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 for sufferers, with information about medications, coping strategies, hospital admissions, useful links, advice for family members, and much more.

I would like to thank MOH MOP Ovaltine bluebirdsunshine (I think she's changed her nickname) Fluffy, Horsey Kalidasa, Nannyl 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.

Hi room I don't think I'm that dehydrated as have not vomitted for a week now. However, nausea is a massive problem and only drinking about 3 glasses of fluid a day I reckon. Will speak to doctor today. I just feel if I'm not physically vomiting I should be feeling stronger/ more able.

Honeymoon Mother hen, Just dashing on to say, you can get dehydrated without vomiting if you can't face enough liquids to prevent it. Do keep checking, cluck cluck.
Room I've been wondering how you are...
Lucinda
xx

Hi room what a difficult time for you, it sounds like you are being well looked after but the uncertainty about when you can go home must be hard

honeymoon I think the medication is making me feel a bit spaced out, so maybe that's it. Sounds like a good plan to speak to the doctor though. Just because you're not actually being sick I think it will still take your body some time to recover though.

I am being well looked after by the in-laws, they stayed over and I was so grateful they were here this morning as I really wasn't well enough to cope with Ds's bouncy antics! He tries to climb and jump all over me! Luckily he is at nursery now hopefully running around burning off some steam. I am really struggling with the inability of people to understand that this is not like normal morning sickness, if one more person suggests ginger biscuits are the cure I am going to scream

Tired I second that! Thankfully not spoken to anyone in ages so at least they can't insult me with ridiculous suggestions. Thank you Lucinda, will check ketones later-what are other signs of dehydration? I have very dry lips, no energy and lethargy, ring any bells? Hard to know what HG and what's not. Hope you all have a better day. Midwife just called and will see me at home for booking appointment which is fab as honestly cannot face going out.

honey it definitely sounds like you are still dehydrated. I found that u would get fuzzy and disoriented with the greater degrees of dehy. U would check it out asap and get on it - you may be able to prevent it getting too much worse if you get it quickly.
MOH I've just read through that spreadsheet. I am aghast at some of the attitudes. I feel like going to the surgery or a and e and just standing in the waiting room shouting about it until someone listens. All those poor women that didn't know any better or didn't gave the energy to complain. I am surprised there haven't been any deaths due to those bloody doctors and midwives!!! sorry for language but that is just too much!

Think I am dehydrated. Feel really dizzy and fuzzy and only weed 2-3 times yesterday and once today. Can I rehydrate at home do you think?

Honeymoon Symtoms include builders tea urine, lol, vagueness, blurred vision headache, inability to concentrate (I couldn't follow that the Acupunturist was telling me that the matter had become a medical emergency, whatever my gp said a few days earlier, lol) and dry skin, lips and tongue. Sorry, but I think it's best to report to A and E particularly if you haven't got kesosticks - I think most people on here say that if it gets to that state it's not possible to rehydrate at home because you will just bring up the large amount of fluids required.
Tired MOH I so agree. I had hoped things had got better...
Lucinda
xx

honey sounds like dehydration to me, it's hard to recognise when you're dehydrated yourself unfortunately, as you get confused.

MOH I don't know who to suggest it to, but how about also doing a survey of positive attitudes and experiences from health care professionals, so that when they get the report (I assume there will be one) saying how awful they are, they also get some case studies/best practice examples and see that in other areas of the NHS doctors are being very supportive of HG patients? I work in a political area and this is what I'd do if I was planning something like this at work.

agree with pollaidh it would be great to have some pointers on what makes a positive difference too. my care this time couldn't be more contrasting to last time and in addition to improving my physical health it is also having a massive positive impact on my mental health, last time I was desperately depressed and traumatised by it, this time is nowhere near as bad

I have had to stop reading that survey as it was giving me the RAGE. I had a discussion at a dinner party when Kate hit the news, people were saying the usual shit and I was about to get really annoyed when a doctor at the table basically said they were all wrong and that in third world countries this can be a terminal condition. That shut them up. At that point I had not suffered HG myself, I would possibly have exploded with rage otherwise.

Best wishes to all of you suffering. I am feeling much much better and am contemplating stopping the medication, but I don't quite dare yet .

So pleased you feel better Humphrey. How many weeks are you now?

I am fourteen weeks - I have been lucky (in one sense!) that I responded really well to front line medication, and thanks to this thread, did not end up in hospital due to dehydration. I think I would have done, were it not for the excellent advice and information I received here.

I am keeping my fingers crossed though, as I am aware HG can sneak up on you...

Are you feeling better honeymoon? Have you managed to keep some water down, or are you getting fluids?

I'm at home feeling as sick as ever. Cyclizine and ondansetron have worked in that I'm managing not to be sick if I sit/lie still but getting liquid in a real struggle. No ketones on testing and managing to sip water just feel so ill today. Covered in horrible spots too-painful and unattractive ! So glad you feel better Humphrey

Lovely to hear you are feeling better humphrey fingers crossed you feel able to come off the meds soon, don't blame you for feeling nervous about it. I am with you on the kate middleton story, I am not normally remotely interested in the royals /celebrity news but when I read the story I sat at my desk in floods of tears, especially at some of the dumb comments being made. I think though actually the kate story has helped raise awareness of the issues and the difference between normal morning sickness and hyperemesis.

honeymoon sorry you sound like you are having a really bad day

Thanks tired I am. Sucked on some ice and eaten a piece of toast but orherwise battling awful almost constant nausea. Almost want to stick fingers down throat to just be done with it. At that awful mouth watering, stomach clenching, can't move a muscle stage :(

That is how the cyclizine made me feel honeymoon - I honestly would have rather thrown up than have the feeling that it was all lodged in my throat. I do hope tomorrow is a better day.

Honeymoon Goodness, no ketones, I am surprised, I thought that fuzzy headedness must surely be dehydration. Poor you. This is probably the worst stage, you will come through.
Hayley How are you, we haven't heard from you since you were admitted?
Tired Good points about postive feedback.
Humphrey So glad things are getting better and this thread helped keep you out of hospital.
Princess how are you and Reebok and Princess and Pollidah and Waves and Everyone. Hugs to all.
Lucinda
xx

bodo- one of the only things I could eat early pregnancy was dried apricots (kpt by the bed at all times) which luckily kept the constipation to a minimum. I hope you find something!

Hope you're all doing ok. I'm to scared to leave this thread as I still have horribly nauseous days and some sickness, and whenever you think it's gone, it comes back. Thinking of you all x

poll I should explain the purpose of the survey, I'm meeting tomorrow with some consultants to discuss the outline scope of green top guidelines on behalf of the royal college of GPs. These consultants are the good guys, i either know them fairly well or I've read their work, so I know that they know how HG should be treated and they have the right attitude to it. What I want to push for is a strong statement that HG is not a psychosomatic condition, previous review papers and guidelines from other countries are a bit wishy washy on this topic for my liking, they say things like there is scant evidence that psychological problems cause HG, it is more likely that its the other way round. I want them to come out and say that the balance of evidence is such that speculation that it might be psychosomatic is unsupportable and this theory should henceforth be shelved. Its a bit like 40 years ago someone said that the moon has a core of cream cheese and forever more people have to say that there is scant evidence that the moons core is made of cream cheese but we cant rule it out because we havent gone there to prove its not. the idea that hg is psychosomatic is ludicrous, utterly ludicrous, and it should be highlighted as such. all this pussyfooting about just allows ignorant HCPs to carry on talking shite about it.

Moreover, we should be clear that such insinuations are abusive and lead to a great deal of suffering. I don't know, they might be happy with this and I might not need to put up a fight, but I wanted some ammunition just incase. Because these consultants are good and set the tone for their departments, they won't be hearing these kinds of comments on a daily basis and I want them to understand that this kind of thing is not historical, nor is it isolated incidents. I know there is a lot of good practice, but in my experience, excellent treatment is in the minority, most of it ranges from just about satisfactory to abysmal.

I'll report back after the meeting. I got good comments when I sent in my draft headings for the meeting, so I think it will be a good discussion. One of the trustees from pregnancy sickness support is also there, and one of the consultants was the one who suggested to the head of the working group that I be included, so I think it will be friendly and productive.

moh it sounds very worthwhile today. Completely get your point about the scant evidence comment. My only comment would be that last time I didn't hear any negative comments but my treatment indicated a lack of understanding of the condition (was just given anti sickness meds and left to get on with it, no one ever tested for ketones or even asked to see me it was all done over telephone). After one bad day this time I was ill enough for hospital admission, yet last time I was ill like the bad days almost every day for five weeks and never even tested let alone admitted even when I called to say I was vomiting blood. I feel deeply traumatised by it yet the doctors had made all the right sympathetic noises. Not sure if that makes sense but I wasn't sure I could feed that into your survey. If I can I will.

Sorry, somehow I went off at a tangent and didn't really say what I meant to which is that this sounds like a very good idea for a meeting and I am sure it could make a really positive difference. (Blame the meds/illness making me fuzzy!). Hope it goes well!

Best of luck for the meeting today moh. It is wonderful that you are doing this.

Reading the survey made it clear how abusive those comments actually are to women suffering this terrible condition. It just beggars belief

Oooh MOH it's great that somebody's doing battle for us over this - let us know how it goes. On a broader level, once HPs can be convinced its not all in our heads, I think there should be more educational resources for partners / caters etc of people with HG - there are enough of those who firmly believe we're neurotic too & don't really understand how to best help. But maybe it's a top-down ethos situation.

Fl0b0t - dried apricots sound like a great idea, might try those. I did manage a little food yday and kept it down a while so proud of myself :)

How is everyone today? I went back to work yday but it was short lived. Still throwing up, took half a day to try and drink a cup of water. Prob is work don't know the reason - I'm too cautious to tell anyone until 12wks because of past record, & I'm worried how it's going to look when my HR files say Norivirus for extended time off then I have to tell them the truth at 12 wks. Is explaining I was scared of mc justification or will I get in trouble for lying????

DS finds out about schools today. Argh!

Boy You wicked thing, going back to work (furious clucking). Everyone on here forces herself back too early. It's your business about being pregnant and ill and I so know what you mean about wanting to keep it quiet because of fear of miscarriage.
MOH deserves a medal for what she's done to further understanding and support of Hyperemesis sufferers - if only I had suffered during the last five years I'd be filling in that latest survey like a shot, but the barbaric lack of treatment I received happened long ago...
How are the lollies going down Everybody? What do people think of jelly, I found it inoffensive on the way up again?
Waves Are you a channel islander born?
Room I missed your lovely post, it makes me so happy when someone says this thread helped a bit in their darkest hours.
Hayleybop12 Are you still about, and have you got new meds?
Bodo How are things? Reebok Hopefully long recovered from that awful migraine? Princess and Honeymoon?
Talyra any news re tests? Sorry to Anyone rudely ignored.
Lucinda
xx