I feel so unwell!

[RunningAwayFromLife]

I'm 12+4 weeks pregnant.

I've had none stop sickness and have lost over a stone.

I'm off work sick so my pay is £80+ less a week and we're just scraping by, I don't know how we will save for baby stuff right now.

I had to stop antidepressants (I weaned off them on advice of doctor) when I found out I was pregnant.

I feel depressed again. Constant crying.

I have also had this mysterious itchy rash all over my body which the doctor has no idea what it is but looks like allergies.

And my back is in so much pain that I am in tears with it, struggling to be able to get my DS to school as I am in agony.
Painkillers barely touching it.

Pregnancy last time was rough but now I have a toddler as well and I'm 5 years older, I feel so unwell.

My GP is useless and I don't think he will do anything to help at all.

I just don't know what to do. I haven't been able to enjoy this pregnancy at all and terminating it keeps coming to mind even though I'm against that.

.

.

Is there anyone there?

That sounds like a horrible pile up of things all making you feel lousy. Is there a different GP you could request to see? Your one sounds particularly rubbish. There might be an antidepressant that is safe to take, your mental health is important. Also antenatal depression is a risk factor in itself, do you have a midwife yet? They might have some support you can access.
Can you reach out to friends or neighbours to help getting your older child to school?
Did your pregnancy get easier last time? If it did you are coming to the end of the first trimester and things often get easier.
I hope things look up for you.

This sounds awful.

You need to go back to your doctor. There are antidepressants safe for use in pregnancy - whether to stay in them or not depends on how bad you feel if you come off them. So discuss going back on!

The rash could be PUPP - ask your doc to check.

You don’t have to put up with the sickness either - again, back to docs. Go to the pregnancy sickness support website and print off their list of safe drugs.

Be polite. Be insistent

Thank-you both for replying!
The sickness was all the way through last time and then I started with SPD at about 24ish weeks which I am expecting again as I have hip problems from childhood.

I am going to see my GP, they wouldn't give me an appointment before next week though. He really is an old fashioned man who thinks I'm just complaining. There's only 2 doctors in our surgery and they're clones of each other im sure!

Maybe try the other GP this time, they might be better.

I really feel for you. I had hypermesis until I was about 20 weeks and then I got coccydynia or however you spell it that I still have although milder, still get nausea and odd sickness flare up days, had difficulty with sleeping all the way through, my eczema is worse, my IBS is worse because I can't take anything for it, heartburn, anxiety awful and not being able to take medicine for it, back pain etc etc etc. I'm 33 weeks now and I cannot wait to get this baby out of me, I hate being pregnant so much that it's putting me off the thought of having another child as I really don't see how I could go through this all again!! I also have the financial pressure as I was only getting SSP for about two months and DH and I live off my (low) income, every day I miss a day of work now and then now on the sick I don't get any pay. It is really grim and stressful and I can't imagine how much worse it must be having a child to look after as well.

Have you tried the hypermesis support thread btw? They were lifesavers for me when I was bed-bound with HG for months. It was so good to have some company from people who understood.

You need to be calm and polite and keep pushing. So

‘There are no drugs I can give you’
‘Current best practice says that .. (look up the green top RCOG guidelines on how to treat pregnancy sickness.) so can we start with a first line treatment and review?’

‘Sickness is normal, if you can keep down sips of water..’
‘With respect, could you do your demanding job on sips of water only for months? I’m sure you couldn’t. Last time this lasted all pregnancy. I’ve already lost a stone which is indicative of hyperemesis. I need treatment. Now, how can we treat...’

As for the spd, your GP will be the square root of fuck all use anyway - look up the pelvic partnership website and find someone who will do hands on treatment near you. It’s worth paying - my osteo fixed me in two sessions.

It really does suck. I feel for you.

Sounds horrible :-( you poor thing. This is my first pregnancy but I can completely relate to feeling absolutely awful :-(

I was totally naive about how hard pregnancy is I have to say! I'm currently in the hospital for the 4th time in 4 days with pregnancy related conditions :-( I'm very thankful for the NHS but wish I used it's services slightly less!!

With regards to antidepressants it sounds like the last thing you need is to be coming off them. I was on a less common one during my first pregnancy and although I'd been stable for some time doctors were were in agreement that it was in my best interests to stay on my moderate dose. This time round I suggested that I would like to reduce my dosage and the GP was very quick to say she would only support it as long as my mood was stable. Pregnancy is a very rough time emotionally and withdrawal can last ages and make depression and anxiety worse. I had one tutting GP trying to tell me the dangers but I shut her down by saying my consultant obstetrician was happy for me to remain on them. I don't think I'd have coped with morning sickness and withdrawal, I really don't. Pps suggestion of mentioning best practice and current guidelines is spot on.

@RunningAwayFromLife can you contact the midwife team treating you? (You may have to try phoning at different times of the day to get through to speak to someone.) If you are on anti-depressants then in my area you are regarded as a higher risk patient and need to have a mental health assessment.

Unfortunately I do know from friends' and acquaintances some GPs are actually completely sh*t on mental health issues, and you have to work out how to by-pass them to get any decent treatment.

Oh Running, you have my every sympathy - that sounds awful and no wonder you are feeling depressed. With regard to the itching I had PEP rash, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy - luckily for me not until later in the pregnancy, but might be worth asking your doctor about in case it's that? The best remedy I found whilst still pregnant was on Amazon - Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, sounds so random but the Amazon reviews are so positive. Maybe worth a try, though be warned it smells like a bonfire :) Good luck OP x