Hyperemesis Support

[LucindaE]

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 and Everyone who has given such invaluable support and advice on this and on previous threads.

Remember when you are at your worst, 'This Too Shall Pass'. It really will.
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Sorry I missed your intro jelly! I was more sick with DS than this time..they started the same but this time i have reached a better level more quickly so it may not shape up the same.

Jelly, your midwife, im afraid, is wrong. There is a lot of evidence out there that early meds are needed. Some of this research has only taken place in the last 3-4 years, so maybe she is simply unaware of it.

I cant get downstairs now to look up the research, but the British Medical Journal has an article from 2011, written by researchers at St Thomas' hospital, which deals with serious nausea and vomitting in preg. It is very clear that early treatment is needed. If I recall correctly, so are the NICE guidelines, the Canadian guidelines and the American ones.

Please consider ringing the number that Lucinda gave because they are very experienced in HG and serious nausea. Specialists, you might say, which your midwife is not. The doctor is retired, but he's had a huge amount of experience. Leave a message and they will ring back.

Vomitting 20-30 times a day before treatment is plain crazy. Its bad for your body, its bad for you, and one thing that a lot of behind-the-times professionals don't like to face is that serious illness can sometimes be bad for the poor baby.

I\ll try to remember to find those recommendations and guidelines tomorrow though my brain is mush atm. If I don't, please do feel free to message me and that will jolt my brain cell :)

Ye the whole unhealthy diet thing is a nightmare, one of the many frustrating things. At least it's not forever ... though man, it sure feels like it

Thank you - I really appreciate the advice and have been reading up on the links you and Lucinda so kindly provided. I feel strangely upset even though it's good to see that there are people who understand so exactly what this is like. In my last pregnancy everyone (except dh) seemed to have the attitude that this is just something you have to put up with and it's not that bad. I remember getting upset that I couldn't brush my teeth and my dad thought I was being ridiculous and of course I had to brush my teeth. I pointed out it was counter-productive as they'd just get a rinse in stomach acid immediately after! I feel so sad that people just don't understand this - which is why I'm so worried about missing work.

Do you think I would get meds though when I haven't lost weight - everything I've read says that is criteria for HG so I know I'm not at that stage?

jelly They put me on meds as soon as I found out I was pregnant/started feeling ill, to pre-empt the inevitable.

Not being able to brush my teeth drives me crazy !!! Have you tried just brushing with the toothbrush, not using any toothpaste, at the time of day you feel best? also, little toothpicks seem easier to handle to get rid of anything between the teeth. And someone suggested non - alcoholic mouthwash, if you can tolerate it, that helps.

I don't know if you can get meds or not, it would be much better to speak to the doctor at the preg support line. He has some good suggestions and he does have a list of good HG - knowledgable specialists I believe.

You don't actually need to formally have HG to have incapacitating / highly limitting nausea. So yes, it's well worth asking or at least talking it over with someone knowledgeable. Lots of health professionals actually only see 1 or 2 people a year with severe nausea / sickness so they simply don't necessarily know all that much about it, given they have thousands of diseases to remember.

about being upset - YES. I am still furious at my doctor who badly undertreated me last time (when I read up on dehydration this time, I realised I was seriously dehydrated for weeks last preg :s ) and the, excuse me, idiot midwife who said 'oh it's normal'. Normal to be seriously dehydrated for weeks? to loose 10kg in 12 weeks? To be vomitting in week 39 still? I don't think so !!!!! When I went to see him this time to try to plan how to manage teh sickness this time, he didnt even know it was 80% likely to recur and said "dont you think you're worrying too much?"... gah!.

On the other hand its really nice to read your DH has a more sensible attitude, I imagine he's being supportive, that really does help. Nothing takes the sickness away but not feeling totally alone does make enduring it easier.

er, sorry for rant.

Hi all - I really hope you don't mind me posting on here and please tell me if you do because I desperately don't want to offend anyone, but I am 4w unexpectedly pg, former HG sufferer, and DP and I have made the decision to terminate. One of the reasons for that is the HG.

I'm scared of the next few weeks though. Last pg at 6w the vomiting started and was 10-12 times a day within a week. I was lucky to get hold of a lovely OoO doctor who prescribed cyzlizine over the phone on a weekend, otherwise I think I would have been in A&E pretty soon. I'm already starting to feel a little queasy and I know the chances are I'm going to start being sick very soon. I'm seeing the GP on Monday to ask for a referral and I will ask for Stemetil then, but it will probably take a few weeks before anything happens and I remember all too well what those few weeks were like.

Sorry, bit of a self-pitying post there (hence the NC, have been on these threads before under a different name) but wondered if anyone could give me some tips or advice to help me through the next few weeks?

It sounds like you are really suffering, MoG, I was sorry to read your earlier posts.

Thanks Totes, makes me feel hopeful!

And thanks Meerka, sorry to hear you've had such a horrible time and thanks for all your help

Oh dear, Inneed.

Not offended at all, I think most of us who've had HG have briefly or much more seriously considered termination. Some have gone ahead.

YOu say the HG is -one- of the reasons. Is it the tipping factor? because if it is, then - well, perhaps you've been reading above but there -are- meds that are meant to be available by government guidelines. Some are pretty powerful and they are meant to be prescribed early and most of all, there is the Pregnancy Support Sickness site. Do, do ring them on 024 7638 2020.

By the way, cyclizine is an antihistamine and you can get your partner to go to teh chemist and buy some over the counter. Just don't say it's for someone preg ... even though it's the first med prescribed for serious preg sickness. It has to be prescribed in those conditions, the pharmacist won't sell it if they know you're preg. (confusing !) Also, it does need to be cyclazine, not all histamines are known to be safe.

Don't know how terminations work in the UK so I'm sorry, can't help. Regarding tips: rest as much as you can. Activity makes the nausea/vomitting worse. Avoid cooking smells. Eat small amounts of easy-to-digest stuff and / or anything you actually fancy eating, no matter what it is. Rest some more.

I'm sorry that you're in this position. All the best.

inneedof I don't have any wise words but sorry you are experiencing this andI hope the Dr can help you quickly .

inneedof Oh darling, I've posted a few times on here about how I wanted/want to terminate, it's totally understandable. I'm so sorry you are in that position, really hope the next few weeks aren't as bad as you expect. Guess all the usual stuff, there are loads of other anti emetics worth a try, sip at whatever you can manage to, eat whatever you can, and rest, lots of rest.

Thank you. The HG is one of the reasons but not the only one, just a compounding factor that's the icing on the cake. It's certainly one of the bigger reasons for not going through with this pg right now - DD is a toddler, I know I wouldn't cope.

Thanks for the tip about cyzlizine over the counter, I will get some at the weekend if I need some.

I just wanted to talk to some women who understand how awful it can be. I'm a bit worried about work. I've told my line manager as we are close and she's supportive but I don't understand how it works with getting signed off for sickness if I need to over the next few weeks. While I am sure this is the right decision for my family, that doesn't mean it's an easy decision so I'm inclined to be kind to myself if I start being really sick and be off work. But it'd need certification as it won't count as pg related illness.

Thanks for being nice. I can't talk to any friends in RL and while I'm sure, I'm still upset

It's not surprising you're upset, it's a hard decision to make, and even knowing it's right won't change that. Be patient with yourself, not only have you got the decision upsetting you, but just the fear of HG can be crippling. I know that technically I'm not as ill this time around, but I'm in a much worse state emotionally because of the anticipation. Glad your line manager is supportive, that should help a lot.

Do keep talking to us, even if we have made a different decision to you, many of us have thought long and hard about it. I know I'm still conflicted, am sure some of the others are too.

I remember saying after the last pregnancy that actually going through HG had made me more pro-choice than ever.

I'm conflicted for sure :s

meerka It's hard isn't it? I want this baby, but I want this torture to stop. Hating every second.

thanks MoG ... I'm sure never ever risking this again. Whatever happens to this preg, I'm getting my tubes tied asap.

Me too, even my gp agreed.

I'm sorry everyone is feeling so rough, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Maybe I might have contemplated this pg if I knew I wouldn't have 9 months of hell first. Probably not, but maybe. I really need a pg to be a decision I've made, and mentally prepared myself for being ill.

... and to have found a good HG-aware doctor / consultant too, and maybe childcare. I think you need everythign in place taht you can find to support you if you're contemplating an HG preg.

Yes, that's the problem. DP does shift work, I work f/t, lots of solo parenting going on. Family is close enough to help in an emergency but not every day. I think maybe when DD is nearer 4 things might be easier. Solo parenting with no nearby regular support and a 20mo... I just can't contemplate it.

Though my decision not to talk to any of my friends is mostly due to the fact most are having problems TTC and so my decision would be very upsetting for them, it's also because I know they don't understand either the shift work or the HG.

Thank god for MN. Between this thread and another one for wives of particular shift workers I know I'm not overreacting to be struggling with both things.

That is tough, can see why you've decided the way you have. And that's hard about not being able to talk to your friends, I don't think many people get it without having been through HG and the strain it puts on you physically and mentally.

Was just talking to DH, said I wanted to get sterilised as soon as possible after the birth. He's really not keen. Think he dislikes the finality of it, whereas that's what I want the most.

Hi inneed really sorry ur having to go threw this awful hg this is my 4th hg pregancy and I practically begged my sister at 8 weeks to make me an appointment at the abortion clinic I just couldn't think of going ahead with the pregancy any more was in hospital for a week and docs gave me ondronastron an I haven't looked back frm it still have really bad days but feel much better only u know wat u can cope with don't be sorry it's a very personal decision only you can make hope hg doesn't get 2 bad for you

Ineedofwisewords Welcome, I wish I could add something to what others have said, but I can't except to send my own brand of sympathy. Only you know what you can bear. It is a dreadful decision. It might be that things would be bearable with effective medication this time, but sadly it can't be predicted. Sometimes it's surprisingly better in a different pregnancy or goes off earlier, but sometimes that just isn't true. Hugs.
Lucinda
xx

Thanks everyone. We've talked about it a lot and feel happy that we're making the right decision for our family right now. My DD is so young and I want to put the focus on her right now, with DP working such funny hours I know I would struggle too much even if I was signed off most of the pg. Neither decision is a nice one to face but I know I am making the right one for right now. It's just nice to talk to people who understand and have considered it themselves.