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

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.

Welcome to winkywinkybumbum. Sorry you feel so foul. I so agree, the juice of tinned fruit was one of the only things when at my worst. I swore by flat, full sugar coke, and jelly and ice lollies (think you mentioned those).
crisps, chips...Nothing healthy. I so agree with eallison's great advice - it looks as if you'll be obliged to tell your boss in confidence, though it's dismal when you wanted to keep it quiet. So glad you've got a dr's appointment on Monday. I am a bit worried about your getting dehydrated before then. It's near closing time for chemists, but what you need is some kesostix to check your urine. Is there any open late or on Sundays near where you live?
Be as dramatic as you can with the GP; it's the only way to be taken seriously (do as I say, not as I did from me there). When you say 'ddt6' do you mean that you have a daughter of six, or six children? If you did have that many, I'm not medically trained, but such a sickness so early on hints at twins, if you never had Hyperemesis in previous pregnancies?
Lilac I def lost weight in the third tri with that appalling heartburn. Oh dear, about DH following you about with food. Poor you, but that Pink Castle is on the horizon for you...
RubyReins and BearGrower I'm keeping my fingers crossed both of you are turning the corner.
elizabethsmum How are things?
eallison How is the spd?
Waves to Meerka, giving great advice as ever...

Hi winky - sorry you have ended up here! I agree with Lucinda - be really firm with the GP and detail just how it is impacting on your life. As you are quite early on you will need to be firm - I don't think they took me seriously until I was 15/16 weeks as that's when "normal" sickness tends to abate.

Also, please please try not to worry about work. You may have to tell them early but don't let this worry you - I got myself in such a twist about a work which I swear made me worse - it took my HR manager sitting me down to tell me it was only a job to get me to stop panicking. You are protected due to the illness being pregnancy related. People also forget quickly - after you've had the baby no one but you will remember the time you had off.

Really hope you are ok - I find a cool fan being pointed directly at my face helps a little with the the horrific nausea feelings. Also a scarf wrapped over my nose with a smell I can stand helps a bit.

Like lucinda says - do try the ketostix and if you are really worried phone 111 and they will get you in to the out of hours clinic/hospital. Look after yourself!

Hey. waves

Sorry, daughter is 6, not that I have 6....goodness! Feel tired just thinking about that!

Not managed to get out today but just had a whole glass of ribena with ice! Oh my. It felt so good. I just went to have the last little bit in the glass but all I could taste was 'freezer' from the ice. :/ won't be doing that again. Not got the sticks yet but seen as though I've managed a drink then I won't worry until tomorrow. Done the pinch test and my skin still pings back so hopefully a good sign?

Gah! Spoke too soon! The spew is back with a vengeance

34+5 here and still facing the horrors of hyperemises on a daily basis sadly! I take great comfort in this thread although I don't always post as I feel guilty for moaning lol but just wanted to say although I am still being sick on a daily basis it has improved and is not quite so bad as it was at is worst and the end is now in sight and will totally be worth it when I have my squidgy newborn in my arms! And , despite vowing in my darkest days to never go through this again, I would still like another at some point in the future!! Sending lots of hugs to all you lovely ladies xxx

Glitterball - messages like that are such a comfort to read! Already being grilled by people as to whether this one will be an only child which is giving me anxiety as I'm only 19 weeks! Do you ever feel like you got to enjoy any part of your pregnancy? Sorry you are still being sick, but end is in sight.

Made it to my hair appointment! Funny how little things mean so much. I'd been putting off hair-cut since HG started (too scared of being sick in salon) but I feel soooo much better! Hadn't had it cut for 18months (was too busy with work in the months before I got pregnant) so it had grown down to my waist and was so thick and tangled I'd resorted to cutting the worst knots out with scissors I've had the same hairdresser for years, she was a bit shocked at the state of it and asked if I'd been living in the jungle So now I have nice layered easy-to-manage hair again, feel like i'm getting ready to re-enter the real world!

Winky welcome to the thread, sorry you're having such a rough time! Hopefully your GP will start you on meds tomorrow. It can take trialling a few meds to find one that helps, but like others said, don't play down your symptoms and make sure you tell the GP how ill you feel and how it's impacting your life. I found GPs unsympathetic at first, but doctors at EPU and antenatal clinic were more helpful. Glad you managed to keep some Ribena down! Are you managing any food? I also find ice-lollies, frozen watermelon and yogurt drinks helpful.

Glitterball not long to go now! Like you I'm eagerly awaiting holding my newborn! 35 weeks now and still vomiting 2-3x day but feeling much better in this trimester than the first 2. I still have bad days but they're less frequent. Also the vomiting isn't as 'urgent' as it was, I can usually make it to a loo in time without feeling panicky. Was sick in Costa toilets yesterday, had to wait ages in queue feeling nauseous but without that desperate cold-sweat feeling that used to haunt me earlier in pregnancy! Also the dizziness has improved, I feel less 'sea-sick' and more just vaguely queasy.

Bear how are you feeling now? Don't lose hope, you might still have a big improvement yet... around 25weeks I really turned a corner but felt awful up until then. About enjoying pregnancy, I think the key is to focus on small positive things as often as you can, even tiny things like enjoying a biscuit or a non-queasy outing, and celebrating milestones. I've cancelled far more appointments and outings than I've managed to attend, but the ones i do make it to I feel really happy about... something as simple as going to the dentist or having a coffee out feels like a big achievement.

I enjoy feeling the baby moving as it makes it all feel worth it, and thank you for your kind words :)
I agree with PP it has got easier but it's still not nice especially when everyone else I know seems to have perfect pregnancies and are always so shocked when I tell them I am still being sick :/

Glitter What a nice message, and I am so sorry you are still suffering so late on. It must be so awful to suffer throughout, and it's very brave of you to be able to think of a second; a lot say 'never again' until some of the worst memories have faded. I did know one person who stopped suffering at thirty-six weeks - I think that was Merangueatrois - so I hope that happens to you.
winky How are things this morning? That's weird; with urine so 'Builder's Tea' like, I would expect your skin to be affected too, but I'm not medically qualified, and it is definitely worth getting the famous sticks asap. How are the liquids staying down today?
Lilac I so envy you having such long thick hair, unmanageable or not.
Glad you could stand the hairdressers with all those strong perfumey smells, without being sick.
BearGrower Sorry you are being grilled by people already about future babies. What would they say if you snapped, 'Oh, I so enjoy Hyperemesis that I think I'll go on to have ten'? Sorry, I am a little mad today.
RubyReins Oh no. But usually,one or a few good days is a sign that the improvement is slowly happening.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked. Back soon.

Hello all, well done for soldiering on!

winky To put your mind at ease (maybe!) my urine is also reminiscent of a dark peaty smoky whisky (!) but my ketone levels have never gone higher than "middling" & my skin tests have always been fine. Not sure how some days, but grateful that they have been!

Hi all. On the urine front; mines been all shades of yellow - brown with hints of green. Ive taken to not paying too much attention as it used to freak me out!

On the enjoying pregnancy front... I didn't enjoy a single minute til at least 22 weeks. Even those first movements I hated cos they made me feel sick. However, since then there have been increasing moments of enjoyment. I now love (85% of the time) feeling movements (and when in not enjoying it is cos of my back hurting, not HG related). People started saying I look really good/healthy (35 weeks tomorrow). To be honest, as the sickness had come back in the last couple of weeks (constant nausea and roughly a vomit session a day, so nothing compared to first 2 trimesters!) I've sort of got bored of being pregnant (seems to be one of those things you're not allowed to say!), the whole not being able to move properly, feeling sick, not being able to easy the brie and para ham and dippy eggs, my body not being my own. I can't wait to meet my little one now, and am very hopeful that it will be a little early rather than late!!! But definitely enjoying more than the start!

Hope everyone's managing!

That's certainly informative about urine, TwoDrifters and eallison.
I wonder if meds also colour it? Glad that you have avoided getting too dehydrated, TwoDrifters and so glad that you have an 85% enjoyment rate now, eallison!

Have had a can of coke and more bacon today. Nausea not subsided but at least I've eaten. I just wish I could stop being so miserable. I keep crying.

With regardsto my wee, it's more the stinging that started to concern me but that's gone away today.

I am sorry that I don't address everyone on here. I find it difficult to concentrate at the moment.

winky With luck the coke and bacon should keep the pesky ketones down...hugs about being so miserable; things will get better. It's years ago with me, but I found my concentration bad during pregnancy. With Hyperemesis you do have to watch out for that 'spaced out' feeling, which is another sign of dehydration; but I don't want to sound like the Knell of Doom all the time, and you have managed that coke and bacon. The stinging can sometimes mean a UTI , but again, if its gone today...

I think the crying is very normal with HG; don't beat yourself up about it! I certainly spent a fair amount of time crying and feeling very sorry for myself at the beginning. Even now if Im stuck again I feel very miserable and tend to have a little cry!

You're all so lovely :'(

welcome winky so sorry you are sufferering. everyone on the thread is so lovely and supportive and have already been giving you excellent advice. with regards to the stinging i would take a urine sample to the drs to be checked as you can be extra prone to urine infections in pg and that would also make you feel even worse on top of 'usual' hg!

glitterball, lilac & eallison well done for hanging in there ladies!

Hope everyone surviving?

to update on dSil she is feeling a little better and saw her yesterday- I armed myself with nausea survival kit to give including peppermint tea, oatcakes, bachelors chicken and sauce packet mix thing (weirdly remembered about that whilst scouring morrisons), mints, fizzy haribo, bottlegreen elderflower presse amongst others. she was very grateful and peppermint tea apparently worked a treat this morning. xx

Hi everyone. And welcome winky. You will get lots of support here. Ruby sorry you've had not such a good day. Elizabethsmum glad you could help your SIL. Nice you can empathise even if for a very different reason. Hello to everyone else.

BarmeeMarmee Hugs. How are you today?
elizabethsmum I swear by what it seems is an eighteenth century remedy for nausea - tea made with fresh mint, and I believe Lilac does too. As BarmeeMarmee says, it's a great thing that you can emphathise.
Ruby I hope today things are better?
I hope everyone is coping today.

Hi Lucinda. I'm ok. Coming up to 11 weeks now and still feeling shocking. Coupled with that I've now got ear ache ???? Meant to be going camping this weekend and don't know how I'm going to survive. Also been getting twinges across the bottom of my stomach off and on and getting ridiculously paranoid about it.

Hi everyone! Glad to be able to freely say "throwing up sucks" without getting judging looks and being told things like "well you should be grateful" or "it's not an illness! You're only pregnant!" or "if you think this is bad it's only going to get worse" or "I used to just throw up and get on with it" and yes ladies I have actually been told all of these things and much much more to the point where I realised I wasn't actually 'allowed' to complain about it. It has made me realise though how important it is to be sympathetic! Most pregnant people thar surround me sail through with hardly any nausea so it's hard to find an understanding shoulder to bury my head in!
10 weeks pregnant with my long awaited second pregnancy and with my first I felt horrendous, was vomiting and felt like I was a permanent passenger on a boat on rough seas from week 6 til week 19. This time sickness started with the room spinning from week 5. With both I ended up taking stemitil (prochlorperazine) which took the edge off but just for about three hours at a time so I may still vomit am or eve. This time with a three year old to look after sickness started just as the summer holidays did so I have had to arrange childcare everyday as I literally can't look after her as I would usually do. To everyone on this thread you have my fullest sympathy! X

Freshbreadandfaith Welcome, and you will certainly NOT be told those riduclous, self-righteous things on this thread. As you are a veteran, I don't need to suggest coping strategies - you'll already know them, and have those famous kesostix. You people who go for it twice deserve a medal, I think, and the third timers two...What are the foods, liquids you can stand?
Am I correct in thinking that's one of the anti histamine type drugs, or have I got it all wrong?
BarmeeMarmee Poor you for that earache, that is so painful. Probably the twinges mean nothing, but it might be worth asking the midwife just to set your mind at ease. I worried about every twinge because I'd had a MMC...

Hello all

Hi Freshbread - yep, those comments are just what you want to hear aren't they?! Have you had "you should be glad you are pregnant"? Never tire of hearing such perceived wisdom... At least everyone here will happily listen

Still sick. Just woken from a really long nap - perpetually shattered. It was DS' first day of school today and I am trying to be as bright for him as possible... When does this "blooming" phenomenon start?

Hope all coping

Thankyou for the welcome ladies. Lucinda no I haven't used kesostix is that to check you're not dehydrating? Before I was pregnant I was really into deliciously ella and eating healthily now I want to barf just looking at her picture let alone eating any of the recipes! Sweet things are all I want and appreciate the smell of! I have swapped buying kale and medjool dates and almond milk for twix , chocolate rolls and chocolate milk!!!
Yes I have been told "at least you're pregnant"
Just woke up from my second nap of the day, just so grateful that I have childcare in place and able to nap!
My hubbie and I had actually forgotten how bad it was last time.... I haven't thrown up at all in four years so I guess it's easy to forget how rough it is daily.
I don't think stemitil is the antihistamine it's the anti psychotic drug... Which is vaguely unsettling but used often and in my last pregnancy, I tried avamine recently but that majorly drugged me

freshbread I totally understand the sweet stuff - most of the stuff Ive been able to tolerate throughout has been sweet stuff. As soon as I was able to start eating a little bit again, i was all about the puddings - syrup sponge puddings and sticky toffee puddings...healthy and wellbalanced, yes!?

ruby I'm all about the naps too. Love being on summer holidays! It really helps though!!