prescription meds for morning sickness - have you taken them and do they work?

[addie81]

I am only 4-5 weeks pregnant but the morning sickness is a killer, and lasting all day. Hideous. The doctor gave me prescriptions for cyclizine and metaclopromide this morning assuring me both were safe. My sister is a doctor, and she sounded a bit sceptical when I told her that he had given me the prescription. Has anyone taken either of these? did they work well enough to be worth the risks?

metaclopromide works for 50% of people according to my GP

at only 4-5 weeks pregnant (ie 2-3 weeks post conception), that is very early to feel this sick. I had bad hyperemesis twice and although I felt nasty at 4-5 weeks, the major vomiting did not start until 5 weeks and a few days.

May I ask why you want to take the drugs - is it:

1. Literally, so that you can survive without feeling that you are going to die

or

2. So that you can carry on with every day life, eg work etc

If it is 2), then I would say don't take the drugs. If it is 1), then the decision is harder - I would see how you go. If you need admitting to hospital for rehydration etc, then go with the drugs. I was very ill, signed off sick for entire pg - I was like the living dead.

My personal opinion is that if you are going to take drugs, you need to hold off as long as you can - the baby develops more and more every day (baby is formed at end of 1st trimester) - to limit any risks.

Your sister may be one of the GPs who does not provide anti sickness meds in pregnancy. There are some who just won't.

I took cyclizine but only at 32 weeks i was sick throughout my pregnancy it worked but i wildnt take anything before 12 weeks(my brother is adr) My consultant told me to wait as long as poss.In both my pregnancies i was sick for nine months.

I took cyclizine through the early months of both my pregnancies. It didn't stop the nausea, but did (mostly) stop the vomiting, and allowed me to hold down some food and water.

Most commonly prescribed drugs for hyperemesis are very safe and shouldn't present any danger to you or your baby. Some GPs are sniffy about the whole concept of pregnancy sickness and think women should just grin and bear it - I don't know whether your sister falls into this category.

Interesting site assessing the risk of cylizine (assessed as risk category 'b', which is the second-safest out of five catgories) and metoclopramide (also assessed as a 'b'). The only reason that there are some question marks over these drugs' safety is that since thalidomide, drug manufacturers rarely claim that any drug is safe in pregnancy, meaning that everything has to be prescribed with the caveat that it's not been proven to be safe. But pregancy sickness is so common, and these drugs so frequently taken in pregnancy, that any major problems would have come to light by now.

thanks for the info - I had a look at the site you linked to. I don't have the sort of job you can call in sick to - I am a barrister and I can't just call my clients and tell them I am not going to go to court for them after all! It seems to me that the risks of cyclizine are lower than the risks associated with spending the next 8 + weeks dehydrated, malnourished, exhausted and very stressed, so I think I will give it a try and see how it works. Surely if one an avoid getting sick enough to be hospitalised then that is the better option all round? when did your MS subside to such a level as to enable you to stop taking the cyclizine policywonk?

Hi, I really suffered with the morning sickness too from early days. I asked the Dr for something and she said nothing could be done. I bought the travel sickness bands and stuck them on - I'm sure people at work thought I was mad, I hadn't announced my pg yet so I said it was for a migraine. Then I did a bit of research and found that homeopathic remedies are safe to be taken during pregnancy. As this is my first I was doubting that anything was safe to take, especially since the pharmacist told me that I couldn't even take paracetomol for headaches and a high temp (which I found out later was untrue). I couldn't believe how crappy I was feeling and didn't realise being pregnant would do this to me

I visited a homeopathic pharmacy who asked me a few questions in relations to my symptoms - at this point I hasn't actually been physically sick but the nausea was killing me. I was given a bottle of 'nux vomica' little tablets to take several times a day.
I have to tell you that this took the edge off it for me and some days the nausea even subsided enough that I felt back to my old self again. Later on when I was being sick I actually weirdly felt a bit better as the nausea feeling left for a few hours before returning. It's a horrible feeling one which I wasn't used to and I equated it to having a massive hangover everyday with the shivers and extreme tiredness. Mine finally subsided around 18/20 weeks, I woke up one morning realising I didn't feel sick - Yaaay. Good luck

They are fine to take.

A lot of docs are (understandably) cautious.

I had cyclizine and stemitil. Neither worked so I was given Ondansetron which stopped me throwing up and meant I could stay out of the hospital for longer than a week at a time.

I had hyperemesis btw. It did nearly finish me, I have to say. Woodyandbuzzs post is good, about the reasons for needing meds.

addie - yes, I agree that taking the meds is a less risky option than getting ill. The real risk to the pregnancy, especially in the early days, is dehydration. If you're so sick that you can't hold down fluids, anti-emetics are an eminently sensible option IMO.

I stopped taking the meds at about 16 weeks in both pregnancies, and stopped feeling horrible altogether by about 20 weeks. (I should warn you though that cyclizine can make you extremely sleepy, because it's an anti-histamine, so you might find your ability to work a bit compromised by that.)

It is a horrible business. If you can, try to eat something every half hour or so - it doesn't really matter what (although foods with lots of sugar might make you feel worse in the long run). A few slices of apple, half a sandwich, a yogurt, plain pasta, crisps, plain rice or noodles... tiny portions if necessary, but you will feel better in the long run for keeping your blood sugar levels up.

i took stemetil from about 8 weeks until about 35 weeks, i took avomine before that, which did work but knocked me out (antihistamine)

the stemetil did work, although i still felt as rough as a dogs arse and still threw up a fair amount, it meant i could function

before taking the meds i couldn't even keep water down, so it was a choice of either take the meds or end up in hospital on a drip

i consider myself lukcy that it did work as i know it doesn't for many and quite a few end up hospitalised anyway

the cause of the sickness is latched on atm and is perfectly healthy

Metoclopromide - I took this with 1st pg (healthy DC). Didn't work for me, and I got a common side effect which is depression. It does work for some people, to limit vomitting. Doesn't help with nausea in most people.

Cyclizine - I took and had allergic reaction to. Pharmacist told me it is a common allergen, and she advises those with allergies to stay from it. Again, helps some people but with vomitting not nausea.

The bees knees of anti-emetics is ondansetron. It depresses the vomitting centres in the brain. You have to get it through a consultant as it is very expensive. It is what is commonly used in the US these days. IF you find the others don't work, and you are admitted to hospital for rehydration then demand this. I'm admitted for rehyfration every 5 days, unless I take ondansetron. Mine effects me the hwole way through each pg, though to varying degrees, but despite this I've had 4 DC!

You should get some Ketostix from the pharmacy. You dip them in your wee, and they tell you when you are dehydrated. Ketosis can be dangerous for the baby, so its good to get admitted quickly when this happens.

Hyperemesis is a reason to be under a consultant for your care. I ask for a referral as soon as I know I'm pregnant, as most GP's just don't have the up to date know how on the latest drugs and treatments.

Really feel for you.....I had horrific morning sickness from about 6 -12 weeks, when thankfully it subsided. Like you, I felt so awful that I went to doctor. I was prescribed Cyclizine at the hospital, but then GP said don't take it, but said Chlorpromazine Maleate (Buccastem) was safe to take. Unfortunately, it didn't work and my face just swelled up. I don't know if these things work. A friend swears by homeopathic remedy, Nux Vom....hang in there, hopefully it will end at 12 weeks

thanks for all the advice. I have started the metaclopromide and I think that is definitely helping. Should be able to go back to work tomorrow. at the moment the killer is feeling so nauseous all night that I literally didn't go to sleep last night - not for even ten minutes! Hopefully tonight will be better. Fingers crossed.

Hi addie

Glad you are feeling better on the metacloprimide. I took both cyclazine and metacloprimide but neither enabled me to work. Most meds are aimed at stopping the vomitting rather than easing the nausea or exhaustion. I was bedridden for most of the first three months and am still nauseus and exhausted now at 30 weeks (my body just hates being pregnant). The important thing for me (though utterly demoralising at the same time) was the realisation that i simply couldnt carry on as 'normal' and in trying to i was making the symptoms worse. Tiredness and stress are not a good combination with ms

Even if, like me, you love your job and dont want to let people down you might just have to if you are going to get through it.

good luck with it and sorry for sounding all over dramatic at the end there not sure ive expressed myself very well

I took cyclizine between 6-10 weeks when my hyperemesis was at its worse..it stopped me from going into hospital where as with previous pregs I ended up on a drip..not nice...I still lost 1.5 stones in the first three months and even now at 27 weeks I still get nausea

the description from one poster about why you want to take the meds is bang on..I took them so that I could drink water without vomiting...I didnt want to take them but it seemed the lesser of two evils
cyclizine does make you sleepy though so I think I spent most of the time asleep

Hi, I've been given Proclorperazyne (sp?) to take for no longer than 3-4 days because the nausea, retching, etc was making it so difficult to eat and drink and function in general. Started yesterday but so far not feeling any improvement. Has anybody tried these before? Doc said they were safe (checked with consultant).

I've taken cyclizine and ondansetron (not together) to keep me from being signed off work for months which would just not have been a possible choice for me.

My GPs were a mixed bunch, one clearly had not updated her studies since she qualified and was of the "it's all in the mind" school of thought on the matter. One gave me lots of dodgy diet advice, missing the point that nothing was staying down and finally a third GP at the same practice did blood tests and had me urgently admitted to hospital for re-hydration. Had I accepted the advice of the first GP I very much suspect that I would have been found passed out at home, god knows how many hours after the event, when work would have contacted my family asking why I had not turned up or called in sick.

If you are actually vomitting all the time you need to bypass GPs (including your sister) and their limited expertise in the field of hyperemesis and get seen by a specialist/hospital consultant, although you may need to be referred by your GP.

I've met many mums who took anti-emetic medication in pregnancy, some GP's are prepared to refer to specialists or do some research in order to prescribe themselves rather than dismissing all drugs as potentially unsafe and leaving your career in tatters. I've also met plenty of ladies who basically took to their bed/settee for months on end as a result of crippling nausea because that was the advice of their GP and they had a sick-note to satisfy their employer who was seemingly OK with that.

If you are really sick this early, I think it's possible you may have to take some time off work even with medication.
I don't think medication helped much for me, I was hospitalised with dehydration in my second pregnancy despite clyclizine. Rest did help, and I may have avoided dehydration if I had accepted that earlier.
You may manage, but it may be worth thinking about at least not taking on any new work until you see how you feel.

I agree, am on pg 3 with hyperemisis, and if you are this sick so early, I'm afraid it's likely that you have it too. I have tried all the options ; pregnancy 1 - not diagnosed, horrific, pregnancy 2 - had acupuncture, helped with sickness not nausea, pregnancy 3 - ondansetron from 6 weeks. Just couldn't function on any level without them. And still not functioning in any way normally, the headaches and exhaustion are shocking. But, I was absolutely determined to be as well as possible for my children.

My GP wasn't at all helpful re meds, they have about 5 on the list before you get ondansetron, because it's expensive. I called out of hours at the weekend, having already called emergency gynae ward, and got a referral there. They see women with hyperemisis the whole time, and know that ondansetron is the only thing that works for many women.

I wish I'd known to do this with my 1st pregnancy, which is why I'm posting this to you now.

Even if the drugs help, it's still a case of getting through each day, so i would have a contingency plan for your work.

Good luck, you are not alone.

futuremum..Stemetil (brand name for what you have been given) didnt work for me..but some ladies find it works if taken in combination with another tablet like cyclizine

I also took cyclizne because i am a criminal barrister ate lots of hula hoops before 10:30

I took cyclizine during my first pregnancy from about 8 weeks, as had hyperemesis. It partially stopped the actual vomitng but not the awful feeling of nausea. DS born fit and healthy, despite a dreadful pregnancy. Can recommend acupuncture, the effects lasted for me about three days, then I would need another go.

Agree that eating little and often, even though you don't feel like it, can help. I existed on dry ricecakes. Sucking a barleysugar or other type of sweet took the edge off it too.

Hope you get through it; it is awful, and some people just don't understand how grim you feel.

Still struggling with all-day sickness striking when stomach empty. Seems like eating small meals of the five foods that my stomach tolerates right now, every 2 hours, is all that helps. Paradoxically, I am normally a foody who now is disgusted by most food.
Medicine didn't work, ginger tablets don't work, raspberry tea yukky for me, boiled sweet made things much worse. Hoping like mad that either I am expecting twins (so wouldn't need to go through this twice) or the sickness stops quite soon. Or both.