My daughter is expecting for the 3rd time. She was terribly sick before and would like to have a "normal" pregnancy this time. I was never sick so can't help her at all. So far she's having a very bad time of it and she's only 8 weeks. Nausea, room spinning and headache. Anybody know any safe remedies?

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), August 11, 2000

Answers

The important thing here is to keep food in her stomach at all times. For nausea, she should try very strong peppermints. When she feel sick, she should chew, not suck, on several. Then she should eat something. In addition, it helps to get plenty of rest, and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. The more empty the stomch get the worse nausea is. She should also try hot, safe teas, Like peppermint, chamomile, small amounts of cinnamon.

Little bit farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), August 11, 2000.

I looked in my herb book to see what it said - red raspberry tea (1 qt. a day), ginger - settles the stomach and mint tea - the ginger, you could also make into a tea mentions to stay away from greasy foods GOOD LUCK !

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), August 11, 2000.

I saw a news story a while back that a neat little wristband had been invented that automatically stimulated an acupressure point on the wrist that controls nausea. It had been developed specifically for people who experience recurrent nausea from cancer treatment, pregnancy, etc. It seemed to work well for the patients without any risk of side effect. I don't know where you find it. Maybe somebody else has heard of it and knows of a source. GL!

-- Sandy (tripletreefarm@hotmail.com), August 11, 2000.

I'd get a second opinion on the raspberry tea. Seems like someone on another thread said that it was dangerous for pregnant women.

Have her drink lots of water too. I helped my wife. She would drink a glass whenever she started to feel woozy.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), August 11, 2000.

Keep away from all medicines, herbal or otherwise when you are pregnant,unless a medical provider advises them..I realize that to some on the forum, I have just committed heresy,but none the less..no medicines...someone said a correct thing..a little food in the stomach at all times reduces nausea in pregnant women.Place a few (2 or 3) plain crackers at your bedside when you go to sleep, and a half glass of water..BEFORE lifting your head off the pillow..roll over on your side slowly and SLOWLY munch the crackers and sip the water...Just a note for later on in the pregnancy when evil heartburn strikes...yuck....stay away from mints of any kind...mint stimulates,not decreases gastric acid..the more mint you eat when you already have heartburn, the longer and more severe will be the heartburn.The only good thing about morning sickness is that it disappears in the majority of women by 12 weeks..God bless, and best wishes to your daughter...

-- Lesley (martchas@gateway.net), August 11, 2000.

Baking soda water, ginger ale (really helped me), oatmeal for breakfast ( oatmeal is soothing to the stomach and stays down when other stuff won't), and try to keep small amounts of food in the stomach at all times. Sometimes it helps to have a night time snack to nibble on when she gets up in the night.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@trasnport.com), August 11, 2000.

I agree with Rebeccah. Ginger ale and oatmeal, and sprouts.

Sometimes I needed something a little more than Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Cock & Bull Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic) was exellent for sipping with soda crackers.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), August 12, 2000.

look in the old posts, i think there is one in there maybe under misc.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 12, 2000.

Raspberry LEAF tea, more than a quart a day, drink it like it's going out of style. Nibble a little on crackers, breads and fruits all day, just a handful an hour to keep the bloodsugar from plummetting. Excersise, even if her heart isn't in it.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), August 12, 2000.

Many years ago when expecting my first of five I was having same problem with morning sickness. Small town country doctor recommended Coke syrup to soothe the stomach. The syrup mixed with water to make the soft drink. It really worked! I don't know if it is still available or not. Good Luck and God Bless.

-- sallyp (sally@cvalley.net), August 12, 2000.

Definitely keep something in the stomach at all times -- it seems to have something to do with blood sugar fluctuations, and if you can keep the blood sugar levels stable, it should help. The suggestion to keep something by the bed to nibble on in the night is good, as that will help prevent the low blood sugar in the morning from fasting all night. My sister actually got some relief from Polish style dill pickles, in her first trimester, and said that in the last trimester, ice cream helped -- she's the first person I've ever known that actually ate the pickles and ice cream you always hear about!!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 12, 2000.

Can't agree with Lesley! Sorry! Mint tea.. peppermint OR spearmint helps immensly. Eat anything you can keep down. I'm just early preggo too..baby's just 7 weeks gestation. So I'm right there with ya! Red raspberry leaf tea is excellent! Drink it throughout pregnancy and like someone said "Like it's going out of style!" Iced, hot, warm, it doesn't matter. Just drink it! She's just going to have to find something that works for her. With this pregnancy (no. 5) I can't eat chicken, toast, cheese, and Saltines. But if you can get ahead of the hunger, esp in the morning, you'll be a lot better off. So I would advise to try to eat ANYTHING in the morning before she gets out of bed. Crackers work for most women, just not me!

The baby's not going to suffer unless she has hyperemesis (constant throwing up) so don't worry if she's losing some weight. I typically lose 15 pounds in the first four months and then don't gain anything until almost the end of the fifth month. I gained a total of 11 pounds with no. 4 and he was fine.

Much luck to ya! Hopefully she'll feel better soon!

p.s. morning sickness peaks out in between the 8th and 12th week so she should be over it soon!

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), August 12, 2000.

Thank you all for the great suggestions! I have printed them out and will send them to her. And maybe I should have been a little more specific. She is one of the 1 in 1000 women who experience constant NVP from start to finish. Last baby she lost 18 pounds. This time she made the doctor understand how bad it was and yesterday he prescribed prochlorperazine. She says she's a new person today. Supposedly very safe. I was hoping for a more natural method of nausea control, but maybe this will be o.k? Luckily her other 2 , now 4 and 6, are healthy but who knows what the long-term affects of starvation ( and that's what it boils down to) are? They were born early and small. She's also 39 and this was not a planned pregnancy. Surprise!!

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), August 12, 2000.

I had terrible morning sickness with all of my kids until I read an article that suggested either B6 or B12 - wish I could remember which - it has been over 18 years since my last one. Once I took just that vitamin, my morning sickness diminished to the point that I could function and eat. Saltines took care of the rest of the problem.

By the way I really can't stand peppermint or spearmint even today so it only made me sicker.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), August 12, 2000.

Soda crackers, on the bedstand always. Ginger Ale is good, so is regular tea. If she has trouble loosing weight during pregnancy maybe she could try that canned drink stuff, the name escapes me now but it helped my brother when he had aids, Ensure! thats it!, try it cold it tastes good and has alot of vitimins and minerals. Also she should try to have several small meals a day, penut butter toast and tea were my favorites.

-- Tina (clia88@newmexico.com), August 12, 2000.

I've never been pregnant. However, I have always suffered from motion sickness and have successfully used the wristbands for that in recent years. Someone else mentioned that they work for pregnancy. They are called "Sea Bands" -- http://www.sea-band.com/homepage.htm

There is another brand called "Bio-Bands". I have no experience with them. They recommend using only one at a time. Their site is at http://www.biobands.com/index.html

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), August 13, 2000.

It sounds as though this case of nausea is beyond the norm and a prescription is her best answer. I'm right there with you Misha! I'm in my 8th week and am not real well. So far the crackers don't help. The only things that help me are ginger tea and ginger ale. Also exercise seems to kick it for awhile.

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), August 14, 2000.

Well, its great if all those home remedies work, but there are some folks that just cant make it on that. I know, I spent three pregnancies the full 9 months either in the hospital or over a toilet. Fluids more than food is the number one thing. Yeah that is so much easier said than done. After going to the hospital to be rehydrated and giving myself iv's at home, the only thing that helped -and not totally were prescription meds. I took compazine, phengren, and tried a couple of others that didnt work. I sympathize so much with your daughter, the good news is that its not terminal and it definitly will be over in 9 months! I wish her the best of luck. Tami in WI

-- Tami Bowser (windridg@chorus.net), August 15, 2000.

PLEASE stay away from the raspberry leaf tea -- it causes uterine contractions and pregnant women SHOULD NOT take it -- ever!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), August 15, 2000.

Saltine Crackers......

-- Ole Timer (with@nightsickness.com), August 15, 2000.

First of all, raspberry leaf tea is great for after 5 months - helps tone the uterus and makes delivery quick! I can vouch for this. However, there is a danger of miscarriage in some women, I've heard, if it's taken too early. I've had five kids, and I finally beat the nausea with this last one by taking 100 mg magnesium in the morning and then taking small doses of B-6 throughout the day. Worked for me!

-- Christina Watkins (introibo@address.com), August 16, 2000.

When pregnant with my first I would get sick driving to work. I learned to pop a peice of Bubble Yum into my mouth just before getting in the car. The chewing helped to keep that lump out of my throat which always led to stopping on the side of the road and blowing bubbles kept my mind off of stopping!! Not very scientific, but it worked for me! Number two and three were easier!

-- Jennifer (KY) (acornfork@hotmail.com), August 16, 2000.

About that raspberry tea thing. I had my first baby back at home in Germany. The doctors there are a lot more in tune with herbal remedies, even 10 years ago. I was told that raspberry tea is very good THE LAST 6 WEEKS of the pregnancy . It stimulates the uterus and makes for an easy delivery. Stands to reason, that is not something you would want in the beginning of a pregnancy. A word of caution: My sister in law just lost her firstborn 7 month along, because she had some kind of stomach bug, that made her throw- up violently for one day. The placenta detached, and the baby starved. What a heartbreak for all of us. So please, to all you pregnant girls out there, watch out, if your vomiting really bad. Better to take some medication, than to loose your child.

Karin

-- karin morey (wind_crest@hotmail.com), August 17, 2000.

I think a part (PART) of the morning sickness is in our heads and somewhere deep down not wanting to accept being prego, or maybe being nervous about it.... I was somewhat sick with my first child. Someone told me this and I sat and said yes I want this child .... from there I was a lot less sick (some things I still found pretty disgusting though!!) . This may not be your daughters case but what the heck ... it is worth a try.

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmaiI.com), August 17, 2000.

Thanks again to all of you for all the wonderful information. Kelly, I'm quite sure that's not Cindy's case. She wanted to have a half dozen kids. It was her husband who wanted to stop at one. She convinced him to have the second and this one was an accident. She's delighted, though. Sick, but delighted. The medication has helped a lot. I'm still going to print all this out again and send the new information to her.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), August 17, 2000.

About that raspberry tea. When I had my first baby back home in Germany, the doctors there are a lot more knowledgeable about herbal medicine, even 10 years ago. He told me about raspberry-tea, but only IN THE LAST 6 WEEKS of the pregnancy. It stimulates the uterus, and makes for an easy delivery. It seems to me, that this would not be something one would do early in a pregnancy. A note of caution: My sister in law just lost her firstborn 7 month along, because she had some kind of stomach bug, and was violently throwing-up for one day. Her placenta detached, and the baby starved. what a heartbreak for all of us. So to all you pregnant girls out there, it might be better to take some medication, than to loose a baby. Good luck to all.

Karin

-- karin morey (wind_crest@hotmail.com), August 17, 2000.

So I'm a month behind, as usual....

Hopefully she's feeling better by now! I'm not that far from my last baby (she's 10 months) and oooohhhh, I remember the morning sickness!

This'll sound really odd, but it truly did work for me...jelly beans! Normally I hate the things, but my doc suggested them after I lost 11 1/2 lbs during the 1st month...and amazingly, they really did work!

Give her my best wishes and tell her to hang in there! We'll be praying!

Ali

-- Ali (philipandaleta@juno.com), September 04, 2000.