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.

Just thought I would update you all. After posting here yesterday I felt like I was going to black out just walking up the stairs, ended up calling 111 and got sent to out of hours gp, she tested my urine and admitted me to hospital, and 4 bags of fluid and several meds later I have managed to eat food and keep it down!
Feeling so much more human now, just waiting on discharge papers so I can go home.

Dark moon - so glad you got help and are feeling better.

Idont - hope you are feeling physically ok after Tuesday. I've been thinking of you.

Dilly Welcome and I so agree with Meerka you may get dehydrated before Monday, do get some kestostix form any themists so you can test yourself. Ginger biscuits and sickbands won't really help this condition . Ringing up the PSS number if you get desperate for advice on getiting effective meds is, as Idon'tusually a good idea. The no's in the blurb on the top of the thread: 024 7638 2020.
Darkmoon So glad you've been treated properly -thank goodness for that.
Idon'tusually Welcome back - I wonder what your old name was - sorry you are suffering, sound advice.
tallgiraffes and Kalidasa I hope coping.
Back soon.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.
xx

darkmoon glad you got treated. Have they given you meds?

NC ... can I give you a hug?

Most certainly

So despite my best efforts, I don't think there is any way I can physically drink enough to get myself rehydrated. Should I try the doctors again or just go straight to hospital?

I would go to the hospital. Good luck and hope you get some help soon

All the best.

dilly yes go to the hospital. I don't suppose they have a specialist preg unit?

dilly if you feel dehydrated already I would go straight to the hospital. If you need rehydrating the GP will just send you to hospital anyway. The only exception I'd say is if you can see a good GP quickly, and you are in an area where the GP could arrange ahead for you to be seen quickly at the hospital, without having to go through GP triage/A&E etc. Where I am (London) even the GP calling ahead to speak to the obs/gynae registrar and sending you with a letter to A&E makes no difference to the speed of the process in A&E, but that may be different with a smaller local hospital.

The hospital will almost certainly be much more relaxed about prescribing medication for you, and generally GPs will be happy to accept the hospital's judgement which should make repeat prescriptions etc easier.

Forgot to say, if your hospital has an early pregnancy unit or a day assessment unit for pregnancy, you might be able to go straight there and avoid A&E. Your maternity notes should have a page saying whether your hospital has these services; if you don't yet have any maternity notes it might be worth calling to check.

Hi, glad I found this thread! Not even 8 weeks yet and been suffering for weeks. Rehydrated in hospital mon, given loads of anti sick meds but still barely feeling human. Feel so bad for my 3 year old who doesn't understand what is up with me at the moment, and guilty for taking all these meds while pregnant, are they really safe? Had 3 previous mc so v paranoid when pregnant. Had scan the other day, all good but it's early days, was just sat here crying and feeling sorry for myself.....

So even the doctor didn't think I was very dehydrated. Until they did a urine sample. Lots of ketones. Been given some anti sickness meds and already feel a little better. Also having IV fluids and waiting to be transferred to the ward. Thank you everyone for your advice and support! I probably would have suffered in silence without you all.

glad you have been seen dilly. good that you are already feeling a little better.

our local hospital (where I occasionally work as a bank sonographer) has just moved its epau and gynae ward down to a purpose built unit. in the years I worked there the unit must have been moved at least 5 times over the years from one poorly designed area to another. at last a bit of thought seems to have gone into it and there I a specific 'rehydration suite' with two large reclining chairs where you can either be administered fluids for a few hours and then discharged with meds (if that all that is required) or admitted from there onto the adjoining ward. a really sensible idea I thought.

so sorry that you are suffering matilda it is absolutely horrid. did you suffer with your DS? it is even worse that you are understably anxious re previous mc's. glad you have had a scan and all is well. I suppose at least hg is a good thing in that respect. what meds have you been prescribed? they don't sound like they are working for you. Unfortunately many of us have learned through multiple hospital admissions thtt it can be trial and error with meds. I would urge you ti get an emergency appointment with your gp. I felt bad for my DD1 when I was in my second pg so I know how you feel, can any friends/neighbours/relatives help out? the 'electronic babysitter' - ipad/dvd's etc will not do your DS any harm for this (hopefully) relatively short period that you are so badly suffering. xx

Matilda - sorry you're having a rough time, definitely take the meds. They are safe.

Dilly - so glad you are on a drip and meds, great news.

yes matilda it is perfectly safe to take meds and far preferable to ending up seriously dehydrated. xx

Welcome Matilda congratulations and commiserations!

Are the meds safe? Well, the usually prescribed ones, the answer is generally yes. What are you on?

If it's cyclizine (with or without B6) then it's an absolute certain Yes.

Then come several meds (prochlorperazine, promethazine, domperidone etc) which are considered safe. They are being used a lot and have been for quite a few years. The studies are not quite as good because the drug companies are extremely wary of doing studies on pregnant women, so they don't fund them.

Metoclopramide is considered absolutely safe for the baby but a few women do have a bad reaction to it. if you do, you need to tell your doctor immediately (if you get twitchy or restless).

Then there is ondansetron, the most powerful of the normal meds. This actually - has- been studied in thousands of women (2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine). It did not affect the babies born in any way.

There are two caveats:

• cyclizine is known 100% safe. But with all the other meds, while there is a growing use of them and they are considered safe, it is not absolutely impossible that there could be some effect 15 or 20 years down the line. It seems extremely unlikely but it's not absolutely impossible.

• Dehydration on the other hand -is- known to be potentially dangerous. The medical people who are experienced and specialized in HG generally state that it's safer to take the meds and reduce the vomitting and stay hydrated, than not taking them and becoming dehydrated. Less trained doctors tend to be reluctant to prescribe meds but sadly, a lot of them have little experience in HG and actually don't know very much at all.

Untreated HG can have long term effects. Babies are at risk of not growing well later on and the mother can become so run down that she struggles to recover. In fact it has been known for people to loose jobs and to become very ill. Some people, very sadly, have had to terminate because they can't look after their older children and stand to loose their incomes & houses.

So please do take the meds.

Have you got a supportive husband / family? Is there any chance of someone helping with child care?

dilly glad to hear you're getting help and rehydration.

Welcome MatildaDilly I'm so glad that they've admitted you and now must take it seriously. Matilda You poor thing, hugs over those mc's, no wonder you are paranoid about meds but as others say, they wouldn't prescribe anything that wasn't proven safe in pregnancy, or that you didn't need badly. I can't improve on the advice of Meerka Kalidasa elizabetsmumand others. This is a very hard condition to bear, particularly if you're anxious about the pregnancy, and I'm so happy that you're on this thread.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked. Back soon
xx

Sorry messages for 'Matlda and Dilly were meant to be seperate, two names came out linked!

Thanks guys, it feels better to talk to people who understand. I'm on Cyclizine, zofran and vit b. They ward it off a bit when taken together, so I can drink and occasionally manage small amount of food, lost 5 pounds already this week. By the evening I can take another Cyclizine but no more of the other so much more nausea and gaggy later on. Thanks for reassurance re drugs, I'd be living in the hospital otherwise. With dd it was bad but survived without meds. My partner is fantastic and doing everything, lucky I got wider family around too, just feel really run down and emotional with it all, there are lots more weeks to go, and worried the sickness will get stronger and then the meds will stop working, hope not! Actually told my dd as she was getting very anxious, it cheered her a lot, but now feel stupid for telling her so early! Hugs to all xxx

Bollocks. I was over ambitious today and am paying the price. DS is back being supervised by Room on the Broom and I am strictly horizontal. I thought I was beating this thing

tori I found the 24 hour nausea just as draining as the sickness tbh. the only med that I found to slightly counteract the nausea was buccastem- the one you put under your lip to dissolve- (think the distraction of trying to concentrate on keeping it there also helped for about 5 minutes! )

tall sorry you're not having a good day - relapsing is so bloody disheartening. all I can do is sympathise, suggest plenty of rest, upping meds if you are not already maxed out and not overdoing it xxx

matilda you're on good meds. several people on the threads have found that zofran (ondansetron) with cyclizine+B6 works. They're also the ones that the most is known about. But can you get some ketostix from the chemist / amazon to monitor your own ketones?

tori yeah in theory you should start to see an improvement in the next 2 weeks ... not everyone finds the nausea goes though. It's almost worse than the vomitting :( Fingers crossed you do get an improvment.

tall if you had a better day and could attempt stuff, that's good news. Just be gentle on yourself and don't expect too much! take it as easy as you can. It's hard ...

Under 7 hours after first arriving at hospital, 2 bags of fluids and some cyclizine later, I am back home! And have managed a normal sized meal for the first time in weeks.

Hope everyone else starts feeling better soon. I guess I'm lucky that I haven't really suffered with vomiting, just constant nausea and heaving.