Hyperemesis hell - steroid therapy anyone else..??

[Mummymj93]

So I'm around 9/10 weeks at the moment. Let me take you back to week 6 for those who are familiar with hyperemesis. It was hell. And that's the only way I can describe it. Suffering with my first I kind of knew what to expect the second time around and boy was I wrong. This time is much worse. Over the period of 2 weeks I was admitted 4 times staying in for 3 /4 days coming home for a day and having to be readmitted due to going back to square one.. Not keeping anything down, not being able to move for being in so much pain muscular from the god awful vomiting. Whilst in hospital I would be in the same state.. bags of drips up.. 4 different types of antisickness going in IV.. nothing seemed to be helping. It got me in such an emotional place mentally me and my partner considered termination I feel god awful about it now but honestly I was in such a bad way and being off work didn't contribute worrying about money, my partner not being able to work to look after our first child.. you get my drift. I read up on corticosteroids being used to help with hyperemesis and discussed this ikn hospital where they were more than happy to help. It started off with the steroids iv and honestly within half an hkur i was starving and needed to eat the whole ward of nurses and doctors couldnt believe the difference! I've started on a three week therapy reducing dose of prednisolone week 1 was three 5mg tablets a day, week two, 2 x 5mg tablets and on Friday I will start my week three on one tablet a day. Let me tell you I haven't been sick since the 29th of September and I feel great. I'm really actually after any advice if anyone has been on steroids for hyperemesis and if it came back once the therapy was complete? I'm absolutely terrified of coming off the tablets and going back into the same state I was two weeks ago and having to have the time off and the rest of the inconvenience that comes with this deliberating condition! Please I hope someone has some advice or reassurance. Thanks xxx

I guess no-one had been through the above to advise anything so I thought I'd update on my situation. My steroid therapy finished on Friday 19th October after going back and forth between midwives consultants and gps... no-one would listen to my cries of wanting to stay on the steroids just a little while longer as I was only 11weeks then. I'm currently writing this from hospital been here since friday 26th just one week after stopping the meds. They have now had to increase the dose of steroids from twice iv daily to three times to stop the constant sickness and it looks like I'll be going back on them discharged once I can get these silly ketones down n out I've gone from +4 to +2 apparently the key is to eat but how can you eat when everything comes straight back! Anyway my first day on increased steroids I've not been sick since 7am this morning and starting to feel a tad normal touch wood I thouroughly would recommend this treatment to anyone suffering with HG it really helped me get my life back on track. If anyone wants any advise id be more than happy to help xx

You poor thing, this sounds horrendous! I've got hg too but Prochlorperazine and Cyclizine kerp it at bay enough for me to eat and drink a little. I'm so glad you've found a medication that works and hopefully things ease up soon. What a warrior!! X

I’m on steroids and have been since just before 12 weeks. Initially was on 10mg 3x per day. I’ve not managed to wean below 5mg 3x per day yet as everything got worse again but on balance I think the risk of the steroids is less than the risk of being unwell again.

Bumping as know this is an old thread. Just started 30mgs of pred a day tapering down 5mgs every 5-7 days to get me to 16 weeks (currently 12). Did you guys get any bad sad effects? @Mummymj93 @beanhunter

I can't say I remember any bad side effects myself. Steroids really were my saviour throughout the whole pregnancy(when I was on them) the only bad part was having to fight for the same thing over and over to remain on them even at a really small dose once everything was controlled, or it was just back to square one a few days after the prednisolone was out my system for the whole 38 weeks I was pregnant unfortunately. He came early himself but he is a happy and healthy soon to be 4 year old 😁 I hope everything goes well for you and the HG settles it's massive ugly head soon. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. ❤️

Thanks so much for coming back to me @Mummymj93! I actually had a terrible reaction all day and felt so much dizzy and nauseous i could barely walk to the bathroom so ive been told to stop. Luckily i had had a few better days before this trial so mentally not as much of a set back as it could be. I’m 12 weeks so think i need to stubborn it out in bed till the 19 weeks it took last time (i cannot believe you went the whole pregnancy i have so much respect). Can i assume that the steroids worked fairly quickly for you so it’s mad to stop if they made me feel much worse? Am also on omeprazole and xonvea already so it was an attempt to speed up recovery.

*not mad @Mummymj93

You're most welcome! I actually found the email by chance just now about a reply I don't actually think I've used mumsnet since this! 🤣 reading my story again reminded me why I chose the route of sterilisation I couldn't do it again to myself im absolutely petrified of getting pregnant again. The steroids worked almost instantly every time but they pushed them IV at first all the time as too sick to take orally I would eventually go onto tablet form once eating and discharged but once the tablet course was complete it would take a couple days to a week for me to go back to being a sicky wreching zombie. Along side the steroids I also was taking metacloprimide, ondasetron, cyclizine and buccal prochlorperazine at all different times aswell as ranitidine for acid but it seemed to me that none of them actually worked because once the steroids were out the equation for me my body didn't agree. I was a bit of a mystery i will admit at my local hospital and one doctor actually admitted he has never seen it so bad lol