Hi I have extreme nausea and vomiting. Over the past weekend I couldn't hold ANYTHING down. My doctor put me on a low dosage of Zofran (4mg) (Ondansetron). I was finally able to eat something without bringing it back up. The doctor said If this didn't work that I may have to be hospitalized. I was just wondering if anybody else has taken this and how they felt? Any side effects? ↓
For those who are not yet a member, Register and become a part of our close-knit forum community.
Name: cristina | Date: Jun 14th, 2005 12:16 AM
Hi Lisa, I have a stomah condition called gastroparesis which means A weak stomach. My food digests A little slower than others. I know people who are on that med and t works wonders. You will be fine. I had extreme nausea but Im 10 weeks now and Im getting better. Im also digesting my food better which is great and eating good. ↑
Name: heather | Date: Jun 14th, 2005 4:11 PM
****lia*** I'm 6 weeks along with my second child. With my first - 2 years ago - i was extremely sick. by 10 weeks I had to go to the emergency room at least once a week because I couldn't keep down food or water. The worse part was the no water - it was really bad for the baby. That lasted my whole term - I even went into the hospital to deliver throwing up. Zofran was my life saver. Unfortunately my insurance only covered 15 pill / 28 days - so I only took them when I absolutely needed to . These pills were great. If you need to talk to the doc about it. As of right now, these pills are the safest things on the market. There are no basically no side effects. The pills are fully synthetic - hence the cost - and were designed for cancer patients - which is why it was so important form them not to have side effects. Right before I got pregnant in 2002 - they were approved by the FDA for use by pregnant women for nasuea - from what my doc told me. At 6 weeks I know already they will be a life saver to me again. Hope this info helps!!! ↑
Name: lia | Date: Jun 14th, 2005 4:21 PM
Thanks Cristina and Heather! I'm feeling better, now that I'm able to keep food down. I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow and I'm already having a new attitude! :-> ↑
I've been on Zofran for a few days and have been having side effects of abdominal cramping and fatigue. I have also been unsure as to how safe Zofran is and have searched high and low to see if anyone knows the effect on my fetus. What bothers me is that it is not proven to be UNsafe, merely because studies have not yet been done on pregnant women taking Zofran. This makes me slightly nervous, especially when it is stressed in the very packet given to me by the pharmacist with the medication that "The safety of ondansetron during pregnancy has not been established. Ondansetron is not teratogenic in animals. However, as animal studies are not always predictive of human response, the use of ondansetron in pregnancy is not recommended." So why is this a miracle drug for pregnant women everywhere? Is there a clinically proven SAFE miracle drug out there? That is what I want. ↑
Name: Anne | Date: Jun 20th, 2005 11:23 AM
I'm taking zofran also. It's amazing. It wasn't available when I was pregnant with my 1st child 7 years ago. Oh and Aubrey..... fatigue and stomach cramping are also symptoms of pregnancy. Get off the meds if you're so worried. ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 20th, 2005 12:09 PM
I've met a couple of people who have taken Zofran and had no side effects with the baby. I'm 9w5d and I'm planning to try stop taking it by week 12. It's definetly been a life saver. I couldn't function before. Not even get out of bed! Aubrey, Stress isn't good for you or the baby. Did you ask your Dr. questions before taking zofran? ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 20th, 2005 4:14 PM
How far along are you ladies? When did you start taking it? Have you stopped? If so, at what week? ↑
Name: Kristy | Date: Jun 24th, 2005 4:29 PM
I just started taking Zofran yesterday. I am 7 weeks (2 days). I am still not eating too good - my problem was severe nausea with minor vomitting. I hope a few days on Zofran will help get my system back. I have morning sickness all day long. It is bad in the morning, terrible at lunch, and unbearable by dinner...What was the best time to take the Zofran for you girls? ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 24th, 2005 4:50 PM
Kristy, I take it when I first wake up in the morning. It helps me keep breakfast and lunch down and I can therefore function throughout the day. What dosage are you on? I'm doing better. I tried to wean myself of the other day and the vomiting came back stronger than ever, I guess I'm not ready yet. I've been taken it for almost 2 weeks now. Don't know how I would have gotten through with out it. I'm 10w2d due on 1/18. I noticed a change the day I started taking it. ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 24th, 2005 5:26 PM
Thanks for your answer - very helpful. I have been taking it midmoring when the nausea became unbearable. It seems to make better sense to start off with it in the morning like you did. I am on 4 mg oral dissolving tablets. My stinking insurance only lets me get 12 pills a time which may only last 6 days before I will need to fill the prescription again. ↑
Name: Kristy | Date: Jun 24th, 2005 5:29 PM
Lia,
Sorry I meant to put my name and address it to you! Oops! Thanks for your answer - very helpful. I have been taking it midmoring when the nausea became unbearable. It seems to make better sense to start off with it in the morning like you did. I am on 4 mg oral dissolving tablets. My stinking insurance only lets me get 12 pills a time which may only last 6 days before I will need to fill the prescription again. ↑
Name: hohos | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 3:19 AM
hi I have extreme nasea but no vomiting i am 9 weeks and 1 day my Dr refused to give me any pills so it is so bad everyday i wake up feeling very bad get dressed and go to work...come back with worst nausea i am eating little meals all day long i have 3 years old boy and u can imagine the effort to be done i hope that we all be ok .... ↑
Name: Pennie | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 7:46 AM
Lia- I was on Zofran for about 3 wks- its stopped working for me now. I'm just eating what I can and if it comes back up- oh well. ↑
Name: RJ | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 9:24 AM
Hi everyone,
Zofran is WONDERFUL! I could not survive my pregnancy without it. I am currently 7w, and took my first 8mg yesterday. I felt like a new person. I took it at 7am and by 5pm it had worn off. I threw up my supper, and was extremely nauseated all night. I just took another one at 7 am this morning. My insurance will only cover 24 pills in 30 days, so I will take one each morning. I found 10 for $138 on the internet. I will order those to finish out the month. My last pregnancy, I broke them in half and took 4 mg twice a day. This did not stop my nausea and vomiting completely. I think taking 1 full strength in the am, and suffering through the pm is better. This is my 5th baby. I did not have zofran for the first 3.....I tried everything else, and zofran is the best for me. My dh is a physician, and thinks the zofran is ok for me. ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 10:53 AM
RJ, Did the Zofran have any effect on your child? ↑
Name: RJ | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 11:41 AM
She was born perfectly healthy, and has been the picture of health ever since!! ↑
Name: Lia | Date: Jun 27th, 2005 1:01 PM
RJ, Thanks that good to hear! Pennie, How far along are you? At what week did you start and what week did you stop? What dosage were you on? ↑
Name: Bree | Date: Jun 29th, 2005 4:20 AM
Hi, I am just going to start taking Zoran I'm 7 weeks and 3days pregnant I feel terrible all day with nausea but i'm not throwing up much just in the am. I was a little conserned with the side effects to my baby until I read that Zoran is in the same catagory as tylenol which seems very safe during pregnancy. Wish me luck!!! ↑
Name: snugglebuttsmom | Date: Oct 1st, 2006 10:31 PM
I see these posts are old, but I must add- I was given zofran in 2003 with my first child. I took the pills daily from 15 weeks to the day I gave birth to her. Sometimes I only needed 4mg, but often I needed 8mg. She seems to have no defects whatsoever that can be attributed to the drug. I felt zero side effects while taking it. I have been prescribed the pills again for my current pregnancy, but my insurance will not cover them AT ALL!! I have 24 doses from a friend who also took zofran during her pregnancy. When they are gone I have no idea what I'll do. My doctor says there are other, less effective drugs to take for nasea. We'll see how well the work or if the Kaiser Permanente formulary will cover those either. (Kaiser has not covered ANY of the prescriptions my doctor has written for me for this pregnancy. No terazol, no prenatals, no zofran). I wish we could switch to a different provider! But for now I am stuck and naseated by and with Kaiser. (Bitter at the moment, Kaiser's been alright up until I became pregnant. Oh, not to mention if I use a Kaiser doctor I have to deliver 45 minutes from my house with about a dozen hospitals in between- I had to go to a quasi out of network doctor approved by Kaiser in order to prevent having the baby in an ambulance on my way to the approved hospital!!! ...but I'm ranting....) ↑
Name: mira | Date: Oct 2nd, 2006 7:19 AM
I have a comment & i'd appreciate anyones feedback - i had originally read about Zofran on this site & since it was so highly recommended by the women here, i asked dh to buy it for me. The leaflet that the pharmacist gave him says very clearly "not recomended for use during pregnancy" :S Whats up with that? Has anyone heard the same thing? ↑
Name: bernadetteoc | Date: Oct 2nd, 2006 3:31 PM
Snuggle that's so strange. I am with Kaiser and they approved my Zofran. It was a little more than my normal prescription rate but they still covered it. Mira they have that on there because there isn't a pregnant woman who would be willing to be in a drug study and test the effects on their unborn child. Motherrisk did a study on women who had already taken it during their pregnancy and they found it to be VERY safe. I personally took it with my first two daughters who turned out perfect, and am taking it again with my third pregnancy. You have to realize that the benefits of not getting dehydrated, which could cause you to miscarry, outweigh risks found. I have posted it before but www.hyperemesis.org is a really good website as well as motherisk.org which tells you what drugs, etc are safe during pregnancy. HTH! ↑
Name: mira | Date: Oct 3rd, 2006 7:24 AM
Thanks bernadetteoc, i appreciate the reassurance! ↑
Name: MIOLIVER | Date: May 16th, 2007 9:44 PM
I took zofran 11 years ago when I was pregnant with twins. I was in the same postion, hospitalization or zofran, which was really new then. I read what I could find, and decided to take it. It was the only thing that helped. I would keep trying to get off of it, but each time I was throwing up by the next day. Both of the kids are fine, but both have asthma and allergies, and stomach problems that made get online to see if the zofran so long ago might be contributing to them having the same problems when my oldest is fine. Notihng in my search shows it's the zofran, and I think it is probably more due to them weaning themselves at 4 and 6 months, and always being supplemented with a bottle, while my odlest nursed only for an entire year and is head of her class and never sick (literally). I would go with taking it, and nursing for a full year, I think that's what has made the biggest difference between my kids.
Good luck
Ruth ↑
Name: julie2007 | Date: May 18th, 2007 1:39 PM
snuggle - i too have kaiser - and dislike them immensely!! i did get zofran - covered by them - only after trying reglan (also covered) and although it is normally hundreds of dollars - mine was a $20 co pay. if you insist - you should get it. -- GL ↑
Name: maria12345 | Date: Jan 5th, 2008 8:44 AM
I took zofran, the only medication I took in my entire pregnancy. I am a healthy woman, never used any drug, alcohol.
My baby was born with a very unusual collection of heart defects. ↑
Name: Cevvin | Date: Jan 5th, 2008 9:00 PM
I use zofran with both of my pregnancies. I love it, never had any side effects, and i can usually make 1 pill last 2 days if i stay ontop of it. Good luck. My first child is healthy, smart, and ahead of time on all developments. ↑
Name: cynthia3 | Date: Jan 5th, 2008 11:17 PM
Lia -- I'm also on zofran here, prescribed 4mg up to every 8 hours. Started at that dose and now take only one pill daily. I'm at 12w5d and finally have the nausea/vomiting under control. It was a lifesaver - I was sick for 9 straight months with my son and actually lost 15lbs overall by the time he was born. This was not something I was willing to go through again, so zofran is my friend. Headaches are a common side-effect but are also common in pregnancy.
My good friend whose husband is a pharmacist used it for all her pregnancies, had 3 kids perfectly healthy. Another friend also used it for three pregnancies, one of her daughters born with a hole in heart that resolved itself by 4 months - of course this is not that uncommon and can't specifically be attributed to zofran - the other two kids perfectly healthy.
That said, if you can't eat or drink, the baby may already be in danger so you need to balance that risk with the risk of a drug that is routinely used off-label in pregnancy.
