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.

Hello It's awful to have those migraine headaches - and for so long. I had them earlier on, I do feel for you having them at this stage. Can only offer much in the way of gentle cyber sympathy and pats, my goodness. Well, this is one suggestion you won't have heard, lol, and I bet over the course of suffering The Scourge throughout, you've had every sort of silly suggestion. Do you have a cat? Might seem daft, and I'm not suggesting you rush out and get one, but as others on this thead say, they can be so comforting if you do, mine lies right next to my head when I have a migraine. In the days when I could afford a chiropractor, she used to recommend a frozen ice pack folloed by a hot water bottle held to where it was most painful. She swore it helped most people; it helped a tiny bit.

Lucinda I have 3 cats, will have to give that a go! Although they aren't in my best books at the moment as one of them bought a 'present' in yesterday morning. A half eaten dead rat. DH had already left for work so I had to clean it up. I was very very sick after, not what I needed to be dealing with at 8 in the morning!!

Hello Aagh - not what you need. You wouldn't feel like having him/her next to your head after that for a while...

Nope definelty not!

Morning ladies, thanks for all the advice about back/hip pain. I soaked in bath with lavender oil last night (didn't have any rosemary or epsom salts)... must have helped as much better this morn. Just feel a bit stiff and 'saddle-sore' like the pain you get in pelvic bones and hips after riding a horse all day! I'll ring my midwife if it gets worse. I mentioned pain at last appointment but she didn't seem concerned, said it's something to do with joints/ligaments allowing pelvis to widen and accommodate baby.

Lucinda I agree there's something healing about cats. Very soothing to have one purring nearby when you're feeling ill. Hello at the half-eaten rat! At least it was dead though... my old tom once dragged an injured crow through cat-flap then released it indoors (it could still fly and panicked!!)
Glad you got rid of the migraine! I keep getting them too, will try Lucinda's icepack/hot water bottle trick next time.

Daffodil how are you feeling now? Hope you have a better day. I agree it's so frustrating when it's sunny and you're stuck in bed. I spent weeks in bed in 1st trimester, felt like it was never-ending... but you will get better. Sending gentle hugs.

Penguin hope you're ok after the coleslaw. Could the vomiting have been the thought of it being off rather than coleslaw itself? The thought of anything mouldy can set me off, just seeing a mouldy tangerine in fruit bowl made me vomit (had to throw away anything tangerine had been touching then re-washed all other fruit in bowl before I was satisfied!)

Hello Lilac Glad the bath soothed matters. That makes sense about joins expanding, I don't remember pain in hip joins but my ribs were agony, which I heard was them 'springiing'. Hello who has the misfortune to have it knows best, but isn't spd the jhormones making the joints that bit too flexible? Hello I have heard a lot of women who get spd have easy biriths, and goodness knows you deserve that after all this.

Yes it's all to do with a hormone called relaxin basically doing its job too efficiently! Top tips I've felt have helped include sleeping with a pillow in between my knees, do not cross legs when sitting etc. Take stairs one at a time and definelty hot baths have helped although make sure you leave the water in until after you get out, I find the water buoyancy helps me heave myself out of the bath!! You basically want to avoid any wide leg seperation (ahem) and keep your pelvis aligned as much as possible

lilac I first read that as your cat dragging a cow through the cat flap and was ha ha

Thanks for tips Hello I'll try them out, especially pillow between knees and not crossing legs, I instinctively sit with them crossed so need to break the habit. When did your SPD start, was it sudden or came on over time?
Pain has flared up again after hoovering! Agony getting up from chair or bending to reach things on floor, even sitting still is uncomfortable. I rang midwife, she said it could be start of SPD but might just be 'normal pregnancy aches', she said to take paracetamol and ask obstetrician at next week's appointment. Going to have another bath with lavender!

I can't get comfy at the moment either. Lying/sitting/standing all leaves me a little uncomfortable. Not in pain as such, but very aware of all the little aches and pains. I think some of it is just pregnancy stuff. And I think also there's a degree of me not eating the healthiest diet, especially not as healthy as I used to eat, and I think that contributes to the achey not very happy bones.

Hi ladies, sorry to hear that so many are suffering. I had a rough start of the week but have felt better as the week has gone on, still cant keep anything down after 5pm but im managing to eat lunch and keep it down. I've been for afternoon tea with a friend today (its my 30th on sunday) and had a lovely day apart from fainting in Primark! I now have a big bump on my head where i hit the floor! I came round really quickly and felt fine afterwards, i think i just got a bit hot and standing at the till for a while didnt help. I know my blood pressure is really low but is it worth having my iron levels checked? No issues have been mentioned on any bloods ive had done but i wonder can they change quickly? It was just a comment that some of the staff made to me when they were helping me. Everyone was very helpful and put me at ease when i was really embarrassed! A memorable day out anyway!!

STEP AWAY FROM THE HOOVER!!!!
It's one of the worst things you can do because of the movement involved. Mine started around 22 weeks I think, maybe a bit sooner.

maybe ask your gp for a physio referral, round here first port of call is a group session which provides a lot of good tips as I've highlighted above. The pillow one has probably been the most useful for me. Also if you struggle to turn over at night (most SPD is worse at night and mine certainly is) then they recommend you sleep on a silk nightie or similar so when you try and turn over the silk helps. Also get in and out of the car like kate Middleton would have to...basically keep your legs together!

If I remember any more I will update but think that's pretty much it!

Oh ems you port thing! It's certainty worth mentioning to your gp/midwife! How low has your bp been? Mine is usually around 100/70 and in the last couple of weeks I've had my bloods come back as me being slightly anaemic, so I'm now on iron tablets, just one a day though as it's not that bad.

ems poor you! Hope you've not got a terrible headache from bump to the head as well? Definitely worth getting checked for anaemia- i was on iron tablets (on top of all other meds) from 22 weeks in second pg and I think it probably came on fairly quickly.

Have been fortunate not to have suffered from spd in either pregnancy lilac, but had terrible hip pain- in sides of hips- with twins. slept with a pillow between legs from quite early on. from about 30 weeks needed to have a lot of support behind my back so often the only place I could manage any sleep was the sofa. (waters eventually went on sofa at 35 weeks!)

as hello says something to do with hormones acting on joints to relax them which can cause a lot of pain- also for future ref it is likewise when bf. (I started back running when twins were a couple of months old and I was still expressing and ended up injuring my knee ). so definitely don't do anything that exacerbates it - especially hovering

waves to everyone- thanks for the flowers lucinda- you definitely deserve a medal for services to hyperemesis awareness!!

*hoovering rather!!

Ems - low iron levels can contribute to low bp issues. HG lowers iron due to the vomiting, hence why most people are tested at the start of the pregnancy and in the second trimester. They shouldn't drop much more in the third trimester. I've just had mine retested due to low energy levels, but I am only slightly low after starting in the normal range, so I have iron tablets as a precaution.
Lilac - I'm so glad the lavender oil is helping! My hips are a little uncomfortable but that's mostly due to the coughing. 2 weeks and I've still got the tail end of this cold.
Hello - you are so close! Keep up the positivity!

Hi everyone, I wondered if I could join please
I'm currently 4+4 but already feeling awful. This will be the fifth time I'll have had HG, and I have two children (ds 8 & ds 16 months). Am panicking about how to look after my toddler when I feel like this, and I know it's only going to get worse.
Have been hospitalised in the last three HG pregnancies, and with dd was on meds until 26 weeks. This is a surprise pregnancy & I'm wondering whether I can actually do this again...
Went to dr's yesterday & got meds to start but need to go to pharmacy to pick them up in an hour or so. Bleurgh. DH works Saturday's unfortunately!
My sympathies to anyone else feeling like this - just wish we had a miracle cure!

That should have been dd 18 months

16 months even - I'm a mess already!

Chinaria Welcome, you are very brave and a veteran. It seems presumptuous to give any advice to one so dismally expereienced with This Scourge, so I can only offer sympathy. Were you put on Ondansetron in your other pregnancies? Did it always linger until near the end of your second tri? Have you got any sort of a support network besides OH - friends or relatives? What is the day care situation? It is so worrying for mothers with one or more LO's. I wonder if they might be able to offer some practical assistance on the support netwrok on
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos/home?
Ems Mother Hen flaps n dismay: you shouldn't have toughed it out, with a nasty bang on the head you must have had to get a bump like that (not the one further down, lol) you really should have had it checked out just in case of concussion. i' wonder if it is irons ? Good advice from others.
elizabethsmum Flowers deserved, for you and Meerka and MotherofPearland everyone - Thank you for kind words. Lol, I've never heard of a hen being awarded a medal.

I hope everyone is coping today and as Hello says, at all costs keep away from those vacuum cleaners. Let the dust gather...

Thanks for the welcome Lucinda. I'm afraid I haven't read the rest of the thread as scrolling is making me feel more sick. Is this your first time having hyperemisis? I would welcome advice/idea's that I haven't already tried. I have always just succumbed to the sickness tbh, but this time I need to be more proactive and try to stay on top of it
Support network is tricky. I feel like we've exhausted everyone out with the help they've given us over the last how ever many years. Dd took 6 years & 5 rounds of IVF to have, so family helped out then too, plus of course when I was so sick with her they looked after me & ds. We have only told dh's dad so far & he is pretty useless. I've put some feelers out to find an au pair but we'll see if that comes to anything. I reckon I have a few more days being able to be upright & talk on phone etc before it kicks in with a vengeance so am trying to get as much done as possible.
Re medication I haven't heard of Ondansetron - is it good? I was given Chlorpromazine in a drip with dd which helped so took it in tablet form when I came out of hospital. It takes the edge off but the 20mg tablet knocks me out for hours so I can't take it until we have someone to look after the kids. Dr y'day gave me 10mg & 5mg plus antacids & Motillium so I can play around a bit and see what if anything helps.
Are you on Ondansetron? I'm in Belgium so it might be different here. If it's any good I can ask for it next time I see the Dr.
As for length of time - 1st time was with ds until around 18 weeks, second time was with a partial molar pg so lost baby at 12 weeks, third time we lost the baby during the second trimester due to chromosomal problems & the last time was with dd and it probably started improving around 18-20 weeks (as in I was able to keep down enough to have the energy to stand up) but still lingered on even after I stopped taking meds at 26 weeks. With both babies I was absolutely ravenous as soon as they'd been born, and didn't stop eating for about a month
A friend of mine had it badly all the way through, and never had another child as it was too terrible. Sounds sensible but then what you get out of it is so worth it. We just have to keep reminding ourselves of that.

Chintaria Sorry taking so long to get back - I wish I had been as brave as you, and was going for it a second time, but my daughter's in her teens now,so now I just run this thread and try and give support to those suffering now. I wish I'd gone for it a second time, so you see, you're much braver than me. I really think if you've suffered so badly for so long with several pregnancies they ought to have you on the stronger but expensive Ondanestron,but I don' t know the medical rules in Belgium; i know it's harder to get in the Netherlands. It looks as if it might have to be
nursery places or some such if the worst comes to the worst. I don't want to sound bossy,you're the expert, but they might have better ideas than me on volunteers on the Pregnancy Sickness Support number on
UK (44?) 024 7638 2020 . They might be able to come up with something.

Thanks so much for that number, I'll try to give them a call. I had no idea it existed!
I think you are amazing for trying to give support to people going through hyperemisis, you've already helped me
Tbh I wish i wasn't going through this. I don't feel brave, just a bit stupid for getting ourselves in this position at all. Last time I made DH promise he would NEVER let me get pregnant again as I just wanted to die. However I have always longed for a big family so just have to keep reminding myself of that.
I'll definitely request Ondansetron, if it can help get me through this that would be wonderful. Will make an appt on Monday...
Thanks so much for your advice

I can't sing the praises of ondansetron enough. Nothing touched my sickness other than that. It never took the sickness away entirely, but it did make it so I could eat and drink (carefully!) and start putting myself back together. Now I only take it as and when I need it, once every couple of days or so - now just short of 24 weeks pregnant.

Thanks everyone, i have a midwife appointment on monday so will certainly mention it then and see what they say about iron levels. chintaria welcome, just sorry that you are suffering. I second what eallison has said re ondansetron, it is the only thing that has worked for me and ive tried everything else i think! It has allowed me to eat relatively normally during the day although i still feel awful and struggle to keep anything down in the evening. I hope you can get a prescription and it works for you.