Can I take anything?

I finally had my first migraine during my pregnancy last night. It was terrible. I just had to wait it out because I didn't know what to take for it....or if I could take anything for it. It was the worst pain ever. I usually pop a couple migrain pills, but those have asprin in them. So, is there anything I CAN take for the next one?

Also, when I get so constipated....all this gas pressure building up and nothing coming out....and not going number 2 for like a week at a time....is there anything I can take for that?

 

As for the constipation I would try linseeds, prunejuice and tons of water.

A bowel movement needs a lot of fluid for easier passage. Fibers (which are in the contained a lot in linseeds and prunejuice) train the intestinal muscles and also help an easier passage, but they do need a lot of fluid. If these work, you don't need a laxative. A lot of things can be helped with the right food.

 

Fiber and TONS of water for the constipation...

You can take non-aspirin for the headaches, but I'm not a migraine sufferer, so I can't recommend much...

 

Paracetamol is a non aspirin pain reliever. But please call a medical service for info, cuz on the box it says, that it's only to be used after consulting a doc while being pregnant.

 

Yea. I called my doctor earlier today and asked what I could do for a migraine and she said not much of anything. I was hoping some mamas here would have a solution that didn't involve asprin or any kind of meds....as the only thing I'm actually trying to take is non asprin for minor pain.

 

I take Tylenol when I get migraines. I have had a few since I've been pregnant that knock me on my butt and make me start puking. The Tylenol rapid release really do the trick. Good luck, I wish I had a non-medicinal remedy for you!

 

For constipation, high fiber cereal can help keep you regular after the prune juice gets you started! And lots of fruits and veggies (good for the baby as well).

During my second pregnancy I had terrible migraines and I was on prescription drugs... but I later found that Tylenol and a cup of regular coffee (gotta have the caffeine for it to work) would sometimes keep the migraine from becoming too rough.

A lot of times I would get the headaches if I didn't get enough sleep so naps also seemed to make them go away (and staying away from processed meats...)

Good luck!

 

my doctor said i could take "benifiber" if I absolutly needed it... and i did... I was eatting All Bran for hours, but couldn't get anything to move.

 

Ah....I never thought of coffee as a caffeine source! Rock on, thanks.

Yes, Tylenol is my friend now that I'm pregnant.

 

LOL, coffee might help with the constipation as well!!

 

coffee also helps with Asthma, if you have it

 

have you had your iron levels checked? If you are not anemic, I'd stop taking prenatals with iron, it should make the constipation go away. If you are anemic, or your iron levels on the low side, take some fiber stool softener (I use a kind that is made of prunes and flax seed, I think it is). And drink lots of water.


for migraines, chiropractic adjustment works better for me than anything else, even the hormonal kind of migraines. But I do have a prescription for butalbitol/fioricet that my doc said was okay to take while pregnant and breastfeeding, as long as I don't take it too often. Just don't take advil/ibuprofen type meds in the first or third trimesters. Be sure to drink lots and lots and lots of water.

 

all that worked for my migraines when i was pregnant was an ice pack on my lower neck and head. my doctor gave me something, i can't remember what, but it was like a lortab or something like that. mainly it was just to knock me out until the migrain went away. migraines are evil. when i'd get a bad one towards the end of my pregnancy i'd get cramps. it was kinda scary.

 

I don't have asthma, thank goodness. I hear bad things.
mama, yes, I'm anemic. I have to take prenatals and some iron pills on top of that, and it's still right at the 'good' iron level. I bought some prune juice today, hopefully that will work.
I'll ask my doctor during my next visit if she can prescribe me anything for my migraines.
I'll try that ice pack thing. I get really bad ones when I get them. Bleh.

 

yeah, tylenol was the only drug i took when i was pregnant....it worked pretty well. I would still limit when i took it, which was a nice change....i was a tylenol junkie before i was pregnant cuz I had horrible periods that lasted for days and days....
but yeah, that's about my only advice.....i wouldn't recomend anything else.

 

I have tons of allergies to most meds out there... so pregnant or not, I use the same remedies for migraines. Try a drop of lavender essential oil on each of your temples, and about 15 minutes of deep-breathing exercises in a darkened room. This helps me about 95% of the time, if I can catch the migraine right away.

If I don't catch it right away & it escalates into the auras & piercing pain, a 20oz bottle of coke or pepsi and a tylenol will take care of it pretty quick as well. I know they say don't drink a lot of caffeinated stuff while pregnant, but I ONLY used it to cure migraines... so I guess I thought that didn't count as "excessive use" ?!?
love,
mom

 

seriously, try seeing a chiropractor. it's especially good when you are pregnant (not just for migraines), you just have to make sure to find the right one for you.

 

I have a chronic migraine issue. Not treating them was simply not an option, even when I was pregnant. If Imitrex works for you, it is safe to take. If that doesn't' work, Fioracet is safe, also. Also, the narcotic family, codiene, propoxyphene, and Vicodin (same as Lortab, like KC took) are all very safe in pregnancy. Very little gets to the baby at all. My OB, my Ped and my Neurologist all agreed to these drugs when I was pregnant. (I can't take Imitrex, though.)

I've tried ALL the "home remedies" for migraines, no luck. My using lavender, caffeine, or plain APAP for a migraine is like using a pea shooter to kill a raging Lion. My pain was judged to be severe enough to actually pose a threat to my unborn children, MORE of a threat than some Vicodin or Fioracet. As a 40 year sufferer of Migraine, my guess would be if something like tea or a can of Coke makes your migraine go away, you are damn lucky. (If you have been diagnosed with true migraines and these remedies work, I wish I was you!) One of the diagnostic factors in migraine is difficulty in treatment. A basic MILD headache responds to caffiene or Tylenol, but according to my neurologist and many others in the field, if it is easy to treat, it probably isn't really a "Migraine." Tension headache is probably a better diagnosis. Although there are people with Tension Headaches which are really hard to treat as well.

If a doctor tells you "there isn't anything you can take for a migraine" when you are pregnant, she needs to be replaced. Newer research has shown many drugs are not only safe, but SAFER than "toughing out" a migraine while you are pregnant. Being in terrible pain when you are pregnant is NOT good for you or the baby. In fact, it is demostratabley worse than any of the mentioned drugs.

Unless directed by a doctor, aspirin and Motrin (Ibuprofen) are not recommended after your 34th week. But Tylenol based meds (like Vicodin, Tylenol with Codeine, Fioracet ect all have Tylenol as a base) are mostly safe.

If you doctor won't "allow" you to properly treat your migraines you have two options, get a new doctor (one who is more UPDATED on how serious migraines are and that they CAN be treated in pregnancy) and see a Neurologist, who, if he is a good one, can treat your migraines when you are pregnant. You have better luck at a Teaching Hospital. I have found that doctors at private hospitals or community hospitals not only suck at pregnancy, but they are not forced to keep up to date, and are also afraid to actually TREAT migraine.

I have treated migraines, very serious ones, in four pregnancies, there IS treatment. You have to have the right doctor.

Do you mind telling me what worked for you before you were pregnant? That may be safe now, and if you still have some, and your doctor is being a moron, you could just treat yourself. But, it is better to have a doc who is UPDATED enough to not say "there isn't much we can do." Because there is a lot you can do.

NO ONE pregnant or not, should have to suffer through a migraine without effective medications.

 

I'm a migraine sufferer, too. True migraines don't respond to the usual headache remedies. I have a homeopathic remedy that takes the edge off, but doesn't make it go away.

They have eased off in the past few years, so I don't have them as often, but when I do, I need hard narcs. I remember laying under my bed for 4 days with a migraine, the only place that was cool and dark enough.
Chiro helped with preventing migraines, as did eliminating triggers, like MSG. But when I have one, the only thing that works is medication.
I don't know any midwife/doctor who would recommend not treating a migraine.
I agree with Maggie, get a second opinion.

 

Vicodin forever! One of the only things that makes a dent in my migraines. I took it during my pregnancies (along with Fioracet and Zoloft for pain reduction.) Most studies say these are all safe, and less dangerous than being in pain.

Pain can be a DISEASE. No good doctor or midwife would be so uncaring as to let a prenant womyn suffer and say "Oh, there's nothing we can do." IF they actually read a medical journal in the past, say, 10 years, they would know there is plenty they can do.

There is help, flower. Don't suffer. Insist on relief.