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.

Can you take someone with you for support tomorrow Holly? Print off the guidelines and stand your ground that you want to be prescribed odansetron. Make sure you have enough promethazine so you can take that too and check the dose. I need to take both.

Sadly not. My DH felt today was the more important appt to be at so he will be back at work tomorrow. The consultant I saw today put a supportive note in my notes so hoping that will help.

I almost feel like its worse right now, I guess its in direct contrast to feeling symptom free? The consultant noted I was on a low dose of promethezine so Ill bring that up tomorrow too. Will bring the guidelines, thanks for reminding me.

How are you feeling?

Aww that's a shame. Glad he went with you today though. Just stick to your guns. I'm sure the consultant's note will help. Let us know how you get on.

I am prescribed 25mg of promthezine, up to 4 times a day. I don't take anywhere near that (because it zombifies me) but you can take a fairly high dose.

I'm still feeling rubbish. I think it's just one of those days shrug

Castle. Whoop. Welcome to motherhood. Hope all went well

Shirley. Poor you. I still had days odd extreme sickness / but you are almost at the pink castle and all

Putput. Sorry to hear about bleeding

Four. Never was constipated with hg but after placenta not following giving birth and lost huge amounts of blood :( and had 3 blood transfusions in now on iron tablets and they make uou constipated and green ish poo

I have been taking lactulose tho first time took too much - huge swig from bottle :( and almost shat myself down town

Literally ran into sb and yelled my usual please and ran into their loos ☺️☺️☺️

It does work. Just be careful 😇😇

Holly. Chocolate is ok to be sick on. Now rice. That's another story. Avoid !!!

Glad to hear of all the positive news yesterday.

I'm on my long commute to work, BUT the amazing news is my last day is Friday! Wahoo! So only 3 days left before mat leave and with each day I waddle closer to that castle! Must be high up on that list now. I remember feeling terribly upset when I was at the bottom that I was so far behind every one and wondered if I would make it to term. But here I am at nearly 36 weeks, counting down the miliseconds :)
Hang on in here everyone. It does come round eventually! Xx

9 weeks today!! I can do this...

Very jealous, I am Serious! If money wasnt an issue I would take very early mat leave. I hope you get to enjoy some of that time HG free.

Oaklahoma 9 weeks to due date or 9 weeks to mat leave? Either way, awesome! Hope you have a good day today.

I am 'working from home' today for the first time in a couple of weeks. Been logged on for an hour and a half and already struggling. I find it so hard to concentrate on anything when I feel nauseous... My little boy is kicking away though, so that is cheering me up.

Think good ondansetron thoughts today people, will update you once I've had my appt.

Waves to all, hope today is a good one for as many as possible. Lemon, you working from home too?

I haven't found Laculose does much for me. But then it's a softener, and what I need is something to make my guts actually do something (which I'm not allowed to take), otherwise it all just sits there like it's waiting for directions

So lucky Shirley!!! I'm already counting down to my mat leave.... which is many months away, boo hoo. I have saved up a lot of annual leave so I can go earlier though.

Oklahoma, I think you're kicking around the bottom of the list with me, aren't you? So you mean 9 weeks in? I remember being sooooo depressed at about 7.5 weeks when 9 months seemed like years away and every day lasted forever. You CAN do this! I'm also counting down every day that passes. I personally found that things became a little more manageable after the first trimester, certainly not gone, but a bit easier. Hang in there

Hoping you come home with a prescription and a pile of odansetron Holly! I know that feeling of staring at a screen and feeling totally unable to function. Don't push yourself if you're not ready to go back. Really, you probably need a few weeks on odansetron first.

Yeah I'm WAH today to, for what it's worth. I'll do what I can but I'm certainly not productive for a full 8 hours. And I have a little nap in my lunch break. Still, I'm doing more for them than if I got signed off. And I'm happy it's only a four day week!

Yep Lemon nicely put. The castle is waaaaaay out of sight around the corner and over the hill currently. We'll get there

Ah sorry, I misunderstood! Today is my new week day too, 27 weeks today, one week left of the 2nd trimester...

Ah you're getting so close Holly. Might not feel like it but I'd love to be 27 weeks!

I'm 16 weeks exactly today and counting...always counting

Yeah me too. DH is going to get one of those big wall planners so I can tick off each day. I have 91 days until due date though hoping to be induced sooner...

The nausea is grim today, wish I was 37 weeks instead of 27.

How's the working from home going Holly? Did you have your appointment yet?

I'm feeling non stop nauseous today and despite a lot of dry wretching, haven't been sick yet. Weird. I gave in a took this afternoon as sick, just feel like I need to rest.

Not yet, my appt is at 3. The working from home has consisted of going through emails and responding, I cant really manage anything else. I havent eaten since my really bad throwing up session yesterday, I know I need to eat and it will probably help me concentrate.

I thinl thats wise. It is so hard to concentrate with the non stop nausea. When you try to work it just adds another layer of guilt I find. Its easier for me when I'm just signed off. Sorry today is so grim for you. I dry heave ALL the time without throwing up, I can sympathise.

You will all get there, honestly in the early weeks I could imagine ever reaching 36 weeks.

I am using AL to enable me to go on Mat leave from Monday. Definitely worth it as having overdone it I have been very sick at work again. Looking forward to a rest.

Very envious of those who get to work from home, my employers wouldn't facilitate it. (Boo to them!).

Waving to everyone and hoping you are all less pukey than me. Xx

That should clearly read couldn't imagine! Must proof read...

Heading home from work as fed of of being sick in our horrid loos. Feeling shattered and in need of some sleep. X

Hi all, just been reading through everyone's posts, congratulations Castle as well
Docs have put me on cyclizine as the Promethazine wasn't doing anything, and work have been very accommodating- but I think they reckon I will be fine at 12 weeks so there's only another couple of weeks of this to go (I certainly hope so, not sure of the reality).
Also glad to see it's not just me that's WAH- I feel a bit bored and fed up with no one to talk to, but exhausted when I try and go in.
Can I be added to the due date list? I'm due 17th November

DevilWearsPrimark I'll add you to the list. Some lucky people do indeed turn the corner at twelve weeks,but somewhere between fourteen and twenty is more typical, I'm afraid. Almost nobody feels as ill later on as they do in the first tri, even really severe cases, thank goodness. Much sympathy to Oklahoma and Lemondrop and all those near the bottom of the last.
IAmSerious I am so glad you will soon be off. It's awful to be sick at work, even in the best of loos, and you have been overdoing it generally, but I think you are so used to overdoing it that you do it as a matter of course. Your employers sound highly unsympathetic - and if they have grim loos, that is just one more point against them. Lol about waddling up the drawbridge to that Pink Castle.
putputputI am glad the bleed has stopped and you had the reassurance of a scan.

Hollyhop I am glad they are letting you work from home.
Melleebacca Great advice as ever. Licorice - why didn't I think of that?
I will be going down to Buckinghamshire to visit my mother for a couple of days - but the lovely Blondeshavemorefun has promised to call in regularly. Lovely to talk to her, as ever.
Apologies to anyone rudely ignored.

Due Dates
Castlefeck 14 April
HurryUpApril17 17 April
NerrSnerr 18 April
moonoverthewater 10 May
user1477 14 May
IAmSeriousAndDontCallMeShirley 20 May
Robber Bride 29 May
LHReturns 1 June
PeaceLove 3 June
Boobs 6 June
South London 6 June
fourcorneredcircle 7 June
Pastiemaid 12 June
squeezypeasy 13 June
Babyand 23 June
Captain Warbeck 24 June
HollyHop17 20 July
whoate 1 August
HaichM 1 August
SociallyAcceptableCookie 5 August
JimmyJay Early August
Daffodil 11 August
SickRose 18 August
Pip1982 20 August.
Melleebacca 22 August
Mardybum2017 25 August
MagnumAddict 1 September
littlepooch 2 September
MamaBear 7 September
MrsK8541 15 September
MuvaWifey77 17 September
Lemondrop09 30 September
RubyReins 3 October
Passthesickbucket 4 October
Heartburn247 23 October
FluteyTootey 26 October
mrsgembles 27 October
putput 17 November
TheDevilsWearsPrimark 17 November
Oklahoma 22 November

Hi all,
Just hoping for some thoughts/advice really.

I'm now 22 weeks and have been suffering with sickness since 6 weeks. I fit the criteria for hg at the start but probably don't technically any more. Before pregnancy I weighed about 42kg (I'm really short so that was actually a healthy bmi) but I dipped down to 37.5kg at my worst. I'm finally up to about 41.5kg. Except for the early days I've managed to keep hydrated and haven't needed any admissions. Mainly I vomit food, and am still vomiting about 2/3 of meals on an average day and have tried eating little bits etc but hasn't helped. I just feel so tired all the time. I find that if I spend most of the day lying down then I can usually keep at least two small meals down. But if I go to work or go out to the supermarket etc I really have a bad day the next day. This has just been going on so long now.

I was signed off January and February and have been on phased return/reduced hours since start of March but have not yet managed a full week of hours or days. Work is an hour drive away which doesn't help.

I've tried cyclizine and prochlorperazine but both make me incredibly drowsy and so I can't go to work or drive with them. I'm reluctant to take metoclopramide due to the risk of extrapyramidal side effects and ondansetron hasn't got a lot of data on it in pregnancy (and I'm not sure my ccg will let my gp prescribe it anyway).

I'm booked to see my gp tomorrow and just don't know what to ask for. She tends to take her lead from me.

My husband thinks I should get signed off again and just rest as much as possible as that's the only thing that really helps. But I'm worried about sick leave/pay/being forced to take early maternity leave and missing out on time with baby. I also really like my current job (it is a six month rotation but I've barely done a complete month of it). I begged to be allocated this rotation, and it is a fantastic, interesting job with really supportive colleagues. They have been great about reduced hours and have paid someone else to do all my nights and weekends. I just feel that if I'm signed off again now I'll not manage to go back and will have missed this opportunity. But at the same time I feel so flakey constantly being off sick and when I am there I'm vomiting about 4 times in a short day and spend most of the time thinking about my tiredness/nausea/shall I run for the loo now. When I get home, even if I've only worked 9-2 rather than til 5, I have to go straight to bed. I suppose I feel a bit of a fraud since I manage hydration, barely take medication because it's just not helping, and am not vomiting constantly, and have slowly regained some weight. But I still feel rubbish and am failing at normal daily things like going to work or not spending half the day in bed. I used to be fit but a 20 minute walk now exhausts me.

Sorry for that long stream of consciousness. I'm not actually sure what I'm looking for in responses, I just needed to get it off my chest. Maybe I can phrase it more concisely for the GP tomorrow.

Well that was an ordeal. They were over an hour late with my appointment (aside from being very annoying it also costs a fortune to park at Kings) so by the time I got in to see someone I sort of lost it. I've been feeling awful today anyway so started off shouting and ended up sobbing umcontrollably. If I wasnt already seeing mental health services I reckon I would have been referred off the back of that...

Long story short I have been presrcibed 2 weeks worth of 4mg which I can take 3 times a day alongside promethazine. She also mentioned it taking a few days for it to work so I've decided not to go in for the rest of this week and start afresh, hoping feeling better next Monday. Work already hate me, so I might as well...

I am feeling so overwhelmed right now. I just feel like everything is constantly going wrong at once. I didnt sleep well last night so hoping a better nights sleep tonight will put me in a better frame of mind tomorrow.

Thanks for all your support in getting me this far.

Hi Lapin. Sounds like you're having a miserable time of it. Have a look at the RCOG guidelines which outlines your various medication options, you can also take these to your GP to discuss
www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/green-top-guidelines/gtg69-hyperemesis.pdf
I appreciate your fears about odansetron, I was worried at first. However I was quite reassured after realising just how many pregnant women take it, there's only not much data as it's unethical to test on pregnant woman. Also the fact you are well out of the first trimester is a huge positive as your baby is already formed and now just growing. Definitely sounds like you're not ready to be back at work, even if you want to be. Again I sympathise, I'm struggling through when really I probably shouldn't be.

Holly, I've been waiting with baited breath to hear the outcome of your appointment (delayed reply as just woke up from 3 hr nap - bloody promethazine). Sounds like a total nightmare, you must have been so frustrated in the waiting room, I'm not surprised you flipped at them! Yay to getting odansetron though. Did they tell you the max dose of promthezine you could take too? If I were you, I would stop work and take the maximum of both odansetron and promthezine between now and Monday and see if it improves things for you (fingers crossed you'll see a big difference)

Lapin - you poor thing. That's HG for sure. Meds will help, but if you're really concerned about the side effects, then you need to have lots and lots of rest. I had metachloropromide and ondansetron in my last pregnancy, and ondansetron was the only thing keeping me able to work, eat and gain weight. Since you're already 22w, it might get a bit better before the 3rd trimester, but the sickness might last the whole time, so be prepared. We will be here to support you the whole way through.

Holly - argh! I'm so annoyed you didn't get ondansetron, but I hope the promethazine helps. Let us know how you go.

I'm on bedrest today, I overdid it yesterday and ended up with pelvic cramps all afternoon. Mostly better today but still going to take it very slow.

Waves to everyone else.

Thanks Lemon. Yeah she said I could also take promethazine 3 times a day as well. So I'm going to do as you suggest and take the next 4 days to hope and pray it works. Bit worried about the constipation as I have previously suffered quite badly in this pregnancy but still have some lactulose so will take that at the first sign.

I hope you've woken up feeling better for a nap. Thanks for all the support, much appreciated X