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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Dealing with work

19 replies

H007 · 10/04/2011 14:28

I am 8+1 and am really worried about going to work tomorrow. I have had the last 4 weeks off as I've had labrynthitis but its time to face the music tomorrow. I have quick bad morning sickness which either leaves me feeling wretched all morning (spend it lying on the sofa tryin not to move) or throwing up (which makes the ms last less time) so my question is how do people cope at work? Please help....

Added to my working day is also a 2 hour commute, have decided to go by train next week so I don't have to worry about it so much. But am worried about needing to be sick!

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greenzebra · 10/04/2011 15:05

Ah bless you, maybe you should get signed off work for a bit longer untill your sickenss subsides?

Work have to by law help you as much as possible, they have to provide you with a rest room so you can lie down during the day, any sickness you take off for pregnancy related illness is ok, you wont get put on a sickenss review.
If you tell them straight out how tough it is for you, be totally honest they should be fine. Remember to talk to HR as well.

Have you tried Ginger for your sickness, ginger biscuits or crystalised ginger, it helped me a bit with sickness. I found if I was sucking on a sweet that it would ward off the sickness a bit and give me mouth something else to think about. Or just taking sips of drink. Also not moving too fast helps alot, taking everything really slow.

Hope it gets better

FluffyDonkey · 10/04/2011 15:07

Poor you - it's horrible.

For transport - take plastic bags. Horrible but I actually found having a bag or two with me calmed me down and I managed to wait until getting off the train to be sick.

For being sick at work - There's lots of good advice on MS (search the archives) but I found that it was only through trial and error that I found what worked for me!

So what worked for me :

Not eating or drinking until 11am (at first when I was very sick, it gradually got earlier, now at 15 weeks it's 9.30am).
Sipping water throughout the day
Eating digestives - a little at a time
Never staying in my seat for more than an hour - just getting up and walking 10m helped
Running for the toilets when needed!!!!

On really bad days - not eating at lunchtime, not taking a break and leaving work early
I also tried to avoid meetings that went on for longer than an hour as it meant I couldn't nibble my biscuits. Once or twice I would sneak out for a quick bite! Now everyone knows I'm pregnant, I openly go into meetings with water and biscuits in hand.

When I was being sick in the toilets I felt awful for whoever heard me, but I used to wait until the coast was clear before leaving the cubicle. I later found someone who had heard me being sick but because of accoustics thought it was someone on a different floor.

I also said that I'd "eaten something dodgy" once which meant that for a couple of days I could leave early in the evening (my MS lasted all day) and every so often had a train breakdown when I really couldn't get into work early in the morning cos I felt so sick.

FluffyDonkey · 10/04/2011 15:09

Second the moving slow - I now get up slightly earlier than before so I can slowly get ready, even if I'm actually saving 15mins by not eating breakfast.

Also, I ended up confiding in my manager (we work very closely together and he covers me when I'm sick) at 8 weeks because I just couldn't cope anymore. Two days he let me go home at lunchtime without having to take sick leave or holiday leave.

BikeRunSki · 10/04/2011 15:19

GP and signed off! I am entering week 5 of not going to work. 11 weeks.

PinkFondantFancy · 11/04/2011 07:35

I second getting signed off-you can't concentrate properly at work if you're constantly trying not to be sick on your colleagues, take a few weeks and go back when you're feeling more like yourself again.

PrincessScrumpy · 11/04/2011 09:31

Sometimes the distraction of work can actually help. I would really disagree with Fluffydonkey. I found that eating (even if I felt really sick) actually made me feel better. Not that it was breakfast type food - anything I could keep down including crips. Bland, bland food. Eat before bed too so you're not too hungry.

IME the hungrier you are the worse the sickness is. Have snacks in your bag and a sick bag incase you get caught out. Vitamin B6 can help plus dh bought me sea sickness bands which can be used for morning sickness. Not sure how much they helped as I wore them constantly and didn't dare take them off to compare IYSWIM.

A glass of coke helped me - I think it's the sugar and caffiene which is fine in small amounts. It got me going most mornings but work did allow me to start at whatever time I could depending if I was having a good day or not. By the time dd (3) is up and I've got her to nursery I feel I may as well go to work, even if I spend the whole morning in the loo.

I have also found that it's worse when I'm tired so get lots of sleep if you can. I'm 16 weeks with twins and have been far more sick than with dd1. I have finally stopped being sick all day but still feel sick at times.

Renaissance227 · 11/04/2011 09:42

This is a great thread. I'm twelve weeks now and still feeling sick all day every day at work. I eat as often as possible without everyone at work thinking I'm a pig!, I nibble digestive biscuits, and I try to drink as much water as possible.
Still hoping that this all ends soon. I'm totally fed up of feeling sick and and having lumps of crap at the back of my throat making me cough ALL THE TIME!!!

DomesticGoddess31 · 11/04/2011 09:43

I agree with PrincessScrumpy, tiredness definitely made mine worse so get an early night, and what I found good was to eat a biscuit as soon as I woke up before getting out of bed. Nibble it, let it settle, drink something but not too much and then slowly get up. I personally found that I HAD to eat breakfast before leaving the house. Getting too hungry was a recipe for nausea, but everyone is different so trial and error I'm afraid. Good luck, hope it eases off soon x

DomesticGoddess31 · 11/04/2011 09:45

oh and if you're a tea drinker in the morning try stopping that, it took me weeks of chucking up before I finally admitted to myself that the tea was making it worse! Can drink it now at 26 weeks but still not first thing.

joshop · 11/04/2011 11:29

Tell some people at work, like your boss. It's a need-to-know thing not a 'look at me I'm pregnant' thing so you're not tempting fate. If a few colleagues know, you should get the support you need.

Don't be afraid to take more time off. I got signed off for four weeks and no one has batted an eyelid. It doesn't count as normal sick time. As someone else has already said, employment law protects women in pregnancy and you need to put yourself and the baby first.

Hope you start feeling better soon. MS is pants!

Original poster

H007 · 11/04/2011 12:41

Hello.... I've made it!!! :) The plan of action wa wake up at 5am and had a bite of flapjack and then I got up at 5.30am and didnt eat. Had a glass of orange juice slowly however that saw the bottom of the toilet before I left (sorry tmi) then caught the train closed my eyes and sucked on sweets constantly to the point my mouth hurt. Got to work and I feel fine, been nibbleling as usual all day! Soooooo happy :) now I know I can do it!

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BikeRunSki · 11/04/2011 13:04

OMG 5am, no wonder you are not felling well! As I said, this is my fifth week off, but I have been in hospital (hyperemisis) for 1 week and also for 4 days. PRevious pg was exactly the same. Work and GP very sympathetic letting me do what I need to do. I told work at 6 weeks because of how ill I was in pg1.

But well done you for getting to work. Take it easy though.

FluffyDonkey · 11/04/2011 13:46

I think everyone is different. At first when I just felt sick eating definately helped. But when I started throwing up a lot, eating in the morning was just impossible and pointless. Even a sip of water before getting up in the morning came back up. Any food came back up, and I tried lots of different things before giving up.

I found that throwing up in the morning was more pleasant when there wasn't anything in my stomach, but like I said, everyone is different.

SerenaJoy · 11/04/2011 14:35

To begin with I had to eat something in the mornings (I don't usually eat breakfast so this was new to me), but something very bland - usually toast with the thinnest scraping of butter and a few sips of water. That kept me going till I got to work, provided I had a good supply of mints to suck during my commute (to distract me and minimise that horrible taste you get in your mouth). Then just graze graze graze all day. The key is keeping something in your stomach at all times, I think.

Also got a good tip on here - as others have said carry a plastic bag in case of emergency, but put a couple of bits of kitchen roll in the bottom to soak up any liquid (sorry!). I've always made it to the loo in time, but knowing that I was prepared if I was sick on the bus or wherever helped to keep me calm.

Glad you made it this morning, hope you start feeling better soon!

DomesticGoddess31 · 11/04/2011 15:48

Well done H007! So glad you made it :)

DomesticGoddess31 · 11/04/2011 15:52

oh and p.s. if you do start managing a proper breakfast before you leave the house, do not under any circumstances eat muesli !

FluffyDonkey · 11/04/2011 17:19

I would also personally advise against toast - my god that hurts when it comes back up!!!

Other nasties (for me) included ice cream - utterly revolting on the way back up.

The joys of pregnancy!

Original poster

H007 · 11/04/2011 17:58

Now I just have to do it all again tomorrow OMG

OP posts:

BikeRunSki · 11/04/2011 20:37

Well done H007, one day at a time...
You are doing a great deal better than me.

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