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.

Hi All, sorry to hear there are new sufferers. I wouldnt wish this condition on my worst enemy!

I had my 16w midwife appointment today, and she is the 3rd medical professional to suggest I have an eating disorder. Is anyone else getting questioned about this? I have to keep a food diary for the next 4 weeks and I have to gain 2kg. From the hyperemesis, I lost 6kg, and have so far recovered 1kg, which only happened in the last 2 weeks. Would love to hear anyone else's story in regards to this.

mellee surely that just displays a lack of knowledge of HG on their part? It's not difficult to work out if you aren't eating/drinking enough and throwing up you will lose weight!!!
I lost a stone and have put it back on but I'm only 0.5 lb. heavier than pre preg now at 33 weeks

Mellee I have lost a stone and a half so far at 14w and no one has batted an eye lid! Although I was a little overweight so maybe it's only if you go underweight?

Sorry to change the subject but wanted some advice!

I just don't feel right at all today, I've had a cracking headache since last night I cannot shift. Feel sick as a dog which is fairly normal but really dragging me down. My eyesight feels funny/a bit blurry. My husband thinks my ankles look a bit swollen but they look normal to me! Don't know whether I'm imagining it but my rings feel a little tighter but nothing major. Baby is lying so uncomfortably the movements are making me wince with pain.
Worth a call to midwife???

mellee eating disorder?!? er - they're mad. I'm amazed they are so unaware of HG. It's an added weight you don't need, handling other peoples' stupid comments like that.

hello yes, ring the midwife. it is probably ok but listen to your instincts, it seems like they're might be nudging you. no harm to ring her and maybe some good, even if it's only that your mind is set at rest.

Hope everyone is surviving

Hello - yes! Call the midwife! On one of my trips to the ER, they asked about my eyesight. I think it's gotten a little worse recently, and supposedly that's a symptom of another condition (can't remember what). They were really concerned about it, so definitely get it checked out.

Hi all - thanks for your replies. I was borderline underweight prior to pregnancy (bmi of 19). I've been slowly increasing my food intake as I've been recovering, but if I push it, I vomit everything up.
If I don't gain enough weight before my next appointment, my midwife is going to refer me to a maternity mental health specialist. Once she said that, I wanted to whack her. She's had HG, and been really supportive up until now. She also gave me a lecture on how my baby will suffer if I don't eat more. At my last scan baby was measuring a week ahead on size, so I think it's getting everything it needs. Just a little frustrating.

Hello yes do ring your midwife or GP straight away! Blurred vision might just be dehydration/migraine but can also a sign of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia. My GP keeps warning me about risk of pre-eclampsia, he says early signs can be mistaken for Hg symptoms. As I have regular migraines with blurred vision I have to provide urine sample every fortnight to check for protein.

Melleebacca I'm shocked they suggested you had an eating disorder! I was slightly underweight before getting pregnant and lost a lot of weight in first trimester, but all healthcare professionals put my weight loss down to hg.

Meerka and ElizabethsMum thanks for great advice about DH. I had another chat with him, he didn't realise I felt under pressure and has agreed to let me take things at own pace. He says he's happy to attend NCT classes by himself if I'm too unwell when the time comes, so I'm going to go ahead and book them, and explain our situation to class-leader. Even if i can't make it to every session, at least DH will be trained up as a good birthing partner and know what to expect when i'm in labour

Thanks everyone. Spoken to triage who suggested seeing gp to get urine and bp checked. Have an appointment this afternoon

Melleebacca that must have been so upsetting, I'd be furious if my midwife tried to make a mental health referral due to weight loss! Wouldn't it be more helpful if she referred you to a dietician instead? That way you could put together a high-calorie meal plan that doesn't make hg worse, or look at supplementing with high-calorie nutritional shakes between meals (can get them prescribed by dietician here, not sure about NZ). It's awful your midwife implied there's a psychological reason for weight loss, when hg makes it so hard to keep anything down!! I'm still a bit underweight but managed to gain some in last few weeks (BMI now 18) mainly by eating as much as possible on good days, and eating things like fudge and ice-cream between meals! If I vomit halfway through a meal (happens most evenings) I try to go back and eat more, as immediately after a vom-session my nausea temporarily disappears for half an hour. DH has taken to serving me a small portion, waiting for me to go and vomit, then serving second portion soon as i return from bathroom!

Hello good luck with appointment, let us know how you get on

Hi lilac - the whole way through I've been eating after I vomit, if only to soothe the throat. Except if I go at bedtime, I'm generally too tired to eat then.
Unfortunately baby does not have the same taste in foods as I do. I'm a chocoholic that's been off my favorite food since conception. In order to get a lot of calories, and since hubby is getting sick of cooking every night, we've been eating more takeout. My face has never broken out so badly! Combination of less water and more grease.

Oh mellee that must be upsetting, and how silly is she?! Especially when she has been through it herself surely she would understand ! I'm sure you don't need the added pressure.

Ok getting paranoid now, two seperate people today have commented on how low my bump is and how its dropped in the last few days!!! I've been thinking this for a while but I cannot shake this feeling that baby is going to make an early appearance!

mellee poor you that sounds absolutely ridiculous - have they never come across hg before! !!

hello yes please ring your midwife- not wanting to frighten you but I had severe pe with dd1 and I think some of the hg symptoms (or what I put down to hg) later in pg may have been actually due to pe.

quickly waves to everyone

Been to docs, bp was 139/71 which is high for me (was 105/68 2 weeks ago) but no protein in urine. Doc called maternity triage who weren't concerned and said to take bloods and go back and have bp checked again in the morning

mellee that is completely ridiculous. Referral to a maternity mental health specialist is something I think women with HG should be offered as a matter of urgency tho - not for the silly idea they have an eating disorder, but to be able to work thru some of the as debilitating mental stuff that comes with HG. But, eating disorder? Don't make me laugh!

hello remind me when you're due? A few weeks early might be a blessing - I was absolutely planning on an elective sc section at 37 weeks if still vomiting - baby counts as cooked then!

oh and lilacglad hubby has relaxed a little and stepped back. Mine was quite forceful about trying to do things at first, but reading the definitive guide to HG and a couple of arguments later he stepped back and has been truly wonderful at following my lead. Hopefully yours will now do the same.

melle it happened to me too. they offered mental health counselling in place of meds. All I could do was walk in there, say that I've got a good grip on my mental state and I've been through this before and what I needed was meds. Idiots. Pure idiocy. You don't need this added stress!!

hello I'm glad you've been seen by triage, hope tomorrow's check goes well too.

lilac glad your husband has backed off. They really try don't they. It's just that it takes experience to know how to handle HG, when to encourage and when to back off.

ealli how are you, I've been hoping you're doing ok

Mellee, just shocking that a HCP, especially one who has had HG herself, would suggest that you have an eating disorder. Infuriating. And the last thing you need to be told is that you need to eat more, when obviously that's exactly what anyone with HG would love to be able to do.
Hello, early baby surely no bad thing, given how continously badly you've suffered. Hope all is well.
Eallison, I had that same idea of an early electric cs but they refused, said they would never do an early cs if baby healthy and no 'clinical need' for cs. But I imagine different NHS trusts have different views on this.
Hope everyone coping OK this evening.

Good grief I meant elective cs, not electric!

I'm doing well at the moment (touch wood!), thanks meerka. I think the worst of it has lifted. I've weaned myself off the ondansetron, taking the odd one x 8mg a day, usually in the evening, if I need it. I'm not feeling as well as I did pre pregnancy, but I do feel that some of it is normal pregnancy stuff like tiredness. we've pretty much got a handle on what I can/can't eat, but even that's relaxed a little (suddenly cream is fine, but milk still not bizarrely!). People have started telling me I look well, and I am very definitely pregnant with a definite bump. and we can see it kicking (which is a little weird!) as well as feel it.

At 12/13 weeks I never felt like I'd feel normal again. Whilst I don't feel 'normal' now l, I'm feeling so much better and normal doesn't feel that long away any more. Those of you who are still in the depths of hell, please don't lose hope, it really does pass. Every day gets you closer to normal!

ealli I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better! Fingers crossed that it lasts. I remember that you were really suffering just as I started feeling better.

Eallison glad you're feeling better. 20weeks seems a real turning point for many.

I'm gradually improving but 'normal' still feels a long long way off. Tried to eat salad today (cucumber craving) but it set me off vomiting, now every time I get up I'm sick again Bananas and certain fruits have same effect. It's maddening... I have intense cravings and vivid dreams of eating specific foods, then when I eat them in RL my body rejects them! Only 'safe' fruits for me seem to be cherries, over-ripe pears and black grapes. I tried tinned fruit but even tinned peaches came straight back up. I'm craving watermelon, we have a lovely big ripe one in kitchen but not sure if it's worth the risk!!

Lilac, the quest for the perfect food when you have HG is quite a challenge. I well remember thinking that a particular food was the perfect one (ie eased that horrible gnawing nausea and stayed down) only to find out that I was quite wrong. Even things that were strong contenders at first usually sickened me eventually. I went through a big phase of those pots of jelly with bits of tinned fruit in them, but after a while couldn't bear them, although jelly is at least OK to bring back up.
Hope everyone managing today. Hello, how are you now?