What did you guys do to help nausea?

I'm just now 7 weeks but already feeling intense nausea. It comes and goes throughout the day, and is always unexpected. I never can actually throw up and sometimes I think if I could it would help. I am a nurse and have tried everything we always recommend to other people...nibble crackers, sip water, get up and move slowly. Nothing is giving me any relief. Anybody have any "old wives' tales" that helped them? I need some relief!

Thanks guys!

 

ginger ale and a half of a unisom tablet. hope you feel better soon!

 

I agree with the PP that ginger ale is a helpful one but also chewing on ice helps too. Sorry you feel yucky :hug: Hope things get better for you soon momma!

 

Ugh sorry that you are feeling crummy. I wish that I had something magical that worked, but unfortunately I too suffered through about 8 weeks straight of all day/night nausea and general feeling gross. I never really found anything that "worked" although eating bland food sometimes helped. But then again there'd be miraculous days where I'd keep all of my food down ((meatloaf and mashed potatoes, or french toast and sausage, etc.) and other where a handful of almonds would send me running for the toilet minutes later. No rhyme or reason to it! I too felt like you that throwing up always actually felt better than the constant nausea. I did actually throw up daily for about three weeks of it, but the rest of it was mostly just unbearable nausea, being right on the edge of barfing with no respite. Good news though...it disappeared right around 14/15 weeks and I'm happy to say that I only semi-viividly remember it now lol.

Good luck!

 

:hug: Hopefully your nausea won't last too long.

 

Congrats on your pregnancy. I hate to say it but for me nothing worked. The only thing I could eat keep down was Jelly Ranchers Watermelon Flavor. Anything else made me nauses and sick. Hang in there I know its not easy.

 

Thanks you guys. I'm trying to hang in there! I'm going to try the jolly ranchers. I know that when I get car sick if I suck on hard candy it helps to dissipate the nausea. So maybe it will help, too. I want to say I also heard something back when I was preg with my son about ginger hard candy. It came to me when many of you mentioned ginger ale.

 

It looks as though I am not the only one that suffered lol...

I was so sick that I was given Zofran to prevent the vomiting, but I was still VERY nauseated throughout the day. I lost almost 15 lbs in the first trimester alone. I stuck to things like instant mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, in other words, bland soft foods that would settle the tummy. PB&J was great at first, not flavorless, and filled the tummy up just right.

Oh, and try ot keep something cold near you for your head... like a water bottle or something. I found that over heating would make it even worse.

 

Well I guess it's good I like mac n cheese then.

So the PB&J didn't upset your tummy?

I'm just at the point where I am starving, but I am so nauseated that the thought of food turns my stomach. And I really wish I would throw up just so I could get some relief.

Thanks to all you guys for your suggestions.

 

Sorry about the nausea Not fun at all...

I would have to eat a cracker the second I woke up, while still laying in bed I would spend a few minutes nibbling on one & that started things off OK for me on most days :good:

Feel better!!

 

I did accupunture with both my last pregnancy and this one, it worked wonders! :friends:

 

Oh I forgot about watermelon Jolly Ranchers! I did eat a bunch of those for a while and it would quell the nausea for a very short period of time, but a welcome short period. I agree to make sure that you DO eat regardless of the nausea as mine often got much worse the emptier my stomach was. I would just eat and pray that it would stay down or at least not make me writhe around in discomfort.

A family member also shared with me that she carried a piece of peeled ginger around in a ziplock bag and she would smell it when a wave of nausea came on. I personally don't like ginger so it didn't work for me...but it's worth a try!

My staples that I stuck with (and usually didn't barf up) were toast with PB, multigrain cheerios and milk (this was more hit and miss...think it was the milk), ramen noodles, plain crackers, tomato soup... and then honestly just anything that I could envision keeping down. Sometimes it was a granola bar, sometimes it was chips! I also found that sometimes a tiny glass of pepsi or orange crush would help temporarily. I too lost over 10 pounds in my first trimester...but no worries I packed it back on plus more after 16 weeks!

 

I remember different things working at different times. It got to the point where I wanted to smack the next person who offered me a cracker. :girl_devil: I've had enough crackers for the rest of my life, thanks! There was the time when I made my husband go make me 1 slice of toast and bring it to me before I got out of bed... I spent about 4 days with Fishie crackers and Sprite... & I've never been a Sprite when sick person. I also second the hard candy thing. I did butterscotch disks- did not care for mint. After sucking on a candy, I could eat a little bit. As soon as I could keep a little food in me I was good for the day, but it's hard getting the initial amount in there!

I also threw up from about week 10 to week 16. I really hope you fare better.

If I could do it again (& I do NOT want to be pregnant with twins again, thanks) I would try acupuncture. I got really sore hips and PUPPPS later and I think it would have helped.

Good luck,

Michelle

 

I found having a little food in my stomach helped, so as someone else suggested crackers, usually by my bed so I would have a couple when 1st woke up. I ate mainly white/beige food, potatoes, pasta, french fries and I found peppermint tea helped a little I used to sip it all day long.

 

You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the suggestions. Something I discovered today just on a fluke was popsicles! I normally don't eat them but we have some from when my son had the flu a month or so ago and I was just staring in the freezer daring something to jump out at me and I happened across a grape popsicle. Believe it or not it's actually made me feel better, so there you go!

Thanks again for all the suggetions.

 

I was the same way, Nick wouldn't even do any grocery shopping until I figured out what I could eat that I could keep down. I tried mints, ginger, you name it... I couldnt even handle saltines!

 

Another thing my doctor recommended (as odd as this will sound) is to drink Coke (straight up coke a cola). This helped me a TON when I was feeling ill... the syrup in the coke soothes the stomach. I went out and bought the little 8oz cans and would sip on that throughout the day...

 

Good luck! I am so sorry you are dealing with such bad nausea. I had it horribly with this pregnancy and I still remember it very well. And as miserable as I feel now (31 weeks pg with twins!) nothing compares to the difficulty of the nausea weeks. At least now, when people see how huge I am, I get some sympathy. But back then... you suffer alone. And time seems to move so so so slow.

Nothing really worked for me but some things that helped were... constantly eating snacks (whatever sounded good at the time), mints/hard candy, and also Zofran (generic brand). I hope the time passes quickly for you and that you get some relief soon. It is such a hard time. It will get better though!!

 

I was also nauseous from morning til night!! I found that Preggie Pops helped a little, but really I'm sure that any hard candy would work. I also found it cruicial to keep eating throughout the day. Just like you, I was starving, yet so sick I didn't want to eat. Find something that you can keep down and will keep your tummy somewhat full. I found that pb sandwiches (no j) would be bland enough to not keep me running to the potty, but would keep my tummy full for a couple hours (I would make myself eat at least something every two hours) If I went past that two hour window I would be so ravenous that it would make everything a million times worse. Hang in there, hopefully it won't still around for too long.

 

Here's what I did to quell my nausea, which was particularly severe during weeks 6 through 8 and finally subsided around week 11:

- drank warm water, I would heat a mug of water in the microwave for a minute or so
- drank mint tea, and by this I mean that I put fresh mint in warm water
- drank ginger tea, and by this I mean that I would slice freshly peeled ginger and put it in warm water
- took ginger capsule supplements (containing dried ginger), which you can purchase in a health food store... they are GREAT
- avoided carbs/sugar because it made my nausea worse and I ate a lot of peanut butter and crackers (but I'd advocate eating whatever you can tolerate)
- ate frequently, even though I was just eating tiny little bites
- got weekly acupuncture


Good luck!!

 

Okay so here's an update guys...

I actually wound up hospitalized yesterday for a while with some pretty severe dehydration and a migraine that could kill. Unfortunately, they couldn't give me anything for the migraine. They said that at this point I can't really take anything for it because I'm still so early on.

My OB's office said to try taking plain sudafed on top of the tylenol to help with the headache. I've never heard of this, have any of you?

Also...a concern I have is that I'm eating awfully! Not healthy at all. Basically popsicles, gingerale, crackers and sometimes fruit snacks. That's about it. My prenatals come back up the minute I take them. How on earth am I going to have healthy babies if I can't even keep the vitamins down?

Blah.

 

Don't worry...you'll be okay! Your body is designed to protect those babies...and will take from stores that you already have if all you can keep down is gingerale and crackers! Your body is a much more amazing baby making machine than you know

I would work hard to try to find a way to keep your prenatals down...which may mean trying different times of day, finding smaller pills, something... You really should be getting the vitamins especially the folic acid early on in your pregnancy. As your doctor for some suggestions maybe?

Haven't heard of taking sudafed, but personally I stuck with only tylenol for my first trimester.

 

Ok... this may be controversial, & you do need supplements, but I read & followed Dr. Barbara Luke's book "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads" book and she doesn't really recommend a prenatal vitamin- one of the reasons is that you can't keep them down, they mimic fullness to your stomach & they aren't formulated for women carrying multiples, generally. I did take bunches of calcium & magnesium, but not first thing in the morning... when I felt better much later in the day. Don't worry so much about diet yet- you'll eventually get hungry without being nauseous. Whatever stays down is the right food.

Good luck & feel better,

Michelle

 

I'm so sorry that you're sick and that you ended up at the hospital.

Not that it makes it any easier, but please know that you're not alone. I actually found out I was having twins when I landed in the ER for dehydration after fainting at Week 5.

And I lost weight in my first trimester - which caused me grave concern because I started out at just a little over 100 lbs. I could barely eat. My OB wasn't worried and echoed the same message as K2daho: your body will protect your babies, even when you're not feeling your best. I am now 19 weeks and have gained over 20 lbs. I did purchase the Luke book referenced by Cheesewhiz24. Although I don't follow it religiously, there are some helpful tips.

I get severe headaches and have found that alternating hot and cold packs helps alleviate the pain.

I hope you feel better soon. Keep us posted.

 

I was prescribed a suppository which helped. My exact words to the RN were "You mean I have to put it where???" :blink: Then when that ran out, chewing spearmint gum helped for whatever reason.

With my first pregnancy, nacho chips helped.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about your diet; I lived on mac n cheese during the morning sickness period!
Not sure whether this will help you but I always had to take by prenatal right before I went to bed; still do. Otherwise, I felt terrible and if I took it in the morning it would make a rapid re-appearance!!
The folic acid is really important to the nervous system development and so if you can't tolerate the PNV, perhaps you could ask your Dr. about doing the gummy multivitamin and a folic acid supplement, which is much easier to stomach.
Good luck. this will pass sooner than it feels right now.I remember just waking up and feeling better one day; that was it! Now, of course, I have a whole host of other complaints!!

 

My OB actually told me to stop the Zofran because it was making my migraines worse and I can't take any migraine meds right now. She gave me some phenergan gel that you rub on your wrists. Ive never heard of it before but it did help, within 20 minutes I was so hungry and ready to eat without throwing up.

Has anyone taken this while preg? I know that the phenergan pill is a class C....but what about the gel?

 

I am so sorry you are having such a hard time. Please try not to worry about what you are or are not eating. This is a time for pure survival. The babies will make it just fine... it is just going to wear you down in the process. Whatever you can keep down, will only help you feel better because you'll have more energy. I also couln't keep prenatals down during the early months so instead just focused on taking the recommended daily dose of folic acid. Those pills are super small and don't cause upset like prenatals do.

Is water hard to keep down as well? I found that when I could finally start drinking more water it made so much difference in the way I felt each day. I know it is hard to drink water during this stage too.

I haven't heard of the gel you mentioned. But whatever works!

If it makes you feel any better... I had miserable sickness for the first half of my pregnancy and now our babies are both measuring above average in size for singletons. So, it seems their growth was not impacted by those horrible first months.
Hang in there. I wish I could fast forward time for you. There will be a time when you feel hungry like a normal person again!

 

I see you got a ton of wonderful ideas (as I did back when I had it and was in the expecting forum)… I didnt read them ALL... but I got bad headaches… so my Dr said try a cup of coffee w/ half decaf and half reg coffee… I was against it for a while but the headaches got worse and taking Tylenol seemed worse (imo)… well it not only helped my headaches but my nausea got better (for a few hrs)… I to had dehydration issues and it got so bad that 3 times I had to take med to stop the constant vomiting… mine went away at 17 weeks… but I wanted to cry every time some mom would tell me she had it until the day she delivered… hope you feel better soon :hug:

Elizabeth