Hypermesis 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.

Ladies, can I have the benefit of your collective experience?

On Monday the doctor who didn't care told me I could take 8mg of ondansetron 3 times a day. The doctor I spoke to yesterday was concerned by this and said she'd find out. When hubby went to pick up the prescription yesterday the doctor had written a note on it that I shouldn't take more than 16mg in a 24 hour period, but the prescription itself is for enough for 3 x 8mg doses a day. When I spoke to the doctor she said she'd ring me if there were problems, and if I didn't hear from her it would be fine. The note didn't say to take less than 3 x 8mg doses a day. and the prescription says "1-2 4mg tablets 3 times daily". I'm really confused about the unclear advise/guidance, and really worried about taking too much. The problem is, even with the higher dose since Monday, I've still had difficult evenings with nausea and vomiting (nowhere near what I have struggled with, but noticeably difficult).

Any suggestions? I know I should check with a doctor, but the prescription wasn't ready for collection til gone 6 and the doctors had gone, they don't open today and EPU isn't open til 9 am on Monday, and I need to take the drugs between now and then.

emsy just seen your post - WOW! so very, very beautiful!

Big congratulations and all the very best for you and your gorgeous boys [heart]

ealli i think it is ok - i am pretty sure other women have been on 8mg x 3/day throughout. However, Im not a medico.

I am certain though that nothing is going to be a problem within 48 hours. In your shoes I would definitely take 3 x 8mg. Evenings are you bad time aren't they? Then if you wanted you could miss the morning dose and take middle of the day dose and early evening dose. That would cut the amount you take but ensure that there's enough in your system for the worst period.

I really do think it'll be ok though.

Hi all hope you are all well (or as well as can be expected).

A huge congratulations to esmy on the birth of your twins

I'm 37+3 now and so so ready for this baby to come out, I just want to stop being sick now!

Hubby has stumbled across a new pharmacy. Pharmacists sister had HG and the assistants wife had HG. ThePharmacist talked hubby thru the doses and then suggested some foods I might like to try. Then the assistant gave hubby advise on being a partner of someone with HG. There was no lecture about shouldn't be taking these drugs during pregnancy, which we've had everywhere else we've gone. So we'll be going there for drugs in future!

blueberry it's gonna be so amazing to finally meet your wee one... exciting!

I'm no sure about taking 8mg 3 times a day but I'm on 8mg twice a day at the moment. I'm thinking of seeing if I can reduce to 4mg next week and see how that goes.

My pharmacy is pretty good, whenever I'm in there they ask if I'm feeling better yet :)

I really want to do something to try and raise awareness about hyperemesis but I have no idea what to do! It seems that so many people have never heard of it and think you're just being dramatic about a bit of morning sickness!

I'm exactly the same dilly, before all of this I must admit when princess Kate was diagnosed I did dismiss it a little as "well if that was a normal person they'd just have to get on with it" hangs head in shame. Cos we've not yet reached 12 weeks and had the reassuring scan (and I'm really worried about a mmc) we've not told everyone yet (tho more know than would without HG), but when it's out there I intend to make sure I raise as much awareness as possible. But other than that, I don't really know what I can do.

I don't know about other people but I suffered for several weeks thinking it was just normal morning sickness. It was only when I starting googling to see if I could find something to help that I discovered it was hyperemesis and absolutely not normal morning sickness!! I try and explain the difference to everyone that I can in the hope of increasing awareness. It's hard because I think its one of those things that you don't really understand unless you've been through it.

I suffered for a few weeks thinking I was just being really pathetic and needed to man up, and i think tgats quite common with HG, especially with first pregnancies. When the doc told me it was more than that i cried with relief. I'd love for women to not go thru the weeks of feeling pathetic. But, if you've been surrounded by pregnancies with 'normal' morning sickness and then you are just gonna accept it. Round here the first contact you have with health care professionals in pregnancy is your booking apt at roughly 10 weeks...that's a long time to struggle and not be able to speak to anyone.

ealli fantastic about the pharmacist. They actually know considerably more about the effects of drugs on the body than doctors because doctors are trained in diagnosis and treatment whereas pharmacists study -only- the effects of drugs on the body.

But they get very, very cautious during preg because there are so very few trials done on preg women and because the whole body alters during preg. So very few of them will actually give you any useful advice.

But a pharmacist who has first or close second-hand experience of HG is a super resource becuase they'll know what HG really is and rather more about how things work and how the meds work. A great find :)

Hello, haven't had time to catch up. I have been in hospital from 3am Saturday morning until last night. After being sick all day Friday and fainting in the bathroom during the night. I had 4 bags of IV and strangely some oxygen as It was low apparently

The fluids stopped me being sick after a few hours and I could manage sips of water again until a nurse told me I couldn't eat or drink for 12-24 hours due to having ketones at 4+. Luckily the main consultant went against this and said I could eat and drink if I could manage it. Ketones lowered after eating half a sandwich and with a bit of persuasion I was allowed home.

dillydolly I completely agree with you. Even the nhs 111 person didn't know what it was, I had to explain it to her. It drives me nuts. I think people just assume we exaggerate and that it's not 'that bad'

until a nurse told me I couldn't eat or drink for 12-24 hours due to having ketones at 4+....... I thought eating and drinking is exactly what you need to do to get ketones down! You get high ketones during HG because you -are- dehydrated and maybe starving! Unless I'm missing something this nurse is dangerously ill informed.

I do hope you're feeling better now, the rehydration itself will help.

I definetly spent the first few weeks of my first pregnancy assuming I just had normal normal morning sickness whilst secretly thinking this can't be normal!

More clued up this pregnancy although unfortunately It has been worse this time around despite meds

Meerka that's exactly what I thought. According to the nurse it was standard procedure. I'm glad the consultant knew what she was talking about and went against this. the lady in the bed opposite me who was a nurse and has also had HG was as shocked as me.

The hydration worked wonders, far better than the anti sickness meds I was given. I want my own IV kit at home! I'm feeling a little nauseas this morning but so much better that yesterday and Friday so I daren't complain. I just need to make sure I continue taking in lots of fluids in and I should be okay.

Glad you are feeling a bit better sarkymare I too wish I had my own IV fluids set up at home! It's the only thing that makes me feel 100% better

Back up and will catch up, but dasihing on to say sarky I'm so sorry you had such an awful night and were admitted, and to have that nurse talk rubbish was the last straw. But where did she get such weird ideas? I'm sorry to say a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing with the wrong person.
eallison and dilly There are Hyperemesis awareness raising campaigns -
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/
www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/
when you're better, you may want to get involved with them, but what with a new baby coming, doing campaigning as well can take up a lot of energy...
Waves to Meerka elizabethsmum DurhamRed and Hello.
I'm still so delighted with emysmarie's lovely picture and message...

Hi ladies, can I ask a couple of questions? I started feeling sick at 3+5. I'm now 6+5 and I am feeling absolutely Awful. The first week was the sort of, 'eat lunch... Ten minutes later...run and throw up' kind of sickness. It was bearable. Between vomits I felt ok ish.. Still queasy but I could manage. Fast forward three weeks and I'm suffering from crushing, every waking moment nausea. Plus waking at night to feel or be sick.
I'm not actually vomiting full on that much (2-4 times a day) but I'm constantly, wretchedly nauseous. I can't eat other than tiny nibbles and then I have to lie down with my eyes shut for a while to avoid instant vomit.
I'm not a sickly person normally. I'm the sort of person who just gets on with things and goes to work regardless. But now, I'm struggling. I don't want to label what I have as hg, because I can keep fluids down sometimes, and I'm aware im only being sick a few times a day and that people hVe it much worse.
My question is, am I just being wimpy here? I spent today intermittently crying on the sofa with a bucket by my head. I am struggling horribly at work and I have a very unsympathetic employer. The nausea is getting worse by the day and I'm only 6+5. My mother had what sounds like hg from week four to month six with me (sorry, mam...)

Should I go to the doc? Am I being unreasonably sensitive? Does everyone feel like this?

Skiptonlass Welcome, no, this doesn't sound at all like ordinary ms and you are most certainly not being a wimp. A lot of women with Hyperemesis imagine that they have normal ms - but they don't. Nor do you have to have constant vomiting to have Hyperemesis, you can have less frequent vomiting with terrible nausea. Do make an emergency appointment to ask for meds and also, do get some kestostix (available form any chemisits) asap to check for dehydration, as it's very difficult to take in enough liquids when feeling so sick. Meanwhile, do try ice lollies, ice cubes, or sips of flat coke, or sips of the juice of tinned fruit. These often help a little to get some liquids in.

Skipton, that's how it started with me. also, each day feels like it takes forever, and the rest of the pregnancy seems like it's an age, but actually, if I look back over the last 3 and 1/2 weeks since being diagnosed, it has gone quite quickly.

Definitely get yourself to the docs.

Thanks ladies... I have to admit I was actually laughing the first time I was sick. It's my first pregnancy and a very wanted baby and it just seemed like a funny thing to happen. Not laughing now :(

How are you managing with work? I have an American boss who believes that vacation and sick days don't exist. I've not had any scans or tests yet so I didn't want to tell anyone until I was confident the pregnancy would continue. I'm genuinely concerned that if they know I'm trying to have a baby, they'd fire me (they have form for this, despite it being utterly illegal where I live.) but I think it's only going to take another 'chucking up in conference call ' incident before I have to.

Appreciate the support.

I should say also that I do have drugs.... At my first midwife appt. after I'd sat telling her how overjoyed I was, whilst dry heaving into her wastebin, the mw gave me meclozin. It doesn't help at all, and makes me too sleepy so I can't take it at work. :(

I'm a bit frightened to be honest. How much worse is it going to get?

I had to "come out"as pregnant far earlier than I would've liked too; I get the impression that this quite common with HG. Luckily my boss is being really supportive so far. But, I'm in the UK (I get the impression you're not?) and the legal protection is pretty good. Me telling my boss I was pregnant pretty much covers me from them trying to screw me over.

I'd recommend telling your boss and any close friends at work.

Also, when I first started feeling/being sick I thought it was ace - like you, very wanted, long awaited first pregnancy. I'm pretty much over it now!

go back to midwife /doctor and say the drugs aren't working. None of the 'first line' drugs made the slightest difference to me, but ondansetron has really helped - not cured it, but made things bearable and made it so I can eat and drink small amounts of certain things. My saving grace food wise is tinned peaches; juicy this getting some fluids in and fruit so fairly healthy (and I think helping with the constipation that comes with ondansetron!). I keep a tupperware full by my bed to graze it when I wake in the night and eat as soon as I wake in the morning. Might not work for you, but worth a try?

I live in Sweden now (expat brit) so protection here is excellent. The problem is that my boss is american and so is the company. It's in the back of my mind that I'm still very early in and a lot could go wrong. They can't fire me while I'm pregnant, but if I was unlucky enough to lose the baby, my ass would be fired.

It's crap, isn't it? But I think you're right. I'm going to have to tell them. Did they take it ok? Did you have any time off or have you managed?