https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:35:25 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2499000 Thu, 17 Mar 2016 23:56:11 +0000 hony bologna 2499000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: You're the first person I've talked to who's had a remotely similar experience to mine! I wonder why it's not very common? I always chalked it up to my having a crazy iron-clad stomach (besides during pregnancy, I haven't thrown up since I was about 7 years old), but I may just be grasping at straws. :silly: </p> <p>Haha, I love that you came out guns blazin! I'm hoping that I'll have a similar experience as well next time. The Unisom+B6 was actually the one that gave me the worst side effects (debilitating headaches), but maybe they'll work better in combo with other drugs? Anyway, thank you so much for telling me about what you went through, it gives me hope! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2497331 Wed, 16 Mar 2016 22:17:58 +0000 Anagram 2497331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: your nausea sounds like mine--not much throwing up, but terrible stomach pain and nausea 24/7. My first pregnancy, I only tried Zofran and barely made it through. I am not a "resilient" person when it comes to being sick. I think the Zofran didn't help the nausea at all (like you experienced) but literally just quieted the gagging sensation in the back of my throat a little.</p> <p>My second pregnancy, I had the toddler to take care of, so I decided to come out gun blazin the second time and was on Zofran + diclectin (unisom + b6 in my case) by 6 weeks and added in Reglan around 9 weeks. Continued all 3 till around 23 weeks when I stopped Zofran and then continued taking the other 2 until 27-28 weeks when I was able to just use Diclectin occasionally till the end. I either responded different or just found a "winning " combo, because although I was still nauseous 24/7, I went from maybe a 10 to an 8 on the scale, which was just enough to make me feel like I was surviving.</p> <p>SO hopefully you'll have a similar experience and some new combo will work this time that didn't last time. One key for me was upping the Diclectin. A lot of people can take just 1 pill at night, but I didn't notice an improvement until I was taking 3 a day.</p> <p>I did have the side effects you've mentioned--dizziness and obviously extreme tiredness, since Reglan and Diclectin cause sleepiness, but my body adjusted after a couple of weeks and the dizziness and headaches got better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2497322 Wed, 16 Mar 2016 21:59:45 +0000 hony bologna 2497322@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Rockies11: Ugh, I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. It really is just absolutely soul-crushing. :sad: Your experience with your second pregnancy is totally what I'm anticipating/dreading and that's actually why my husband and I had decided that we *wouldn't* have a second child. But our hearts want another, and it's hard to override your heart with your brain on matters like this! I hope your next pregnancy experience is much better, though I know you'll be prepared for the worst!</p> <p>@LovelyPlum: Thank you for the suggestion! Dramamine crossed my mind during my pregnancy, but I'm totally forgetting why I didn't try it. I will give it a go! Hope your recovery from surgery goes well...</p> <p>@HelloBeeBoston: Omg, that would be a dream come true. Thank you for mentioning this, I will definitely bring it up with my OB! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2495294 Tue, 15 Mar 2016 12:59:15 +0000 hellobeeboston 2495294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my sister was really really sick with her second and the meds weren't helping - so they hooked her up to her own IV that she administered every night, and had the bolus (sp?) changed every couple of weeks. It helped her a TON! by 20 weeks she was much better! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2495183 Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:46:53 +0000 LovelyPlum 2495183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was thinking about you yesterday, because I had surgery and get really nauseous from anesthesia. They gave me Zofran, diclegis (I think), Dramamine, and an anti-motion sickness patch to out behind my ear. I wonder if the Dramamine might help you? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2495159 Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:33:12 +0000 Rockies11 2495159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: I think most HG sufferers have debilitating nausea even when medicating, so to the extent that your question is about that, I can speak to that. The reason why I was harping about medication is that I have found that lots of doctors don't have experience in medicating it properly, and I think that sufferers often have a hard time finding proper treatment - I use did! Even with tons of medication I had very very bad nausea with my first and extreme debilitating nausea with my second from about 5 weeks until a couple weeks after she was born. My first was 12 months when I got pregnant with my second. We were planning on having 4 close together because we didn't get started until we were in our 30s. </p> <p>With the first pregnancy, it was really really awful and confusing because I thought that it would end at some point and I would feel better and get this wave of energy that people talked about, and then that never happened. With my second I was prepared to be sick the entire time, but misjudged how challenging it would be with a toddler. I was working, but was minimally functional at my office job, worked from home a fair bit, and went on leave early because I couldn't cope anymore. It was like being inside a nightmare for 9 months. It was so horrifying I have trouble really thinking about it. I felt like I missed out on almost a whole year of my first child's life because I basically couldn't do anything with her, and was cranky and felt just so terrible. I would just lay there, and try to get her to watch tv, which then made me feel guilty. I have really severe food aversion, like even seeing a picture of certain foods could set me off. My toddler would try and feed me things, and it would totally set everything off, so I spent a lot of time getting her drive thru and having her eat it in the car, which also made me feel super crappy as a parent. I am unable to prepare food with HG and I can't even really keep it in the house. Just knowing there was food in the fridge was enough to set me off. So I felt horrible that my kid was like totally unable to snack from our house. I am a really accommodating person who doesn't like to make a fuss, so I also felt like I got pushed into situations where I would overexert myself or not keep to the kind of regimented schedule that I needed to take care of myself. So yeah, it was so so bad. </p> <p>So I think what I am planning to do differently this time, most importantly, is spacing the kids out a bit more. I need both my kids to be a bit more independent, especially with food and play, in order to make it go a bit more smoothly. If they are both able to play independently, then I can get more rest, or participate just by being there without really having to engage. We have decided to only have one other child, so that has helped a bit psychologically and gives us time to space out the kids a bit more. The other important thing I have decided is to absolutely not feel guilty about anything that I have to do to be able to make it through a pregnancy. If my kids have 100 happy meal toys because we only eat drive thru for 9 months, so be it. If I do a half-assed job versus being the parent I want to be, it's temporary and I will get it under control and get better once we have a new baby. I will absolutely do what I need to do to take care of myself, and not worry for a second about accommodating other people or being nice because I have a serious temporary health problem and I can go back to my regular self after. And I think the other main thing I would do is make sure that we have extra support - a regular baby-sitter for when I need the extra support. I think that last pregnancy we had my ILs out to "help" here and there, and they were not helpful so I don't want anything that aggravates the situation and I will just say a clear "no". My parents are not helpful and I expected them to be, and now I know that they won't be so we need to find someone outside of the family to provide that extra support when things are really bad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2494793 Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:17:07 +0000 erinpye 2494793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: if you're not actually vomiting, then yeah, I can see not wanting to take the meds since they do jack all for nausea anyway. I was so nauseated even with them, I'd lay on the bathroom floor and want to die. Showers made me so dizzy and sick I never wanted to take them. It's so hard, and having a toddler on top of it is even harder. I'm so sorry you're suffering-- hang in there. (I sent you an email!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2494790 Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:09:10 +0000 hony bologna 2494790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Rockies11: Thank you for your follow-up! I tried Zofran, Reglan, and an antihistamine. Oh no, I did have extreme dizziness and some vertigo without meds, but the meds (all of them, tried individually) made them and my headaches much, much worse and didn't ease my MS symptoms, so there was no reason to continue taking them. I was diagnosed with HG, but I've actually found it hard to talk to other HG survivors about it because I had a weird case where I didn't have much throwing up and instead had completely debilitating nausea (i.e., it was excruciating to pick my head up off the pillow, I would fall over trying to go to the bathroom and wouldn't be able to get up for 20 minutes, etc.). So a lot of the drugs that work for other HG sufferers (and vomiting) just don't target the symptoms I had. I eventually gave up trying more drugs during my pregnancy because it seemed that based on what I read online, the drugs could reduce the vomiting, but nothing can touch such extreme nausea. So that's why I was asking about surviving HG without meds with another kid - not because I want to, but because I might (like the first time) have no other choice.</p> <p>Every pregnancy is different though, and I'm really glad you and others have encouraged me to keep trying to find a solution... I will definitely talk to a few OBs to find someone who is willing to work with a 'problem' patient like me. :wink: Thank you again!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2494101 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:37:28 +0000 Rockies11 2494101@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: You can take Zofran, Reglan (metaclopramide), diclegis (diclectin), dimenhydrinate, antihistamines such as phenergran, and steriod courses. Most of these you can take together, except diclegis and antihistamines. Dizziness/vertigo is very common with HG and can be a form of extreme pregnancy sickness, so it may not be related to the medication. Having a toddler and a second HG pregnancy can be much worse to deal with as moving around a lot and being tired makes HG worse. While I think that the decision to take medication is ultimately up to you, HG can be life threatening and can result in serious health problems so I don't think that it's a bad idea to be prepared. I found that, even with all the medication I was taking, I was still extremely nauseous and food averse until after I gave birth and with my second it lasted a few weeks postpartum. </p> <p>OBs aren't always great with dealing with it - I had to see a specialist in internal medicine in pregnancy. Along with Facebook groups, the HER foundation can find you a specialist in HG in your area if you send them an email. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493834 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 01:28:01 +0000 hony bologna 2493834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: Wow, you are one tough mama to make it through 3 HG pregnancies! I tried a few different drugs as well as some of the OTC remedies like Unisom + B6, but I never tried combining meds, which seems like the only thing that worked for some people - is that something you ever experimented with?</p> <p>@erinpye: That's right, sleep is the only escape! Gah. Yes, that would be awesome if you could add me to the support group - thank you so much! I'll wall you my email address. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493833 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 01:24:40 +0000 BSB 2493833@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had HG and was in the hospital twice to treat it. Zofran worked for a few weeks before the act of taking pills would make me throw up. Before zofran, diclegis worked but I started having issues swallowing it. I then switched to the suppositories. Eventually that stopped working. I was then put on the ear patch. I took it until 24 weeks.</p> <p>I could not survive without meds. I can't imagine doing it. While I was getting the meds under control, I was stuck in my company's bathroom. As a bread winner in the family, I had to be able to work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493825 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 00:43:34 +0000 erinpye 2493825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: helping keep you from dehydration, is still helping and worth it. As far as I know, not much helps the nausea-- I never came across anything besides sleep to escape it. I have a support group on FB I can add you to if you'd like-- hang in there and hugs :heart: :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493823 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 00:27:12 +0000 HLK208 2493823@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had HG with all 3 pregnancies. I only took zofran with my third pregnancy and I still threw up probably once a day until 28 weeks (which was better than 5-10 times a day until I delivered with my first and second pregnancy). </p> <p>I barely made it through my second pregnancy though. Everything made me sick and I was so depressed because of it. Is it possible to try a few different meds to see if they help more than another? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493808 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 23:51:22 +0000 hony bologna 2493808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinpye: That's just the thing, none of the meds helped. Hence my question about the ability to survive without them. :sad: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493790 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 23:13:51 +0000 erinpye 2493790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I took zofran, both HG pregnancies, but never once did it touch my 24/7 nausea, it simply reduced the frequency of vomiting, and how much I actually vomited when I heaved. Without it, I would have become dehydrated again-- had to get an IV at 11 weeks due to severe dehydration. Take the meds, trust me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493780 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 22:34:24 +0000 hony bologna 2493780@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Pinecone316: Thanks for the rec! Will check it out.</p> <p>@LovelyPlum: Yes, Zofran gave me vertigo too! And really insane headaches. That's interesting that your vertigo went away after a period of time! Mine stuck around. :o\ I've briefly looked around helpher.org, but will have to give it a more thorough perusal.</p> <p>@sslm: I haven't tried diclectin. It looks like it's quite popular in Canada, but maybe not so much here in the US? I'll ask my OB about it, thanks!</p> <p>@pastemoo: Thank you for telling me about your experience. 3x a day is still so tough. I think you're definitely right about working very closely with your OB to come up with a good course of action. And thank you for pointing out that the vertigo/fall risk is actually a separate thing from morning sickness. I did pass out or nearly pass out in a few vasovagal episodes, and I just didn't push my OB to help me with that symptom. But I realize now that it (and not just the morning sickness) was a pretty big factor in my ability to get around and do the most simple daily tasks.</p> <p>@Rockies11: I am so sorry to hear you had such tough pregnancies and that you have lingering issues. :o( I hope they get resolved in time! And thanks for your advice on being persistent with your OB. You are all inspiring me to take a much more proactive approach with my next pregnancy! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493675 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 20:36:09 +0000 Rockies11 2493675@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: I had hyperemesis with both pregnancies - the second was much worse. I took all of the medication for nausea all together - many many pills a day, and still was getting rehydrated once a week or so. I would have probably died without it. I developed serious health problems as it is. In my view, I would try all kinds of medications and switch doctors until you found some relief. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493552 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 18:18:04 +0000 pastemoo 2493552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: most of the meds made me too tired to do my daily work. i didn't have HG, I was just throwing up about 3x/day, but i was able to maintain hydration.<br /> i have a 3 yr old. at 28 weeks, i only vomit occasionally now (1 every 1-2 weeks).<br /> i did need the B6 supplement very much, but the other stuff didn't help<br /> it's doable but you have to be pretty vigilant about your hydration level and it can screw with your ability to work out, to stay awake, and to chase your big kid.</p> <p>you really have to work hand in hand with your ob</p> <p>ETA: i definitely did not have vertigo (only felt faint from low blood sugar and/or low hydration)--i would ask if you can get something different for that--any kind of treatment, whether medication or not. that puts you at a fall risk--not good for a pregnant mama who needs to chase around a toddler </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493546 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 18:13:35 +0000 sslm 2493546@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: did you try diclectin? I tried it with my first but didn't find it had an effect so I stopped taking it and just suffered through. This pregnancy was SO much worse so I gave it a try again and I had to get up to 5-6 pills a day just to not throw up all the time. I still felt nauseous but just able to keep stuff down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493541 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 18:08:27 +0000 LovelyPlum 2493541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hony bologna: oh goodnesd, the vertigo is awful, and I didn't have HG. Zofran gave me really bad vertigo but was the only thing that made the nausea bearable. In order to keep the vertigo at bay, I had to take it while I was still laying down, and stay in bed for 10 minutes or so.</p> <p>I hope that you can find something that works for you. The ladies over at helpher.org might have some ideas. That's a great resource for HG. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493530 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 17:45:38 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2493530@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you want to try something new I have had friends that had good luck with peppermint oil and a blend called digize from Young Living for morning sickness. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493521 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 17:23:27 +0000 hony bologna 2493521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thank you for your responses!</p> <p>@ShootingStar: @Avivoca: I should have clarified that I did try meds and nothing worked for me. I think it was because I had the kind of morning sickness that was very, very severe nausea and vertigo, but not a lot of throwing up. Nothing could touch the nausea. Most of the meds actually made me feel much worse. :sad: </p> <p>@Agold: @Skipra: Thanks for your thoughts! I'm definitely open to fluids and B6 (didn't work the first time, but will try again) and anything else that might work! I totally understand what you're saying, @Skipra, about the short temper and feeling like a worse mother. That's one of my biggest fears about getting pregnant again. :sad: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493511 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 16:59:19 +0000 skipra 2493511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was pretty sick with my first pregnancy but not HG and I managed without meds. Luckily I was not nearly as sick with my second. I hope that is the case for you. Vitamin B6 helped a lot with that pregnancy. Would you at least be open to that?<br /> I am on my third pregnancy and it's been the worst of the three, but still not HG. I couldn't manage without meds this time. At the worst of it, I felt like world's most horrible mother because feeling so sick gave me a short temper and I just couldn't engage with my LO's the way that I normally would. To me, sitting around or staying in bed all day is not worth it and everyone in our family is happier when I take something for the nausea. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493508 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 16:53:19 +0000 agold 2493508@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know if you need meds or not, but my cousin recently went through extreme hyperemesis in her second pregnancy that was worse than she experienced with her first. She was hospitalized routinely like at least once a week for fluids. (mabye she got meds, but I don't know.) She also needed some kind of mental therapy. She's a tough girl, too. But she was passing out in public places (target and in front of her work). I hope you don't get to that point, but try not to hesitate to get the medical assistance you need. Best of luck with your pregnancy!! :goodluck: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493505 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 16:46:56 +0000 avivoca 2493505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Why on earth would you want to? I am not trying to be insensitive, but even without having HG, I was medicated for morning sickness this time. It was much worse than my first one and I was on an antibiotic that exasperated my nausea, making it impossible to function. Once I got meds, I felt like a new person. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493501 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 16:38:35 +0000 ShootingStar 2493501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Why would you want to? It's not healthy for yourself or your baby if you're that sick. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hgextreme-morning-sickness-without-meds#post-2493489 Sun, 13 Mar 2016 16:16:21 +0000 hony bologna 2493489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Has anyone successfully gone through hyperemesis or extreme morning sickness with their second (or subsequent) pregnancies without meds?</p> <p>I managed to do it the first time, but am reeeeeally doubting my ability to do it again with a toddler. I'll have a lot of support (my mom has agreed to stay with us and take care of LO/me for a few months), but I'm wondering if I'm just kidding myself, especially because it seems like HG is worse the second time around...</p> <p>ETA: I should have noted that I did try meds the first time around, but nothing could touch my very, very extreme nausea. </p>