For those tempted to try castor oil:

desmerelda317 · March 2009

Here's my story! I gave into temptation now that I'm 39 weeks and having a million contractions a day and lots of cramping but they refuse to get regular. I took only 1 1/2 tablespoons mixed with some cranberry juice right before bedtime. I used the walmart kind so it was tasteless which was nice but I still recommend mixing it with something because it is very thick stuff.

The good news: It did give me contractions beginning about 3 AM last night. I don't know how far apart they were because I tried to doze through them knowing that even if it was labor it could last a while. This morning (I'm on the west coast and it is still morning here) I've had contractions about 5 minutes apart, lasting anywhere from 45 seconds to a minute, for a few hours but they're not getting closer or more intense and I can talk and move through them, so they are mild. At the very least I'm hoping it is helping dilate and efface my cervix even if it doesn't bring on active labor.

The bad news: I had 3 very loose BMs and of course those are never fun although they weren't super awful. It wasn't explosive and I never felt like I had to run to the bathroom or that I barely made it on time. I think the reason they weren't really bad and that there were only three is that I only took 1 1/2 tablespoons. I don't recommend taking much more than that because I'm sure I would have been on the toilet all night if I'd have taken 3 or even 4 tablespoons (which, according to the bottle, is the maximum daily dosage).

So the moral of the story: keep the dosage small. A higher dosage may (or may not have) have helped induce stronger contractions, but it probably would have made my life miserable too LOL!

pkate98 · March 2009

Wow, keep us posted!

The Lea's · March 2009

desmerelda317:
So the moral of the story: keep the dosage small. A higher dosage may (or may not have) have helped induce stronger contractions, but it probably would have made my life miserable too LOL!

Maybe so... I took 2oz with 2oz of OJ Tuesday night and nearly *** myself all night... I had the same intensity of contractions all the way from 10pm until about 8am but made MULTIPLE dashes to the bathroom...