Hyperemesis Support

[LucindaE]

A new thread needed here already! Lovely Grumblin who started the second one, may be actually having that baby at this minute!

I hope this will be a source of support for present sufferers and ex sufferers alike and also worried family members.

I want particularly to mention my favourite feline FluffyWhiteKittens, who has been so invaluable a source of support on the old threads, and MOH, who has slaved to produce articles full of useful information and links to useful websites, LaTrucha, lovely CaramelloKoalaLover, Grumblin, NitNat, La, Lottie, Grandmagain, MaryLou, Cocoanuts and so many that I cannot name everyone for fear that the current sufferer may became annoyed at the long list...

Never worry about tmi or moaning. When suffering one has to discuss things that would make most people go weak at the knees and to have a good moan can help enormously with an illness where there is still a lot of ignorance and sometimes insensitive treatment.

It might help to remember - when you are at your worst - the words in that Eastern story.
'This Too Shall Pass.'

LucindaE
xx

The constipation with ondansetron is a real pain. Luckily, because I am now able to eat and drink a wider range of stuff I try to eat some tinned fruit every day (somehow that stays down better than fresh stuff). I also asked my GP about senna, and she says it's safe to take, so I dose myself with that occasionally if it gets bad. I think that being blocked up and bloated makes the nausea worse.

Does anyone else find the dizziness an issue with ondansetron? However I keep telling myself that feeling wobbly is much better than throwing up!

Had one day back at work teaching and could barely stand up at the end. Have been signed off for the last 10 days. I'm due back next thursday, but school haven't contacted me to discuss changing my working environment so not sure what to do.

Hi Lucinda,
Ondansetron is Zofran in US/Canada/SA/Oz as far as I am aware. It was very expensive because it until recently it could only be marketed by one company.
But I am reliably informed that it has just come off patent so can now be marketed by other companies. The one I am using is a generic brand. This makes it much cheaper and therefore hopefully more available for more women in the future.
I feel the key thing is finding a GP who is prepared to prescribe it. There is still alot of fear out there because of Thalidomide.....

I too shudder at the thought of Fybogel. Mid abdo cramps nasty today. not a happy GI system at the mo..x

Personally I dont have any dizzyness with ondanestron but I did with cyclizine. In fact apart from the constipation I find ondanestron a much easier drug to take. Smaller tablet etc. My doctor was very happy to do a repeat prescription for ondanestron but she has been amazing in general. My mum works in a doctors surgery and had a sneaky look at the cost to the nhs and 30 ondanestron tablets were about 68 quid compared to 31 for cyclizine so it is more expensive to nhs.

Oh, the glamour of a pukey pregnancy! Been barfing twice a day for past few weeks, and because baby is so heavy on my bladder, I can't help doing a pee with every retch (sorry if tmi). Am just so fed up. Have taken to wearing TENA Lady incontinence pads if I have to go out when feeling particularly sick. Have only got 6 more weeks of pregnancy to go, so there is light at end of tunnel.

Hope all those on Ondansetron are getting some relief from constipation.

HeftyMuthaSympathies to you for that. No such thing as tmi here - Puking and Peeing was a speciality of mine, and sometimes, it Coming Out of All Orifices at Once .I used to whip my knickers off en route...
Feekeery Magnum Yes, that Fibrogel is disgusting for sure. That monopoly on Ondanstron must have caused such suffering, what a relief that it's been lifted, and isn't it awful that the horrors of so long ago should still influence doctor's decisions now?
Seapie Try not to hurry back, how are you supposed to cope with a teaching environment if you're stil ill? Not sure if private schools are unionised, if not, is there anyone else who can advise? Citizen's Advice?
I hope Everyone is coping...
Lucinda
xx

constipation quite often made me puke and feel far more nauseous

heftymutha i too had to same, constantly changing knickers as convinced smelt of wee even using tena lady.

giggling at thought of a heavily pregnant Lucinda whipping off knickers quickly! :)

Hello all,
Sorry to hear about those suffering from constipation. I think it's one of the few ailments I've thankfully been spared, but then I'm on cyclizine not ondansetron. After a week of conjunctivitis and sinus infection things seem to be settling down again. Like HeftyMutha I'm stuck on 2 voms a day, just have not been able to shift it. Sigh. Mutha, what's your EDD? Mine is 17 Nov, you must be a couple of weeks ahead of me. Has anyone updated the EDD list lately? I can't seem to find the most recent version.
Hope everyone has a good week with few voms and understanding employers! x

Pearl Heftymutha Sorry that you are still suffering, it's too bad, and two voms a day gets you down. It gets most people down in the first tri!
TheOnly Lol, fortunately puking was far less frequent by the time I had to waddle to the loo behind my belly...
List, yes, we await some exciting news...
LucindaE
xx

Had to hunt a bit but this seems to be most upto date list! If it's missing anyone please copy and paste yourself in :)

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
Coconuts: EDD 01/10/11
Mancbird: EDD 08/10/11
AgBag: EDD 18/10/11
Littlewizz: EDD 6/11/11
CakeForBreakfast: EDD 07/11/11
Marylou: EDD 9/11/11
MotherofPearl: EDD 17/11/11
Eggy: EDD 30/11/11
LadyOTCM: 01/12/11
Diddygirl: EDD 19/12/11
Bensgirl: EDD
Alias: EDD ??/12?11
m1nn1e: EDD ??/01/12
Angel: 16/01/12
Seapie: 30/01/12
Louby86: EDD 17/02/12
MummyMccar: 23/02/12
Feekerry 24/03/2012

SOOO ready for this baby to make her appearance now - bring it on!!! :)

Just posting quickly to say hello to everyone, in the fluffy household dd has started school, ds is starting to have lots of friends first birthday parties and I am running the village playgroup with a friend.

Just to remind you all that once the sickness is over you'll all have lovely, normal, busy lives again :)

Elliotts Mum Just in case you're early, the best of luck for a wonderful, easy birth. And am keeping my fingers crossed for Coconuts too.
Fluffy Running the playgroup sounds energetic. How many kids? I used to help out at one back in London, and I found it exhausting, but you are a teacher, of course! And baby's first birthday coming up already!
I hope not too much Puking and Peeing going on with everyone...
LucindaE
xx

can i add to the list?

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
Coconuts: EDD 01/10/11
Mancbird: EDD 08/10/11
AgBag: EDD 18/10/11
Littlewizz: EDD 6/11/11
CakeForBreakfast: EDD 07/11/11
Marylou: EDD 9/11/11
MotherofPearl: EDD 17/11/11
Eggy: EDD 30/11/11
LadyOTCM: 01/12/11
Diddygirl: EDD 19/12/11
Bensgirl: EDD
Alias: EDD ??/12?11
m1nn1e: EDD ??/01/12
Angel: 16/01/12
Seapie: 30/01/12
Louby86: EDD 17/02/12
MummyMccar: 23/02/12
Feekerry 24/03/2012
Magnum White 26/03/2012

Just thought I'd say a quick hello as I've not been on here for ages.

Cosmo good luck! It may not be as bad as you're expecting and as long as you're prepared, you will get through it. It helps to find a sympathetic doctor beforehand who you can persuade to promise you drugs, however expensive, as soon as they are needed! I'm not sure I'd have been as brave as you. 'Fate' (a.k.a. relying on a Persona monitor for contraception) decided the timing of DC2 for me, otherwise I'd have dithered about for years and may never have dared to go for it.

7 weeks to go now and I still have the occasional bit of nausea in the mornings but haven't actually been sick for a few weeks. I'm now suffering 'effects' of iron tablets, due to virtually iron-free diet in the HG months, along with eczema, heartburn and piles. Very glamorous but much preferred to HG.

Hi to everybody suffering at the moment. My drink of choice when nothing would stay down was clear, citrus flavoured energy drinks. Hopefully somebody else might find it helps too.

Hello MOP. my EDD is 28/10/11, but my son was 12 days early so am hoping this one will be, too. Please could someone who hasn't vomited out all their brain cells add me to the list, as I don't trust my IT skills at the moment.

Agh, Fluffy, I can only dream about doing lovely, energetic things like running playground, but it is nice to be reminded that there's life after puking.

I'm getting quite quick at the whipping off knickers before a vom. Pregnancy certainly teaches you new skills!

I've popped you onto the list below HeftyMutha, even though it pushes me down the league table a bit!
I'm feeling pleased today because I managed to get out last night for the first time in ages. Only went to the local cinema to see Jane Eyre with a friend, but felt so nice to be doing something normal.

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
Coconuts: EDD 01/10/11
Mancbird: EDD 08/10/11
AgBag: EDD 18/10/11
HeftyMutha: EDD 28/10/11
Littlewizz: EDD 6/11/11
CakeForBreakfast: EDD 07/11/11
Marylou: EDD 9/11/11
MotherofPearl: EDD 17/11/11
Eggy: EDD 30/11/11
LadyOTCM: 01/12/11
Diddygirl: EDD 19/12/11
Bensgirl: EDD
Alias: EDD ??/12?11
m1nn1e: EDD ??/01/12
Angel: 16/01/12
Seapie: 30/01/12
Louby86: EDD 17/02/12
MummyMccar: 23/02/12
Feekerry 24/03/2012
Magnum White 26/03/2012

Never mind, HefyMother Pearl and everyone suffering, it won't be much out of a lifetime, though it seems so long... MaryLou I'm so glad no puking for a while, and only some nausea.

I hope everyone's knickers stay on today, and I mean that in the nicest possible way .
Lucinda
xx

lucinda if I take your advice there'll be no little sister or brother for my DD...

Hi all,

Hope everyone is managing ok this week. I've just got back from my GP appointment. It wasn't as positive as I had hoped. She used the line 'but you might not get it this time - every pregnancy is different.' At that point, I knew she didn't 'get' HG. She even talked about not having nausea with her first preg then having sickness with the second. It didn't seem like she'd really heard of prenatal counselling, and wasn't keen to do a referral. However I was pushy & gave her the name of a consultant who knows about hg (my friend who used to be a mw at the hosp gave me her name) and she said she'll do a letter.

I asked how long it could take and she said if I've not hear in 6-8 weeks to chase it. So, not feeling that good about it but at least I might get an appt. The other route could be to ask my mw friend to try and get me an appt.

Her basic advice was don't worry it might not happen again and if it does come and get help when the symptoms start. So felt a bit like I was wasting her time and being overly worried. :(

I asked about Ondansetron and she said that would need to be prescribed by a consultant.

Just read my post back and perhaps I am being a bit of a wimp and expecting too much hand-holding....I'm just shit scared I guess & speaking to a medical person who actually knows about HG could help me feel more ready.

cosmo you're not being a wimp at all, you're doing all the right things, your doctor is just being totally crap. I'd ask your midwife friend to help, or maybe call the consultant's clinic and ask their midwive's advice? my consultant had great midwives in her pre preg clinic, you could always just ring them and ask anything.

Sometimes doctors really wind me up, they bang on all the time about preventative measures and how we should all take care of our own health, then when you try and actually take steps to pre-empt a very likely serious disorder so you're prepared for it, it's all oh don't worry your pretty little head, you're getting worked up about nothing. 6-8 weeks???? does she have any idea how ill you'd be in 6-8 weeks if you got pregnant now?

And good for you for being pushy. Not that you should have to, but great that you did.

Thanks MOH. I guess I was expecting her to be all 'of course, I'll refer, not a problem' so was a bit disappointed that she started on the whole 'every pregnancy different' line. I have just telephoned the consultants secretary as found her number through google and she said that the consultant only sees women one day a week so earliest appt would be mid November. She also said they only take appts via referral. So I'm going to call her back in 2 weeks if I've not heard anything just to make sure the GP writes the letter (I have very little trust in people!) If she hasn't sent it then I'll bypass her and see if they will accept a referral from my MW friend.

I was proud of myself for being pushy as the old Cosmo would just have walked out feeling walked over but as I am so well informed and knew more than her I wasn't taking no for an answer!

We are actively TTC at the moment but am not on hormonal contraceptives, so if a BFP did occur before the appt I'll just have to act quickly I guess at first sign of symptoms.

MOH - are you planning on trying again? (Tell me to mind my own business if you like!)

aren't actively trying to conceive I meant to type! Ooops....Freudian??

Cosmo you're not being a wimp. It's not surprising we're so scared of becoming pregnant again. I seriously think HG can traumatise people, it's so horrible, especially when you don't get the help you need. Knowing you've got help lined up if you do need it will make you feel like there's a safety net in place, so keep persevering with being pushy. It's not helpful telling you you might not get it for a second time, you need to plan for if you do get it. I agree with MOH's suggestions. I think the more you go and bother the GPs and medical staff, the more they realise you're not going to be messed around.

Cosmo it sounds to me like you're doing all the right things. I am constantly amazed by the ignorance out there about HG amongst both medical professionals and ordinary people. A colleague of mine suggested to me a few days ago that I try travel sickness wristbands to ease my 'morning sickness' because they worked for her daughter. I know she's not a medical professional and of course it was a well-meant suggestion, but I wanted to throttle the poor woman! I managed to say through gritted teeth that very early on I had, naturally, tried every single available ms remedy but that they don't work for HG because it's an entirely different thing! Good luck with it all, sounds like you have sensible plans in place.

MOH Lol, I meant the already pregnant ones...
Pearl That is infuriating, cyber pats on back to you for keeping your temper, I suppose the hormones help. I really wonder why people assume that one is such a fool, incapable of doing the slightest thing to remedy matters.
Cosmo You sound as if you are being very assertive to me, of course you are not a wimp, who wouldn' t be scared?
Lucinda
xx