Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Hyperemesis Support

985 replies

LucindaE · 22/06/2018 11:19

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.

Hyperemesis Support
OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
LucindaE · 13/08/2018 20:31

Bowelofbabelfish Grin. Fear not, thy secret is safe with Mother Hen!
great advice.

OP posts:
Boredoftryingusernames · 13/08/2018 20:56

ohiwa really sorry to hear about your loss, not easy at any time, but especially tough at this stage of pregnancy when already on an emotional rollercoaster. Hope your baby arrives soon for you (and the vomiting and nausea finally ends...). Take care.x

Boredoftryingusernames · 13/08/2018 20:59

Bowelofbabelfish sorry to hear the HG has reared it's head badly at the end, almost there though!

LucindaE · 13/08/2018 22:31

Sorry, Bowlofbabelfish I didn'tcomment on your Hyperemesis returning. That is so disappointing when it happens.
Bored I hope OK...

OP posts:
PineapplePrincess · 14/08/2018 13:01

Hi guys, newbie here.

Currently just under 9wks following one DS and four MCs. Have had nausea in previous pregnancies, but this has been the worst and the longest yet. Have been badly nauseous for last three weeks and on the second round of tablets with the GP (cyclizine) after first didn’t make a dent.

Struggling to drink anything, have found it easier to get fluid through food - ice lollies, grapes, watermelon. But now sickened myself with everything. So far today, I’ve managed to force feed myself two digestive biscuits.

Have lost almost a stone in weight. No vomiting, just constant nausea- no desire to eat and on occasion retching but nothing coming up. I almost wish I could be sick to feel better.

After three weeks I am totally exhausted, struggling to work or move (hospital offer to sign me off, but I opted to work from home), and getting very little sympathy from my DH.

Reluctant to go back to the GP if they are going to say there is nothing more that can be done. What’s next, I just want to cry.

Bowlofbabelfish · 14/08/2018 14:52

Go back to the gp pineapple and consider being signed off. They can try other drugs and combinations of them.

In my first pregnancy I kept working and ended up very ill indeed then off from six months. This one I accepted being signed of for several weeks at the start and that meant I was able to work much later than the first one. Although the HG has been more severe second time round it’s been managed better. It’s important to rest.

No drugs helped me but rest did - being able to rest was the single biggest help.

Olivecake · 14/08/2018 15:15

PineapplePrincess welcome and sorry you’re having such a bad time.

I completely agree with Bowlofbabelfish that rest makes the biggest difference. I also tried working from home at first but it was still just too much and I just continued getting worse until I just got signed off and totally rested.

Also you can definitely go back to your GP and tell them that the cyclizine isn’t working for you. It’s the first line treatment and there are other options or combinations which will work better for you. I’m sure Lucinda will be along soon to give you some Hyperemesis coping expert advice but In the meantime You can read more about the different med options as well as other helpful tips here: www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk and give them a call with any questions

Hope you start to feel better soon!

I spoke to my dentist on the phone about my gums and she says it sounds like I have a vitamin C deficiency which makes sense so am trying to take the vit C and D pills daily now. They seem to be having more luck staying down than any combined prenatal vitamins which always came straight back up.

Sunandsea1 · 14/08/2018 15:51

I have just read with horror that this can go on for the entire pregnancy? I had two quite tough days, it just all seems to get worse. I have lost about 1kg in 5 days. At what point do I need to get more concerned about that?
PineapplePrincess I feel for and with you. My diet also consists of digestives...I don't even usually like them.

Bowlofbabelfish · 14/08/2018 18:55

Sorry yes it can go on the whole time. Sad

It’s VERY unusual to have it at the same intensity the whole time though. I was very unwell up to week twenty. Vomiting dozens of times a day (40+ easily) and dizzy and nauseous. Really a state. After twenty weeks it eased off to ‘just’ (hoho) constant nausea and vomiting maybe 3-5x a day. It’s rumbled along like that for me until 36 weeks then got worse again but not quite as bad as the start. Same pattern last pregnancy but more severe second time round.

I was losing 1-2kg a week at one point. That’s stopped and I’ve put about 6kg on from my pre pregnancy weight (10kg at least from booking but I’d lost loads by then.)

Get treated - drugs are worth a try, a good antiacid is v helpful, rest and fluids in any way you can. Whether orally, or by drip.

LucindaE · 14/08/2018 18:56

PinapplePrincess Welcome. I so agree with others, do ask for other meds. There are several they can try, and an anti acid can make a big difference, and also, I so agree that you need to be signed off and resting. Can you invest in some kesostix? I know that ketones are tricky things, but if you have a high reading a hospital will take you seriously in terms of needing to be rehydrated if you have 3+ ketones. Other signs of serious dehydration are a headache, blurry vision, feeling muddled, dry mouth and inelastic skin. Much sympathy about your MC's. That is tough. Sorry DH isn't more sympathetic. Might he be prepared to read some of the information for family on some of the linked websites? This is not normal preganancy sickness. It is possible to have Hyperemesis without vomiting (despite the name).
Unfortunately, people do tend to be off for a good few weeks with this. Don't feel guilty; it's serious and you can't help it. Don't try and struggle back too early; that's a mistake too many women on here make, only to have to go off again. Interesting that you find ice lollies and melon helpful - I always recommend those: I am wondering if I should add biscuits? Some liquids that might help: ice lollies, flat full sugar coke, the juice of tinned fruit, ice cubes, soda water, fizzy water, Elderflower Water, lemonade, Lucozade, Dr Pepper, orange squash, fizzy orange, orange juice (if not too acid), sips of chocolate milk shake (maybe soya), and Robinson's fruit juice. For foods of a sort, cuppa soup, nibbles of crisps and chips, cheap ice cream, baked potatoes, Scotch pancake and slices of melon and mango.
Olivecake That's good about dental advice and pills.
Seaandsun Don't despair - though some unlucky people do suffer throghout, almost nobody suffers as badly as in the dreadful first tri. Things will almost certainly get better. Most get a big improvement between weeks 14 and 21. Many can go back to living an semi normal life and working and things like that...
Bowlofbabelkfish and Olivecake Good advice...

OP posts:
Mustang27 · 14/08/2018 19:36

@Bowlofbabelfish hi bowl if you are who I think you are Iv been checking in on the thread I'd hoped you had just gotten better and were enjoying the remainder of your pregnancy. Sadly not Sad not long to go now though.

Sorry to everyone else that is suffering.

I feel for you Pea being self employed and having hg.

Laughed out loud at yarn saying pregnancy has made her a feminist, it had a very similar effect on me but I'm also getting close to my mid 30s so I think the years of crap and injustice is taking its toll now.

Sun it doesn't always last the whole pregnancy just take each day as it comes and have little goals like "today Iv washed my hair" or "sat up on the sofa for an hour" honestly it will make it a bit easier. Most find their symptoms get far easier by week 16/20 but not all and that's something to keep in mind too because if you just aim for it going away at 14 weeks Hmm and it doesn't it just makes it all that bit harder.

Do go back to your gp pineapple cyclizine is just the start of things they can try.

Lucybex · 14/08/2018 21:22

Hello I hope I have this right...am on my phone and never used a forum before so just testing!

Lucybex · 14/08/2018 21:28

So good to read other people going through HG too. I am only 9 weeks and had what I thought was normal sickness for two weeks... Steadily getting worse then last four days it's been unbearable. Getting out of bed feels like you're walking on tightrope above a canyon. I can't even keep water down My gp sent me to a and e and they've admitted me to a ward for severe dehydration. So I'm typing this in hospital, with a drip and terrified for the next seven months and feeling really alone with it and also wondering what the hell a ketone is!!
Also we had a miscarriage earlier in the year and I'm terrified it'll happen again... Anyone know if there is a link this early? Anyone know what they do while in hospital if you have high ketones? I
Sorry for rant and I think it's amazing how you have all coped....it's worth it in the end. Sending love xxx

LucindaE · 14/08/2018 22:25

Lucybex Welcome. Don't worry about a connection between miscarriage and Hyperemesis, there isn't one that I at least have ever heard of in eight years on this thread, though I am not medically trained. Sorry to hear of your earlier miscarriage. It is very distressing and ruins things in the next pregnancy through anxiety about its happening again. A chemist would explain ketones better than me, but you can often measure starvation and dehydration through them, though they can be deceptive. You can measure them yourself through buying kesostix at any chemists or online.
Hopefully they give you effective meds after fluids.Do look at useful liquids on my list a few posts below, flat full sugar coke, the juice of tinned fruit, ice lollies, etc.
Waves to everyone. Mustang Lovely to hear from you.

OP posts:
Lucybex · 14/08/2018 22:32

Thank you so much Lucinda e. Really helpful to read about foods and drinks and to get some understanding. I was surprised by how taboo and unhelpful people were about the miscarriage (you'll have another etc) and now this (everyone gets sickness..) this baby making journey can be pretty isolating!
We've been trying for so long and now have very ambivalent feelings about being pregnant at all which is weird.
Great to be here and glad to hear it improves, coz this is not fun for next seven months!
waves to everyone too xx

booandbumpp · 14/08/2018 22:40

I've hit third tri and 29 weeks and the sickness is back with a vengeance and the ondansetron and cyclizine aren't touching it. Not as bad as when I was in hospital, but my god it's sudden and random. Morning, afternoon evening, when I haven't eaten, just after a meal. The other day I was walking to the cinema and without a second warning I was sick down myself!!
Is there a resurgence in third tri or is this just my bad luck???

Bowlofbabelfish · 15/08/2018 06:38

lucy your chances of miscarriage are actually slightly lower if you experience severe sickness.

Lucybex · 15/08/2018 08:55

Thank you so much bowlofbabelfish that is great to know. I was hoping now I was in hospital I would have a magic cure after a few hours on the drip but seems not so- I have a lot to learn about this! They are talking about blood thinning medicine because of the miscarriage so a bit nervous but to be honest when you feel this rough I no longer care what it is!
Pineapple princess I am so sorry to hear what is happening for you. You are same as me- nine weeks. I am lucky to have an amazing GP but like you I suffered at home first. When I got to her she was surprised I hadn't come earlier and got me into hospital because I was so dehydrated. Are you drinking water? If not you really need to get help and get some drugs. As Lucinda e said too the MC makes it all the worse but will be worth it in the end. Sending hugs and wondering how you are today?
Also anyone any ideas/advice about work? I am a consultant and hopefully going to be made permanent in September so I haven't wanted to tell them I'm pregnant let alone this ill! I have taken this week off but fear I may need longer....

Olivecake · 15/08/2018 09:41

Lucybex sorry to hear about your MC, I also had a MC earlier this year and had HG with that pregnancy too and it was just horrific. I had a really great consultant at the hospital though who assured me that the MC was not caused in any way by the HG or any of the side effects I had from it (sudden weight loss and dehydration) unfortunately it’s just one of those things :( I’m sorry that you also had to go through it but the odds are now more in your favor this time around, I know it can be such an anxious time being pregnant again after a loss but all I can say is try to take each day at a time and make mini milestones for yourself eg 12 week scan then next midwife appointment etc, that’s how I don’t feel so overwhelmed. I’m now 17 weeks and all checks indicate baby is doing well so far, so I hope you will have the same soon.

As for the fluids, it’s definitely not the magic cure in that it won’t actually do anything to treat the cause of your hyperemesis, but it should feel better not to be so dehydrated hopefully! Did they offer some more effective medication for you too? I’ve had to take a lot of time off work and whilst I feel bad about it, it’s jusy not physically possible to work when the hyperemesis is at its worst, it really will get worse without rest so maybe you could ask about extending your leave or get signed off from the doctor?

Lucybex · 15/08/2018 10:07

Thanks olivecake good advice. I still have 4.5 ketones despite three bags of fluid so docs think I need to stay in tonight too. I might have to be honest with work. They know about the miscarriage so it won't be a surprise. Just wish I could feel a bit better and think straight! Anyone else get awful head aches? Never had them before but it's making it all worse!

Ttc2017 · 15/08/2018 12:43

Lucybex sounds like your having a horrible time but at least you are in the right place one good thing while I was in hospital was I could rest without feeling guilty for not cleaning or cooking or running after my children there were no distractions and I had no energy to worry or care about anything other than not being sick or moving to much.

Does any one else suffer with feeling bitter I know I shouldn't and have a lot to be grateful for but can't help thinking why us why do we have to go through such utter hell when plenty of people have a baby or babies with little or no sickness at all and enjoy their pregnancies :( just struggling to get out this fed up can't take much more phase. My doc yesterday doubled my dose of ondasetron even though previously the other doctor wouldn't but thh it's not made any difference apart from bad stomach cramp pains even though I'm taking lactulose

Lucybex · 15/08/2018 13:20

Ttc2017 completely get that and not very far in. All my friends had easy (or seemingly to me!) Pregnancies which were fun and blooming and full of happy baby preparing activities.
Whereas I'm just worried about the growing to do list while sick, and pissed off the fun of preparing is so tainted! Then you feel guilty about it. But everyone's experience is unique and we've no idea what really happens for others. Have you thought about writing it down? Write all your feelings down then destroy it if you don't want to keep it!! Might help organise them.
My husband said if Kate Middleton can do this so can I, but I'll go ahead and assume Kate has a cleaner, nanny, nutritionist, private doctor and 'bringer of plain crackers for breakfast!' even so though wouldn't wish this on worst enemy.
Hang in there will be worth it and don't feel guilty about any pissed off or bitter feelings they are all allowed! Hope meds work for you soon and cross pass.
Does anyone know much about the safety of anti biotics in first tri? I'm trying not to Google too much and freak myself out.

Olivecake · 15/08/2018 14:40

I get those feelings sometimes too TTc - I get really jealous of those people who don’t even realize they’re pregnant until they’re already really far gone or just breeze through their symptomless pregnancies glowing. It can seem really unfair sometimes, but I’m sure once our babies are here we will feel it’s all worth it.

Hopefully the extra dose of ondansetron will kick in soon and help you feel more like yourself.

Lucybex I also get headaches too especially when the sickness is at its worst, probably a side effect of the dehydration. Hopefully some extra fluids will help with it - you can also take paracetamol safely and definitely mention it to the doctors now you’re in hospital anyway. They should also be able to advise you on the antibiotics - in my experience they have been super cautious and refuse to use suggest anything that can harm the pregnancy

LucindaE · 15/08/2018 20:22

Lucybex That is still a lot of ketones. You must have been dehydrated! Too stoic, obviously.
Great advice form Ttc bowlofbabelfish Olivecake and everyone.
I think it is very hard not to feel hard done by. But 'The blow that doesn't kill us makes us strong' as the proverb goes. You will always be able to say later in life 'Well, I can handle anything now; I handled Hyperemesis after all.' Plus, you will truly be kinder people for such a grim experience. What have the women who sail through pregnancy learnt, when you think about it? Well, that's my view, and I hope it doesn't sound too priggish! Wink
Booandbump I am really sorry about your relapse. Unfortunately, it can come back in the third tri, though almost never in the same dreadful way as in the first. Can the doctor up your meds? As ever, 'an anti acid can help a lot'. Change the CD, Lucinda!
Much sympathy to Lucybex and all who have suffered miscarriages. They are still not treated as sensitively as they ought to be - and neither is Hyperemesis.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

OP posts:
Foodylicious · 15/08/2018 21:12

Just check in in again
Wrote a huge post earlier but it seems my phone ate it!