There's really no need to promote this website, because it is unarguably the most famous and well-used website having to do with hyperemesis ever! Check it out here.
This is the website of the Hyperemesis Research Foundation, an organization dedicated to researching HG and providing information to healthcare providers and HG-mums and families. There is a wealth of information on this site: Commonly asked questions, drug and treatment information, forums for every HG subject under the sun, and every kind of information available.
Oddly enough, I hadn't really been around this site till lately. I used the site when I was sick to determine that I did have HG (rather than garden variety morning sickness), but I was too sick to do more than that and I just hadn't been back. This past week I've registered on the forums and taken some time to explore the site. It rocks!!
While surfing the forums I found a great little piece of HG-lore - it's a phrase called "being crackered," in reference to when someone (with great motives, of course!) tells an HG-mother to "try eating dry crackers"! In that case, you've "been crackered"! I loved it. I think we've all been crackered. Probably most conditions have their own form of being crackered!
If you haven't been to this website yet, check it out! It is an invaluable resource.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
HG Plan #1
Note to Readers: I am currently in the process of getting the below plan revised and reviewed by various medical practitioners. I will publish an updated and approved version when that process is over. Please do NOT use this version, if you are tempted to use my plan, as I have already discovered some big errors in it (specifically in my formulation of Diclectin). Wait until I publish the updated version. As always, use at your own risk.
And here it is, ladies! My first official "hyperemesis prevention" plan. This is based off of much, much, MUCH research, although it is by no means exhaustive. I have posted it on My Morning Sickness for comments, and I will probably post it on hyperemesis.org as well. After that I'll probably run it by the Motherisk hotline and possibly email Shonda Parker (she does online question answering for a small fee). So you can expect this to change! I'll post a revised copy as I go along. It will probably take a while to get all the revisions done (unless I find out that I'm pregnant this cycle, and then I'll be working like the wind and contacting all resources at once, LOL!!!). I'd like to take off anything that is redundant, because, as you can see, there is a LOT of stuff on this list.
The hardest part (for me) was dealing with the non-major herbs. There are SO MANY of them for nausea!! So I've just lumped them all together rather than trying to deal with them exhaustively in this document.
If anyone has any comments, please let me know!
As always, YOU are responsible for doing your own research. ALWAYS do your own research and take responsibility for your own health.
And without further ado, my HG-prevention plan:
And here it is, ladies! My first official "hyperemesis prevention" plan. This is based off of much, much, MUCH research, although it is by no means exhaustive. I have posted it on My Morning Sickness for comments, and I will probably post it on hyperemesis.org as well. After that I'll probably run it by the Motherisk hotline and possibly email Shonda Parker (she does online question answering for a small fee). So you can expect this to change! I'll post a revised copy as I go along. It will probably take a while to get all the revisions done (unless I find out that I'm pregnant this cycle, and then I'll be working like the wind and contacting all resources at once, LOL!!!). I'd like to take off anything that is redundant, because, as you can see, there is a LOT of stuff on this list.
The hardest part (for me) was dealing with the non-major herbs. There are SO MANY of them for nausea!! So I've just lumped them all together rather than trying to deal with them exhaustively in this document.
If anyone has any comments, please let me know!
As always, YOU are responsible for doing your own research. ALWAYS do your own research and take responsibility for your own health.
And without further ado, my HG-prevention plan:
Pre-Conception
WHOLE FOODS DIET
Purpose: Cleansing
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
WATER WITH LEMON
Purpose: Liver cleanser
Dosage: At least once a day – as often as possible
Brand:
Notes: Recommended by Shonda Parker
VITAMIN
Purpose: General nutrition, folic acid
Dosage: One daily
Brand:
Notes:
PRO-BIOTICS
Purpose: GI health and general health
Dosage: Acidophilus (1 cap daily) and yogurt
Brand:
Notes:
OMEGA-3
Purpose: General health
Dosage: 1-2 capsules of fish oil daily
Brand:
Notes:
B-COMPLEX SUPPLEMENT
Purpose: Morning sickness prevention
Dosage: 1 B-100 daily or 2 B-50 daily (each contains 100 mg or 50 mg each, respectively, of all the B-vitamins, including B6)
Brand:
Notes:
Purpose: Liver Cleansing
Dosage: 2 capsules daily
Brand: Thislyn is a good brand. Anything with 70-80% silmaryn
Notes: Recommended by Shonda Parker
WHOLE FOODS DIET, cont’d
Purpose: Cleansing, health
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
WATER WITH LEMON, cont’d
Purpose: Liver cleanser
Dosage: Lots and lots and lots and lots!!
Brand:
Notes: Recommended by Shonda Parker
PRENATAL VITAMIN
Purpose: General nutrition, folic acid
Dosage: One daily
Brand: Possibly something without iron
Notes:
PRO-BIOTICS
Purpose: GI health and general health
Dosage: Acidophilus (2 tablets with every meal) and yogurt
Brand:
Notes:
OMEGA-3
Purpose: General health
Dosage: 2-4 capsules of fish oil daily
Brand: Possibly NOW?
Notes:
DICLECTIN REPLICA:
B-COMPLEX SUPPLEMENT
Purpose: Morning sickness prevention
Dosage: 3 B-50 daily (each contains 50 mg each, respectively, of all the B-vitamins, including B6)
Brand:
Notes:
UNISOM (DOXYLAMINE SUCCINATE)
Purpose: Morning sickness prevention
Dosage: 3-50 mg tablets, taken with the b-complex
Brand:
Notes:
VITAMIN C
Purpose: Absorption
Dosage: Take a little bit with the B-complex and unisom
Brand:
Notes:
MILK THISTLE
Purpose: Liver Cleansing
Dosage: Increase to 3 capsules daily
Brand: Thislyn is a good brand. Anything with 70-80% silmaryn
Notes: Recommended by Shonda Parker
WILD YAM
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: (1) 3 capsules per day – try PLUS by Mannatech, (2) 1-2 tsp. dried extract three times daily, (3) 2-4 mL tincture three times daily)
Brand:
Notes:
DANDELION
Purpose: Cleansing, health, NVP Prevention
Dosage: As directed on bottle
Brand:
Notes:
MORNING SICKNESS BALM BY MOUNTAIN MEADOW HERBS
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: As directed on bottle
Brand:
Notes: http://www.mountainmeadowherbs.com/morning-sickness-balm-p-32.html?osCsid=8792a1b5dfaa82954bd35f5bd4534f0b
GINGER
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: 1,000 mg every 2-3 hours as needed, no more than 20,000 mg per day
Brand:
Notes: Shonda Parker
ENTROX (PERILLA SEED OIL)
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: 3 caps per day with meals
Brand:
Notes: Shonda Parker
ABSORBAID
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: 2 caps three times daily with meals
Brand:
Notes: Shonda Parker
LEGUMES
Purpose: Supposedly helps deal with nausea
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes: http://www.karenhurd.com/morningsickness.html
GINGER
Purpose: NVP prevention
Dosage: 1,000 mg every 2-3 hours as needed, no more than 20,000 mg per day – or till you can taste it!
Brand:
Notes:
MORNINGWELL CD
Purpose: Supposedly helps deal with nausea
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
CHIROPRACTIC CARE
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
ACUPRESSURE/ACUPUNCTURE
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
HOMEOPATHICS
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage:
Brand:
Notes:
PHARMACEUTICALS
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage:Under an OB’s care
Brand:
Notes:
FALSE UNICORN TINCTURE
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage: ½ - 1 tsp. tincture or ½-1/4 tsp. (1-2 g) extract three times daily
Brand:
Notes:
OTHER HERBS
Purpose: For NVP
Dosage:
Brand: alfalfa, basil, black horehound, chamomile, ginger, lavender, peppermint, peach leaf, wild yam root, red raspberry leaf, yellow dock
Notes:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
My first birth publication!
I am so excited!! My birth story was included in a book of Arizona birth stories/art, and I just received the book in the mail! So fun!! It's called "Our Stories, Our Births: A compilation of birth art, poetry, letters and intimate birth narratives told by mothers in Arizona."
Of course, it's nothing to be super-proud of, because there was no "selection" - everyone who submitted material was included!
But it's my first time any of my "childbirth writing" has been put in actual print, and I am just excited about that!! Hopefully it's not the only time I'll be able to write on the subject.
In other news....
We have a gigantic spider hanging out in our storage closet. Actually, he/she has been there for months, but I was reminded of it yesterday when my vacuum struck her web and she rushed out and attacked the vacuum cleaner! I did a pretty good version of Patrick McManus's "Modified Stationary Panic," but I forgot the Russian dance steps - I had to settle for leaping upwards, dropping the vacuum and shouting something like, "Eergghhh!"
I am not a fan of spiders. I wouldn't let DH kill the spider, because it's obviously not a black widow or a brown recluse, and I don't like any unnecessary killing. But I'm giving the storage shed a wide berth! Maybe I'll get my dad to relocate it when he's out next. I'm thinking it's a female Southern House Spider - that's the closest I could come to identification. Ergh.
Our house purchase still eludes us! Bid #11 seems also to be slipping away from us, but we still hope.
Of course, it's nothing to be super-proud of, because there was no "selection" - everyone who submitted material was included!
But it's my first time any of my "childbirth writing" has been put in actual print, and I am just excited about that!! Hopefully it's not the only time I'll be able to write on the subject.
In other news....
We have a gigantic spider hanging out in our storage closet. Actually, he/she has been there for months, but I was reminded of it yesterday when my vacuum struck her web and she rushed out and attacked the vacuum cleaner! I did a pretty good version of Patrick McManus's "Modified Stationary Panic," but I forgot the Russian dance steps - I had to settle for leaping upwards, dropping the vacuum and shouting something like, "Eergghhh!"
I am not a fan of spiders. I wouldn't let DH kill the spider, because it's obviously not a black widow or a brown recluse, and I don't like any unnecessary killing. But I'm giving the storage shed a wide berth! Maybe I'll get my dad to relocate it when he's out next. I'm thinking it's a female Southern House Spider - that's the closest I could come to identification. Ergh.
Our house purchase still eludes us! Bid #11 seems also to be slipping away from us, but we still hope.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Update
Well, DH finally cracked.
Actually, he didn't really crack.... It was forced upon him.
Explanation: DH has been doing this new low-carb-type diet for the past four weeks. I sort of did it with him for a week (I was cheating at the 3-day mark), but then quit. I'm just not cut out for low-carb living (I went to baking & pastry school, for goodness' sake!). But anyway, it's been really successful for DH - he lost something like 25 pounds in those 4 weeks.
Anyhow, on Thursday he started feeling yucky. He ended up taking half the day off on Friday and was out of sorts and feeling badly all day. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Eventually, when he got on the phone with his sister, who is the guru of all things low-carb, she was able to instantly diagnose his issue - being that he had done too much low-carb too quickly, and was having a fairly common bad reaction. The solution? Eat carbs and go about the whole thing more moderately. And he obeyed! He's feeling much better. He's decided to ditch Diet Evolution for now (thank heavens!) and try to switch over to The Maker's Diet instead (which is a much more balanced diet, though not as good for quick weight loss). Hallelujah!!!
Here's a funny (though somewhat gross) story about Diet Evolution (skip if you're squeamish):
This diet completely ditches all ground grains - including pasta. Well, one "replacement pasta" is shirataki noodles, which are made from tofu. One disadvantage of the noodles is that, although they taste okay once cooked (just a bit rubbery), they smell fishy while you're preparing them. With my post-HG stomach (much more easily nauseated than it used to be), that was not a good thing! But the worst part... I guess these things aren't too digestible!! So I fed them to my toddler, and later, when changing his diaper (pause while I go throw up!!) there they were, in all their glory, looking for everything like the worst infestation of intestinal parasites you've seen north of South America. Aaackkk!!! The other packages have sat in our fridge, uneaten, ever since. I'm going to try to get up the guts to cook them and get them GONE this week so that I can forget about them.
Other than that, the response to our eleventh house bid is still silent and unavailing! We live in hope.
And I think that FOUR blog entries is enough for one day!!
The reason I'm blogging so much: I'm in "that time of the month" when I have to wait 2 weeks or so to find out if "this is the month" or not. I am always over-zealous in my HG research during those two weeks, because I feel like time is running out!! So I'm trying to get more bases covered just in case. I've learned a lot just today!!
Actually, he didn't really crack.... It was forced upon him.
Explanation: DH has been doing this new low-carb-type diet for the past four weeks. I sort of did it with him for a week (I was cheating at the 3-day mark), but then quit. I'm just not cut out for low-carb living (I went to baking & pastry school, for goodness' sake!). But anyway, it's been really successful for DH - he lost something like 25 pounds in those 4 weeks.
Anyhow, on Thursday he started feeling yucky. He ended up taking half the day off on Friday and was out of sorts and feeling badly all day. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Eventually, when he got on the phone with his sister, who is the guru of all things low-carb, she was able to instantly diagnose his issue - being that he had done too much low-carb too quickly, and was having a fairly common bad reaction. The solution? Eat carbs and go about the whole thing more moderately. And he obeyed! He's feeling much better. He's decided to ditch Diet Evolution for now (thank heavens!) and try to switch over to The Maker's Diet instead (which is a much more balanced diet, though not as good for quick weight loss). Hallelujah!!!
Here's a funny (though somewhat gross) story about Diet Evolution (skip if you're squeamish):
This diet completely ditches all ground grains - including pasta. Well, one "replacement pasta" is shirataki noodles, which are made from tofu. One disadvantage of the noodles is that, although they taste okay once cooked (just a bit rubbery), they smell fishy while you're preparing them. With my post-HG stomach (much more easily nauseated than it used to be), that was not a good thing! But the worst part... I guess these things aren't too digestible!! So I fed them to my toddler, and later, when changing his diaper (pause while I go throw up!!) there they were, in all their glory, looking for everything like the worst infestation of intestinal parasites you've seen north of South America. Aaackkk!!! The other packages have sat in our fridge, uneaten, ever since. I'm going to try to get up the guts to cook them and get them GONE this week so that I can forget about them.
Other than that, the response to our eleventh house bid is still silent and unavailing! We live in hope.
And I think that FOUR blog entries is enough for one day!!
The reason I'm blogging so much: I'm in "that time of the month" when I have to wait 2 weeks or so to find out if "this is the month" or not. I am always over-zealous in my HG research during those two weeks, because I feel like time is running out!! So I'm trying to get more bases covered just in case. I've learned a lot just today!!
Website: Diclectin Product Page
Check out the website for diclectin.
What is diclectin?
Long story.
Long story made short... Diclectin is the same thing as Bendectin, which was produced in the United States until 1983 when it was voluntarily removed from the market following lawsuits alleging birth defects. You can find out more about the history of this drug here.
What is it? It's very simple - from the website, it's:
"a combination of 10 mg of doxylamine succinate and 10 mg of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) in a delayed-released formulation"
The FDA's subsequent testing revealed no teratogenic effects, and the overall conclusion is that Bendectin is probably perfectly safe. However, it still is not produced in the United States - only in Canada under the name Diclectin (Canada = Diclectin, US = Bendectin, UK = Debendox).
Thankfully, it's easy to remedy - mothers can simply combine 10 mg of vitamin B6 and 10 mg of Unisom to get the same thing (although it's not time-released). Many women do, and I would have no problem doing so.
This works for some women and doesn't work for some. It's basically a line of first defense - something to try before heading for the big guns.
Check out the website. It's extremely biased toward Diclectin (I wonder why!), but you can get some basic information off of it.
* The usual disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and the above is not medical advice. You are fully responsible for any medical decisions you take regarding supplements, and all decisions should be discussed with your midwife, OB, or physician.
What is diclectin?
Long story.
Long story made short... Diclectin is the same thing as Bendectin, which was produced in the United States until 1983 when it was voluntarily removed from the market following lawsuits alleging birth defects. You can find out more about the history of this drug here.
What is it? It's very simple - from the website, it's:
"a combination of 10 mg of doxylamine succinate and 10 mg of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) in a delayed-released formulation"
The FDA's subsequent testing revealed no teratogenic effects, and the overall conclusion is that Bendectin is probably perfectly safe. However, it still is not produced in the United States - only in Canada under the name Diclectin (Canada = Diclectin, US = Bendectin, UK = Debendox).
Thankfully, it's easy to remedy - mothers can simply combine 10 mg of vitamin B6 and 10 mg of Unisom to get the same thing (although it's not time-released). Many women do, and I would have no problem doing so.
This works for some women and doesn't work for some. It's basically a line of first defense - something to try before heading for the big guns.
Check out the website. It's extremely biased toward Diclectin (I wonder why!), but you can get some basic information off of it.
* The usual disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and the above is not medical advice. You are fully responsible for any medical decisions you take regarding supplements, and all decisions should be discussed with your midwife, OB, or physician.
Website: MyMorningSickness.com
Just found a new website for morning sickness, and it looks pretty neat! Here it is:
The authoress, Wendy, offers an e-book, morning sickness forums, her personal story, free nausea-tracking charts, and a free instructional video clip showing how to make one morning sickness remedy. I haven't been all around the site yet, but it looks awesome!! And she has the most adorable family!! Definitely check this website out and look around.
I was especially interested in this site once I discovered that the authoress has a very similar life philosophy to mine. I love connecting with like-minded mothers, and with HG, life-philosophy is especially important. Many HG forums are wrapped up in the "should I abort, should I not abort" question, and thankfully that is blessedly absent from her forums. This is a great life-affirming site that will encourage and help HG mothers without encouraging them toward abortion.
Research: Legumes????
Check out this article! The authoress, who is a nutritionist, has an interesting and unique solution for morning sickness - eating legumes!! Does it work? Does it work for hyperemesis? Well, we can only try! Here's the article:
http://www.karenhurd.com/morningsickness.html
http://www.karenhurd.com/morningsickness.html
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