While I'm still battling the misery of the first trimester sickness, I figured it may be worth while posting some of the things I've been told can help with it (although its rare that I find relief with anything, but its always worth a shot!). So here is my list of things I've been told and more than likely tried at one point in time.
1. Ginger - long known for its ability to calm nausea, you can find this as ginger ale, crystallized ginger (such as candy), gingersnaps, ginger pills, or even ginger tea. I've stuck to the ginger ale - it's helped me burp which at times makes me feel better, but for me, it was no wonder drug.
2. Eating every 2 hours. It seems that as you get hungry, you get nauseous, so this can help prevent that. The main problem I had is that food in general was my enemy, nothing ever sounded good and my gag reflex was horrible, so forcing myself to eat was hard. This was actually a good tip and I am still trying to abide by it, but alas, food and I are still not friends.
3. Vitamin B6 - some people swear by this. Both times I tried it, I think I felt worse (if that's possible), so I gave up. I do know a large amount of women that say taking 25mg of B6 3 times a day, and then half a unisom caplet at night was their wonder drug, so talk to your doctor first, but it might be worth a shot.
4. Preggie Pops - made specifically for pregnant women dealing with morning sickness. These were great at first, but now they make me gag.
5. Lemons - whether its just the smell or actually sucking on them. Smells really offend me, so I can see how the smell can help, but citrus is on my bad list so the thought of sucking on a lemon again makes me gag. (This whole gagging thing has been LOADS of fun, let me tell you)
6. Rx meds - I've tried Reglan, Zofran, and Phenergen - both the Reglan and Phenergen made me feel really anxious, like I needed to crawl out of my skin, it was awful. The Phenergen also made me sooo tired that it would have been great, if I was able to lay still and sleep - but that anxious feeling kept me from being able to lay still - so while I didn't feel as nauseous, I was still miserable. However, I did end up vomiting still with both the Phenergen and the Zofran, as well as continued to feel nauseous and queasy with the Zofran. So in the end, none of these really worked for me.
7. Seabands - these are those little elastic bracelets you wear on each wrist that has a bead you place on a pressure point to help alleviate the nausea, although they are advertised for seasickness but supposedly work for morning sickness. I've worn these on and off and while I'm not sure they've made a difference, I continue to wear them just in case. I've yakked while wearing these too, so who knows.
8. Keep crackers on your night stand, eat before you get out of bed, and take your time getting up. This one I can't say I've tried because I usually feel best in the mornings. I do take my time getting up, and once I get up I immediately grab something to eat which seems to help. I believe this is based on the fact that you were sleeping all night and the lack of food is known to upset the nausea, so it makes sense.
9. Gum, candy, ice - something to suck on and keep your mouth busy. One of my biggest battles is the constant salivation and nasty taste in my mouth - so these help with both of those. There were days when the salivation was so bad I would just sit in the bathroom and spit because I could handle swallowing anymore of my own saliva (I'm gagging now just thinking about it). That was also about the same time that EVERYTHING left a bad taste in my mouth. Gum, candy, and ice were all helpful. The ice was good since it helped keep my somewhat hydrated when I couldn't even stand the taste of water - so I really suggest starting with ice chips, they were and still are my savior.
10. Cinnamon toothpaste - it seems the mint toothpaste is a common food aversion for pregnant women and lots of people have found solitude with non-mint toothpaste and cinnamon was the favorite. My dentist also said I could brush without paste if needed but if you do, I suggest rinsing quite often since that nasty taste will get you.
11. Sleep - this is by far my favorite and as I stated before, I tried to just sleep through my entire first trimester because I was so miserable. Granted I had some bad dreams, but at least I didn't feel queasy in them so it was a good time to rest. There were days I would go to bed at 7pm because I felt so miserably I couldn't take it anymore. So don't feel bad and sleep as much as you can - I hear once the kid gets here its something I will greatly miss.
12. Avoid smells as much as possible. I was really surprised at just how bad this was, I was with my husband once and he went to empty the trash. I got a quick whiff of something and immediately began hurling - it was awful. There were may a times I had to leave the room or breathe into my sleeve when someone was eating something near me. This is also where the lemon comes in handy.
13. Watch what you eat - I've heard everything from high protein to lots of fruits and vegetables can help. I even read where most of the third world countries or locations where processed foods are limited, morning sickness is not something people even have to deal with - so it seems that what you eat and get your body used to BEFORE you get pregnant can help, but once you ARE, you are at the mercy of your body. I tried fruits and still ended up sick, so I just ate what I could manage to get down.
I'm sure I've missed a thing or two, but these are the main things I've seen or heard over and over. Hopefully you can get more relief than I did because honestly, I don't think I got any. My poor husband dealt with me sitting on the bathroom floor crying, telling him I couldn't do this any longer, on more nights than not. Even this past weekend he sat there, helpless, as I sat by the toilet, sobbing, feeling more miserable than a person should have to feel. I am so tired from this all, my body is tired, my mind is tired, I feel like I am at my wits end and don't know how to go on. The knowledge that this Friday, as in 3 days from now, I will be 13 weeks and should mean all this misery is coming to an end as I get ready to start the second trimester is what keeps me going along. I know its not guaranteed, but I believe with all my being that it HAS to get better, that I HAVE to start feeling human again, so please, PLEASE keep me in your thoughts and hope that I am almost out of this phase. I am so ready to be excited and plan for the future, to start looking at nursery items and thinking about all the great things that come with babies, but right now all I can think about is how I am going to make it through the day. So far I have made it each and every day, so I'm hoping the light at the end of the tunnel is close - like REALLY, REALLY close.
Meanwhile, and I know most people will laugh at me for this, I swear I won't do this again. My husband and I talked and figured that between me being miserable, him having to take care of everything around the house and me, as well as what we want for the future, this is going to be it for us. We now we can provide for one much better than two or more. I know everyone will say we'll change our minds once we hold our little one and in the end it will all be worth it, but I just don't see it. I don't know many people that have been as miserable as me for as long as I have so I'm not sure its a fair comparison. I do know of one lady who got sick every day of her pregnancy - EVERY DAY - and because of that, they only have one. So while I hope come the birth I feel that it was all worth it, I really doubt I'll be up for doing this again. But, enough for today - hopefully these post turn cheerier in the next couple days and we can begin enjoying this amazing time. (((fingers crossed)))
