Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Works For Me Wednesday: Morning Sickness Cure



I'm only 6 weeks and 3 days into my pregnancy and the nausea has already kicked in. I haven't started actually vomiting yet (that's next week) but I'm not very functional when the nausea hits me. In fact, I woke up this morning just feeling miserable and, despite all the things I wanted and needed to accomplish, I moved from my bed, straight to my couch. Unfortunately, I know the pattern of my pregnancies as every one of them has been the same; starting next week I'll begin vomiting every 45 minutes or whenever I swallow even a single bite of food, whichever comes first. That will continue until about the 21st-24th week. Following that, I'll just be miserable for the remainder of the pregnancy. Sounds fun, doesn't it?


Fortunately, I know how to stop it all. No, eating more frequently so my blood sugar doesn't drop doesn't help. Neither does lemons, saltines, or sea bands. None of the usual tricks help even a tiny bit. However, my two best buds not only help, but take away every second of nausea I'd ever experience without them. They'll be guests in my house for the next 34 weeks.


Meet B6. B6 is a wonderful water-soluble vitamin that comes in many different foods and various sized tablets. I only need 25 mg, so I snap the 50 mg tablets in half. They are scored so splitting them is super easy. I pour the whole bottle out and split all the tablets at once. 50 mg tablets are hard to find, but that's ok, 100mg tablets work just fine. Any extra B-6 is harmless excreted when you pee.




My other bud is regular strength Unisom. It's found in the sleeping aid section of any store carrying over the counter meds. Only regular strength Unisom (doxylamine succinate) will do; the extra strength is a different medication altogether. Unisom is an sedating antihistamine that is used as a sleeping aid. It is non-habit forming. As only half a tablet is needed for a dose, I also snap the whole box in half in advance, making it easier to take my nightly dose.

When Unisom and B6 are used together they make a wonderful anti-nausea drug that has a 30+ year safety record. Back in the 1980's it was marketed together under the name Bendectin. Another anti nausea drug was also used during that time. The other one caused birth defects; causing both to come under fire. Bendectin was pulled in US markets by the manufacturer even though the FDA never removed its approval of the drug. However, the same medicine continued to be used in Canadian markets under the name Diclectin. Studies and 30 years of use have shown that this combination does not cause birth defects. In actuality, not treating severe vomiting can cause birth defects by preventing the absorption of folic acid due to the prenatal being vomited before it can be absorbed. Now, the FDA has approved the use of the over the counter ingredients, taken together, for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

I take 1/2 a Unisom tablet and 1/2 B6 each night before bed. By taking it at bedtime, most of the drowsiness is gone by morning and it helps me to sleep. The one dose lasts me more than 24 hours, so I'm never suffering nausea between doses. I remember reading somewhere during my pregnancy with Josh that it is safe to take up to 3 doses a day but I cannot locate that source to verify it. However, I did find this source about the history and safety of the combination.
Of course, I have to put the required disclaimer. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Check out the information and talk to your doctor before you do anything. However, if you are pregnant and dealing with nausea and vomiting that is affecting your ability to eat and keep down your prenatal vitamins, you really need to do something to keep down the food/vitamins. There are some serious consequences to not getting enough nutrition...for you and the baby.

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5 Comments:

Beth/Mom2TwoVikings said...

6 weeks 4 days here...and GOD BLESS YOU for this info! LOL Was fortunate to not have morning sickness with the first two but OH MAN this third one is rockin' my world! LOL Thanks for the idea!

Melissa Lee said...

Wow! Does this really work? I can't believe it. I have never heard of this.

I am about 8 weeks along and am finding that my nausea creeps in every single late afternoon and evening. I wonder if taking the dosage at night would still be effective by the next afternoon?

Just my luck, it wouldn't.

On the subject of pregnancy, I know I'm new here and you owe me nothing. But as long as we're flaunting our nausea and flatulence all over the place read our news at:

http://reallybadhairday.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-nakedness.html

Just copy and paste!

Melissa at Stretch Marks

I can't find my blog said...

Good luck with the sickness-and the cure! I was lucky and never had morning sickness, just a little nausea and it didn't last for long.

Jason & Katie Pittenger said...

I am right at 5 weeks and already vomiting frequently. This morning I threw up 4 times in 2 hours without eating a thing! Fortunately, my sister has been pregnant 4 times before and she told me about the unisom and B6....IT WORKS!!! I didn't think it did at first because I still felt awful but around 3 pm I started feeling better and now it's 8:30....still good!!

What I do differently though is I take the 200 mg B6 and half a unisom. I only take the B6 once and then I continue taking the half of the unisom every 4-6 hours. Good luck throughout your pregnancy!

Anonymous said...

Thank you thank you thank you for this info. I'm nearly 8 weeks and I'm just miserable. It's really sad when you feel so sick that you can't be excited about the blessing of being pregnant in the first place, but that's where I've been. I'll have to give this a go.
I'm sorry you guys lost your sweet baby. May the Lord comfort you as only He can.