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 great: 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.

justtheonethen
Thanks for the reassurance. It really isn't easy but I guess antenatal depression is quite common and should have a number of options to deal with it.
It doesn't help to have people such as MIL and SIL give me scares about labour and delivery

Shez21 You are not alone I'm suffering with antenatal depression.

It's not uncommon and you obviously care so much about your baby already since you're seeking help.

And seeking help from midwife/GP really is the best thing.

Hi, I'm just posting on here as I know nobody in real life who has had HG and everyone I talk to suggests the miracle cure of sodding ginger biscuits....
I'm 15 weeks pregnant with DC2. My pregnancy with DC1 was horrendous, vomiting 20-30 times a day up until 20 weeks. HG stopped and SPD kicked in! I used to vomit so hard I would vomit blood but my midwife said this was usual morning sickness I was too tired and weak to argue and just struggled though. However I honestly think I have PTSD of that time as certain things still make me retch!
Anyway this pregnancy is ...better... in that it is just constant nausea with occasional vomiting. But this is where I would like advice from all of you wise people.

1. Is this still HG? Even though the vomiting is sporadic the nausea is constant. Every smell, taste, texture can make me retch. Heck just sitting still makes me retch.
2. This time round the specialist consultants I see at the hospital (as I have many conditions that only appear in pregnancy) have been very good and prescribed me anti sickness meds. I tried Cyclizine but this did nothing but exacerbate my tiredness. Then I tried Zofran/Onadestran and wow, so amazing. Within 20 minutes of taking a tablet I felt like me again. I felt happy and able to do things and live life. But the side effects are awful. After two tablets (prescribed 3 a day) I was unable to go to the toilet for 5 days and ended up having to use lactulose just to help a little and I gained huge piles in the process (luckily all gone now)! How do other people manage on this drug with the constipation?

When I am pregnant, all the related illnesses and complaints, mean my mood goes so far down I am confident that I have antenatal depression. These tablets helped lift so much of the fog for me I really want to take them again. I want to be excited for this baby, I want to feel like me but HG just robs people of happiness. Gosh this was longer, and a lot more whingy, than I intended. Hope everyone is feeling OK today

icantbelieve sympathy to you. I am on ondansetron and the constipation is awful. I use lactulose (religiously twice a day) and eat a few dried apricots each day and that helps, a bit. It's still bad but I can function on the tablets so for me it outweighs the constipation.

Hopefully someone will be along soon with better advice which I'll steal too!

Sounds like HG to me. I have problems going only because of the iron tablets that I'm not taking but lactulose, and a load of orange juice seems to help. Root beer also seems to be a cure for me? But I don't think that's a usual thing. My body just seems to react to it. There was a thread a while back about the situation where people mentioned eating a kiwi a day seems to really help as well... if I find the thread I'll put the name of it in here. The poor woman struggled for ages and ended up in hospital to have help bless her.

icantbelieve sorry your suffering, it sounds like HG to me, you've described my symptoms tbh. I'm on cyclazine, prochloperazine, and metchlopromide and this combo means I just feel constantly nauseous, exhausted and only retch/vom >3 times a day - so not as severe as others but still impacts hugely on my life. Time off work/drastic reduction in housework standards/DD enjoying LOTS of TV etc.

I'm pretty bloated and/or constipated even though I'm not on ondenastron, so I eat a handful of prunes religiously everyday which helps. Have done this ever since I read the thread that Dead mentions above - that or woman. I think you just need to find the thing that works for you. If I'm desperate I'll eat an ella's kitchen prune pouch, which are gross, but go straight through me

Yep @icantbelieveijoined just to chime in with everyone else this is defo hg by your description.

Nothing helped my ondansetron constipation so I had to stop. I know some had to resort to physical extraction, rubber glove job . Your first pregnancy sounds pretty identical to mine.

Hg and depression seem to go hand in hand too.

It sucks but you found us so moan all you like.

So I did my clearblue and got a 3+! I can’t believe I’m not suffering badly?! I’ve had HG 3 times and now nothing!? I really was expecting bad news this morning with the clear blue......
to all those suffering x

Welcome to Ican'tbelieveIjoned. I so agree with others, that sounds like the real thing. Hopefully, you'll have no need of them if the meds are helping a lot, but do invest in some kesostix in case things take a turn for the worst. I never understand why they don't prescribe lactulose at the same time as Ondansetorn, because that constipation is so inevitable. On bearable liquids and drinks. Some that have been found helfpul; flat coke - full sugar -, ice lollies, ice cubes, soda water, fizzy water, orange squash, orange juice, sips of chocloate milkshake (maybe soya), Dr Pepper, fizzy orange left to go flat, Lucozade and jelly. On foods - of a sort, nibbles of crisps, slices of melon (one woman processed it and froze it into cubes, cuppa soup and cheap ice cream. Some swear by chips- dreadful diet, I know.
BATMAN You have certainly done Super Heroine things on that combination, such as that train journey to that night out!
I hope everyone is coping today.

Oh weasel thats great news but it must be very disconcerting considering hg is your norm. Don’t feel bad just milk it whilst you can and we can all keep everything crossed this will be a hg free pregnancy (how wonderful would that be). Hugs for the stress it’s caused you.

Oh meant to say Icant that I’m on my second too nearly 31 weeks and my sod that crippled me first time round has not rested it’s ugly head yet. Tbf my hips never really shrunk back anywhere near to pre pregnancy so maybe it’s just that for me. Hope you miss it this time I still struggled with sickness until just after labour it was a nightmare to hobble to the loo first time round.,

Blue It feels great to not only have support on the hyperemesis front but also with antenatal depression. Thank you for the kind words
I hope you are being able to cope from your side as well.

Ijustcantbelieve Sorry you are suffering. Just another one adding that you do sound like you definitely have HG. The debilitating nausea which affects your everyday life is grim enough to be classed as HG.
You have already had great advice from others and would just like to second the prunes to help with constipation. During my early weeks it was the only thing that helped massively with constipation,had it during morning time and would have bowel movement(sorry TMI)by evening.
Hope you feel better soon and you are always more than welcome to come moan alongside us

weasle Wishing with a passion that one of us escapes HG(Wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy).
Really do hope you get a lovely blooming HG free pregnancy this time!

weasle HG was the norm for my mum but her last pregnancy all she had was nausea and not for that long either so there is the possibility of it happening. Fingers crossed for you that it goes smoothly after everything that's happened this year.
*I've got my midwife appointment today and I'm going to ask her about the baby and his position. He's still not turned and it's driving me mad because I'm getting more and more uncomfortable. I've also got to remember to ask her about using pethidine as I need to give her warning about it if I want to use it... still haven't decided on my birth plan 100% yet but they need to be given advance warning of the pethidine as it's a birth centre not a hospital. The Labour room is amazing though. We're really lucky.

Dead Didn't the spinning babies website help at all? I am fairly an amateur at all this pregnancy/baby stuff but heard bouncing on balls/walking a lot can help baby flip into correct position?(though I am sure you must have tried everything at this stage 🙈)
I heard birth centers are a much more relaxing environment, I can't wait to hear about your experience of it!

shehz doesn't seem to have helped, no. And walking is getting harder to do but I do a fair bit of it anyway as we don't have a car. We've also not got room in our flat for a ball. Maybe I'll just have to bounce on the bed instead.

Thanks everyone

Oh ladies, I'm so done with this pregnancy I have lots of complications yes but what really seems to be getting me down is now not being able to bloody breathe!

I can't bend down to do anything without going blue in the face, it seems. I also can't breathe properly when on my back, any ideas why this is? Fine on my side.

Midwife examined me earlier and I literally couldn't breathe comfortably for the entire time, it feels like something is blocking my lungs or something

Same thing happens at my growth scans, if I lay on my back my breathing becomes funny and I just find it so uncomfortable.

Sick badly again today. I'm going through a phase where I keep being sick but I'm still extremely hungry and want to eat again. This isn't something I had in my other trimesters.

Baby Blue still sounding perfectly happy in there, he just isn't moving much/at all for whatever reason but a close eye is being kept

Blue I find it's the pressure of the baby that stops me from breathing when I'm on my back. He seems to sink down and stops me from breathing. Totally fine on my side as well.

Midwife confirmed that BabyDoor is in my hip and ribs. She's told me to try lying on my right hand side to see if he'll kind of move/float/shift but she knows why I'm so uncomfortable now at least.

Think it's your womb putting pressure on your lungs blue. Really feel for you, you're not having it easy

door ouch! That does sound uncomfortable

Lungs get all squashed up by baby (and everything else gets squashed up too - babies really do a number on our internal organs!). I have asthma so don't have the greatest lungs in the first place so already having difficulties breathing at just 24 weeks, dread to think what I'll be like in the 3rd tri.

I just hold onto the hope that the pregnancy being so horrible will make the newborn sleepless stage not seem so bad in comparison!

It’s to do with your uterus squashing your Vena Cava, a big vein that runs blood back to your heart which is positioned behind your rather heavy uterus you will get breathless and dizzy whilst back sleeping as you are not getting enough blood. Your poor body is having to work twice as hard to get blood to all your major organs just what we need eh.

I think baby blue might be really big blue!! Sorry not to worry you bigger babies are supposedly easier to birth the weight and gravity work well.

With my ME/fibro I can’t sleep on my left side it’s just uncomfortable but that the recommended position with legs bent and pillow between them to keep them raised slightly to encourage blood flow. Not your right side as that squash’s your liver which again most drs want you to avoid.

I’m sorry you are back to being sick again could be because he is still quite high so your poor tummy has no room but you will still be hungry.

Cant like everyone said, sounds like HG. This pregnancy is so different to my last and both were HG pregnancies but last time I never felt nauseous. I vomited constantly but was fine in between. According to hubby it was a bit disconcerting to see me eating five mins after I threw up. This time, I'm sick a few times a day (the meds have helped) but I feel so ill all the time. I've not interest in food. Which is weird, as I am, erm big boned.
Weasley you are our great hope. The mythical unicorn. I hope it stays lovely and smooth.
Highlight of my day, I threw up, in the bath with my 2 antisickness tablets on my gums! Winner!!!! Think we can tick the drugs don't work box and move onto the next thing. It'll be the constipation special.

seize Sorry the drugs are not working. Most find the nausea much worse than the actual vomiting - though we did have one person on here who had a vomiting phobia, poor woman - fortunately, that seemed to go. Being sick and no nausea must have been much easier to bear.
Mustang Great advice for BlueButTrue. I think you must be either clinical or qualified in biology? Lol about your predictive text saying 'sod' for 'spd' - that just about sums it up.
weasledee How is the nausea?
DeadDoorPost I had to smile at the image of your bouncing on the bed.
Shehz Never worry about tmi on here; no such thing.
Natsku Sorry about your asthma anxieties. What do the medics say? A lot of woman who have been on here find a newborn really easy compared to Hyperemesis.
Apologies to anyone rudely ignored or with whom I have cross posted!

Ah, and Ican'tbelieveIjoined As in my post further back.

Made it to London yesterday for an important meeting. Was so nice to leave the house!

But I'm paying for it today, have felt so grim all day