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.

Oh no :( keeping fingers crossed for you.

Oh dear, suffering all round. Poor Reebok with that awful test, and bathroom floor episodes, and Ican't with pneumonia! Special I hope you didn't totter back to work. As eallison and I have both said, you are being too hard on yourself in forcing yourself back too early. I don't know why some GP's prescribe Ondansetron and Cyzlizine combined, and why some increase the dose of Ondansetron on it's own; maybe OnceaMeer with her pharmacy experience might know?
I hope everyone feels just slightly better soon, my goodness...(leaves with anxious glances).

Well was signed off for 3 weeks so hopefully that will help me get control of this and medication working. Gp asked if I was on 4 or 8mg I should have said 8 but really can't face worse constipation so hoping rest will help. Can't keep any solids down but sipping coke is helping -unhealthy diets r us!

reebok hope test isn't void

special I did want to go back to work but this baby is more important

Icklekid I'm so glad you're signed off. I think eallison found that tinned peaches make for a good laxative. So does licqourice (spelling?), less horrific than Bounty bars or cocoanut ice on the way up.
I wonder how poor Reebok did on that test?

Thanks ickle and Lucinda. I made it through the test without being sick but ended up throwing up once I left hospital. On way to work now feeling like utter crap as boss won't give day off. Only going to be in for an hour and a half...so having to commute a trek for nothing really! So annoyed and just want my bed as my head is spinning.

Reebok I'm glad you made it through the test, but sorry to hear work's being as insensitive as ever. Hopefully you can go and rest soon. Do you have to pick up LO?

Hello, just had a quick scroll through and hoping I can join in with your lovely support board. I'm 8+5 with my 3rd pregnancy and suffering with HG (never had it with prior pregnancies). Ended up in hospital for 3 days with many drips and 5+keytones last week. Now home with some Ondanestron but still feeling unbelievably tired, nauseous and enjoying the headaches and bunged up side effects of the meds! Altogether feeling a bit sorry for myself, as I'm struggling to cope with my children without DH around to help. Even just the school run has me feeling like curling up in a ball. Hoping I can read through and see what's worked for you all and all your positive news may well give me some hope and cheer!

Hi all, no I'm due back on work on Wednesday. Have appointment with gp tomorrow. Pretty certain I'm dying - the human race would have died out if this is how bad pregnancy is!
Hope rebok, icant and ickle are all OK. Thanks Lucinda for all the mother hen-ing. It is appreciated.

Wibblytummy Welcome, and sorry you're suffering. Five plus ketones sounds horrendous. I'm glad you didn't suffer HG with previous pregs. With any luck, two previous normal pregnancies may mean that it goes off earlier for you than for many. I assume then it's not twins, as no doubt they've scanned you for that? Sorry about headaches, keep an eye on those; some people with migraine tendencies do find they get bad. Did they give you any kesostix in hospital to test for dehydration just in case things don't settle down enough with meds? They're available from any chemists. Do you find coke, the juice of tinned fruit, ice lollies, soda water or ice cubes any good? I suffered years ago, by the way, these days I'm just Mother Hen to current sufferers.
Special I'm glad the clucking is of some use! Also, that you didn't have to go to work today and should be able to get a sick note in time for Wed. I think you are right, if this was normal for pregnancy, the human race would be, if not in danger of extinction, anyway very small!

wibblytummy welcome. Sorry you need us, but do stick around for understanding and encouragement. I'm also a previous sufferer - one little boy who is 18 weeks old, but found the support here invaluable so do my best to offer it to others now. That was some rather impressive ketones, let's hope the ondansetron keeps then at bay from now on! The constipation is rotten but normal; eat as much fruit as possible to help keep things flowing, as it were. As lucinda said, I'm sure tinned peaches kept me from suffering to badly with constipation. They were my go to food throughout pregnancy - easy to eat, good at keeping ketones down and not awful to bring back up.

reebok that sounds utterly miserable. They really need to come up with a different way to test for diabetes for women with hg!

ickle I am glad you've got 3 weeks to rest. Don't focus on "getting better", but resting and looking after yourself.

Sorry missed your message wibbly. I can only sympathise with the constipation, and tell you to eat whatever you fancy. High calorie foods (containing glucose) as much as possible to reduce the ketones. Ketones are as a result of your body burning fat instead of glucose, which makes you very tired, and will make the sickness feel worse. I have found a diet of coca-cola and coco pops works OK! I also need to eat the minute I think I am hungry or else I vomit and don't want to eat any more. If possible, a selection of snacks in each room is useful. And sleep. Get as much sleep as two children allow!

I am also a big fan of allowing myself to wallow in self pity when the vomiting is particularly bad (when its bad, there's not really much else I can do). I hope you have a sympathetic gp - I think it can really help mentally if you feel you're being taken seriously. I'm quite bad for using this board to whinge, but find it very therapeutic. Feel free to also do so!

Best wishes. It sucks, and I'm not quite sure I believe all the promises it won't last forever.

special so to rudely overlook you. Hope your managing Ok. Suggestions of snacks in all rooms is very sensible. (I currently have breastfeeding snacks dotted around the house!)

Welcome wibbly hope ondansetron helps. It is definitely making the biggest difference to me.

eallison I know I should focus on rest but can't really cope with the thought I might not be a bit better in 3 weeks time.

special Rice krispies are my savour at the moment!

Hi all

Still poorly here... its been horrific
Sorry so many suffering. ..
Think best to belive you ll have this til at least 20.weeks Ickle kid! Mine eased at 22 weeks but I'm not right and don't expect to feel well til.after baby now :(

icant how ru ?
MOP?
REEBOK??

Sorry haven't energy to write any more

Xxx

ickle I understand how upsetting it is to think you might not be better soon
, but the best way to take this nastiness is day by day, minute by minute sometimes. The chances are you'll be feeling better in a few weeks, but don't rely on it cos it's very demoralising if it doesn't happen when you want it to. It almost certainly will ease at some point though, it does for almost everyone to one extent or another.

spandau sorry your still suffering so

Just a late night post to say that I agree with Spandau - even with improvements I don't expect to feel myself until after the birth. That's how it was last time. And as Meerka has said before, there can be something weirdly liberating in just resigning yourself to HG as the new normal. It's the hope that kills ya!
Spandau, thanks for asking after me. I'm OK, have had a reasonable few days. Sorry that you're in such a bad way. It really does seem unfair.
Reebok, glad you just about made it through the GTT. Your boss sounds pretty heartless to me. Glad you will soon be saying goodbye to that job!
Icant, how are things now? Any more settled? Good lord, your pregnancy has been some kind of endurance test from hell.
Special, you shouldn't apologise for using this board to whinge! That's what it's for, after all. HG is certainly cause to feel extremely sorry for yourself.
Ickle, try not to worry about work. I know it's hard and you feel guilty, but realistically you simply can't work, and you have to take care of your health.
Welcome to the newbies, and do stick around on here for plenty of support. Sleepy waves to Lucinda and Ealli. Btw, can't believe that BabyEalli is 18 weeks already! This reassures me that time does actually pass, even when it doesn't seem like it! Night all.

Thanks spandau eallison and mother deep down I know you are right. It's the consequences of that for my son and my mental wellbeing I fear! I had sickness all through pregnancy last time but nothing like this and didn't miss any work. To be 11 weeks and signed off already sucks. I do find Drs hilarious. So I've been seeing one who adjusts medication referred me to hospital etc. I explain I just don't feel teaching is feasible and he says I think that's more than reasonable how long were you thinking? Surely theye should advise? !

Anyway also sulking because meant to be flying to Sweden to visit my sister in 2 weeks and just not looking feasible. My dad had told her yesterday that I was unwell and she got really worried so told her about pregnancy. So weird having to tell people before 12 week scan and also normally because we are having to ask a favour or explain why I'm unwell. So less congratulations more so sorry your I'll! May have to do a Facebook announcement just to get a few well wishes

Right moan over thinking of you still icant and all others who are suffering!

ickle that is an unfortunate side effect of HG, having to tell people before 12 week scan -there's so much that you have to tell people you can't do, and people start worrying about why you're so ill. A friend told me recently that her and her husband were really worried that I was seriously ill, and were so relieved when they found out i was pregnant! I think doctors tend to go by you on the sick note thing; generally mine did. You're probably in the worst of it now at 11 weeks.

icklekid About LO's suffering from the period of comparative neglect, don't agonise too much about it. From all I have seen on these threads and elsewhere, they do forget all about it startlingly easily. There are various easy reading/ picture type books written by former sufferers which will explain to children of three plus - but I think your LO is a little younger, so I suppose all you can do I suppose is reassure him that you will get better?
eallison What you say is very true; people must be anxious it's something terminal, when it only feels like it!
I hope everyone is not suffering not quite so badly as yesterday?

waitingforarainbow thinking of you for tomorrow. Gentle hugs.

HI dcourtney, congratualtions and commiserations. You won the jackpot, but you've got to wade through the swamp to get to it!

very glad you'll have a friend to go with you. In the original post lucinda linked to the NICE guidelines (the NICE is the government's own best-practise body for medical stuff). It's worth printing off the page about Goals of Treatment and also, very important, the list of Medications the NICE suggest. Both cyclizine and ondansetron are on it. If you've already had onsansetron from the hospital -hopefully- your doc will prescribe it again.

Definitely raise the depression thing. HG and SPD and a miserable preg are more than enough to tip people into depression/anxiety, and that's without a prior existing condition!

Welcome Wibblytummy Isn't HG a joy and a delight? If you've been in hospital already it sounds like it's got you hard :( Is there any chance at all of arranging some child care? other than meds the thing that helps HG most is rest, rest, rest. Which is not possible when you have two little Wibblies bouncing around ...

If you can eat at all, figs might help too. People have had to resort to manual evacuation at times too.

Dear God, icant. Words can't describe how bad a ride you've had. What did you do, piss on the Devil's feet or something?

special suggest you ask for 8mg of ondansetron 3 x day plus the cyclizine. As mother hen said, a lot of people find that the best combination. I SO agree with you, the human race would most definitely have died out if HG were common!

ickle very glad to hear you are off work for 3 weeks. Rest really does help. Yeah, HG does force you to tell people early, which is not ideal :/

spandau honestly you are doing amazingly. Not that you have a choice, I suppose, but you are. Thinking of you. Remember that it -will- end one day ... have you thought of getting a calendar so you can cross every single day off in a countdown?

MoP glad to hear you've had a few better days.

ealli 18 weeks already! awwww. I'm sterilized now but the thought of a tiny little bundle of smiles and howls does make you want another! Have to settle for borrowed babies now.

Bah! Had gp appointment with lovely gp. He's signed me off for another 2 weeks, taken bloods for anaemia because of the dizziness, upped me to 8mg and given me luculose and sorted out my maternity exemption certificate.
Bloody pharmacist! Didn't go to my usual pharmacy because it was so busy, and I'm regretting it. She was saying she wasn't happy to give me the ondansetron the gp prescribed because the bnf doesn't say its safe in pregnancy and that I should buy gaviscon instead. I pointed out that there are very few medicines the bnf will recommended in pregnancy, but that's mainly because you can't trial on pregnant women (ethically iffy) and not because they're unsafe. She then got really arsey with me saying that gaviscon worked for her in pregnancy and I should try that first. I pointed out that I've been injected and prescribed ondansetron by hospital consultants and my gp and I'm well educated enough to understand the risks and benefits of ondansetron. I wish I'd been sharp enough to point out the gaviscon is not a NICE recommended treatment for the management of women with hyperemesis, but it was left with me having to go back to town tomorrow after she has called my gp to make sure the dose is correct. FFS. That tested my patience. I'm not well and because she's pushing her bloody no medicine in pregnancy agenda on me I have to make a second trip into town tomorrow. How dare she use her own anecdotal experience to recommended medicines in a professional capacity. I bet she never ended up so dehydrated she had to go to hospital. Fuming!
Also, its very cold and windy out and I'm so bored of being sick. Can anyone recommended how to take laculose? I've got to take two 5ml spoonfuls. Do I put that in water or take it neat? I stopped listening to the pharmacist after the gaviscon debate.

Just want to say that I'm normally a big fan of pharmacists, but I'll go back to my usual next time. Might also send dh with his gp badge on in to collect the ondansetron prescription for me. Let her argue with him.

Special that pharmacist is maddening and unethical! As you say, how dare she?! And Gaviscon's not an anti-emetic, so I can't possibly see how it could be a substitute for Ondansetron. I think Ealli had a similar run-in with a pharmacist. She had a spectacular riposte which hopefully she can remember and will pop along to post in due course. Certainly involved a threat to throw up on the pharmacist's shoes...

Special that pharmacist is maddening and unethical! As you say, how dare she?! And Gaviscon's not an anti-emetic, so I can't possibly see how it could be a substitute for Ondansetron. I think Ealli had a similar run-in with a pharmacist. She had a spectacular riposte which hopefully she can remember and will pop along to post in due course. Certainly involved a threat to throw up on the pharmacist's shoes...

special how utterly maddening. I did have similar run in. I now can't remember exactly what I said, it definitely involved threatening to spew on said pharmacist, and I'm pretty sure it involved me informing the silly woman that a dehydrated and starved mummy was definitely worse for my baby and she needed to do her job and dispense the gp prescribed medication.