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.

*when not widen! Doh!

Hi everyone,
I hope it's ok to join :)
I'm 11 weeks tomorrow and this is my 3rd HG pregnancy. I never ever thought I would be going through this again! Amazing what broodiness can do to you :D
I'm currently on zofran (which worked wonders in my last pregnancy) this time round not so much :( the vomitting is minimal but the nausea is just horrific. Pretty much bed bound.
I was just reading some of the previous posts and melleebacca's recent post really stuck out to me. As someone who loves food and cooking this is such a miserable existence. I have lived on toast and a can of alphabegetti for the past 7 weeks.....every bloomin day. I'm really struggling to drink fluids this time round and have been on iv fluids a few times now but yet the doctor claims I'm not that dehydrated as no ketones. The fact I only have half a litre a day, cracking lips and skin and daily headaches is not a reliable sign!
I know there is an end to this but I just needed to write down how I was feeling - people get bored of asking how I am now and I get pretty bored telling them if they do ask.
Wish I could sleep for these next few weeks!

Tremenza, welcome to the thread! Hope you start to feel a bit better soon. Did your hg get better after a certain point with your previous 2 pregnancies?

Fraggle, thanks for sharing your experience of returning to work with HG, i think working as a physio is really difficult when ill. It's good your team were supportive and let you do a phased return. My team-lead is kind but when I spoke to her on phone recently she basically said 'don't come back until you're able to manage a full day' and mentioned it isn't fair on rest of team if I can't manage a full caseload or if I keep leaving early. It's difficult as I know it puts strain on others if one person isn't able to do job to same capacity, and I'll have to delegate all heavy work anyway due to being pregnant, but I feel a bit like they've said not to come back until completely better, which may not be until after baby is born! Thing I found hardest when I tried returning recently was being on the wards, where all staff toilets have door codes and you can't always leave a patient immediately if need to vomit. Also the nausea and feeling light-headed made it hard to concentrate, I was terrified of making a serious error.

Mellee, I know what you mean about missing your old life. But keep reminding yourself this isn't forever, you'll get it back. I remember reading somewhere hg is a bit like a long sea voyage... you have good days when sea is calm, weeks of bad weather and storms, sudden rough patches etc and you can't fully adjust to it because you don't reach dry land until baby is born. Keep focusing on the destination! I bought myself some 'nursing tops', every time I feel really down I get them out and think what it will be like to hold my baby (and not to feel sick anymore!)

Ealli, hope you have a better day today. Don't push yourself too hard at work, it sounds like your body's rebelling against it. Can you reduce your hours if you need to, or go in every other day so you have time to rest?

I'm having a bad day so far, vomited 3x this morning, after being sick all evening yesterday. Don't know what triggered it. For some reason I find watching the cherry blossom outside very comforting, maybe because it marks the changing seasons and reminds me time is passing...

caspian as and when you feel up to returning to work (to whatever degree and capacity) you you should have a meeting with occupational health to discuss your return including phased return, duties etc who will then have some recommendations. My understanding is that where possible your managers should be assisting you to return to work as able with whatever adaptations required....it is not in their best interests to have you off sick for a long time. I'm sorry your team lead isn't that helpful.....sweeping statements like that are no help to you. I dealt with my sickness absence with my ultimate manager rather than team lead as my period of sickness took me over the number of days where my team lead was allowed to deal with it IYSWIM. I remember that feeling of not being able to get into a toilet or leave a pt all too well........if you felt up to it, as and when you're ready, you could suggest a return to non-clinical duties? This would mean you were still at work but had a bit more freedom with regards to that, and you could build up by taking a few pts at a time. I don't know what area you work in, but perhaps if you liased with your ultimate manager this might be an option, or perhaps they could move you somewhere else. Sorry if you've thought of these ideas already, I just thought they'd give you some food for thought :)

MoP i hope yor doc on friday is understanding, fingers crossed for you

ealli it sounds like you're doing amazingly well to me. You were bound to take an HG step backwards when restarting work. It's great that you can actually keep going with it.

Melle ... what ealli said. sometimes it comes down to taking each hour at a time. Even each 5 mins.

If you tell your midwife that you're not coping mentally do you think she will be able to do anything? sadly there's not a great deal of support generally around :( We're here to talk to and maybe the Preg Sickness Support forums will be helpful.

it does end, I promise.

Tremenza Welcome. I'm sorry you are suffering so horribly - but as the veteran, you know better than m e how it will almost certainly get much better, even if you're one of the unlucky ones and it doesn't go properly.
It is so dismal and isolating. I didn't suffer for very long, but I managed to read 'War and Peace' in bed. Do you find the radio good for distracting you from the awful isolated feeling? As you mention 'zofran' which I believe is the same as ondansetron, are you in the US or Australia?
eallison I'm glad the work isn't too strenuous, but it does sound as if you might need easier hours, as others say.
fraggle Lovely to hear from you and it's amazing that lO is months old already. Great advice for caspian.
MelleeI'm glad about the extended sick note.
Toothfairy Good name, thanks for such a lovely supportive post and I agree about the PSS website. How people manage to keep going at work when still suffering is amazing to me.

Meerka Mother Hen remembers clucking over your doing that room.
MotherofPearl Waves.
Hello Oh no, it's too bad that puking should be replaced by spd.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

Melle You will get there, it does get easier. As Meerka and others say, divide the time into little chunks. It is very hard, probably one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do.
Meerka Cross posted, as so often, lol...

Doctor extended my reduced hours sick note for another 2 weeks. That'll go down like a lead balloon. Oh well. Mine and baby's health has to be my priority. And actually, I think it'll benefit work in the long run as I think it'll prevent a further relapse and thus fully off work for x days/weeks.

oh I'm sorry hello tremenza!

fraggle lovely to see you and lovely to hear your little one doing well. :)

Yes, Lucinda, that room was not the most sensible of projects but I could finally do something and that was wonderful. And like I say, v little walking. Did things in small bursts then rested. Also it was so so much easier to do it before the baby came and our older one could stay in that bedroom, than after. We'd have had to turf him out and find an alternative bed for weeks.

eallison I was worried about works reaction when my doc extended my reduced hours right up until I go off on maternity leave but I now don't really care! Mine and my babys health are what comes first plus the way I look there would be a big chance of me being signed off sick again if I'd have gone back full time

Hello and eallison You are so right; people fail to see how with this condition driving yourself too hard too soon is counter productive. But you are so right, and as you say, you and your babies' health have to come first.
Meerka It worked out well...
Waves to all.

Fraggle, thanks for advice, I'll definitely look into phased return and reduced hours, and ask manager about non-clinical duties. How did you know when you were ready to return?

Ealli, glad you were able to extend your reduced hours. Are you feeling any better?

I'm back to vomiting every morning as well as evenings, though still having several lovely nausea-free hours in middle of day that I'm so grateful for! Baby is very active now, I've been feeling it move for few weeks but kicks and wriggles are much stronger this week, very reassuring. After feeling ill for so long, it's nice to feel 'pregnant' rather than just ill!

Sorry not managed to catch up fully with the thread. so sorry that you are suffering badly again tremenza - anyone who goes through this three times definitely deserves a medal. the crippling nausea is every bit as bad as the vomiting in my experience.

fraggle lovely to hear from you. so glad you and little fraggle are doing well. Thanks for your encouraging words.

caspian wise words from fraggle. I think you need at least four weeks of feeling much better and managing well at home (not just exsisting) but feeling as normal as it is possible to feel and managing everyday tasks etc before you are ready to face work. you will know when you are ready- much like you know at the moment you are not ready to go back. hg is not something you can power through like some illnesses when you carry on and wait for it to go. phased return is a good idea. my boss let me start later in my first preg and sometimes I used to finish about 4pm. during the later second and third trimesters, when life was more manageable my best hrs were between 10am and 4pm. her view was i'd rather have you here than not at all so it worked out ok. some days I did manage all day but never got there much before 9.30am as I found rushing in the morning made me worse.
I was luckier in the second pg that although by was much worse to start with it subsided around 16 weeks. I didn't go back until about 19 weeks as i'd been signed off until then but I managed fine by then. don't feel like you should be off meds or anything as they really can be helping, it's just how you are in yourself and whether you honestly think you'll be safe to manage at work.

waves to meerka, lucinda, eallison, mop, hello and everyone.

Thanks Elizabethsmum. I feel I'm nowhere near ready to return yet, though I'm worried this will affect maternity pay. As I have less than 3 years continuous service with NHS, I only get 2 months full sick-pay and 2 months half-pay in a rolling 12months... and I'm already into the half-pay. May and June is the period my maternity pay is calculated, so if I'm off until July my maternity pay will be drastically lower (supposed to have 2 months full pay 2 months half-pay then SMA the remaining 8months). This will end up as about 1 month half-pay 11months SMA if I'm off sick until July. We can get by on DH's salary (in that his salary will cover rent, bills and essentials) but money will be tight and I may not be able to take a full year of Mat-leave as planned. DH is keen for me to return to work ASAP to protect my maternity pay, but he's not the one with HG and doesn't realise what it's like! I'd rather money was tight than struggle into work feeling like this. Even on good days, when nausea eases, I feel exhausted and lightheaded all the time. When I'm doing housework I have to keep stopping to rest every 15mins. If I push myself I start vomiting.
I feel really sorry for anyone off sick with HG whose sick-pay isn't enough to live on, if I didn't have my DH I'd be stuck! How do people manage if they need their full salary to cover rent/mortgage?

Caspian, it seems really awful for you to have to base this on money. I wondered whether you can speak to someone in HR, or if you're in a union to a union rep, to find out if you have any other options? I really feel for you, what a difficult situation.

As motherofpearl said, it is such a shame that you're having to make the decision with money in mind. We've just ignored finances and are hoping for the best. if you go back for a bit does it 'reset' the process? I know it's not ideal, but if going back for a bit brings you back to full pay, can you do a week? I'd definitely agree with not feeling like you need to be off meds. I'm pretty content with the fact that I may well be on meds for the duration.

so so difficult for you to have the financial worry on top of all this Caspian. what about using some annual leave and so you are 'technically' back at work for pay purposes during the period where pay is calculated?? cannot remember how sick pay is calculated in nhs but don't think you can have any more than the allotted amount you have stated in a 12 month period?- is that right?

how long exactly is it until the relevant week when it is all worked out? just thinking if it was end may/beg june- feasibly you'd have about another 4 weeks off sick and then could book annual leave- technically with a view to going back after that?- you never know you might actually feel better and be able to go back then as potentially if you had 4 further weeks off sick and 2 weeks annual leave for example you might then be fit enough for a phased return?

I am not by the way an advocate of returning before you are ready/too soon but just trying to think of a workable possible solution which might ease your financial worries (the stress of which will undoubtedly be making hg worse= vicious circle xx

Just a quick, boring update from me: I went to GP today but IUS could not be removed as it has travelled 'beyond reach' (!). Now have to be sent for ultrasound and hospital appointment where specialist can hopefully find and remove the damn thing. Feels like a sign, but trying not to worry. GP very supportive about meds plan should the HG return once/if pregnant, so feel reassured on that score. She said we'll keep working through the different meds until we find one, or a combination, that works.
How are all the sufferers doing? Hopefully getting some respite.

Hi all. I am 22weeks and still cant drink much. Can anyone suggest drinks that helped them. I am normally anti coke and drink bottled water -being pregnant I have craved a ice cold macdonalds milkshake and coca cola which as anti as I was made me so thankful they existed. Wondered what brought relief to others in the same situation.

Hi bubble,

I had a bottle of flat lemonade that helped a little. It was like having sugary water. I find that fizzy drinks make my tummy more queasy. I know what you mean about not being able to drink much. I normally drink at least 2litres a day, but since I've gotten pregnant I'm surviving on 700mls. Yesterday I was so thirsty I drank half a glass of water in one go. It all came back up.

I can also handle hot chocolates at times.

Morning all-
motherofpearl don't worry I am a sonographer and we scan people everyday of the week for 'lost coils'- and nearly always find them exactly where they should be in the right place . very common for threads to shorten slightly so not easily found in the first instance but usually very straightforward to be removed by gynae clinic so please don't panic!

bubble welcome and sorry you are still suffering. drinking/keeping down adequate fluids is so difficult. I second choc milkshake- either nesquick choc- milk had to be ice cold for me or macd's. (as many here will agree ! ). also elderflower presse or anything mildly carbonated with a light flavour- i found the fizz to take the edge off nausea briefly and also as I couldn't gulp it back and only take sips, was more likely to stay down. sucking on orange calipos was also another thing and in the desperate stages of hg sucking on ice cubes.

Thanks Elizabethsmum, that is reassuring.:-)
Bubble, I found lemon barley water, ice cold, sipped in tiny sips very helpful. I'd make it in a small glass, which for some reason also helped. And yes also to chocolate Nesquik milk.

Ah, a lot of supporters of chocolate milkshakes. That must be a really good source of protein for sufferers. Bubble Welcome, how awful for you still to be having trouble with liquids.
I so know what you mean about rubbishy drinks - so many poeple seem to find those the only bearable ohnes.Thank goodness for flat full sugar coke. I swore by iron-bru, but most others don't agree, and flat lucozade, and of course, those ice lollies and ice cubes and jelly.Some people on here find soda water really soothing, or elderflower water. Ah yes, and I remember Tango fizzy orange being soothing, but I don't even know if they still do it.
Caspain Good advice from others, I do hope you do manage to get some reassurance from HR. You don't need extra worries as stress makes this worse.
MotherofPearl I'm sure it's not a sign from fate
elizabethsmum Great advice as ever.
Waves to Meerka and everyone.

Fantas pretty reliable fot me. Also, rekcorderlig alcohol free pear cider is stating down at the moment and is a lovely change!

I think fizzy drinks work for me cos they make me burp. And I really struggle with trapped wind! And as someone else says, I've never really drunk fizzy drinks so I can't drink them fast.