This isn’t normal right? Pregnancy tiredness

[PrincessPear]

Currently 15 weeks with twins. HG. Had three miscarriages and one child before this.

I remember being tired in my first pregnancy but this isn’t tiredness, it’s awful. I can barely get out of bed. I can’t even walk to the shower without feeling exhausted and sometimes fainting. I can’t do anything that requires movement. I felt better the other day and went for a short walk and it had me back on the sofa for hours.

I know I’m supposed to feel tired, but it isn’t supposed to be disabling? When I mention this it’s not been taken seriously and I’ve been told “everyone with twins is tired”.

I’ve got a drs appointment in half an hour and my mom is going to drive me there and possibly elsewhere if they decide I need it. I will definitely mention i feel as if I’ve just been “left” to deal with this alone and not supported at all.

I felt similar to this with my ds2. With ds1 I was very sick (throwing up 20+ times a day) and with ds2 I was a lot less sick (throwing up about 5 times a day) but I felt really run down and exhausted. Midwife said both were normal but I did have my bloods, scans etc done at the right times. You need your bloods and dating scan done but I know it's really hard to insist on things when you feel awful.

ellie did they find out why and when did you start feeling better?

How did the appointment go?

If you have HG, no responsible midwife or obgyn will tell you it won't affect the babies.

HG can be fatal for mother and baby.

Any update, @princesspear?

I saw a different GP who was excellent. She took bloods off me herself and rang the hospital. I’ve now been prescribed ondansetron and some supplement drinks, as she thinks I’m suffering from exhaustion due to lack of nutrition. She told me if I can’t keep any of them down with the new drugs then to go straight back to the hospital.

My bloods will be back tomorrow. She agreed with me it isn’t normal to feel like this and is being quite pro active in sorting it, so I will try to make future appointments with her

Supplement drinks?! We're not allowed to prescribe them without a dietitian's recommendation here - which part of the country are you based in? You must have a generous local prescribing budget! Pleased to hear you're on ondansetron now. It's new, so it's less widely used than other anti-emetics (as there's less safety data), but it is often very effective. Any progress in arranging your scan?

Leliana West Midlands.

I rang my local midwives who have annoyed me slightly because they haven’t sent the form yet! They said they’re now going to hurry it up - I thought they were doing that originally!

Ondansatron is not new and is widely used in hospitals including obstetrics.A very good antiemetic so hope it work for you OP.

@seventhgonickname
www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pregnancy/Ondansetron/

www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pregnancy/NV/

It is typically used if other anti-emetics have failed, because the safety profile is less convincing than other anti-emetics - presumably, in part, because it is newer than other anti-emetics. It was first introduced in 1990, as opposed to cyclizine which was discovered in 1947, or other drugs such as promethazine which have also been used for much longer than ondansetron. I am absolutely correct to suggest that, although the risk-benefit profile favours use in cases of morning sickness that aren't responding to other drugs, you would usually try other drugs first.

Liliana,not wishing to derail but the studies you show have been superseded by new ones.The was a Californian study 2016 that found no increased incidence of fetal defects but surprisingly also a decrease in miscarriage and more live births than those in the control group.
I'm only continuing this discussion to reassure anyone out there taking ondansatron.
No antiemetic can be tested on pregnant women so we are reliant on retrospective studies.

i had twins and HG id never experienced anything like it ever

yes the tiredness was unbelivable and couldnt do anything and im pretty resiliant

my iron was low but basically had to ride it out but the whole pregnancy was hard work and i just had to count down the days,it made me very depressed and cried alot and wondered if i was doing the right thing (they were ivf)

but after they were born 37wks i had never felt so good seriously it all just vanished i was on a high (since diagnosed bipolar)

i really feel for you and hope things ease alittle

congratulations and see your midwife as blood tests etc may show something

@seventhgonickname That is very helpful - thank you. I do prescribe ondansetron to pregnant women in certain circumstances but the info available to me from sources like the BNF and UKTIS means I always feel slightly twitchy doing so. I've just had a quick look at the study you cite and it's reassuring for me as a non-specialist.

I agree we risk derailing the thread if we continue gaining CPD points by discussing this stuff in front of laypeople.

As an obstetrician (presumably), do you have any advice for OP about her situation?

That sounds normal to me, my iron was the lower end of normal but the fatigue was horrendous, but both times it has vanished as soon as baby arrives. I've had to stop the car and close my eyes because I couldn't carry on.

No extra advice as OP seems to have found a GP that is listening.Hope the ondansatron works for you OP.

I’m currently 30 weeks with twins and had HG until week 17. I have never been so exhausted in my life. There were days where I couldn’t even get out of bed and even lifting my arms was too much effort.

My iron levels etc were fine. Being pregnant with twins is sometimes just exhausting.

@seventhgonickname, I've just done an advanced search and have found out from your previous posts that you're a nurse. I'm surprised you didn't correct my misconception when I assumed you were an obstetrician. I realise advanced searching posters is often seen as poor form, but when posters are passing comment on medical matters, I think it is important to be clear on who people are. For the avoidance of doubt, I'm a GP.

I’ve got my bloods back. I’m not anaemic but have low levels of urea and creatinine. I have no idea what this means but have been told not to worry too much.