Thursday, April 11, 2013

Bendictin/Diclectin is back! FINALLY!



Talk about a comeback: A treatment pulled off the market 30 years ago has won Food and Drug Administration approval again as the only drug specifically designated to treat morning sickness.
That long-ago safety scare, prompted by hundreds of lawsuits claiming birth defects, proved to be a false alarm.  Monday's FDA decision means a new version of the pill once called Bendectin is set to return to U.S. pharmacies under a different name - Diclegis - as a safe and effective treatment for this pregnancy rite of passage. 

In the intervening decades, the treatment is widely believed to have undergone more scrutiny for safety than any other drug used during pregnancy.  "There's been a lot of buzz about this. Nothing better has come along" to treat morning sickness in those 30 years, said Dr. Edward McCabe, medical director for the March of Dimes, who welcomed the step.  "We know safety-wise, there's zero question," said Dr. Gary Hankins of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, who headed one of the company-financed studies of Diclegis that led to its approval.  U.S. sales of Diclegis are expected to begin in early June, according to Canada-based manufacturer Duchesnay Inc. The company has long sold a generic version of the pill in Canada under yet another name, Diclectin. 

For all the names, the main ingredients are the same: Vitamin B6 plus the over-the-counter antihistamine doxylamine, found in the sleep aid Unisom. U.S. obstetricians have long told nauseated pregnant women how to mix up the right dose themselves.  In fact, in 2004 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued guidelines calling the combination a first-line therapy. 
The difference that prescription-only Diclegis would offer: Combining both ingredients with a delayed-release coating designed to help women take a daily dose before their nausea sets in.
The return of an FDA-cleared treatment is needed, said ACOG spokesman Dr. Jeffrey Ecker, an obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital who wasn't involved in the study of Diclegis.
"It's not magic," Ecker cautioned, saying few women see their symptoms completely disappear with the medication. "But for some it allows them to be much more functional."
In Hankins' study, about 260 U.S. women with morning sickness were given either Diclegis or a dummy pill for two weeks. The Diclegis users missed on average 1 1/2 fewer days of work than their counterparts.  Duchesnay wouldn't reveal a U.S. price. 
About three-quarters of women experience at least some nausea and vomiting with the hormonal surges of early pregnancy. Although it often occurs upon waking, some women have trouble all day. It usually ends by the second trimester.
About 1 percent of women undergo dangerously severe vomiting called hyperemesis gravidarum, the condition that made headlines last December when in Britain, Prince William's wife Kate was briefly hospitalized.
An initial version of Bendectin began selling in 1956, and 33 million women around the world were estimated to have taken it before the lawsuits began. At the time, the FDA continued to call the drug safe; appeals courts ruled in favor of Bendectin maker Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals; and eventually a U.S. Supreme Court decision would render continuing suits unlikely. But Merrell Dow declared the litigation cost too high, and quit making Bendectin in 1983.
What happened? The government estimates 1 in 33 babies are born with birth defects regardless of medication use during pregnancy, and studies eventually concluded that Bendectin didn't increase that baseline risk. McCabe of the March of Dimes says it's important to recognize that when a drug is widely used in pregnancy, some babies will be born with birth defects that are a coincidence.
Doctors advise trying some other steps before turning to medication for morning sickness: Eat protein snacks before bed. Nibble crackers or sip ginger ale before getting out of bed. Eat frequent small meals. Avoid nausea-triggering odors.
When that doesn't work, Ecker says vitamin B6 alone helps some women. His next step is the B6-and-antihistamine combination that will form Diclegis. A next-step option includes the drug Zofran, normally used to treat nausea from cancer therapy.

(Copyright ©2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) "

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Effects of HG on my daughter

I would classify my first pregnancy as easy (if HG is ever easy) compared to my 2nd pregnancy.  Regardless,  I have been told by my daughter's dentist that the discolored yellow spots on her bottom adult teeth happened while I was pregnant with her.  The teeth are not rotten or have cavities.  It is just a discoloration of the enamel. 
He asked if I was sick at all with her - ha!  I briefly explained my plight and he said that explained it. 
 
Thankfully, her teeth can be capped when she is older, covering the yellow spots.   
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

HG hits Royalty

It's been all over the news this week about Princess Kate being pregnant.  I'm sure her and her husband's joy over learning they were to be parents was quickly turned into worry with how sick Kate was.  Sadly, pregnancy for Kate also means a battle with HG.  
 
My first reaction when I read the news was that maybe this would raise HG awareness and teach others that HG is real and the women who get it are not just wimps who can't handle being sick.   I was sorry to hear that Kate was sick, but thankful she was in the hospital getting the care and medicine she needed. 
 
I've struggled with some anger with the media (and comments I've read after the articles) this week. But being a mom who has suffered through HG 3 times, I have a hard time when HG is made light of. 
 
And for the record:
 
*HG is not "common" as the media says
*HG does not go away at 12 weeks
*HG sometimes gets a little easier at 20 weeks, but doesn't go away for all women
*She doesn't have HG because she is so thin! (I've started a pregnancy at 103 pounds and a second pregnancy at 118 pounds - I was sicker at 118 pounds!)
*HG does not always mean twins -  I have had HG 3 times and of all the HG blogs I've read, none of us had twins.
*HG is not just "vomiting" - it is so much vomiting that you can't keep anything down
*Just because a news reporter had morning sickness when she was pregnant, doesn't mean she had HG.  Simply having morning sickness is not HG. 
*Treatment for HG is not just rest - meds are needed to help control it and even then most women are still sick.   (I like to think that with all the meds I took, brought my HG down to 'normal' morning sickness.  And I know how much worse it would be without the meds.)
 
FINALLY, I read this on an article "Catherine, was receiving treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes more severe nausea and vomiting than typical morning sickness."  
I hope that people don't judge Kate and mock her sickness.  She truly is sick and believe me, I am sure she does not want to be as sick as she is.  It's possible she is counting down the days until her due date and she can feel normal again. 
 
Kate will be in my prayers. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

2 Years Later

My baby turned 2 on the 6th of this month - wow, where did the time go?! 
The week he turned 2, I weaned him.  Sad in some ways, freeing in others, and an accomplishment I have wanted since my first was born.  He was my only baby to nurse to age 2.  I am pretty sure that my first would have gone to age 2, but as I've written before, I was forced to wean her at 13 months when I was 10 weeks into my severe HG pregnancy. 
 
How did it go with delaying solids?  The first time I attempted giving him food was just over 10 months old.  It didn't work and he HATED it.   I didn't push it and mostly gave up, just giving him some baby mum mums on his highchair to experiment with while I ate.  It wasn't until a couple of weeks after he turned 1 that he really started to eat, but he wanted nothing to do with baby food.  It took me a while to realize this, but once I gave him table food feeding time was a lot easier.  I did use the baby food pouches for the diaper bag....so easy! 
I have no regrets whatsoever about delaying solids or nursing him for so long!  He has no food allergies (unlike his older brother).  I'm not sure if this is due to the delayed solids or not.  I'm just happy about no allergies! 
 
I am thankful we chose to have a 3rd baby even though we knew the pregnancy would be long and hard.  As much as I would like another child, there is no way I can go through another pregnancy - stupid HG.   Our days are full with me homeschooling the older two (1st and 3rd greade) and keeping a busy toddler happy.  We do have our crazy days from time to time, but in the end I wouldn't change anything!  Well, maybe one thing....... it would be nice if the toddler didn't have to yell all the time :) 
 
Whoever penned the saying "The days are long, but the years are short" perfectly explains how I feel about my family.  There are many nights I fall into bed completely exhausted by a busy day, but every time a birthday comes around and one of my children gets a year older, I am amazed at how fast time is flying by. 
 
Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such a wonderful family! 

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Fear

I've been wanting to write about something for many months, but alas 3 children keep me plenty busy and away from this blog.  Plus I would much rather spend time with my children then on the computer!  They grow so fast and I want to enjoy every moment of it.


The HG has left a lasting effect on me and that is: Fear.  Fear of what?  It is fear of getting sick and throwing up.  Twice this year my family has gotten a stomach bug that resulted in vomiting.   The feeling that overcame me was an incredible urge to run. Where?  Anywhere as long as it was away from the sickness.  The last thing I wanted to do was look into a toilet bowl.  Anyone who has spent 9 months fighting NVP knows what I am talking about.

How did I get through this journey?  Prayer.  Much prayer, 1st, that God would spare me from the sickness and, 2nd, that God would give me the strength to take care of my family without fear.  It wasn't easy, but each time God was faithful and brought me through the journey without getting sick!

I don't know how I will react the next time my family gets sick, but I do know that my God will be there by my side helping me whether I get sick or not, because he has promised He will never leave me or forsake me.   I do not need to fear anything with Him.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Almost 1 Year!

My baby is going to have a birthday next week - his first one.  Where has the past year gone?  Time sure does go by faster when you don't have HG! 

I thought I would give an update on delaying solid foods. 

I tried feeding baby some rice cereal at 10 months 4 days old.  It was a disaster.  I learned baby has a very sensitive gag reflux.  I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner because ever since he was born he has gagged himself while latching onto me.  So as soon as the food touched his tongue, he would gag until he threw up.  I even tried Baby Mum Mum crackers and after 4 days of trying to feed him, he would scream when he saw food coming.  So I backed off.  Occaionsally, I would give him some Mum Mum cracker and a sippy cup of water (which he loved to spit all over himself!). 

Then just a couple of weeks ago, I tired food again.  This time some pureed pears.  It's going slow and he only eats a tiny amount at a time, but he likes it!  And he is now eating the Mum Mum crackers.  
I plan to make apple sauce with some apples I just picked and mix it with pureed squash from my garden, then feed it to him. 

I had thought by delaying solids for so long I would be able to skip the whole baby food route and just feed him cut up table foods, but not with this boy! 

I am very glad that I was able to go as long as I did with delaying solids and wish I would have done it with my other children (they were both about 7 months when they started on solids). 

Now on to see when he will self wean - I hope it a longs ways away.  

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Diapers

*Update - after using the Earth Best diapers for a week now, I have decided that I do not like them.  There is a different feel to this diaper (almost a plastic feel) and Wilhelm has gotten a horible diaper rash with the smallest of pee in the diaper.  The feel of the diaper leads me to believe it is not as breathable as the Huggies.  I will not be getting these diapers again.*

I've been reading another HG blog and that Mama is trying to figure out what the best "natural" diaper is.  Since I have 3 of the kinds she is researching I offered to post a picture for her to see.  The kind that I don't have, but have used in Seventh Generation.  They were a little stiff (nothing too bad), and worked well. 


Left to Right - Nature Babycare(sz 1), Earth Best(sz 4) and Huggies Pure & Natural(sz 4).  The first 2 are very square and are bulky between my baby's legs.  The huggies had the best shape as the actual diaper padding follows the green line on the diaper.

Back waist of Nature Babycare has no elastic. 

Earth's Best has a small elastic.  Wilhelm put this diaper to the test in a big way and it passed! Surprisingly this diaper has a slight feeling of plastic on the outside.

Huggies Pure and Natural has the best elastic and is by far the softest and the best shape for a baby.  In smaller size diapers that back waistband acts as a poop stopper - it prevented so many up the back poops for us.

As far as I remember, only the Seventh Generation diapers did not leave the gel deposits on his bottom.  What this ingredient is, I don't know, but it's in the Huggies, Earth Best and I'm pretty sure the Nature's Babycare.

As of now, my first choice is Huggies Pure and Natural.  I am able to get a good $ from target since they let you use one Manufacture coupon and a Target coupon (so 2 coupons) for each pack of diapers.  And often times they have buy 2 packs of diapers get a $5. gift card.