Zofran (anti nausea wafer thingy?)

[Freya]

Anyone taken Zofran during pregnancy. Someone told me about them being these wafer type thingy's, they are strong stuff and have not been conclusively tested for use in pregnancy but GP's still prescribe them. I also know they are expensive.

Maxalon does nothing for me and Im <...> this far away from hospital because I cant eat,, Im so lethargic and Ive lost 5kg in 3 weeks. I have 3 kids to care for and I am getting desperate.

Im wondering if people could share their experiences before I ask for it.

Thanks.

[Ilithyia]

I used to take half.

I can't have maxalon so it was Ondanzatron for me (Which is Zofran) quite often.

The hospital gives it to you IV so it can't be that bad.

But I did only ever take it when I really needed it.

You can also try B6 tablets. I was pleasently surprised to find that they worked!

[Amy_jellybean]

Yep I was on them from 6 weeks until around 14 weeks, and then my body became immune to them and they stopped working for me Maxalon didn't help me at all even through an IV. I have had 2 stints in hospital, lost 8.5kgs and even now at 22 weeks im still vommiting

My doctor has put me on Phenergen since 14 weeks. It is not proven safe for pregnancy and it doesnt stop the nausea but it keeps the food and fluid down. I had to go on early maternity leave at about 14 weeks because they make me and bubba extremely tired (sedative). Bub is measuring spot on so they dont look to have had any affect on him, and I have out 2kgs back on.

If you do go on Zofran, get your ob to give you the script for 10 at a time instead of 4. It is SUPER hard to get a normal GP to give you a script for 10 wafers or tablets because it is a restricted script.

Best of luck with it, I feel for you, i've never felt so ill in my life!

[No.5]

I took them too. Maxalon doesn't work for me either. Never had any problems with taking them.

[xXHopeXx]

Have you tried stemetil (sp?) I can't take Maxalon either, I have a weird reaction, severe restlessness and insomnia, and the rate I was vomiting I couldn't afford ondansetron.

Stemetil worked a treat for me and it's MUCH cheaper hopefully it may work for you if you haven't tried it already?

[Ilithyia]

Stemitil is a Cat C drug so not suitable in pregnancy.

I think Zofran is Cat B.

Just found this...

Use in pregnancy (Category C)

When given in high doses during late pregnancy, phenothiazines have caused jaundice, hyperreflexia, hyporeflexia or prolonged extrapyramidal disturbances in the child. There is evidence of harmful effects in animals. The following effects have been reported (in postmarketing surveillance) in neonates exposed to phenothiazines during the third trimester of pregnancy:

various degrees of respiratory disorders ranging from tachypnoea to respiratory distress, bradycardia and hypotonia, most often when other drugs such as psychotropic or antimuscarinic drugs were coadministered.

signs related to the atropinic properties of phenothiazines such as meconium ileus, delayed meconium passage, initial feeding difficulties, abdominal bloating, tachycardia;

neurological disorders such as extrapyramidal symptoms including tremor and hypertonia, somnolence, agitation.
Appropriate monitoring and treatment of neonate born to mothers receiving prochlorperazine is recommended.*
Like other drugs it should be avoided in pregnancy unless the physician considers it essential. Neuroleptics may occasionally prolong labour and at such a time should be withheld until the cervix is dilated 3-4 cm. Possible adverse effects on the foetus include lethargy or paradoxical hyperexcitability, tremor and a low Apgar score.

[xXHopeXx]

Really? Great.. Shows what my doctors know I suppose :/

[Amy_jellybean]

Phenergen is a Cat 3 as well, I was told by my ob as long as he was overseeing my use of it then it was ok.

I think it all depends on what you are most comfortable with. For me - making sure I kept food and fluid down, and started putting weight back on was most important for the health of my baby.

[Lily Dust]

Hi Freya

Sorry your having a rough time! Yes, I took zofran wafers from 7ish weeks till about 25ish (maybe longer) weeks, 3 a day. You are right, they arent a catergory A drug as not enough studies have been done on it. After losing 11kgs in 2 weeks and maxalon having adverse effects I was prescribed zofran. As you said they are expensive but I have been told there is also a generic brand that might help a little If you can get on top of the vomitting, get some IV fluids and start zofran, things might improve. Also the earlier you start the better the outcome from what I hear. They may not stop the nausea and may not stop all the spewing but they should help a little (obviously depending on how much you are sick etc)

[Netix]

I was on ondanzetron (sp) for a wbile from about 3 months. I found it was the ONLY thing to work for me, and I had ms BaD. Before getting the zofran, I was admitted to hospital, staying six days for dehydration, constant iv's. I took a whole wafer when i had to work, just before I would start a shift. If I had a day or two off, I usually wouldn't take one as I would try to save them for days I jad to work, because it would cost me $53 in doctors fees just to get the script. The first script I got was 10 wafers, but the subsequent ones were all 5s's. I ended up going to a bulk billing dr and begging he write me a script, and explained why I was there. On the upside, each script only cost me the PBS fee, from both the hospital ANd the chemist. Actually, no, sorry, the hospital was maybe 50 cents dearer.

Zofran was, as I have said, the only thing that helped my ms. I wished I had known about it for my firdt twp pregnancies. If I was pg again, I would take it again, if I needed to. It was my lifesaver.

[surprised]

Hugs hun. It's a truly awful situation.

I tried maxalon, zofran and stemitil. None was particularly helpful for me. But the thing that did work was restavit, an OTC (non-addictive) sleeping pill. The women's hospital has some helpful info about what drugs to try - pm if you want the link.

Unless a drug is known to cause problems, and it is commonly used in pregnancy, I personally was ok trying it. If you're that sick, you need to do something to help it feel so horrible all the time. And if you do go to hospital, having some IV fluids can really help.

[BrightSparkles]

Another one here that used it. I LOVED it!! lol

[Liviam]

I absolutley lived on it for the 27 weeks of my pg with DS1 and 15 weeks with DS2. I wouldn't have been able to function without it. I had no problems with it and both of my sons came out absolutely perfect (even if I say so myself, LOL!!! ).

[willow5]

I'm taking it now, I take 8mgs Ondansetron (Zofran) and 12.5mgs of Doxylamine Succinate (Restavit) in the morning before I get up (makes getting up easier), 4mgs Zofran and 12.5mgs Restavit late afternoon. I take a whole Restavit 25mgs before bed. It is helping a lot!! I am 10 weeks now, by the time I was 7 weeks I had lost 6kgs all weight loss has stopped since this dosage started. Maxolon didn't help me.

I also took Zofran in my last pg, but not as much.I actually came into BB tonight looking for the HG support thread and saw this one first. Can anyone link me to the thread?

[willow5]

I found it How are you going Freya?

[~ Mylitta ~]

Here's a couple of links you might be interested in having a look at (I'm pretty sure they are ok to post because they aren't commercial at all):

http://cancer.emedtv.com/zofran/zofr...pregnancy.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15327608

It technically a drug usually used for patients undergoing cancer treatment, but... It's been classed as a category B drug by the FDA which means that although it hasn't been specifically tested on pregnant woman, it's believed to be safe due to the results on pregnant animals. Category A is the safest, then there is B, C, D and X. In comparison, panadol is category A, Sudafed is category C, and nurofen is category C before 30 weeks, and D after 30 weeks.

Only you can be the true judge of how you feel, how sick you are, and whether you think the possible risk of taking the zofran outweighs the risk to the baby based on how sick you are.

[Freya]

Thanks for the advice ladies, for some reason my morning sickness seems to have eased with the help of the Blackmores tablets. Ive managed to eat 2 days worth of meals which is amazing. So hopefully can avoid the zofran all together.....................but I wont count my chickens yet lol

[willow5]

That's awesome Freya!!! I hope you've tamed the beast now and can avoid the Zofran