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.

Wow: just had my three siblings over for a drink. They stayed for a few hours and I am totally, totally exhausted and out of breath. Nausea just bubbling along underneath but not bad at all; I am just amazed how tired I am just from chatting a bit.
Tomorrow going out to see a friend for first time in a week. Have chosen a Carluccio's that I know has loads of private, clean loos.

Fresh sorry to hear about your headaches. I'm not getting them (touch wood)- they sound horrible! Hope you feel better soon.

mrsmonkey I was saying earlier that I get more useful advice on here than I have for HCPs! How are you now?

almond hope you're ok. Make sure you don't overdo things!

I've had today to rest at home after a senior manager (my boss's boss) text me last night to say I looked exhausted yesterday and she didn't want me in today. I'm hoping to be ok when I wake up tomorrow so that I can go to work the morning again. Really embarrassed that someone that senior noticed I wasn't in a good way just from walking past my desk once- I thought I was hiding it pretty well! I know I'm so lucky that they're supportive though.

Loving the new sofa, I'm laid out like a princess at the moment. Just need DH to start fanning me

rae horray for new sofa and let's hope dh got the memo re: fanning 😉 sorry to hear about work but am pleased they are supportive- I don't think the green is as easy to hide as we think!

almond 2 social events in one week..mega jealous! Enjoy and only stay out whilst your feeling well. Love that you chose the restaurant for its toilets!

northern have been thinking of you and so pleased you got low risk. Congratulations on having a girl too... I'm having a wish we had found out day only for the practical side really. People keep asking what I think it is...why isn't a baby enough of an answer??!

amysmummy really pleased your home. Hope all continues to go well. Would be lovely to see you around on the thread or mn generally. Hope amy continues to sleep well and baby realises cluster feeding does not need to continue until the middle of the night.

mrsmonkey well 2 days ago I bought 2 frijj and very happy to report they were delicious. Will definitely be purchasing more. Only £1 for 2 from Morrisons if anyones after a bargain...if cheaper elsewhere please do share!

motherofpearl mmm sparkling elderflower is my favourite. Dh has neen buying different sparkling fruit juices from m&s every friday. They look like champagne with cork etc so I like to drink them out of champagne glasses (whilst he has a beer from the bottle- can tell who the classy one is in our relationship 🍾🖒) I think they do an elderflower one so will request for tonight!

sleepy I get heartburn regardless of what I do or don't eat or drink. This seems unfair (unlike the rest of hg obviously!). If I was eating ridiculous amounts of fatty food I'd have no issues, if this was my only pregnancy complaint again I would take it. But not to be able to eat or drink and then still have heartburn...boo!

fresh sorry to hear about sinus headaches. As with above moan hg is enough. We shouldn't have to cope with any other symptons. Bangs gravel. 🔨

mrsmonkey hope you got some ribena. I definitely don't have energy for special trips out for these things hope you have friends who can help with these purchases and you don't feel bad asking. Take care of yourself and nothing is ridiculous!

Am currently lying here after ds woke me up screaming mummy at 4am before sounding scarily wide awake...am hopefully silence means he's gone back to sleep...and so should I! Given that 5am is the latest I seem to sleep until does seem somewhat pointless but nevermind! Nope screaming =not asleep! Arhhh bodes well for today. Went to visit a friend yesterday which meant ds sleeping in the car so didn't get my 2h rest boy can I tell this morning. Was good to get out of builders way (no kitchen, dining room, bathroom or garden at the moment!) But not sure I'm well enough for long journey by myself with ds. Also only managed to eat 1 cheese sandwich all day because of not being home...boo to sickness returning. Work next week is going to be a bundle of fun...not!

ickle hope you managed to get some more sleep? Sorry to hear about yesterday. Sounds like it was nice to be out of the house though!

I'm totally, utterly, completely broken. DH has hayfever and consequently snored all night. I got hardly any sleep! He rarely does it so it's been a bit of a culture shock.

Hello, wondered if I could stick my head in? I've been reading this thread this week (when I've been able to look at the laptop at any rate!).

I don't think I would be classed as having hg as I haven't actually yet thrown up but I have been totally floored and debilitated since Monday with horrendous nausea, I can hardly stand. I have almost entirely stopped eating - all this advice for plain biscuits, I couldn't even look at the packet, and I am not getting enough liquid in. It's all ice cubes, ice lollies and iced dioralyte here at the moment. As a nice extra touch I am getting pg induced diarrhoea which is another helpful way to lose fluids.

I've had a phone consultation with my GP today who has written up a prescription for avomine as a starter for ten but said come back if it's not enough. Nice to feel supported and not have a fight for meds.

I'm 5+5 today. It's my 4th pregnancy. My first ended in a loss at 20 weeks due to toxoplasmosis, 2nd produced my nearly 5 year old DD and third ended in a TFMR 5 months ago at 13/14 weeks for acrania and Edwards syndrome. I had bad MS in the first two pgs (both girls) and the thirds was easier (boy!) but this is hell, so much worse, even though there is no vomiting.

to you all for enduring.

Hi Butterfly, welcome! Sorry to hear you're feeling so poorly, and to hear of your losses. I find the nausea worse than actually being sick, if that makes sense. You have my sympathy.

I'm really pleased that you've got a supportive GP- make sure you do go back if you don't improve. Have you got some ketostix to measure the ketones in your urine? If not, I would consider ordering some- they're cheap on Amazon.

I hope you're not alone at home? Good idea about the ice lollies etc- I lived off them for weeks! Others on here have found the juice of tinned fruit helpful. I managed to keep still Lucozade down when I was really bad by sipping tiny amounts across the day. My boss's wife had HG and found flat Coke was the only thing she could tolerate. DH bought me lots of little nibbly bits to have within reach in the bedroom when I was bad, like Rive Krispies in little pots- might be worth trying when you feel up to it.

^ that should be 'Rice Krispies'

Thank you Rae, I ordered some ketostix last night. If I did at somepoint find excess ketones to a dangerous level what do you do? I know people go to hospital but where exactly? Surely not A&E.... Can you phone and go direct to an antenatal ward or something/DAU?

I'm alone at the moment - DH went off with DD to stay at PILs last night, but they will be back this evening. Thank god tbh as the occasional foray to the freezer for more ice is a real challenge!

I'm just praying the drugs work, I have got to be able to do school runs from Tuesday onwards and currently I couldn't. Half term has been something of a challenge though!

How well is yours controlled now? Are you still nauseous all the time?

butterfly welcome. Sorry you're feeling so awful but very pleased supportive gp. If those meds don't work, please dont hesitate to get in touch with gp for something different. Eat and drink whatever you can and don't worry about whether it's healthy or not. Anything is by far better than nothing.

rae glad the new sofa is getting used so well! Work being so supportive is a good sign. lucinda may remember last year that I had a paranoid meltdown when I was told to go home to puke in my own loo, sleep when I could and eat what and when I could and not come back til I was well. In my ill state I was upset that they didn't seem to appreciate the effort I was making, worried they were gonna screw me over with pay...in actual fact they were just being concerned for me! Mamy sufferers od not have sympathetic employers so I'm delighted that you do.

almond loving the restaurant choice based on toilets - tbh I do that anyway! My mother instilled in me the value of clean toilets! Glad you're able to go out but please do be careful and make sure you're gentle with yourself around your galivanting!

Waves to all - I hope you're able to enjoy this lovely weather. Even if thru a window from lying on the sofa!

Hi Butterfly and welcome to the thread. You've had great advice from Rae already. You normally need to be given IV rehydration if your ketones are 3+ or more. In my 1st HG pregnancy I went to A&E and was kept in for 2 days for fluids and IV meds. They do take dehydration in pregnancy seriously when you go to A&E (I'd not kept any food or liquid down for 3 days went I went in so I was in a bad way, confused etc). In my 2nd HG pregnancy (just gave birth a month ago) I went into my hospital's EPU for treatment 3 times. You can often self-refer to EPU and they are very experienced at treating HG, much more so than GPs, in my experience. Really good luck and keep posting on here for plenty of support and understanding.
Hope Rae and Ickle both get some rest today. Waves to all.

Butterfly because I've been admitted before I have a direct number for the ward (gynaecology) if I'm bad again. My GP has told me that if I can't get through to the ward I should go straight to A&E though. I guess if you're concerned about doing that, you could try going through 111- they can obviously also arrange an admission if you need it. I'd just be worried about how long it would take! Hopefully someone else will be among to advise soon, I think the standard of care varies so much across the country that I'm not sure if there is an 'official' answer about what you should do.

Glad your DH is back tonight. Mine basically had to wait on me hand and foot (and still kind of does to be honest, I'm not well at all, though so much better than I was).

My HG started when I was about 5 and a half weeks- horrendous nausea for a few days, and then vomiting kicked in too. I spent the Easter bank holiday weekend unable to get out of bed, eat or drink. I'm now 15+5 and on ondansetron and cyclizine, which are keeping things at bay for the most part. I'd say that the nausea is still always there, but on good days it's more 'background noise' so I can think straight and function on a basic level (have a shower, etc). I had 7 weeks signed off work, but I'm now managing small stints of a couple of hours a time in the office- I've done 12 hours in total this week. It has broken me though! I have the odd really bad day when I can't move out of bed- probably a couple a week. I'm managing to eat and drink more, and am coping with vegetables again (in soup form). I had a boiled egg for my lunch today which is major progress for me- I'm genuinely quite proud of myself

I felt so much better once I was medicated, so I hope you will too.

eallison I think I feel kind of like you did when you had your meltdown, it's hard not to feel that I've done something 'wrong'. Had a lovely text from my boss earlier saying they want to know what they can do to help me, and whilst they appreciate the effort I'm making mustn't push myself. I'm very lucky!

butterfly cross posted there. Care varies so much across the country.do you have an early pregnant unit where you are? That's where I went for my admissions to be rehydrated (8month old baby now!). Or AnE.

Thanks all for the welcome and info. I don't think we have an EPU, certainly not anything I have ever heard tell of (and I would have thought with 3 pgs under my belt I'd have at least heard of it). Sounds like it would be A&E then, fair enough. Forewarned is forearmed I guess.

Congratulations on your babies MoP and eallison. It must be a spectacular relief to be out the other side.

Wow to soup and an egg Rae, that is very impressive I hope you get to keep it.

I've had an awful headache for the last few days, I'm sure it's all part and parcel of nausea/broken and inadequate sleep/not enough liquid but it's making reading etc too unpleasant. DH said am I bored and tbh not really, I feel too horrid to be bored! Just willing the hours away.

Butterfly, not sure how you find screens with the nausea but what saved me when I was at my worst was watching loads of stuff on Netflix (mostly in bed on the IPad). It really helped to pass the interminable hours of feeling dreadful.
Thanks for well wishes - it is a huge relief to be sickness and nausea free. I was just saying to my DP how much faster the last month has gone than any of the months when I was pregnant. Time seems to stand still during a HG pregnancy. Hang in there.

butterfly as MoP has said, netflix can be a really helpful thing. I especially liked that I could press play on something that had long episodes then not need to move for 3 episodes! If you've not got it, it might be worth a free trial!

I just threw up loads
My throat is burning
Man this is hard :(
I take ondansetron at 7am and 3pm ,eat regularly and still throw up at 6pm :(

Mother I know what you mean- I can't believe I'm only 15 weeks, I feel like I've been pregnant forever. I'm kind of at the point where I can't remember what it's like to feel well!

Netflix and iplayer have saved me too!

Fresh I'm so sorry, that sounds awful. Are you on 2 tablets a day? Could you ask to have your dose increased?

I'm on 4mg tablets and can take three a day and avamine at night /bedtime which is around 6pm!! So since you have to leave 8 hrs between ondansetron doses then there is no other time to take a third dose as I already take avamine /overlap as I go to bed and I'm sleeping pretty well and don't throw up at night. So I think maybe my nausea surges are just really strong and ondansetron probably makes it overall better than it would be without...... I used to vomit morning lunchtime and evening without medication, and during my pregnancy last year I stopped ondansetron for one day because of bad constipation and ended up feeling sicker earlier in the day and vomiting on several occasions in one evening, got quite scared after a while coz it kept coming!!! So Im thinking that with hg tablets don't always remove ALL vomiting but lessen the symptoms. Is that right??? Do some of you still vomit on ondansetron? I try to get myself to bed early to avoid throwing up which works when I can and I don't vomit every day but I think that's because I avoid it often by curling up in bed....... And evenings or now late afternoons! are my worst time so the nausea surges are just too strong then....

Yes, I'm still physically sick on ondansetron, but (touch wood) it's maybe 4-5 times a week instead of 30 times a day. I would be absolutely beside myself if it was taken away from me! The cyclizine also dulls the nausea a bit but it's not strong enough on its own for me.

Really hoping for a decent sleep tonight. I'm just permanently exhausted at the moment- does anyone else feel like this? So tired my bones hurt. I bumped into my best friend leaving work today and she was so shocked by how tired I looked she messaged DH tonight to ask him to get me more help My Mum is worried I've got anaemia but I think my body's just taken an absolute hammering from HG.

Hello all.

Amysmummy congratulations on your gorgeous, healthy little girl!

Northern Pleased to hear your harmony results are good. While I had a low risk down's syndrome score, I did have a low Papp-A value which is one of the things they test for and low Papp-A can be a indicator of down's syndrome or placenta problems. I have neither. Both me and DH are convinced that when they did the tests I was pretty unwell and dehydrated and that its very possible that threw some biochem results off. Also, don't feel bad about drinking coke. It was all that got me through some days! My advice to hg sufferers is to eat and drink whatever you can, when you can (barring a bottle of tequila, obs).

Abutterfly - Rae has given you some fab advice. If you find you have high ketones and aren't keeping anything down, I used NHS 111 for an out of hours gp appointment one weekend, but mostly just saw my gp with on the day appointments when it was bad. The gp on one occasion then referred me to hospital (which should have been a direct referral to the ward, but the ward had no free beds, so I had to sit in A&E which felt like massive overkill). After I'd been on the Early Pregnancy Unit once, I then was given their number and could self refer back. Once I started having midwife appointments, they all got very twitchy at my ketone levels, even when I was feeling a bit better and keeping food/liquid down. Fingers crossed for a good pregnancy for you - hg is actually associated with good outcomes for baby!

MoP how are you getting on?

Rae Don't over do it at work! That's an order. Hope you had a suitably resting rest day.

Freshbread Sorry to hear about your headaches.

Waves to everyone else.

Rae I get the aching tired thing too. I keep on saying to dh that all my muscles hurt like I've run a marathon and I'm so tired. It can be an anaemia symptom, but I'm still feeling like that even though I've got my iron levels back into the normal range again. Can your dh sleep on the sofa tonight to give you a snore free sleep? You have my sympathies, my dh is a horrific snorer.

Fresh yes, I still vomited on high dose ondansetron, but it helped me keep enough down to function. Sadly, its all you can hope for. I found HG got easier to manage when I accepted that I was going to be vomiting and nothing would completely cure it, and I stopped trying to lead my normal life. I'm no longer vomiting (asides from a sink vomit today, but the dishwasher set me off), but I know the nausea is going to last until I give birth.

Welcome to AButterflyLightsBesideUs What a lovely name. As others have given you such great advice, I can't think of much to add. Some swear by soda water. I found Ironbru soothing; nobody else seems to! I am so sorry for your losses. Glad you've ordered kesostix. How did the GP's react to dehydration in your other pregnancies? 3+ is the level of ketones with early stages of dehydration that seems to need admission for fluids.
Rae Great advice, as everyone says. That sounds a great senior manager.
icklekid Sorry about lack of sleep and chronic heartburn. How often is the vomiting now?
Freshbreadandfaith That sounds awful. Sympathies. How are the headaches?
almondbutter Well done on socialising.
eallison I remember that.
SpecialStainsMuch sympathy over sink vomit and continuing nausea...
Waves to MotherofPearl and everyone.
mrsmonkey How are things now?
Apologies if I've overlooked anyone...

Special luckily we have a spare room (soon to be baby's room) which currently has a double bed in it, so he's offered to sleep in there tonight to give me a chance at a good sleep. The problem is I usually struggle to sleep if he's not with me (away with work or something). I'm hoping that the level of exhaustion will prove advantageous tonight and cause me to pass out regardless of him being in the other room! I shouldn't complain really, he snores rarely and I normally have a better sense of humour when it does happen- it's just too much on top of everything else I'm dealing with at the moment!