10.5 weeks, on Zofran ... question

[Jane]

Hi,

I posted about a month ago saying I was 8 wks. along and starting to feel sick and scared. Thank you for the encouraging and supportive responses.

Turns out, I was wrong. I am now 10.5 wks. along.

Last pregnancy, I spent until 9-10 wks. nauseous but not vomiting, and at around 10, it all went to hell. I threw up until delivery and was hospitalized 2x. My first trimester, I didn't gain but didn't lose. I did, however, gain 50 lbs. by the end. Eat, barf, eat, barf ... that was me. The whole experience was awful. I felt terrible the whole time. My work was awful. That experience is the source of my current fear.

In the past month, I started on Vistaril - an old but unexpired Rx from my last pregnancy. I then got an Rx for Zofran. I've only vomited a few times. I've gained 7 lbs. already, even though I've been pretty careful w/ my diet. (I'm grateful to be holding food down. However, I was hoping for less extreme weight gain. I know, be happy w/ what I've got ...)

My problem/fear is that I'm feeling nauseated almost all my waking hours, even though I can't seem to actually throw up. For one, this stinks on its own. I have ups and downs, but spent yesterday afternoon almost useless on the couch w/ a "vomit can" next to me in case, struggling to take care of my 2 yr. old when I could. Also, I'm scared it's going to progress as it did last time. I'm not sure if the Zofran is making things better, although I think it's what's keeping the food in.

Has anyone else had this experience? Does this happen w/ Zofran? Is anything ever taken in conjunction w/ Zofran to assist it? I apologize if this has been addressed in previous posts - I imagine it has - I just haven't seen them.

Thanks,

Jane

[emily]

Hi there, yes, this has been addressed. Zofran, for most people, does not battle nausea, just vomitting. You can take Unisom in combo with vitamin B6 to help fight nausea. Please see the "sticky" post at the top of the first trimester folder for detailed information.

I am sorry too. I know how terrible it is to be so nauseated. I think most HGers find that worse than the vomitting, just never feeling any relief. I hope the Unisom combo works for you!

Stay strong and hang in there!

[PamelaRose]

Hi again! Well, that's never nice to be moved BACK in pregnancy dating, but I'm glad things are progressing well. Yes, Zofran typically takes care of vomiting but leaves nasty nausea; you can absolutely pair Zofran with something else. It's tricky to kill the nausea, though, so there may be a bit of experimenting involved. Are you still taking the Visteril? How much Zofran? You can try the Unisom/B6 that Emily mentioned; that does a good job of holding weaker neausa. But B6 needs to build up in your system, so start now and don't expect immediate results. You may have to try something stronger at first--Phenergan and Reglan are probably the most common Rx pairings, but there are others, and there are also OTC options like Dramamine, AntiVert, Bonine, or Benedryl. You can combine one of these with the Zofran to see how it works. And remember - 32 mg/day of Zofran is standard during the worst of it; you may want to start by upping the Zofran and adding Unisom as needed (up to 3 tablets/day, but you can split them). Good luck, and I hope you don't see HG getting worse this time.