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, phone them on:
024 7638 2020
Lastly, the NICE guidelines on treatment are useful:
cks.nice.org.uk/nauseavomiting-in-pregnancy
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.

I pretty much live off mash to be fair. Sometimes cheesy mash, sometimes with gravy and sometimes just plain but it nearly always stays down. I am incredibly grateful to mash potato. I have put a sweet potato in the oven to try later as I read that sweet potato can be good for nausea and I think I can face eating it although who knows once it’s on the plate in front of me. Baked beans have worked a couple of times but I can’t always face them. Its weird what works and doesn’t work.

I also have a fab husband. He is currently doing all of the housework, cooking dinners, bath and bed for the kids as well as getting me whatever I fancy to eat and drink at any particular moment. Up until this week, he was going into work late so he could drop the kids off too. I am truly grateful to have him.

Today is the first day I have gotten up in the morning and felt like I could face the day. However, I hadn't realised quite how bad my spd was because I haven't been doing that much! I saw a gp yesterday and she had also had a twin pregnancy and said it was honestly the worst time of her life so that has made me feel a bit less like a pathetic wimp!

Hello all,

I’m sorry to see you here in that you’re going through something so rubbish but I’m also grateful that there’s support here as I fear I may be shortly joining you.

Essentially dd is 7. I was signed off from 4 w until mat leave with hg. It was awful, the worst and hardest time of my life. To make things harder for me I have bad emetophobia (phobia of vomiting) so it’s really a living nightmare for me. I’ve always wanted another child but been unable to face pg again. I have a history of issues with hormones so I know it’s oretty much a guarantee I’ll have it again. I’ve spent the past 7 years suppressing the desire for another child and even going so far as looking at surrogacy abroad. It’s got to the point where I feel i’ll either not do it and possibly regret it forever or go for it but be literally in a living nightmare for 9 months.

I have an appointment with a lovely and understanding gp on Thursday to set up a plan before I’m pregnant so I know I will be fully supported and will have access to drugs etc as required.

I was wondering if you wise ladies have advice on what I can request and expect from the gp? Can I have medication before I’m pregnant so it’s there when I need it? When I feel sick I find it hard to leave the house to do with my phobia and so to know I have some medication there ready would help my anxiety. I had cyclizine last time which made a bit of a difference but it was still utterly terrible. A friend has recommended something beginning with o (I forget the name) as being better, has anyone else found this useful and if it’s easy to get from gps?

I really am genuinely terrified of being pg again, I’m not sure if my mental health can take going through it again but I hope the outcome and the long term gain is worth it.

@YuleABUnREASTIEable ondanestron is probably what your friend is thinking of. It works wonders for me. I still need it and I'm 14 weeks now nearly.

But I'm afraid to say it's not easy to get hold of so I doubt your go would prescribe it. It took me many sfs appointments and 2 hospital admissions before I got my hands on it. The reason being is it is very expensive and also apparently quite strong - it's used a lot for patients having chemotherapy.

So as great as it is, I wouldn't expect your gp to prescribe it to you. They tend to like you to try other medications like cyclizine - usually the first one they try you with. I tried 4 different ones before I got prescribed ondanestron. My gp wouldn't even prescribe me it, on my area you can only get it through the hospital.

However this is just me. Your gp sounds great so you may have a different experience. Defo a good idea to see a dr. I did as soon as I found out and was prescribed promethazine.

Wish you all the best x

And hello to everyone :-) I am still here just lurking every now and then....hope everyone is as well as can be expected X

Hi Yule there are several ladies on here who have braved hyperemesis more than once so sure they will be along with advice, many seem to have had similar long gaps before they have another pregnancy. I appreciate your situation with the vomiting makes it even worse (if it possibly could be).
I would suggest looking up the Pregnancy Sickness Support charity and phoning them for advice, they are really helpful and knowledgeable, especially regarding medications and getting help from GPs.
I think some people start on the meds like cyclizine before symptoms start and they are more likely to work that way (often not that good at stopping vomiting).
The drug your friend mentioned is ondansetron, it is usually viewed as a second line treatment so they may be reluctant to give it to you without trying other medications first. People on the forum that had that in other pregnancies still seem to have to try other medications first.
Good luck with everything!

Drs appointments not sfs - autocorrect lol

@Boredoftryingusernames is exactly right. This is my 3rd child and 3rd time with hg. Previous pregnancies I was never offered ondanestron. I didn't know about it though. This time around I did and asked for it so many times until one dr at my hospital gave me it and gave me 2 months worth of tablets. He was absolutely great. It is something to mention to your gp though @YuleABUnREASTIEable, just make them aware that you know about the drug. Just be prepared to go down every other route first

Thank you. My friend who had it was hospitalised several times so that’s probably how she got it. I wonder if it’s a case of being expensive if I went to a private Gp and paid for a private prescription they would prescribe it to me more readily. Can I ask those if you that have taken it does it help the nausea and retching too or just the actual vomiting?

Also have you taken it throughout pregnancy or just for a short term? I found some nice guidelines which imply only using in pregnancy for very short periods of time. Last time I struggled for the whole nine months (lucky me!) although the last 2 months were the best for me as sickness was a bit less and I could cope with all the other aches and pains easily, just not the sick bit!

yule ondansetron is not a first line treatment so you would need to go through the others first. I had to go through the whole treatment ladder again this pregnancy despite it being on record that the drugs hadn’t worked before. Ondansetron helped with the vomiting but not the constant nausea for me and it only lasted an hour or so.
What works or not is very individual- i think it's definitely wise to talk to your doc, accept the fact you have to try the first line drugs first but I’d say to ask the doc for rapid follow up - there’s no good being told to come back in a week. If they work for you they will work in a day or two. Try to get a follow up appt on day 3 when you try a new medication. What you need to agree with them is a proper treatment plan - try x, for x days, reassess, if not ok try y. Not ‘try this and come back in a week or whenever you can manage to get a slot.’

I think for all of us with hg it’s a big decision to have another one.

For me, it pretty much was an instant relief in that I stopped the constant being sick. I am now sick 2-3 times a week which is better than double or even triple that every single day. I do still get nausea every day, mostly on a morning and last thing at night. There are side effects with it though. Constipation and it has made me feel very tired which I think is the medication more than the pregnancy.

I don't have any experience in going private so can't help you there. But imo, I wouldn't recommend taking it to start with. Obviously I'm not a doctor but I just think taking it when you only have slight nausea (like right at the start of the pregnancy) maybe wouldn't be a good idea.

I think your gp is definitely your first port of call. Good luck x

It is expensive but the main reason is that other drugs have more safety data on them - they’ve been used for longer and so have more pregnancy data. It would be unethical for a doctor to prescribe it without trying the more known drugs first.

I cannot imagine how hard it must be to have emetophobia and hg. It must just amplify the awfulness.

I think it’s important to realise that IF you get HG again - you are going to be sick - I’m absolutely not saying that in a ‘put up with it’ way, what I mean is that if you get pregnant it’s going to take a while to get onto a treatment that work for you and that treatment is unlikely to be 100% effective. So a realistic treatment plan for you is going to take that into account and have both pharmaceutical support AND psychological support in place for you. Starting treatment early is important and is shown to reduce severity.
Have you had treatment for the emetophobia? That would be something to start now, pre conception. Apparently it has a good success rate.
Ondansetron is ok through most of the pregnancy if that works for you, although you will need to try other things first. I only got it after being hospitalised and it actually didn’t work brilliantly well for me anyway :/ you could also try making sure you take folic acid and b vitamins ahead of time, particularly b6 - although there’s no real clinical data on it, it doesn’t hurt and there are some theories that b6 deficiency can exacerbate HG in some women.

I have gone private this time (not in the UK) and I have found a positive difference in that I can see a doctor faster and my MW and doc spend more time with me - Important to note that a private doc won’t give you ondansetron straight away either, you will still need to follow the treatment ladder.

YuleAgree that unfortunately ondansetron is not a miracle drug for everyone either, I found it helped reduce vomiting but even on top dose was vomiting 2-3 times a day for the first few weeks on it. I don't think it helped with the nausea, only time for me has helped that.
Great suggestion by Anatidae about seeking help for the emetophobia as unfortunately agree that you can't go into this thinking there is a drug that is guaranteed to work 100% for you.

Hotchocolate how are you today? Hopefully a bit better with the new meds?

Gah, I’m so scared I’m not sure I can do this. I’ll see what my GP says. I know I’ll live my life wondering if I don’t so feel like I have to go through this. Thing is, I was pretty much housebound for my entire pregnancy and certainly bed bound for weeks at a time. The nausea was constant and unrelenting and mixed with my phobia it made it unbearable. I also had bad pregnancy anxiety and depression so it was such a bad combination! Good call on the b6 tablets, I’ll order those and folic acid and start taking them this week to start building up, I’ll take any help I can get!

I should have added I’ve had so many different treatments for emetophobia over the years. I’m much better than I was about 5 years ago when I was signed off with anxiety and struggled to leave the house for fear of catching germs that might causing vomiting but it still impacts my every day life. The amount of different treatments I’ve had I think it’s something I’m, always struggle with and just have to live with :( but you’re right, I need to plan for psychological support I suppose as much as physical.

Definitely get that support in place! I decided the only way I could do this again was if I had better support all round. I changed midwives and I’ve been really direct (always extremely polite but not fancying about) with all HCPs. I tell them how it is and what I need. DH is a star as he was last time.

I’ve found I’m physically worse this time but coping better mentally - and for me that’s an improvement. I’m signed off work and that’s helped enormously too. One day at a time. Today I was sick morning, nursery run, lunch and afternoon nursery run and I’m on ondansetron so for me it’s not been stopping the vomiting :(

It’s a really tough choice and one only you can make.

Yule Welcome. We have had one women on here with emetophobia.It's very unlucky for you that the phobia didn't clear up with constant vomiting . It must be awful. I am glad you are investigating treatment options carefully. You've had such great advice from Anitidae bored bitzy and others that I can't add anything.
Anitidae An excellent plan. You are doing future women a great favour!
hotchocolate Glad to hear that the anti acid is helping.
Mustang So lovely of you to offer for Sleepy. Lol about the penis and the childcare exemption. I have sometimes ask LO if his penis gets in the way of his making the bed properly. Seemingly, it does.
seize Ice cream is one I always have on my list- the cheap, disgusting sort being the best! I will definitely have to add mashed potatoes.
Poodle I do hope they give you fluids.
Sleepybadger Much sympathy and indignation. I am glad at least you get help from your parents and find this thread helpful.

Hi yule I am ondansetron but finding it’s not working as well for me this pregnancy as it did last time but perhaps my HG is worse. It does reduce my sickness to a more manageable amount but I do still have nausea. I am much much better with it than without it but I had to try several types of antiemetics to get it and I can only get it from my hospital not my doctors. I hope your GP is helpful when you speak to them. If you feel like you have their support you will be able to go into it with a more positive outlook.

Thanks for asking how I am bored. It’s been a mixed bag today. I felt very poorly this morning and was sick quite a few times. After taking my metoclopramide at 1 I had about 3 hours with a much reduced amount of nausea but I have been sick again since and not feeling so good this evening. I was very very grateful for a few hours with some relief though.

Hotchocolate that your so bad this time round, but at least a little 3 hour window of less nausea is a small respite for you. Almost another day ticked off though!
I am 14 weeks now and is like a fog has lifted today, still nauseous but periods without it, I even put mascara on for the first time in 7 weeks! Also did some hoovering, never thought I'd be pleased to feel up to doing that, think my saint of a husband was even more pleased though!

Hey Lucinda jusy popping in to say I finally spoke to my HV about the PND and I'm now going to be starting a course of anti depressants for the next 6 months at least. I feel better for being open about it, and kind of wish I'd said how I really felt during the pregnancy as well so to anyone feeling like they can't handle the horror of HG /please/ go and speak to someone. Like everything else I could probably have dealt with it earlier but was too stubborn/embarrassed /anxious to do so. But she's glad I made the phonecall. She was previously a psychiatric nurse so is better placed to help me as well which is nice.

I'm really glad you spoke to your HV Dead and are getting help now, hope the anti-depressants help.

ondansetron was given to be by gp after cyclizine didnt work

On a long journey on windy roads so brought a few sick bags with me

Will catch up in a bit womt let me load previous page

I can’t wait to feel up to wearing mascara again bored. I haven’t even looked at my makeup in the last 3-4 weeks. Most days I just wear pyjamas as I can’t bear anything tight on my tummy.

I’m so glad you’ve spoken to someone dead. Hope you feel better soon.

I have had a really good day today in comparison to what it has been. I managed to walk round Sainsbury’s with my Mum. I was sick a little bit this afternoon but on the whole haven’t felt too queasy. I’ve even been hungry and managed to eat some Yorkshire puddings with gravy and some garlic bread. I hope they stay down. If this is down to the metoclopramide then I love metoclopramide. I’m still exhausted so I think it will be an early night but I can live with that. Oh and I got my scan date through.

Yay hot choc to leaving the house and eating!

Thanks nails it’s been lovely to feel a bit better. I hope it lasts.