Morning Sickness on Steroids in Armageddon

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

KOTPE’s nickname growing up was Angel Boy partially because when I was pregnant with him I only vomited once.  QOTPE ran a close second.  The others?  Sheer misery for about four months. 

The first time I was pregnant, I lost about 10 pounds in the first trimester due to all the nausea and vomiting.  The others weren’t so kind.  Our Angel Baby, who lived only 90 minutes, was the worst.  He did to me things I didn’t know possible.   Morning sickness on steroids.  Angel Baby (not to be confused with Angel Boy) changed his mind daily, hourly, regarding which foods were on the no-go list.  Usually after I ate them.  Sometimes my stomach would somehow separate out the offending food.  I spent the evening writhing in agony on the bed as he picked out all the peppers.  I then vomited just the peppers of a Chinese stir fry.  About 45 minutes later he decided the whole dinner was bad and it all came up.  A couple of times, the vomiting was so violent (I don’t know how else to describe it), the ends of the capillaries around my eyes burst.  I was splattered with red freckles for a few hours.  Then they turned brown, then disappeared.  The water I drank after vomiting tasted like sugar syrup because the stomach acid burned my throat so badly. 

That was taking morning sickness to extremes, but some women really do take it to an unhealthy level, requiring IVs for fluids and nutrition.  Needing IVs for months or the whole pregnancy during TEOTWAWKI is going to be a little dicey.  And I’ve been concerned about that.

My daughters could take after me and only have a rough time of it.  Or they could take after my grandmother.  It was noted on my dad’s birth certificate that she suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum.  Those are the fancy words for truly horrendous morning sickness. 

Of course, you’re familiar with thalidomide, the drug prescribed women with morning sickness from 1957 until 1961 when it was withdrawn from the market after being linked to severe birth defects.  Women currently are advised against taking any kind of pharmaceutical for fear of harming the baby.  And that’s truly for the best.

But what happens when a woman is vomiting so much and is so nauseated that it becomes life-threatening?  Especially if our medical system has collapsed?  Most people won’t be prepared with IVs. 

I recently learned about Bendectin, a drug that was prescribed for American women in such situations until 1983 when it was withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer.  Notably, it wasn’t withdrawn because it was found to cause birth defects.  Rather, it was because the company was going to go bankrupt defending itself against endless lawsuits.   

Of course, there would be no point in discussing a medication that is no longer manufactured and couldn’t possibly be obtained before or during a crisis.  (Well, not in the US.  It is available in Canada.[1])  However, Bendectin is available again in the US, albeit under a new name and formulation, Bonjesta.  It’s not available through All Day Chemist (which is now shipping to the US again, happily).  I didn’t check other overseas pharmacies.

Bonjesta tablets contain 20 mg each of doxylamine succinate, an antihistamine most commonly taken as a sleep aid, and pyridoxine, also known as vitamin B6, in an extended-release formulation to be taken once at bedtime.[2] [3] 

The predecessor Bendectin tablets contained 10 mg each of doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine in a delayed-release formulation. [4]  [5]  The usual dosing regimen instructed the patient to take two tablets at bedtime.  If that didn’t relieve symptoms, another tablet was added to the schedule at mid-afternoon.  If necessary, a fourth tablet taken in the morning was added to the regimen. 

To bypass the delayed-release issue, buy delayed-release empty capsules on Amazon and put the tablets inside.

Bendectin (or the DIY solution) should not be taken by people who:

• Are allergic to doxylamine succinate, pyridoxine, or any other ingredients in the medication
• Are at risk of having an asthma attack
• Have narrow angle glaucoma
• Have a stomach ulcer
• Have a blockage in the gastrointestinal tract
• Have a urinary tract problem
• Are taking MAOIs

Side effects include

• Diarrhea
• Difficulty sleeping
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Irritability
• Nervousness
• Sleepiness[6]

And because we're talking medicine and pregnant women, here's an additional reminder to never take any drug, including ones available over the counter, for any condition without consulting a licensed medical professional.  You're only storing supplies and medications so that a doctor has what he needs to treat your family members in a crisis.

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[1] https://www.rexall.ca/article/drug/view/id/15098/

[2] https://womensmentalhealth.org/posts/another-medication-pregnancy-related-nausea-vomiting/

[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/doxylamine-and-pyridoxine-oral-route/description/drg-20060896

[4] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2013/021876s002lbl.pdf

[5] https://fda.report/DailyMed/3670d66e-c1e4-42ce-8760-c3d5accad925

[6] https://medbroadcast.com/drug/getdrug/apo-doxylamineb6