New Hyperemesis Support thread founded by the lovely LucindaE

[grumblinalong]

As the old thread is nearly full here it is time a brand new thread is born. All we need now is a new vomit face emoticon MN towers!

We are a bunch of past, present and future HG sufferers (along with worried spouses, family and friends) who use this thread to support, listen and discuss the dreaded pregnancy illness that is HG (hyperemesis gravidarum).

There are no limits on how much moaning posters can do nor can anyone's symptoms or experiences be tmi.

The old thread has been a great support to many of us and we hope this new thread carries on the great work started by old thread founder and HG guru LucindaE. She still maintains, supports and clucks around the thread daily even though her own experience of HG is thankfully over.

So with no further incoherent rambling from me on with the new thread eh?

Cocoanuts Whoops, crossed with you, saying much the same...How are you feeling?
LucindaE
xx

Yes dh has been such a wonderful support with our son, I do feel a bit bad leaning on him so much as I'm usually running about being a perfect house wife. I cannot stand the smell of anything cooking. Since coming out of hospital have been on Maxillon (something that ends in promide but it's another name for it) and cyclizine....I find these make me sleep when taken whole so take them in halves. I started today on pregnancy vitamins. Since being on the said medicine I'm holding down fluids but the nausea just won't go away.WIll go and find the article now, thanks for making me feel welcome

LOTM I really feel for you. I'm on my 4th pregnancy and only ever suffered with normal NVP previously so was really horrible to experience HG this time. I have to admit at times wondering if it was worth it and contemplated ending the pregnancy. From 16 weeks mine definately started to feel better. I've not ever felt 'normal' but it is definately easier to cope with and I haven't physically vomitted since 16 weeks. I just have nausea now which is worse the more tired I am. My consultant told me that she didn't care what I ate as long as I was managing some kind of fluids. All the things that Lucinda has mentioned I managed to keep down by just taking frequent sips. Also, as it was easing a bit I couldn't eat but managed to drink flavoured milkshakes and smoothies. Thoughts are with you.

lucinda Not sure how big he's going to be!! I have another scan in 3 weeks time and hopefully I'll get some advice on delivery. My last baby had shoulder dystocia and apparently the bigger the baby the more likely it is to happen again. I know this is a HG thread but if any of you lovely ladies have any experience or advice to give on SD I would love to hear it!!

LOTM, cyclizine is a bit of a slow burner when it comes to the tiredness. They do have a sedative in them, if you can take them regularly enough and in a routine then the drowsiness begins to not have an effect. It took about a week to ten days for them to not make me feel crappily tired but after that I actually managed to get dressed.

Really hope yuo can find something to make you feel better. There's something for everyone, no matter how unhealthy and obscure!

Your baby will grow perfectly well without you eating much.

The B6 in your vitamin should also help.

Lottie - was your last baby really big then? what centile is this one on? My DD was 9lb 3.5oz which is quite big I suppose. Although I have a couple of friend who have had 12lb'ers No clue what SD is sorry.

Lucinda - feeling good thanks no more sickness since Friday morning, was definitely nerves. Am feeling more positive after scan. Hope you are ok :)

LOTM sorry to hear you're feeling rubbish. I hope that it eases off for you soon like it did last time. It's so hard to have a toddler to deal with along with HG, it's good that your DH is being supportive though. Like somebody said earlier on, it is a hard thing to get through even with DH's support. I think the early days with HG put more of a strain on us than arriving home with a newborn. I just felt so bad that I did nothing all day then as soon as DH got home he would run around doing all the housework/cooking etc. Just take all the help you can get though, you do need it.

Have you tried taking a B6 with each cyclizine - I really found it helped with the drowsiness.

Sorry I've not been on here for a while. We've been away and I won't say this out loud but I think things might be getting better. 15 weeks now and I'm down to two cyclizines a day. I still have a bile run every morning and sometimes a second time, but the nausea is no longer constant 24 hours and as long as I don't do too much and have a nap every day, I can just about function and even make the tea...

I love your advice MOH, it would be really useful for anyone newly diagnosed to print off and give to friends and relatives etc, who just think you've got bad morning sickness.

Drink of the week: Yop strawberry yogurt drink.

Had an apple, then took a cyclizine before bed. Wretched as was swallowing the tablet so everything came up :( am now in bed feeling rather sorry for myself and sucking a lemon lolly pop.

Oh no LOTM, I imagine an apple isn't a good food to vom! In fact, I know it isn't!

I found it was always easier to take the cyclizine about 30-60 minutes before planning to eat, just in case. And I was told that if I vom after the cyclizine and I see the whole pill in the sink/loo/other then I can take another. If I don't then I can't.

In the mornings, I found it best to take the cyclizine about an hour or so before I planned getting up. Laying still after I took it and having an extra bit of sleep after always worked better than trying to take it while avoiding the bile run.

They should last about 6 hours, so once again, take the next before lunchtime, sitting still and letting it settle before attempting any foods or drinks.

And keep going with those lollies :)

You can buy some sticks from the pharmacy to monitor your ketones at home if you'd like to see when an improvement is made.

And watch out for constipation.

Welcome LOTM - so sorry you are so ill. So 5+ keytones do look like they exist - a couple of us (luce, nitnat?) thought we'd seen/been told as inpatients that our keytones were +++++ but didn't know if this had been a mistake as ketostix only measure up to 4+. They must be able to test for more in hospital. It is truly horrible when keytones are that high - I remember not only thinking about termination around christmas (I'm 36 weeks now) but also felt so ill I wanted to go to sleep and not wake up again. Horrible but HG is so horrendous at that point. Get some ketostix if you haven't got any already. Are you still on steroids? My consultant wanted me to go on them at 14 weeks but I argued against it as I heard they have terrible side effects. Did they try you with Ondansetron through your IV? A few of us have found acupuncture beneficial too - I was a complete sceptic but it allowed me to eat for 2 days out of 7 at about 18/20 weeks.

waves to everyone Weird weekend for me - had a lovely meal out on Saturday afternoon with my best friend of 26 years, even managed to go into 2/3 shops and buy myself some nice clothes and go on a train . Felt better than I had for ages then yesterday - chuck up day. Felt so dizzy standing was challenging. So weird that one day I felt OK, then next day payback time.

Lottie Can't believe you're having to deal with worrying about a birthing a big baby and SD with HG - so not fair. My baby is only a tiddler (only weighs 3lb 11oz according to scan last week) so hopefully he/she will just drop out as its my third.

nitnat How goes you? Not long left coconuts, la, theonly, lucinda et al hope you all had a good weekend?

LOTM sounds like your meds aren't really doing the job. Have you tried ondansetron (zofran)? I found it the closest thing to a miracle cure you could have, knocked the vomming on the head right from the first pill. I didn't think it was doing anything for the nausea until I tried to stop taking it at 20 weeks, then went right back on it after ending up back in bed feeling shit. I took it till birth. I have a friend due in couple of weeks, she had same experience. I know it doesn't work for everyone but it's worth a try. its what they give chemo patients these days when maxillon and stemetil don't work.

Hi, I've also recently started taking ondansetron and have managed to keep my breakfast down today! Also have no drousyness which I got with the other meds I've tried. My Doctor has only given me 7 days supply though which is a bit worrying. I'm now at 19 weeks... hopefully things will stop by 20 weeks!

I was wondering what dose of Odansetron other people have been given? I've been given 5mg 3 times a day. I've also been told to take 50mg of Thiamine (vitamin B1) once a day. I've been told to stop taking the vit B6 (which I was taking with Cyclizine and Avomine and prochlorperazine - but still vomiting throughout the day). I've also stopped taking the Pregnacare multi-vits in case it was contributing to the sickness.

What dose of Odansetron are others taking? And does anyone know anything about Thiamine/B1 ? Also... in your opinions, should I go back on the Pregnacare? I'm eating so badly I'm concerned about the lack of nutrition in my diet, and folic acid etc...

agbag, i stopped the pregnacare cos I thought it made me sicker. i sometimes found paracetamol helped settle my stomach slightly and then I would maybe take one and eat, but I gave up worrying about them when my Dr said I was very healthy before so didn't need to worry about not getting enough of what I need.......however, my skin looks bloody terrible, all little burst blood vessels from puking, blotchy, bags under my eyes from being tired.

Best thing to make you look better? MAC make up. ha ha.

Had a good weekend, got all nursery furniture, Silver Cross sleepover set, breast pumps, steriliser and doppler from baby show so thats me all sorted now! Family bbq yesterday which involved a long drive (why do I follow sat nav's i am better off reading a map myself). anyone else trouble sleeping? its proper starting to do me in, so I sacked off work today as I have actually slept 9 hours out of the last 12 which is amazing.

LOTM, welcome, they know their stuff here so you in safe hands

hugs to all xx

Yes indeed, welcome LOTM. AgBag glad to hear you've finally on medication that works for you - long may it last. I was taking thiamine with cyclizine but stopped the thiamine at about 13 weeks (still on cyclizine though). TBH I'm not really sure what the thiamine is for. I don't think you should go back on the pregnacare if it makes the sickness worse. As others on this thread have said, the most important thing is staying hydrated, not food/nutrition as such. The baby will take what it needs. As far as I know there's no need to take folic acid after 12 weeks as the spine etc is formed by then?
I've had a rather alarming call this morning about the results of my screening for Down's sydrome from last week (scan + blood test). It seems I fall into the high risk category and baby has a 1:150 chance of having DS. Meeting with midwife etc on Thurs to discuss results and options in more detail, but basically now DP and I need to decide whether or not to go for an amniocentesis. Really anxious and no idea what to do, and anxiety and hg aren't good for each other. Sorry, I know this is not a DS/amnio thread but just feeling so worried.
Hope everyone doing OK and not feeling too sick. xxx

Pearl Really feel for you, try not to worry too much, I was given a 1 in 33 chance of Down's - did go for an amnio, becuase the risk of miscarriage with that is about one in a hundred, so...d/d perfectly normal, except for not sleeping for years...It is very hard decide the best thing. I remember I had some cramps aftrwards and went into panic mode, but it was all right.The stress must be making you feel worse, it with me, though I had turned the corner at that point. Sending you hugs. I know a friend who went for a detailed scan with a high risk to assess things, but I think she paid for it privately...They were talking at one time about tests on cervixes providing info, but I suppose that line of research didn't get far?
Lady Sorry about apple - healthy foods just seem to reappear, don't they, and disgusting on the way up, cucumber, oh, dear. yes, Acupunture did wonders for me.
Cocoanuts So glad things are better.
theOnly Sounds a good shopping day.
Grumblin Oh, no, bad days stil, this is not fair...I am glad there are at least some good ones. I well remember how bad things were for you at Christmas, and 'This Too Shall Pass' as a mantra, eh?
Agbag MOH and Everyone Fluffy Caramel waves and best wishes. Is LA still waddling on beach? NitNat how are things?
LucindaE
xx

Hi All

i've been out of this thread for a while as i've been away - CAMPING!! yes camping with HG! it wasn;t too bad, the drugs are largely helping me keep food down, so not too many mad dashes to the toilet blocks - just lots of nausea.

Hope everyone else is doing well - not read back the thread yet - will do later.

Had scan today - all looked as it should for 13 weeks so feeling more hopeful now, and letting myself feel more excited.

AgBag - I'm on 4mg ondansetron 3 times a day. Really good not to have tiredness of other drugs, and it works well for me. I still take pregnacare when i feel it will stay down

AgBag I was on 2x4mg of ondansetron twice a day. My OB said it was the maximum dose, she told me to take them in whatever combination worked ie 1 pill 4 times a day or 2 twice a day. I found taking them twice a day was fine. After 20 weeks I worked my way very gradually down to one a day. I tried cutting this out a couple of times, the last time at 29 weeks but always got nauseous again so carried on taking them till birth (at 34 weeks).

Pearl Much sympathy, know the torture of tests. I had a 1 in 2 (yep, read it 1 in 2!!!) chance of Downs after a nuchal fold (private, about £180) with blood test. When he told us the results I booked myself in on the spot for a CVS (it was about 11 weeks). the OB was really good, booked us into his NHS clinic the following day during his lunch hour. I just can't handle uncertainty and would have worried myself sick (no pun intended) for the rest of the pregnancy. Figured that flooding baby with stress hormone for 6 months would have done more harm than CVS. Something I hadn't realised also was that the mc risk with CVS and amnio is actually including the natural risk ie the amnio doesn't add an additional 1% onto the risk of mc, it's the total risk of having an mc in the week (or is it 2 weeks, can't remember) following that stage of pregnancy including women who miscarry naturally without having had amnio. It's also practitioner dependent ie the more experienced they are, the less risk there is and we had a professor of obstetrics doing mine who does one or two a week so we felt that the risk was minimal. The baby didn't have Downs but the 5 days waiting between the test and the result was pure mental torture. All made worse by the fact that they didn't get enough cells the first time!!!!!! so I had to go back the next day for a repeat. He got someone from the lab down to check he had enough in the vial the second day. Said it had never happened before in his entire career. I must be a jinx. The first day I was so tense I got a bowel cramp that lasted for hours - I literally couldn't sit on my backside, felt like sitting on a poker all afternoon - so I did some relaxing visualisation stuff the second time. Sounds a bit hippy but it actually worked, I closed my eyes and visualised myself in a cabin on the banks of a river where we had gone holidays the previous year. Fortunately medication was working pretty well by then so at least it didn't make me sick.

Thanks Lucinda and MOH, what you've said is very reassuring. Wow, a 1 in 2 chance must have been so scary, and 1 in 33 is pretty awful too. It puts 1:150 in perspective anyway. Will be sure to check out what the amnio/miscarriage rate is at my hospital before deciding, but good to know that maybe the miscarriage risk directly from amnio not as high as I thought. Part of me is thinking why bother having the amnio because I truly can't see myself having a termination, but on the other hand it will at least give clarity and certainty, which will either mean peace of mind, or least give us some time to mentally prepare if it is DS. Anyway, won't decide until after Thursday's meeting.

Hi Pearl - with DS I had a risk of downs (around 1 in 160 I think). It was horrible and scary. I did go for the amnio in the end - but it is a very personal decision, what's right for one person will be different for someone else. The actual procedure was fine - but the worrying was awful, i really feel for you

Thanks for your comments about the odensatron. It sounds like I'm taking the right dose. I've had my first full day of it today and so far havnt been sick! amazing! Would be interested to hear other people's experiences of Thiamine.

MotherofPearl, sorry to hear your scary news but I hope it all works out fine for you. I'm continually amazed at how clever these medical tests are these days. I suppose we are really lucky to have the option of these tests. My mother didn't even have a scan when she had me!

Motherofpearl sorry to hear about your worrying result - sending warm wishes for whatever you decide to do x
LOTM welcome, sorry to hear you are feeling so rotten. Hope some of the suggestions have been helping you. Having HG and a toddler is very hard work - don't feel bad if you need to use cbeebies more than usual!
MOH fantastic work on your HG piece - great info and advice - should be given out by Drs as I had to learn about it by looking it up online!!
coconuts glad to hear you have recovered from your puking on Friday - so annoying how easy it is to have a setback - just so unpredictable! Congratulations on your blue bundle and earlier due date with a few less HG days!!
theonly would definitly agree with your jelly advice - still helps me out every morning and when I'm having an unsettled day! How did your trip to the NEC go? I had my first full day outing at the weekend at the Devon County Show and was absolutely shattered after!! Every muscle in my body aching but no sickness and even managed my first McDonalds since being ill!!
Marylou loving the sound of Yop strawberry yoghurt drink but am still finding milk and milky things pretty much a no-go area :( anyone else struggling with milk???

Lucinda I don't know the places you mentioned! When I said opposite coast I meant south coast near Exeter :)
La73 hope you enjoyed the rest of your hols, yes we live in the seaside town of Exmouth and have only a 10 minute stroll to the beach from our house :)

Been back to doctor today to get more medication and he has only given me one out of two - wants me to wean off of the nighttime one and try to just take one of the daytime ones instead of two. Next few days may be interesting but am feeling up to giving it a try! Watch this space...... :)

Hope everyone had an ok weekend and is having a good/good-ish day today x

AgBag glad to hear your medication seems to be working out for you, congrats on a vomit-free day - should always be celebrated!!! :)

Lottie not taking any bets on pipping you to post after last time when DD dragged out kicking & screaming 2weeks late! Hope yr doing ok and not too tired and nausous :) Feel for you having to worry about big baby & SD after HG hell. Have no exp 1st or 2nd hand with SD so unable to offer advice but hopefully someone here will - is obs suggesting C-Section?
Grumblin yes last few weeks flown by but def ready for this to be over - much more so for you no doubt. Glad you managed a fun day out with friend that involved food & clothes shopping - hope you have a good week :)
Nitnat how you doing, hope good weekend?
Pearl I'm so sorry you're in a position of making such a tough & v personal choice and you have my sympathy. Lucinda, MOH and Eggy such a tough & anxious time for you too, and on top of suffering HG, so not fair.
ElliotsMummy sounds wonderful, v envious after lush week on beach. Hope you get on ok reducing meds - midwife pushed me the same at 13 weeks but swiftly went back to 3 a day with GPs consent so def push back if regress, no need to suffer, all on here assured me safe to continue till end of PG.
welcome LOTM hope cyclizine kicks in soon, if not def follow advice to push for alternative. I found taking 1st tab just after eating handful of dry cereal as soon as woke up then staying v still dozing for hour or two worked for me!

Sorry not able to mention all by name but shattered after 1st day back at work so off to bed. theonly sleeping is shite for me too lately; brain now on overdrive as D day gets closer, although not as uncomfortable as 1st time so at least some benefit to not putting on lot of weight :)
Sending tranquil vibes to all x

Thanks all for your kind and supportive comments. Feeling a bit better today and pretty sure all will be OK in the end. Will let you all know how it goes on Thursday. Wishing everyone a vom free day! :)

Just a quick hello to mark my place and hopefully come back in a bit - may be getting a laptop soon so will be able to keep up to date a bit better.

Hi agbag
Thiamine is Vitamin B1. It's used in the metabolising of carbohydrates but many HG women are deficient in it after all the vom. I was precribed is in hospital and took it until I stopped needing the cyclizine.

When you go to hospital, once they've got the dehydration sorted they will try to get food into you, sometimes with a glucose drip. But if you haven't got any Vit B1 reserves you can't actually process the carbohydrates. So they are supposed to supplement your Thamine levels first. If they don't do this it can lead to Wernicke's Encephalopathy which is a bit nasty apparently.

MOH One in two? Aagh! I thought my risk was alarming, the same as for a woman of 43 (I was coming up 34).That must have been so stressful. Our support network is developing. From small beginings...
Fluffy Lovely to hear from you, as always. I want a laptop, too...
NitNat Fascinating info. Some research done there...
Pearl Thinking of you, even apart from the stats I have a feeling all will be well.
EliottsMummy Instow is near Barnstaple, and Ilfracombe too, North coast.
Longer ago than I care to admit. In those days, you'd get old men on village benches with faces red from cidar (sorry if the thought makes you ill, anyone!) and such strong West Country accents...
Eggy You too re Downs? Happy news about scan.
Agbag Lovely news about meds.
LOTM TheOnly Daft Lucinda can't read messages scribbled down for you.
'May the force be with you'? No...'
LA I hope this baby isn't so laggardly. Sorry about sleep problems. Now, it is a funny thing, when still inside D/D went to sleep regularly at nine, and slept through. But when born gave up sleeping. Thanks for symapthy re trauma of those days, oddly seems more distant than the Hyperemesis.
Grumblin How are you?
Caramel How is the other prize survivor from this thread's early days...
Cocoanuts Has all settled down?
Keep on through it all, everyone...
LucindaE
xx