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.
On my image of a pink castle: that is an image I use because when I was little, my family had a Snakes and Ladders board with an image on the last square of a pink castle in the clouds. As Hyperemesis is so like a grotesque version of Snakes and Ladders - eat a meal, go up a ladder, first thing in the morning bile run, down a snake - I have used the image of that pink castle on the last square of that Snakes and Ladders board as a metaphor for the happy end of Hyperemesis.

Oh dear, I love hot baths, now I’m imagining my baby cooking like an egg . I just can’t do a tepid bath. Maybe I’ll stick to showers...

Thanks for Netflix recommendations, I can’t believe how much is on there! Dh bought me a cheap projector for Christmas so enjoying watching it cinema sized on the wall.

@canonlyhopexo oh god you have to go back to her?!
Can't believe she didn't put you through that's pretty bad.

@avacadooo I've not had the best experience with her. I don't have any paper notes either or my maternity excemption card so I'm having to pay for all my sickness prescriptions. Which isn't the end of the world but not really the point. She said because I'd mentioned I'd be unsure if we'd want to be screened for downs and Edwards syndrome at the scan, she couldn't do anything. I don't see what difference that would make personally - what if we'd agreed there and then and then changed our minds? 🤦🏽‍♀️

@canonlyhopexo that's awful, I forget you thugs have to pay for prescriptions but I'd chase her up.
You need your notes for the scan? Or at least up here I have to bring the folder.
She should have talked to you about the tests instead of fobbing you off after for being unsure, nothing worse. The scan isn't just to check for those two things, she sounds a bit rubbish tbh any way you could ask for a new one?
I agreed to stuff I have no idea about cause of that meeting was draining and long and I was bursting for a wee for half of it.

@avacadooo she's not very nice. She said congratulations to us and I said thank you we're really shocked (I was diagnosed with endometriosis in September and was told would be difficult to fall) and she went oh right so it wasn't planned then and I said well yes but blah blah blah and explained and she just went oh I didn't think it was planned! When she said about having the tests at the scan I said I'm not really sure we'll probably need to think about it to decide and she said how long will that take will you know by the end of this appointment? Yes babes I have got time to discuss this with my partner whilst you're also talking about the dangers of salmonella and poaching my unborn child!!! 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

That doesn’t sound great canon. FWIW I’ve just been ticking the maternity exemption bit before I even got my certificate through. I figure I need the drugs due to pg reasons so I should be exempt. Every chemist has been fine about this apart from one who told dh I coukd be fined, but when I asked my mw she said he was being silly and I wouldn’t be, it was only people who collected prescriptions fraudulently and weren’t pg who would be fined. I’d definitely try to get a different mw! Not sure about where you are but at my local hospital they have different mws on different days so if you change your apt to a different day you might get a different person.

Thanks @Reastie. I see my mw at gp so only see her Thursday as that's the day she's in surgery so think I just need to move gp which I had intended to do before I fell anyway! Where I've been so sick I haven't been able to get out and about to sort it. The pharmacies have asked for the certificate when DP has collected them so they've just issued receipts.

Thanks @eallison88 - I rang the pss helpline last night who said the go prob won't prescribe anything more unless I get much worse, which to be fair I haven't. Dreading weeks 8-14 though which were my lying in the dark and throwing up endlessly times before, luckily I've only been feeling sick today it's been hard work but I got to leave work early and even managed some spaghetti hoops and toast. First real food in over a week! I'm going to give the cyclizine a go even though I feel like a zombie on it and go back once anything gets bad x

Twin shock still dominating here!

Today has been awful. Throwing up and crying in toilets at work and a kind (anonymous) woman brought me a drink of water and said nice things through the cubicle door.

I’m on 4mg Ondansetron and 50mg cyclizine 3 times a day. Is there more they can give me? Shall I go back to GP?

Hi all I’m a newbie here on the thread. I don’t have hyperemesis, but I do have much worse nausea and sickness this time around (7+1 pg with DC3), I’ve been signed off work and just started cyclizine. I’ve been recommended and seen signposted loads of times this thread for pg sickness and nausea support so thought I’d pop in.

Sickness kicked in at 6 weeks. I’ve since worked out that if I eat nothing before 12pm, I avoid spending the morning hugging the toilet, however I still have the awful nausea and feel quite weak (probably due to lack of food, although I can sip water). From midday I can have some food, I feel okay, still nauseous but not as bad as the morning, I can eat dinner around 6/7pm, same as lunch (nauseous but not as bad as morning, but still a bit out of it), then I gradually decline until by bedtime I feel more nauseous again but I can sleep okay. Then wake up and repeat

First tablet of cyclizine completely knocked me out, felt spaced out then fell asleep for 3 hours. I’ve read that for some people they adjust after a few days - what have your experiences of cyclizine been?

I work full time and my boss is supportive at least which is good, part of me thought maybe the tablets will mean I return to work but not too quickly it seems!

norbert you may well find that after a few days the side effects of the cyclizine will settle down. Fingers crossed for you.

calmer yes, you could be on up to 8mg 3 times a day. Also other meds could be added in, it's not unusual to take 3 meds in combo. Go back to GP and talk about options.

beforeihit30 welcome. As I said, many find that the sleepiness of cyclizine settles after a few days. I'm glad your boss is supportive, that's so important. Be gentle to yourself and do what you need to do to get thru the day. You'll always find listening ear here, and suggestions as to what you might be able to try. Hope it stays lowish level for you, and eases asap!!

Oh, and I'm angry about crap midwives. Who was it who is paying for prescriptions? You can claim back what you've paid, though I'm sketchy on the details (maybe speak to pharmacist). I got the form for my mat exemption card sorted at he reception of my GP - may be worth a chat with your receptionists? You can also tick the mat exemption box before getting your card thru - I did. It gets expensive paying for the prescriptions and you shouldn't have to. I dread to think how much I would have spent so far if we didn't get mat exemption!!

I think the events of the last few days are catching up with me (went to hairdressers as well today - I can't do much about the acne, the weight gain and fat face, or the excess facial hair, but at least my hair can be nice! Trying it build my confidence for going back to work next week). I'm feeling slightly higher nausea levels than I have been this last week or so. But mainly I'm completely exhausted. Luckily I've got nothing on tomorrow other than counselling at 5, so hopefully a day filled with snoozing will put me right again.

@eallison88 thank you, that’s reassuring! I prefer sleeping to sickness but did wonder if I might spend weeks in bed at this rate I’ll see how it goes and speak to GP again if needed. Hope you’re feeling good with your hair done pg acne is gradually kicking in for me and feeling generally haggard due to sickness and tiredness, so hope it was a nice pick me up for you, it’s rubbish to feel rubbish.

To add, when my nausea is ok it means I don’t feel like I’m going to vomit, but it still feels rubbish and draining and I can’t really go out and can’t do much around the house - so I feel useless! That’s the other thing that has taken me by surprise with this, the inability to do much at all, when I’m usually busy working, sorting household stuff, helping with DCs etc. DH is also very supportive which is great.

Before I’m with you in frustration on not doing much. I usually can’t sit still and always on the go and I’m struggling with this. FWIW cyclizine did exactly the same to me initially but it wore off after a few days. I liked it at first as it helped me sleep better .

Eal not surprised you’re tired with all that, but it’s good practice for coping with being at work. I know you said but I forget, are you primary or secondary? Pretty sure it’s secondary. My school have only just started looking for someone to fill in whilst I’m off sick and no luck yet (I teach a specialist subject so not as many teachs about as say maths or english) so my poor students are losing out when they should be doing NEA work, which means when I do return everything will be ten times harder as somehow I’ll have to work miracles to get them finished for the deadline. It really worries me and I hate that I’m letting them down.

beforeihit30 I've been on cyclizine for the past month or so (I'm 12 weeks now) and I can confirm the sleepiness does get better! I've been exhausted but it's more to do with the overall thing I think, the initial weight loss and limited eating and generally feeling rubbish. But I've been working from home (as the physical activity of going to the office was impossible for me) and generally with some rest in between I've been able to get things done without falling asleep Hope that gives you some reassurance - it sounds like we're in a similar position (mine is also not a full on HG but was horrendous enough especially before I started on cyclizine) and it does get better with the meds and some rest.

Thanks @Reastie and @evuscha, I’ll wait it out and see how we go! That’s a good point about working from home, which I can do and work would be fine with, I guess at some point I thought, “I’ll bounce back soon” but it might be more of a “I’ll be able to bear sitting with my laptop on the sofa soon”! Which would of course be a significant improvement on the current situation, but need to move my head beyond just thinking I’ll be back at work soon in a ‘normal’ way. As I worked through my other pregnancies, and the nausea and sickness was there but an annoyance that I was glad to see the back of rather than full on, I hadn’t imagined it could be more significant third time around so I’m needing to remind myself of that, that this time it’s different.

Goodness, the thread has been busy.
avocadoo Welcome. You've already had good advice. If Stemitil isn't working that well, there are other meds and combinations that they can try. A good anti acid makes a big difference. I am sorry people have been jeering at you; dismal ignorance. Have you got kesostix - available from any chemists - to check for the early stages of dehydration? While dry skin, mouth, scanty dark urine and blurred vision, a headache, etc, are better signs, they do take those measuremets seriously at A and E for fluids. Don't despair; ten weeks is the worst time for many. Some liquids that have helped others are ice lollies, the juice of tinned fruit, flat full sugar coke, Robinson's fruit drinks, Dr Pepper, Elderlower water, Elderflower cordial and tonic water, tonic water, soda water, fizzy water, ice cubes, Lucoazade, lemonade, fizzy orange, orange squash, orange juice (if not too acid), sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), Iron Bru, and cocoanut milk. Foods of a sort are tinned fruit, cuppa soup, baked potatoes, nibbles of chips and crisps, slices of melon and mango, Scotch pancakes, biscuits and cheap ice cream.
Welcome, too, to beforeIhit30. I hope some of the above information helps. You have already had good advice. That sounds like Hyperemesis anyway, if you can't do anything. I hope some of the tips above help. Try to avoid rushing back to work unitl you have the sickness properly under control and can do things without feeling really ill.
toomuchfornow Welcome. I am sorry you have to make such a horrible decision. I think it might be a good idea to phone Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7638 2020. They will have to phone back but will with good advice about effective meds and options. The decision must be yours. Some women do manage with effective meds and support to get through it and feel that the pleasure of having two makes it just about bearable. It is up to you to decide if you can bear it or not. Much sympathy.
CalmerComber Forgive my having missed something - are you having twins? Sorry about awful day. I am glad that woman was kind.
beanhunter Sorry to hear about the vomiting in the train loos. How are things today?
Reastie Would that anti acid be 'Omprazole'? I am glad that you,
evuscha, beanhunter and eallison are a bit better.
WeeBean I am glad that work are supportive. That makes a huge difference.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

reastie it is indeed secondary. However, my role is a support role, and the key bits of my role have been done by a core number of teaching staff (to whom I am very grateful!). So, I'm fortunate that i dont feel like I'm letting the students down with their exams. However, so much of what I normally so isn't being done, and re-establishing these will be hard!

Buffalo mozzarella is different to cows milk mozzarella, the internet said. Many people who can't have cos milk are find with buffalo mozzarella, the internet said.... I am not fine with buffalo mozzarella. Eurgh

Oh eal, that’s rubbish. I guess you don’t know till you try. Can you have goats or ewes milk? I’m glad you’re job has been done in the meantime, and I hope things go smoothly with you going back. Is it quite a sit down in classroom type of role or do you have to be moving around a lot?

I swear every time I say I'm better, I jinx it. Had another day of feeling horrible after the initial 6am-9am vomit session. Then I realized I'm running out of my meds so called the GP frantically - my usual GP wasn't in and this one asked me have I tried ginger or ginger biscuits. Come on! (but gave me another prescription eventually) Really not the best day

Evu that’s so typical. I hope it’s a random day. I know I’ll have a few good days, think I’m over it, get really excited and then have some rubbish days but overall the pattern is that I’m improving from where I was a month ago.

Went out to local charity shop today as my trip out, was out 45 minutes, so that’s 2 45 min trips this week which is 2 45 minute more trips than I’ve managed for weeks. Got a couple of dvds for dd to watch at the week end for 20p

Thanks Lucinda, it really is worth reminding, I’m regularly in danger of trying to do things too soon

Spent most of today sleeping knocked out by the cyclizine, so I don’t know for sure if it has reduced the nausea felt really sick this morning but it was for a briefer period than normal, and I didn’t end up retching (thought I would but it subsided), so maybe that’s a positive sign.

I’ve had an awful day. Went to work but was sick a lot. Tried to soldier on. Came home at 14:30 and have been on sofa under a blanket ever since. I wonder if I’m doing something wrong. I’ve been taking my 3x daily tablets at approx mealtimes before trying to eat something - is this right? Should I space differently? I’m going to have to go to the GP tomorrow for a third time. Maybe an increased dose of something I have already or another drug.

@LucindaE yes you might have missed - I’m having twins! Identical twins! Only found out this week and am in shock.

Calmer I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, you can’t help this. Definititely see your gp as I found cyclizine didn’t do that much on its own. Rest is the other thing that really really helps so work might be making it worse too.