Arsenicum Album (Ars.)
Vomiting will be excessive. Everything is vomited immediately, and even though the person is very thirsty for cold water, even small amounts of water will be vomited straight away. Compare with Phosphorous where vomiting happens after a few minutes.
Asarum (Asar.)
Violent, constant nausea and empty retching. Vomiting with great anxiety. Perhaps accompanied by diarrhoea and colic. All symptoms are made worse by exertion and aggravated by eating. The person is sensitive, in particular to noise. She feels better for lying down and resting.
Cocculus (Cocc.)
Nausea with weakness, perhaps feeling trembly and faint. Food rises in the throat with an inclination to vomit. There is increased salivation. Made much worse with motion and any jarring movement. The person may also feel worse in the open air.
Gossypium (Goss.)
Nausea with an accumulation of saliva. Desire to vomit in the morning. Rotating pain in the pit of the stomach. The person feels worse for motion and better for rest.
Ipecacuanha (Ip.)
The person will feel persistently nauseous but will be unable to vomit. Even if she does vomit, the feeling of nausea will not go away. Often there is copious saliva. There may be empty retching, perhaps after cold drinks. Symptoms are made worse by eating; the smell of food; motion; pressure.
Kreosotum (Kreos.)
Frequent, violent eructations, nausea and vomiting. Excessive salivation. Shivering through the whole body. Retching when fasting in the morning. Vomiting with burning in the chest. Great thirst, but large drinks of water may be vomited shortly after. A sensation of tightness across the pit of the stomach. There is trouble digesting food, with a bitter taste in the mouth.
Lobelia (Lob.)
Nausea and vomiting with profuse salivation which may run from the mouth. There may be cold perspiration on the face. Difficulty breathing. Worse in the morning and for warm food.
Lycopodium (Lyc.)
This is another common constipation remedy for people with sluggish liver function. The woman craves sweets and has yellowish or whitish stools. They also have heartburn, belching, bloating and flatulence.
Nux moshata (Nux-m.)
Nausea and vomiting with a desire to sleep. Sensation of heat and burning in the stomach. The mouth and tongue feel dry, but the person is thirstless. Symptoms are worse for eating, especially breakfast. Worse also for drinking, especially cold drinks.
Nux vomica (Nux-v.)
Nausea is constant and may make the person feel faint. There may be a disinclination to vomit, either because the person can’t or won’t. There may be violent attacks of retching. They are worse after eating; in the morning in bed; for sweating. This remedy may also be useful for indigestion, heartburn, stomach pain and constipation during pregnancy. The person who needs this remedy is usually impatient, irritable and chilly.
People needing this remedy may have constipation, often with distention of the stomach and flatulence. There is a constant desire to move the bowels but when she sits on the toilet, nothing happens. The person is likely to be irritable and critical.
Pulsatilla (Puls.)
Nausea after eating, especially rich foods; acidic or bitter belching; vomiting. Worse for rich foods, in the morning and hot drinks. The person is usually thirstless. They hate a stuffy room and feel better outdoors or with the windows open. They are sensitive and weepy and feel better for consolation. The symptoms of Puls. can be changeable, including moods. The woman may be constipated or have haemorrhoids one day and be fine the next. She may have varicose veins of the feet and groin.
Sepia (Sep.)
Gnawing, intermittent nausea with an empty feeling in the belly and a sinking feeling in the stomach, which might be temporarily relieved by eating, but it won’t last. The person may have a headache alongside the empty feeling. Symptoms may be made worse by thinking about food. The person feels heavy. There is a rising, bitter taste in the mouth. There may be a feeling of pressure in the stomach, like a stone. This is an indicated remedy for women who are feeling weary, irritable and worn out during pregnancy. They often feel overburdened by the demands of others, especially family members. They are averse to sympathy. Sometimes they feel better after eating.
This is a good first remedy to try for women who have never had constipation before pregnancy. She may experience a bearing down sensation in the rectum.
Tabacum (Tab.)
Violent, deathly nausea with weakness and fainting, which is made worse in a stuffy room and better by being in the fresh air. However, movement may make the person feel worse and she needs to lie very still and keep her eyes closed. There may be dizziness alongside the nausea. She may look very pale. There may be a lot of cold perspiration. Vomiting is violent and exhausting. May be worse before breakfast.
Veratrum album (Verat.)
Nausea and vomiting are violent and may be accompanied by diarrhoea. There is vomiting of food, bile and/or mucus. Vomit may be sour, watery, yellow. Coldness is a general symptom of people needing this remedy: they feel cold in themselves and may feel cold to touch; cold perspiration; a great thirst for cold drinks; the belly/stomach feels cold. There is excessive thirst, but drinks may be vomited immediately.
Remedies for constipation
Many women also experience constipation and sometimes haemorrhoids in pregnancy. This is usually due to pressure from the enlarging uterus on the rectum and the lower part of the intestine. It may be exacerbated by the high levels of progesterone present during pregnancy. If haemorrhoids result they can be treated medically with stool softeners, anaesthetic gel or warm soaks. Homeopathically, remedies include:
Lycopodium (Lyc.)
This is another common constipation remedy for people with sluggish liver function. The woman craves sweets and has yellowish or whitish stools. They also have heartburn, belching, bloating and flatulence.
Nux vomica (Nux-v.)
This remedy is useful for indigestion, heartburn, stomach pain and constipation during pregnancy. Constipation may be accompanied with distention of the stomach and flatulence. There is a constant desire to move the bowels but when she sits on the toilet, nothing happens. The person is likely to be irritable and critical. She may feel chilly.
Pulsatilla (Puls.)
The person is usually thirstless. They hate a stuffy room and feel better outdoors or with the windows open. They are sensitive and weepy and feel better for consolation. The symptoms of Puls. can be changeable, including moods. The woman may be constipated or have haemorrhoids one day, feel fine the next and have diarrhoea the day after that. She may have varicose veins of the feet and groin.
Sepia (Sep.)
This is a good first remedy to try for women who have never had constipation before pregnancy. She may experience a bearing down sensation in the rectum.
POTENCY AND DOSAGE
Use remedies in a 30C potency – these are easy to get from your local health food shop, or some chemists.
Take one dose of the medicine and then wait and see. If you feel an improvement in your symptoms, then simply let the medicine do its work. If, after a time, there is no more improvement, or the symptoms return, take another dose. How often you take a dose of the remedy depends on the individual and on how severe the symptoms are: if very severe, you may need a dose several times an hour until there is improvement. At other times, you may only need to take a dose a few times a day, even one dose daily will work for some people. However, if there is no improvement after 3-4 doses then you need to try a different medicine.