Stemetil/prochlorperazine and alternative MS medications...

[LadyAsbury]

Hi folks. Just a quick one! I've been put on Stemetil (prochlorperazine) for nausea and vomiting. It doesn't seem to be working and the more I read, it doesn't seem to work for most... has anyone any experience of this working after a while? If not, what did you take that worked?

I'm off sick from work and am going to run out of sick leave by 12 weeks which isn't a position I would like to be in!

Thanks. LA

P.s. any other tips that may help would send 'em my way!

Hi sorry you're feeling so ill. I was prescribed prochlorperazine first but it did nothing and I ended up being admitted to hospital, while I was there they gave me cyclizine to take alongside the prochlorperazine and that helped the vomiting massively but didn't stop the nausea which is what they told me. I'm 20 weeks now and managed to stop the prochlorperazine 2 weeks ago but still need the cyclizine. Go back and get something else before you get too ill, I didn't find anything that really helped but if you can manage food plain things like toast and oven chips were all I pretty much loved on for weeks! Hope you get some relief soon.

Have a look at the pregnancy sickness support website - they have a lot of information on drugs and treatment pathways and guidelines.

If one drug isn’t working for you, they need to try another or combinations of drugs. I’ve been through meclozine, promethazine, metclopramide, doperidone, a couple of others whose names escape me just now and finally ondansetron. None have worked very well to be honest. None even touch the nausea although some do reduce the vomiting.

www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/help/women-suffering/treatments/

There’s also a very supportive hyperemesis thread on here if you haven’t found it already

Thank you @butterfly86 - I would really like to avoid a hospital stay if possible. As you can imagine, it has been virtually impossible to get a doctors appointment after the bank holiday! Fingers crossed I can get one in the next few days.

The sickness is horrid, but after numerous miscarriages, I am willing to put up with it. I just don't want to harm baby, and really don't want to end up on no pay (as DP and I madly trying to save for my mat leave!).

Oven chips sound like a great idea! Craving pizza but I know I just can't eat it...

Thanks again for your advice

Hi @Anatidae - thanks very much for your post. Going to head to docs as soon as I can get an appointment (mad post-bank-holiday rush!). Thanks for the link also, having a look now!

You may need to tell work earlier than you had planned as well. Pregnancy related illness is recorded slightly differently and you have a few more protections

Prochloperazine can work really well as injection, midwives often mix it with pethidine in early labour. Not sure about the tablets!

Other meds often used to reduce sickness in pregnancy

Cyclizine
Metaclopramide
Ondasetron
Promethazine (actually antihistamine with strong sedative effect but works well for some people)
Ranitidine

I've probably missed some.

None of them work for everyone, and some people don't get on with any of them. Most things work better IV than orally but of course the aim is to be out of hospital as much as possible. In severe cases steroids may be an option but that's an obstetric call and is pretty last ditch (think people at deaths door, nasogastric tube feeding is considered preferable to steroids by some consultants).

I'm currently on metaclopramide and ranitidine... With cyclizine for the bad days but I find them quite sedating

Thanks all for your advice.

@Anatidae my manager is aware. I didn't want to say anything but thought it best. She's thankfully extremely understanding.

I actually have some metoclopromide at the correct dose so may have to consider that if I can't get an appointment!

Thanks again all