had to start phenergan

[tinkerbell]

hi
i managed to get to 6 weeks but have started phenergan. i take 10mg 3 times a day . my nausea is terrible . i manage to eat 3 meals as this helps but i feel so sick all the time . i wretch alot but am determined , to keep in control . by this time in my other 2 pregnancys i was in bed all day throwing up ! my doc said if i start to throw up then use prednisone ,but i want to wait till 10 weeks at least. i keep thinking that the days are so long and by 9pm i am tucked up in bed as sleep stops the suffering .
has anybody used prednisone in the first trimester ?

[carriedodson]

Congratulations! Sorry you had to start the phenergren. I am pretty sure MamaLily (Anna) was on steroids but I am not sure if during the first trimester. You could write her and see I bet she could help.

Good luck
Carrie

[MamaLily]

Tinkerbell -

Yes, I used steroids and they helped a lot. But I was not given them until I was 11 weeks along. My understanding is that steroid use during the 1st Tri can increase the risk of Cleft Palette in your baby. I don't know of other risks, but I'm not a health professional of any kind so I don't really know. My OB did mention that new studies show that steroid use in the 1st Tri is a good possibility for treating HG - but I don't have the details of that study either! I'm afraid that I'm not much help!

My personal feeling is that I would try pretty much anything to make it to 10 weeks before using steroids. Have you tried everything? Meclizine? Unisom/B6? Zofran - 32 mgs a day while being fully hydrated? NG tube? PICC line? Phenergan? Reglan? Hospitalization? IVs? If none of these things worked for me, then I may consider steroids before week 10. And when I say "worked," I mean kept me alive until week 10. Nothing ever "worked" to completely take away the HG, but there are things that can decrease weight loss and increase your comfort (which I know is relative). With any future pregnancy, before week 10 I'm hoping to minimize weight loss with meds, fluids, and the NG tube. Just some ideas, but I don't want to scare you or anything. I really don't have a lot of personal knowledge about steroids before week 10-12.

Good luck to you and please keep writing about this. I know there are others here who may have more info about steroids. Talk with a perinatologist and get his/her opinion about steroids in the 1st Tri...steroids are used during pregnancy for lots of reasons besides HG.

Here are some links about steroids:

http://helpher.org/mothers/treatments/steroid.php

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... &DB=PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract

Let me know how you are doing and what you decide.

- Anna

[tinkerbell]

hi
thanks for the info .i am trying to keep off the steroids till 10 weeks as i have read about cleft palate. i am in the uk so zofran is not offered. my gp told me to use the steroids as soon as vomitting started. i think this is because i was so sick last time ,i nearly lost my daughter and my liver funtion was very poor . i aam waiting on an appointment to see my gynae but she had written and instructed my gp to use 5mg of prednisolone 4 times a day.
yesterday and today i feel not to bad. i find water makes the nausea worse ,but diet coke works fine ! i also eat as much as i can . i try to eat a large lunch and that helps with the awfull naysea at mid afternoon.
i have 3 weeks tiil i get to 10 weeks .i am really trying to keep it all together.once the kids go back to school i will be able to rest more but it is really difficult aat the moment,although they are very good .

keep fingers crossed for me ,maybe for once i wont have a pregnancy from hell !!!!!!

[MamaLily]

Tinkerbell -

My fingers are crossed for you. Have you already posted in the "HG Outside the U.S." forum? There are women there from the UK and they will probably have some good suggestions for meds and ways to get doctors to do what you need!

If you have poor liver function and a scary history with HG, then starting steroids early might not be a bad option. It all comes down to weighing the risks to your body and to your baby.

Let me know how you're doing...

- Anna