Debilitating Morning Sickness .....

[jonquil]

Hi there .. this is my first time posting a message on Mumsnet. Am desperate. I am 7 weeks pregnant with my second baby and suffering from horrendous morning sickness (only lasted one week in my first pregnancy). For the last two weeks the nausea has been awful ... with absolutely no let up (although managed to not be actually be sick or retch for two days last week) and for the past three days I have been throwing up (if i have managed to eat anything) or just spending the rest of the day retching violently. DH is being wonderful, looking after DD, but i just want this to stop and be able to look after my DD properly. I went to the doctor today who told me I had ketones in my urine and sent me for a blood test. She also prescribed a drug called Stemetil. I have just looked this up on the internet and it sounds scary .. for schizophrenia and similar mental illnesses (!) and seen that it should not be used in pregnancy. I do not intend to take it.

Anyone have any advice pleeease???

[hunkermunker]

Hyperemesis website

This should have more info - I know there are other MNers who have had morning sickness this badly too. There are drugs you can take that are safe in pregnancy, but it doesn't sound like Stemetil is one of them from what you post.

[ChaCha]

Hi Jonquil and welcome to MN

Sorry to hear about yuor morning sickness am in complete sympathy with you. I had it quite bad from weeks 5-14 and my obstetrician prescribed Stemetil too. To be perfectly honest I only took about 4-5 of the tablets, 1: because i just couldn't keep them down anyway and 2: Only used them as a last resort (when i was convinced i was dying and HAD to get out to work).
My obstetrican assured me they were fine and there are other MNers who have taken them too. Perhaps you, like me, could take them when you REALLY need them and that again, is if you can keep them down!

Really understand how you feel. This is my first PG and when i look back now it's not so bad, but at the time oh yuk!!!

Chacha, 20wks.

[jonquil]

Thanks very much for your comments. The website looks interesting although i'm really hoping i just have a bad case of morning sickness and it will pass soon! I will have a look through past messages re the Stematil, but feel reassured that you have taken it too.

Thanks again.

[Mumfun]

Hi

I have found that reflexology has really helped my MS - stopped it but then I got teeth problems and it started again. Had another session last week and has pretty well stopped again -thank goodness. I would not take drugs but try reflexology or another alternative treatment. My hairdresser has had horrendous MS - threw up every day and stopped it completely with cranial massage. Other people also report that acupuncture stops it.

Havent explained what these all mean - if you want to know more I can post more.

MF

[MrsDoolittle]

Stemitil is an anti-emetic. Are you sure about the not to be used in pregnancy bit?

Jampots??

[Surfermum]

Hi Jonquil and welcome. I was prescribed Stemetil too but stopped taking it as it didn't make any difference, probably because I just couldn't keep it down. I didn't keep anything down, so ended up choosing things that tasted nice on the way up as well as on the way down, which was mostly iced donuts!

[laa]

Hi Jonquil. I had really bad morning sickness with my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies. With the 3rd I was prescribed stemetil and took it reluctantly. But my consultant saifd it was safe and when i got gastroenterisits too I really needed it. I was sick (not what you want to hear) for al40 wks. and found that sleep helped. My sickness got worse with tiredness. Also have you tried the acupressure bands. Not sure whether they work or not but worth a go. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[gingerbear]

phenergen is what others have taken for sickness, see old thread here

[lucylady]

hi jonquil. i too had bad morning sickness with my 2nd pregnancy. i really feel for you.i had hyperemisis (as it turned out) i was sick right up up until i gave birth at 38wks. as for stemetil i was prescribed various medication, but im unable to recall what they were called. they didnt work anyway. hope your sickness passes quickly .

[2kidsandahubby]

Hi jonquil, I took this medication during pg no2 but it actually never worked for me, I also had ketones I my urine for which I had to spend a few days in hospital as I became dehydrated, I don't know of anything to help ease morning sickness,sorry, my sickness eased off at 17 weeks. I hope you feel better soon

[Dingle]

Hi there and welcome to MN. Congtratulations on your PG.

I had hyperemisis with both my pregnancies.Physically being sick up to 15 times a day in the worst weeks! I also had keytones, especailly with my first pg, and ended up in hospital on a drip and being injected daily with anti sickness drugs(??). I think I just coped better with my second pg, and despite keep vomiting. I know I had to eat/drink to avoid hospitalisation again.

I can't honestly say I found anything that eased it, I tried travel bands with PG2, don't know if they worked, was too scared to take them off

TRy alternative therapies, lots of fluid, try to relax as much as you can....

Good luck and chin up....

[goosey]

I am actually allergic to Stemetil - it can have some horrible side effects such as giving uncontrollable muscle spasms, which is what I had. I didn't take it in pregnancy though but during an unrelated operation. Personally I wouldnt take it either.
I had sickness as you describe with all my pregnancies and can only say rest as much as possible and do everything you can think of to delegate, accept help and look after yourself. It is dreadful I know and it really can get you down when you are vomiting frequently and feel weak and nauseous constantly.
Sympathies to you, hope it passes sooner rather than later.

[jonquil]

Thanks everyone. I have not logged on for a few days as have been asleep most of the time! My doc gave me another drug (Valoid) which is an antihistamine used for travel sickness and it essentially knocked me out for two days! Don't know which is worse... I am definitely going to look into the reflexology option .. sounds an excellent idea. My boss is being very understanding but i feel i need to get back to work soon. How miserable. this is definitely last baby!!

[novadandypowder]

i tried acupuncture, and the sickness pretty much stopped for a while (it has come back in the mornings during the heat). I tried all the traditional remedies, but they didn't really work for me (ginger, travel bands etc..).

I second the advice of someone below who said about eating what your body wants and not getting too hung up on what the books say you should eat. I used to find something I could keep down and stick with it. Also, eat little and often (v. difficult when you hate the sight/smell/taste of food).

My acupuncturist told me to avoid eating or drinking anything cold and raw. Stick to drinks at room temperature and try to cook fruit and veg as it helps the digestive system. I invested in a juicer so that i could get some vitamins without having to eat. Basically you need to eat like a baby until you feel better.