

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Eh, I post all that and then see that this is a morning sickness thread. My apologies.

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No, no, mental craziness certainly falls under “…and Other Tales of Pregnancy Woe”! That was, in retrospect and it not happening to me, a really funny story. Your poor wife (and poor you!)

When I was pregnant with my son, I saw Naked Gun for the first time. And I sobbed through the whole thing, because it was such a sad movie. :stuck_out_tongue: It was like I just totally lost my irony-meter for a night there, because I was seeing the situations at face-level only. And it was really horrifying that an under cover cop went on a physical rampage at a peace summit (no, you’re right, it wasn’t a peace summit at all, but a global meeting of terrorists), and wiped off Gorbechev’s port wine stain, and oh-my-God, he just fell out of a window, he really could have been hurt!

Yeah. Remember in that thread yesterday when I said that being pregnant makes your brain stop working sometimes? I know whereof I speak.

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If you think it’s the foam of the toothpaste, look for one without sodium lauryl sulfate in it. My sister and I both gag horribly on toothpaste that has that stuff in it. It’s just a foaming agent, it doesn’t really help the toothpaste at all. I know that Biotene is one brand, or Rembrandt has a no-SLS formula that I think is marketed at reducing canker sores (SLS seems to be a potential trigger; I used to get those before switching to these special toothpastes). Trader Joe’s has one of their own brands that has no SLS too.