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.

flowery hope you get on ok at the gp today and that they are helpful

lottie yes I started some antibiotics yesterday. Didn't go to work so a, in bed browsing the net lol

Gentle pats to everyone who needs them x

Hi everyone!

Welcome Mrsck. Good idea about work.

Do you mind if I ask the graduates when you had your relapse towards the end? I felt ok and up until last night I hadn't been sick and my tastes were coming back and nausea was better. I was expecting it to come back but not this early.

Yesterday during the day I could feel my nausea getting worse. Just ate and drank as normal but as soon as I finished my evening meal it was back again didn't keep dinner down and I could hardly make it to the bathroom in time.I don't have any other symptoms so it's not a bug it's definitely pg related wondering if it's just her position pressing on my stomach. Still have an appetite though so may default back to my cereal and Sandwich diet for a while. Taking it easy here today too.

Hello MrsCK sorry to see you're here, glad to hear your prescription is ready. Honestly, what everyone says, don't feel guilty. YOU and the baby are the most important thing now! Rest really does help, honestly.

mrsnec it was a gradual decline for me, i suppose sadly around week 29 or so the improvement ceased and then slowly reversed. It's kind of hard to tell, if you ask me another day, i might say week 32 it was really starting to become horrible again. But without doubt by week 36 it was bad again and evenings were awful. By week 38 ... severe nausea Not so much vomitting though, it was the nausea. If I did try to do anything though, then the upchucking started. But the nausea is just so so horrible on its own

It was never as bad as the early stretch when I was back in bed by 11 and unable to talk or move by late afternoon, but it was still pretty horrid to live with.

Mrsnec - this is no. 2 (and last!) for me. With DS it never went away but the best bit was weeks 25-30, from 30 on it got gradually worse, much as meerka describes. Several times near the end I thought I'd end up in hosp again but actually I managed to avoid that. Was grim but never got as bad as the first few months again. I found ranitidine helped a lot in the last months.

Thanks meerka and kali, I thought that's what I read before but at 28 weeks tomorrow I thought it was a strange time for it to come back. Good to know it wasn't as bad as the beginning though.

Mrsnec I ddin't have HG with my first (and poss not with second or this one, I'm pretty boarderline I think) but with my first the sickness cleared up around 16 - 18 weeks and started coming back around 28-30 weeks I think, possibly it was later, it's a while back now! But it was not as bad when it came back. With my second it never went but it did decline again from 35 weeks, like the others though, never to the extent of the early phase.

So GP was quite reluctant to prescribe anything at first and I was a bit hopeless trying to say how much the nausea was affecting me - I think they hear managing to eat and drink and only being sick 1-2 a day and think you're fine. But I must have looked hopeless and said 'I just can't cope' enough times as she's prescribed 10mg Metoclopramide. Can I just ask if anyone else has had this drug early on? It's what I got when I finaly got meds last time but I was 37 weeks then (!) and I got the impression she just gave me this because it's what I had last time. And the leaflet it comes with says it's not recommended in early pregnancy, about 3 times! Now I know most drugs will say not to take when pregnant despite many being safe, but it's the way it keeps saying early pregnancy - makes me wonder if at this stage (7 weeks today) I should have something different. And I'll have to get DD to drop her last BF too apparently. Small price to pay if it makes me feel more human again.

I took metoclopramide from around week 7 amongst other meds and several other people on this thread took it early on too. I didn't read or hear anything at the time about avoiding in early preg so I think it's probably fine.

Hi flowery - I became allergic to meto so can't take it this time but last time I was on it (max dose) from 5 weeks until about 20 (when the side effects became too unpleasant). DS is absolutely fine and they were relaxed about it in hospital. Also I haven't yet met anyone online who had the probs with it that I had, and I've been on this thread and other HG/post-HG forums for a couple of years now so I think it is not common. Just do let your GP know if you become twitchy/very restless/have involuntary movements on it - I think this is more of a risk anyway if you are on a big dose for a long time. It works by speeding up your digestion. For me personally I didn't find it a big help with the sickness but lots of other people have good results with it.

So I have had a v grim 24 hours. After discussing it with my GP I cut down the ondansetron from yesterday lunchtime. Started throwing up a lot by the evening and was in a dire state this morning despite cyclizine and the steroids - couldn't catch my breath between retches at one point, vomiting all fluid. BUT managed to get the enema to work this morning after a few hours without the ondansetron, and have gone straight back on the max dose now. Feel grim but haven't thrown up for a couple of hours now so hoping that I have got away with it and will manage not to lose control. In the end I decided that if it was a choice between being admitted to have my bowel cleared out and doing that at home but them being admitted with out of control vomiting for rehydration, I preferred the latter option!! What delightful choices this illness presents us with . . .

Hello! I just had an apt with my GP and got my whooping cough vaccination. It seems all is well with the baby which is good news. Only a few weeks left now. Thank God.

Re: metoclopramide, I was on that for a little over 12wks and then started to get twitchy, so immediately came off it. But, before that it did work for me. It seems to work for some and not for others, so definitely worth a try.

mrsnec I'm 35wks now and since last week (after a good 3wks), I get occasional very strong bouts of nausea v close to being sick, but I take my medication immediately I wake up and refuse to move until it kicks in!

kalidasa so glad you got through the enema and that it worked. The joys and dignity of this condition!! This may be inappropriate, but I wonder if you are able to keep down warm water? When I had really bad IBS-related constipation, it was the only thing that would help.

A little update on my situation: talked to GP yesterday & he signed me off for 2 weeks with antenatal depression. Was sick lots over the weekend but haven't been sick since I've had the note - just nausea...definitely exacerbated by stress.

I also finally called payroll. I deliberately waited until I was signed off as I didn't want pay to influence my decision. I was right! The week's phased return I did means my sick day entitlement is now updated to this year so I can take up to 100 working days on full pay. And if I let them know I'm fit for work at the beginning of the summer holidays that won't use any of them up. Phew.

Feel much more positive now. Thanks for all the advice.

That's great news Henrietta! I'm sorry you had to go through what you did to get to this point, mind you. At last you can try and relax.

Great news henrrietta.

Kali sorry it's such a grim experience but glad you got the enema to work. Hope the return to higher dose of the medication will get you back to where you were fast now.

Thanks for reasurance on the metoclopramide Kalis and Okla.

Oh Kali how hideous for you. You really do have HG badly! Glad you managed to resolve it at home though.

Henrietta that is excellent news. I find stress exacerbates things massively. Every time I try and do anything remotely stressful I start throwing up again.

I've had a bad few days. Have thrown up everything I've eaten since Sunday. I had been doing a bit better (down to mostly just nausea) but it seems to come and go in waves.

MrsNec I had been wondering the same thing about timings for 3rd trim relapse but don't think 24 weeks is far enough along for it to be that.

Waves wearily to everyone from the sofa.

Oklahoma has your sickness become worse as you have got further along in your pregnancy? Could your GP change your medication to help you?

mrsnec with the first pregnancy I felt quite bad until 5.5 months, then had a break and the nausea was back but nowhere near as bad at 7 months. His time round I only had one good week at 24 wks but the second half is nowhere near as bad as the first half.

Thanks everyone. I think it's just another indication of how different this is for each individual and I just have to be greatful I'm not suffering to the same degree as someone like kali which just doesn't bear thinking about.

I've managed a puke free day by eating lighter but struggling with fluids.

I've still never taken anything. I think they would have given it to me in hospital but they said only go if I'm sick more than 4 times in a day.

Henrietta that's great news.

Oaklahoma sorry to hear things aren't so good with you. Hope there's an improvement soon.

Only been sick twice today. Once straight after lunch and again after taking my metaclopramide. oh the irony. Feeling better in myself. hoping to go back to work tomorrow....or should I ask to be signed off?

Great. Ketones at 3+. Any chance I can get back from here on my own do you think?

Mrsck - glad you are feeling a bit better. If you vomit immediately after taking a pill and you can actually see the pill in the vomit it's fine to take another one. This is what the nurses do in hospital - they have a good look. Lovely!

kali poor you, life really isn't fair is it? I don't think we can answer your question, I know you don't want to go, but I think you need a medical opinion to be sure.

kali so sorry to hear that.......perhaps call your consultant for advice over the phone?

floweryboots I had metaclop from weeks 9-14 ish however then another gp at my surgery wouldn't prescribe it any longer so had to switch back to cyclizine.

mrsck in my experience it takes some time for things to settle with the meds, so I personally would suggest being signed off until you've had the meds for a while and are confident they are working for you

Thanks all. I'm going to give it till tomorrow morning in case my morning dose of steroids help to rescue the situation. If not, then I'll have to go in tomorrow I suppose. At least tomorrow I could prob go direct to EPU and avoid hours and hours in A&E. Feel v rough. Funny thing is that I have been in ketosis so many times now that I can tell from how I feel as soon as I hit 3 or more even without the sticks. What a useful life skill! Just about managing to keep tiny sips of water down but that's all. Hope no-one else is in the ketosis downward spiral tonight ...

Goodness, this thread has moved on quickly! Just back from being out all day.
MrsKC Welcome. Sorry you are suffering, but at least everyone's lovely on here. Don't feel guilty, your health and baby's must come first.
Kali So glad the enema worked! My goodness, that retching and not being able to breath thing is very frightening - I've had it only occasionally with really bad migraines. I think SomeSunny was able to get ketones back down from 3+, I didn't know it could be done before.
Henrietta I'm so glad about sick pay.
Flowery I'm so glad all is fine with baby and now you can think of meds.
Mixed news. Waves to Starry and Fraggles and Okla and Everyrone. Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.
xx

Kali I got my ketones down from 4-8 to trace over about a 12 hour period. I was in hospital (sent in by GP at 8.30am), but not on IV (although was getting cyclizine injections, which work well for me). The only reason I wasn't on IV was that they hadn't got round to putting it in and I felt so much better after the injections that I convinced them to let me try without (and was able to drink pretty well) and I knew IV would mean staying overnight (was desperate to get home to Ds2, it was the day after we came back from living abroad so he was on a new continent with grandparents who he hadn't, at that point, seen much of). Anyway, it can be done although yours just generally sound so much worse than I was. Would your GP give you cyclizine injections? Mine offered, and the injections work a lot better than the pills for me.

Hi to everyone else. Will catch up properly tomorrow. Tired and sick and only still awake because DH has the football on on the bedroom TV....

Thanks some. I can't have cyclizine injections because - ironically" - they make me throw up! I'm taking it orally though, plus max dose ondansetron (8mg x 3) and 20mg prednisolone. I've just taken the steroids and ondansetron this morning. If I can keep them down I hope there's a chance I'll be able to eat and drink a bit this morning and stay out of hosp. Fingers crossed.

Go Kali