M/S or HG? When do I go to the DR?

I'll try to make a long story short. I am o/s visiting family for 3 months. I have nearly 3 weeks left until I come home. Shortly after arriving here I was eating lunch and got a sudden urge to vomit which I did. I knew I was preg so I POAS to confirm. I ended up at A&E for cramping and bleeding thinking I was having an ectopic and get a scan which said I was 7 weeks along with a normal pregnancy and there was a heartbeat. $500 bill if insurance decides not to cover which will more than likely be the case. So I know the nausea and voimiting started at 6 weeks, it came in force and is staying in force except for a wonderful 4 day break. I have red dots all over my eyes, I have lost 6 kgs, I feel bloody miserable, I can hardley keep anything down unless it is white and salty even then it is a struggle.

Things I have tried, seabands, b6, garlic, ginger, crackers (i am so over them), apples, bananas, toast, eggs and everything else under the sun. Nothing works!

Is it time to see a doctor or it is safe to hold out for another 3 1/2 weeks when I don't have to pay outrageous prices to get medical care?

ide to see ur doctor.. waiting over 3 weeks isnt a good idea as u may get that dehydrated it could harm u and bub.

better safe then sorry..

good luck

ps... i dont think u can put a price on urs and ur babys safety

Hi, I'm a sufferer of HG myself, I really feel for you right now, especially being o/s! :hug:

Can you keep anything down? Can you keep fluids down? How often are you vommiting?

If you're able to keep food down (even if its only one type of food) & keep your fluids up I'd leave it for at least a few days. If it gets worse & you cant eat or drink & continue to lose weight then I'd definately head to the docs.

Something you might like to ask the doc about if you're suffering unbearably is the medication "zofran zydis", its expensive (approx $10 per tablet) but it works for me. I took it from about 6 weeks with DD & took it from 7 weeks this PG. I have to take it until I give birth but some woman are able to stop taking them throughout the pregnancy & be fine.

Just a suggestion if you get really desperate.

I hope something works soon so you can start to enjoy your pregnancy. :hug:

Hmmmwhile I am sitting here typing I am eating a piece of french toast but I can taste the butter I used to cook it and now I don't think it will stay down. Everything and anything can set off the urge to vomit. If I move too much in a short space of time, smells, thoughts. :wall: It's enough to drive you bonkers!!!

To answer your questions Danielle, I on average am able to keep one meal down a day, and usually I snack a bit here and there and that stays down too. The 4 days of peace I had gave me a chance to gain a pound or 2 as well. I try to maintain fluids. I can only have a few sips at a time. I am probably not getting enough though because if I do drink any fluids I get really nauseated. I had a glass of water in bed with my prenatal last night and then spent the next hour crying myself to sleep because the urge to be sick was so strong. I fought it with all I had because the prenatal vitamin is the only for sure nutrition this baby is getting. I don't think there is much nutrition in regular potato chips or tortilla chips.

Thank you so much for replying to me, it is so easy to feel very alone when you suffer like this. My mother is so sick of me saying I am going to be sick that she said she doesn't want to hear it anymore. It is hard not to talk about when it consumes your every thought and movement though.

If it is still bad after my DP gets here in a few days I might have to head to the Dr for this zofran zydis stuff. I just had a read up and it sounds great. Anything to make the last few weeks visiting my family more enjoyable.

Thanks so much again!!

Hi there lms!

Hang in there, I know exactly how you feel. i'm 10 weeks and I'm with you on only being able to keep down on average one meal a day and that generally is only toast! this has been for the last 5 wks now and is starting to drive me batty. i can't remember the last time i had a nutritious meal and kept it down...i've even given up on trying to eat decent meals now.
anyway, the point of my post was to say that i'm of the mindset that the baby will be grabbing all the nutrients it needs from my stores and that basically i'll be the one feeling like crap and so far as i understand i don't think the baby goes without much. i think the biggest risk is us getting dehydrated and generally trying to make it through each day without being total wrecks:cryinglaugh:
try and enjoy the last few weeks of your break and boo hoo to anyone who says they're sick of hearing about it....i'm sure i'd much rather hear about it than experience it;)
ps my mantra at the moment is that some people are this sick and are dying of cancer...at least i'm going through it to get a precious little baby!

Hey there Sarah

can I assume that you're in Canada?? - well if you are go to the chemist and ask them for Restavit and Vitamin B6 - this is pretty much the only thing that worked for me during this pregnancy and research shows that in Canada this is pretty much the only thing they will prescribe for MS - I can buy it over the counter here in OZ so I'm hoping you can do the same over there.

I'm sure if you tell them what's going on they'll pull out the big guns - Oh I feel for you MS is is just awful :hug:

Thanks Dianna, can you tell me how much you are meant to take of the restavit? I will go in search of it tomorrow. It looks like that is first recommended for HG before medications so I will give it a shot. Much cheaper than the wafers. I have B6 tablets and they are 250mg but on their own they don't do much. And because it is a sleeping pill do I take it at night? It's all so confusing :doh:

I started with 1/2 tablet of Restavit (so half of a 25mg tablet) and I'd take it with 1/2 a Vitamin B6 - note you shouldn't really take more than 100mg of Vit b6 per day.

I was told by the Mother Safe hotline here in Sydney that I could take this up to 4 x daily.

My MS was really bad at night so sometimes I'd need nothing through the day but at night I'd take a double dose - which is OK also.

Restavit is a sleeping tablet but you get used to the side effects and given that you're not taking that much it shouldn't take so long- worse case scenario you'll at least get some decent sleep and stop feeling like you're on a rollercoaster

It's also a Category A drug which is meant to be safe in pregnancy - trust me I checked with a few thousand people - in the end it was the only thing that saved me.

You might want to check with the pharmacy's in Canada as for some odd reason I think they actually have a concoction made with the restavit and B6 together and I think they'll be able to reassure of the amounts to take.

maybe even google it - I found alot of info about Restavit and pregnancy use that way.

Goodluck - fingers crossed you get some relief.

Diana I was also given the restavit, I've only taken it a few times to try & get some sleep. I was told by my chemist not to take more than 75mg a day.
The actual directions my chemist put on paper for me was 1 pyroxin tablet (B6) & half a restavit tablet (25mg) 3 times a day.

I was worried I'd get too sleepy especially with DD to look after so I havent taken many. I really only take them when I NEED some sleep.

I never realised it could be used to reduce HG, I thought the chemist was being nice with trying to get me some sleep by offering it to me. Shes been my chemist through both pregnancies & stocks up on zofran for me so we know each other quite well LOL. She just offered it to me one day when I went in & told me its a sleeping aid, duh.. I should have asked more questions.

Thanks for bringing it up, I might try taking more now so I can hopefully get off the zofran before the end of this pregnancy, costs a bloody fortune! LOL (very much worth it of course when its all that works)

Little Miss Sunshine- I hope you've found something that works for you, ideally something natural &/or cheap!! You poor thing :(

Hi Sunshine
I had M/S untill I was 22 weeks preg. Like you any thing could set me off. One day I would be fine with something the next it would make me sick.

The only things that helped was chips (coles brand only Arnots made me sick) Sipping coke or ginger beer (only Bunderburg brand worked) , crackers and tasty cheese.

The hardest part was cooking for the family as the smell used to set me off.
I take 100g of B6 to help me.
I didn't go to the Drs I just worked my way through it by snacking and every now and then I got to keep a small meal. As I would eat with the family most of the time but I only had a very small amount and we ate very basic plain food.

Good luck with winning the battle...
Take care
Chris

Oh Sarah, there is nothing quite like the constant hangover feeling hey. I vomited every day for all of my pregnancys!! Hence the big age gaps between my kids, took me a while to convince myself I could handle the vomiting and nausea again!! My first, I could only hold down hot chips and gravy and coke, second daughter, everything made me sick, was in and out of hosp on IV fluids all pregnancy. Last bub, I vomited in force till about 20wks, then it actually got a bit better, and I was only sick periodically. Still had the nausea constantly though. I never actually found a remedy that did work!! Actually there was one - CHILDBIRTH!!!! Good luck, I hope your last few weeks visiting family get better!! I don't think I have actually helped at all have I!!! Only, if you do think you are getting dehydrated, go to the DR definately. Fingers crossed you start to feel better soon!! Hope Noah is being co-operative for you!!!

Hi Danielle

Glad I could help - I noticed that you're in Sydney - here's the phone number for Mother Safe - 1800 647 848 or 9382 6539 - give them a buzz if you like, the ladies are wonderful and full of great advice on what to take in pregnancy - they seem to know more than the pharmacies - my pharmacist had never heard of taking Restavit and B6 during pregnancy and was quite astounded that this was suggested to me - none the less I tried it and it worked - I still felt like crap some days but overall the vomitting stopped and I could function better

Good Luck :lol:

I am still looking for restavit! Everywhere I go knows nothing about it. On the plus side I found 25mg B6 tablets and I am going to take 2 a day to see if that helps. I had one 2 hours ago and I am really struggling to keep dinner down so maybe it isn't enough on its own. I don't feel up to getting out of the house but when I do I will be going into every shop I can to track the restavit down. A pharmasist recommended some prescription that starts with a D, she said it is catagory A but it does cost a bit. I will look into that when I get back to Oz if restavit is too hard to track down.

I love hearing everyones tips though, it might give me more things to try. Together we may find the ultimate cure!!! :dance:

Hi Sunshine,

I have just spent nearly 8 weeks in bed with vomitting just like you and have only managed to keep down crackers etc. I found watermelon is wonderful - no smell and a nice bland cold taste (and it doesn't taste bad if it comes back either). The other thing my fertility nurses told me to do is to get a frozen coke or smoothie and sip it (put it back in the freezer every now and then, this does help too) I went to the Doctors and he prescribed Zofran and I can now get through my whole day (sometimes without vomitting at all). If you can get hold of this you will notice a huge change. My hubbys Aunty is a nurse and taught me how to know if I was dehydrated, pinch the back of your hand and if you can gather the skin your body still has water in it, however if the skin is hard to pinch and pulled tight and the skin on your fingers is starting to look transperant you need to get your self to a hospital and onto a drip for the day. I really hope you feel better soon, it is so hard to excited about your little miracle when you feel so rotten. If you have a BBQ get your partner/hubby to cook on that, my hubby has been doing that since I was 4 weeks pg and it is great because the house doesn't fill with that yucky-make-you-want-to-throw-up smell. I hope this helps you.

Restavit is definitly the elusive thing over here, my mum went to the health food store and could not find it. The sales person sold her some cocculine though and I am taking that.

Yesterday was a really bad day. Everything was vomitted up and I don't know if it was from the force of vomitting that I had a little back end issues too. I have to wait 10 more minutes before I can eat or drink anything so this stuff has a chance to kick in. Last night when I took it I was able to drink 2 glasses of water with a whole lot of relief. Much better than a few hours earlier when I would have a sip and then it would come back up in seconds. 3 more weeks until I get back into Oz so I am really hanging out for that. I will be at the Dr asap getting hooked up with zofran!

Oh sweets I have no advice but wanted to give you a huge :hug: Is J there yet??? Hopefully he can give you a bit of a break and you can enjoy your last few weeks. Far out it's gone so fast. Thinking of you.

Hey there LMS

I did a quick google search and Restavit mixed with B6 is called - Diclectin in canada - if you want more info go to Diclectin.com - Good Luck for a split second I thought I imagined that you could get it in Canada - I really hope it works for you....

Oh thanks Dianna, I had to go to the doctor today because I felt rotten after throwing up everything yesterday. I couldn't even hold down a sip of water.

I was prescribed diclectin and was told to take 4 tablets a day. It isn't cheap thats for sure! $85 for a 2 week supply. I hope I don't need it any longer than that. I have had one so far this arvo about 5 hours ago but I am still retching every 30mins or so. I have eaten a bowl of rice crispies this morning and eaten half a potato this arvo. So far so good for keeping it down even though it is a struggle.

I am hoping this diclectin works better tomorrow after my 2 pill dose tonight. The doctor did say the next step is 2 gravol pills a day with the diclectin as well if I don't improve within 3 days.

Thanks everyone for your support and info!

FAROUT!! that is expensive - I can assure you now that Restavit never cost me more than $12 for a box of 24 (I think 24??, either way a whole box) and the bottle of B6 was say another $10 but there's alot in there.

How many more weeks are you over there?? - I bet you just can't wait to get home now - try and enjoy your break - I know easier said than done :doh: - Times like this you need a clone of yourself - lol

Hi sunshine
I found out the hard way, but water can upset a cranky tummy.
Try and drink weak tea or cordial (cottees mix up). For weeks that is all I could drink.

Hope you feel better soon?? :hug:

Take care
Chris

Sometimes its just better to put up with it. I spent over $2000 seeing my GP who did jack sh*t i had been seeing her for 5 weeks before she decided that i would need steroids as i could not keep anything down even water and all the medication she had given me was not working. I was so dehydrated that i could not get my ultra sound done but my Dr would not admit me to hospital.
I look back at it now and realise i wasted all that money and time sitting at the Dr's for nothing as i was still sick the entire time. By the time she gave me the steroids the sickness was starting to ease anyway.

:

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Sometimes its just better to put up with it.

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If it is HG, sadly you cant just "put up with it" because you will more than likely lose the baby & could do serious harm to yourself by not seeking help.
I'm glad you were able to overcome yours though :) I understand how expensive pregnancy can be (especially while suffering from HG!) so I can see where you're coming from.

LMS How are you going these days? Are you home yet?

I had HG with my girls. I felt like I was dying for the first 4.5 - 5 months. After that I came good though.
I lost 10 kgs with DD2.
It can't really do much to bubs, coz weather you eat or not bubs takes everything from you. It's you who misses out, not the baby. I was put in hospital on a drip for 4 days with DD1 & twice for 5 days each with DD2. The 2nd time was more to give me a braek.
As long as you keep up fluids & just eat what you can you'll be OK.
With DD2 I sometimes went for days without eating a thing. Just the thought of eating made me vomit & there was nothing to vomit.
DD1 was 7lb 5oz & DD2 was 8lb 9oz. They were both perfectly healthy even though I wasn't too great.
If it goes past the 12 weeks, or doesn't ease a bit by 12 weeks, then see someone.
They did try to give me Maxallon, an anti nausea medication used for people on Chemo, but I think I'm allergic to it & it didn't really help me. I had massive panic attack every time they gave it to me.
I really hope yours doesn't last the whole pg as it does in some people.

Hey Danielle, thanks for asking. I just got home a few hours ago. I am so glad to be back. I could not afford that diclectin anymore so I tried finding doxylamine succulant elsewhere but it seemed to be sold out everywhere. I had read about Benadryl Allergy working for some people and got myself a bottle. It has been ok but with the 2 flights totalling 16 hours and a 4 hour car ride I have already vomited 4 times and have a severely burned throat and blood vessels burst around my eyes again. I will be heading to the chemist in the AM to pick up that restavit. For now I have taken 2 Benadryl and 50mg of B6 and hopefully I will be in the land of nod in about 30 mins and not feeling like crap. It looks like the HG is here to stay until the end. It has been good in the sense that I knew the pregnancy was continuing while I could not afford to go and get scans etc. I just wish it had not ruined my trip back home so much.

I have my scan tomorrow so hopefully bub isn't shy so I can get a sneek peek if it is the girl I am after or another boy to smother with cuddles :D

Good Luck LMS - hope you at least get to see what flavour you have in there - It'll make all the sickness so worth it :rolleyes:

Hope the restavit and B6 works on you also. - I still have days where I wish I could crawl under a rock but FWIW far better than say 6 weeks ago - fingers crossed you'll get over the worst of it soon