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.

Can people give me an idea of how long their HG lasted? I know that 'normal' morning sickness is supposed to end around 10-12 weeks but is this true of HG too? I have had it for about 2 weeks now and the thought of 4, 6 or even more weeks fills me with dread. I have been signed off and have exhausted all the available drugs as they only seem to last for a few days and then I'm back to vomiting every hour or so. I've been told to rotate the drugs and go back to one once another wears off. Anyone else had similar advice? This is my first pregnancy and it's making me seriously think that I might stick to one child only!

hi elletorrito and welcome now you've shyly come out from the shadows! :) How far along are you?

and yes, HG is a very lonely condition. Not only are you stuck in the house / bed all day but you're isolated further because very few people understand. One day, it will all be over.

sunny you had me laughing out loud about being evangelical. Do hope the travellign is ok and you are able to have a lovely holiday :) much needed, probably!

You need to combine the drugs elly - this is what they do in hospital. So for instance if you are taking cyclizine three times a day and you also have metoclopramide or stemetil stagger them so you're taking something every 3-4 hours rather than only every 6-8. See if that helps you keep a handle on it. Have they tried ondansetron? For most people it is much more effective though a lot of GPs will only prescribe it if a hospital doctor recommends it.

Most women with HG do see an improvement during the second trimester, but usually a bit later than for morning sickness - so more like at 14/16/18 weeks. Unfortunately while around half of women with HG will eventually feel normal or nearly in the second half of pregnancy, the other half will improve but not get back to normal - some people do throw up all the way through and an unlucky few are seriously disabled by the sickness throughout. There seems to be some evidence that the earlier the sickness started the longer it is likely to be a problem - probably because it means you are sensitive to very low levels of pregnancy hormones, which are produced throughout pregnancy though at lower levels after the first trimester. Six weeks seems to be roughly the cut off - so if you are very sick before six weeks you are a bit more likely to be at the severe end both in terms of how bad you are at the worst and in terms of ongoing probs.

I am unfortunately at the very bad end so I'm not going to tell you how it is for me! On this thread women at the worst end are always over represented because we are the ones that hang around moaning for the entire 9 months!! But if you read back carefully you'll notice that actually the majority of posters post a few times somewhere in the 8-12 week (i.e. worst) and then gradually disappear.

That's a long answer but in essence don't hold out for magic overnight relief at 12 weeks because it probably won't happen, but you can realistically expect to feel a good deal better by 18 or 20 weeks than you do/did at 8, 10 or 12 (I'm not sure how far along you are at the moment).

A tripartite of horrors today... TMI alert...
On the toilet with diarrhea, when I got a nosebleed, had to lean forwards to avoid getting covered in blood which set off a little vomit. Glorious pregnancy!

starry if you are looking for advice on breast feeding the feeding section on here has a lot of knowledgeable and helpful people. It can be really tough at first and getting help can make a big difference (if you want to continue trying that is, nothing wrong with formula so don't make yourself feel bad either way).

Boo that sounds like a horror show, poor you!

Elle yay for unlurking. Hopefully we can help even more now.

Elly welcome to the thread. Not much to add to what Kali said. I was horrendous weeks 5-13 and have just been pretty average since. I'm still throwing up every day (28 weeks) but most of the other people who joined the thread at the same time as me are off living their lives with relative normality now. Most of them cleared up enough to function by week 20.

Afternoon all! Had my dating scan today, put me back a few days to 12+4 (little disappointed, obviously the closer to trimester two the better!). I had a horrible night last night, although I napped for nearly five hours during yesterday so I'm hoping that was a factor... getting really fed up of my 'can set my clock by' nausea - after a certain point there's just no combo of meds or food/drink that calms it, just sleep.

Was lovely to see our bean though, he/she even gave as a salute while wriggling about!

Hi all
Just been reading through as I'm new to all this and looking for some advice.
I'm 8 weeks pregnant and I've been really nauseous for about 3 weeks now, vomiting most days but only once, random times. I'm sure it's nowhere near what some of you guys are going through but I'm feeling utterly awful. Really low, very weak, just can't do anything. Doc has signed me off work. Really bad timing as I have a 7yo daughter who is off school and very bored with her miserable useless mother.
Anyway, just wanted some advice about medication, I've tried stemetil, didn't do much except exhaust me. Am now on cyclizine but I really don't think it's making any difference. I'm going to try and see GP tomorrow, does anyone know of anything else I could try? I've tried acupuncture which did seem to help but is so expensive. This is so debilitating, and such a shock because I didn't have it last time. Really fed up. And the next person to suggest a ginger biscuit....!

Thanks in advance.

@Elly Sorry you are Suffering..I was really nauseous from week 6-20 then since then gradually got better(32 weeks now) though still very low in energy/not feeling totally myself but much better then it was.I think most people get some improvement at 20 weeks-if not earlier.I really didn't think I could make it this far it was so awful.Thinking of you..hang on in there and focus on the baba at the end! :)

Hi emsy often the next drug after Cyclizine is Metoclopromide. It doesn't work for everyone but it is stronger and it's been my saviour this pregnancy! It can also be combined with Cyclizine safely if that helps you.

GP's vary in their helpfulness/willingness to prescribe. It may be worth taking an advocate with you (have you got a supportive DP/H?) or even printing out the NICE guidelines which say that Meto is safe. Some people find steely determination/crying/upchucking on the doctors shoes can help too

Ah thanks, will aim for getting that then. They've been lovely so far, fingers crossed. I have unashamedly cried at every appointment, feel so horrendous! Thanks again xx

That's ok, I had a doctors appointment last week which was the first one for months I haven't cried in! I was pretty happy about that

Lottie 34 weeks!! Wow. I always forget you're 6 weeks ahead of me. You will be free soooo soon.

Welcome toElletorrito and E;;u1712 Elletorrito Welcome, I*m so glad this thread has helped, but you shouldn't be shy, everyone's very nice on here. My sufferings wee years ago and nothing like as bad as so many people on here, so I never cease to wonder at how lovely so many of the women on here are at support when suffering themselves, and when busy with small babies afterwards..
I can't improve on the advice from Kalidasa Meerka Lottie GeorgebytheseaOklahomaSomesunnysunday Freneticfox and others - it's very hard to bear, very isolating, but it will be a distant nightmare one day.
Booboosto How horrible. More gentle pats on offer. Glad you haven't lost your sense of humour. SomeSunnySunday I wold like to have seen that. Kalidasa Are you still out? I do so hope so...Frenetic Great news about scan.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.
xx

Thank you all for being so welcoming. I'm 24 weeks in and turning a corner, nausea much reduced but very weak and feeble. And like sunny says, if I do too much ( approx a third what I normally can) then I'm vomiting again. It's not been a massive surprise because I was far worse with my first baby, who is 19 months now. Very luck to have a gorgeousness mother in law staying and looking after toddler/ holding back my hair on occasion.

Like emsy and lottie I rarely get through any of my appointments without crying! And I try to make sure I have everything written down before the appointment because I know I'll be too upset to talk.

Hope everyone is surviving the evening and gets some good sleep tonight

Welcome to all new arrivals (and de-lurkers ).

Elly1712 my two pregnancies have been different. With DD I had nausea but no vomiting up to 5.5 months then nothing then the nausea came back at 7 months. This time round I had worse nausea and rare bouts of vomiting to 5.5 months, a week of no symptoms and then rare nausea and frequent little mouth vomits since. My first half of the pregnancy I have weird food aversions, heightened smell sense and general sensitivity to smells and tastes. The second half I can eat most things OKish, this time round I have no appetite and eat really small amounts since week 24. The baby however is one week ahead of average for growth so it doesn't seem to be affecting him.

Moan alert.

How am I still throwing up every day at 28 weeks!? Surely my body must have worked out that this is not a good idea...

Really really bored of this now. Just want it to stop.

Starry congratulations!

How is everyone? I'm struggling at the moment. Had my 20 week scan yesterday, all went well but my vomiting is gettting worse again the last day or two. I only have +1 ketones this morning but I'm sure it will get worse and I'm taking all the meds I can now. I'm on a reduced dose of Ondanestron which I think is why the sickness has returned but I just feel utterly miserable. Sorry for moan.

Okla so sorry you are still not getting any respite. Bloody pregnancy, I've had enough.

Okla I'm so sorry, it's so bloody unfair

Time is passing though, you're getting closer to the end!

for you to basgetti hang in there, glad the scan went well!

Basgetti - ketones at 20 weeks is really rough, have you had a busier few days? I found even at the end even a very slight increase in activity made the vomiting worse, I remember right at the end a weekend of NCT classes nearly out me back in hospital. Alternatively, can you up the ondansetron again, even just for a few days, if it's tolerable for you?

Lucinda - yes I am still out of hospital, thank the Lord, nearly a week now, practically a record. Finally beginning to believe that at over 15 weeks I might finally be able to stay out, I am eating, albeit a truly awful diet consisting almost entirely of KFC zinger meals, mysteriously the only thing I can reliably keep down that actually makes me feel better. (Worth a try if anyone is truly desperate at least it's loads of calories . . . )

Also I can feel the baby now which is really nice. I remember it was quite early with DS too, perhaps because of the weight loss. Did anyone else notice this in HG pregnancies?

Still stuck completely in bed and reliant upon the steroids to keep the vomiting under control, but finally beginning to believe that I might eventually make it out of bed in this pregnancy, even if I don't (sob) make it back to work at any point.

Thinking of everyone enduring this at whatever stage or degree.

Kali yes I have had a really full couple of days, DP has started new job this week after a few weeks at home so I've been looking after DS and took him out, then yesterday had to travel to nearby city for my scan and was out alot of the day and lots of walking etc. I will speak to GP about increasing Ondanestron but I have problems with bowel obstruction so not sure if they will.

Glad you are managing to stay out of hospital at the moment, hope it continues x

Kalidasa That's wonderful to hear - I was dreading that you were texting from your hospital bed, all hooked up...Fingers crossed. On baby moements, I felt mine at fourteen weeks, though my weight loss can't have been anything like as horrific as yours.
Okla Moan all you like, and Basgeti too - and anyone else who feels like it,that is what this thread is for. Imagine how much a man would moan.... It's the end of the world if they give themselves a violent hangover for a day...It's just not fair, as others say, and you've been wonderful.
Elletorrito Thank godness for lovely, hair holding, toddler amusing MIL.
Congratulations again to Starry. I was never able to breasfeed fully, I always had to top up, I heard vaguely it was because I was one of those very unusual unfortunates for whom the Hyperemesis lurked after the delivery - don't worry new people, that is very very rare, and so I lost a fair bit of weight at that time. But baby thrived on the mixture.
Back soon, usual apologies if I've stupidly missed someone.
xx

Hello I am new here. I have been watching conversations over the past week or so from being bed bound due to awful sickness. Was sick 10 times yesterday and only 7weeks pregnant. It's far worse then I remember with my first.just feeling very fed up and disillusioned with the whole thing. Any advice would great, just need a friend as none of mine have suffered and just keep saying 'you'll feel better tomorrow' or 'it will be worth it'. I've not been able to care for my toddler this week so he's been with family or at nursery.im so fed up!

Hi Mary you've come to the right place. So sorry to hear you're feeling so rubbish. I find people saying you'll be better soon almost as annoying as those suggesting ginger. No I won't feel better and no it won't help! I totally sympathise.

It sounds like you've done this before, is this your second child?

From a functional perspective have you seen/spoken to a GP and got meds? There are loads of safe ones to take. They don't offer a miracle cure but they do reduce the vomiting so you can at least keep food/ fluids down (except in poor Kali's case).

Sending lots of sympathy and encouragement. It's just a case of taking it one day (or hour sometimes) at a time. M

Everyone on this thread has been there (or is there) and understands what you're going through so use us as much as you need to. Having a rant does help.

Hang on in there...

Hi ladies
I've been to see doc and been prescribed promethazine, after stemetil and cyclizine didn't work. Just feeling a bit gutted as I've just read that promethazine is a basic first treatment. Has anyone tried it? I'm desperate for some relief. I'm seeing a bit of a pattern now that I'm sick whenever I get up and do anything, like a shower this afternoon. It's hard with a 7yo to look after.
The doc said that basically none of the treatments are much good and I need to just hope this will pass quickly. I mentioned about combining meds lottie and he just said that wasn't a good idea as you build the side effects. I came away feeling like he's given me a placebo to keep me happy and just that all he thought I wanted was a sick note.
Sorry to rant. I was really low last night and am thinking of having a private scan because I figure if there is anything wrong I'd rather know sooner so I can end this pregnancy rather than waiting another 4 weeks til my 12 week scan. I'm sure everything is fine though otherwise I wouldn't feel this sick. We are on hols in 3 weeks driving to Cornwall from Norfolk! Really really hoping this eases a bit before then as I'm miserable company!