What is Diclegis?
Diclegis is a medication that is used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by pregnancy—otherwise known as morning sickness. Diclegis is a combination of medication comprised of doxylamine and pyridoxine. Doxylamine is an antihistamine which is used in relieving the symptoms of allergy and common cold symptoms. Pyridoxine is a vitamin B6 supplement that is believed to be a potent agent in treating morning sickness related nausea and vomiting. It is believed the doxylamine enhances the effect of the pyridoxine.
More than 50% of pregnant women experience morning sickness. While morning sickness is common and in general, not harmful to you or the child—it can become a more serious issue known as hyperemesis gravidarum. This is essentially when the pregnant woman is vomiting too frequently and it is preventing the child from receiving adequate nutrition.
If you have morning sickness, the following tips will help you manage it better:
- Drink fluids 30 minutes before meals but not during—as liquid can quickly expand the stomach and make nausea worse
- Eat watermelon or other high water content foods to sooth the stomach. Drink lemonade for nausea as well.
- Oddly enough, a salty snack such as potato chips has been shown to reduce nausea in pregnant women.
- Lastly, eat small meals throughout the day as opposed to larger more infrequent meals.
With these tips, most women can make it through morning sickness in the first trimester.
Diclegis is a Comeback Medication
The combination of pyridoxine and doxylamine was once a standard treatment medication in the 1950s under the name Bendectin (different company). Bendectin was dragged into a lawsuit that put the company out of business just going to trial over it; accusations that Bendectin caused fetal defects were brought up and inevitably sank the company that manufactured Bendectin. These claims were later revealed to be false and evidence brought on behalf of them were proven to be falsified. It was taken off the market in 1983 and strangely enough, it was only until 2015 that the FDA approved Diclegis. In other words, no new pregnancy nausea related medications had been approved since Bendectin was taken off-market.
When Bendectin was taken off the market, hospitalizations due to nausea and vomiting doubled.
How is Diclegis Used?
Diclegis is taken orally. This medication is meant to be taken on an empty stomach. It can be taken on a full stomach but it will be less effective since the purpose of the medication is to prevent nausea. As usual, the dosage is dependent on the patient. Your doctor can assist you in finding the most effective minimum dose.
Diclegis Prescription Assistance
Do you need assistance in paying for Diclegis? You’re not alone! The cost of prescription medications has been soaring throughout the years, leaving many Americans who are uninsured or underinsured without recourse. Thankfully, there are many prescription assistance programs that are available through drug manufacturers that can offer these medications at a discount. The process for applying to these can be confusing and different depending on the drug and manufacturer, that’s where the Rx Helper can help you. We can make this process a lot smoother and take care of the tedious details. To see if you qualify, contact us here!
