I'm pregnant with my second child and only seven weeks along, but have been sick for the last two weeks. I was so sick with my first I couldn't keep water down! I was put on home iv therapy and watched very closely. I suck pepermints and drink pepermint tea. I have ginger, but am not sure what to do with it. (it's supposed to help with the puke feeling) I have even tried the bands that go on your wrists. Does anyone have any other home remedies that worked for them?! I'm getting sicker by the day and even preparing my son's lunch is proving too difficult. I really want to ward off this sickness and keep as much down as possible so I don't have to go thrue all the same stuff! Any advice is appreciated!
I take powdered ginger in capsule form, and it seems to help at least a little. I also heard you can slice up the ginger root and make a tea (I saw it on the Martha Stewart Show, so the instructions should be on that website). Crystallized ginger and gingersnaps made with real ginger are also supposed to help.
I have heard miracle stories about taking B12 for morning sickness. I'm not sure how much, but I'm sure you could find it online if you just googled B12 for morning sickness.
I have a watch-like thing called the Relief Band that works the same way as the Sea Bands, but actually zaps that pressure point on your wrist instead of just applying pressure. It costs about $50, and you can get it from the skymall catalog still, I think (because it works for motion sickness too). It works better than the Sea Bands, but can get annoying when you wear it for a long time because it keeps zapping you.
I also saw a CD on babycenter.com with music that is supposed to trick your brain somehow into not feeling the nausea. I have no idea if it works, but it might be worth checking out.
And if you're desperate and can sleep(who can with a toddler?), Benadryl settles your stomach better than anything. I don't know if it's officially an approved drug for pregnancy because they have never studied it. But my OB in Las Vegas told me it was totally safe and had been used for years. Even if you don't use it when you are pregnant, use it later when you get the stomach flu, or for your kids. It's just the best, seriously. I just had to pass on my absolute greatest tip ever (my dad is a pediatrician, and he used to give it to us).
Good luck!
Bergen,
I understand how you feel. I was told to try ginger also and it helped a little bit for me. I would go to a store like Wild Oats or Whole foods and buy the candied ginger. It isn't as bad tasting. You are supposed to just eat a few pieces when you are feeling sick. It helped a tiny bit for me. I have also heard lemon works. I have heard that eating lemon heads is also an option. Nothing really worked wonders for me. I just had to wait it out. With most people, the morning sickness goes away after 12 weeks. I hope you're one of those people. If you are having trouble keeping fluids down I would also drink Gatorade to be sure that you are hydrated. I hope you feel better soon and congrats on the new pregnancy!
I was as sick as you were with my second child and I tried B12, Ginger, Preggie Pops, and Sea Bands and nothing worked. I just had to wait it out. I slept most of my days away to get through them. Now, I'm 4 weeks pregnant with my third child, and I am so scared of getting sick again! I will try the CD & Benadryl (ANYTHING!!) and check this request again to see if anyone else has something new to add. Hang in there!
Carrie : )
O.K. before I tell you what I did (because you are sure to think I am out of my mind) I will tell you that my OB/GYN as well as my brother who is also a doctor said this was safe. My brother even had his wife try it when she was sick during pregnancy...
Unisom...yep that's it. I would take a unisom before bed every night and it TOTALLY helped with the morning/afternoon/all-freaking-day long sickness! I have had four kids and I used this trick with the last two and they were the only pregnancies that I had ANY net weight gain (after loosing so much with the first two I delivered at the same weight as I was at when I conceived - with the "unisom" babies I gained about 10-15 lbs with each one).
I don't know why it helps but it does. Give it a shot. I know it's safe (though you could always check with your doc to be sure) and I know how great it is to just be able to get through a day without heaving your guts up a million times!!!
Good luck!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I too was really sick during the first 3 months of my pregnancy. I sucked on ginger candies. You can get them at Whole Foods. I also sucked on Preggie Pops, which are available at Motherhood Maternity. I found that eating really cold fruit (pineapples and grapes) helped too. But the thing that really helped me was a prescription pill called Zofran. My doctor prescribed the dissolving pills, which helped TREMENDOUSLY! My doctor said it's completely safe for pregnant women. My daughter is 5 1/2 months old and she is completely healthy. Good luck! I'm sorry you've got "all day" sickness...I know how bad it sucks.
Bergen,
Ugh... I'm so sorry to here that your are sick, but CONGRATULATIONS on this second pregnancy. You mentioned that Austin is a miracle baby (which I can appreciate as my daughter could be described as the same) so what great news that you are doubly blessed!
As for the home remedies, my acupuncturist, told me to cut some ginger (I took the "skin" off first) and tape it to my skin right below my bellybutton. I know it seems crazy, but because your skin breaths, it actually penetrates. I don't know if it became a mental remedy and that is why it worked but I did that a lot doing the first trimester. You could also make ginger tea with it... although I didn't care for that very much.
In addition, try eating crackers before you even get out of bed in the morning.
Hope you are on the upswing soon!
Kristin
Don't take benadryl!! It may work, but it's not safe while you're pregnant. A dose here and there probably won't hurt, but why risk it? Unfortunately there's no magic cure for the nausea. Nibbling on things all day does help. Keep crackers, nuts, raisins, or whatever you like on hand and nibble every so often. Sips of water with lemon help when the nausea is really bad. If your hubby is willing to help you out, have him make you a ginger tea with lemon, mint, and honey. The proportions aren't important- adjust them until it tastes good and sip it slowly. That was convenient for us because we have mint and lemon growing in our yard, but it's not realistic for everyone. Peppermint chewing gum is also helpful, just stay away from the super sugary ones. Lastly, my Chinese neighbors gave me this ginger candy that's the texture of chewing gum. It's definitely got an unusual flavor, and it's one of those things you either love or hate. If you like, or at least don't mind the flavor, that stuff REALLY helps. I've seen it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Green package, about the size of a pack of gum, with chinese characters and pictures of ginger roots and flowers on it. Mostly, though, you'll just have to wait it out. I know this doesn't help at all, but feeling this way means that your body is hard at work growing a healthy baby! Nausea is a very good indicator that things are going well in there. I hope you feel beter soon!
hi bergen, i too had really bad morning sickness..every little smell like the food court at the mall, brushing my teeth or when someone is cooking made me run to the bathroom. I had advice from chewing Big ReD gum because of the cinammon flavor, to drinking Evian..why? i dunno..what worked for me was munching some honey bunches of oats cereal in the morning..the mixture of grain calmed me a little bit..i hated eating saltines because to me, there was no flavor..try it and see if it works for you..good luck!
Hi Bergen! I had Hyper Emesis with 2 of my children. That is what you described with your first child with IV therapy, etc. I tried everything also. It's very frustrating! I was told that they used to prescribe vitamin B6 & 1/2 of a Unisom (sleeping pill)but, don't sell it together anymore here in the United States only in Canada. So, after talking to my doctor & making sure that it was ok & healthy to me and the baby...I bought them seperately. I took 1 Vitamin B6 & 1/2 of a Unisom in the morning (I ate something lite after...for me...it was a chicken cup-of-noodle,lol) and the same thing in the afternoon. This helped me tremendously!!! A co-worker of mine had a daughter-in-law that was going through the same thing...I recommended this to her and this helped her too! Mind you...it doesn't take it ALL away (that's a cycle that has to run it's course unfortunately!)but, it does help A LOT!
Another thing...stress is a contributing factor to hyper emesis...unfortunately, this can't always be helped, but if you have family or friends that can help you in any way with your other children or housework, etc. This will help as well.
I just thought of 1 more thing...lemon! Keep cut-up lemons next to you to smell. Whenever you feel nausia coming on...smell the fresh lemon. This helped me also!
Please feel free to email me with more questions or if you just need to vent! I am here! I can so relate!!! Smells are the worst!!! The AIR stunk to me & made me vomit! LOL
God Bless & take care! Brandy (someone who cares!)
I lived off of saltine crackers and ginger ale for months, keep them by your bed.
congratulations on your pregnancy! Just to add my two cents worth - a friend gave me some tea from Chinatown - it was crystallized ginger and cane sugar (or honey depending on the brand) and it SAVED MY LIFE. I would use half a little packet (or a full one sometimes) and add hot water and it always made me feel better. I also found sucking on Lime juice popsicles (Lime Floes from Trader Joe's) helped sometimes.
If you want to make your own ginger tea, you can cut up ginger root and boil it in water for a while. You can play with the amount of ginger and water to see if you like the taste. Or Whole Foods carries a ginger tea that is pure ginger (you want to be careful of the herbal teas that have a whole bunch of other stuff in them if you're going to be drinking them a lot).
As strange as it sounds, chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture can also help. Good luck and I hope it passes soon.
You have my deepest sympathies! I've got four children and was sick with three of them. My last pregnancy was the absolute worst (sick for almost six months). There wasn't anything that provided complete relief, but I tried anything that would offer even temporary relief. Here are some suggestions;
1) Coca Cola slurpees; I'm not usually a Coke drinker, but there was something soothing about Coke (not Pepsi, or off-brand cola). I craved it during morning sickness with all of my pregnancies. Something about the ice in the slurpee seemed to calm the nausea. Ice cold watermelon was good, too.
2) Crystallized ginger; just eat is straight like it was candy. It helped relieve the nausea some
3) Try to keep food in your stomach all the time. The nausea seems to be much worse on an empty stomach. If you're sick of Saltines, try Triscuits.
4) Send money to school so your son can buy a cafeteria lunch!
5) Order take out, or BBQ outside to minimize food smells in the house. Keep the garbage cans empty and open the windows.
6) Don't brush your teeth with toothpaste. If you can't even stand the toothbrush, just floss and rinse with mouthwash.
7) Ice cold water in the stomach can sometimes help, too.
Good luck!
Hi, I feel for you. I lived on candied giner and ginger ale. They also sell prego pops (I think that is what they are called) and candy to help with nuasea too. I saw them at motherhood maternity. Good Luck!
Hi Bergen;
I went through the exact same thing when I was pregnant with my eldest daughter. I was sick for three months, I could not smell or look at food without wanting to throw-up. I lived on tea and chicken stock for the entire time, the chicken stock was the only thing that I could keep down. You might want to give it a try, just make sure that it is luke warm (not cold or really hot) it seemed that luke worm worked to the best for me.
I hope that this helps.
Wendy
UGH! Morning sickness! I always drank peppermint tea when I felt the onset of morning sickness. It's caffeine free. also kept soda crackers by the bed. Before you even MOVE, have a couple of them and ease your way up in the mornings...That helped me a lot!
Hi Bergen,
What worked for me was Sprite with just a pinch of salt. It took care of the nausea. The sprite and salt also helped with headaches and migraines. Give it a try. Just don't put too much salt in it. It'll taste nasty. Hope you feel better. Congradulations and good luck!
I got sick with all 3 of my kids and the thing that worked was salty foods. It may not work, but really helped me so it may be worth a shot. I would sit and suck on sunflower seeds. Then it wasn't like I was eating a lot, but for some reason the salt settled my stomache. I would keep a bag in the car and I was able to function a little bit. I didn't have it so bad that I needed IV therapy tho.
Check with your doctor but with my last pregnancy (almost 4 yrs ago now), I too was very ill for about 5 months. My ob kept telling me to take 1/2 unisom tablet and 1/2 b-6, finally around the 4th or 4 1/2 month I started it and it worked instantly. They have preggy pops now, which my friend swears work too. Otherwise hard candies, water w/lemon and chewing gum helped somewhat for me.
hi
I had the very same problem when i was pregnant with my youngest son... at that time there was an elderly gentleman living behind me (who everyone kinda wrote off as being nice man but also a little crazy) he was always trying to get everyone to try some natural remedy or some all natural health food treatment cure he heard about.
well anyway i was so desperate to find something to help relieve my sickness that i was willing to try just about anything ...well one day i was telling him how sick i was. he told me several years ago when he worked on the railroad. they would do this for the travelers who got travel sickness. he asked me to wait a minute he then went into his house and came out carrying a glass that had ice in it and a lemon.
(i think he said its called a well glass its a short fat glass)
he said anytime you feel sick,get yourself a glass and put a few ice cubes in it like 4 or 5 of them, then take a fresh lemon and squeeze it over the ice cubes in the glass. he then told me to drink it very quickly. i honestly wasn't very optimistic about this working but like i said i was desperate so i tried it.
it was amazing... i immediately felt better and it worked like a charm all through my pregnancy. not sure why it works or how it works but it does work... at least it did for me.
but you have to do it exactly like i explained.... you have to squeeze the lemon over the ice cubes and you must drink all of it very quickly or it doesn't work.
i hope this helps you.
Tammi