Hyperemesis Support

[LucindaE]

We need a new thread.

I hope everyone suffering from the Horrors of Hyperemesis will find this thread useful as a source of support and information.

There's no TMI on here - can't be by definition - and nobody should feel ashamed of moaning as much as they feel the need to.

I used to include extracts from MOH's wonderful website
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/
but I think that makes this link less visible so am merely putting the link. The information on this site is invaluable.

I would like to thank MOH MOP Ovaltine Caramellokoalalover (I think she's changed her nickname) Fluffy, Horsey Kali and Everyone who has given such invaluable support and advice on previous threads.

Remember when you are at your worst, 'This Too Shall Pass'. It really will.

MIlktraylady Poor you, it's so dreadful, do go for it with meds, take an 'advocate' if necessary to support you. Ondansetron is the one most women find most helpful - on sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/ - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that link comes out - MOH has lots of advice about the best meds, no need to cross through the thread when you feel bad enough anyway.
Kali This shows how weird and prudish some men are about the logical consequences of the sexual activity they pride themselves on - isn't it strange?
I was so pleased you got through that lecturing schedule without misadventure - but how horrible that morning puke must have been.
Sorry so many people are suffering horribly. It truly doesn't stay as bad as it is in the first tri...
Lucinda
xx

Wdobbs* My goodness, I didn't realise - 5+ ketones, you must have been feeling dreadful, thank goodness for home IV. How maddening that the Acupunture did so little!
Lucinda
xx

milktray there's a list of meds on sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/treatments/obtaining-treatment and www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/help/treatments/ Trawling through the thread is time consuming and potentially sick making, easier just to see it on one page. As lucinda says, ondansetron is the most effective one for most women but they're often reluctant to give it out before you've tried lots of the other ones. Remember too that you can combine them, you don't have to come off one before you start another - unfortunately this is also something that a lot of GPs don't really know much about.

Hello everyone - so sorry to those feeling rubbish - milktray absolutely know what you mean about being dying to 'turn corners'. It will happen!! Mine has been more like a very gentle bend haha. Still being very sick in the mornings - then seem to feel ok for most of the day - then feel rubbish again in the evening although really just nausea - haven't thrown up my dinner in quite a while now. Mentally I'm feeling pretty rubbish though - I don't know why I just feel like I haven't bonded with this baby and I'm just going through the motions of being pregnant. Maybe I'm just worn down by all the sickness. Still crushingly tired too - I was hoping that might also wear off a bit but I have been doing 'normal' activities so it might just be my body re-adjusting to being upright the majority of the time.

For those finding the meds made them sleepy - I am on Phenergan which i think is the same family as cyclizine and found exactly the same at the beginning - it was fine for me as I had my cousin here to look after DD1 and was quite pleased to sleep 24/7. It definitely wears off if you persevere.

For those working - I also totally the 'adrenaline' thing - I don't work now but I did when pregnant with DD1 and I was a social worker - so did lots of visits / meetings / interviews etc in people's houses. I was terrified of vomiting in someone's house but it never happened - always managed to save it until I got in the car! I did have 6 weeks off work though when its was worst.

wdobbs and milktray so sorry you are feeling so awful hopefully you will turn a corner soon. I couldn't deal with Cyclazine either, the woozy feeling actually increased the nausea for me.

Good news from me, the intravenous iron did the trick and my levels are back up above the 10.5 needed for a home birth. Hopefully I will give birth before they creep down again! I'm so pleased that my consultant suggested the infusion when all my MW kept saying was 'eat iron rich foods'. Obviously when suffering with HG you eat what you can damn well keep down !

38 weeks tomorrow, so close now....

Plastic Just dashing on to say I'm so glad IV worked - and thatyou've reached 38 weeks, hurray! the Pink Castle awaits you(as on my old Snakes and Ladders board). I'll get ready to greet you and baby!
Tay really sorry still sick in the mornings, that is too bad on meds.
How great that people are saved from Public Puking Experiences by adrenaline - I can't clam to have been as tidy .

Waves toMOH Tay and Everyone.

Lucinda
xx

Oh, and Cluck Cluck, Wdobbs My goodness, I hiope those ketonse are down? I'm so disappointed the Acupunture did nothing at all to stop the puking.
Lucinda
xx

yes thanx very much
I have checked out the link definatly the best one i have looked at so far. I have taken some notes from from it to take to the GP with me on monday to see what they suggest before trying again and try and find one that understands the whole thing before i am too ill to search for a doctor! i asked at the surgery to for an appointment with a gp that is familiar and sympathetic to the condition, luckily one of the names is a gp i already see and has always been very good (she doesnt do that rolling her eyes and sigh when i ask stupid questions usually )and i am at a different surgey to the one i was with when i was last pragnant !

I have also been checking out some alternative therapys such as acupuncture ect and they suggest i start with it as soon as i come off my contraception before we actually begin trying

has any body else tried any of these thing that have had sucess. it is fairly pricey but i figure its worth a shot !!

sympathys to you all I'm sure i will be back on the toilet hugging train very soon

OH ... P.S for anybody that may find it useful i found that a class of milk with icecubes in it really helped when i was at my worse i think it helped me not to become too dehydrated .. i also would wait until i was liturally falling asleep to drink a small glass and then go straight to sleep and it would stay down long enough to do some good !!

hope thats useful :-)

Pugsmum Hello again, glad you are going ahead ttc. I was massively helped by Acupunture, I staggered there in a terrible state and was told it was hospital for me if I still couldn't retain water within hours after the Acupunture, but I did! Yet you can see from Wdobbs recent experience where it doesn't seem to have done a thing how much it varies. Maybe as a pre-emptive measure it has a higher success rate? I honestly don't know. I don't want to put you off, but don't want to give false hopes as the results vary so much.
The milk and ice cubes thing rings a bell I'd forgotten all about until now! Thanks so much for tip for everyone. Hope Everyone is more or less OK. Hmm...
Lucinda
xx

thanx Lucinda..... i figure its worth a try as it keeps coming up on my research paths ... will let u know how it goes but obviously it will be a while before i know .

I have also been Reading a good book called morning sickness 24/7 by tabby L Silcott.
It has some really good tips in it , and is written in a way that is easy to read . a chapter at a time so you dont get that motion sickness thiing when reading like i did !
it also has a brilliant section at the end for your loved ones to read and testamonies for them to see .... I thought this was great my mum and partner have both read it and they can see that we r not just winging moaning drama queens but that we reallly need there help and support ! i am now starting on a book called beyond morning sickness

I will let u know how it pans out !!

xx

PugsMum I'm happy your adopting such a positive attitude, and I hope the Acpunture does the trick! That book sounds good, there need to be more like it, I have often thought that a series of anecdotes from ex sufferers (nobody could expect anyone to write an account when suffering) might begin to make people realise.
WDobbs I hope that home IV is working>
Any news about meds, (comparatively) new people?
Very quiet on here. I hope that is a good rather than a sinister sign (everyone in hospital, or so ill even looking at a screen is unberably dizzy making).
(Glances about anxiously, and goes off muttering 'This Too Shall Pass'...
Lucinda
xx

Hi got stamitil to try.
Had 2 good days at weekend- ate porrige & pizza & only sick once. Result!
But back today to feeling grim- trying sea bands again in case they work.

Doc signed me off for another month- thank goodness my bosses mobile went tru to vm, he is not going to be happy. Oh well.
Getting referred for counselling, as am so down.

One good point of all of this- my husband is doing jobs on the house like he has a rocket up his arse! I think he genuinely had NO idea all the stuff I do to keep the house in shipshape. Now he does and my perfectionism is taking a jolly good bashing, which is probably a good thing!

And I'm reading the mumsnet book- why did nobody tell me... (very funny)
This had made me alot less anxious about when the B word arrives.

Hope everyone is making progress to feeling better, I do want to have turned a corner

Milktraylady I'm glad you got some meds - I can't remember if it was stemetil MOH said on her wonderful website was made so much better with the addition of doses of B6 or cyclazine- muddle head that I am. Sorry that you feel so down, I'm sure a counsellor will be invaluable. Let perfectionisim about the house slide when baby is young - they are babies for so short a time, so enjoy all you can.

Congratulations on the porridge and the pizza before you felt foul again. Do you find sweet and salty the best things, like crisps and coke (perhaps left to go flat)? If you start puking again, don't hestitate to press for different meds.
Complete downpour here, a stream running along the road.

Hope Wdobbs Calamity Tay Kali and Everyone are coping OK.
Lucinda
xx

Feeling a bit out of touch with this thread.... have been feeling much better .... and worrying so much we have lost the baby. This pregnancy has been so very different to our previous ones. I have been so very very sick in the previous, but this time I have felt intensely sick but managed to keep food down most of the time (normally I eat nothing for weeks and in hospital etc). I felt very sick up until the end of last week (week 9) when the sickness started to improve a bit and now it isn't really there. I wish it would come back to put my mind at ease. I am still taking the cyclizine 3 x daily. I am only 10 weeks but massive with it (measuring nearer 20, odd I know).... and I keep feeling a fluttering at the front. There is no way my dates are wrong. I am just huge - in maternity clothes and I can feel my uterus up to my tummy button. Not seen midwife yet, booking app this week. I still have bad spd but worried the sickness going means the baby has died. Does the sickness ever go at week 10?

Take3 - in my two previous pregnancies I was v v sick and lost a lot of weight. This time I'm 14 weeks and I too am huge, not been sick anywhere near so often. I'm also on cyclizine and believe the medication is what has made the difference. Could this be the case for you?

It could be.... though I did take it in my last pregnancy from 5 weeks... and it made no difference at all. I took it from 6 weeks this time and it seems to have made a difference. I guess sometimes our bodies just react differently and I just won't know for sure until the scan. I know I should be grateful the sickness has eased... but can only think it may be bad news. Trying to be rational and sensible...

Thanks to those who encouraged me to see my gp - after I last posted I was more & more ill, worse at night, even if I tried to eat. So I saw my gp who was thankfully lovely & prescribed me buccastem. She advised me only to take them when I have to though, so I'm still struggling at times, but at least I've had some relief & been able to sleep!
Managed my first lecture today too, which I don't think I could'vd done otherwise.
Am 8+3, & feel like it's ramped up so much in the last week, when does it usually peak? ( you'd think I'd remember but tbh it's all a bit of a blur).
Commiserations to everyone who needs them & thanks for reminding there's other people feeling like this!

Helllooooo, waves madly at Lucinda :)
Spotted this in active conversations so haven't read previous posts.
For those of you suffering at the moment I hope you're all getting good treatment from medical professionals, friends and family, ie no ginger suggestions..
I am trying to plan two birthday parties, hard to believe that ds is going to be two and dd is nearly six!

why glad the buccastem is providing some relief, if not total.

How is everyone else doing? Been very quiet on here...

Saw the consultant yesterday-all a bit pointless really as she didn't know why I'd been referred to her and neither did I! Anyway, she was happy despite everything. Said I'm measuring about a week ahead (was 2 last time I saw the midwife) but that she thinks there's lots of fluid around baby, which is a relief! Nausea is definitely ramping up again now although still managing to not actually be sick (famous last words), but definitely far worse than I was at this stage with DS. Ah we'll, 34 weeks on Friday and 2 weeks today till I go on maternity leave (not that I'm counting). Hope everyone is doing ok?

Hello everyone. Barmee we are very close - I am 31 weeks on Friday and I've got five weeks to get through before mat leave (unless my pelvis collapses even more and I'm forced to go early).

I am really struggling with bad nausea now, I haven't thrown up for a few weeks but every day I get closer again, it really feels like the very beginning all over again, waiting for the inevitable first vomit! I don't think I'm going to get through this pregnancy without going back to chucking up.

My main concern at the moment is that I am really struggling to eat, I just feel so sick immediately after I eat anything. We've still got a big stash of "Ensure" food replacement drinks so I think if I can face it I might try having one of those a day for the extra calories and vitamins and so on. I threw them up so many times earlier in the pregnancy that I'm not sure I'll be able to face them but worth a try I reckon. DP is worried that I'm not eating enough.

Only light in the tunnel is that I just read that apparently bad SPD usually = a quick labour. Here's hoping!

why good news on the buccastem, but I'd take them as a regular dosage rather than on a 'need to' basis. It shows a lack of understanding of HG when doctors advise this, it's not like you have migraine where it's intermittent, HG is constant so you need a constant dose of antiemetics in your system. I'm really sorry to say that I think you're still a bit early for the peak, it's usually a few weeks later. Another problem with buccastem/stemetil is that it has a reputation for working for a while then just suddenly losing it's effectiveness. If you feel it's not working any more, it's not just your imagination, get yourself back to the doctor for something else. Now here comes my stock advice - get ondansetron as soon as you can and take it at maximum dosage. It's the best thing there is for riding out the peak.

why good advice from MOH on the meds. For me the peak was around weeks 9-11 I think though after three longish admissions in weeks 5-8 I managed to stay out of hospital from week 9 onwards by taking the maximum of ALL the drugs (cyclizine, ranitidine, metoclopramide and ondansetron) and relying on Ensure food replacement drinks (as I couldn't eat). I was still vomiting and I couldn't get out of bed at all but I was able to keep below maximum ketones, which I'd been stuck at pretty much permanently for the weeks prior to that. Do you have ketosticks at home? They are really useful for keeping an eye on things, you can buy them from the chemist.

Take 3 Hugs, a lot of women are terrified it means a missed miscarriage when the nasuea gets a lot better, can you get an appointment earlier for reassurance becasue I know how it is to worry. As pregnancies are all different, it could well be that the cyclezine is doing a brilliant job this time. I have known two women who were really lucky and the Hyperemesis passed at ten weeks.
Thinking of you.
WHy Congratulations on buccameston working so well! Sound advice from MOH and Kali as usual.
Wasngo It's really nice to hear of cyclazine really helping.
Barmee Poor poor you, how awful still to be feeling so ill, and Kali too.
Kali I hope you both have wonderul labours, you deserve them after such dismal pregnancies. I'm puzzled as to why the sickness should have come back, I know some people get ordinary MS late in pregnancy due to lack of room for the stomach, is that it, I wonder? Are you back on meds for it?
Fluffy Lovely to hear from you, as always.
Calamity MilkTray and Everyone I hope, coping?
Lucinda
xx

Hi Lucinda. Yes, I'm taking cyclizine (or sometimes stemetil) and ranitidine every day now, whereas for a while it was more occasional than that. The sickness never actually went away for me, it just seems to be getting worse again. I think it probably is partly or mostly lack of space, yes.

I'm still not convinced the cyclizine actually does anything for me (I've never been sure about this!) but the ranitidine definitely does help with the heartburn/acid reflux. I can recommend it for anyone for whom that's a factor in the nausea/vomiting.

I suppose if I really start vomiting again I might have to go back on some ondansetron but I'll have to be throwing up several times a day and seeing ketones before I consider that as I really found the constipation so terrible, and the thought of that at this stage of pregnancy is v. offputting!! So really hoping I can avoid that.