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.

Morning lovely ladies.

Today I am 10 weeks pregnant. 10 whole weeks!! That is a quarter of the way through. I can DO this.

Now watch my positivity last 15 minutes...

Morning all, thanks for your supportive messages yesterday. Sorry I was so grumpy. Feeling massively sick again this morning so not going in to work. Hoping to rest to be well enough to go in tomorrow and Friday.

Congrats on reaching that milestone Oklahoma. I really hope your positivity lasts all day! I have reached one too, 3rd trimester. Feeling like its still a long way to go.

Waves to all, hope you have good days.

Holly - 3rd trimester. Big deal! Well done. I hope it's an easier trimester for you. Next big milestone - 30w. It's good for the mental side of things when the weeks are in single digits. Have a good relaxing day today and hopefully the rest will help the HG.

Oklahoma - yes you can! Not long till the 12w scan! You're doing great.

Doing ok on this side of the world. Tired, but coping. A little concerned about the lecture I'm going to get at the midwives next week. My weight gain has plateaued, and I was borderline underweight pre-pregnancy, so being down 2.5kg at 23w is worrying. With DD, I reached pre-pregnancy weight at 24w so I'm tracking well below that. Probably just over thinking and stressing about nothing.

Oklahoma right there with you at the 10 week mark - and I was thinking the same, quarter of the way through now! I am having the most bizarrely good day so far - I haven't been sick today at all yet - I can't understand it, obviously delighted, but it's got me irrationally worried as to why!

Holly hope you have some good days soon. You're fully entitled to feel grumpy. The 'oh well, it'll be over soon' comments from friends/family/medical folk last time can get infuriating. Particularly given that they usually come after previous constant comments that 'you'll feel better after 14 weeks', then 16, then 20.... Vomiting with a huge bump and questionable bladder control is absolutely not fun, and any other scenario of daily vomiting would be treated so much more kindly.

Thanks Melle. I think you're right, getting to 30 weeks will be good for my mental health. I am going to push very hard for induction at 37 weeks if this continues, hoping to have mental services back me up as I have run into resistance already from my consultant...

Sorry you're worried about weight gain. I am sure given your circumstances the midwives will understand. You are absolutely doing the best you can do and your baby will be absolutely fine. People are amazed when I tell them the constant heaving doesnt really affect my baby. Keep that in mind and good luck.

Thank you Pippa. I am sure it is nothing to worry about and, sadly, probably wont last so please try to enjoy feeling better! I took some advice from both Lemon and Blondes last night. My friend did come round and made me laugh which was much needed. And even though I knew I would throw it back up again I thought 'fuck it' and we ordered pizza. No sooner had I got into bed did I have to run to the loo to loose it all, but I enjoyed eating it. So there!

I just had cheese and tomato so not toooo bad on the way back up.

Jeez, what has become of us that this is a topic of conversation?! My mother commented on how sad it was that I avoid certain foods now as I know how they taste on the way back up... What a strange way we are forced to live our lives.

Woo ten weeks Oklahoma! I know that feeling. I was literally counting the days in the first trimester (still am now but not with the same intensity). Sometimes I check in the afternoon and be disappointed it was the same number of days remaining as when I checked in the morning One day at a time was my mantra, but those milestones feel great. I'm on count down to Week 20.

Ah Holly, I'm so pleased you had your friend over and enjoyed it - even if the pizza returned! I'm supposed to be attempting dinner with a friend tonight, but she said if I can't make it then she'll bring a takeaway over, bless her

Funnily enough, after throwing up multiple meals, of all the things that stayed down yesterday - a bloody Pot Noodle!! Yep, bland salty carbs win again. This baby does NOT want to eat healthy.

After feeling horrendous yesterday, I'm feeling surpringly good today. Perhaps I pushed myself to hard at the weekend and relapsed? Maybe the rest yesterday helped? Either way, I'm hoping it lasts for at least the rest of the day!

Mellee: if it helps, I'm still not back to prepregnancy weight either, though I wasn't under to begin with. I think I'm at thr 5/6kg mark only but am thankful that is all baby and not me too. I wouldn't worry too much about it as am sure baby is growing as it should and you'll just be one of those women with a smal bump but a happy and healthy baby. Sorry to hear about the teething but glad you're managing Ok.

Holly: I'm glad after the horrible day at work you managed to have a friend round and eat sonething that tasted nice, even if it did come back up. I miss seeing friends and think I need to get back in the habit of calling them as sure I need the MH boosts. I always felt it was worse being sick when I hadn't really enjoyed eating it in the first place. Woo for 28 weeks. I will be there too shortly and can't wait.

Hi to everyone else. Will write more/ reply more soon

My earlier positivity is waning rapidly. I just had a fight with the pharmacist about picking up my prescription. She didn't want to give me the promethazine and ondansetron combination without it having been prescribed by a specialist. I had an absolute hissy fit and she eventually caved. The stress of that has now completely set me off and I feel awful currently. 30 weeks to go...

Oklahoma Sorry about the stress of a set to with the pharmacist. They do seem to make things difficult - no doubt they feel they are playing safe in querying things, but it's the last thing you need. Being a veteran, though, at least you know you can make it through to the end, and I hope you do get relief much earlier than that end this time.
Sprite25 Ah - I do apologise -of course, I know there has been one Sprite on here as a returner, but there can be people on with different names and number combinations! I do hope you feel better soon.
putput I so agree with others, if you are still feeling ill two thirds of the time, that is much too soon to think of returning. As others say, too, you have to build up your strength as you will be weaker than you realise from the physical stress of the illness and the poor diet, with the baby taking all the nourishment! As you are a nurse, do you have a union to advise you?

Hollyhop I am glad you took the day off if you felt foul.
Lapin and HaichM My handwriting is getting worse! I scrawled you a message, and can't read it, for goodness sake....Part of it refers to 'pot noodles' and it might be meant for Lemondrop, who I am happy to hear has had a good day...
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

Lemondrop

Ah, and muddle headed Mother Hen meant to wave to Pippanippaand say how much I agree, and to say to Melleebacca that it will be very unfair if the midwives rebuke you for your own weight less in the circumstances. At least baby is gaining!

Thanks all for your kind words. I think I gained weight better with DD because I had less food aversions. Can't have milkshakes this time around.

Holly - I so get the picking foods based on the way they return. Custard and yoghurt are nice to throw up, but after a few times of tasting the same on the way back up it gets harder to get them down.

Lemon - any rest always helps. It's so hard when you start improving but need to learn your limits. I can do about an hour of stuff and then need at least half an hour to recover. My day is broken up into activity, rest, activity, rest etc.

Pippa - try not to worry when you have a better day, although as mums we worry constantly. Hopefully it's just the start of the turning of the corner.

Waves to all

Holly - was thinking of you at 2am while I laid wide awake after DD had woken up after climbing out of her bed (oh the joy). In terms of induction, try not to get disheartened if they deny you an early induction, but from 35w you can take things to make labour a favourable option. I think you can take red raspberry leaf tea from 35weeks (I take it in pill form), and daily dates from 36w. I would avoid the pineapple and curry ideas due to the way back up though.

Others - I will have growth scans at 28w and 36w because I carry so small. Just worried about getting told to keep a food diary again.

Thanks for all the repies everyone. I got some cyclizine off my GP. It does not help with the vomiting, but I feel more human and functional in between. I find that I can tehnically eat more now (before I just could not force myself to eat), but if I actually eat more/differently than I was before I just throw it up immediately. I also go from zero to vomiting in no time at all, so started carrying a bucket around the house with me.

Getting the cyclizine was a PITA though. I had a phone appointment and got prescribed 30 days of Metoclopramide. I went back to the same GP, this time in person, because I read on the NICE guidelines posted in the OP of this thread that Metoclopramide shouldn't be taken for more than 5 days and was a second-line treatment. Not saying I wouldn't take it, but it did not seem like it should be the first choice.

GP actually threw his head back and laughed at me when I said I would rather start with cyclizine, as per the guidelines. Agreed to prescribe cyclizine. Got to the pharmacist and he had actualy prescribed cinnairzine, which I had never heard of and isn't mentioned in any of the advice I have read. Went back into surgery and it took an hour and a half to get it sorted. The pharmacist and receptionist were lovely and understanding. The GP just kept laughing at me like I was being utterly unreasonable.

Last thing you needed Oklahoma, I'm but surprised you flew off on one.

Mellee, despite all my vomiting I'm still as fat as ever! I lost half a stone in the first few weeks but haven't bothered weighing myself since. I'm certainly in no danger of being underweight! So now I'm having to meet a consultant because of my BMI Too high, too low, can't win eh?

Wow satsooma that sounds awful. I think I'd have told the GP to shut up if they kept laughing at me. Cyclizine did nothing to help me (although it does help some people). There are other options if cyclizine isn't helping, you can go back and ask to try others.

You're right that the metoclopramide should only be short term and cyclizine is the normal first line prescription. If cyclizine isn't helping enough, I'd encourage you to try something else.

You can try promethazine (and antihistamine like cyclizine, this works better for me), Stemitil, odansetron.... There's definitely other options even if your GP diesbt know it.

Read up on your options here and go armed with info to a GP (ask to see a different one!)
www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/green-top-guidelines/gtg69-hyperemesis.pdf

You can also check out the Pregnancy Sickness Support website. If you call their hotline, they give great advice. They can also tell you the name of a HG friendly consultant in your area and you can ask your GP to be referred there if you don't have faith in how your GP is handling things.

Satsooma, I also carry a bowl around the house lol! I literally have enough time to say "I feel sick...." and then it happens instantly! I've had to hang up phone calls from work because I've started vomiting. Very embarrassing....!

Oklahoma I meant I'm NOT surprised you flew off on one. I clearly can't type today and I'm going to give up now....

Hi everyone, will have a read through and reply properly in a bit but need a rant. On my way home after leaving work. I was hauled into a meeting this morning to be told they had to access my emails yeaterday to get something (they could have asked me to log on and send it, they had already done that, that morning) and it seems while they were looking for the 'work' they've read my emails. They are concerned about the volume of emails to my DH and need to investigate further to understand what I have been sharing outside of the organisation. I hate my job and certainly dont share anything sensitive or even work related. I did share the grievance report with DH and my mother but that was about me so feel within my rights. I think they are desperate to fire me and this is the new low they have sunk to.

On an 'unrelated' note my contract isnt being extended or made permanent so it will end while on Mat leave.

I threw up as soon as the meeting was over and am going home now to get my GP to sign me off again. I am out of sick pay so going to be a struggle next month. I feel really sick again and I've got a growth scan this afternoon which I am no longer looking forward to. I just feel like when is it going to end???

Oh sorry Holly that sounds like the most awful day. I hope your growth scan goes well this afternoon to at least give you something positive.

Hi all, just got my bfp and will be 5 weeks on Saturday. Was so so sick on my first pregnancy and am dreading it starting on this one. I think it started about 6 weeks on my first so I will enjoy the next 2 weeks and hopefully more!

Oh FFS Holly They really are the most dispicable organisation!!! I'm so angry on your behalf. I know you could use the money, but they are adding a huge strain on your life and in some ways you'll be better off out of there. When you've had time to let the dust settle and had a rest, do you think you'll talk to ACAS next week? I seriously think they're setting themselves up for an employment tribunal!

Just try and out yourself, your DH and you're little man first now. Look after yourself, because you'll eventually look back on this rough patch and realise those twats don't matter.

Hi One! Congratulations!!! And welcome. Did you take any medication before? Are you going to speak to your GP this time? It can really help to start medication early, before symptoms get really bad. Another brave mum going through this for the second time, I'm not sure I could!

Thanks lemon, no medication first time round so def will ask about that when I go to gp on Monday. It's taken me 4 years to get over first pregnancy!

Poor you!

If you have seen it before, check out this website. I found them excellent

www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

Might be an idea to ring the helpline for guidance before you go to your GP. Some GPs are very clued up, many are not at all. So it helps to have some idea what your asking for yourself before you go to your appointment. Hopefully with early management, you'll have an easier ride this time.

Thanks Pippa and Lemon. I have contacted an employment solicitor for advice, more money we cant afford, to see where I stand, but yes, this is only heading towards the courts. I just could do without it on top of dealing with HG and a rapidly declining mental health.