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.

Sorry cross posted. Flap I love your list - wouldn't that be wonderful!! Something to add which my husband does to help (maybe it's just me being a bit weird though)...but cleaning the toilet. It's so silly, having a gleaming toilet to throw up into makes the day just that little bit less bad!

Thanks Lucinda I think your description was me yesterday, was keeping some liquid down but not much. Today is much better and (sorry to be graphic...) but I am going for a wee more often which is a good sign and only been sick twice meaning I've been getting much more fluids in.

Yes to cleaning the toilet pippa.

I'd add a plain "sorry, that sucks". Sometimes there is no need to do more than just acknowledge that hyperemesis is shit.

Also: what can I get you from the shop? I change my mind daily so never like what I have in.

Flap you've just made my day with your new list! I will have a think of squares to add

pippa yes to clean toilet! One thing I'm thankful for is that we'd had the bathroom replaced just before I found out I was pregnant. If I'd had my head stuck down the old green loo with its crusted on limescale I think that would have been much worse.

Waiting to hear back from out of hours drs. Didn't even keep the ice lolly down earlier 😭 and lost another 5 lbs since Friday 👌 I knew I wanted to lose weight this year but not like this.

Got some more tablets and they've kicked in already I'm so happy. But considering I'm only 15 weeks I'm so done with this pregnancy already. And if these tablets stop working then it's the hospital for me, so at least they'll keep an eye on me then

Deaddoor I've just remembered we have the same due date, maybe we are both encountering a 15 week blip?!

Feeling a lot better, after lying in bed most of the day. Ketostix purchased, only I've realised now I have no idea what to do with the results - can anyone help? It says 1+ which seems to be at the good end of the scale, can anyone share their experiences?

Ladies and gentlemen (oh) I bring you

Bingo.. the "let's get gingered" edition.
Thanks for all your contributions. Print out, laminate, take to work/family events/to your healthcare appointments and feedback with your scores

Whoever gets the highest score by the end of each month gets the Ginger biscuit prize! ⛄ that is the closest I can get to a ginger bread man.. I can't use the mumsnet biscuit for obvious reasons 😂

Can I get some advice from you knowledgable lot?
I'm at the end of my tether, only 7 weeks pregnant with my first and the nausea is overwhelming. I can barely sit up and have spent the last week and half crying, dry heaving and feeling sorry for myself. I haven't vomited at all but lots of attempts and nothing is happening. I teach and have found school unbearable so didn't go in for 2 days before half term started. I've lost 2kg in weight over the time and am really struggling to eat anything. I'm thinking of going to the dr tomorrow but worried they will tell me this is normal and to toughen up. This is what I've heard from family and work so far. I feel like such a failure and can't imagine how I am going to cope another few weeks let alone months like this. I desperately want my baby but it's feeling like such an ordeal that I just want all of this over! Sorry for the rant!

Seren that's not normal, you need to speak to your Dr and get some meds. Are you managing any fluids? You might by dehydrated as well as being malnourished. People who haven't been through this have no idea how it feels so please ignore the 'toughen up' and 'it's normal' comments. Feeling nauseous for part of the day and occasionally throwing up is normal. Feeling nauseous 24/7 and losing weight because you can't eat is not normal.

Flap my DH is printing it off for me at work tomorrow. I think my favourite is 'pregnancy is magical' the only magical thing about pregnancy in my view is how it makes every hour feel like a year and robs you of your life for 9 months!

Serendipper.. that sounds awful and sorry you're having such a tough time. I teach too and it's a really hard job to do when you feel like that.

Its not normal and there is no need to toughen up. Any non pregnant person with hose symptoms would not be told to toughen up. You need rest from work, may need help rehydrating if you cant stand food and flyids and may benefit from medication . Cyclizine helps some people with the nausea.

Like what Okla said you need to ignore those comments as they can slow down you getting the help you need. Its really unhelpful. Have a read of the links Lucinda has put in the OP.. is some really good stuff there to help you.

Also take a look at my bingo grid above for an idea of what comments to put straight into the trash

Thank you Oklahoma, I really needed to hear that as I am just beating myself up for struggling so much. I am managing liquids and things like tinned peaches so hopefully not dehydrated but definitely feel malnourished as I'm weak and shaky and exhausted. I've stopped taking pregnacare as I've read that can add to it but not much relief yet. I'm also having quite bad diarrhoea as well when I do manage to eat something. What shall I ask for from my dr? I find it much better going when I know what I want from it. Thanks for replies x

Okla haha yay!! I am tempted to shout yippee and mark it off in front of people

I would vote cyclizine to ask for first as this is one of the first line ones and an be really good at helping woth nausea. Doesn't work for all though so of afyer 3 days no improvement then go back

I would also consider asking to be signed off. Shaky exhasuted amd tired is no good. You don't hve a dot down office Job.. teaching is relentlessly exhausting and mentally draining. Stress and tiredmess makes everything even harder.

Having a few weeks off will give you time to identify your patterns a bit amd tune in to your body a bit more to find out when your "better" moments are and also be free to eat and drink in the very limited windows you may get. Also allow you to nap though the worst times when you are able to and skeep in shorter bur more frequent chunks as this sometimes helPS. .. sometimes (if you manage it) long sleeps mean you feel awful when you wake up as all your blood sugar would have dropped

So in short. .. cyclizine and 2 weeks off .

I had 2 weeks off.. followed by amended hrs for a month.. followed by being signed off for a month. I was so reluctant to do it as I had exam classes but now I am so glad I did as I had to put myself first and was no good to anyone at work

Flap - what a fab bingo sheet. I love it!

Anyone got tips for sleeping longer? I'm absolutely exhausted by dinnertime and the food makes me really nauseous, so I spend evenings lying down until DD goes to bed and I go straight after her. I sleep from 8ish to 4/5ish but wake up and just can't sleep anymore despite feeling so tired. Tried napping with DD yesterday, but she took almost an hour to go down and by then number 2 had wiggled directly onto my bladder and I was in agony.

Mellee promethazine

Seren as everyone else has said this is not normal if more women felt like this there would be an extra 9 months pre maternity time off. You wouldn't be getting told to toughen up that's for sure.

They will likely give you cyclizine and that's totally worth a shot and does help loads of us give it 3/4 days if you feel no different get an emergency app they may try you on stemetil which you can take in conjunction with the cyclizine.

It's just trial and error same as with the food and drink you will be able to tolerate

Thank you all for your replies. I have made some notes and will go to open access tomorrow and take my husband with me for support. I've started looking at the links and the description on one of the pages is exactly how I feel so I've sent it to my mum to show her that this isn't how it's supposed to be. I'm sure she means well but she has ticked off most of the bingo sheet on her own.

Just to let you know some open access places don't have drs available amd won't see if you of you are pregnant or won't be able to prescribe you what you need... I don't know the set up of yours but where I am there is an open access clinic walk in centre place with zero drs even there so they had ti send me away but got me an appitnment at the out of hours at the hospital ... or if the open access is within a surgery make sure you tell them you are pregnant and if its possible to nab you a dr ?

Def worth going though and I really hope the cyclizine gives you some relief.. it helped me within a day and was a godsend initially

Not working so well now though ... Mustang I nay go bavk and ask for stemetil then? Did this make a big difference for you?

I am finding with cyclizine I get relief then major crashes when I only take 1 a day... and if I take 2 or 3 day I am becoming a really grumpy miserable zombie and really suffer with the drymouth and get white dit's on my tongue that make it feel burnt and also cracked lips?!

serendipper take a look at the NICE guidelines linked in the OP of this thread. Especially the bit about when meds should be considered and the bit on what meds your GP should try and in what order. If your GP deviates from the NICE script you can produce it and ask why they aren't following the recommended treatments.

pippa maybe who knows. But I've managed to eat food today and I've found a new drink I like as well. Still finding it hard to eat food as I've gone off so much. Have you got your next appointment anytime soon? Got my 16 week one on 5th June so another sibling birthday takeover 😂😂 not that my brother will care.

seren I should have gone to the dr at 7 weeks after losing 7 lbs in 2 weeks. Mother and nan both suffered with HG so although they know what I'm going through they didn't have the tablets available to they so they didn't advise me to have them. At least theyre not telling me to suck it up like they did. They're quite good like that. But seriously, losing weight isn't normal, as I well know now... currently at 35lbs lost since 5 weeks... so that's in 10 weeks for me.. tablets have been a lifesaver.

mellee I put Netflix on.. usually QI.. and fall asleep listening to that quietly. Maybe something similar will help? It's the only thing I've found that lets me stay asleep or tired enough to go back to sleep if I wake up during the night.

Thanks flap I should have said the open access is just my own GPs on the day appointments. If you turn up before 11 and wait you can just be seen by the duty dr. It works well but booked appointments aren't available for 3-4 weeks.
Good to hear the tablets made such a difference hope they can put you on something that gives you the same relief.

Thanks satooma I will look at the nice guidelines. Might even take a copy just in case!

Deaddoor that sounds terrible, I haven't lost as much weight as you (and I am overweight anyway so I guess I can afford a little loss) but I know your right that this isn't normal. Hope things improve for you!

Helpful bingo

3. no, let me rinse that bucket

4. here's a hair bobble/hair clip/my hand to hold your hair back

5. I made chips.

:)

Sorry that some of you are suffering so very badly, the darkest days are awful. What have you got to try and pass the time? I had audio books... Took me quite a long time to get through one as I kept falling asleep but the distraction helped since I couldn't read/watch TV etc. It was quite soothing to hear another voice in the long hours home alone too. I don't recommend a thriller/horror story though because the meds combined with my subconscious brain truly came up with some weird dreams!

Holly how many weeks are you now? My consultant talked about inducing me at 38 weeks when I had a bad patch a few weeks ago. Then helpfully retired... the new consultant then said she'd rather not
Is it worth you asking about the chances of induction? Even for your exact due date? The vomiting has slowed a lot for me so, whilst time is dragging, I'm coping ok. I was very disappointed at first though... and I do think that in our lowest days a finite point helps massively. I'm going to ask about the chances of induction on my due date (which is in just over a week) when I go in tomorrow...