Wednesday, July 20, 2011

JULY 23, 2011 SHE HAS MORNING SICKNESS













"Beginning TODAY, treat everyone you meet as if they will be dead by midnight. Give to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster and do it with NO thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again." - Og Mandino

You might have seen this quote before but like me forgot who wrote it. It was Augustine 'Og' Mandino II. Mr Mandino died at age 72 in September 1996. He was a bombardier during WWII, an insurance salesman, a divorced father, and author of The Greatest Salesman in the World. This book contained the 'time tested wisdom of the ancients distilled into ten simple scrolls'. You MUST read this book. The ten scrolls in this book yield peace, serenity and love. Sure there are some Christian overtones, but for me, being a 12 step program member I have no fear or doubt when reading them.

Reading Scroll I- Today I begin a new life is exactly how I wish I had started life. I eventually did but it took some years. I do not regret nor forget the past. I just DO NOT dwell on the past. This book, his first, is still in print as are 15 more of his 19 books. I would say he was an accomplished author. Being a movie star buff I was also excited to learn that his co pilot during WWII was none other than Captain James Stewart.

He even shares his birthday, December 12 with Francis Albert Sinatra. Now, how did I remember that!

The quote above is precious. It stirs sadness, happiness, guilt and anger in me. What does it stir in you? Would I treat people differently if I knew today was their last day on Earth? Would you treat people differently? I can only wonder and try it for one 24 hour period in my life to know the answer.



The other day I saw a young pregnant female about her dietary concerns. She did discuss her morning sickness as she was only 2 months pregnant. I feel that morning sickness is multi factorial. I am not an Ob/Gyn physician although during my clinical clerkships in London I delivered more than 100 babies. It was exciting and thrilling. About 5 years ago, Rick and I had the opportunity to watch a delivery in Spain with a friend. It took me back to my medical school days. For Rick it was his first real delivery. I remember that day if it were yesterday. He had tears in his eyes.


Back to morning sickness...with the hormone elevation during pregnancy I feel the fluctuation in sugar and blood pressure changes cause the morning sickness. So I did discuss the importance of eating regularly and consuming more protein than refined carbohydrates during pregnancy. You must have read about sugar cravings for ice cream during pregnancy. Not the wisest choice but I am sure it helps the anxiety and nerves.

I still do not get the pickle craving!

The medical term for morning sickness is Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (NVP). This is the allopathic or conventional definition. If there is extreme, unrelenting vomiting the condition is then called Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

This patient had tried the conventional antihistamines with little relief. Her physician suggested steroids is the vomiting got worse. She asked me about other choices of treatment.

This is one of the many times I learn from patient questions. I knew ginger (Zingiber officinale)
had been studied with at least 5 trials from 2001-2005. I personally use peppermint when I feel nauseous, but that can be a trigger for some individuals.


So what did I do. I started to study, research and read about botanicals used for 'morning sickness.' I was relieved to find that there are many botanicals that can be used. From reading books authored by Tori Hudson, Tierona Lowdog, Victoria Maizes and Aviva Romm, I can now safely suggest some botanicals. I would still advise less sugars and avoiding hypoglycemia with several small protein meals. I would always encourage fluid intake. I do know that Charlotte from 'Sex in the City' sought acupuncture treatment for vomiting when she was pregnant on the show. There are promising studies on acupuncture and acupressure.


My botanical conclusions are a tea infusion of Meadowsweet, Chamomille and Black Horehound. I have never used the digestive bitter, Black horehound ( Ballota nigra) but it was mentioned in all of my readings. I might substitute the Meadowsweet for Ginger as ginger is a better anti emetic (anti vomiting agent) than Meadowsweet. You can even use horehound in motion sickness which is a great suggestion.


Until tomorrow...

Hint: For those with motion sickness carry a tincture of Black Horehound with you


No comments:

Post a Comment