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.

Oh Nanny. :(

Just popping back to say I have started medication. I still am not actually vomiting, but the nausea is overwhelming. I called my physician's assistant and they prescribed odansetron with no questions asked!

I am 11 weeks tomorrow, so hoping I an maybe just take this one bottle and then be done, as I'll be in my second trimester and (fingers crossed) feeling a bit better.

Does anyone have experience with this med? I'm a bit worried about taking it but I just can't cope anymore...

hello everyone

thank you for the welcome back

i dont actually think i have HG yet..... i still think its MS, but the nausea is just unbearable, so intense

taking DD for settling at her nursery today, so that she can be left there when i really cant cope with her
it makes me feel like such a failure as everyone else seems to manage to look after their own DC when pg

as for taking mediciation cheerful yank, i took cyclizine in max dose from about 7 weeks til DD was born, and she is fine.

I have ordered the natal hypnotherapy sickness CD.... not sure why as i know last time a CD wouldnt have helped, but i hypnobirthed and i had a pain free homebirth (I didnt even know i was in labour)
I figure if it can do amazing things for birth it is worth a try as anything is worth a try.

Hi hope u don't mind me joining. Think I'm going down the road of HG again. With my DD I had it so bad from 5 weeks through out my pregnancy. Now I'm 10 with DC2 and all of a sudden it's back again! Got worse over the last 2 days. Very sick until the afternoon then horrendous nausea which is now making me feel very weak and dizzy. Tried cyclazine but just threw that up so back to docs this morning and he has prescribed me with the anti sickness under the Hun but checked my urine and said if I continue like I am today ill be off to have a drip tomorrow :-/ has n e one ever suddenly got it at this late in your first trimester? Xx

Stupid phone that was ment to say 10 weeks and medicine under the gum x

poor you katesav

hope you feel better soon

i had a driplast time, and it made me full so much better for a few hours

i feel absolutely awful

Am going to see a different doctor this afternoon.... so far today i have managed to eat 1 bite of raisen bread and 2 boiled sweets. (yesturday i managed to actually eat some stuff in the afternoon, not today)

and a few sips of squash

I know im on a downward rollercoaster now and im not looking forward to the ride

Oh, no, poor Everyone! I'm sure none of you need any more of my constant harping in about kesosticks, so many of you are veterans.
Kate Welcome, I've heard of that drug, it sounds an excellent thing. My experience was things spiraling out of control at nine weeks, and I've heard of women succumbing around ten weeks. I do hope the meds work and you don't have to go in for IV.
Cheerful Welcome back, I was wondering how you were doing. Sorry thaty ou have been suffering miserably. Ondansetron is the drug most women on here swear by - the main drawback is I gather constipation - it's a good thing to stock up on those suppossiteries (sp? I always forget that one) you can get from a chemists, they work for most people.
Nannyl Oh, no, poor you, good luck at GP's - that isn't enough liquid for sure, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you them how little you've been able to drink, well, they should see from a urine check.
Glossy I hope out of hospital and feeling a bit better?
Barmee So glad check up went well.
Kali I hope surviving? Those babies should be angels at sleeping and feeding, after what you have been through.
Lucinda
xx

Hi all. Sorry to disappear, was in hospital for a week trying to be induced. But baby is now 1 week old, the pink castle was worth the wait. Thanks Lucinda and everyone else for the support to get through hg pregnancy. I will try to pop on occasionally when I get time, but the support you can give each other will get you through it. Huge thanks and lots of love to all. Xxxx

Goldie Lovely news, so encouraging for those starting out on this Hyperemesis nightmare. Welcome to the Pink Castle.
. You suffered throughout, and came through it! Enjoy baby.
Everyone dare I ask, how are things? Oh dear, it sounds like a couple of y ou could well be in hospital by today?
Lucinda
xx

Congratulations Goldie that's fantastic news

39 weeks today, still no sign of baby . Had enough now!

Hi all

I would like to join in if that's ok. I am 6 weeks pregnant with my second. I was hospitalised yesterday and diagnosed with hyperemesis. I am so miserable and unable to function.

I was badly sick with my first and probably dehydrated but it never got to this stage. The nausea is all consuming; the vomiting hurts and the dreadful taste in my mouth makes me gag. At this point, I cannot see me getting to the end of this. The sickness with my first didn't go until 20 weeks. I know I can't cope with 20 weeks of this.

The hospital put me cyclizine which works to some extent but it totally zones me out. I work full time as a teacher and have a 3 year old so I can't afford to be like this. I feel like such an awful mom at the moment. I'm snappy with my DD and she asked me today why I don't smile anymore . I feel like I only ever grunt anymore as actually opening my mouth is uncomfortable and makes me gag.

What a nightmare! I cry so often now. This baby was planned and very much wanted but I am having awful thoughts now and just want out of this situation. I'm back at work on Monday and have no idea how I will cope. I live an hour from my school, and the journey is just intolerable.

Moan, moan, moan! I'm so glad this thread is here. As nice as everyone is being, I really do not think they can possibly understand the misery of this.

Well I went back to the docs this morning and was really bad he wrote a long letter to the gyne on call at the hospital and then rang them to ask them to see me and guess wat she wouldn't see me because I don't have ketones in my urine. That's fine but my urine was horrendously dark!! And my Docter was really angry told the gyne I had had HG before in my last pregnancy but no luck so now on both anti sickness drugs combined. I can hold my hands up and say I feel a tad better but the nausea is exhausting and I'm am exhusted and dizzy tonight. I'm so down when it should be a happy time I can't even talk on the phone without feeling like I'm going to throw up. Admittedly it's not as bad as my first pg but I'm scared its not going to be long before it comes back. Hope u are all ok x

Congratualtions goldie you remind us why we go through this

gentle hugs to bonnie. I have been on cyclizine for 24 hours now as thank god this other let me have them. It has made me feel quite a bit better actually, but last time the feeling better only lasted a few days, so no idea how i will be by MOnday.
I also feel like the worst mother ever to poor DD.... in the night i couldnt move to get up to her.... poor OH has to.... he does a really full on job all day (he does not even pause for breath or lunch) and now seems to have to do nights and early mornings too. I have a place on stand by for DD at nursery for as and when i just cant look after her anymore.

how many weeks are you katesav? i too am scared of whats ahead... at least last time i was blissfully ignorant of the joys of HG.... and the thought of HG + 13m old is very daunting

Hi nannyl I am 10 weeks and 4 days today. My HG last time started at 5 weeks with my DD so it's so werid it's so late. I totally understand that u feel like a poor mum. I feel the same I can't look after my DD and I feel so bad for her she's 4 now and totally understands wats going on and the poor thing should've be seeing how ill I've been. But we r not bad mums and cannot help being poorly. We r very lucky to have DH to help out. Glad to hear u can get some rest. It's so hard getting up in the eve isn't it. The Eve's my worse tonight I feel like someone has sucked all the energy out of me don't know how much more I can do. I see some ppl just sail through there pregnancy I wish I was like that. Hang on in there thinking of u x

bonnie can you possibly get odansetron? I've only been on it for a few days and feel so much better that it brings me to tears.

I am so sorry you're going through this, it is hell. :(

Cheerful, I hadn't heard of odansetron but just googled it and see it is Zofran which I had heard about. Are there side effects?

I have to have a review appointment with my GP next week so will ask about it if the cyclizine doesn't work too well.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm pretty constipated but other than that I feel good! I'll take the constipation over the constant nausea, that's for sure! :)

I haven't really heard of any other side effects and as far as I know it is shown to be safe during pregnancy.

I hope everything goes well for you and you start feeling better soon!

Lovely news from goldie. I can't wait. 36 weeks now. Counting the days and praying to go a bit early!

I am on maternity leave now but quite panicked about it, making it into work a bit even on crutches and everything cheered me up and I'm worried about getting very down again stuck at home waiting for the baby to arrive. I do have plenty of work to be getting on with at home but it's not the same. I know you are meant to look forward to maternity leave but I just feel as if this awful endless pregnancy has totally stripped me of my identity and being at work for a few days a week for a few weeks made me feel better and more normal again, even if I was the size of a house, on crutches and still throwing up!

Sorry to see so many new names. Bonnie like you I was hospitalised for the first time very early (five weeks, back at the beginning of April). It really is a slog. I think you have to accept that you will need some weeks off work. If you try to do too much - in my case if I tried to do anything at all - it makes it much worse. You may have to rest completely (as in: not get out of bed) to get the vomiting under control and avoid ending up back in hospital repeatedly.

The cyclizine does knock you out but a) I found that sleeping was the one state in which I didn't throw up, so it had its advantages and b) it does knock you out a bit less as you get used to it and as you start feeling a bit stronger and better. It works best if you take it really regularly, regardless of how you are feeling, so that there's a constant level in your system.

Bonnie Just dashing on to say, welcome, and so agree with others to try and get other meds if the cyclizne isn't helping enough. It is awful, poor you, at this stage you feel you won't be able to bear it, but even if the sickness continues to twenty weeks, it's so rarely as bad as in the first tri.
I wanted to say that women shouldn't blame themselves as 'bad mothers' if they are cross, can't look after LO's for a bit, other mother's wouldn't be able to cope either if they had Hyperemesis. LO's are very resilient, they won't be damaged, honestly.
Sorry everyone's in a bad way, consultants being unhelpful, Barmee's' baby delaying before making that grand entrance. Kali On the home stretch, crutches or not.
Hugs to anyone who needs them, as others say, gentle ones...
Lucinda
xx

Thank you kalidasa and Lucinda for the kind words and tips. I managed to give my DD her breakfast this morning, which is progress!

The cyclizine seems to give me just enough relief to eat/drink a little and keep it down. I don't feel good though and the nausea is still pretty constant. Is this as good as I can hope to feel right now? Or maybe the other med mentioned would help more? I know I can't hope to feel normal yet, but I was hoping that maybe I would have times in the day when I would feel normalish. Maybe I was expecting too much from the cyclizine. When they told me in the hospital that there was something they could prescribe me I cried with relief. I honestly thought there was nothing they could give me this early. So I think I looked on it as a miracle and so far, it's really not.

Has anyone else experienced a really awful taste in the mouth? I know this is common in pregnancy anyway, but I'm talking so bad that I actually gag from it. The only time it goes is when I eat, which isn't happening very often at the moment.

Thanks again everyone and my sympathies to all who are suffering in this way.

Bonnie Hugs and sympathies. I think most people find that while the meds can stop a dangerous level of vomiting and reduce the nausea, they don't really stop it. It does seem to vary between people and it's certainly worth trying others, because a lot of people find Ondansetron the best, only you have to watch out for constipation and take pessaries. If you feel that its so bad you can't get by then for sure try something else. I used to suck barley sugar from an old fashioned sweetshop nearby for the foul taste, it was metallic in my case, but I had to be careful I didn't have too many. They did seem to help with the nausea, for some reason, but not many places seem to sell barley sugar. Just realised, lol, quick on the uptake, aren't I, that your name comes from Gone with the Wind.
Yank and Everyone How are things?
Glossy I hope you are OK?
Hugs if wanted downloadable, or pats.
Lucinda
xx

Yes I know just what you mean about the vile taste Bonnie I still have it though much reduced from the worst phase.

As for the meds, it's very common to end up on a combination. They gave me cyclizine, ranitidine and metoclopramide to take home after my first admission, and added ondansetron after my second admission (but not at maximum dose), after my third admission I was on all four all at max dose. Generally speaking they start with cyclizine because it is a) cheap and b) has been used without any evidence of ill effects for a very long time. Metoclopramide seems to be harmless to the baby but it does have quite a high rate of neurological side effects (I got twitchier and twitchier over the months I was on it). They get to the ondansetron last because it is the most expensive and also because although it seems to be perfectly safe for mother and baby (though watch out for constipation if you end up taking it) it hasn't been prescribed in pregnancy for very long. My docs were clear that they would rather have held off giving it to me for a bit longer (as like you I was very early on) but that in the end it was obvious that I needed it. I took all four drugs at max dose right through to around 20 weeks when I began to taper them. I reduced the ondansetron first because personally I found the side effects unbearable and the benefits not as great as others report (but I was quite unusual in this); I came off the metoclopramide too because of the neurological effects (literally couldn't keep still in the end and it also messed with my digestion). I have stayed on the cyclizine and ranitidine throughout, now 36 weeks and still taking them.

Sorry that's really long but I hope helpful to give you an idea of the likely protocol and what the docs will probably do/suggest if you ask them to review your medication (or, though I hope you don't, end up back in hospital).

I can't thank you both enough for the advice. This is a whole new world to me. I will certainly be trying the barley sugar Lucinda - I will try anything to get rid of the taste. I've been sucking on herbal tablets for the last few days. My poor teeth! I will be lucky to have a tooth left in my head by the time this is over. And yes, I just love 'Gone with the Wind' but DH has vetoed all names relating to it, including Bonnie and Scarlett - don't think he's a fan!

kalidasa, my goodness it sounds like you have suffered . I'm so glad it is almost over for you. And it is so helpful to me to hear about the different meds available. At the very least I will be clued up when I go to the docs next week.

One good thing to come from this was that they scanned me when I was admitted to hospital and we got to see the (tiny little) baby and heartbeat much earlier than we would have done under normal circumstances. Plus, there looked to be just the one. I was beginning to wonder!

So, I'm going to try and focus on the positives to get through the long, loooong days.
Xx

This constipation is starting to get me down. :(

I know I shouldn't complain because the nausea is pretty much gone (soooo thankful for that) but it is starting to get quite painful.

Gonna try prune juice tomorrow and see if I can't get some things moving!

Hope everyone else is feeling a bit better.

CheerfulYank I believe those suppositories you can get in Boots will do the job They didn't for poor Kali but I think they work for most people. Don't tell them that you are pregnant though, not because they will do any harm but because they can be funny about giving you anything.
Kali That was a wonderful post from one who really has had it worse than most people on this thread. I wondered, does one only get spd if one has been unable to get out of bed for a very long time? I wondered because I remember a women on this thread getting it later in pregnancy, but I don't think she was continuously laid up earlier, more intermittently. I hope you aren't too bored at home; I love the French names Emile (can't find the accent key) and Sophie, myself.
I'm worried about GlossyFlower but I think her account is turned to no messages, so I can't go clucking over there.
Bonnie I forgot to say that I did find the ice lollies and frozen cubes of flat coke and sips of flat coke good for getting rid of that foul taste as well as helping a bit with the dehydration. (Mutters about kesosticks, looking about; anyone would think that I was a shareholder) Lol about DH's veto on GWTW names. Aah, but does he know them all? For instance,Scarlett's real name was Katie Scarlett, I think after her father's mother!
Nannyl How are you, poor you, and Kate and WDobbs Apple and Everyone I hope managing today?
Barmee Must be tapping on her bump and telling the baby to hurry up.
Lucinda
xx