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#!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.

April. Df is fab. Looks after me esp in the early weeks /months

Would go and buy ice lollies or melon when struggled with food. He does the housework tho Nigel aka our robot Hoover is also a godsend.

Sadly men will never know how crap we feel. I describe as a full time hangover. With nausea. Dry mouth but also salivating, churning stomach and feeling sick or are sick with a monkey shat in the mouth taste - tho luckily no headache

If they felt like this all day every day they may feel sympathetic

Hopefully as months go in you will feel a bit better and hubby will be more supportive

Sprite. I found eating small and often helps and feel worse if hungry iyswim

Haich. I've literally put on 10lbs and least 5 of that is bubs and mw said another 2 for placenta and fluids so have gained barely anything. Tho tbh I did have extra padding to begin with 😱😳😉so wasn't a problem to be sick and lose weight iyswim

So don't worry about lack of weight. And apparently babies take what they need even if very sick. Always get told how healthy bubs is

Lucinda. Happy to always advise and support and mums I work for with expressing But personally I can't be bothered with the hassle of expressing and happy to use formula

Peace. I have looked after countless newborns as a maternity nurse and some totally bf. Some ff and some mixed and all have slept through early on if I've had them from 2/3w old

Obv this means bubs won't sleep through for me 😂😂

Twinkle. Sorry for your loss 💐💐but rest assured the medicine won't hurt babies

Think mine kicked in 4/5w and I suffered till 8/9 as I wasn't sure if wasn't ms as never been preg before so wasn't How sick I needed to be - but 10/15 a day and my ketones almost 3 were enough for my doctor to say yes you have hg yes you need medication

Mel. Def a bonus being sick in clean loo 😁

Ondansetron seems to be doing the trick. Just need to find the perfect routine of taking it I think. Do people take it alongside cyclizine? If so at what doses?

Also, not sure if it's just a new fun symptom or it's ondansetron related but I'm getting bad reflux. Does anybody have any tips?

Really struggling with dinner ideas. It's the thought of most things that I can't even stomach. Feeling like a slave to my HG food aversions.

Can I ask what type of things you've been managing?

So far I've mostly been existing on toast/sandwiches/cereal and for the last few days I've been able to eat a ham salad but now the thought of that is making me ill.

I got quite teary earlier when dh asked what I wanted for dinner

Magnum, I've been reading miniscule amounts of mash and very meaty Heck sausages. Mind you, it has taken 8 weeks for me to eat anything like that. Don't worry about clearly defined meals, I had Neapolitan ice cream or plain ham sandwiches for dinner for a while as it's all I could eat.

Ladies, I have a question about proclorperazine (buccal - under lip). GP has said 2 a day and nothing else. Gynaecologist doc at EPU said I can mix this with staggered doses of cyclizine or metrochlopramide. Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm a little concerned about taking the procloperazine doses anyway as they're not considered safe in pregnancy

Thanks meowstro think I'm just going to try a baguette and some ham or cheese. The thought of hot food is just too much just now.

Also as it happens its prochlorperazine I'm on just now- had to look at the box to double check but it's the melting ones so thought it's the same.

I'm on 4 3mg tablets a day. I'll be honest I haven't done my own research into them just trusting my dr really. They do seem to be helping a bit though and I don't feel spaced out on them like my last tablets

By the way meowstro when you say they are not safe in pregnancy do you mean because there aren't conclusive studies?

I remember my GP saying unsurprisingly pregnant women don't really like to be Guinea pigs to test drugs so there is limited evidence on the effects however when the risk of what happens when you don't take a medication becomes serious then that outweighs the risks.

Unless you know of something specific that makes them unsafe?

Magnum - I do 2min noodles cooked till mushy, as chewing too much sets me off. I feel braver at the moment, so am having apricots occasionally and have nutritional smoothies from the pharmacy that I'm trying to drink.

Twinkle - I got nausea first that gradually gets worse and then vomiting kicks in about a week later. With first pregnancy, wasn't expecting HG so didn't get meds till I hadn't kept anything even water down for 3 days. This pregnancy started taking ondansetron when nausea kicked in, so feel like it hasn't been as bad. Probably more due to the resting right away instead of working through.

SickRose - I have acidex which helps with the acid reflux. Not caused so much by ondansetron but when I have a vomiting session late after eating and there seems to be more acid present. You can see Dr about it as there is lots of things they can give you. Definitely gets worse in 3rd trimester.

meow I'm on that. During first trimester, I was on that PLUS 2 other anti emetics and ranitidine (sp?), prescribed by consultant after a bad admission. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the other 2, but obviously at least some of them must think it's ok to add more!

Re food, I lived off nothing but toast+Marmite for literally weeks and bump is fine. They told me they're like parasites, they WILL take what they need from you. They did prescribe me vitamins though because they got low. So I don't think food is a problem most of the time, it's liquid levels that are the issue.

Blondes I know this is off topic for the thread, but what method/technique do you use to get babies sleeping through?! Would love to know as we prepare for imminent arrival...!

DS must have been defective blondes. He was mix fed from 3 weeks and didn't sleep through reliably until he was around 20 months.

Having said that, "sleeping through" is officially a five hour stretch, which is lies, ALL LIES.

Mewostro I have known any amount of women on here take buccastem, and you can be sure that if the doctors feared that there was any significant risk, they would not prescribe it, as they are so careful. But the problem is as they can't exactly do drug testing on pregnant women, it is difficult for their to be 'large scale studies' which can be quoted. I believe buccastem has been used in pregnancy for a good few years. For instance, if you went to a chemists and asked for cyzlizine when pregnant, they wouldn't sell it to you, though it has been used as one of the first treatments for pregnancy sickness for decades with no evidence of damage either for mother or baby.
Food suggestions interestingly varied - brave to eat noodles!
Blondes To get babies to sleep, do you use the sleep clinic methods I remember, or have they gone out of fashion?

Sorry, done it again, that should be 'there'!

I can't do this any more

Magnum. I survived on bagels and chicken cuppa soup. For me that was simple and could keep it down

Sleep - well as I said all babies I've had slept (as my job) so know bubs won't 😂 As it down to heartstrings

When I say sleep through I mean 12/14w sleep 11/7 - some are a lot earlier but all should be able to do this if have enough milk and sleep daytime

Dropping the df varies with babies but usually by 6mth if not soon they will sleep 7-7

It's all to do with routine and sleep breeds sleep and regular milk daytime

So regular 3hr feeds daytime if bf to go to 4h as gets older

Bottle can usually do 4hrs by 4w by tweaking and offering water when going from 10am to 11am You almost went to starve 😉 Your baby so that they are properly hungry to take a full feed to then be able to go to the next 3/4hr feed

No snacking !!

Always wake up by 7/730 am latest to get into a routine and start the day there

Easy - eat - awake/activity - sleep - you time - have used this method for years probably before GINA and baby whisperer 😇

I know as a professional that if baby is fed changed burped and tired they will sleep. They may mutter or Moan 5mins as I put down awake but they do sleep from an early age

I don't leave babies screaming but again if done the above 4 that it's sleep time and usually within 5mins asleep

Always time before going in to see them and I like to swaddle

Hope this helps x

Blah - it's ok. You're allowed to feel like this. What support do you have?

Peace - if sleeping through is 5hrs, then DD slept through from early on. But I base it on me getting a solid 8hrs block and that didn't happen till 10 months once she started walking.

Blondes - I've heard all those tricks before. I'm not too concerned about newborn sleep patterns as I know I will have more energy then than I do now. Amazing what being able to eat can do.

Amazing, thanks blondes!

I guess without the hormones or the sleep deprivation or the PND, not to mention the child who won't sleep unless in a moving pram, routines seem very easy and magic.

I'm going to slope off now

Blah: we are here for you and you can do it, even if it seems like there is not light at the end of the tunnel. I regularly have that thought/feeling and then something will happen that makes it feel a bit brighter. I second Mellee's question. Do you have it or can you access it?

Blondes: i was recommended Gina when DS was 6wks old as he had no routine and I had no idea what I was doing. Eat - activity/awake - sleep seems so simple. I felt like an idiot for not thinking of it myself. He slept through 11-7 from 14 weeks but I did crying down at 9 months. Determined not to need it this time.

Also, thanks for that and Mellee too. I'll stop worrying about weight. I too have extra padding it is making the most out of. Makes me feel better. I need to stop comparing this pg to the last one....

Magnum: I've had crumpets, golden syrup porridge, tinned peaches, some soups, and am currently living on honey cheerios, apricot yogurts and clementines. You've got to go with what you can eat but I do let DH try and ply me with other things for tea when I can. I've managed stew this week and vegetarian sausages, mash and gravy.

I've learnt that I just have to get used to eating 'boring' things, being nervous about eating and drinking, and being constantly hungry and thirsty. It sucks but baby is worth it.

Peace: I needed the routine, it helped with my PND and I rarely left our flat so DS was rocked all the time or slept on my chest. He also had feeding issues so the routine helped me keep track of exactly how much he was managing. Routines don't work for everyone and it was only the above eat - activity- sleep one we kept. I didn't even try one with specific times for everything, though I know some like that.

Sorry Peace, I don't want to make light of or insult anyone's previous sufferings or struggles and hope I didn't come across that way

I have my partner, he's doing the house, toddler and working. I have my daughter ( she's been ill for 2 weeks too) during the day but I can't cope with even that. I've been admitted twice in 2 weeks and sick 30 times a day for 6 weeks with a few days where the meds were working.
I'm on 8mg ondensetron and m---lamide and they're already not working.
I don't think I can do another day with my head in the toilet.

I miss my daughter.

Blah - I feel your pain, so much. My daughter doesn't even bother trying to ask me to pick her up. Mostly I lie on the sofa and she brings me toys. Is there anyone else that can help with looking after your daughter? I alternate between my mum, my stepmum and my mother in law, because I don't have the strength to be alone with DD for more than a couple of hours. Also, please get a referral to maternity mental health. I have my appointment next week, and just knowing someone will listen to me is holding me together for now. In the meantime, we are here for you, no matter what.

As I said a routine is easy if you haven't got the heartstrings - hence why bubs probably won't sleep ........

Train everyone else's child but not my own 💓

Blah sorry you are feeling rough. The 9mths of hell will disappear once baby is in your arms

Ask friends to help

Blah and Mellee, I'm so sorry. I'm a bit of a lurker on this thread and don't have it nearly as badly as either of you. In fact in my first pregnancy I didn't have HG at all. Now I am not entirely sure if I have it or just very bad NVP. Maybe it doesn't matter. But I wish I had had this pregnancy first and that one second. Trying to look after a toddler (my DS just turned 2) while feeling this shit for this long is unbearable. I was looking back at photos of the autumn today and felt so sad. In the space of two or three weeks in September I went from a 'fun', energetic, busy mum who was leaving for work at 6:30 so I could get back early for pick-up and take him to the park after a full day to a complaining, tearful vomiting mess lying on the sofa letting him watch TV night after night, weekend after weekend. (And this after taking sick leave from work!)

I did have a period in the middle where I was a bit better. Now 28 weeks and back on cyclizine. Having good days and bad days, with only occasional vomiting but significant nausea and some vertigo on bad days. It is so heartbreaking not to be able to join in fully with his enthusiasms or enjoy the last few months where he will be an only child.

Mellee good luck with the mental health services. I have also been referred and have had two appointments now which have been massively helpful and sort of comforting (even though I am not taking medication at present: am holding out on that as last resort). The problem is that I don't think I have depression, although I feel depressed: I am just so unbelievably fed up with feeling this awful for (most of) the last six months.