Advice Requested Please

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Advice Requested Please

Postby Mooksy » Sep 01, 2005 11:16 am

Hi everyone,

My wife is currently pregnant with our third child and is in the first trimester. She suffered from terrible morning sickness during the last two pregnancies and has just started feeling ill again the last week or so.

She has been prescribed Zofran, but it is not always effective and she is having on and off days (and hours).

We are currently living in the USA (not from the US originally) and are due to travel to England next week for a 2 week holiday. It is something she has been looking forward to, but I am concerned that it will be too much for her? It was initially going to be a driving trip, but it can be rearranged so we stay longer in each location, which will allow her to rest in the hotels when needed, yet do the sightseeing when she feels up to it. As I won;t be working, I will have the time (which I haven;t recently had a lot of due to work) to look more after our two young children etc). However, would you recommend we cancel or postpone this trip (which will cost us considerably, but want to do what is best for her), given that it will be taxing on her?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
Thanks.
Mooksy
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Postby mandy » Sep 01, 2005 12:04 pm

Hi Mooksy,

Welcome, I am sure you will get lots of good replies to your post. I am in the UK and have had hg twice. In answer to some of your questions.........

Whether you travel or not depends on a few factors; how severe is your wife's illness? Is she functioning or bedbound? Is she needing rehydration through iv's? How often? etc etc.

I had hg that would probably be classed as moderate. I could not have physically travelled during my first trimesters. I needed medication and a hospital nearby - my own hosptials and drs that knew me. I actually travelled to SA at 21 weeks. I wish I had never gone. Throwing up the whole way there, staying with family around all the smells of food, animals etc. Having to try to be sociable (not effectively) was a huge strain on me. We almost cancelled that trip too but decided to press ahead. It actually caused a massive argument between me and my mother in law which I will never forget due to her lack of understanding and patience with how very ill and depressed I was.

So, that's my experience of travelling with hg. Maybe your wife feels she can do it, that's a personal decision only you guys can make. If dehydration is a factor though, I would not take her on such a long flight away from the hospitals you know and can get help from.

Sorry I can't give you a clear 'yes' or 'no'.
All the best, Mandy
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hg from wk 5 - son born in 2002
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Postby dwtegli » Sep 01, 2005 12:49 pm

First of all, welcome!! and Congrat's on the pregnancy.

Second, I think it is up to your wife. It sounds like you will be able to cater to her needs while on holiday, and that will help. If she believes she can realistically do it and you agree, give it a shot. The key is, she needs to realistically look at all aspects of the trip and really examine if she can handle it.

Only the two of you can make that decision, if you do go, make sure she is well hydrated before you leave, the meds work much better when you are not dehydrated, and don't skip any medications while gone, no matter how well she is doing. THis could send her into a tailspin.

Please keep us posted,
Wendy,
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Postby Mooksy » Sep 01, 2005 1:06 pm

Thanks both for your responses.

So far, fortunately, she has not yet been hospitalized with it.

Dehydration has not been a big issue as yet, but I could easily see it becoming one.

Everything is very much a day by day situation. Some days she is sort of okay, others like today, she is totally bedridden.

Hopefully we will get the chance to discuss this tonight - will keep you posted on what her thoughts are?

Any other tips/remedies that may help improve her situation?

Thanks
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Postby dwtegli » Sep 01, 2005 1:36 pm

If you get a chance, check out the B6/Unisom thread in 1st trimester. This combination may help in combination with the zofran to ease her nausea a bit. ALso, Pamela took Meclizine in addition to these I think for motion sickness. That could help also. What other meds is she on, we may know of some other things to try in combination. Is she taking colace with the zofran? This is very important, as zofran caused terrible constipation. Please keep us up to date.
Wendy,
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Postby Mooksy » Sep 01, 2005 7:48 pm

Thanks for all the replies - the info is much appreciated.

At the moment, my wife is on zofran - 4mg 3 times a day - does this dose sound reaonable. She has only been on it about 4 days, and already the constipation is becoming bad - she has been taking fiber (metamucil tablets) but not having any effect. Do you think it would be okay to try a suppository?

She has been in bed and virtually unable to move all day. She has vomited fairly constantly all day and is not holding anything down. Seeing her when I got home from work and picking the kids up has pretty much made up my mind about the holiday- unless there is rapid improvement there is no way she could handle a 7 hour flight, let alone car rides etc.

Any more suggestions on treament, and at what point I should maybe start thinking about a hospital trip would be appreciated (ie 2 days like this - 3 etc?)?

Makes me realize how much room I have for improvemnt in the fathering game, when my 4 year old (we have a 3 and a 4 year old daughters) says "Daddy, why do you look after us when mummy is sick?)
!!

Thanks for the responses again - looks like another very trying few months ahead for my wife!!
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Postby sickofit » Sep 01, 2005 9:12 pm

i couldnt even have ridden to the corner at my worst, let alone another country..we cancelled everything when i got sick and i coulnt have any stress, committments, etc..she sounds like she needs rest and possible hydration. so good of you to be reaching out on her behalf..my hubby takes cafre of our child around the clock so i have no responsibilites which helps keep hg under control..its a tough time you are about to go through, but you are not alone..we are living it too! margorie/michigan
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Postby caty » Sep 01, 2005 9:40 pm

One thing that is usually a standard among us Zofran users - if you are dehydrated, it doesn't seem to work as well. And my doctors keep me on 8mg 3 times a day as a maintenence dose. There are things to help constipation, but to a point it's pretty much not going away. I don't like to go to the dr, and I don't like IV's, so my husband and I made a deal. Whatever thing it was that I could drink - for weeks and weeks it was lemonade only - was my warning sign. If I started throwing it up, and threw it up all day and wasn't able to replace it with something else, I had to call the doctor. A lot of times you're dehydrated and don't know it. With this pg having ketone strips in the house helped, but not everyone throws ketones when they're getting dehydrated. With this pg it takes me less than 24 hrs to get dehydrated to the point that meds don't help any more. Of course it's different for everyone, but some of that might help. And honestly, being in the hospital overnight with the quiet and the meds/vitamins in the IV REALLY helps some people. After a while you get sick of being in the hospital, but sometimes you need a timeout. We'll be praying for you guys!

~Caty

Oh, and she's lucky to have you so concerned about her! My husband is like you, but not everyone here is so lucky.
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Postby megs4413 » Sep 01, 2005 10:23 pm

I found milk of magnesia the most helpful while i was on zoran. I was on 8 mg 3 times a day for months. You might try magnesium pills. Phillips capsules would be good. if she takes them consistently it might give her some help and of course suppositories are fine. Good luck!
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Postby carla » Sep 02, 2005 12:38 am

HI, and welcome,

I couldn't imagine trying to vacation while suffering from HG. Especially since you have little kids to look after as well. YOu need a stable plce to call home right now, and a stable toilet that your wife can call hers! As for the constipation, I have written a few helpful hints under the first trimester board. It is called a question about poop. THe ladies had lots of great ideas in there. It happens to most of us zofran users. I think your wife should get some Colace from the pharmacy. It is an over the counter stool softener. This is all some ladies need to get the pipes working. If things still don't work after the colace, check the first trimester thread for helpful hints!!

Good Luck
Carla
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Severe HG with DD (Amara) 01/04/2008
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Postby carla » Sep 02, 2005 12:39 am

HI, and welcome,

I couldn't imagine trying to vacation while suffering from HG. Especially since you have little kids to look after as well. YOu need a stable place to call home right now, and a stable toilet that your wife can call hers! As for the constipation, I have written a few helpful hints under the first trimester board. It is called a question about poop. THe ladies had lots of great ideas in there. It happens to most of us zofran users. I think your wife should get some Colace from the pharmacy. It is an over the counter stool softener. This is all some ladies need to get the pipes working. If things still don't work after the colace, check the first trimester thread for helpful hints!!

Good Luck
Carla
Severe HG with DD (Gracee) 30/03/2006
Severe HG with DD (Amara) 01/04/2008
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Postby carla » Sep 02, 2005 12:39 am

HI, and welcome,

I couldn't imagine trying to vacation while suffering from HG. Especially since you have little kids to look after as well. YOu need a stable place to call home right now, and a stable toilet that your wife can call hers! As for the constipation, I have written a few helpful hints under the first trimester board. It is called a question about poop. THe ladies had lots of great ideas in there. It happens to most of us zofran users. I think your wife should get some Colace from the pharmacy. It is an over the counter stool softener. This is all some ladies need to get the pipes working. If things still don't work after the colace, check the first trimester thread for helpful hints!!

Good Luck
Carla
Severe HG with DD (Gracee) 30/03/2006
Severe HG with DD (Amara) 01/04/2008
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Postby JennyK » Sep 02, 2005 3:51 pm

When I was 6 weeks I flew from Montana to Washinton, D.C.--3 airplanes and about 10 hours of travel/airport time. I had been in the hospital the night before for my first IV hydration, but the on-call doctor said I'd be fine to travel. At this point everyone, including me, thought I had plain old morning sickness and was being a wimp.

I vomited every few minutes all the way there and all the way back home. I have never had a problem with airsickness, but flying definitely made HG worse. I spent my entire time in D.C. lying on the floor of my brother's bathroom alternately crying and vomiting, 24 hours a day. As soon as I got home I was admitted to the hospital and went home about a week later with a PICC and TPN (liquid food sent through a catheter).

Traveling was a huge setback for me. Once HG gets you down it's hard to bounce back. I'm sure you and your wife want to go on this vacation, but personally I wouldn't risk making things worse.
Jenny
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Postby UKmommy » Sep 02, 2005 4:27 pm

Travelling with HG! ha! unless you mean travelling from the sofa to the toilet I dont think so! I actually travelled with my last HG pregnancy BEFORE I got HG and when I came home the hg kicked in. I think if you move, you throw up. So I am sure you will see she needs lots of rest and no travel. Hope she is okay.
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Postby Mooksy » Sep 03, 2005 7:46 pm

Thanks for all the replies - thought I would provide an update for everyone.

Even though it is only a few days since we were thinking about still going on holiday, a lot has happened since.

Things haven't improved the last few days. Olivia (my wife), has not stopped vomiting/dry reaching even with regular zofran. She has not really been keeping many fluids down and has barely eaten anything the last few days.

After no improvement this morning, we went and she got admitted to the local hospital (which is very good, even though she hates hospitals). She is on an IV drip to replace the fluids etc, as well as other medications for the various things. There has been a little improvement over the last 8 hours but hopefully things will improve for her from here. She also had an ultrasound (or whatever it is) and apparently the baby (all 8 weeks of it) appears to be okay and has a steady heartbeat.

We are living in the US after relocating here from Australia 8 months ago. Its a struggle with the kids but fortunately my mother has been able to drop everything and is flying over as I still will have to work (somehow we will have to pay all these bills!!).

It has seemed like a tough few days for my wife, but after getting home and getting the kids to bed, Ive just sat down in front of the tv and have felt very fortunate after watching the tragedy in New Orleans and other parts of the world.

Thanks everyone for the advice - it is appreciated!!
Mooksy
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Postby Mooksy » Sep 03, 2005 7:47 pm

Thanks for all the replies - thought I would provide an update for everyone.

Even though it is only a few days since we were thinking about still going on holiday, a lot has happened since.

Things haven't improved the last few days. Olivia (my wife), has not stopped vomiting/dry reaching even with regular zofran. She has not really been keeping many fluids down and has barely eaten anything the last few days.

After no improvement this morning, we went and she got admitted to the local hospital (which is very good, even though she hates hospitals). She is on an IV drip to replace the fluids etc, as well as other medications for the various things. There has been a little improvement over the last 8 hours but hopefully things will improve for her from here. She also had an ultrasound (or whatever it is) and apparently the baby (all 8 weeks of it) appears to be okay and has a steady heartbeat.

We are living in the US after relocating here from Australia 8 months ago. Its a struggle with the kids but fortunately my mother has been able to drop everything and is flying over as I still will have to work (somehow we will have to pay all these bills!!).

It has seemed like a tough few days for my wife, but after getting home and getting the kids to bed, Ive just sat down in front of the tv and have felt very fortunate after watching the tragedy in New Orleans and other parts of the world.

Thanks everyone for the advice - it is appreciated!!
Mooksy
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Postby IslandDreamer » Sep 04, 2005 10:47 pm

Hi Mooksy,

Welcome and congratulations to you and your wife on the new little one. I'm sorry to hear she is so sick, but I'm glad you found us.

With the dose of Zofran you mention, I can say you have room to move up...32 mg/day is the maximum dosage. I found that the 4 mg doses did nothing for me...even if I had my full daily dose in 4 mg doses, I didn't get as good a response as I have from 8 mg 3x/day. I combine with Unisom (active ingredient doxylamine succinate--max dose 75 mg/day) and B6 (max dose 250 mg/day). Together, the three have kept me from wanting to die this time.

At it's worst, the HG left me good for nothing but the bed or maybe the couch on a good day. Now I can get around more...I'm 28 weeks tomorrow and started teaching on Friday...we'll see how that goes, but I did survive the first day back....but that still requires maximum doses of my three favorite meds. Honestly, I can't imagine travelling in the first tri...can the trip be rescheduled? It's so disappointing to miss things because of HG...I lost out on an all-expenses paid by dh's company trip to Mexico last year and two trips to visit family and friends this year in Maine and Minnesota. HG steals more than the joy of pregnancy, for sure.

Hope you find a combination that brings some relief. And watch for signs of dehydration as the meds don't work well (as others have said) once dehydration strikes.

All the best,
Suzanne
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Postby JennyK » Sep 04, 2005 11:29 pm

I'm so sorry Olivia is getting worse instead of better. Hopefully with the IV fluids and meds things will turn around. I'm glad you have help on the way! Hang in there and let us know if there is any way we can help.
Jenny
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Postby Mooksy » Sep 06, 2005 8:26 am

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone.

On the IV and medication, Olivia has improved considerably over the last few days and should be coming home from hospital today!! She apparently will still require the IV in for the next week or two but apparently they can have that on at home with an occassional visit from a home help nurse!

Will keep you updated on how it progresses!

Thanks again.
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