Debilitating nausea - Feel like a fraud!

[St3ph83]

Hey this is the first time I’ve ever posted on here so I hope I’m doing it right!

I’m only 7 weeks pregnant but have severe and debilitating nausea. I can barely move my head from the pillow without being sick but I know if I lay down I can keep it down if that makes sense even though the nausea doesn’t go away. But laying down obviously isn’t ideal when you have a family and a job so I feel like I’m letting everyone down as I’ve literally given up and resigned myself to my bed.
I know some poor women are vomiting 20+ plus times a day and so I feel terrible complaining about just feeling sick I just feel so awful.

I’ve got a beautiful 2.5 year old and it’s breaking my heart that I can’t play with her like I usually do and that I’m putting so much on pressure on my poor husband! Plus being in lockdown doesn’t help as my parents are high risk and can’t come over to help which they would normally do 😢

Just writing this has been incredibly cathartic!! 💖

[bogoblin]

You poor thing! Sometimes the nausea can be worse than vomiting because you never get any relief!

I would contact your gp or midwife and tell them how bad it is, there may be something they can do to help.

Really hope it eases up for you soon!

[MamaBearThius]

It's absolutely hideous and you are not a fraud. Please get help from either your midwife team or GPs. I was on a mixture of Cyclzine and Ordensatron (probably not the right spelling of either sorry) for the first 18/20 weeks of my pregnancy just to combat that nausea. At my lowest point I begged for a termination I felt that rough and low. Like you, a beautiful 3 year old who I had to ignore and leave everything to Daddy.
It will get better and there are treatments available to help you

[Sallycinnamum]

My second pregnancy was like this and it was horrific.

In the end I broke down to my GP and she gave me Cyclazine, which worked wonders and the sickness abated after 14 weeks.

I still shudder at how ill I was. At one point I was just randomly vomiting with no warning whatsoever.

Go and see your GP as soon as you can.

[HopeWish]

Don't feel like that!

I am 11 weeks and had terrible nausea from 6 weeks. At 9 weeks vomiting was also added into the mix but it was only 3/4 times a day so I felt like I was being pathetic if I went to the GP for help.

I was like you - lying down in bed flat only way to prevent the sickness. On monday I was admitted to hospital with severe dehydration due to hyperemesis. It wasnt really the vomiting which caused it though, it was the nausea making it impossible to eat or drink.

Hospital kept me in overnight on a drip and prescribed me some anti sickness tablets and the difference is remarkable. Please ask your GP for help, don't do what I did and wait until it gets so bad you end up on IV fluids!

[Gin4thewin]

I was terrible with Dd vs Ds. If i didn't eat every 2hours i was floored with sickness. It took everything i had to crawl out of bed every morning. I had food adversion and could basically only stomach buttery toast.

[St3ph83]

Thank you @bogoblin and @MamaBearThius it really helps to know people understand!

My GP prescribed my cyclizine but it didn’t even touch the sides and when I called back to ask for something different they were really difficult about it. I think I need to just try again and be firm, I’ll mention ordensatrom!

@MamaBearThius it makes me feel so guilty for even admitting it but I can totally relate to that feeling!

Bring on the second trimester!!

[St3ph83]

Wow @HopeWish that’s terrible I’m so glad you go through it! I’m definitely going back to the GP and will be using you guys as examples!

[HopeWish]

@St3ph83

The medication really helps. I was prescribed cyclizine, metoclopramide and prochlorepazine. They can each be taken 3 times a day and i can take 3 together if I need to.

[Niffler2019]

Hi @St3ph83 sorry you're feeling so bad. Have you checked out the hyperemesis support thread? There's a lot of ladies going through the same thing on there who can offer some good advice and support. Also try looking at the pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk website, they have some good information and links. You can even ring them and ask for medication if your GP isn't helpful. I would get back on to your GP, maybe ask to speak to a female GP if that's possible as I find they're usually a lot more sympathetic as some have been through it themselves.
You're doing the right thing resting, I was exactly the same from 5 weeks and felt guilty at leaving everything up to my husband. But when I tried to get up and do things I ended up vomiting and then I couldn't stop. I also found cyclizine alone didn't touch the sides in the early on but you can combine it with other meds. There are several different ones you can try, it's just a case of trial and error to see what works for you. There is: prochlorperazine (also available as a dissolvable tablet if you're struggling to keep anything down), metoclopramide, promethazine (an antihistamine also used for travel sickness). Ondansetron is a more 'heavy duty' one, studies have shown a very slight increase in the risk of babies being born with a cleft palate to mums who were prescribed it in early pregnancy which is why GPs are often reluctant to prescribe it. As with anything it's a case of risk vs benefit. If you can't keep any fluids down and become at risk of dehydration then you need it. There's a lot of options but you may need to persevere and keep nagging the doctor. If you don't get any joy try your midwife, they can't prescribe but they can give the GP a nudge and tell them you really need something.
The most important thing is to keep hydrated, at 7 weeks the baby is getting everything they need from the yolk sack. So don't worry about eating, just have whatever you can manage.
I totally get what you mean about feeling a fraud. I had nearly 2 months off sick from work and 3 hospital stays. I also did very little around the house and my daughter spent the entire time watching Netflix and amusing herself. I felt really guilty because I wasn't really "ill" just pregnant. I've never felt so ill in my life though. Take it easy and look after yourself x