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Unisom/B6

PostPosted: May 29, 2004 8:05 pm
by sbarth
Thanks for all the advice on B6/Unisom for nausea. I see my doctor on Tuesday morning. Not sure how much she will know about it. If she is not too knowledgeable, what dosage should I suggest? Thanks! -Shari

B6

PostPosted: May 29, 2004 8:23 pm
by Ivydragon
It kind of depends on how nauseas you are, and how comfortable your Dr. is w/ Unisom, and how well you react to it. I know I was on a full Unisom at night, and many gals have taken a 1/2 in the morning. If that is what you and your Dr. decide to do, you need to know that sometimes taking 1/4 Unisom during the day reduces the tired effect compared to 1/2 or a full Unisom. I think the best course of action is to find out how much your Dr. is comfortable with you taking, and then figure out how best to divide that during the day. Some gals are better with a larger dose, and others split up that dose and take it more frequently.

B6 needs to be taken in 25-50 mg doses, throughout the day to equal the 150 mgs. It works best paired w/ the Unisom, and sometimes can take a few weeks to be fully effective. So, unless you have an adverse reaction (a few gals feel more nauseas so stop trying it) it's worth giving it a try for a week or two.

You or your Dr. can call Motherisk by going to www.motherisk.org and clicking on morning sickness. There is a morning sickness hotline that really covers HG, too. They are in Canada, but do tons of research about meds, and know all about B6/Unisom, and it's safety, and the amounts discussed in my other post - info from them.

Hugs, Andy

PostPosted: Jun 01, 2004 5:12 am
by galit
If you go to http://www.acog.org/from_home/publicati ... 9-04-1.cfm

this is a news release from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advocating the ingredients in Unisom and B6 as a first line of defense for HG. You might want to bring that to your doctor to make him/her comfortable with this combination.

galit

Thank You!

PostPosted: Jun 01, 2004 10:11 pm
by SusanElder
:lol:
I just saw the link to the ACOG News Release and printed it. I have to say - I cried as I read it! FINALLY!! I had put a call in to my DR today to ask him to start a B6 supplement. I would prefer him to be on board with it before I started anything. We are hoping to try again in July and I want to be prepared! Thank you so much for the link! You have made my week!

PostPosted: Jun 02, 2004 6:55 am
by galit
You're very welcome. I think you will find that the B6 will not be a problem but the unisom (and make sure you get the right type) might cause your doctor to ask questions if he is not very knowledgable about HG.

I really encourage you to call motherisk before July and get all the information you can. The councillors there are great. Although they are located in Canada, they know about everything done in the US. And since they are in Canada they know more about the B6/Unisom combination more than anyone since this has been advocated and used in Canada since the 60's.

Good luck with TTC and keep us posted

galit

Q about B6 and Unisom

PostPosted: Jun 02, 2004 5:12 pm
by HdGAMom2B
Can you explain to me why we take B6 and Unisom together? Isn't unisom a sleep med? And, If I"m not pg yet, and i'm tryin gto bulk up on B, should I take the B6 at night, with food? Or do I take it in the morning? Just wondering.

I am working, so I have a Q about Unisom. Would you suggest that by the time I use B6/Unisom together, i'd be home from work, in bed sick, or is this somehting I can work with?

Lete me know what else I should be doing before we TTC, to prepare my body for this.

Christy

Re: Q about B6 and Unisom

PostPosted: Jun 02, 2004 6:13 pm
by galit
Can you explain to me why we take B6 and Unisom together? Isn't unisom a sleep med? And, If I"m not pg yet, and i'm tryin gto bulk up on B, should I take the B6 at night, with food? Or do I take it in the morning? Just wondering.

You should take no more than 50mg in one dose since your body can only absorb that much at one time. Therefore you should probably take one in the morning and one at night for a total of 100 mg/day while you are TTC. To be honest I don't know what Unisom is used for here, since I am from Canada. It is either an antihistamine or a sleeping tablet. It does however, make you sleepy depending on how much you take. After a while, however, your body gets used to it and you don't feel that sleepy side affect. If you look at the "Second Trimester" folder Andy has posted info on all the meds including vitamins.


I am working, so I have a Q about Unisom. Would you suggest that by the time I use B6/Unisom together, i'd be home from work, in bed sick, or is this somehting I can work with?

The best thing is to take the Unisom at the very first sign of nausea. Like zofran, it works best when you are still hydrated and your HG is not out of control. I'm not sure if I can answer your question about working. It depends on how much you take and how your body reacts to it. I take a time released version and so it is totally different. Also, I found that the more strain you put on your body (ie. work) the more the nausea hits you. So I guess in a perfect world it would be great if you were able not to work while the worst of it hits, but then again that is a luxury a lot of people just can't afford. I would probably say, see how it goes. You never know, how HG will hit you this time, but be prepared for the worst, and perhaps start looking into (on the QT)what kind of disablity you can get from work. With my first two pregnancies I had to stop working, but everyone is different. There are ladies on the board here who have managed to work through the HG.


Lete me know what else I should be doing before we TTC, to prepare my body for this.

You probably want to get your body as fit as possible and well hydrated and take multivitamins. I also start taking Folic Acid while I TTC. I have read that if you are too overweight then your nausea may be worse but on the other hand you don't want to be underweight either or else you won't have any body fat to lose while you are throwing up. My first doctor advised me to be about 10-15 pounds overweight so that it would give me a comfort zone. With my son, I was actually 20 pounds overweight, lost that and more in my first trimester but then was able to gain weight in my second trimester. My doctor did not have to consider TPN or anything else since my weight was fine.

Anyway I'm sure that the other ladies on this board have many more suggestions for you


galit

PostPosted: Jun 23, 2004 12:10 pm
by PamelaRose
Hi, Christy - I think I read that you teach? So do I, so I've got classroom experience with Unisom during pregnancy. I was leery of taking it at school lest I pass out and let 30 high-schoolers loose without supervision. I tested it out at home first and found that 1/2 tablet didn't make me sleepy. At school, I started with 1/4 tablet and immediately went up to 1/2. I did not have any drowsiness--at that point the queasiness was not about to let me sleep! When I returned to school after HG subsided, I remained on Unisom and took it as needed--I'm sure the kids thought I was some kind of junkie they way I popped those 1/2 tablets at my desk! On a good day I got by with only 1 tablet, and on bad I was up to 2 1/2 before I made it home. But it did take care of the nausea, and it did not make me sleepy at all.