Urgent help needed- sickness

[RaeSkywalker]

Hoping for some advice!

I'm 7+3- first pregnancy, and have been experiencing nausea for the last 2 weeks or so. I've managed this quite well through eating and drinking little and often, going to bed earlier, etc.

However, since Thursday it's really ramped up! I went to bed at 5pm on Thursday evening and have barely moved since. I'm constantly on the verge of being sick, and was actually sick 5 times yesterday too.

I saw an out of hours doctor yesterday, who basically said "nausea is normal", and gave me advice to do everything I was already doing ("have you tried ginger?", etc).

I have got so much worse since I saw him though, and can now barely keep anything down (I think I've managed to keep about half a pint of water down in 24 hours). I'm in tears and honestly don't think I can cope if this continues. I'm also terrified about work tomorrow - my job is demanding and I can't even sit up without gagging at the moment.

So- firstly: is this "normal" as the doctor suggested? Should I just 'get on with it'? DH has just booked me in for another out of hours appointment at 10am today. Any tips on what I should say- or should I cancel it? I think I will cry at the surgery if there's nothing they can do.

There is things they can do. You need to stress you are not coping and basically refuse to leave until they give you medication. There are a tame of safe medications to help and the old line of its "normal" is just stupid. It is normal but there are different degrees of it and serious nausea and sickness is debilitating

There are things they can do

I'm sorry you're feeling so awful. I suffered for my first five months so I know how you must be feeling.

The answer is there is something they can do! There as various antisickness tablets they can prescribe you. I took cyclizine from 8-20 weeks (ish) and it's all that kept me out of hospital (although it didn't actually stop the nausea and vomiting altogether for me). I'm now 32 weeks and baby is healthy and suffered no ill effect.

https://www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

There is LOADS that can be done. Morning sickness is shit.

Go back to the GP and don't be fobbed off.
If he suggests ginger ask him if he would prescribe paracetamol for a broken leg, as that's basically what ginger is to morning sickness.

There are LOADS of safe drugs you can take. Promethazine and Cyclizine are often the first prescribed.
But get seen TODAY and don't leave without meds. Morning sickness is so awful and you don't need to struggle through it

Agree totally with Merkin. Go back, cry and say you cannot cope. I was given 3 types of medication to help with my sickness. You do not have to suffer through this.

I had the sickness up until the point I delivered (a very healthy 4 month old I may now add, born 2 weeks early induced due to my sickness!) I was fobbed off with 'normal' morning sickness until it got so bad I was admitted to hospital and put on a drip with dehydration. Please push for some medicine, I took cyclizine when finally given it for around 30 weeks and my baby is beautifully healthy so don't go giving yourself any guilt about taking tablets in pregnancy either. Also another thing causing the sickness could be if you're taking preg vitamins, don't take them on an empty tummy (easier said than done I know) ignore ginger, it's a bloody myth and does sweet F all. Keep hydrated by sucking ice lollies/cubes/wet sponges if you have too. It is manageable if they stop with the sodding 'normal'. Some morning sickness isn't normal and should be dealt with. Sending big hugs xxx

Fuck that doctor. Go to a new one and don't leave until you get help. I actually came on to post the pregnancy sickness support link, they do printouts that you can hand to your gp. They have loads of advice and peer to peer support which I recommend using as they'll be able to give you more emotional help.
There is also a hyperemisis support thread on here with some long suffering lovely ladies who can help.
Good luck.

Thank you so much everyone.

Merkin I think I will have to brief DH to stress that I'm not coping on my behalf m. Yesterday I felt so ill I just couldn't muster the energy to fight it- the GP was clearly reading off a script and had decided the way the consultation would go before I'd even sat down.

Hayley good to know your baby is ok, I take it that the medicine helped to ease things if it kept you out of hospital?

Well might also give DH the paracetamol line to use! Though on a totally unrelated note, my lovely friend broke her leg and dislocated her knee at 22 weeks pregnant and all they would let her take was paracetamol. Pregnancy is brutal!

Thank you Doodle. I can't believe how tougher this is.

31 weeks interesting point about the vitamins. I do take with a 'meal' but as I'm eating nothing that could be part of the problem. Also interesting about the lollies. Last night about 11pm I decided I wanted a pineapple ice lolly- obviously all the shops were closed. Poor DH.

Sorry for the late reply, I was hugging the toilet bowl- had literally 2 sips of water and was immediately violently sick. Lovely.

Thank you Bee! Checking out the print outs now. Should work quite well as DH is desperate to "do something" to help so I've told him it's his job to be assertive if necessary!

Op i feel for you. I was diagnosed witb HG during my first trimester. Had severe sickness from week 5 through to week 15. I saw no end to it and like you was very tearful after being fobbed off by the docs and NHS nutritionist. I could not see myself continuing. I too have a demanding job which requires me to constantly train and coach people and deal with complaints. I sat at my desk with my head in my hands during those weeks. I was pale and lost 5kg in body weight. I couldn't keep anything down. A sip of water would make me vomit. Food smells set me off. I had sick bags under my desk in case in couldn't run to the loo on time. Like yours, it was 24/7 nausea and vomiting. It's so hard but people don't realise how difficult and debilitating it is unless and until they have been through it themselves.

I was prescribed cyclizine too but when that made little difference, they suggested Ondansetron but docs said this was the strongest medication they could prescribe and that it was not licensed for use in pregnancy due to the risks as it is intended for cancer patients on chemo so I refused to take a prescription for it. I struggled through and finally entering the second trimester felt a bit of relief. I saw no end and could barely get out of bed without feeling sick and retching constantly.

I feel so much more positive now that I am in the third trimester. Although I am still feeling occasionally sick (maybe vomiting only once a week), I can take this because I am more or less back to my normal self and can see the baby's birth as an end goal now as it's in sight.

I really do feel what you feel OP. Just please hang on in there. Keep eating and drinking little and often and eat whatever takes your fancy. Make it known if possible at work that you are suffering this debilitating sickness if you haven't already done so in order that you can get the support you need. MS sufferers can find it extremely lonely to go through what they are going through.

I wish GPs knew what to do and say rather than the usual "have you tried ginger?". It doesn't work for everyone and certainly made no difference to me. When you have HG or something close, no one seems to know how bad it is. If any non-pregnant person was ill to the extent that HG makes you, then certainly they would have to go on the sick. I took only a week off work but could have done with all ten weeks of severe HG tucked up in bed. Of course, life doesn't allow this when you have a demanding job with daily deadlines and you have older DC at home to help with homework or to keep occupied.

I hope you get through this OP. Things will get better although you see no end at the moment. I'm talking from first-hand experience. Hugs xxx

Thank you arabella, sounds like you've had a horrendous time of it.

I've got back to back meetings tomorrow which I really don't think I can cope with. I think you're right about telling people- I didn't want to tell anyone until I (hopefully) have my scan, but I think I need support now. My boss decided to take a week off last week with no warning and dumped all her work and meetings on me. I can't cope with that again.

Glad you're feeling so much better- in one of my more distressed moments last night I told DH I couldn't cope with not feeling remotely like myself for another 7 months. It's just so crippling- he went to drop off eggs for his godchildren yesterday- they happened to be having a BBQ. He came back smelling of onions which made me heave. My poor husband had to have a shower and change his clothes before he could come anywhere near me!

Thank you for reassuring me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Oh, I call it pregnancy sickness as I don't think morning sickness relays quite how relentless sickness can be.
I have two DS was sick from 6 weeks to term with each of them. I was sick every single day. For the first 25 weeks I felt completely rotten so I feel your pain.
I was prescribed various pills, some helped a little, some did nothing at all but it's worth a try. I tried anti sickness bracelets from boots. They are meant for travel sickness but helped a little in the early days. I didn't drink water, only ice cold lemonade. In the very hard times, I would just take a response as often as I could. Lemon ice lollies and frozen grapes were also good. With my first pregnancy I had to tell my boss at 4 weeks, I was so incredibly sick that they allowed me to work hugely reduced hours. I told my immediate team too.
It does get better, even though I was sick throughout both pregnancies, the nausea did die down and toward the end I was 'only' sick a few times a day and felt OK in between.

Not response. Teaspoon!

just suggestions...meditation or as much quiet time as you can manage helped me a lot with a previous pregnancy. I found ginger and tumeric really did help me but some people have no effect from using ginger. I also tried pink salt diluted in warm water, worked well but sounds disgusting...tasted nauseous but once in my system seemed to work a little. Sounds like you need quite serious medical help though....hope you feel better soon, sending good thoughts xxx

here are also recipes to perhaps help but unless you prescribe to auryvedic medicine they may be no help at all:

Natural home remedy using curry leaves, lemon juice and sugar

Crush a handful of curry leaves
Press them on a sieve and extract their juice
Take 2 tsp curry leave juice
Add 1 tsp lemon juice
You may add sugar for taste
Mix well
Drink 2 times every day

Natural home remedy using mint leaves, ginger, lemons and honey

Take 1 tsp mint leaves' juice
Add ½ tsp ginger paste
Add 1 tsp lemon juice
Add 1 tsp honey
Mix well
Drink 2 times every day
Natural home remedy using mint leaves

Take a handful of mint leaves
Boil them in 200 ml water
Inhale the fumes for relief from morning sickness
TIPS

Do not get up from the bed immediately after sleep - wake up slowly
Keep biscuits or crackers handy for early morning snacks
Eat multiple small meals through the day
Avoid fried, oily and spicy foods
Avoid alcohol and caffeine intake
These remedies are based on the principles of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of healing, and are completely natural, non-invasive, and can be prepared at home.

I made the mint recipe for a friend of mine when ZERO medical intervention helped and it was the only thing that helped her after nearly a week with no food being held down or adequate liquid electrolyte replacement. Juice from leaves can also be extracted by simply soaking the leaves in hot water...easy. Hope this helps in some small way

If the doctor you see refuses to prescribe today then ask to see another. Be stubborn x

OP you're more than welcome.

I know what you mean by clothes on DH carrying food smells. Retch fest!

I truly believe things will improve for you.

I did think telling people early was a good idea for me. I got lots more support as soon as I told them at week 5. So early but I needed my colleagues to know why I looked so pale and why I was absent from my desk a lot of the time. I had to have a reason for refusing to deliver long training sessions, participating in long board meetings or attending day-long conferences. Without telling my boss, I couldn't expect her to consider it reasonable for me to be refusing to do all these things which are a part of my job. My colleagues were wonderful as soon as they knew.

I know a lot of people prefer to wait until the 12 week mark.

I previously had a MC at 8-9 weeks. No one knew what I was going through and thus did not know why I was off work for a week. They were really concerned as I'd never taken a single sick day off work for five years. On my return to work, I told them about the MC. They were really sympathetic and sensitive. To my feelings. I realised that it would have been easier for me to handle this situation had my colleagues all known about the pregnancy in the first place.

Only you will know whether or not it's ok to tell work at this early stage. As you're suffering so much and have back to back meetings and your boss is dumping work on your desk, it sounds like you could benefit from telling people early.

Hope things get better for you pretty soon. You really never know. It may ease as early as in the next couple of weeks. I didn't feel it would go at all for me (it didn't with my first DD when I had HG throughout the 9 months!) but was relieved there was a marked improvement a few weeks later. Please remember you will have a beautiful baby at the end if it. He or she will be well worth it. Xxx

Please don't consider yourself as "not coping". Some nausea/ sickness is normal but what you are experiencing is far more extreme and debilitating. As well as insisting on medication ( cyclizine is the first line usually), insist that your urine is sampled and checked for signs of dehydration/ starvation and consider calling in sick. Rest plus medication can help you before it gets far worse.

Thank you so much everyone. I feel less alone this morning thanks to your support.

Just saw a very kind GP, who actually listened to me. He's prescribed some tablets (don't know what they are as DH has dropped me at home and gone off to find an open pharmacy). GP also said that I was seriously dehydrated but not "off the scale". If these tablets don't work I've got to see my own GP tomorrow for admission to hospital and an IV. I hope it doesn't come to that!

He's just got back- it's cyclizine. Fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed they work for you. Xxx

I'm a little concerned about the "seriously dehydrated" comment. If you manage to get some fluids down you with cyclizine then great but you should be able to call your local maternity triage for advice ( they'll be used to dealing with severe pregnancy sickness).

Thanks arabella!

Cora thank you for the advice. I am managing to keep fluids down so far (I'm not going mental though, just having small sips of water through a straw). Haven't been sick (yet) which I am quite proud of! I think I might go to see my GP tomorrow even if I feel I'm on the mend and ask them to check my ketone levels are OK to be on the safe side.

Basically the Dr this morning said if I was measuring 'off the scale' he had for testing ketones in urine, he would've sent me straight to hospital. My levels were "very high" but not off the scale- which apparently means "seriously dehydrated". In hindsight he didn't explain that well but I was so spaced out I didn't ask

The timing of cyclizine can be tricky - aim for one the very second you wake, one in the middle of the day and one shortly before bed (leaving you enough time to try to eat before bed). It can take a while for the full effect of cyclizine - whilst the tablets will/should help immediately when you take them consistently the effect is greater

Hope they help. Remember little tiny sips of water, often x