My Kingdom For A Sudafed
I’ve got a cold right now, and I’m really jonesing for a big shot of Nyquil. I can barely even remember the taste of it, but I remember that drowsy, slightly slow feeling that came with it, and I really remember how it kept me from waking up throughout the night, feeling lousy. I can’t even open my medicine cabinet for fear of seeing the tempting big cherry bottle.
I’ve been off Nyquil – and just about every other over-the-counter medicine you could name – for seventeen months now, not that I’m counting. When I called my friend Abby and told her I was pregnant, I asked her sort of medicines I should start to watch out for. She laughed, and said, “Welcome to the mother’s medicine cabinet – Tylenol and Tums.”
My eyes were very quickly opened to how much I could not take. Food cautions I’d already heard, and was confident I could navigate with little sacrifice (thank heavens chocolate wasn’t on the list!), but I was astounded at how much I’d come to depend on OTC medications in my daily life that were, alas, now off-limits to me. The weekend before my first “Hey! I think I’m pregnant!” visit with my OB, I taught a lecture series and was battling a cold. Having done a bit of research in popular books, I was confidently popping Sudafed and keeping my nose blissfully dry and run-free. As my throat deteriorated, a student offered me an herbal lozenge. I took one and had it half unwrapped before it occurred to me to check the bag – I had no idea what herbs I could and couldn’t take! Sure enough, on the back of the Riccola bag was the warning I would grow all too familiar with – “Pregnant or lactating women should consult with their doctor for use.” I casually strolled to the restroom and surreptitiously threw the lozenge away, congratulating myself for dodging a big bullet.
In my doctor’s visit the next day, she began talking through my current health habits. I proudly told her about skipping the lozenge, and she assured me I had done the right thing: echinacaea and goldenseal were now on the forbidden list, and apparently the only lozenges I could have were those vitamin C drops. But as I told her about the Sudafed, she froze. “How many did you take? How often?” Turns out Sudafed is on her verboten list. So much for my research.
Madeleine’s fine, of course –no harm done. And my doctor is one of the more cautious ones when it comes to what you can and can’t take for the baby. But I figure, why pay her and then ignore her advice? Sudafed went out the door.
And thus began a long list of “Don’ts”, which grew longer and more depressing as time went on. I get pretty terrible tension headaches, and Tylenol just ain’t it when they hit. So I had to learn to listen to my body when it sent warning signs, and cut the headaches off before they hit (what a concept! Preventative care!). But I lost a whole slew of cold-preventing products; the herbs, the Airborne, all got tossed in the trash can. I was left with Zicam to fight colds, and not much else.
And most of the food items I had anticipated, but the ones I didn’t were a bit painful. Fresh deli meat was off heavy rotation, since bacteria can form on the blade. Not the sort of thing that’s a deal-breaker, but not something I could have a lot of. Preservative-free peanut butter had to be watched closely. The blue cheese family, brie, all locked up for nine months. And drinks! The list of herbal teas to avoid (potential miscarriage) was so long I just swore off them all together rather than have to remember. And some of them surprised me – Earl Grey was a no-no because of some ingredient; bergomet, I think. Not knowing what kind of tea was used, I bid a sad farewell to my beloved cold-weather chai lattes.
Once Madeleine came, I thought things would change, and they have, at least food-wise. Now my food intake is limited only by what she’ll tolerate, and while she had a nut allergy her first three months it’s gone and I’m back to carte blanche. The drugs, though, are still guarded closely and sometimes it’s harder than others. Of course, everything’s a matter of need; if you’ve got a serious illness or condition, the doctors will weigh treating it and drug-fetus interactions versus the risk of leaving it untreated, inviting complications. Apparently, though, a runny nose doesn’t rate. And I should admit that the pediatrician has actually cleared me to use Sudafed as long as I understood the side effects on Madeleine; taking the pseudoephedrine probably wouldn’t cause her lasting damage, but simply make her jumpy and less able to sleep. Lemme think: taking something that will make my daughter, the queen of the ½ hour power naps, sleep less, or have a runny nose. I’m gonna opt for choice #2.
And the drug restrictions don’t always seem to make sense: the doctors had no problem with me mainlining copious amounts of morphine post-c-section while simultaneously breast-feeding a newborn, but asprin’s off the table for a nursing 8-month-old. They’ll send me home with a refillable prescription for percocet, but I can’t have Nyquil? If I can only have one of those two, can’t I pick which one?
Because frankly, the Nyquil would win every time.
You’ll know the day Maddie’s weaned – just look for the mommy, asleep, with a stuporous grin on her face.
I’ve been off Nyquil – and just about every other over-the-counter medicine you could name – for seventeen months now, not that I’m counting. When I called my friend Abby and told her I was pregnant, I asked her sort of medicines I should start to watch out for. She laughed, and said, “Welcome to the mother’s medicine cabinet – Tylenol and Tums.”
My eyes were very quickly opened to how much I could not take. Food cautions I’d already heard, and was confident I could navigate with little sacrifice (thank heavens chocolate wasn’t on the list!), but I was astounded at how much I’d come to depend on OTC medications in my daily life that were, alas, now off-limits to me. The weekend before my first “Hey! I think I’m pregnant!” visit with my OB, I taught a lecture series and was battling a cold. Having done a bit of research in popular books, I was confidently popping Sudafed and keeping my nose blissfully dry and run-free. As my throat deteriorated, a student offered me an herbal lozenge. I took one and had it half unwrapped before it occurred to me to check the bag – I had no idea what herbs I could and couldn’t take! Sure enough, on the back of the Riccola bag was the warning I would grow all too familiar with – “Pregnant or lactating women should consult with their doctor for use.” I casually strolled to the restroom and surreptitiously threw the lozenge away, congratulating myself for dodging a big bullet.
In my doctor’s visit the next day, she began talking through my current health habits. I proudly told her about skipping the lozenge, and she assured me I had done the right thing: echinacaea and goldenseal were now on the forbidden list, and apparently the only lozenges I could have were those vitamin C drops. But as I told her about the Sudafed, she froze. “How many did you take? How often?” Turns out Sudafed is on her verboten list. So much for my research.
Madeleine’s fine, of course –no harm done. And my doctor is one of the more cautious ones when it comes to what you can and can’t take for the baby. But I figure, why pay her and then ignore her advice? Sudafed went out the door.
And thus began a long list of “Don’ts”, which grew longer and more depressing as time went on. I get pretty terrible tension headaches, and Tylenol just ain’t it when they hit. So I had to learn to listen to my body when it sent warning signs, and cut the headaches off before they hit (what a concept! Preventative care!). But I lost a whole slew of cold-preventing products; the herbs, the Airborne, all got tossed in the trash can. I was left with Zicam to fight colds, and not much else.
And most of the food items I had anticipated, but the ones I didn’t were a bit painful. Fresh deli meat was off heavy rotation, since bacteria can form on the blade. Not the sort of thing that’s a deal-breaker, but not something I could have a lot of. Preservative-free peanut butter had to be watched closely. The blue cheese family, brie, all locked up for nine months. And drinks! The list of herbal teas to avoid (potential miscarriage) was so long I just swore off them all together rather than have to remember. And some of them surprised me – Earl Grey was a no-no because of some ingredient; bergomet, I think. Not knowing what kind of tea was used, I bid a sad farewell to my beloved cold-weather chai lattes.
Once Madeleine came, I thought things would change, and they have, at least food-wise. Now my food intake is limited only by what she’ll tolerate, and while she had a nut allergy her first three months it’s gone and I’m back to carte blanche. The drugs, though, are still guarded closely and sometimes it’s harder than others. Of course, everything’s a matter of need; if you’ve got a serious illness or condition, the doctors will weigh treating it and drug-fetus interactions versus the risk of leaving it untreated, inviting complications. Apparently, though, a runny nose doesn’t rate. And I should admit that the pediatrician has actually cleared me to use Sudafed as long as I understood the side effects on Madeleine; taking the pseudoephedrine probably wouldn’t cause her lasting damage, but simply make her jumpy and less able to sleep. Lemme think: taking something that will make my daughter, the queen of the ½ hour power naps, sleep less, or have a runny nose. I’m gonna opt for choice #2.
And the drug restrictions don’t always seem to make sense: the doctors had no problem with me mainlining copious amounts of morphine post-c-section while simultaneously breast-feeding a newborn, but asprin’s off the table for a nursing 8-month-old. They’ll send me home with a refillable prescription for percocet, but I can’t have Nyquil? If I can only have one of those two, can’t I pick which one?
Because frankly, the Nyquil would win every time.
You’ll know the day Maddie’s weaned – just look for the mommy, asleep, with a stuporous grin on her face.
Categories:
Pregnancy
0 comments:
Post a Comment
House Rules
Here are the rules for posting comments on 1mother2another.com. Posting a comment that violates these rules will result in the comment’s deletion, and you’ll probably be banned from commenting in the future.
1) Register first. If you would like to post a comment, you must create an account with us. Check out the home page to do so.
2) Constructive comments only. If you cannot maintain a respectful tone in your posting, even in disagreement, your comment will be deleted. We’re all trying to find our way in this thing and are struggling to be the best moms we can. If you disagree with something I say, feel free to politely email me. If you disagree with another reader’s posting, you’re welcome to kindly post in reply. Vitriolic diatribes will be deleted. This site is about encouraging and supporting, not tearing down and chastising.
3) Questions welcomed. If an entry raises a question, you’re welcome to email me directly or post it. Keep in mind that postings will result in public replies by strangers and not just me.
4) Don’t steal. All original writings contained within this website are under copyright protection. If you link to us, please credit us as your source and provide a link back to our website. If you're interested in using an excerpt in published material, please contact us.
5) Share your photos! We'd love to have photos from our registered readers to show on our home page under "Maddie's friends". Email us a jpeg of your little one's best photo to photos@1mother2another.com. Please, no photos from professional photographers which fall under copyright protection.