Morning Sickness

[Dallas-Dakota]

No, I don't have morning sickness.:smalltongue:

But a female friend of mine does, she's 16, been having it for a couple of months now. Her doctor said he has no idea, she's not pregnant.

When she started taking melatonine for sleeping problems, it helped a small bit, but then she got a increased dose so it would work for her sleeping problems, but her morning sickness came back.

So I just discovered this and I really don't want her to feel that way, so anybody got a idea? :S

[thubby]

does she get migraines?

[Mauve Shirt]

I was a little confused. "DD is pregnant?!" :smalltongue:

[EmeraldRose]

I was a little confused. "DD is pregnant?!" :smalltongue:

My first thought as well. :smallwink:

Also, morning sickness sucks. Hope the doc can figure out what's going on with your friend soon!

[Kuma Da]

I'm just throwing in my two cents here. I don't actually know a cure for the chronic morning sickness, but I do have some recommendations for what to do when you've got a condition stumped by conventional medicine.

The problem with taking supplements to things that the body can produce normally is that, over time, the body will adjust to having the supplements. You'll need even higher doses if you want those supplements to keep working, and going off them can throw your system out of whack.

I am in no way going to contradict the advice of her doctor. He is the qualified professional here. But it doesn't hurt to have more eyes on a problem. If you know any good ones, you might consider talking to an acupuncturist, a reflexologist, or a specialist in holistic healing. I am not suggesting this as a magic bullet to cure your problem, or even a guaranteed long-term solution. However, acupuncturists, reflexologists, and holistic specialists tend to look at issues from a radically different perspective, and sometimes this insight may be exactly what you need.

This is not to say that all members of the aforementioned professions are good. There is kind of a holistic healing bandwagon, and people have jumped on it. However, if you're looking for a second opinion on the problem, that is not a bad place to start.

Personal note: About a year and a half ago, I had chronic pain in my hands that was so bad that I gave up all my forum games. I had no idea what was causing it, and my doctor plus several specialists were unable to find anything to attribute it to. Out of desperation, I went for massage to alleviate some of the pain, and found out that I was tense, dehydrated, and my muscles needed to be stretched.

It's only been a handful of months since I started being able to type without some discomfort again, but I'm doing an awful lot better.

I can't promise that it'll help in this case, but I can't recommend enough trying to see other professional healers.

[Ego Slayer]

If you know any good ones, you might consider talking to an acupuncturist, a reflexologist, or a specialist in holistic healing. I am not suggesting this as a magic bullet to cure your problem, or even a guaranteed long-term solution. However, acupuncturists, reflexologists, and holistic specialists tend to look at issues from a radically different perspective, and sometimes this insight may be exactly what you need.

Glad someone mentioned alternatives before I did... I know for a -fact- that my family practice doctor would have been pretty much the wrong person entirely to go to when I got adrenal burnout/sick and other terrible things a couple months ago. I actually did see an acupuncturist as well a couple times and I do think it's what helped the unexplained few hours of nauseousness that happened like clockwork for the first two weeks.

I'd too say look into a holistic/nutritional alternative if she is able, especially if her regular doctor doesn't have any answers... conventional medicine has this tendency to not look at the whole picture when trying to address a specific issue. Something is always caused or effected by something else, so looking at everything else that is going on in the body is the basic idea behind it.

Anyway, lots of hugs to your friend, DD... :smallsmile:

[Dallas-Dakota]

does she get migraines?
She gets regular headaches apparently.:smallfrown:


Glad someone mentioned alternatives before I did... I know for a -fact- that my family practice doctor would have been pretty much the wrong person entirely to go to when I got adrenal burnout/sick and other terrible things a couple months ago. I actually did see an acupuncturist as well a couple times and I do think it's what helped the unexplained few hours of nauseousness that happened like clockwork for the first two weeks.

I'd too say look into a holistic/nutritional alternative if she is able, especially if her regular doctor doesn't have any answers... conventional medicine has this tendency to not look at the whole picture when trying to address a specific issue. Something is always caused or effected by something else, so looking at everything else that is going on in the body is the basic idea behind it.

Anyway, lots of hugs to your friend, DD... :smallsmile:

So to tell a bit of the story:
She has done acupuncture things, coupled with diet. But she eventually just didn't have time/energy for it anymore.(The diet was horribly strict)

It did help, but yeah, she couldn't keep it up.

The problem is, her parents are ..not pleasant people...to say it lightly, and she's 16. So any doctor stuffs still have to go through them first. So on the off chance that an additional insight(which they already had a bit from the acupuncturist) will help/heal just doesn't weigh up against the stress of extra argueing with her parents.

And I know, from my personal chronic migraines and other things, that heavy stress as she occasionaly has, can definetely lead to more bad things happening in the body. So yeah, I don't want to stress her out more.:smallsigh:

She thenks for the hug and hugs back.:smalltongue:

Food things: She eats regularly, she eats healthily(vegetables, etc, etc. though just now she admits to not eating fruit that often, if that makes any difference)

a reflexologistSorry for my ignorance, but sorry, what's that? o.0



But it doesn't hurt to have more eyes on a problem.

Which is exactly why I posted this here, thenk you so much, guys. Thenk you. Hate my friend feeling like this.

[Force]

Disclaimer: I am a nursing student, not a qualified medical professional. As always, never take internet medical knowledge (even from reputable sites, such as the Mayo clinic) as gospel. I would recommend that your friend talk to other medical practitioners before she seeks internet advice; asking around your circle of friends to see if their parents are involved in the medical field can help. A lot of nurses don't mind taking five minutes and talking to you about ways to help that don't require medication.

That said, I'm going to tap your friend's heavy stress as a possible cause of this issue. I know that when I'm under heavy strain I find myself vomiting. Stress can also lead to sleeping problems as well.

If she could find a way to get out of the stressful environment for a few months (go visit friends/family that live far enough away that her parents won't see her regularly) that might help her regain her focus and feel better.

[Kuma Da]

Sorry for my ignorance, but sorry, what's that? o.0

Reflexology is the practice of affecting change in the body by manipulating points on its peripherals. Basically, it's a lot like acupressure or trigger-point therapy. You work on the hands or the feet, and you can get information from/speed healing in everything from the chest to the stomach to the adrenal gland.

It seems like hokey witch-a-magic, but it works surprisingly well if it's done right.

Which brings me to a secondary point. It sounds like your friend's parents might object to alternative medicine. This is pretty common. Acupuncture, reflexology, reiki, and the like tend to get branded as either scams or witchcraft by skeptics. If it's too much work for your friend to convince her parents that any of these might have a positive effect, there are other ways she can try to combat the problem.

I'm going to agree completely with Force on both of his points. Firstly, please don't take anything said here as gospel. I'm suggesting, not prescribing. Secondly, don't cut out conventional medicine. Just because one doctor hasn't helped you doesn't mean the field is a bust. If you can, keep asking around. And thirdly, stress is huge.

Most people don't realize how huge stress is, and being sixteen and a girl is already one of the most stressful situations that life can throw at you, and she's got parent-stuff in the mix as well. If she can, getting out of the situation that's stressing her would certainly be helpful. Light exercise, increased hydration (half her body-weight in ounces of water per day,) and proper rest can all work to offset stress and its effects. I'm not personally a huge fan of meditation, but if it's done properly it can help a lot. Biofeedback, yoga, or a martial art (something like Tai Chi, preferably,) could be other considerations, depending again on what she and her parents are comfortable with.

I'm not sure what else to suggest, but I really hope she gets better, DD.

[Force]

Does she snack a lot? How about drinks other than water? She should try to get about 8 glasses of water (1 glass = more than 8 ounces) down her throat per day at a minimum. She should also cut all caffeine out of her diet if possible, and avoid sodas. Chocolate in moderation is still fine.

As for stress-- what's her social calendar and school work like? Is she sacrificing rest time for social life and/or grades? If she is, she may need to tell people "Sorry, but I'm getting sick trying to keep up with stuff here-- give me some time." Extra-curriculars can play a big role here.

A good idea might be to cut down to a bare minimum for a while. Healthy food (non-McDonalds, lots of veggies and fruit, complex carbs, limited red meat, fats and sweets), everything cut out of her social calendar that is stress-inducing, emphasis on "chill out." Go with that for a month and see if that helps. If it does, she can start slowly adding stuff back into her life until she comes up with a healthy balance.

And, as Kuma says, don't cut out all "conventional" medicine just because of doctors. Doctors are medical specialists; they focus on solving specific problems through drugs and surgery. Other members of the conventional healthcare team have different focuses. Just throwing a plug in here-- nurses focus on helping people get better through caring interventions over medical interventions. Talking to a RN or nurse practitioner might give her some other ideas.

[thubby]

She gets regular headaches apparently.:smallfrown:

some migraines manifest as nausea.

allergies are another potential (and much more likely) cause. if she has seasonal allergies, the increased mucus builds up at night and can sour your stomach. the spring and fall are particularly bad.

i have both (ya, my mornings are awesome :smallannoyed:)

[thorgrim29]

Most alternative medicines get branded as scams because they are actually (voluntary or not, the fact of having someone talking to you, taking care of you and saying you'll be better can have pretty amazing results, but that's the placebo effect for you). Your friend is obviously in a lot of stress, if getting needles randomly poked in her skin or getting chakra "therapy", getting rubbed with crystals, or a witch doctor moving his hands around her without touching her or whatever helps her feel relaxed, good for her, but I get a feeling a healthier lifestyle and maybe a visit to a specialist who could see if she has trouble with her nerves or spine, or allergies or something would be better in the long run.

Yes I'm a sceptic, and I actually consider that a compliment so...

BTW if discussing alternative healing is against board rules because it's a faith thing, well I guess that means the mods agree with me so feel free to delete this post.

[Kuma Da]

It's not a faith thing for me, thorgrim, so I'm cool with discussing it. :smalltongue:

To be fair, I'm a skeptic too. This is why I still refer to acupuncture jokingly as witch-a-magic, because I have no idea why it should rightly work. That said, I've had it done and it does. At least for me.

I'm acquainted with the idea of placebo, and I'll go a step further by saying that I think nearly everything is influenced by it. Especially healing. But, even if the process is entirely placebo, it's a stunningly potent one that I've not encountered anywhere else.

The semi-accepted science behind reflexology (semi-accepted because it's in some medical dictionaries, but it has not been whole-heartedly embraced by the scientific community,) is that you manipulate the peripherals on the body to send a message to the central nervous system which then bounces back out through the peripheral nervous system to the targeted area and effects change. Acupuncture is supposed to work a similar way (although it tends to conceptualize it more as qi flow and body meridians,) and can use many of the same points.

It is more or less accepted that the body does have pressure points (usually two inches from the origin of a muscle, at the belly of the muscle, and then two inches from the insertion.) If you go about two inches down from the inside of your wrist and push into the hollow there, it hurts like a mother. This is because you're bearing down hard on a cluster of nerves, which are in turn going "holy crap! stop doing that!"

What remains a little more heavily skepticised is whether these points can be used to positive effect, and that's fair. I didn't believe in therapeutic massage until I went for one (for the record, the basic science behind therapeutic massage is that lactic acid can build up in underused or improperly hydrated muscles, and that a professional can cause the release of that lactic acid by manipulating those muscles.)

I do still feel like reiki, homeopathy, and crystal healing are probably mostly placebo (I will be the first to admit I could be wrong,) but my experiences specifically with reflexology, massage, and acupuncture have got me thinking that those practices--at least--have something to them.

To put things another way: I am like some sort of great meta-skeptic. I'm skeptical of the skepticism that people throw at things. If my knee-jerk reaction is to disbelieve something, I generally give it a chance anyway (unless it's legitimately dangerous.)

I do agree with Thorgrim that diet and possibly a chat with a chiropractor could do a lot of good, but my experiences support everything I've suggested so far.

Also, skeptic has a k.

Peace out. :smallamused:

[Lhurgyof]

No, I don't have morning sickness.:smalltongue:

But a female friend of mine does, she's 16, been having it for a couple of months now. Her doctor said he has no idea, she's not pregnant.

When she started taking melatonin for sleeping problems, it helped a small bit, but then she got a increased dose so it would work for her sleeping problems, but her morning sickness came back.

So I just discovered this and I really don't want her to feel that way, so anybody got a idea? :S

Hmm... I get really nauseated if I eat too early in the morning.
And sometimes I get really nauseated if I'm too hungry in the morning.

I don't quite know what's up with that.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I've heard its often caused by very low blood sugar. Certain foods if you eat them right before sleeping will have you waking up nauseated because your sugar is used up by morning. Can't recall any kind of details however.

Could be a female thing. All of my sisters seem to be prone to morning sickness, but all of us guys can eat anything the moment our eyes open.

I'm the anti-morning sickness. I wake up and usually want meat of some kind or leftover pizza. Had blue cheese and peanuts the other day. Was just craving them.

Chicken and chocolate dipped oranges are the best breakfast food however in my opinion. Could eat them every morning.