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:
links.nice.org.uk/nauseavomiting-in-pregnancy#!scenario

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.

oooo MoP your baby has arrived! Congratulations!! I'm glad you've made it to the pink castle! When did she arrive?

reebok and icant congratulations to you both. Enjoy these early days :)

mrsmonkey thanks for the app tip! Sorry to hear you're in pain, I think the Swiss ball is a great call. Hopefully the physio will be able to help too.

seaaglefeather hi!

madrigal congratualtions, Hope you're enjoying the pink castle and baby snuggle cuddles! and the food!

reebok re reflux; my wee man had it badly in the first few months, he's well out of it now - if that's any consolation!? I too wondered about a connection between the almost constant reflux medication I was on and his suffering - I wondered if perhaps he struggled with the sudden withdrawal of meds?

Hi eallison! Good news that your GP is willing to give you ondansetron. I'm only 14+4 (DC1) and already thinking I couldn't cope with a second pregnancy. Maybe I should talk to my GP about whether they'd prescribe ondansetron if I was bad again (but let's get through this pregnancy first eh!)

I just took Pregnacare Conception for 3 months before trying for this baby. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly to help!

rae when I was in the middle of my pregnancy I was adamant that I wouldn't ever be doing this again
....as you can see, time really is a great healer!

Welcome to almondbutter. Sorry you have been suffering for so long without meds and had to be admitted. You've had great advice already. Not sure what meds you're on, but I hope they work. As others say, if not, don't hesitate to ask for others. Have you got kesostix, available from any chemists, to check your urine just in case you do get dehydrated again?
The vomiting in the night is awful - makes you feel far more desperate than in the day. Hopefully, and particularly if your meds include cyclizine, you will sleep better now.
icklekid Mother Hen clucks and says as ever, you expect too much of yourself. You make yourself cope with too much, building works, hours of lessons... You might even need to reverse the normal advice and be as kind to yourself as you are to other people. That is very bossy of me; but it's worth thinking about!
On names, I choose all three for DD, but the first is my OH's late mother's first name, so I suppose it was only fair. It is one of my favourite names, anyway.
eallison Goodness, I think you were still on the thread when RubyReins had her baby, and MotherofPearl? Reebok and squeezed have, and ican't and many more. I assume spandau has, but we haven't heard from her. amysmummy is top of the list now.
Great advice from Raeskywalker as ever.
Waves to mrsmonkey SleepymrsM Rocket and SeaEagleFeaher.
Back soon...

eallison I forgot to add - how rude of me- congratulations in being brave and thinking of ttc again.

rae well ds refused to sleep so gave him lunch and ended up driving round the block to get him to sleep and have transfered to cot so hopefully get a couple of hours rest then will go trash someone elses house fot a few hours!

mrsmonkey love the sound of that app will definitely give it a go! Sadly yes no childcare next week. Just glad its bank holiday monday. Already got plans for thu and Friday so just tue/wed to sort!

almond really sorry to hear you've had to join us but we are all here for you. Hope your medication starts kicking in soon!

Waves at eallison hope that conception goes well. Hope that you can do it in a stress free way. It took over a year with ds and less than 3 months for this pregnancy! Breastfeeding can make a difference but isn't the be all and end all...

lucinda yes I know easier said than done. Hard to know what to drop other than work which I love! Am doing all I can to ask for help- my mil is fantastic, and am napping whilst ds does!

Hi ladies, I found this thread so useful the first time round (diff name) and now my little one is 1, everyone is asking us when we will be having a second. I always wanted a large family, but having gone through hyperemesis I think the most we will have is 2. I feel really upset every time people ask me, as I remember feeling (and being) so alone the first time around. My husband was supportive but I was pretty much in bed the whole time and I don't think our GPs or midwives really got how unwell I was. I was on cyclizine which was somewhat helpful, but to be honest I was still sick and couldn't eat anything other than watermelon and was super super drowsy.

Anyway, I wanted to know how people got on the second time around? I'm thinking of waiting until 1st ds is in nursery (likely age 3, when free hours kick in - I'm a SAHM), but I feel really sad knowing that I won't be able to fully look after him. Someone mentioned Ondanestron - is this much better? What are the chances of me getting prescribed this? Last time I went to the doctors (after my boss insisted I went, I was so unwell I wasn't really thinking straight) I sat in the doctors office barely able to move, crying and he suggested a ginger biscuit sigh, it was only when I made it pretty clear I wasn't leaving without a prescription that I was given cyclizine.

Sorry, really long post, I still feel pretty traumatized by it all.

For Mums currently going through it - consolation, I found the first 6 months of lo a total breeze, it was SO MUCH easier than constantly vommitting.

eallison88 - did you talk to your doctor first about worries about HG? Maybe I should get an appointment in...

Hello ladies

I've dipped in and out during my pregnancy (I'm 22 weeks). I had bad morning sickness from weeks 6-18, I wouldn't say it was on the scale of some of you ladies. I still have it on and off but its really affected my ability to enjoy my pregnancy. I had a chat with my midwife last night as I've been struggling a bit emotionally and she kind of upset me . She said everyone should enjoy pregnancy and I need to be referred to mental health if I'm not which scared me as I've battled anxiety before. I just wondered how you guys have and are coping mentally with all the sickness and feeling rotten. I feel a bit of a failure as I'm not enjoying this experience and my midwife kind of compounded this last night.

In haste - rae maybe try reading that book about coffee, it has a lot of good stuff in generally. Im not as sure about the whole coffee thing as the meds tho; there's much more info about the meds around.

ealli lovely to see you again! and omg you are brave. I'd say eat healthily, try to put on weight (for a cushion) and as soon as you suspect you are preg, start taking cyclizine and vitamin B6 together. it def can't hurt and there's some evidence that it helps cushion the worst.

almond welcome, are you on cyclizine? take some 30 mins before bed and 1) it might help the HG and 2) it makes many people drowsy so that might help. Sadly though there's no sure cures for the nighttime upchucks :/

welcome anon, yes there's much better meds available. Ondan is hard to get hold of sometimes but therés also others. It might be a plan actually to find an HG-aware doctor ahead of time. Its a good idea to plan for HG im afraid; it recurs 80% of the time.

hello whiteychappers too .. and as for your midwife, "everyone should enjoy pregnancy" that's only worth a good laugh (if you can find a smile in HG!). There's a shit load of people find preg very difficult indeed, which the books and the prevailing culture don't like to acknowledge.

Ignore the inexperienced or oblivious people who say things like that. They don't get it. Admittedly a MW should, but even they sometimes don't. Mentally, HG is a tough challenge. It is. You're sicker than ever before, often unable to do much and often isolated. It's a really difficult time.

The lovely people on this thread do at least understand nad you can always post. (and if you'll forgive the crudity, next time aim an upchuck at the MW's shoes. She shoudlnt be making you feel worse with very silly comments).

sorry to everyone I've missed

Hi everyone. Is there a link to another new thread I've missed? Last entry on this thread that I can see anyway is 17th May? Normally this thread is busy daily so thought I would check xxx

Ah! Forget that! Just updated after I posted!! Love and hugs to all of you. Throwing up officially sucks and don't let anyone tell you "I used to just throw up and get on with it" or as I was told "this is the easy part, wait until the baby comes!" I have had many many unhelpful comments so I want to tell you that it's horrible and you are perfectly justified to be complaining and you are not being dramatic hg is incredibly debilitating so don't let anyone tell you otherwise and don't feel bad for resting, for not shopping for food, for not cooking or tidying, we all know how you feel and never let anyone make you feel like it's all in your head. Love and hugs xx

eallison yes I have a horrible feeling I might be the same as you!

Hope you get a bit of a rest this afternoon ickle.

Anon I honestly think that ondansetron has saved my sanity. Cyclizine just wasn't enough on its own. It helped that I was hospitalised so have the weight of my consultant saying I need it. My GP is also really supportive which is amazing. I'm very lucky. I did have a couple of "try ginger" incidents with out of hours, and went into hospital 2 days later. I wonder if I could've been saved the admission of OOH had acted.

whitey your midwife sounds horrible. Plenty of people I know haven't enjoyed pregnancy for various reasons (HG, SPD, reflux, itchy skin, fatigue), and they weren't referred to MH teams! My MW was totally the opposite, I wrote in my notes early on that I was struggling to enjoy the pregnancy or feel excited/ happy, and she said it was to be expected with how ill I was and she'd only refer me if I was concerned. I decided I didn't need it at that point, as feeling miserable whilst vomiting 30 times a day seems quite reasonable to me! If I felt it would be affect how I might feel about the baby I would ask for help though. I am now (at 14+4) starting to feel excited, but it's been a slow process. I think your feelings are totally normal, but there's no shame in taking help of you think it would be beneficial. for you.

seaeagle yup, just been given cyclizine, thank you. If you're on three a day, when do you take your other two?

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Hospital happier with me today and sent me home with my oral meds and instructions to come back any time I feel awful. What really helped was that the nurse was only just back from a six-week HG break herself so was full of empathy.

In huge news for me (normally a massive foodie, love to cook and eat) I actually fancied something specific for lunch, which happened to be Lebanese, so popped for takeaway next to the hospital. First time I have wanted something specific other than chocolate milk since March. Fingers crossed this is the up and up.

almond butter I am really into chocolate milk too!

almond so glad you fancied something to eat! That's a massive deal

SeaEagle I just realised I ignored you- I missed your post, sorry! Will try and read the book after my nap.

almond r.e. spacing cyclizine, I seem to remember that they should be taken 8 hours apart. I usually take one when I wake up, then one early afternoon, and one about 30 minutes before going to bed (so it kicks in to help me sleep).

Anonsad Welcome back to an old friend. I didn't go for it a second time, but there were other reasons besides the run in with Hyperemesis, and I always regretted only having one. As others have given good advice over the meds, I'll only say that planning things so that LO is at nursery sounds a very good idea, and getting pre-emptive meds. I can't believe a doctor suggested ginger biscuits .
whiteychappers I'm glad this thread has helped. I'm also astounded that midwife said that. It's really arrogant and insensitive. Does she know nothing about the severity of the symptoms? To be honest, I 'm temped to say complain, because people don't have the right to speak to patients like this. Can you change midwives?
On rude medical staff, I do think some have got away with being rude for years. To give people a laugh, I remember a doctor saying to me when I was 23, 'You're married; you married early. Why don't you start a baby? You don't want to leave it too late, you know.'
FreshbreadandFaith Welcome back to the thread. How are things?
Rae SeaEagleFeather and others, great advice as ever.

hi almond, as rae says every 8 hours is best. -which- 8 hours don't matter so much. Most people either time them half an hour before their worst time, or before bed. (have to admit Im lucky enough to be a twice-graduate of HG and never again!)

anon we arranged for our first to go into nursery too as soon as we knew #2 was on his way. It was not pleasant, but he is so so so happy with his little bro so it was all worth it.

HI to freshbread and ickle and lovely mother hen. sorry to the people I've missed.

whitey do you feel it's too late to change midwife at this point? That's so incredibly unsupportive and undermining, and obviously the last thing you wanted or needed to hear. I understand she has to cover the bases in terms of offering mental health support to mums, but there are ways and ways of offering the option.
A friend of mine loathed her midwife so much and knew they couldn't have a constructive relationship that she swapped and complained.
As to how I am doing, I am very up and down. I consider myself pretty mentally robust but I have had moments of feeling isolated, useless and weak (the last one when I thought I was having a normal pregnancy, so diagnosis has been very useful). No one could go through this with a constant smile on their face.

Ooh, and thanks all on the eight hour advice. Now to have a shower and try and take the polish off my nails, which unbelievably anywhere but this forum has been my project for three days...

Does anyone find they cope better as a driver than a passenger in a car? My Mum took me to a second hand baby clothes shop today, it's about a 15 minute drive each way. I wouldn't had contemplated this until a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, it's totally messed me up! We were only out for about 50 minutes and I've been in bed for 3 hours since. Bizarrely, I seem to be okish driving myself 10 minutes to work.

On the plus side, I got a new gro swaddle for £2, and they're £12+ in the shops.

almond did your lunch go well?