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.

Yes predictably I felt v. ill yesterday evening. But managed to get an appointment with the prof at St Thomas' today and she was SO good. She recommended that given my levels of nausea at the moment and my past history of very rapid escalation in week 5 I should start on the ondansetron NOW and not wait for the vomiting to start. She thinks if I do this I might be able to avoid hospital/rehydration entirely. I'd be amazed if that's the case but it's definitely worth a go. Feeling a bit more positive again after a difficult couple of days.

living isn't it weird about McDonalds? I had a similar effect with KFC. Someone should do some research into that, I bet there's some v. toxic preservative in the nastiest food which is actually a potent antiemetic!

Sunny I've never stopped taking any meds, although I am taking the lowest possible amount that allows me to eat and leave the house. Any further reductions and I'm bed bound.
HG has cost me a fortune too. Lack of earnings predominantly :-(

Living it's rubbish isn't it? I know what you mean about food, I just can't wait to actually want to eat something and get some enjoyment from it. Last week coming up.....
The only McDonald's I can manage is the fries, in fact may have to get some for lunch.
Feeling rough today, just did too much yesterday (hence über voms) doing very little.

In laws coming over tomorrow. They are staying until after the birth. I know this might sound a nightmare to most but it will make life much easier and less stressful for us. We also need them to be here for when I go into hospital to look after The Little Boy.

(Wonders how Petit is and hopes everything is okay)

Kali that's great news. Phew, what a relief that you are now under her care. I know options beyond ondansetron are pretty much limited to pred but it makes so much difference knowing that you are being looked after by someone who understands and has seen a lot of HG.
I suppose if you get on the ondansetron now it may help with the vomit cycle and theoretically reduce risk of admission for rehydration. Anything is worth a try.

I cannot keep any food down :-(
Drinks will stay, so that's a bonus. I'm sorry to keep whinging but I'll be 38 weeks on Sunday, just feel like I should get some reprieve.
May have to add in ondansetron to the pred but I hate it so :-(

Oh punk :( it is the final week for both of us but feels like such a bloody marathon. It is getting worse for me as well. I know it's horrid but if adding the ondanestron to the other takes the edge off then is it something you could bear with until the magical 2 June date?

sunny I know! I mean who wants to eat sausage roll for breakfast - and it had to be cold. Dh offered to heat them for me and I nearly threw them back at him! I tried to stop medication but it came back so badly I have stayed on it. I reduced my dosage to 1 a day and we decided against increasing it in the last few weeks as I can just about bear it.

Normally I follow a gluten free diet which helps me with my thyroid. It was wonderful but no way could I continue with a gluten free diet this pregnancy. I cannot wait to get back to eating healthily and properly.

khali that is such good news on the consultant. So glad you got seen. I should have shares in McDonald's the amount of times I have eaten there this pregnancy. I had a KFC phase too and I NEVER eat KFC so the whole food thing has been really distressing tbh, particularly as I have had food issues.

So my psychiatrist today also assured me no going over week 40 today. Phew. The nausea is good old hg as my lithium has stabilised. Not sure if that's a good thing or not!

starry interestingly women with anxiety disorders find it increases in late pregnancy as the hormones change again and the whole body goes through massive physical change. It was good to hear as I feel like I can manage it a bit better knowing how common it is and it's not just me

That's great news living.Hope you and punk are near the end very soon.

I'm with you all on the macdonalds thing. I've had a few since being pg and they stayed down and tasted amazing. I ordered happy meals though so felt a bit better about having smaller portions and I won't be having any more since my doc banned me from sugar and white carbs!

Those that are eating crumpets I'm so jealous! I did an online order with the British corner shop with mil which arrived the other day. Broke my no sugar rule for a teacake! Shes eaten all the crumpets and soreen before I got a look in!

I had a very sicky day yesterday. I was at home and I had been feeling ok but my food aversions seem to be getting worse. Had the usual bile run in the morning, didn't fancy lunch until late but I didn't keep it down felt terrible all afternoon and was in bed about 6!

Been out with dh today and trying what my doctor told me about eating something small every 2 and a half hours and just sipping drinks inbetween so far I've not been sick once today but it is a bit extreme! The food thing is driving me nuts too especially with restrictions on top of food aversions. I might be cheating a couple of times on the no white carbs thing as its ridiculous.

living there's more anxiety to look forward to?! Noooo!!!! This thing feels like some sort of living nightmare!! I know what you mean about it feeling slightly better that it is so common, but still.... grrr!!!!

I feel as though I'm sort of stabilising a bit mood-wise at the moment - not pushing myself to do anything, and gently doing what I want to and what I can. The fact that I'm slightly less nauseous than I was is helping a lot too. Although, I went to the cornershop yesterday and it was all I could do to stop myself retching everywhere :-(

The McDonalds thing is weird. I wonder if it is partly because the food is SO easily digestible that it goes through your system very quickly and without your stomach etc having to do very much in the way of actual digestion - the food just breaks down very, very quickly... Now that everyone is talking about McDonalds, I could really do with a burger & fries! I was watching Mad Men last night and the final scene was of people eating burgers, fries and cokes in a McDonald's-type restaurant... my eyes got big with the want!

kali sounds like you're going to get great care, fingers crossed this staves off the worst of it and this pregnancy will be easier for you.

I can't say I've had McDonald cravings but I am on very beige food, managed a couple of potato croquettes last night but only wanted to eat them cold, couldn't stand the sight of them when they were hot for some reason! I'm a veggie so don't like the sight of meat at the best of times but I went to waitrose today and had to leave after retching at the sight of the steak the person in front of me was holding, was so scared I was going to puke on the floor in the middle of the shop! Started the cyclizine and feel like a zombie, hasn't had much of an effect yet but I've only been sick a couple of times today however I still feel nauseous. Planning to rest up over the long weekend and hopefully it will start to work by the time I have to go to work on Tuesday.

starrynight I've got mad men recorded to watch tonight! I love that series! have you watched it all the way through? I'm so sad this is the last season. Don draper is definitely in my top 5!

saraswati yes!! I love it too! The latest episode is great - definitely a treat to look forward to this evening :-) I know, I'm sad it's the final season too, but I'm sort of glad they are splitting it into two parts - at least it lasts longer that way!

Interesting what you mentioned about meat - I'm not vegetarian, but since I became pregnant, I can't abide meat and haven't been able to touch it. Very odd!

I'm on beige food too, Sara. Toast, crumpets, plain biscuits. Can't even think about MacDs without feeling sick.

kali, fingers crossed that the proactive treatment works for you.

Bad day here today, nausea as bad as ever despite cyclizine. Vomiting far less frequently (only twice today) but when I do it's really violent, everything I've eaten in about the last 5 hours comes back up. Properly unpleasant, but at least I'm not worried about dehydration at the moment.

Another McDonalds during HG fan here! How weird!

Go living and punk, freedom is within sight!

kali so pleased to hear that she was good and is starting you on ondansetron early. great news.

living and Punk, cheering you on!

thinking of everyone else and wishing you a gentle evening

Aw meerka enjoying those cuddles I hope! And did I see chaffinch pop in a few days ago?

We should make a beige food diet book and market it to all the poor women suffering from hg around the world. If they could bear to even think about food long enough to flick through it Last night for dinner I had a bag of salted nachos how sad. It was all I could face, salty and bland.

sara I had to run through the fruit and veg aisles up until about 17 weeks. When I was trying to eat healthily DH got me a bag of carrots and I saw them and promptly vomited. Normally carrots and hummus is a favourite snack but nope!

mrsnec honestly I wouldn't worry if some white bread passes your lips once in a while or if you suddenly fall headfirst into a bag of M&Ms. It's good to hear that the little but lots is working for you but it is very difficult, particularly if you are on the go all the time. It's a shame they have made you feel so worried about things. Hope it gets better soon

starry hehehe I was going over the anxiety points (mainly around baby health for me) with my psychiatrist and that's when she explained it was normal for it to happen. Highly irritating! But I feel a bit better prepared now. Hope you manage to speak to someone soon, it really helps me deal with it. Great to hear that it is stabalisng - certainly for bipolar pregnancy is supposed to improve symptoms for most women.

I think you're all right about the fact that McDs is just so seriously processed our systems don't have to think about digesting any of it. The good news (if it can be called that) is that I have gone off all food. All food. Is this a sign of action! I managed to eat crumpets for breakfast and so far it seems ok but I really don't want anything to eat. I had to have a sleeping tablet last night so I hope that hasn't affected anything.

Sipping on a hot lemon right now. Wondering how I am going to eat the next week or so! Might switch to soup, anything liquid is appealing to me at the moment.

Hope everyone is ok and not so sick today :)

Crappy couple of days but nothing new to report. 17 + 4 today and my next scan isn't until 21 weeks so aaaages until anything happens. Just bored and grumpy generally at the moment.

Living & Punk willing the time to pass quickly for you.

DH's family coming over today so am going to take refuge at my parents. I feel super mean for doing so as I really like my ILs but I just can't cope with them currently. His Nan is the worst - she is so excited that she will just talk at me constantly which is exhausting. Last time they came ove I ended up sobbing on my dad so am just running away this time.

Up again - and will catch up properly asap. Sorry for mrsnec still enduring those bile runs - hateful, hateful, hateful - and Oklahoma it's a pain if there isn't any strong let up, I hope it comes for you soon. livngzuid It's so unfair that healthy food can make you feel so ill - leading on top of everything else to tellings off about diet . kalidasa Ah, the sickness is back - I'm glad you had a tiny respite. Who kinows, it might be less severe this pregnancy, don't want to put a curse on it, as my mother would say.
waves to Meerka and apologies to anyone I've missed in post migriane vagueness.
xx

Oh Lucinda you poor thing, migraines are horrid, I hope you feel better soon.

Vomited in my mouth this morning (classy!) while trying to get a tantruming DD into her clothes (give me strength). Week 23 and things are just getting worse and worse, I feel really cheated! I know it's not reasonable but I was really counting on a reprieve. Off to Greece on the 31st so perhaps the Greek doc will be more willing to prescribe something. Is there something that works best mainly for nausea with very rare vomiting or should I just ask him to work his way through the list people have already recommended?

Sorry you've had a horrible migraine lucinda hope you're back to normal soon.

okla 17-20 weeks is wilderness time with not many appointments and raging sickness, you're doing so well though just think how far you've come. Fingers crossed you get a 20 week improvement, for me I started to have better days first, followed by 3 crap ones, and then gradually the better days stretched out. Fingers crossed this starts happening for you!

spots booboo sorry to hear you've had do respite. I don't know the answer to your meds question, but would love to < waits in anticipation>. Hope the change of scenery to Greece is at least distracting!

Sorry! Meant xposts!

Lucinda, hope you are fully recovered soon.

living and punk, hoping for some baby news soon!

Okla and boo, feel better soon. If anyone does know which meds might work for nausea I'd like to know.

I'm feeling pretty grim again, not really keeping food down but managing liquids. So I'm not getting dehydrated, but it's all a bit of a struggle and I'm just lying around in my PJs doing nothing and feeling ill. Given that I'm doing OK with liquids, is there any point asking the doctor to change my meds, or should I just persevere with cyclizine? It does work a bit to control the actual vomiting (at least of water). I tried Stemetil (in buccal form) and it really didn't work at all after the first few doses.

Those of you in the NL (meerka and living?), where are you, out of interest? I have lots of family over there, and spent many happy childhood holidays (and my whole summer holidays in my teens) in Noordwijk. I'd be really keen for DH to be posted over there next, although it's a long shot - we always seem to end up with the less glamorous places!

some it's definitely worth asking if you can try different meds. Cyclizine is one of the milder ones and your quality of life is still being severely affected. No point in suffering this much if there is a chance something else will help.

sunny, its worth asking for more meds. the idea from the NICE guidelines (the governmental body that oversees all medical good practice) is that women should be able to lead as normal lives as possible. You might be vomming just a bit less, but its not exactly a normal life is it at the moment?

I'm in Eindhoven =) its not that glamorous so maybe you'll end up here and I can bring you iced water!

booboo the doc I saw yesterday said ondansetron and the anti-histamines are the best for nausea.

I am definitely seeing some improvement on the ondansetron. I am feeling more myself and managing to eat more. I feel a bit of a fraud for being on it when I have not even thrown up yet, but it would be great to get a few better days now before it really kicks in.

Of course because I am feeling better again today I am panicking about the health of the pregnancy again. I'd forgotten how stressful that aspect is.

okla I think feeling bad through the second trimester is particularly depressing because that's when everyone tells you you will feel great.

Hope you are feeling better lucinda

Everyone Mother Hen thanks you for your sympathy.
Kali If you're a fraud, I'm a patriarch, lol! Did they ever consider sterioids when you are so ill in your first preg and in and out of hospital so much?
Booboo Oh no, that sounds dismal. Toddler tantrums are bad at the best of times. It is a let down, no improvement yet.
SomeSunny I so agree with Merka about quality of life and medication. Something else might improve that?
I hope Okla Lottie and Everyone are not too bad today...
xx