Morning sickness so bad, finally taking Zofran....worried about safety issues

I'm 10 weeks, very sick as you may have read from my previous posts. My doctor put me on Zofran and I hesitated because I was worried about taking prescription drugs while pregnant. I'd be interested in hearing the good and bad from those who may have taken it too. I'm so sick that I wonder if I'm doing my baby more harm by not at least trying to find relief. I picked up the RX today....boy is it expensive. My insurance covered $900 of the 30 tablets, and I was left with a $75 co-pay. I'm taking 4 tablets per day. Yikes! This morning sickness better end soon I can't afford to have it much longer! Thank you in advance for those who post. And I'll be sure to follow up with my progress as I know many of you are going through the same thing.

[BusyMom92960206]

It is completely safe, I took it with my last pregnancy and with this one as well, I too am 10 weeks and sickness has been kicking my BUTT!  Anyway, I am sure if you call your pharmacy they will reassure you and they can give you the category, I believe it is a B, but you will have to check to make sure.  Anyway, it works wonders so don't hesitate to take it.  Best of luck and keep us posted!

[lib and jrs mom]

i took zofran all through this last pregnancy (from about 13wks until delivery at 36wks).  no problems with me or the baby because of it.  it's better for you to take the med and be able to eat because the baby needs it.  i never had any side effects from it, and my little girl had no extra problems from it.  good luck to you and your little one.

[cable4me2007]

Your doctor would not prescribe a drug for you that was unsafe during pregnancy.  It is better than not getting the nourishment you need to grow a healthy baby.

[duehring]

I took it through the first 18 weeks and had a healthy baby with no problems. They do cause consitpation so I would recommend using Benefiber with it to keep you from getting constipated.

[JenLove]

yes it is expensive and you dont have to take all 4 tabs per day (at least thats what my dr. said) i just had to take one per day to feel better. which is a good idea since it is so expensive. and i wasnt worried about taking the perscription. i figured, if my OB perscribed it to me while i was preg then its ok to take. it is made specifically for us! my advice (that worked for me and was also my doctors idea if you would like to take it) take one in the morning 20 minutes before you get ready for your day. they last 6-8 hours so if you feel morning sickness coming on again, pop another one of those babies. i never had to take more than 2 a day. im 13weeks5days right now and i still get sick every once in a while, but the worst is over. hang in there i feel for ya! get better soon.

[chewee]

This pill called ZOFRAN, can you obtain it in the UK - so far i've heard only americans comment on it?

[chewee]

i'm 9 1/2 weeks - and suffering - my docter has prescribed me with anti-sick pills for the 2nd time! and none of them work - they just put me to sleep (un-naturally!). I see that ZOFRAN seems to be quiet popular for moring sickness. Has anyone got any suggestions. I'm becoming so desperate!

[AmyK08]

I am 18 weeks pregnant and currently living in the Caribbean, however, I am an American and I will deliver my baby in America.  My American doctor gave me some Zophran before I came back to the Caribbean because  I have been vomiting everyday/ all day since I was 8 weeks pregnant. I have lost 20lbs so far.  I do have a dutch doctor here in the Caribbean, but they have never heard of Zophran... im pretty sure you can only get it in America.  However, you may be able to go to your pharmacist in the UK and ask them to special order it... the pharmacist here in the Caribbean told me she could special order it BUT it would be like $100 a pill.  I have to take 2 a day... this could get expensive!  I just have my family in America ship it to me here in the Caribbean.  Zophran is a miracle drug... it works every time for me.... however, it really does make you constipated!  I actually take fiber with it, etc.. but it makes me so constipated I have to get enema's weekly.  I have been on it for a while now.  I was also scared to death of it at first, but I realized if I didnt take it I would starve my baby... and I do not want to do that!! Hope this helped! Oh yeah, you also said you have tried 2 different meds from your doctor in the UK... I want to warn you.... DO NOT take Groval if they prescribe you that... my Dutch Doctor gave it to me for my vomiting and if made me unconscious and I had hallucinations for 3 hours! Be careful what they give you... I know for sure the only 2 things safe in America is Phenergan and Zophran.  Be careful!

[Karen5142010]

I am currently 7 weeks preggers and I had terrible sickness all day and night.  Everytime I ate I would keep it down for about 30 minutes and it was sure to come back up.  My OB gave me a prescription for compazine and it didn't work at all.  Then the Doc gave me Zophran and I was able to get a generic form of it which only cost me $8.  Ladies ask for generic there is one out there and it worked wonders for me.  I am able to eat and keep it down and no more nausea at all.  However,  I have experienced headaches with taking this medicine.  But I would rather have a headache than the sickness I had before.  I figured in order to lose one symptom you have to deal with another to get thru it.
This will be my 4th child I am so happy and excited but when you are so sick its hard to be happy or excited.  I wish you all the best of luck. I hope this post helped someone that was in the same predicament as I was. Good Luck!

[ccarpediem]

After a long bout of vomiting my doctor told me I had to seek treatment in the ER.  They gave me zophran through an IV and then a prescription for it.  Zophran WAS NOT developed to treat morning sickness, it was developed for cancer patients to help them deal with chemo.  Class B means that this drug has ONLY been tested on animals and there are no studies done on pregnant women.  (My husband asked if this meant I could give birth to a healthy mouse:-)  The pill you will be given is a low dose version that tastes like mints....so while the pill has been tailored for pregnant women this was not the original intent of creating the drug.  I have a generic version as well and it was only $15 for 20 pills.  The sickness for me was bad and I needed something to peel myself away from the floor of our bathroom.  I've taken it for 5 days and now I'm trying acupuncture.  So I'm back to vomiting (though the acupuncturist said up front I'd need a couple days of visits before I should hope for results) however the headaches that accompanied the morning sickness with zophran are much less worse.  I feel like I have a different kind of relief than I did under zophran...but of course I can't go to work throwing up like this.  I've been lucky to have an understanding boss on that front.  

[LolaSF]

I am wondering if I can take Zofran if I am not vomitting but feeling very sick?  I am 10 weeks and I have terrible nausea every day throughout the day along with headache and other digestion-related problems. I am not able to throw up though I feel like I am about to all the time.  I eat a lot because sometimes I feel it helps with nausea.  I am looking for any kind of relief that is safe. Motion sickness band doesn't do anything at all and I don't know what else to try.  I am seeing my doctor in one week, I will probably ask her as well, but wanted to know if I should seek an earlier appt.

[anichols711]

I was on Zofran and Reglan with my daughter for almost 30 weeks. I was on a pump that gave me medicine 24 hours a day because I couldn't keep the pills down.  It was one of the hardest times in my life. I felt alone and still got sick every day. I was in and out of the hospital all throughout my pregnancy. Now my daughter is 2 1/2 yrs old and I am thankful but wonder about the side effects of being on that kinda a medicine. My daughter is very small. She is very short and only weights about 21 lbs although she eats as much as my 5 year old if not more.  Lately she has been having problems with food allergies and I cannot figure out what she is allergic too. I have to keep telling myself that the medicine aloud me to have her. If I wasn't on the medicine the doctors told me I would go into premature labor. I am truly glad she is here but wonder the repercussions of being on that much medicine. Does anyone else wonder about this being on this medicine?  Or see problems later down the line. I know 1 other person who went through the same situation as me and her daughter has the same problems. Is this a freak similarity or is there something else there?

[danny06]

ive taken zofran with all 4 of my kids, 3 in the normal pill form this last baby whos 7wks old i had to take the instant disolve tablets cause i couldnt keep the pills down. my 7wk old was 4.3 wks early but im pretty sure it was due to getting preg 10 wks after giving birth! none of my kids have any problems or defects from me taking the pills and although its expenssive it works wounders and i never would have made it threw pregnancy without them. had morning sickness everyday threw all 4 preg.

[Leigh479]

I started taking zofran 4 days ago. 4 days ago I was in bed most of the day the other part of the day my head was over the toilet bowl! Today I am a new woman. I am 8 weeks pregnant and am now able to function, eat certain types of food and get out of the house! Cant believe I had gone through 2 previous pregnancies and not know about this miracle pill! If you are desperate, crying and thinking you wont get through this time, I strongly suggest you get yourself to the doctors ASAP!  I know it cost alot of money but my husband and I think $9 - $18 a day is very much worth the cost as now I can be a mum and wife again! Go to your doctor and get some - You wont know yourself! Good Luck

[angelinnashville]

I could not keep food down and was in tears when I went to my pharmacy to pick up my Zofran. My insurance did not cover it and they said the generic was over $350 and that was just for a two week dose. 4 days later I decided to research different places to see if I could get it cheaper. I had to call around and found a HUGE difference in price for it. I was quoted over $350 at Walgreens for the highest, $68.84 at Sams Club and $17.30 at Costco. I about passed out over the difference. The same dose, the same drug, the same amount (30 pills). I recommend anyone who has to take it to call around and price check. If there is not a Costco close to you, I would mail order it through them with that type of savings. I'm also very upset with Walgreens who I have used pretty much my whole life for marking this drug out of my reach with them where I have to drive two hours to get it at a reasonable price with someone else. It's worth the drive for the savings but I should not have to. Bottom line...... if your insurance does not cover this drug or any drug, call around and price compare and don't suffer like I did for several more days. Generic Zofran worked great for me once I got it.

[joju]

I am in Australia and am taking Zofran, and like most of you am pondering the potential side effects. You feel damed if you do and damed if you don't - because dehydration is no good for growing baby either. thank you to all those Mums out there who have been able to say that they took Zofran, and their babies came out just fine. Research is very limited on the drug and any studies done have been retrospective only. Thus your feedback has been very valuable to me. FYI, this drug wasn't developed for morning sickness, it was developed for nausea caused by chemotherapy because most others on the market don't work well for that sort of nausea. Its use has been extended for morning sickness as it has been found effective for morning sickness too. I hope we can get some more longer term studies for the drug because its not just delivering a healthy baby at term, but having a baby that continues to grow well in all developmental areas as they age ???

[mchop]

i have used zofran in both my pregnancies, and i understand your worry. i lost 3 and 1/2 stone in 1st 15weeks i was so bad didnt leave hospital till 22weeks! the staff on the ward were desperate to help me that they called in a hypnotist. so in the end i had 2 very healthy babies and lived to tell the tale, zofran was a last resort and was the only medication that enabled me to tolerate any water or food only down side was terrible constipation, good luck!

[dingervb]

I am 8 weeks pregnant, and I've been suffering from nausea all day long since 5 weeks 5 days. Unlike most others who post about this, I am actually NOT vomiting, although sometimes I wish I would. I've had moments of turning green with cold sweats, sitting on the floor of the bathroom, and begging to vomit, but NOTHING. This is very similar to my 1st pregnancy (now a 4 year old girl), when this continued through week 16. So far, the only thing that works a little bit is to just eat bites of food constantly... apples, crackers, peanut butter/bread, pasta... but even when I do this the nausea will still come without warning. I'm constantly thirsty, but I have yet to find a drink that tastes good and won't make me nauseous or give me heartburn (soda, orange juice, lemonade). I work full time, and of course am a mom and a wife, and I am basically useless right now. Our house is a disaster zone, and my daughter is worried that her mama will never get better (we haven't told her yet).

All that to say:  my doctor prescribed zofran for me, even though I am in no danger of dehydration. I feel like a wimp for wanting to take it because I'm not actually vomiting, but I am exhausted from coping with the nausea all day and night (not sleeping well either). Should I just suck it up and deal with this until 16 weeks like last time, or is it worth the slight risk of taking this medication during pregnancy?

[cjhart21]

I am in the SAME boat as you!  Not vomiting but the nausea has been debilitating... I'm missing work and can do NOTHING but sit/lay and be miserable, even though I can eat and am not in danger of dehydration.  I called my midwife yesterday and they prescribed me generic Zofran and I have only taken one pill- this morning, and I have had a better day today than since this morning sickness started!  (I am 8wks 1day today).  I feel guilty for taking an Rx during pregnancy, especially since I'm not dehydrated, but I can't keep missing work and feeling like a LOSER in life b/c I can't do anything.  And I didn't think I could stand it another 4-6 weeks... I wouldn't have any sick days left!  I did try several other things frist, Vit B6, eating small meals frequently, crackers b/f getting out of bed, etc., but nothing has really made a difference.  I hope this Zofran continues to make me feel this way...this I can handle!   Good luck, I feel your pain!  

[im_carolina22]

U R SO RIGHT U HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD IM HAVING MY 3RD CHILD AND I ALWAYS GET SICK WHEN PREGNANT THIS TIME I WAS PRESCRIBED ZOFRAN AND IT DOES WORK WONDERS I EVEN GET MY ENERGY BACK IT SEEMS.... I DO GET THE HEADACHES BUT I ALWAYS GET THEM N E WAY! I HAVE TO START ALL OVER MY OLDEST IS 14 AND MY YOUNGEST IS 10 SO PRAY 4 ME!8) GOOD LUCK 2 ALL OF U LADIES!!! ZOFRAN WORKS WONDERS!!!!

[Mommy21June2012]

I am in my 9th week of pregnancy and I had to make a trip to the E.R. this past weekend. My morning sickness was so bad that I couldn't eat or drink anything and I was severely dehydrated. Zofran (up to 34 mg. is safe per day for pregnancy, although I am prescribed 16 mg per day) and Phenergan (25 mg in 4-6 hour intervals) are the two prescriptions prescribed to me by my doctor. Zofran is a Category C only because of the newness of the drug. Phenergan is a Category B. However, it is more risk to your baby to not take the drug than to take the drug when you are diagnosed with hypermesis gravidium. Dehydration, especially in higher elevation, is a major cause of miscarriage, as you are depriving the baby of the nutrients that he/she needs. I did not hesitate when my doctor prescribed these medications and they have been a lifesaver for me. I was sooooooooooooooooooo miserable. Now, I'm like a new person! I am able to eat and drink and enjoy my pregnancy instead of wishing it would just hurry up and be over.

This is my first pregnancy. I am 21, my fiance is 26. This was a planned pregnancy and took us 10 months to conceive.

[momallover]

Actually, Zofran is Category B.  Phenergan is Category C.