NVP Counselor
Date: 2006-08-16

Question:
I am currently seven weeks pregnant. I started experiencing nausea and some vomiting at the beginning of the fourth week and the symptoms have been getting progressively worse since then. This is my second pregnancy. I had very unpleasant NVP during my first pregnancy from the fifth week right to about 18 weeks. This time around, in an effort to curb the NVP before it got the better of me, I started taking Diclectin as soon as the symptoms started emerging. I started with the two at night and one first thing in the morning. At first, my evenings were still relatively comfortable, so I omitted the dose at noon. Eventually, I became ill in the evenings too, so I began taking a midday dose as well. This now brings me to 4 pills per day (2 at night, one in the morning, one at noon). My question pertains to the drowsiness that the Diclectin is apparently causing. After two weeks on the drug, my system still appears to be very sensitive to this side-effect. The sleepiness is almost as debilitating as the nausea. One way or the other, I can't function normally. When I talked to you on the hotline, you recommended taking vitamin B6 as a supplement to the Diclectin - and possibly even as a substitute to some of the doses. What I need to know is how to best introduce the vitamin B6 into the schedule. (If you discussed this on the telephone and I missed it, I apologise for asking you to repeat it - but I figured this is information that may also be useful to others). a) Do vitamin B6 supplements have the same sort of "time delay" as the Diclectin pills? Is it okay to take them at the same time as the Diclectin pills? b) I've noticed that Diclectin needs to be introduced slowly and similarly requires gradual weaning. Is the same true if adding vitamin B6 in addition to the Diclectin?

Answer:

a) Vitamin B6 does not have a delayed release as Diclectin does. It is perfectly OK to take it as directed by your doctor at the same time as Diclectin.

b) No, vitamin B6 does not require gradual introduction and weaning off.