Desperate nausea and on holiday - any help very gratefully received

[toomuchribbon]

Hello all. I'm posting this from my holiday (actually honeymoon).

I am 14+2 and have had pretty much constant nausea since about week 7 (lucky to not get it till then I know).

We are in the Greek Islands and it has got worse since we have been here. I think it must be the heat (40 degrees plus) combined with lots of travel on winding roads and boats! I am at a loss as to know what to do and starting to feel a bit desperate - it is governing everything we do and, I feel, ruining our plans as basically the only thing I feel like doing is lying in an air-conditioned
room and going in the sea a little in the evening. My DH at least is angelically understanding and helpful.

Does anyone possibly know what the medication is you can get from the GP for nausea in pregnancy? I am thinking I could try a pharmacy for it or a local doctor if I know what to ask for.

There is barely anything I am able to eat and have tried sea bands, ginger, etc. I am only sick every other day pr so but the constant nausea and constantly feeling like I am about to vomit is reducing me to tears. I am really trying to get on with things and man up but failing miserably.

Any advice very gratefully received!

Lucozade got me through this stage - can you get an isotonic sports drink? Also sniffing peppermint oil is great for nausea, as is drinking peppermint tea. Hope you feel better soon.

You poor thing.

Yes, there are several medications that can help, but OTC it will be limited. I don't know the Greek names for them I'm afraid.

Promethazine is very commonly prescribed and you can buy it over here OTC for travel sickness.

Prescription ones (unless you can buy them - I don't know) are metoclopramide, or maxolon, cyclizine, and prochlorperazine (stemetil).

I hope you can find something to give you a bit of relief xxx

You poor thing, no decent advice I'm afraid but eat and drink what you can, I found dehydration made me feel sicker (but couldn't drink normal water!).

Fizzy water, ice cold, was my friend. And ice cream/ice lollies. And don't put pressure on yourself to do anything. I went on hols recently and spent about 10 mins in the sun all week.

Carbohydrates helped me a lot, regular top ups so I never let myself get hungry iyswim. Hope it improves so you can fully enjoy your honeymoon :)

Carbs and fizzy drinks in times of nausea desperation helped me too... hope you feel better soon xx

Very plain things. Bread, plain pasta, salt and vinegar crisps! You're not going to win any healthy eating comps but that's all I could face at 14 weeks. It went by 16 weeks. You need to keep nibbling even when you don't feel like it. Oh and milk really helped me, for first thing in the morning as a very quick tummy settler.

It's terrible isn't it- you poor thing. It will pass but is utterly shit at the time.

You could send your DH out to get some of those acupressure wrist bands - they do work for some people.

Second salt and vinegar crisps.

And try not to feel guilty. Your body is doing the most amazing thing.

Ice Lollies! They are the only thing getting me through the London heat so can't even imagine how you are feeling. You poor thing.

Thank you so very much everyone.

Such great advice, thank you - have been wanting only plain carbs and ice lollies, with icy fizzy water, funnily enough so I'll persist with that! I find eating little and often does stave it off but if I delay it all it goes too far and I get too sick to eat.

Another tip, heard via MN actually and just in case anyone else reading this is similarly afflicted, is to breathe in through the mouth and out through your nose. Obviously not possible all the time but really does temper it a little.

EmilieFloge, thank you immensely for all the meds. names - I will see what I can get over the counter here and then try a doctor if necessary.
Am hoping they have similar drugs available to UK, which l think they do, so that if promethazine's available and prescribed in the UK then I can just ask for it here without a consult in the knowledge that it is safe.

I think part of it is not knowing when it will end; I thought it might end at 12 weeks, like many say it does, and now that it hasn't there's something vaguely distressing about not being able to see an end in sight - especially when other people (well-meaning family etc) keep saying "well, it should be over soon"....

It helps hugely to know some of you have been or are going through it too.
Thanks so much everyone xxxxx

You poor thing. I had it from 6 weeks until 18 weeks and no way would I have wanted to go on holiday!! We actually cancelled ours because I knew there was no way I could cope! But you can obviously not cancel your honeymoon! I don't know what to suggest :(

Sorry. But I literally tried everything and nothing worked. Ice pops, crisps, yes all helped but nothing got rid of the awful feeling of nausea. I described it like the worst hangover I had ever had lasting for weeks and weeks on end! Your Dh sounds great for being understanding, mine was too luckily. Unless you have suffered, you really don't know how horrid it is.

Would definitely cancel those road trips though! Sickness inducing at the best of times in heat - with ms as well?! :S

Oh bless you. Promethazine is also called phenergan if that helps. Or in some places abroad you can buy something called Unisom, which is basically the same sort of thing, no idea what Greece has! I think that has vitamin B6 in it as well.

I know how you feel with it going on so long - mine got a bit less bad around that time, and I was quite positive, then it came bak last week (now nearly 19 weeks!!) and I felt so so depressed, because it seemed like all my hope had gone - back to not knowing when it would ever end.

A lot of people on here seem to have had ms till around 17 or even 20 weeks and then seen it off, which helps me feel a bit better. Also I know it stopped in my other two pregnancies - probably around this time, or a bit after.

Don't give up xxx

Ready salted crisps ALWAYS helped me, don't know why but maybe buy a big bag and munch on them throught the day? Also water - or any soft drink you can handle, make sure you get enough.

Poor you - I had that all-day nausea as well from 6-17 weeks. (Hoping it's over now...) The only thing that REALLY helped me was lying down in bed. Honestly. That's the only time I felt OK. It's a good thing your DH is so understanding - perhaps you could do one activity a day and then rest? I know the exhaustion + nausea was absolutely shattering for me. No way could I have made it through a single day out, let alone a holiday!

I'm afraid I stuck it out as far as medication since I only vomited 1-2 times a day, which IME isn't that bad. The nausea (triggered by smells) was very hard to deal with.

Fizzy water, bread, pasta and other carbs should all help a bit. Just keep munching. Anything with lemon in - or just a fresh lemon - should help too.

Hang in there! xx

BlueMoon74, oh poor you having to cancel your holiday. That's rotten. Yes, we are now planning jaunts with road length and surface in mind, which is to say none at all!

EmilieFloge, thanks so much - I actually, accidentally, have with me some Unisom tablets that I got in the US which although sold OTC there as a sleeping pill is doxylamine succinate when in tablet form (strangely capsules of Unisom are another drug altogether), which is or has been prescribed for morning sickness especially in the US where the FDA categorises it as risk-free for pregnancy.
Not sure if you have ever come across this?
In the US (am English but have read) I believe dox. succ. and B6 are often prescribed together for MS and a PubMed search suggests the same. It's interesting you mention B6 - I did try pre-honeymoon and it worked a little but have not been able to find any here yet to buy.
I have had a couple of nausea-free hours today, mystifyingly and thankfully, but might try the Unisom tonight. It's meant to have some lasting effect the next day.

Lemon is great isn't it PeshwariNaan - have been drinking sparkling water with lemon slices all day and it's a comfort. My vomiting has only been 1-2x a day too which I agree is not bad; the nausea and constant about-to-vomit feeling are far worse. Would dearly love some salt and vinegar crisps but they are not a flavour to be found in Greece I suspect so making do for now with tiny amounts of salted plain pasta.

Zwitterion lovely point, thank you - it is indeed an amazing thing (baby not nausea) and definitely well worth remembering!

Thank you all for your comforting words and advice xxxxx

One thing...you won't believe it now..but it will go away! You really really do have my sympathy xx keep those crisps close to hand!!!

BlueMoon, thanks so much. Kind and heartening words! I am nibbling at my Unisom doxylamine supply as per previous post and keeping the most salted crisps to hand at all times alongside an ice-cold Sprite! I think it might be getting better but not holding breath just yet...

Thank you again xxx

Regular food - otherwise you feel worse. Best to just eat through it if you feel a bit off. Keep some plain biscuits by the bed and have a nibble if you wake early, that way you can still have a honeymoon lie in and won't feel like death if you haven't eaten by 8.30
Get plenty of sleep - lack of, makes it much worse.