Natural remedies for morning sickness?

[*Inna*]

Or should I say - All Day Long Sickness.

 

I never had it this bad. I had to stop in the middle of my meal and grocery shop planning because I was queasy. :001_huh:

 

Do those lollipops really work? Ginger is out of question - I can't stand the smell even when not pregnant.

 

What about those acupuncture bands?

[slug hollow]

Lemonade! Worked wonders for me.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

[*Inna*]

Lemonade? Hmm... We have a lemon tree full of lemons right now.

 

Thank you!

[joannqn]

None of the natural options ever worked for me. But, the midwife had me try lemon, more frequent meals, saltines, b-6 and I can't remember what else before we gave up and went to Unisom and B-6. The latter works very well for me. I've had to use it every pregnancy for the entire pregnancy.

 

Hope you feel better soon. I know how it feels; we still laugh about all the places I'm thrown up.

[coralloyd]

I used the Preggy Pops. It was a little weird walking around with a sucker in my mouth all day long, but they work.

I know others who have used those pressure point motion sickness wrist bands.

Hope this helps. I know what your going through :grouphug:.

[kat19]

Nothing seemed to work for me.

I had it really bad(all day long) my last pregnancy.

 

I hope you find something that works

 

:grouphug:

[cherryblossom]

Pink lemonade really helped me during my last pregnancy.

[Garga]

Super big hugs to you! After being sick all day every day for 24 weeks (6 months!!!!!) of my life (between the two pregnancies) I happened to stumble across a book about morning sickness called "The Morning Sickness Companion" by Elizabeth Kaledin. It talked about how little sympathy people give for morning sickness and how depressed it can make a person feel. I wish I'd read it while I was going through it because I felt so miserable and I just wanted someone to understand that I felt like death warmed over.

 

You're so not alone and it's horrible, truly horrible to feel nauseated all day long. I used to go to bed early, not because I was tired, but just to try to sleep through the sick feelings. It was the only relief I got.

 

I mean, my husband would say things like, "Well, it will end at the 12 week mark! There are only 6 more weeks to go!" Like that would make me feel better. 6 more weeks??!! Are you kidding! A month and a half of pure misery? I wanted it over 10 minutes ago!

 

In fact, the morning sickness is a really really really big deterrent for having 3 kids. The morning sickness just about broke me. It was miserable.

 

Hang in there and keep looking for solutions. I wish I had more aggressively looked for solutions. The midwife must not have been clear on exactly how miserable I was. (I'm normally cheery, so I must have masked it too much in front of her with my cheeriness.)

[The Governess]

Things that helped me:

 

1. The motion sickness bands - took the edge off.

2. Keeping saltines/crackers/something with me at all times to nibble on. I would have to eat some before I could even get out of bed in the morning.

3.Citrus - anything citrus. Citrus scented lotion, juice, I would even cut up lemons and oranges and place them next to me just so I could smell them.

 

I recently read an article about how eating a lot of beans can help morning sickness. Like, a LOT of beans. Several times a day. The theory was that because they have so much soluble fiber, they absorb the byproducts of the pregnancy hormones in your digestive system that make you feel sick. Might be worth trying, if you like beans. :tongue_smilie:

 

The only other thing I would say is to make sure you stay hydrated and try to make sure you eat some protein/find a good source of iron, even if you don't feel like eating those kinds of foods. I had very bad morning sickness the first four months of my pregnancy and when I finally started feeling better the morning sickness was replaced with anemia (because I wasn't eating well or absorbing the iron in my vitamins), which also made me feel nauseous and exhausted. That lasted until dd was born. :001_huh:

 

I hope you find something that works!! :grouphug:

[amy g.]

I had good luck with sea bands. They are bracelets with a little knob that puts pressure on a certain part of your wrist.

 

I got them at the drugstore.

[hsingscrapper]

I did the saltines thing but mostly it was lemon-water which is a bit weaker on the lemon flavor than lemonade and no sugar. I also went through any kind of mint gum like crazy since that seemed to help too.

[*Inna*]

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

I'll definitely get some of things that had been mentioned.

Preggy Pops are out though - my kids will drive me crazy asking for their share. ;)

 

I squeezed some of the lime juice over the ice chips and it helped a bit.

[PeterPan]

I drank a ginger ale pop from the health food store that worked pretty well for me. The other thing was I had to stop doing so much, sorry. When I stopped exercising, stopped running around like a nut, and just RESTED and put my feet up, the morning sickness chilled out within a week. I was just way over-tired. So get some rest, take your vitamins, and get some more rest. It will be over soon.

[Melinda in VT]

None of the natural options ever worked for me. But, the midwife had me try lemon, more frequent meals, saltines, b-6 and I can't remember what else before we gave up and went to Unisom and B-6. The latter works very well for me. I've had to use it every pregnancy for the entire pregnancy.

 

Hope you feel better soon. I know how it feels; we still laugh about all the places I'm thrown up.

 

This is what got me through the early weeks of my twin pregnancy. I found that the trick was to take them regularly, even if you don't feel sick. The idea is to maintain a certain level.

[muffinmom]

I just carried regular Dum-Dum suckers around with me, and more often than not had one in my mouth. They helped me a lot. Other than that, I kept my stomach full and did a lot of deep breathing during waves of nausea.

 

Hope you can find a solution!

[Harriet Vane]

You have my fullest sympathy. It was pretty awful for me too, which is a large part of the reason we stopped at two kids.

 

--Vitamin B. This really helped with my first pregnancy.

 

--Water with fresh lemon juice. I never went anywhere without it. There is some enzyme in both lemons and grapefruit (though not other citrus, apparently) that helps with nausea.

 

--I did use the diver's wristbands, and they helped a little. What really helped in a dramatic way, though, was an electric wristband available through my midwife. I felt better within ten minutes of putting it on.

 

--Go heavy on protein. It's good for your developing baby, and it keeps you from getting woozy. Think seven servings a day. I didn't see an immediate effect from this--more of a cumulative effect. I found that when I slacked a day or two I really suffered.

 

--Eat before you get out of bed. I kept a bowl of dry Cheerios handy to get me started.

 

I hope you feel better soon.

 

:grouphug:

[KellyGirl]

:grouphug: I had it pretty bad with all three of mine... like all day, nine month sickness. At wierd as it sounds, the only close to natural thing that helped me was fireballs. It took two or three different people telling me this before I would even try it. But if I popped one in my mouth when I started feeling sick, it would usually help the feeling pass. And then I had to make sure I was always snacking between fireballs. In the end, I was buying them in bulk.

 

The other thing that worked for me, and is totally not natural, is Unisom (like Joann said). But you have to get the right kind, and can't take it in the first trimester. It isn't habit forming, even after 6 months. If I missed a pill, I was guaranteed a horible next day. It's not natural, but if you're really feeling bad and nothing else works...

[Guest Lorna]

First of all, you poor, poor thing!

 

 

I tried everything. I hated the very thought of ginger, but it really did help a lot. I ate cookies with chunks of fresh ginger in them.

 

Eating a plain biscuit before moving in the morning helped.

 

I used a homeopathic remedy called 'ipecac'. It might have helped a little. It is worth a try.

 

The travel sickness arm bands really did seem to take the edge of it.

 

I have heard of a cd that you can play that is supposed to be very effective. This is certainly worth trying (although they didn't have it when I was expecting).

 

Avoid all smells. Eat only cold food and try not to cook or be around cooking.

 

Eat little and often. Forget big dinners and just snack.

 

Make sure you are drinking enough water and keeping it down. Speak to your doctor if you aren't. I was told that your baby will be okay if you aren't eating a great deal but it is time to worry if you can't keep fluids down.

 

I hope you feel better very soon; it is supposed to be a good sign though!

[KAR120C]

I have no idea why, but red lifesavers helped. Not the other flavors though - I had to have only red, because even the smell of the pineapple ones made it much much worse!!!!! Fortunately you can buy bags of individually wrapped red-only lifesavers... I still keep some on hand to this day (ten years later.... ugh)

 

The sea bands worked a little, and making sure I stayed hydrated worked pretty well. But it had to be water, lemon water, red koolaid (maybe similar to the lifesavers?) or Country Time lemonade. I don't know why - I don't normally drink that sort of thing! And it had to be absolutely freezing ice cold.

 

I still couldn't eat, or do anything, but at least I didn't feel quite so awful. I ended up on phenergan for six weeks when I couldn't stand it any more (and I'd lost 15 pounds that I didn't have to spare and almost gotten myself admitted for dehydration...) and it did help. I was still bedridden, but at least I could keep clear fluids down and eat tangerines, strawberries, and an occasional ginger cookie... and that was enough to keep my weight from dropping further.

 

I had NO sympathy, especially from my co-workers who all thought a saltine should do the trick and that I was faking it to get off work. They just didn't get that I couldn't even keep saltines down at all!

 

On the plus side, DS didn't seem to suffer any ill effects, from either the morning sickness or the drugs... and if it weren't for being off work and stuck in bed for six weeks (and irritated at everyone there...) I probably wouldn't have ever bothered to figure out that we could afford for me to stay home with him. :)

[joannqn]

The other thing that worked for me, and is totally not natural, is Unisom (like Joann said). But you have to get the right kind, and can't take it in the first trimester. It isn't habit forming, even after 6 months. If I missed a pill, I was guaranteed a horible next day. It's not natural, but if you're really feeling bad and nothing else works...

 

Nothing I've read says you can't take it in the first trimester, nor have my midwives (I've had several) had a problem with using it in the first trimester. I start taking it in the 6th or 7th week and continue until I deliver. It's definitely preferable to miscarrying because of severe dehydration.

 

ETA: You have to take the regular strength NOT the maximum strength, which is a different medicine. It has an almost 40 year safety record.

[Cindy in MO]

I'm so sorry you have to feel so lousy. This thread is bringing back bad memories and is making me feel a bit nauseous I had about 6 weeks of it with babies 1 and 2, then 3-4 months of it with babies 3 and 4. I was done. Dh got fixed before #4 was born because I was not going to feel that bad for that long ever again if I could help it. So we adopted #5. Anyway, nothing I tried helped enough. Acupuncture, wrist bands, etc. Wish I had known about B6 or lemon. I could only eat what sounded good to me at the time other wise I would feel worse. I think I became lactose intolerant. Someone recommended yogurt and it came back up quickly. I do remember a couple of things, digestive enzymes with every meal, and a homeopathic remedy called bio-plasma (maybe from the chiropractor). I even went to this Chinese doctor who gave me the herbs for this tea or broth. It was so good. I was desparate. Maybe I did try B6. It's been a long time.

[mama2hdas]

I, too, am in the middle of morning sickness. I am almost 11 weeks and the sickness usually lasts until 13-14 weeks.

 

I have several "tricks" though nothing works perfect or everytime. In my first pregnancy it was cottages cheese--lots of it and oranges and tomatoes. I also ate peppermints

 

My 2nd pregnancy liquid vitamin b (which I found at walmart) made a huge difference. I could take this when I felt nauseous and it would calm my stomach and even give me a little energy for 3 to 4 hours when I would need to take it again.

 

In the 3rd pregnancy the liquid b didn't work. I don't really remember how I made it through that one.

 

My 4th/5th pregnancy I was introduced to a homeopathic remedy-- Nux Vomica. I hate--I mean HATE to throwup. If I feel like it is imminent I can take nux vomica and it immediately calms my stomach. It really is amazing. But it doesn't seem to word so well for the constant queasiness went vomiting is not imminent. I have also tried Sepia ( another homepathic remedy) but it doesn't seem to help as much.

 

Now, it seems that i just need to find the food that I can tolerate just to be able to eat something and not let my stomach get to empty. And sleep...

 

I am with you, though, I hate morning sickness. And it really isn't fun with 3 children and homeschool!! I think the first trimester is way worse than the labor and delivery... and I do mine at home!!

 

Hang in there...

[Carol in Cal.]

Crackers by the bed--eat one before you get up. Soda crackers (very bland)are especially good.

 

Ginger tea--Cut one quarter-size round of ginger, bruise slightly, pour boiling water over it, and let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain and add 1 tsp brown sugar. Doesn't taste like ginger--it's more peppery. It's really therapeutic.

 

Ginger beer. Cock and Bull is the brand that is borderline medicinal. Not ginger ale.

 

Never fill your stomach too full (even of water) or let it get completely empty. Eat little snacky meals 5 times per day.

[Vida Winter]

I was queen of morning sickness during my 3 pregnancies - it lasted about 6 months each time.

 

Pregnancy

#1: I existed on lemon Italian ice.

#2: I craved soup. Not made by me though. I wanted soup from restaurants.

#3: I lived on Greek salad from the deli.

 

Sea bands did nothing for me. Ginger - made things worse.

 

I'm so sorry you are going through this - it's horrid. I never gained much weight when I was pregnant because I was so ill. When it got to where I couldn't take it another minute I would use Phenergan suppositories which I got from my doctor. It made me sleepy but was a bit of a relief from constant sickness once in a while.

[Guest Katia]

 

 

 

 

I used a homeopathic remedy called 'ipecac'. It might have helped a little. It is worth a try.

 

 

 

Oh my! Isn't this a drug that actually induces vomiting? Wouldn't this be harmful to take while pregnant?

 

I would research this one first before taking it.

[CactusPair]

Sleeping as much as possible. B-6. Vernor's soda pop. Protein. Crying to your mom on the phone. Sour candies like Jolly Ranchers and Gummie Lifesavers. Anything sour. Eating starchy foods like plain toaster waffles and plain breakfast biscuits. Sour Bread.

 

And eating small amounts of food every couple of hours around the clock, including in the middle of the night. A partly empty stomach always made me so nauseated.

 

I am so sorry for you.