Morning Sickness from a Guys POV?

Question

My fiance and I are expecting. We are on week 10. She has been having really bad morning sickness. All day sickness really. I had to bring her to the hospital last week due to dehydration. We've tried everything: crackers, lemons, suckers, pregnancy tea, etc...
NOTHING WORKS!!! She is still only able to hold food or liquid down when she takes the medication prescribed by the doctor at the hospital. We are very afraid she will dehydrate again, and maybe lose the baby. What can we do???

EVERYTHING: Electrolyte drinks (Pedialyte, gatorade, etc...), ice chips. Anything and everything you can find recommended by the doctor, or on the web.
They ran IVs through her last week when we were there. They tested her ketone (sp?) level, and said she was seriously dehydrated...

Where can one get one of the "accupressure" bands? I've searched every darn pharmacy in town and can't find one...

Answer 1

I am going through this same thing (hospital, etc) myself right now and am at 16 weeks. I have been on four different medications since week six. Compazine and Reglan did not work. Zofran finally did for a while until I developed a tollerance. Now I'm on 1/2 pill Unisom 3x/day + 50mg B6 2x/day and will go back on Zofran shortly. None of the above got rid of the nausea, but the last two helped me keep me from vomitting constantly.

First of all, I found it helps to redefine what 'works' as anything that stays down. For about three weeks, all I could eat was rice milk, crackers, protein powder and water. It's been slightly better since week 13. Here's a list of a few things that have worked for me:

BRAT diet - bananas, rice, apples/apple juice, herb tea and toast.

Eliminate meat and dairy

Drink rice milk and add a whey-based protein powder (I use Whey Factors)

Rice and beans - bland with nothing but salt

Carrot/Apple juice, diluted with water

Soy Yogurt - something mild without a lot of sugar - Whole Soy Brand is best

Small amounts of lukewarm water, sipped constantly throughout the day. Keep it in a bottle and keep track of how much she drinks to make sure she finishes, say two liters, during the day. Avoid drinking large amounts of fluid at one time. Sip something constantly, just a bit a time.

Homemade 'gatorade' (cheaper!) 2c water, 1/2 lime, 2tsp sugar, pinch of salt

WALKING - seriously, especially in the fresh morning air. I try to walk at least a mile in the morning and again in the afternoon. Even inside the house, try walking briskly back and forth and say to yourself, "I feel GREAT!" This is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique - your mind can't hold two apposing thoughts at the same time. It can help get through an intense wave of nausea.

Eat frequent small meals. An empty stomach has more acid secretion and irritation and nausea easily follow.

Eat normally cold foods at room temperature and allow warm foods to cool so they don't 'smell' and trigger a vomiting episode. You can also try reading or doing something while you eat to distract yourself from it and draw your focus away from the sensation of eating and the effect it has on your stomach. Also, eat VERY slowly and chew everything well.

When I really had it bad, I found holding a cut lime under my nose while I chewed and swallowed helped me get food down.

Sip a cup of tepid water with a small amount of baking soda in it to calm stomach acids. I find this especially helpful at night.

Sleep on your back with pillows under your head to elevate your esophagus and keep food down. Close your eyes and visualize a stream of light/energy flowing from your head, down through your stomach, abdomen and out through your toes. This will help re-direct your energy which is trying to flow upward in the other direction because of the morning sickness. It's the principle behind acupuncture and the meridian system and really does work.

Try a cup of coconut water with 1 tsp of lemon juice and take a sip every 15 min. to calm the stomach

A small amount of fresh lime juice with a little salt and sugar also helps in the morning

Raw almonds with the skin peeled off (soak in warm water until you can remove the skins). They are high quality protein, have calcium, and settle the stomach. A few are plenty.

Keep snacks in your bag. I always have some dried apple fruit leather, a LARA Bar (banana cookie flavor). They are made from raw almonds, dates and bananas and don't taste of chemicals like all the other bars. WATER. Some natural brand of mint gum from the health food store (again- chemical free). Ricola Lemon Mint lozenges. A fresh apple. This is what I snack on during the day at work or running around - again, the key is to be constantly eating something and sipping a bit of water in between.

A tea made from fennel and ginger. Grind your own seeds and use fresh ginger if you can. You can also chew fennel seeds. They use them in India after spicy meals to settle the stomach and it works well.

Try to eat some kind of protein in the evening - a protein/rice milk drink, soy yogurt. It helps to get through the night.

Split pea soup - make your own so it is mild and does not have a bunch of onions in it - they are a big no no.

Sit by a window with fresh air.

Try not to sit for a long time - get up and move around frequently.

Don't think of or dwell on the nausea - guaranteed it will make it worse. Whatever you do, try not to talk about it too much with others. Just talking about vomiting can make me get a wave of nausea!

Try aromatherapy - a couple drops of lemon essential oil on a tissue tucked inside the pillowcase does wonders. You can also keep a tissue inside of a ziplock bag to 'sniff' during the day and take along in your purse.

A morning massage with coconut oil can also be helpful

When you are up to it, veggies that seem to work: carrots (raw) green beans, fresh cooked and peas, frozen cooked.

Good luck and hang in there. The worst of it will be over by wk 20 at the LATEST (that's what they tell me anyway). You should start seeing some increase in the number of foods you can tolerate after week 12-13, even if the nausea is still present. Some women have nausea the entire pregnancy, but it should not be as bad as it is right now for you.

Remember, even if you can't keep food down, you must drink water! They told me at the hospital, no one will die in America if they can drink water.

To answer your last question - ACCUPRESSURE BANDS - honestly, these don't work if you have REALLY severe nausea, but pressing on the point very firmly can help a wave of nausea. It's a sensitive spot, three fingers down from your wrist, just to the right of the main tendon (on your left forearm) or to the left on your right forearm. If you really want to try the bands, they are called 'Sea Bands' and health food stores often have them. Sometimes you can find them at pharmacies. They are sold for motion sickness.

Answer 2

I had terrible morning sickness also. You can ask your doctor about a Zofran pump which gives continual anti-nausea medication (like an insulin pump) and at home IV therapy. Staying hydrated was the most important thing for me. Also when she feels good enough to eat, eating a little bit every hour and separating liquids from solids helped a lot. She can test her ketones at home. That is the biggest danger - if the ketones get high than that puts the baby at risk. Ketones are flushed out by fluids, so if she gets hydration either through IVs or drinking she should be okay.

Answer 3

TELL HER TO:

• Try to avoid foods and smells that trigger her nausea. If that seems like almost everything, it's okay to eat the few things that do appeal to her for this part of your pregnancy, even if they don't add up to a balanced diet.

It might also help to stick to bland foods. She should try to eat food cold or at room temperature, because it tends to have less of an aroma than when it's hot.

• Keep simple snacks, such as crackers or fresh bread, by her bed. When she first wakes up, nibble a few crackers and then rest for 20 to 30 minutes before getting up. Snacking on crackers may also help her feel better if you wake up nauseated in the middle of the night.

• She should try to eat small, frequent meals and snacks throughout the day so that her stomach is never empty. Some women find that carbohydrates are most appealing when they feel nauseated, but one small study found that high-protein foods were more likely to ease symptoms.

• Avoid fatty foods, which take longer to digest. Also steer clear of rich, spicy, acidic, and fried foods, which can irritate your digestive system.

• Try drinking fluids mostly between meals. And don't drink so much at one time that your stomach feels full, as that will make her less hungry for food. A good strategy is to sip fluids frequently throughout the day.

Aim to drink about a quart and a half altogether. If she's been vomiting a lot, she should try a sports drink that contains glucose, salt, and potassium to replace lost electrolytes.

• She needs to give herself time to relax and take naps if she can. Watching a movie (preferably not one about food!) or visiting with a friend can help relieve stress and take her mind off her discomfort. Or try hypnosis — while there's no definitive evidence that it helps with morning sickness, it has been shown to be effective in combating nausea during chemotherapy.

• Try taking her prenatal vitamins with food or just before bed. You might also want to ask her healthcare provider whether she can switch to a prenatal vitamin with a low dose of iron or no iron for the first trimester, since this mineral can be hard on her digestive system.

• Try ginger, an alternative remedy thought to settle the stomach and help quell queasiness. See if you can find ginger ale made with real ginger. (Most supermarket ginger ales aren't.) Grate some fresh ginger into hot water to make ginger tea, or see if ginger candies help.

A few studies found that taking powdered ginger root in capsules provided some relief, but be sure to talk to her provider before taking ginger supplements. There's no way to be sure how much of the active ingredient you're getting in these supplements, so some experts think it's best not to use them. (As with many other things that are helpful in small amounts, the effects of megadoses are unknown.)

• Try an acupressure band, a soft cotton wristband that's sold at drugstores. You strap it on so that the plastic button pushes against an acupressure point on the underside of your wrist. This simple and inexpensive device, designed to ward off seasickness, has helped some pregnant women through morning sickness — although research suggests that it may be largely a placebo effect.

• Ask your provider about a device that stimulates the underside of your wrist with a mild electric current. This "acustimulation" device costs about $75 and is available by prescription only. It's safe, and research has shown that this technique works well for some women.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Very good question and my hat goes off to you for your sensitivity. This is a very common problem. Pregnancy causes a huge change in metabolism.
I suggest you keep a journal off her MS and the other times as well. Be in constant touch with her Dr.
As for you, I can tell you are an awesome man for your baby's momma, and you will make an excellent father.
Good Luck and Peace be with you
John

Answer 5

It sounds like you're doing everything right and she's very lucky to have you take such good care of her. Hang in there, and keep doing what you're doing. The good news is that the worst of the morning sickness should be over by the end of the first three months.

Answer 6

From my experience.. I had very low blood pressure at the beginning which caused me to dehydrate some how.. but i was forgetting my pre-natal vitamins.. Make sure she takes those. And try all natural juices... and of course tons of water and avoid artificial sugar.

Answer 7

Make sure her OB/Gyn knows she isn't able to keep food down. She may be down-playing her symptoms to her doctor out of fear; you can certainly call her doctor and voice your fears. The scariest thing for a pregnant woman is the thought that she won't be able to carry to term; you can help by talking to her doctor. Good luck.

Answer 8

My friend has a hard pregnancy but if it gets really bad then they can put her in the hospital and hook her up to IVs. Has she tried ice or flat ginger-ale?

Answer 9

Real, not artificial, ginger.

When she does take the prescription pills, make sure she drinks tons of water while the nausea is temporarily gone.

Answer 10

Have you seen those electrolyte drinks/ice blocks at the chemist? Get those.