HER Forums

[Mrs Manners]

I'm currently on a Zofran pump at 0.66 ml/hr. Even with the pump I still have lots of vomiting and nausea and my ketone levels remain elevated because of the lack of fluid/food intake. I can't take Reglan and Phenergan doesn't do a darn thing for me. My OB keeps threatening to admit me to the hopsital "until we get this under control". I was just wondering if any of you have gotten IV nutrition at home, under the care of Matria? I'm still trying desparately to continue working and would love to avoid hospitalization if possible (but will obviously do what's best for the baby if that's my only option). Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

I'm right at 12 weeks pregnant....

[mammaclare]

That is a pretty healthy dose of the Zofram...I'm working it in my head to be 34mgs/day if you don't use any bolus doses...is it 2mgs/ml? Remind me if you know.

Anyway, it does sound to me like you need to layer at least a couple new things on top of the Zofran, and you could REALLY benefit from at the very least a couple days home hydration (hospital if you aren't allowed the home bit) to get you over this spiral. Nothing, including Zofran, works well when you are dehydrated...and most everything will work better when you are well-hydrated.

So, my personal thoughts are to first get a good 24-72 hrs of fluids running through you...with dextrose if you need it, and with vitamins if you need those (esp potassium). Then, (well--really at the same time) let's talk about some other meds to try. There really are some more. Benadryl was my personal saviour for nausea. I took 2 at a time, every 4-5 hrs my whole PG w/ my recent one. Max is 12 a day I believe. You can also consider Vistaril (an antihistamine/anti-anxiety drug) which some have found to work. Another one is meclizine. So there are some more to try beyond the "biggies" of Zofran, phenergan and reglan.

Beyond that, there are many HG mommas who have done very very well getting TPN (IV nutrition) through a PICC line at home. But more conservative approach would call for you to try and first get that dehydration managed...

and welcome.

_________________
Clare
Mommy to Rory Benjamin 8-28-03
And Kieran Alexander 12-15-06
HG Babies-Week 5 to The Bitter End!

[Mrs Manners]

mamma2be-

Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate your suggestions and will look into them right away. Your boys are beautiful and I really admire you for doing this twice...especially since you had HG from 5 weeks on.

[Adrienne]

So sorry you are sick. I tried all the biggies and the only thing that worked for me was half Uniosm, half B-6. Check it out on line and ask your doctor. I had a Reglan pump and Matria did my IV's (fluid) for me. It was a pain but they are very supportive. Let us know how it goes. Our prayers are with you

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Adrienne

[JennyK]

I used both TPN (IV nutrition through a central line) and NJ feedings (feeding tube from nose to jejunum)--but not at the same time and not through Matria. Neither are much fun, but if you need them, you need them. If it comes to that I suggest at least considering a NJ tube. There are fewer risks as compared to TPN.

I agree with Cl, though, first get 24-72 hours of IV fluids and see if that helps perk you up a bit. The zofran will probably do a better job if you are not dehydrated.

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Jenny
Annie, January '04
Will, August '06

[pamedic]

Is your pump SQ or do you have a PICC?

I found when I had the pump SQ it decreased my vomiting so that I wasn't vomiting as much in between trying to eat or drink, but if anything went into my mouth I still vomited everything. It wasn't until I had a PICC line in and had 3 L of D5LR a day (which I stayed on for my entire pregnancy, did get down to 2 liters towards the end). 46mg base dose of zofran +2, 2 mg boluses, Reglan 3 times a day (it did nothing for me when I took it alone or used it with the lower dose of zofran), pepcid then moved up to prevacid, unisom and B6 every night. With all that I was still sick, just not as often. And I was able to end my pregnancy just under my starting weight. Also did a course of steriods (which made things worse for me)

Sometimes you need to mix and match meds to get any relief, Trial and error is pretty much the only way to figure out what works for you. But all in all if you are dehydrated no meds will help much.

Hospital stays are no fun, I did several before my PICC, but it does help. Dehydration makes nausea worse.

I hope you find something that works for you.
Big Hugs

[PallasAthena]

Going to the hospital and getting fluids (I think it was 3 or 4 bags before I could pee! ) was the best thing I could have done. Being hydrated made such a difference for me. Going in isn't fun, but it can really help.

Also, I second talking to your doctor about adding to your cocktail. I was on a Zofran pump + meclizine + benadryl and that seemed to work best for me. It's all a matter of getting the mix right.

I hope you get some relief soon.

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Gabriela Sofia: born 11/5/2007, moderate HG 1st and 3rd tri