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.

MOH's wonderful website is full of useful information on this illness:
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/
Another invaluable website is:
www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/
If you need help in obtaining medication, this phone number is
brilliant:
024 7638 2020

Lastly, the NICE guidelines on treatment are useful:
cks.nice.org.uk/nauseavomiting-in-pregnancy#!prescribinginfosub

I would like to thank 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.

Hello all.
Just checking in to say I hope you're doing well over the w/end. living your panic attack sounds horrendous, I hope you are feeling a bit better.
My (fantastic) dad got me to go back to the gp on Friday and she has doubled my dose of phenergen (as well as giving me some good advice re pain relief during migraines). So after a bloody horrendous week I'm feeling really good. Fingers crossed it lasts!
Good luck with the week ahead everyone

kalidasa have you been to see your GP? It sounds as though you have some sort of bug or other illness that needs to be checked out. Could s/he do a blood test for pregnancy for you to see whether or not you are in the very early stages of pregnancy? I've had an inner ear infection and the dizziness/nausea sounds very familiar.

Dh brought a super tasty, freshly made Italian Panini and cannolo for me and I scoffed the lot. Now feeling massively nauseous and have indigestion... feel awful, but it was worth every mouthful!!!

Random note: has anyone else noticed that their hair has started to turn grey since they became pregnant? In the last 3 months, all of the hair at my temples has turned completely white, lots more white through my hair, and I even found a white hair in my eyebrows this morning. I had one or two strands of white before, but there has been an explosion of white in the last couple of months. I wonder if it is hormones or just the enormous stress of hg...??

starry no I haven't been to the GP yet but I have lots of medication because I got it all prescribed in advance, which was the advice I was given to prepare for a second pregnancy after my HG was so severe in the first. At the moment I am just taking cyclizine once at night and ranitidine and pyroxidine (B6 I think) during the day.

I think it is too early even for a blood test at this stage, as implantation is generally around 7-9 dpo.

I've had labyrinthitis (inner ear prob) a few times and it does feel very similar to the early stages of HG for me so hard to tell. The medication for labyrinthitis is pretty much the same anyway as I remember. If I confirm that I'm not pregnant and I still feel like this I'll definitely see the GP.

I definitely have more grey hairs post-pregnancy!

good luck kali, not long before you can test.although I might have done one already if it was me.

Interesting about the grey hair. I haven't noticed that. I'll be glad if that's one symptom I escape from!

Anyway yes I'm in cyprus agree we're a multilingual bunch on here.

Boo, my next scan is Tuesday too. Didn't expect to be as anxious as I was over the first one but I am possibly even more so. Think it's because I thought I'd have a bigger bump and be feeling more movement by now. Also really annoyed I couldn't get the first apt of the day I like getting them over and done with.

george, sympathy, that taste and the spitting is the pits. well no, the nausea is the absolute pits. Bt the taste and spiting come close second!

If you have to spit in public, maybe a kid's sippy cup would help; spit into it and cover it. Looks less horrible. Or a small juice packet, same thing; spit down the straw.

for the taste, barley sugar or mints? a nurse told me that the more you spit, the more saliva you create but if you try to swallow that much horrible saliva, you also end up vomitting ... guess it's a balance.

Hi everyone, I've not been on much this week, work has been pushing me a bit hard this week so in exhausted now! I have a long weekend in center parcs next weekend so I'm looking forward to that. Monday and Tuesday off too . I'm meeting friend at wightwick manor tomorrow for a stroll and a cup of tea.
Hg wise my nausea is still there but a lot more manageable with ondansatron. Still Having my morning bile runs! I think the worst thing for me at the moment is the combination of heartburn and nausea! The continuous belching is a bit embarrassing.

Very jealous of you lot who are good with languages, I struggle with English sometimes let alone learning other languages too!

Hi all. Just a wee update from me. Generally been feeling much better than this time last week though felt pretty nauseous all day yesterday and was struggling to eat much at a time. The doctor had given me Prochlorperazine (I think?) and hoping getting more today to tide me over while on holiday. I think it's helped although I am still sick most mornings and feel a bit nauseous. I wondered if I'm on quite a low dose but so long ad I can get by it's okay, I don't think I'm nearly as bad as some of you ladies.

Another queasy morning here in way-too-early-to-test land. After resting basically all weekend (poor DH) I got up and dressed this morning, but have had to lie down again after an hour. DS is very clingy and every time he sees me says "knee" (meaning he wants to sit on my knee to play).

Fortunately as far as work goes we are into the examining period now so as long as I can function in bed, I can do marking from there. DH is collecting a pile of scripts for me today. I just have one big event that I really have to make it in for on Friday (as I am running it). If I can make it past that, I think it should be obvious whether or not I am in fact pregnant by the weekend, and then I can either cancel everything and give in to the experience or enjoy feeling revived.

Still really enjoying the memrise thing.

Looking for some advice please ladies.

I'm now down to throwing up once or twice a day. Other than that so long as I don't do too much the nausea and dizziness is manageable.

At what stage do I need to resume normal life? I can't really face the thought of going back to work, simply because of the hour commute into London. I'm doing a couple of afternoons a week from home which is tiring but manageable currently.

Am I just being a wuss now and should really be doing more or am I being sensible taking it easy so I don't do too much and relapse?

Hi Oaklahoma,

I don't have a commute but I had the conversation with dh about doing more at work now I'm feeling a bit better. It's a tough one though as when I tried to do more I just got exhausted when I came home and it meant even less got done around the house because I just collapsed when I got in!

I am from Surrey originally and loads of my friends commuted when pg and even without hg I've no idea how they did it as I couldn't! Throw hg into it too, not a chance!

My advice to you would be not to feel guilty about not doing enough. If you feel ready to do more maybe see if you can do more from home.

I don't know how the London girls do it!

Oklahoma honestly, I don't think you even need to consider resuming 'normal' life until you are actually better and well enough to feel 'normal' again. For me, I have been working from home since I was about 12wks (am now 27wks) and that is despite the fact that I'm about a 20-25min walk from work. My GP understands that I'm not well enough to go into work but has agreed to write that I can work from home as and when I feel able. For me, this is a life-saver because I love my job and I would go completely nuts without something to do during part of the day.

If you are finding it tiring to work a couple of afternoons per week from home, then it really doesn't sound as though you are anywhere near ready to start resuming your normal life and workload.

Personally, I find that if I overdo it at all, my nausea/sickness goes haywire. Whereas, right now, I'm taking it as easy as I can and it's still challenging to manage.

kalidasa glad you were able to rest over the weekend and also that you're enjoying memrise - me too! Which language did you go for? I'm learning Italian. The one thing memrise doesn't do so well is the grammar, so I'm jotting down my verb tables and things in a little book.

Okla Don't try and rush back to normal life - so many women on here have tried to do that, and the symptoms can come back badly when they overdid it. Gradually ease yourself into living more normally is mother' hen's suggestion. So glad you're feeling so much better. Also, being sick twice a day isn't normal - it does take it out of you, you're not enough on the mend yet.
Meerka Waves to you and Willem (and OH of course) - so agree about barley sugar Georgesbythesea and also, a woman on here liked palma violets (like a woman drinking secretly at home .
Starry so sweet of you to give me that link. For sure I'll use it.
I had more silver hairs after run in with this, but my mother had warned me that people with reddish fair get silver early and I was 35.
mrsnecHow are things? I still don't understand - are there so many Russians in Greece that people are learning Russian or was I being stupid and you were joking? Not uncommon!
mrsb87 Try and take it easy after such a week; even your idea of a restful time sounds energetic!
Monkey Glad about migraine advice - it's horrible to have both those and Hyperemesis. As a sufferer myself, I'm curious what meds she recommended, as ordinary pain killers don't seem to touch them? My chirocpractitioner (can't afford one these days) used to recommend an ice pack, then a hot water bottle rotated. I never found it that great.
espu Glad you are feeling a bit better, that is so encouraging.

kels13 Glad too, you're going to get the magic sticks!
Kalidasa Thinking of you. I'm sure you don't know what to wish for, whether it's a nasty virus or this is it. I do remember heartburn from ridiculously early, but no comparison between severity of cases, my goodness.
Lottie and petitlapin and livingzuidand Everyone I hope not too bad. Apologies if cross posted/ rudely ignored anyone...
xx

okla there is no such thing as normal life with hg! I'm finding out you always seem to have to make allowances for it however well you feel. Go with what you feel is comfortable for you.

okla - rest, rest rest rest as much as you can

HG drains you. You will feel much better after the birth but it will take more time than usual for you to recover, longer probably than other people, because of the extra physical strain of HG. The more you rest now, the better you'll be later on. Do NOT underestimate it ... please.

The difference between being as rested as you can be and pushing yourself til you're exhausted and take months to recover, is the difference between enjoying the first weeks / months with the baby and getting through everything in a grim life-draining grey haze.

Also as someone said, even when you get over the worst of HG you never really feel well ... and a lot of people find the nausea worsens in the last weeks. Best to be rested!

okla I stopped working at 17 weeks because I could not do the commute any more - in traffic it could be over an hour each way and as for leaving the security of my car for public transit forget it. It has been such a relief to not work during pregnancy. And I'm nowhere as bad as some of the other ladies on here.

Don't feel bad about not working. The most important thing is to take care of yourself. It is physically and mentally exhausting to deal with this. If you need to get signed off, get signed off. Your health, and that of your baby, are far more important than any job ever could be :)

I so agree with meerka. Admittedly I had a bad case, and threw up throughout, plus was very disabled with SPD, but I had a miserable first six months or so with DS, which is such a shame. I was definitely overtired: I did too much in the latter part of pregnancy, and I tried to get by too much on my own in the first few months post-partum. I'm hoping I won't make those mistakes again, though I realise it can be hard to balance the physical requirements of rest against the psychological need to feel a bit more yourself/see people etc. But okla if you are happy with your current level of rest/work then definitely definitely don't even consider upping it until you feel a really strong desire to do so, and even then only go v. v. slowly. Aim to feel as if you always have a bit of energy in reserve. Easier said than done I know, especially as there's such social pressure along the "you are pregnant not ill" lines!

I don't know what I am hoping for here either! If I am pregnant, and it sticks, goodness it's going to be a very long haul. I reckon I am about 2w6days!!! There'll be a massive gap at the end of Lucinda's list and then me, hanging around at the bottom for ages!

starry actually I'm doing 'Countries of the World'!

Feeling horrendous today. If one more person asks me if I've tried ginger/chewing mint things, I'm going to scream and punch someone. Feeling nauseous 24/7 for 5 weeks (with the exception of one evening/and the following morning) and have lost 9lbs. Midwife booking in appointment in a couple of hours, hoping she can suggest stuff/prescribe meds/get doctor to prescribe needs. Can't eat, and when I do it doesn't always stay down long. Managed some soya custard this lunchtime, but only a couple of mouthfuls. [Sad]

I miss my life, and my food! Work has been lovely, as my boss has 2 kids and 4 grandkids and let's me take off as much time as I need, but it's more tricky explaining to clients. Sadly I don't have the option of working from home as documents have to stay on site/in the office. Though may look into remote access if the boss is up for it. I'm getting to the point where I'll have to go in very soon for a long catch up :-/

Sassehmonsta You poor thing! I do hope you get some meds. Let us know how things went. I so agree with others where the people who make the ginger recommendations should put them.
xx

kalidasa thanks for your lovely! supportive post on my pregnancy thread. It was very kind of you to take the time to write such words.

I've come here to try and get a sense of perspective and to try to alleviate my guilt that I should be able to 'just get on with it'.

I don't think I'm anywhere near needing hospital treatment so I can't imagine how some of you ladies are coping.

Some of my problems are:

I'm wakening in the night to be sick
Constant all day nausea
Gagging and retching
Find it hard to drink more than sips of water
Light dizzy head
Need help to shower as I find it hard to stand up for long enough to wash my hair
Have lost 10lbs in 10 weeks as I just can't tolerate food

I'm desperately trying to get through to 12 weeks to see if I really medication.

I feel like I must sound so dramatic- I don't know anyone else who has suffered like this- most people have just sailed through their pregnancies. One colleague used to say how she just ran into her store to be sick and them came out and carried on teaching. Things like that make me feel so inadequate and as if I'm just a little pathetic.

Rest over the weekend has really helped though, feeling a tiny bit more human today but am still just managing to sit on the sofa.

Have teacher guilt at being off this week.

Hope no one minds me being here, I don't think I have HG, I just feel very rough.

Dotty that sounds pretty HGy to me!!

Please stop putting on a brave face and go see your GP for meds. They're perfectly safe to take in pregnancy so don't worry about that at all. And they will make you feel a bit better. And then if it clears up at 12 weeks yay! Nothing to be gained by just pushing through.

Everyone thanks for the advice. Have just done 2h work and now need a lie down so I think upping my work would be stupid. I just feel so guilty/useless!

okla don't even think about working more if you are still upchucking twice a day. It's not normal and nausea and dizziness gets worse the more you do.

I'm only working (reduced hours) now because I'm so much better than I was. Only upchucking about twice a week - and then either first thing bile run or late at night because I've overdone it in the day. My nausea is controlled more or less by the meds - settled at a 3/4 out of 10 for most of the time. I'm also eating three meals a day and drinking loads of fluids.

In the bad times I couldn't contemplate work at all. I'm still exhausted and going to bed stupidly early every night. Taking home stuff very very slowly.

Please don't feel guilted into doing more than you can manage. I couldn't commute regularly, even now, don't underestimate it.

X post okla!

dotty you aren't pathetic, sounds like you've got HG, please see a doctor about getting some meds, if you are waking in the night to puke you definitely need them.

Trust me I know all about teacher guilt, but you have to let it go, it's not your fault.

Okla just repeating everyone else...it sounds like you're not ready. I'm only working one day a week and it is tough. I'm pretty ill when I get in on the evening and the next day is wiped out. I'm self employed so I have no hassle with sick notes or a boss and this is the maximum I can manage.
Rest is as important a treatment as any medication. I'm sure I'm vomiting so much at this late stage because Im trying to cram a whole pregnancy of activity into one month....I'm sure there will be punishment.

My body is pretty wrecked...hills I used to sprint up, I can barely walk up now, even the stairs at home. Think the months in bed really take it out of you. My oesophagus is requesting a person transplant...missed one dose of ranitidine....hell fire. Also appreciate how much it helps with morning bile run, gone from an acceptable size vom to a pint of acid. Still it made me realise just why I'm taking this medication.
Feeling pretty pregnant now, although I'm sick of people telling me I'm really small and I look like I've got months to go. Midwife assures me size is fine.
Self indulgent whinge there. Sorry guys.

Petit I've forgotten your date, but it's imminent?? Hoping everything goes well and you will soon be HG free + gorgeous baby :-)

MrsB
I'm planning a centre parc trip later in the year, although I can't quite bring myself to book anything until the pregnancy is over. Silly fear of the HG remaining, had it last time too. It really did just go straight away, it was like it never happened. I couldn't manage the car journey currently...

MrsNec
Good luck with scan, hope it's a lovely experience :-)

Sorry everyone else I've missed, there was a lot to catch up on. Hope Monday is a good day.

dotty I think the thing to remember is that there is a huge difference between being sick once or twice a day but feeling sick 24/7, constantly dizzy, nauseous and anxious about throwing up; and being sick abruptly once or twice a day - horrible but quick - and feeling fine in between. It makes an enormous difference to your mood and morale, but also to how well you are able to eat and how much you suffer overall. I threw up several times during labour but I didn't feel sick in labour at all - a huge relief after continuous nausea the entire pregnancy - I just suddenly threw up. A completely different experience. That's not to belittle the horror and embarrassment of suddenly chucking on the tube or at work, but it is a different thing from the crippling nausea and constant retching you are describing.