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

Hi, everyone

Thanks for your support. Just home from the hospital (long day) having been prescribed anti-sickness meds and anti-biotics.

Apparently I have a UTI...

Managed to get out of staying overnight to be rehydrated - promised to sip water as continuously as possible.

So. tired.

Thanks again for everything!

hi jamina and spannermary and everyone else.

i'm a first time victim of HG. didn't know how awful i could actually feel without dying! sorry- i know that sounds awful but its true!! the ondansatron really is a life saver for me. and really sympathetic doctors!

i'm now 15 + 1 and was on 2x ondansatron and 2 x cylizne a day. take one of each at 8.30am and another lot at 4.15pm. if i take the last lot any later than 4.15pm then an unpleasant night is usually in store. i think its taken me a good few weeks to find the right times to take them for full effect. i dont actually think the cyclizne does much anything but taking the two types together just seems to work. tried yesterday to cut down to one each per day and ended up spending the night with my head down the toilet so def not ready to cut back at the mo.
has anyone managed to cut back? if so when? feel bad constantly on the meds but life is unbareable without them.

xxx

It's like buses, none for ages and then three come along :)
Sorry you have to join us here ladies, but feel free to moan, we won't judge and nothing is tmi here.
Spannermary, if you have to stay in to be re hydrated it can be useful, to give you a bit of a boost, although it's not nice being in hospital.
Jamina, take things as easy as you possibly can. The trouble is you often feel so much better but it takes very little to start the vomiting again. You're not rubbish you are ill. I was off work for months with my first HG pregnancy. It's just the way it has to be. Have you got a supportive employer and decent sick pay?
Helibee :( you poor thing. How old is your dc?
Hope everyone else is not suffering too badly and able to make the most of the mini heatwave we seem to be having.

Welcome to all the newbies and so sorry you have to join us. I'm currently 32+5 so getting towards the end but still have lingering sickness in the form of nausea from about midday until 8pm and between 1-2 voms. BUT, I do want to echo what Lucinda said, that for those suffering in the early stages now, it will get a lot better even if it doesn't go away completely. Hang in there. I've been on cyclizine since week 7 but now cut down to just once a day. It did help a lot in the beginning. It sounds like some of you need to really push to see consultants and get ondanestron (sp?) prescribed - it has helped so many people on here, and as feekerry says, can make life bearable.
Anyway, just know that you are not alone and we all know how horrendous it is. This thread has made a huge difference for me - it can't take away the sickness, but it makes you feel less isolated and rubbish mentally. And do visit MOH's site (sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/) which I think Lucinda has already recommended - it has loads of great advice and information.

Hi Feekerry,
i'm 14+1 now on 2nd pregnancy and trying to cut down on the Ondansetron as the constipation was really getting bad.... (which as people have said does't help with the nausea...)
But it has been a real life saver for me in this pregnancy and there was no way i was prepared to contemplate HG again without the reassurance that i could have Ondansetron.
really fed up of it all at the moment and hoping it eases up soon and i can start enjoying being pregnant!
lots of love to everyone else feeling so rubbish and all those feeling ok and just on here for support.
Cosmo, really hope you get your referral soon x

Hello, everyone, Spannermary I hope the sips of water are helping? Jemima and Helibee For sure you are not alone, everyone's very supportive here. How are you today? Feekerry Glad you are a little better, sorry you had to find out that you couldn't reduce the meds so dramatically...
Pearl Nasty, having two voms a day so far along, that is foul; you deserve a medal for endurance.
Fluffy I forgot to say, that is nice about your daughter! MagnumI hope those jelly things recommended to Feekerry help with the bowels?
Waves to anyone rudely overlooked...
Lucinda
xx

Hi all, welcome newbies, sorry u are all feeling so rotten right now (I remember it well!) just take each day as it comes and hopefully good days will become more frequent. Please copy and paste to add yourselves onto the list x

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
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

just updated as my date was moved forward at scan, thank god

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
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 19/03/2012
Magnum White 26/03/2012

That happened to me too feekerry - and first thing I thought was yippee, one less week of being pregnant!!! :)

ElliottsMummy: EDD 25/9/11
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 19/03/2012
Magnum White 26/03/2012
Helibee 25/04/2012

Spanermary,hope the antibiotics and anti emetics work.

Thanks for the support everybody. I'm living in hope of HG easing but as it didn't with ds, I'm prepared for another 6 1/2 months of this :( I think I find the strange taste in my mouth so annoying as well because nothing tastes right. That tea and toast after ds was born was wonderful, I'd begun to think that food would never taste right ever again

feekerry glad the ondansetron and cyclizine are helping

fluffy ds has just turned 4. He is wonderful and such a caring wee soul, he offered to take bump downstairs for me so I could get a good rest ah, if only

I've not kept anything down all day today and vomitting bile I find worse than bringing up food. So I'm sipping orange squash ice cubes that dh has made for me

Night all x

Hello. Reading the experiences of people who have just joined does remind me how horrible it all is in the first few months. I'm 22 weeks now and at 16 weeks I wanted to die, and (I'm ashamed to admit it) I would have welcomed a miscarriage just to get out of the cycle of vomiting, nausea and feeling useless. Not to mention the constant dribbling and disgusting taste in my mouth.
Looking back, things have certainly improved over the last couple of weeks. I got ondansetron prescribed after a 6 week fight with my GP and Obs, and I think I've also lowered my expectations of what I should be able to get done each day. Oh, and making friends, colleagues and family aware of how crap an illness it is. Having a sick note with HG written on it has helped my employer (school) take it more seriously, and I've just started back at work but GP has limited me to 2 lessons a day so I can go home and lie down every afternoon.

Anyway, being able to contribute to lists like this was really important in getting me through the first few months. I know that I probably wont feel well again until the birth, but it has got more manageable. The ondansetron has stopped the vomiting almost completely, and I now have 3-4 hours a day when I don't feel sick providing I move at a pace like a sick snail.

When I was really bad and couldn't face drinking water or sweet drinks, I actually found that I could drink cup-a-soup. Maybe related to my cravings for really salty things. I checked with the midwife and she reckoned any type of fluid was better than none. Some of it came straight back up again, but some stayed down, and it got the ketones out of my urine on a couple of occasions so I avoided hospital.

Seapie, so glad to hear that you're a bit better even if not completely! Argh, you're so right about that awful dribbling - I remember it well from the early months. I have horrible memories of sitting in the waiting area of A & E, so sick and dehydrated, holding a plastic pot under by mouth and saliva just pouring out of my mouth! The worst thing is that at the time I didn't care at all, felt too sick to be bothered what people thought!
Helibee, just keep thinking of that tea and toast at the end!
Good news about the earlier EDD Feekerry! Even one day less makes some difference. And poor ElliotsMummy still waiting - surely can't be long now? Hope you're not too uncomfortable.

helibee i know exactly what you mean about the horrid taste- it is the thing I'm most looking forward to getting rid of in the next couple days when this baby, hopefully, makes an appearance!!

MOP feeling pretty uncomfortable now yes! Especially as, when measured yesterday my stomach has gone off the top of the chart!! So my massive bump makes me feel a bit like a whale :) I have a week until my next appointment so if nothing happens in the meantime I will probably be booked in for c-section then - not ideal but at least I will have an end date!!

Hope everyone is not feeling too bad and manages to enjoy this last bit of nice weather over the next few days xx

Can I gate crash your thread for some advice? :) I wish I'd had this kind of support when I was pregnant!

My DD is now 18 months old, and despite suffering HG throughout my pregnancy - i'm SO broody! Can someone talk me out of this insanity or tell me that it might not be so bad this time?

I was 2 stone lighter at the end of my pregnancy (only managed 7 months, before my waters broke for an unknown reason), I lost my job due to being off so much and it was pretty much the worst 7 months of my life...why why why do I want to do it all again?!?!

Good luck lovely ladies, it really is all worth it in the end (and that comes from someone who would have punched anyone who said that to me when I was pregnant!)

Thank you all for your lovely support. Can I just say I love cyclizine! Only threw up once yesterday: and that may have been due to taking antibiotic without food.

I don't quite feel human yet - but it's coming!

Thanks again

Gabity, if you look back a few pages on the thread you'll see a very similar post from Cosmo, who has been agonising over exactly the same decision. I had severe N & V with my daughter but not full-blown HG until this time around. I have to say that the last 7 1/2 months have been the worst of my life too, but then as the end comes into sight, I am starting to feel OK and as you say, to think that it's been worth it. If you do decide to go for it, take a look at some of the advice Cosmo was given about seeing a consultant before TTC and getting support and meds lined up well in advance. She's been very proactive, and as you'll know from experience, nipping HG in the bud early on is the best way to control it and stop it gaining a foothold.
Spannermary, I agree about cyclizine - it brought me down from 8-10 voms a day and made me feel semi-human. Keep taking it religiously until you're sure things are under control. I only starting cutting down my dose after 20 weeks or so. :)

Gabby - i also swore I would never do pregnancy again after HG first time.
When broodiness hit I sought referral from GP to a local consultant with alot of experience in managing hyperemesis. Only after seeing her was i reassured enough that there would be an aggressive medical plan that i could easily access if HG hit again.

also had a few acupuncture sessions whilst ttc to reduce fear and anxiety about getting pregnant and HG.

also got myself as fit and rested as i could before ttc.

It has still been grim but 1st time round was sheer hell. There will definitely not be a 3rd time, even if i lost this one, but it was a very considered process in being willing to out my body through it a 2nd and last time.

its not an easy decision!

hello to all newbies and commiserations for needing to be here. I'm also not pregnant at the moment but thinking about it. I see little babies and get broody then the sensible part of my brain kicks in and gives the broody part a good talking to. But we are considering it again. I still have a stash of ondansetron, stemetil and buccastem from the last pregnancy to last me while I wait for the obstetrician appointment. This time I won't hang around, as soon as I feel the slightest bit nauseous I'll be popping pills. Like several others on this thread, I'm an ondansetron fan. It gave me a life during my last pg and I actually got to enjoy being pregnant. I've convinced myself that it won't be so bad this time, which would be correct if i didn't have a 20 month old little monkey to chase around after, so rest won't be much of an option. Honestly the only reason I'm even thinking about it is so that I can say I tried when she asks why she doesn't have siblings.

btw do have a look at the website www.pregnancysicknesssos.co.uk there's loads of advice from others on this thread. If you have any comments to add you can submit them on the your comments page and if you want, you can fill out the survey.

Hello all.

First huge congrats coconuts Thomas is gorge. Big sister looks well chuffed!

elliottsmummy how are you? hope not stuck in overdue hell.

Welcome to all newbies, hope you're all well as can be.

Waves to fluffy, lucinda, grandma, nitnat, onlyhb, moh & poor MOP.

Sorry about quiet from me, been having a bit of a rough time of it but things finally getting better. I have been diagnosed with PTSD. Psychologist thinks the hospital stay in December (with 5+ ktones, twin loss & swine flu combo) mentally was too much for me but anxiety is only just coming out now.

Very weird symptoms - kept startling easily, flashbacks, awful awful nightmares so couldn't sleep and kept stressing that DD was going to die, was driving poor DH mad. All textbook apparently. Been referred for CBT & will get meds once they've worked out a good one for breastfeeding. HV kept trying to say I had PND but I knew it wasn't because I didn't feel depressed or like I couldn't cope just irritable and well, weird! So relieved to know I'm not going mad. They fast tracked me for sterilisation too - it'll be done in 4 weeks so I never have to worry about HG again, this will def make me

Hope everyone is ok. Will try to stick around and be more supportive from now on. Sorry!

Grr. Spoke too soon. Having a terrible day; nothing is staying put. Plus I'm getting emails through saying "congrats on 12 weeks. About now you'll start to feel better." really? Those generic messages I signed up for are biting me in the bum right now!

Sorry. Bit fed up :(

Just popping on again to say hello to Grumblin - so nice to hear from you but so sorry that you've been having such an awful time. I guess that given what you went through, it's not at all surprising you have PTSD. Didn't you also have an HG-induced car crash quite late on in your PG? Just when you think it's all over, this wretched condition continues to torment you! Hope the treatment will soon start to help and make you feel better. Meanwhile do keep popping on and letting us all know how you're getting on. :)

spannermary please don't apologise. I've been in a foul mood all day. 14 weeks and I feel people are now expecting me to be blooming and spectactularly socially active again.
ds, who mercifully has been sleeping and eating really well throughout the last 8 weeks, now has his back molars coming through. :(
off food, drooling, waking up during sleeps and generally miserable and clingy.
To my shame i may have uttered over our supper (turned down by ds who was generally shouty and whiny). 'I know you're not well but you're not the only one in this house feeling rotten!' oh bad mummy that i am...

grumblin
big hug from grandma x

Back from day away, just dashing on to say Grumblin hugs, sympathy, you had such a dreadful time it is no wonder you have PTSD - for sure you are not mad, just traumatised...I wondered how you coped, two kids, Hyperemesis throughout, other health problems, working full time, throwing up in sink, who wouldn't be traumatised? Thanks for coming on and letting us know how things are. I always have a special soft spot for those whom went through their whole pregnancy on here...
Magnum That is a very mild thing to say, in the circs! Rubbish about 'bad mother'! We are not saints...It does children good to see that their mothers are not superhuman, surely?
SpannermarySympathies to you too...I hope tommorow is much, much better?
Back soon to read thread properly. Exit (clucking) not 'pursued by a bear', but chased off by my daughter.

Lucinda
xx