Hyperemesis Gravidarum Support and Research Forums

This is supposed to be a "miracle cure". To go on a round of sterioids and then wean off of it. I am not sure the science behind this theory but I was perscribed this in my 4th week of pregnancy after an overnight hospital stay for rehydration with a Zofran drip. I was okay after that stay for about a week and though I was on the mend, but alas, I was then back in the hospital for over a week with a PICC line and MANY drugs including Zofran IV, morphine... hm and some others. I am tired, I will edit my post. Anyhow, the sterioid thing didn't work for me. Also a note, my daughter suffered no side effects/ birth defect associated with steroid in first trimester.

Hi emily and welcome,

I have been on steroids since wek 12 and have just weaned off them im 25 weeks pg now while they were not a mirical cure they did enable me to come home from hosp i was in from week 7 till week 13 this pg im still very weak and tired and fed up and still vomitong a few times a dya but its so much better than last time when i had mo meds only ivs and was in hospm till 17 weeks and walked throught a fog for the rest of the pg maybe you wernt on them long enough or on a high enough dose i was on 30mgs daily .


are you pg now ?

Emily -

How long were you on the steroids? I haven't heard of them being used as early as the 4th week. What did your doctor say about using them so early? From what I have read, the quick round of steroids isn't always effective, so many women stay on them longer. I was on steroids myself for 2+ months because I couldn't wean from them any earlier. Unfortunately they weren't some magical "miracle cure," but they definitely helped me a lot!

- Anna

I took Methylprednisolone starting in my 16th week. I took a three day course, then tapered for about a week. While they didn't cure me completely, they stopped the vomitting completely and supressed the nausea significantly. I had mini relapses, mostly when I tried to ween off of Zofran (which I stayed on for the remainder of the pregnancy), but for the most part, steroids were my savior.

For me, steroids have been the HG miracle cure. From those I've talked to it seems that they are more effective later in pregnancy and with really careful awareness of relapse. Anyways, my first pregnancy I was sick all the way through labor and this second one looked to be even worse. I was on IV home care and IV zofran (weeks 8 thru 21) but still couldn't gain weight because of the nausea. It wasn't until week 20 of this second pregnancy that I even heard of this option. I researched it and decided to try it. By the end of the first day the nausea was mostly gone and by day three I was off hydration and zofran and had ENERGY and an APPETITE!!! It's been amazing. I'm now on a really low dose which I'm taking orally and I feel great. I'm going to try to get my PICC line out this week and hopefully be off the methylpred (solumedrol) within the week. We'll see. Even if I have to stay on a low dose for awhile it will be worth it for how I'm feeling! I wish more people knew that solumedrol was an option! Even though it's not the "miracle drug" for everyone, it does seem to help most people where other things don't. I think it's definitely worth a try.

Amy

5th week of pg? Wait, let me think. LOL It has been 3 1/2 years. Well, I found out I was pg Dec 14th and that was before a missed period, and I started the methylprednisone (sp?) Dec 31. I remember because it was New Year's eve so teh Hospital dispensed the perscription since everywhere was closed. So, 5 weeks? I don't remember the dose but it was a 2 week round that taperd off. When I get a copy of my chart I will look it up and post the specifics. Seemed I was on the high dose for 3 or 5 days and then started to taper off.

To those that think taking prednisone is without risk, I am going to remind everyone again (sorry if you've heard this before but its kinda important to me) My son's DEATH was directly attributed to my steroid use, please be careful when using this medication. I totally understand why you would choose to take it but I won't be that stupid twice.

http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/q/quinton/

Why don't you post the specifics of how prednisone caused your son't death in this thread so people can better understand the risks.

Well, I am now 30 weeks and have been on solumedrol since 24 weeks. Initially it was incredible and it has allowed me to get off my PICC line, out of bed, and back to a nearly normal life. I still take a 4mg pill every morning. I can tell it's working a little less lately. Now I have to take an ODT zofran first to keep down the solumedrol and usually another zofran in the evening to keep from throwing up. I get nauseated if I don't eat something at least every 2 hours but in general if I stay on routine, and take my pepcid morning and night, I don't throw up and feel pretty good. It's amazing to actually enjoy pregnancy to some extent! I can handle occasional nausea--it's still a miracle!

And to address the risks: The main risk with solumedrol is a decreased immune system but now that I can eat healthy foods and take vitamins, not to mention get out of bed and become active again, I think my immune system has improved rather than deteriorated. I have escaped two rounds of the cold and one flu that hit everyone else in my family since I started taking solumedrol and before that, while I was so sick, I got three bad colds. I think the best way to safeguard against the risks associated with steroid-use is to be very conscious about ways to boost your immune system. If I remember, it was an infection that Joann thinks caused her miscarriage. It's never a sure bet, but I definitely believe that I was at a greater risk before when I couldn't eat or exercise.

Chorioamniotisis is an infection of the amniotic sac which hardly ever gets an infection, genearally you can only get this infection if you get PROM (premature rupture of the mebranes) Colds and flus are caused by viruses not bacteria. You won't really be able to tell you have an infection by a bacteria except for a slight fever and high white cell counts which my OB ignored the high white cell count saying most pg women may run a little higher than normal white count, which is not true for me (I checked the second time around believe me). Anyway, your immune system is lowered using steriods period. No Dr. will tell you otherwise.
I had no reason to have this infection other than I took steriods, I don't even believe in swimming pg. By the time I did get syptoms it was pretty much to late for my son. He didn't miscarry, he lived 30 days fighting for his life.
All I'm saying though is be aware of the risks, they are real, just as not being able to eat is real and having HG is so real. I'm not saying I wouldn't take it again if I had to, but I'd do it for a very short time and with antibiotics and only if I was at risk for terminating the pregnancy.
I wish you all the best of luck!

Ejoann - I am so sorry to hear about your losses. I can not imagine the pain you must feel. Your desire to warn others about steriod use is totally understandable. We only ever hear about the risk for a cleft-palate when reading the literature on steroids and pregnancy. No one mentions the risks associated with a lowered immune system.

The scary part for me is that in order to carry a pregnancy to term, I MUST take steroids because of a lymphocyte incompatibility with my husband (without them, my body would attack the baby/fetus as a foreign organism). Fortunately, my daughter didn't suffer any complications from the steriod use (that we know of) but I contracted Fifth's Disease/Parvovirus, which caused severe joint pain for 9 months post-partum. In adults, it is normally an asymptomatic virus that disappears after 10 days. No one will say definitively that I had this unusually long and painful experience with the virus because of the steroids, but it makes me wonder. The scariest part is that Parvovirus is often fatal to a fetus in the first trimester. Had I become infected earlier in my pregnancy, my daughter might not have made it.

Since I am getting older and my husband isn't willing to have me go thru HG again, I will probably never get to take steroids again. But, as you've said, I think it is important for everyone to better understand the risks, no matter how unlikely, before they follow any protocal.

Take care and best wishes,