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photo credit: Nathan Jongewaard
photo credit: me and the sysop
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It is understandable for people – especially new mothers – to be interested in things that help relieve the nausea associated with pregnancy – Morning Sickness. The fact that newly pregnant women often have this experience, coupled with the incorrect idea that pregnancy is a medical condition that demands treatment, makes it an obvious choice to look to drug companies to supply products to treat the nausea.

There are many non-drug approaches to relieving morning sickness. They range from deep breathing techniques, to meditation, to substances such as ginger root and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). While not every approach works for everyone, most women will find relief from at least one of these approaches.

One such drug was a mixture of pyridoxine hydrochloride and doxylamine. It was called “Bendectin” (known as Debendox in the UK and Diclectin in Canada). It was voluntarily removed from the market in 1983 by its manufacturer, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, following numerous lawsuits alleging that it caused birth defects, although an FDA panel concluded that no association between Bendectin and birth defects had been demonstrated. Diclectin is still available in Canada.

Even though the FDA found insufficient evidence that the combination was harmful, there were important reasons why a pregnant mom would not always be pleased with Bendectin. The problems are directly associated with the doxylamine component. It is an antihistamine and one that was widely know to cause both drowsiness (in addition to dry mouth, ataxia – jerky muscle movements, and urinary retention). In fact, it has been commonly used as a short-term sedative (non-prescription Unisom) and has even been included in some of the popular cold remedies – along with alcohol, it is what makes you sleepy when you take Nyquil. Doxylamine is more effective at causing drowsiness and sleep than diphenhydramine (the chemical name for Benedryl).

Doxylamine is staill available without a prescription and it is possible that pregnant women might be encouraged to use it to combat nausea and vomitting. The packaging is supposed to bear a warning against use by pregnant women. Even though the FDA didn’t conclude Bendectin was not harmful, they also did not testify that it was safe. Therefore, it is unwise to tempt fate and use doxylamine while pregnant. I suggest small amounts of ginger and/or pyridoxine (vitamin B6) – or any of the myriad of suggestions from others.

Larry J. Frieders, RPh

larry@thecompounder.com

The Compounder/Techni Med, Inc.
340 Marshall Ave #100
Aurora, IL 60506 – ph.630.859.0333

http://www.thecompounder.com

Morning Sickness DRUGS?! is a post from: havingtwinsnow.com

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photo credit: Evil Erin

One of the things Julie has been suffering with consistently since week 4 is morning sickness. Morning, day and night sickness, that is.

In Julie’s case, the mornings and evenings are normally the worst, with the afternoon being generally acceptable, although mildly at best. We’ve been told that extra B6 (30mg minimum) is a great place to start to help treat the nausea, but what do you do when you can’t even bring yourself to LOOK at the water you would need to swallow the tablet?

When Julie left work the second time she called her doctor and he gave her a script (IMAGINE THAT!) for a drug called Zofran.
Of course, on the RX label it says “DO NOT TAKE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT.” Julie read that and was afraid of the potential side effects on the baby (we got the drug before we knew about the twins), but in the ER the nurse practitioner said that the FDA had categorized it as a Type B and that it was generally safe and no one would test the drug on pregnant ladies, but in those that HAD used it their weren’t any complications or negative effects on the fetus.

Julie has taken it twice since we found out about the two newbies, but only after prolonged periods of nausea and hunger did she break down to use it. It definitely helped, but any alternative to using drugs has to be better than taking something that isn’t documented as NOT hurting unborn children.

MORNING SICKNESS FREEDOM!

While looking for more information on the subject we came across Morning Sickness Freedom. In this book we read about a set of pressure points that work immediately, a method for avoiding chemicals in the foods you eat that can increase the chances of feeling sick to your stomach, breaking down the contents of the prenatal vitamins that pregnant women take that could be the source for some of the vomiting, and also some exercises that cut down on reflux and increase bloodflow.

A lot of the books we found on Amazon didn’t seem to focus on the specific 6-12 week period during the first trimester where things seem insusrmountable, but Mary Kinsey focuses JUST on the timeframe where morning sickness is most profound.

This summer she is selling the book for about 30 bucks, but I’m told it will go back up to 50 bucks sometime soon.

I’ve learned so much on a subject I was not at all comfortable researching for my wife initially, but when your partner in life is puking her guts out morning, noon and night, you gotta step up and find some stuff out as soon as possible. Three lives depend on it.

Morning Sickness ALL DAY is a post from: havingtwinsnow.com

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