The Facts About the Morning Sickness Drug Kim Kardashian Is Taking

Kim Kardashian West has found the perfect “kure” for her nuisance morning sickness. That, and a new endorsement deal.

The 34-year-old reality star took to Instagram on Sunday to promote Diclegis, a prescription medication that helps treat nausea during pregnancy if diet and lifestyle changes are still leaving you up close and personal with the toilet. (Representatives for the drug’s maker confirmed to Health that she’s being paid to promote it on social media.)

“OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, and I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby,” the famous mommy captioned a snapshot of herself holding up the bottle.

So what exactly is this Kardashian-approved Rx? It’s a delayed-release drug made up of a combination of two substances, the antihistamine doxylamine and vitamin B6. But in case you’ve already hunted around the Internet to get the lowdown on the medication, you may have discovered that it temporarily got a bad rep back in the ’80s.

“[The medicine] used to be sold in the U.S. under the name of Bendectin,” explains Jan Rydfors, MD, a California-based board certified ob/gyn and co-creator of the popular app Pregnancy Companion MD. “Bendectin was taken off the market in 1983 due to unsubstantiated lawsuits which made it too expensive for the manufacturer to keep on selling it. It continued to, however, be sold successfully around the world.”

After more recent studies proved the medicine was safe and did not cause any birth defects or harm to the baby, it was reintroduced to the U.S. market under its new name, Diclegis, in 2013. Now, the little white tablet, identifiable by the purple image of a pregnant woman on the pill, not only has Kim’s stamp of approval, but also the FDA. The government agency considers it a “pregnancy category A” drug, meaning there’s good evidence it won’t harm you or the baby.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should take medical advice from Mrs. Kardashian-West. (Though we’ll give her credit: she’s at least promoting something with research behind it this time.) Instead, here are the facts, straight from the experts.

Who should be prescribed Diclegis?

“Any woman who has significant nausea and vomiting to the point where it affects her quality of life is a candidate for it,” Dr. Rydfors adds. “It is a very safe drug, and many women wait too long to start it due to unsubstantiated safety concerns regarding their baby.”

What are the risks?

Drowsiness is the main side effect, explains Joshua U. Klein, MD, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “If a woman’s job or lifestyle requires her to be on constant alert, this may not be suitable,” he says. It has similar effects as other antihistamines (Benadryl or Dramamine, for example).

Diclegis is not recommended for women with severe asthma or those also taking antidepressants. Also: If you’ve been told during an eye exam that you have high eye pressure or narrow-angle glaucoma, your doctor may think it’s too risky for you.

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What are the best natural remedies for morning sickness?

Before heading straight to your doctor for an Rx, first try to eat small meals consisting of crackers, bread, and other bland foods when nausea kicks in. Coconut juice, chicken soup, sports drinks, and ginger ale can also be helpful. And stock up on candy to carry with you, for those times when it happens randomly; sucking on a sweet can help: “There are ginger lollipops that are becoming increasingly popular,” Dr. Klein says.

Also worth a try in the moment: “[Press and hold for a few breaths] on an acupuncture point on the wrist near the palm,” Dr. Rydfors says.

Now, how do we feel about big celebrity endorsements?

“Celebrities have potential to do a lot of good with their status, and can also do harm,” Dr. Klein says. “The main potential for good in this case is that if there is a woman who is suffering from nausea and her doctor hasn’t brought up the option of a safe medication, she can then raise the conversation after coming across the endorsement online. And with someone as big as Kim Kardashian, it’s inevitable that the word will spread in a powerful way.”

But keep in mind, each patient is going to have different biological conditions that determine how medication works in the body. “Not everyone is Kim Kardashian,” Dr. Klein says.

“A celebrity who takes a stand in a major way against proven, researched science is obviously very problematic,” Dr. Klein says. “It’s a potentially harmful thing to do. But I think it’s much more okay for a celebrity to say, like in this case, ‘I’m pregnant, this is safe, it works for me, but always talk to your medical provider.’ ”

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KiLZqu