Stemetil

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Stemetil

Postby lisaom » Dec 23, 2004 12:34 pm

Hello All,
Am new user from UK. I started with HG at 5 weeks and was put on stemetil, which they said was a common first step treatment here in UK. I have tried not to take them for fear of taking any drugs but couldn't function without them. the worry I constantly have though is the risk factor for Stemetil, and I just wondered if anyone thought I should ask for something else, or is there no point now as I've been taking it for 6 weeks. Its my first pregnancy, and along with the constant nausea I am also dealing with the guilt factor of taking drugs.
Would welcome any advice.
lisaom
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Postby 3kids » Dec 23, 2004 12:49 pm

Hi Lisa,

It is so hard, isn't it.
And trying to work out which medicines are which (here and in the US).

I am 9 weeks+ now and in the past couple of days have been switched from cyclizine to Stemetil.

When you feel so unbelieveably bad and something does help it is a relief, but it is also a curse if there are any questions on safety. As far as I was told, no drugs are "recommended" during pregnancy per se, but this has been used in treatments such as ours effectively and any risk is actually quite low. I think no-one wants to say conclusively for all sorts of fears about the liability culture these days.

So I don't really know what to say to ease your fears, but I'm right there with you. I hope some more people can reply as I'm obviously interested too.

Do you know what dose you are on? I think mine is 10mg three times per day.
Kelly, 30

3 m/c's

Jack, 3. HG 10w-birth
Katie, 2. HG 7w-birth
Ben, 7.5mo. HG 6w-birth

Image
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Postby Natalie » Dec 23, 2004 3:43 pm

Hi Lisa.

Here comes an essay...

Like you, I was presecribed Stemitil by my GP as the first line of defence. When I asked my him if it was safe to take when pg, his response was pretty much that it has been used for decades and although it hasn't had numerous clinical trials done on it for use during pregnancy, it has been used for so long with so few defects noted in relation to abnormalitites that would have occurred anyway or something, it is considered as pretty much safe to use while pg.

Stemitil is a class C drug. There is more info. on what this means and about Stemitil itself on this link: http://www.hyperemesis.org/mothers/trea ... ations.php
Also, you can look at research carried out on meds on a Canadian website run by an organisation that specifically looks at medicines (among other things) and their safety for mothers and mother-to-be. You can find it at www.motherisk.org and click on the drugs in pregnancy link. Also, you can look at the info. provided about drugs (incl. Stemitil) on www.bloomingawful.co.uk.

I also had concerns about taking meds while pg (who doesn't???) , but at the end of the day, My GP pointed out that the risk factors have to be weighed up between the mother's health and the baby's health. I could not take any more vomitting and Stemitil worked for me like a dream for about a week - it didn't stop the vomitting but it got me down to about 3-5 times a day and I was able to eat and drink a little. It pretty much stopped my weight loss too (I lost about 17lbs) which was good as I was not big to begin with and did not need to lose any weight.

If you're still unsure, you can check other meds e.g. Avomine (another med which is prescribed in the UK). I think the US equivalent is Phernergan and many ladies on here seem to have tried this. You could also try Vitamin B6 which is a Category A drug and has been proved to be safe to take during pregnancy. There is an article about Vitamin B6 (and Unisom, which we don't have here in the UK) on the First Tri. forum.

Hth

Natalie
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Postby mandy » Dec 26, 2004 2:55 am

Hi Lisa,

I want to let you know that I am from the UK too, and have taken stemital for both my hg pregnancies. I took tablets, then suppositories ( couldn't keep tablets down) from approx week 5-14/16ish (?bit of a blur!). It didn't work miracles for me but maybe helped a little. I had two VERY healthy children at good birth weights. No problems at all. They are now 5years and two years - no health probs except asthma with my first but I had that too so I'm sure it's totally unrelated to stemital. You have to do what gets you through. Good luck, I really hope it eases up soon.

Big hugs, Mandy x
mother of two
hg from wk 6 - daughter born in 1999
hg from wk 5 - son born in 2002
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Many Thanks for your advice

Postby lisaom » Dec 30, 2004 1:20 pm

Thanks to you all - I feel much better knowing I'm not alone during all this, and am SO glad to hear people have taken stemetil with no after effects.
I was prescribed 3 x 5mg of stemetil suppositories initially, which really helped me face food for the first time in days. My GP advised me to try and reduce down IF I could, and I have taken only 1 or 2 a day for most of the time. The nausea is constant but I'm only usually sick in the morning now, and I find I can still eat somethings (generally crap food like chip butties bizzarely!).
The worse thing is the total lack of enjoyment about the pregnancy, which is hard on my partner, and family, especially because its our first. I know I am lucky to be pregnant at all, but I can't wait for the day when I start
getting excited.. I am 12 weeks now, and try and kid myself every morning that this will be the day that I feel better......
lisaom
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