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.

Great posts from Helloand lilac. It is so true; things will get better and the dark thoughts will lift. Lilac it was you who had the nasty migraines with Odansetron, then. That is dismal. I remember well your story about having to run out of the house because of a client's smelly parrot.
LoveLetters I've checked back on Meerka's advice about skin and dehydration and if your skin when pinched only moves back slowly, that's a sure sign. Then there is headache and blurry vision, etc. Also, as it gets worse, confusion sets in as a symptom, so do watch out particularly if everything seems vague and dreamlike. Don't hesitate to go to A and E if you have these signs, you'll need checking out.

Here's my latest due dates list if anyone is happy to add hers.

Due Dates List
NewShoesPlease 12 June
HelloHelloHowareYou 23 June
Caitmus 25 June
DillyDollyDarling 30 August
Eallisn 21 Sepember
MelleBacca 25 October
any 11 November
Ems10000 15 November

Oooh I'm nearly top of the list!!

I was also a sufferer of migraines whilst taking ondansetron, they were truly truly horrendous but when they got too much I stopped taking the tablets and the sickness increased again and Id day out of the two the migraines were the lesser of 2 evils!

I'm due 24th November

I'll put myself right at the bottom with due date December 14th!

I'm due 22 September :)

How far along are you laura? I was also on prochlor with dd as cyclizine didn't work for me. I found mine started to improve a little bit after 17 weeks and i reduced the tablets then I was only occasional puking after 20 weeks, but it varies hugely. I was probably on tablets longer than i needed to be because i was scared to come off. It's so completely debilitating. Hope it improves soon.

I'm 17+2 March, I reduced them last week and that seems to be fine. However I was very sick this morning so I've taken the maximum again today. Like you I am petrified to go back to the state I was in by stopping taking them. Debilitating is the word I use to describe it too.

Hopefully it will start to feel better soon then. I was very very lucky that once it stopped, for the second half of the pg I wasn't sick at all and I enjoyed it so much more because of it. Fingers crossed you're the same.

Stopped eating white bread today and my morning sickness is so much better. What is that about? I've only been sick once and no nausea? Should I be worried? I can only seem to eat ham

Sorry for selfish post, haven't had time to read all the replies on this busy thread! hope you are all feeling as good as can be

I'm a little worried, I was hospitalised last weekend and prescribed metaclopramide, I was taking them for two days but still feeling nauseaus all the time so thought what's the point! Lately whenever I wake up I feel so breathless and just devoid of any energy whatsoever, even when I have eaten! Do you think this sounds like low blood pressure? Shall I go back on the tablets, will it help? Going to get a doctors appt tomorrow but just panicking a bit x

Carno - at the beginning I was given metachlorpromide and I survived 3 non vomiting days on it before I started throwing the tablets up. Then I was given ondansetron to take as well. I was on both for a few weeks before I felt that the metachlorpromide was the reason for my restless legs and anxiety. Now I just take ondansetron.

The feeling of weakness and breathlessness is going to be with you awhile. Doctor thought it could be low iron, but my iron levels are actually pretty good. It's more of a side effect from continuous sickness. I'm 21w now and only the last couple of weeks have been rebuilding my strength. Your blood pressure is likely low as well, but it's symptoms are more light headedness and my heart rate also races before I faint. Regular food, water and resting is the only thing that will prevent fainting.

Love letters - I think we all go through phases where some foods are our triggers. If you've thrown up bread a lot, you may need to give it a break for a while. Pureed pumpkin was great for me for a few weeks, and now the idea of it makes my stomach roll. If you're not being sick, I wouldn't worry, I would rejoice!

Chops - I totally agree with you! I think as awareness of HG rises, there will be more diagnosed sufferers.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Mellee Great advice. I have often associated breathlessness with nausea and vomiting.
CarnoPoor you over that hospitalisation. Good advie from Mellee about that breathlessness.

LoveLetters Almost certainly it's a brief respite, and a sign of more good days to come. I know everyone worries, though, if the sickness improves suddenly, hate it though they do.
Sorry, Chopface I kept calling you 'chopsticks', goodness knows why; general dopiness.

Due Dates
Ovaltine 4 June
NewShoesPlease 12 June
HelloHelloHowareYou 23 June
Caitmus 25 June
DillyDollyDarling 30 August
Eallison 21 Sepember
Gliterball 22 September
MelleBacca 25 October
any 11 November
Ems10000 15 November
Laura 24 November
Chopsface 14 December

Hi ladies, just caught up with all the posts - sorry to read that so many are suffering. To those in the early stages it hang on in there, sleep if you can and rest as much as possible - it will get better. I'm coming up to 19 weeks now and over the last 2 weeks I felt like I had turned a corner (still taking ondasetron). I'm on holiday abroad at the moment and the night time vomitting has returned - managed to make it up to the room just in time but had a very near miss in a crowded lift!! Hoping it's just a minor set back and doesn't continue for long.

hello everyone, sorry everyone is suffering so badly :(

As someone said ... hour by hour. 15 mins by 15 mins. Sometimes minute by minute. And sleep as much as you can.

Honestly, sometimes the only option is to expect nothing but getting through the next few hours til bedtime. In the end it will improve. Just hang on.

marchgirl i think you need to consider if you can get ondansetron. They will probably try to get you off prednisolone as soon as they feasibly can and it's really good idea to see if your consultant or your doctor will prescribe you ondansetron. If not, then at least cyclizine and ideally something stronger as well eg prochlorperazine or metoclopramide. You can take both together.

Hcat123 welcome. Try the ondansetron, one a day. iirc they last for about 8 hours so see how that 8 hours go. If you get a serious headache - well, you can weigh up which is worse, the sickness or the headache! (isn't it nice when you have such lovely options to choose from )

laura if you have a cold or bug, it really does make the severe sickness worse. If you can get through the next few days it should ease off a bit... About the prochlorperazine, afaik you can stay on it for a long time.

Around 16 - 22 weeks most people do get a significant improvement and for some people the sickness goes completely. if you start feeling better you can try cutting out one dose, then two, and seeing how it goes. But really don't expect too much too soon. No one wants to be on meds in preg but they really do help and it's valuable for you and the baby to accept the physical improvement that comes with taking the edge off the sickness with meds.

carno don't worry about the lack of energy. You have been really quite ill. Plus you're growing a baby. it's normal to not have much energy, with that combination! It will come back.

hellohello hoping your Passenger feels like moving out very soon =)

Can't go to sleep. Feel like I've got stones in my stomach

LoveLetters That sounds dismal. Is it tied up bowels? Very easy to get with dehydration difficult to keep at bay. Poor old you, but that is a brilliant description . I think you've got a writer inside you, besides a baby and stones...
Carno I do feel for you. I think people feel bad about having to take meds and worry that a lot of symptoms natural to have with a long, debilitating illness are to do with that. Great advice from Meelee. I suppose it is always worth reporting those symptoms to the midwife or GP just to set your mind at rest but that's a comment on the obvious, as you have a dr's appointment today. I have heard something about twitchiness being a contra indication for metroclopramide (I never can spell that) but not about heart rate.
EMS It is very conscientious of you to catch up on all posts, we've had an unusually busy weekend on here, and I agree with everyone. I don't see how this illness can be as rare as medics suppose and what I think is known as 'under diagnoses' must be the thing. But from what I have seen, an awful lot of woman just suffer terribly and become dehydrated which is no good for them or the baby at all, all the time imagining that they are somehow 'a wimp'.
Hello Ooh, exciting,your time draws near. It is such a shame you and lilac were tormented by migraine on Ondansetron; if they set off vomiting, of course, at that point it becomes counter productive to take it.
How is everyone today? Chintaria are you off water only?

...and forgot to wave to lovely Meerka.

Feeling very sorry for myself this morning, I'm in so much pain with my SPD I can barely walk or sleep. What are the chances of them bringing forward my ELCS even though it's only a week to go??

Slim I know but I'm so so fed up

Hello so sorry you are in so much pain :( I have no clue sorry if they can do that but maybe worth a call to the midwife to see?

I totally agree that the condition is not as rare as it is made out to be... more undiagnosed/poor judgement from healthcare professionals! Also there are some people who don't go for help maybe thinking its normal to be so sick? I certainly don't think there is enough information out there for women to know the difference unless they go hunting for it!

I have had quite a bad weekend with sickness, back to bringing up bile and blood first thing. Luckily, I woke up still feeling sick but not vomiting today so managed to make it to work, as had to go home as soon as I got here on Friday! Want to fast forward to November and just have my baby here!

Waves to everyone and wish you all a lovely day x

Over the weekend I've really been hit by the spd. It made me cry last night! Between my legs, my butt and the top of my... I don't know what it's called! Just below my hair line down there. Bloody agony. Every step is excruciating, I can't get comfy sitting down. When I stand up from sitting my coccyx is agony. Was at a hypnobirthing taster thing on Saturday (which was fab, we're gonna sign up)and the midwife leading suggested osteopath. I happen to have a Dr apt today to review my omeprazole dosage, so gonna ask for an osteopath referral (on top of my physio referral from 2 weeks ago). There must be a link between HG and spd/pgp. I can't help but feel that my body is just not geared up to carrying a baby - it took a long time and a bit of medical intervention (hormones not full ivf) to get pregnant and now it just seems like one problem after another. Maybe I should've listened to my body and realised it was trying to tell me that I'm not meant to be a mother.

Hello and Eallison sorry you're having such bad SPD pain. I agree there must be a link between SPD and HG. My SPD has got steadily worse since last obstetrics appointment, keeps me awake in night and limits what i can do during day.
Eallison hope you get the osteopath referral! Have you tried changing your mattress or getting a memory-foam topper for it? We have a Tempur mattress and recently I've taken to sitting on bed instead of sofa as way more comfortable. I make a sort of nest out of cushions, with pillows under knees and between legs plus big cushions to lean against. It's the only way I can sit comfortably for more than 10mins, i think memory-foam must take the pressure off. I also find codeine helpful when it's excruciating (obstetrician said up to 60mg is ok provided not taking it regularly, but I usually find 15-30mg does the trick and makes it possible to move around more. When pain is really bad it seems to send my lower back into spasm if i move!) I also find it helps going for a short walk every day, a bit of very gentle exercise seems to give relief later that day even though it hurts at time. I walk about 5-10mins in one direction then turn round and come back. Luckily there are lots of bus-stops with benches plus several trails leading into woodland along this road, so can sit down to rest... or duck into trees to vomit whenever needed! Last week I perched on bus-stop bench to rest and chatted to an old lady, she asked which bus i was waiting for so I confessed I was just resting... turned out she was just resting too and we had a lovely chat, though it made me feel about 90! I'm sure this daily walk has made a big difference to how i feel mentally as well as easing pain slightly, those 10mins of sun and fresh air always lift my mood.

Amy sorry you were bringing up blood and bile again! Is blood from torn oesophagus? Glad you're feeling a bit better today.

How's everyone else feeling?

Sorry to see this thread has been so so busy the last few days! It's great we are all there to support each other, but sad so many of us need the support iyswim?

I hope everyone is doing as well as possible. I'm doing ok, I keep trying to reduce my metoclopromide. Not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but if I've gone 1-2 days without my lunch and dinner time dose, the baby is much more active. So I keep trying to just stick to the morning dose to keep it at bay, but last night I had to give in and have one before dinner.

Only 7 (ish!) weeks left to go, so I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm finding it much better mentally to count down rather than up.

Oh, for the stats thread, my EDD is 31st July.

Hello everyone sorry I have not been on her for a little bit I felt so sick I could not bare to read about other being sick to.
Feeling sorry for all those with SPD pain, I had it with my last pregnancy it started to get pretty bad but my son came 6 weeks early so I missed the worst of it. People saying about a link between HG and SPD I have found out I have a link. I have something called EDS it's to do with hypermobilty all my joints and internal organs are stretchy, this makes me more prone to both conditions. Unfortunately this may also mean I can't have ondansetron it can alter something in your heart because I have POTS and EDS can have some versions with heart problems. I'm waiting to find out might have to have another ECG.
One plus point on my 3rd pregnancy with HG the doctors take me much more seriously. Also meds have advanced. I tried to get on ondansetron on 2nd pregnancy the doctor said there was no evidence for taking it.
I wore a big hip support for SPD it helped a bit, I made the mistake of stopping wearing it after giving birth and had problems. The physio said I should keep wearing it for a couple of weeks.
Hope you all manage to have a good day. I'm due on the 29th of Jan. So so far away!

Thank you Lilac, it is yes thankfully nothing serious but still unpleasant to see.

Penguin not long now! Hope it flies over. I am also on a countdown rather than up but have a lot longer to go! It still helps :)

eallison sorry about your SPD :( I'm at the doctors on Thursday to tell her about mine as I am also in a lot of pain. There must be a link with HG. How unfair!