13 Weeks Pregnant and Still Can't Keep Anything Down

First of all, it is COMPLETELY NORMAL to continue to lose weight up until around 20 weeks pregnant, and then start to gain. If you are only 13 weeks I really wouldn't worry. I lost about 20 lbs before I started to gain with this pregnancy of mine. I started at 130lb, went down to 109lb, and started to gain about 18 weeks and am now back up to 130lb again at 29 weeks. Ok, here are my suggestions,.....
1. Take your prenatals at night before bed.
2. If ginger seems to help, you can get crystalized ginger (basically candied) at walmart. I keep a bag of it with me at all times during pregnancy and I just suck on a piece when I start to feel sick to my tummy.
3. Keep up your protein. I bought a protein body builder drink (52g protein) and that helped me as well as keeping beef jerky on me. I would just suck on a piece if the ginger fails.
4. Get a good Flush Free Niacin (vit B3) supplement.
5. Eat WHATEVER sounds good. Don't worry about calorie intake, and eat a little bit every hour or so. Just keep SOMETHING in your tummy.
It is still early to worry about not gaining. I TOTALLY understand wanting to eat and start to gain weight, but your sprout is doing just fine and getting what it needs from you even though it feels like you are starving. I really hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else. If I remember any other things, I will let you know.
~A.~ (cooking #7)

1 mom found this helpful

Hard candy always helps me. Especially something peppermint. Peppermint helps to soothe the tummy. It was a life saver with my first one. You also might call your doctor and ask them for something to help you. You should be gaining weight, not loosing it and if you loose too much it could be harmful to both of you.

A.-
I was right there with you with my second child, as soon as I moved in the morning I was on the run to the bathroom. I found that Altoids makes ginger flavored ones and also sucked on hard candy lemon drops (the old fashioned kind). I also found that before I even got out of bed I would eat a handful of pretzels or crackers or part of a cereal bar or granola bar. Believe me you will gain weight!!! HA!! Try this out, hopefully it will help!!
T.

A.-

I went through the exact same thing while I was pregnant with my daughter. Nothing, like you said, would stay down. The only thing that helped me, was to not eat before noon. As muchn as it sucked, and I was so hungry, that was the only way I wouldnt throw up. Also, I went to the doctor and they gave me these dissolvible tablets called ONDANSETRON. They are tablets made especially for Kemo treatment patients. They really helped me as well...when I remembered to take them! Talk to your doctor about it. Those are the two things I was definately recommend.

I was pregnant with my son sick all the time really nothing for me I lost so much weight my dr asked if I had an eating disorder.I knew what to stay away from meat was a big issue the smell taste texture made me sick.I had nite time nausea so I tried to drink a little Ginger ale or sip a Coke ice cold that helped till I drifted off to sleep.I ate lots of fruit and veggies.With my second one the same thing meat this time I kept on the Ginger Ale and mint breath mints and gum.Now with baby #3 on the way i'm only 7 weeks and slight nausea no full blown sickness yet.I'm hungry all the time but water makes me gag so I have to drink slowly.So my advice is to eat crackers drink ginger ale juices you like ice cold, mints gum and rest hopefully it wont last for the full 9 months like mine did.

this will take some time before you get out of bed in the morning try eating dry toast or saltines. they also have braclets for nausa ask the doctor about this. my sister had these problems and she had to go on medication for it. No juice or acidic foods, eat lots of whole grain foods and if all else fails try shakes,soup, and things that are one the easy side. you will get through this in a few more weeks. T.

Hi A.,

Goodness... do I feel your pain! I would highly HIGHLY suggest acupuncture. It made a gigantic difference with my second pregnancy. Really worth it!!!

I was told by my doctor to take Vitamin B6, up to 4 tablets per day as needed and it helped me almost instantly. I was only taking 2 per day for the first week, then went down to 1 per day for the next 2 weeks, and then I was done with the sickness. Before that, I tried the Cola syrup, which only helped to keep it from coming up, not keeping it away, and I also tried the teas, crackers, smaller meals spread throughout the day, those Preggo-Pops, etc and nothing worked for me except the Vitamin B6. Good luck and I hope it gets better for you.

Seek a good nutritionist or chiropractor. I was sick through an entire pregnancy and later discovered that the brand of pre-natal vitamins I was taking caused a pH imbalance, so I was suffering from acidosis the entire time. It was awful! I have also learned that several vitamin manufacturers will use rancid ingredients. Finding out which supplements your body needs during pregnancy and finding a trustworthy brand can make all the differnce!

There are chiropractors who specialize in nutrition. I would see my OB-GYN for prenatal care, but would see my chiropractor for nutritional advice.

Good luck, Sweetie! I feel for you!

Have you tried the Preggie Pops from the Motherhood Maternity store? They are made with herbs that settle the stomach. I have heard good things about how helpful they are in the first trimester.

I only had the sickness with one of my three kids, but whoa, Nelly! My doctor said I was so green, he gave me something for it. I don't remember what it was called, but it was a pill, and I only had to take it for a couple of weeks. It made it possible for me to go to work and function like a human. I think I STOPPED taking it at about 13 weeks, though, so you might be about over it anyway. Good luck, I feel for you.

preggie pops (sold at motherhood maternity) also there is an anti nausea liquid at walmart that is helpful. Also heavy peach syrup (from the can of peaches) all of these things are over the counder things that help. Also small small amounts at a time. Pretzels crakers..... bland food. Think of putting yourself on the BRATT diet: Banannas Rice Applesauce Tea and Toast. If none of those help, you OB should beable to prescribe you some anti nausuea medication to help. Good luck and remeber the prize at the end is worth it.

Oh yuck! You have my sympathies. What worked for me was either chicken or beef broth. I think it was the salt. I would dissolve a beef bouillon cube in a cup of boiling/hot water and sip on that. Or I would make a packet of Lipton's Cup of Chicken Noodle Soup. It had noodles and a few chicken chunks for a little sustenance. Both of these seemed to settle my stomach enough that I could then eat something else. Just be careful of your sodium intake. I hope this works for you.

I had the same problem with all 3 of my pregnancies. I tried everything I could and heard a million different things to try. One thing that helped was to always have something to munch on. Basicly, just snack throughout the day. If I ate an entire meal in one sitting it would most likely come back. I also had some pills that dissolved in my mouth. I think I saw someone else tell you about them. They are prescription and you really don't need more than a months worth. I hope you feel better and find something that works.

When I was pregnant with my son I had nausea all day. I suggest carrying saltine crackers with you and eat a couple before you get out of bed. My doctor okayed me to take Emetrol-it's an over the counter medicine for nausea. Something else that helped was changing the time of day that I took my prenatal vitamins. Good luck!

Hi A.,
So sorry to hear about all the nausea. I know how miserable that is. Drinking Ensure helped me a lot. And the advice about keeping something in your stomach all the time is really important. Losing weight during your pregnancy is worrisome but usually not that serious of concern but being dehydrated or nutrient deficient is. I also tried sublingual B vitamins-I couldn't tell that it helped the nausea, but it does for some people-but there was no way I could keep prenatal vitamins down so the sublingual vitamins were at least a way to help get some important nutrients in. If you think you are getting dehydrated, you should probably see your doctor right away. IV therapy can make you feel so much better and can help prevent complications from dehydration.
Hope you start feeling better in a few weeks,
A.

Have you tried nibbling on saltines (soda crackers)?

My doctor told me to drink flat coke. I don't know why it works, but it has to be flat. Also, talk to your doctor about it. They can prescribe medicine for morning sickness.

I feel for you. With my first son I had morning, afternoon, and night sickness for the first 6 months. With my second son, I was throwing up in the bed as they were getting me ready to take me in for the c-section. Crackers really helped me. The only thing that I could eat in the morning was toast with peanut butter and hot tea. I have been told by my doctor that peanut butter helps alot of women. I had a friend that when she was pregnant they fianlly had to put her on something because she coulnd't keep anything down. She ended up losing 50lbs. I would talk to your doctor if nothing else helps.

If you are losing that much weight and can't keep anything down, then you need to speak with your doctor about putting you on something to help you. My friend Laci had the same problem, and her doctor put her on a medication called Zofran, and she swore by it. As soon as she started taking it, the same day, she was able to eat and started gaining weight again.

You need to be careful with the use of any herbs during pregnancy. There are a lot of herbs and herbal remedies that are contraindicated in pregnancy. You could harm your baby by using some herbs that you normally could use safely if you weren't pregnant. Always talk to your doctor about herbal use and medications during pregnancy.

Vitamin B saved my life. Call your doc for the proper milligrams that you can have as I forget.

PLEASE check with your doctor before considering this, or any other suggestion with OTC meds. (I have no doubt that you would, I just felt better pointing it out before recommending this...) My had terrible morning sickness, all day long for over 2 months. My doctor had me take a combination of 1 Sominex & 1/2 B-6 vitamin (if I remember that exactly right.) It was amazing! Nausea - gone! Side effects - none! They assured me it was a safe treatment, and so much better than malnutrition! It really did work well.

Good luck!

I know you've gotten a ton of response and if you are sick you won't feel like reading all of these, but...Just in case... The nausia gets worse the more dehydrated you get...
fluids are very important...What worked for me was sweet tea (and I don't like sweet tea). When it was suggested I wanted to throw up thinking of it, but it did work and has worked for friends I've passed the info on to. The nausia liquid you can buy over the counter is just a liquid sugar mix... Always sip, never take big drinks. If it continues see your doctor. I only gained nine pounds with my first pregnancy because I was so sick... I feel your pain...Hang in there. From what I've read nausia is a sign of a healthy placenta (don't know why though,lol). Good luck.

If your losing weight at this point, check with your doctor and make sure there isn't some medication they may be able to give you. I'm sure the doctor will start to get concerned if you continue to lose weight rather than gain. When possible, try and eat small amounts all day long, not letting your stomach empty, which makes it worse. Soda crackers helped a family member who was very sick with twins.

Good luck!

When I was pg with my twins, I was told to keep lemonade (in something with a straw) and plain potato chips by my bed each night. Then in the morning, very first thing before even lifting you head from the pillow, eat and drink. There was something about the combination of the salty/sweet/sour that worked wonders for me ! Good luck !

First let me say I am so sorry you are feeling so miserable, I've been there and it's awful. Have you asked your midwife/ obgyn if there are any options? I finally started taking some combination of Unisom and something else, but I can't remember what. I think it was B6 or B12 vitamins. I was concerned about taking meds and my developing baby, but it had reached the point that i wasn't getting adequate nutrition. I finally started feeling less nauseous after my 18th week. Some other things I tried were the wrist bands with the pressure points, ginger capsules - more potent than the tea, and nibbling saltines before you even get out of bed in the morning. I empathize with you, it's horrible to feel so sick for so long. I hope you find something that works for you soon!

I too lost 10-15lbs with my first due to sickness. I found the only thing I wanted was egg rolls! My Mom's friend told her it was the cabbage in the egg rolls that was calming my stomach down, which was probably a reason I craved it! I also craved Cream of Wheat though... LOL Peppermint is also supposed to help, as well as either vitamin B6 or B12. I was also perscribed a prenatal pill that helped with the neasuea feeling. I don't remember the name, just that it was a long oval shape, and a bright blue! Good Luck, it does eventually get better ; )

Hi! I totally know how you feel. I was so ill my entire pregnany. I used Zofran the whole time. They do make a generic for it so it's very reasonable. It would at least take the edge off and I could eat and for the most part keep it down some of the time. You know every person is different.. you might take it and not be sick at all. Just talk to your dr. about it. The medication was originally made for nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients but OB's have found it works wonders for pregnant women with severe "morning sickness"

I was sick 247 with both of my pregnancies. My last one I was on an IV at home/ Not fun at all. Your doctor can give you a nausea pill the last one that I was on was Zofran. It helped wonders. S.

I had the same problem with my first child. I had it so bad that I ended up in the hospital....you do not want that !! Try eating small amounts at a time. Sipping powdered jello with a little bit of water works great. I found that butter crackers worked better than saltines. Just remember to keep yourself hydrated even though it is going to be hard if you are barfing all the time. If you feel that you are dehydrated then you will want to call your doctor.
Hang in there it soon, hopefully, will pass.

Are you vomiting before or after you take your prenatal pills? Are you taking your pills before or after you eat? Try a different time of day and either before of after you eat.

Hi A.,

I know exactly what you're going through. I am 12 weeks and just discovered last week that drinking bottled water (ONLY & at room temp) has cured my constant vomiting. So now I constantly sip on it. Last week I was reading over advice I'd received from this site and somehow over looked a mom advising me of this. And low and behold, it's working!! Congratulations and good luck!

I was sick with my first one too. I didn't want to eat because I was nausiated. Turned out, when pregnant, you should do just the opposite. Eat when you are nausiated - or before. Keep a little somthing in your tummy at all times. Keep crackers or pretzels or something you like with you at all times and nibble on it throughout the day. If you can stave off nausia with snacks, you'll feel more like eating healthy meals at mealtime. It worked for me.

I have definantly been there. I vomited the entire 9 months I ws pregnant - and still seemed to gain 70 pounds!! I had to eat very bland foods or very sweet foods - which did not help my waist line any. Talk to your doc about maybe some of the nutritional drinks - if you can keep any of those down it may help. Good luck to you and a healthy pregnancy! E.

I know this sounds weird, but Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper helped me. I would sip one all day (was recommended by a friend). Also, before I got out of bed in the morning I would eat a little bran muffin, Raisin Bran used to have a great recipe. I don't understand why, but it really helped calm my tummy down before I even got out of bed. I read some of the responses about the Preggie Pops. Hey I'd give it a try. Unfortunately they weren't around when I was pregnant with mine, but sounds like it's worth a try. Congratulations on your second pregnancy. Just remember every pregnancy is different. I had no morning sickness with my second, but was sick as a dog with my first. I pray for your sake and the baby's that the sickness goes away. Good Luck and God Bless.

Been there and done that. For me, dry toast stayed down fairly well and basically all I could eat was KFC mashed potatoes. How weird is that? I also remember that I would eat about half a bite, wait a while, then eat another half a bite, pretty much all day long. I had it really bad with my first and not at all with my second.

Peppermints and saltines helped me. Best of luck to you.

Don't let you stomach be empty. Always eat something, even just crackers or suck on candy. Eat sugary cereal. Those are some of the things that I was told. I had really bad morning sickness, well all day sickness. Worse with my daughter. I felt that way for at least 4-5 months. Miserable I know. I kept a bag of Jolly ranchers in my desk at work and ate crackers. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

I can read your mind after you read my recommendation. You'll think, "I could never drink that..it would make me sicker!" Been there... said that. Everyone I recommend it to says the same thing. But..... it was like a miracle for me. Sip Apricot Nectar. It is a tad thicker than juices, but it REALLY did the trick. I just kept a little glass handy all day, and would sip it occasionally. It really tasted good! You'll find it in the canned juice aisle. It's in with the pineapple juice, grape juice... stuff like that. Good luck!

I completely feel your pain...I'm so sorry!! I was sick with both of my pregnancies, but the second was much, much worse. I tried EVERYTHING....literally everything that has been suggested already. I was missing work, not getting out of bed, and literally eating and drinking nothing. At about 12 weeks my doctor set up Matria Healthcare and I had a nurse assigned that came to my house and I wore a "pump" that hooked to a needle in my leg that pumped reglan into my body 24 hours a day (I couldn't keep the reglan pill down when I took it with water and when I put the zofran pill on my tongue I threw up). I know I'm not describing that very well, but my main point is that if it gets intolerable, there are medications you can take to relieve the symptoms. I was still sick while on the medication, but managed to "function" somewhat. I took the medication until I was 27 weeks (I tried many times earlier with no luck). Being nauseous is one thing, but not being able to function normally is a different story, especially with a little one to take care of. If the symptoms don't start to ease, hopefully your doctor will recommend medication. I was terrified of taking anything while pregnant, but figured it couldn't be any worse than malnurishing my baby (though I know she was far better off than I was). Today she is a happy, intelligent, perfect little girl who never stops! And she makes me forget the TERRIBLE time she gave me while I was pregnant with her...I never would've guessed! Good luck to you...hang in there!!

Hello A....

First of all congratulations!! Second.. I know you probably got the same responses..but I had to let you know!! I had morning sickness untill about 20 weeks!! :(
and I had it ALL day!!! In the morning I would have crackers on my night stand and would wake up and eat a couple before I got out of bed. Drank a lot of ginger ale. and the best things were those Preggie Pops, You can find them at Babies R Us! And I was on medication to help with the nausea..when I was 13 weeks my dr. told me to go to the emergency room where they could give me fluids by IV so that I didnt become dehydrated and kept the baby healthy!(Also because I had lost weight!)

Everyones pregnancy is different :)
Good Luck!!

S.