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.
So many women on this thread have thought they couldn't get through this, but they did.

Hi all, I really feel like the meds are starting to kick in. I haven't been sick for 24 hours now and I feel like I have a bit more energy. That could be because I haven't been at work but it seems like a bit too much of a coin vividness. It's so stupid that I wasn't taking them because I was scared when the difference is changing my life.

I did however, open the freezer and see a frozen chicken leg and have the worlds biggest retching fit last night thought

I feel so nauseated.. it is horrible. I didn't sleep last night until nearly 5 then had to get up at 10.30. I am shattered. I had my antenatal class - it was interesting, but there were only 2 of us there! There was a physio session, where the head physio just talked to us about our aches and pains, then a midwife session all about 'normal labour'.

And I have felt sick all evening - I was round at a friend's house from work, hearing all the biz from work. Apparently the kids miss me :) She also gave me a bouncy seat and a travel cot that her grandson has outgrown, it was very kind.

I will be going to bed early tonight, so tired. Also my friend is visiting tomorrow so I came home and hoovered and tidied - including some stuff that I had asked SO to do that he hadn't done.

Oh Jen , I feel your pain. Sleep is just impossible for me too despite being so tired. At least we don't have much longer to endure xx

Me too jen :( couldn't sleep as felt sick. Finally dropped off around 1.30 and now on day 3 of feeling exhausted.

iworry I heard iron syrup is better?

what glad the medicine is working!

10 weeks today til C-section
need to go pram shopping.
do I trust the scanner that it is def. a boy and buy blue...or go neutral...

Oh exciting chaffinch, I'd go with the scanner. It's not likely they got a boy wrong. Definitely check out boots online. Delivery was next day for me and it was so much cheaper than everywhere else for the travel system I wanted. Plus I got about £60 in advantage points due to a triple up deal and the parenting club offer. I was able to stock up on nappies, wipes and cot sheets etc.

Enjoy xxx

Iworry, metoclopramide can (very rarely) cause nerve problems and restlessness and since ruggle's had nerve / tendon problems before from a rare adverse reaction to another med, it seems wise for her to avoid it .. at least until she's spoken to a doctor or pharmacist.

Pharmacists actually know more about how drugs interact than doctors becuase they are trained in the effects of drugs on the body, whereas doctors are trained in detection, identification and treatment of diseases. Course, meds come into that but they aren't specialists the way pharmacists are. ().

I find a bit of restlessness from metoclopramide but it's better than the damn nausea. Also oddly skin prickles but then I have very dry and sensitive skin anyway.

About iron ... how are you on spinach? :D it's got lots in. Can buy it frozen from the AH. Any dark leafy veggie can do ... if you can eat them at all.

whatareyou the meds help a lot but it probably helps too that you're not working. All the sites say that actually if you get tired, it really makes the HG worse. How anyone does work with it, I have no idea ... jen kept going right til maternity leave with a classroomful of pupils

dead tired too, 3rd night of waking at 4 am and unable to sleep

Before I forget - What Besides those healthy green veg recommended by Meerka Iron bru? A lot on here hate it,but I found it drinkable, and it does have iron in it, I think! Congratulations on no puking for twenty four hours. Poor you about having to face a fridge with meat in it .
Worry Everyone says rest is one of the few things that helps in the early stages. Is 'coin vividness' predictive text, when you meant to type 'co-incidence'? lol? My posts often have errors, but sloppiness, not as imaginative as that word choice...
JenSally and Livinzuid Poor all of you, suffering from sleeplessness. Really feel for you.
MeerkaYou know, I'd never thought that through about pharmacists expertise as distinct from doctors, and didn't know you'd worked in one, that 's fascinating. No wonder you are so up on all the meds, I was thinking you had a photographic memory and had picked it up from reading stuff on sites!You are invaluable.
Ruggle How are things today?
Does anyone find that their hearing is so much more acute on the higher registers when pregnant? I really noticed it, and listening to baroque music last night (ooh, I'm a prize geek - I am also interested in names and their meanings and history and...) I remembered a piece that was magical when preg - even when ill - which doesn't sound half so good now...
Chaffinch I so agree with others, that's exciting, such a landmark. I hope you have a nice, non nauseated shopping trip for the pram.
xx

I was on metacloperamide with ondansetron for weeks, it got me through from weeks 14-25 I think. I didn't notice any ill effects from it, and the combination really helped me survive through work.

The pharmacist did tell me that they were not technically for pregnancy sickness, but seeing as I frequently looked like I was going to collapse at the counter, she then offered me water to take some there and then...

I took myself off the metacloperamide when I started to feel well enough, then reduced the ondansetron too... but the nausea is bad at the moment. It did occur to me that I could re-up the ondansetron, but I am going to try to struggle on through it.

I am apparently allowed 2 people in with me for the birth, so I have asked my mum to come along with OH and I. My mum is so excited, she is texting me about what snacks to bring..... she says she will bring valium for her and OH, unless I fancy sharing the gas and air!

With regards to prams, Chaff and anyone else - I went to Babies R Us (at toys r us). They may not have Boots points but they have some good offers on, and we didn't spend a fortune. Also they can hold your items in their stockroom so you don't have to bring it home right away, and they will fit your car seat for you. I didn't even know they had a baby dept so it was a handy recommendation from a friend.

oh gosh you had a good pharmacist then jen :) No drugs are officially safe in preg, no company wants the costs of another Thalidomide, so the ones that are recommended have been figured out to be safe through animal testing and many years' experience. I do wonder who had the courage to prescribe ondansetron for the first time, given it's a chemo-treating drug

lucinda actually it was many years ago I worked in a pharmacy ... lots of years ago ... but a few basics have remained! mainly I got interested in the studies of the HG drugs and chased 'em down through the new england journal of medicine etc ... there is so much lack of knowledge in some medicos. Specially here

I didn't have the hearing thing! But quite a few things seem different when preg don't they?

livingzuid are you going to birth-classes? In Dutch or in English? gyne told me it wokuld be a good idea to go to a couple

peas. broccoli, apricots, chocolate raisins, dark chocolate all iron-y
red meat - steak

my mum makes an amazing spinach & feta cheese lasagne - it has nutmeg in it. Mmmmm

I love iron-rich foods

Chaffinch You health addict, you! Do you think you could give me the recipe? Sorry Eveyrone for talking about cooking .
xx

Chaffinch, just a quick mention - we have just bought an xtreme leopard pram from mother care for £160. It's ideal for us to take cross-country dog walking and a great price with a car seat as well....

leopard looks nice! had a 3-wheeler before, got them filled with that anti puncture foam. can imagine you romping the fields with that it's a good price, isn't it...

recipe..spinach & feta cheese lasagne
1/2 bag frozen spinach, microwave to defrost, add big pinch nutmeg & mix
small tub natural yog + 1 egg + splash milk - mix in small bowl
lasagne sheets enough to fit your dish x few layers
grated cheese - cheddar and chunks feta
sliced tomato for top

layers -

1. spinach

2 lasagne sheets 3 yog mix 4 cheese

keep going, layer tomatoes on top of last cheese layer.
bake gas 5 / 190 for 35 mins

Blimey part of me thinks the spinach lasagne looks am-maz-zing! I know I would like it. The rest of me is trying to forget I even read the words... My diet is terrible. I am stuck with bland dry sometimes salty carbs. I hate it but I can't manage anything else. Ooh except a cooking apple last night (and where's the logic? I can't manage most things as the sickness and heartburn are killers but a sour cooking apple that is worse than an unripe lemon? Bring it on??)

Thanks Meerka I had a good morning but I've done too much and I'm so nauseated. I decided not to start the metochlopramide today either: firstly I was doing well and now I'm so bleurgh that I just want to curl up not try an experiment on myself...

Wow chaffinch that sounds incredible!

Meerka I suppose I should. Trying to not think about it too much I know ACCESS run courses in English in Rotterdam but I don't know if they charge or not. We don't have to go to them though do we? I was going to do pregnancy yoga and hoping that would be enough.

It's not been a good day today for a number of reasons. I think my medication for my bipolar isn't working (lithium count on last blood test failed which has never happened before) and it really throws my sleep patterns as well as increasing my anxiety which isn't good for the baby. Which then makes me worse! About two years ago my DH had his bank card stolen for an account he never uses, and then there was some fraud going on and someone had 4k stolen from their account and they used his account by skimming his card to transfer the money out of. He made an official complaint via the police, ABN AMRO in the meantime put him on some credit blacklist here (how can that be possible with no investigation) and then after numerous complaints and no information all of a sudden a letter arrives from a credit agency saying we owe ABN AMRO 4,600 euro for a crime he didn't commit!

Needless to say, my heart rate soared and I started howling down the phone at my poor DH about seeing them in court and suing for distress to a pregnant woman!

I'd be on the first boat home if I thought anyone would give a pregnant woman a job with only 4 months to go before maternity leave kicks in. Feeling incredibly homesick, have wanted to move home for about a year and things like that just seal it for me. It's lovely to try living overseas but not easy to be away from getting issues resolved in English.

Sorry for moan, just had to vent somewhere :(

Iworry I ate a huge thing of cheesy Nick Nak crisp stick things today. A HUGE tub. Not just a bag. I know what you mean about the bad diet.

Living, that sounds awful. Especially when your overseas. Really hope things work out. All the usual things to help relax I can't really recommend for a pregnant lady, especially one with HG! I'd normally go for wine, lots of chocolate and a hot bath, all of which are pretty impossible in our situation :-(
Sending you hugs xxx

oh gosh living, I hope the bank gets sorted out. I was horrified when I discovered that if your money is stolen, it's your problem here :s The NL is mostly a nice country, but sometimes they are real hard work.

sally what's wrong with a hot bath and choc .. if you can eat it?

I dont think you have to have preg classes no. My gyne just recommneded I go to a couple last week, but she didnt insist

Hi to new people ruggle and whatareyou , hope everyone is ok- ish today. This group is amazing for people helping each other out with advice! Exciting re pram shopping chaffinch it's lovely to be able to get excited about that stuff towards the end. I am now 11 weeks and feel like I am scratching off each day on the wall like a prisoner... Scan next week and I have everything crossed it is all ok. I already seem to have a huge bump.

Whoever posted that recipe above is cruel! I am still on a very very bland diet and getting my iron from pregnacare - top tip ONLY take them with food otherwise I retch alarmingly straight after. Another new discovery food wise, my mum has started feeding me on Little Dish toddler ready meals! I am having other stuff too but they are edible because very bland and have hidden veg in them chopped up small so you are getting some vitamins too. Very funny as DD prefers a more interesting meal but I'm happy with the bland toddler food...! Also the barley sugar sweets made me retch but sherbets and starburst are better. Hate the nasty bitter tasting excess saliva mingingness so much...

I never did any antenatals. rather spoilt though by MIL being a retired MW as a go-to person for any query

sorry to hear about the bank fraud, I work in a shop and it happens a lot more than people think, over xmas 3-4 of my custs were telling me about cards being hacked after online purchases. criminals are too clever, it seems. banks are better about not blaming the victim, but sounds like they were a bit slow off the mark with that situation

I remember my MW saying one of the best meals to eat during BF was beef lasagne & baked potato and a big side salad :-) lots protein

sorry sorry sorry for all food talk
vom alert

SliceofLime Chaffinch and Everyone I am so sorry, blame me for recipe , I asked for it. Flaps contritely. I should have sent a pm.
Sorry, too, SliceofLime That barley sugar was puke making. Oh dear. No takers for Ironbru? My taste in that seems to have been perverse.
Livngzuid I am so sorry that you have this worry at this time, they can't be serious! Can only offer gentle pats.
Sneaks off, looking contrite...
xx

Ah thanks guys :) in bed with a hot milk and honey, does that count? DH made me a Nutella milkshake as I have a real thing for milk at the moment. I am at the food stage where I really don't want anything although I can eat some stuff, but nothing appeals or it makes me feel ill thinking about it (bad reaction to the thought of pesto and pasta earlier, definitely something up!).

Sorry about the barley sugars slice I also heard that skittles are good one at a time - the sour things.

DH was upset too and we went for a nice drive along the river and a diet coke and talked things out a bit. He'd had a bad day at work too but we focused on the baby and nice things we were looking forward to. Life-wise I have an interview at my old work next week and whilst a job would make things easier I don't know if I can face it and kind of like the idea of time off with the baby! I never thought I would be like that but there you go, when am I ever going to have this chance with my children :) he finds out in a couple of months if he will be permanent or not (complex Dutch employment law meerka I am sure will understand ). Based on that, we will decide where to live for the next few years. I have always wanted to try Scotland. I do like it here but I am not sure it is the right time for us.

Apparently on the fraud thing the bank had even told him the case was closed as they had caught the guy! We have legal insurance so DH is going to get them to sort it out. It is some sort of hand delivered scary looking summons from a credit agency and even though rational brain knows that nothing will come of it, irrational brain is having hysterics. These hormones omg!!!

Someone once stole my card details online then tried to pay for three grands worth of jewellery which made me laugh. Good luck with trying to find three grand in my account!