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.
It has been suggested that I add some practical tooth cleaning advice: a lot of sufferers find using a child's small toothbrush and strawberry toothpaste far less nauseating.
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.

Welcome to Onlyinanemergency. Sorry you feel so bad. As others say, do get meds asap. The earlier you get them, the more chance of preventing it becoming severe with a neurologial pattern setting in, so specialists say, it seems. As you are a veteran you don't need my 'Have you got kesostix to check for dehydration as hospitals do take those measurements seriously' and 'Do you find flat full sugar coke, ice lollies and the juice of tinned fruit any good?' spiel.
DeadDoorPost I am so sorry you have been admitted. I hope you are on fluids now, my goodness, after such a long wait. Had they no arrangments to give them to you while you waited to be admitted?
Moonkid I was very much on the mild side of the Hyperemesis spectrum, but I found that the sickness and migraines got far worse round ten weeks. From these threads, I would say that does seem typical. On ketones, it is so frustrating that some people get them easily, others not. Not being medically trained, I don't know why. As a matter of interest, I did a test on my non-pregnant self with a bad migraine and vomiting every hour I had 3+ ketones after 10 hours. Does your local A and E only take account of ketones?
Norbert Happy News! I've changed your date.
eallison I am glad your father is visiting.It is so nice to see a father, infuriating as they can be. My father died in middle age, when I was in my twenties, and there have been few days in the decades since when I haven't missed him.
Reastie I am so sorry that the nurse had such an attitude. I am quite shocked at the ignorance it demonstrates and how far there is to go in understanding of Hyperemesis. Is it possible to get another nurse? Maybe Moonkidcan adviise on that? If not, I wonder if Pregnancy Sickness Support might be able to suggest something else in the way of counselling?
Waves to beforeihit30 Advocadoo and everyone.
Due Dates
elpreggo27 20 March
silversplodge 4 April
Anya 13 Apriil
Beanhunter 17 April
8DaysAWeek 1st May
tinyradish 1 May
foreverblues 5 May
Plasticgiraffe 10 May
Mamabear13 18 May
bumblebee 20 May
SashaMonsta 31 May
eallison June
Nighttimenope 13 July
evuscha 26 July
emma 4 August
CalmerComber 5 August TWINS
Teddyreddy 9 August
canonlyhope 13 August
Bili 16 August
Hairgician 18 August TWINS!
norbert 26 August
DeadDoorPost early September
beforei hit30 3 September
stroen 4 September

Thanks for the welcome LucindaE. Flat Lucosade was always the one for me so I'm sending DH out to get some. I can't believe it's this bad so early - if the little bean sticks I won't be due until the end of October.

Sorry so many having it rough

Weeks 9-13 were def worst for me. Then rapidly better due to steroids until 19 but then did deteriorate again but not to the level I was. Still pretty naff at 32 weeks with daily vomits but am able to function a bit.

Thanks for asking @lucinda. Plodding on. My little parasite is growing and weighs 1.8kg on scan today. Which is impressive as I’ve losy weight again in the last 4 weeks but it is leeching all the goodness it needs!

@Reastie I am so sorry and disappointed to hear how you were treated. If nothing else, validating your feelings should have been a basic thing that happened today. This frustrates me so much, but I think demonstrates how little awareness there still is of HG and the effect it can have.
I know you're not feeling in a good place and this would be difficult but if you can provide feedback you should. They need to know how they made you feel. Even if it's after baby is born you could write to them to explain your experience.
You could also ask to see someone else or maybe look to psychology? I know waiting lists can be long which is rubbish xx

Thank you moon. It was the comment about me feeling sick after doing things that exhaust me being psychosomatic was most upsetting as it so clearly isn’t and made me feel like people must think I’ve been making it all up. I’ll look in to it and have a mw apt nx wk so will mention if my experience is what is the norm.

Onlyinanemergency Lucoazade is really good, I found. The trouble was, that I never got out of the habit of drinking it!
beanhunter That is good. You have unfortuantely suffered dismally throughout.
Moonhunter Sorry, my message was truncated. I did mean to add, that as eallision says, most people get relief at some point between 15 and 20 weeks and for those unlucky ones who suffer throghout, it is almost never as bad as in the dreadful early weeks.

Reastie As beow, if other approaches fail, I wonder if Pregnancy Sickness Support could advise another form of counselling?

Good idea Lucinda

Reastie I was gutted to read your update from your appointment today, that was no use at all. I’m so sorry that you had to endure that- and concerned that this person is a professional in this field! Seems they are way off the mark. I’m no professional but I am an anonymous sympathetic ear - if you should ever wish to chat please feel you can message. I agree that PSS would hopefully be a positive starting point, and that a detailed complaint is due. But it’s so hard to battle to be heard with MH at times and the HG just makes the struggle that much more impossible. Rooting for you from here 🎈

Hi ladies. Thought I'd join and see if any of you have words of wisdom. This is my third pg, currently 7+3 (I have a 4yo and had a miscarriage last year) and I'm once again sick. First time I was sick from 6.5 weeks to birth (thought eased off when I went on mat leave). I was on an oral dose of stemetil which I didn't find that effective but certainly helped me cope better. Miscarriage I wasn't as sick - just a bit nauseous. However this time round sickness started at 5.5 and 2 weeks later I'm really starting to struggle possibly more than I did last time. The duty doctor at my surgery prescribed me prochlorperazine 3mg last week (over the phone, didn't speak to me directly). I think this is stemetil too but it's the nasty dissolvable one you put in your lip. Has anyone had success with it?

I would say that I don't think my sickness - albeit it bad first time and now - is HG, but the last two days I have been sick in afternoon and evening, as well as repeatedly for about an hour and a half this morning! The last two days are the first days I've struggled to eat as well just as the constant nausea is so much more intense. Also have had diarrhoea for the last 10 days so feeling very bleurgh.

reastie that is disgraceful. I'm angry for you. Are you in a position to afford to pay for a counsellor? Cos my coubsellor has been a life saver for me.

only I hope you manage to get an appointment today. Please don't leave without a prescription. Evidence is clear that early intervention with meds makes a real difference. also the RCOG guidelines are clear that early medication should be used.

ppwonwar im glad you've got meds already. If they don't work, there are other meds that can be added or swapped to -please do insist your GP tries something else if you need. This delightful illness needs really proactive management in terms of medication, and if something isn't working after a couple of days, it's not likely to and it's time to try something new.

The most helpful thing my dad is doing is taking my son's 6am wakeups, allowing hubby and I to get an extra hour sleep (if i don't eat by 7 30 and have my steroids the days a disaster, but that extra time of just an hour is awesome).

Wishing all a calm day :)

God I feel horrible - I've also realised that I only have 2 cyclizine left! Can I buy it? I just don't want to go down to the dr and have to beg for it when he's such hard work. I also have such a lot of stomach ache and trapped wind / diarrhoea lately and I can't figure out why. Could it be cyclizine or is it more likely that I've eaten something that made my stomach more sensitive? It feels worse the last 7 days. Hope everyone had a better night x

Thank you for the solidarity. The thing I’m really struggling with which I was hoping mh nurse would help me with is getting specific answers to specific questions and make my csection easier given my anxiety issues. Whenever I ask consultants I just get ‘we can’t discuss that until 36 weeks’ or ‘it all depends on her day, you won’t know until the time’. The mh nurse just said what I’m asking for isn’t unreasonable and I should write these wishes on the front of my notes. But me writing something on my notes, as I know, doesn’t mean it’ll happen. I assumed she’d actually be able to do something to help this (which would greatly improve my mh knowing an answer).

Norbert i think seaeagle has said you can by cyclizine otc but not all chemists like to do it and sommay use excuses (eg not in stock) and wouldn’t sell if they know you’re pg. do you have it on repeat? I think it was sass that said if you run out you can take your repeat slip to a chemist and they can do one emergency prescription if it’s on the repeat list. I think but don’t hold me to it, I’ve never tried myself. If not you can buy avomine (that’s the brand name, forget the medical name) which works in a similar way to cyclizine on the brain (but is a different drug but onnthe same safety level as cyclizine). You wouldn’t take it as well as cyclizine but if you were really desoerate it might be something until you get it. Warnignit makes you sleepy in the same way as cyclizine when you start taking it! Best bet is to see gp for another prescription.

Eal how lovely having a lie in. Yesterday I didn’t wake up until 7am, it was bliss!

Ppw prochlorperazine is the same as stemetil. I’ve taken the dissolvable tablet in the past (not when pg) and found it effective. I quite like how it dissolves but if you don’t ask for the next prescript ion to be tablet as I think tablet is cheaper for nhs anyway so they’d be happy to do. Dose for prochlorperazine in pg I believe is 5-10 mg 3 times a day so if you’re not finding it as effective as last time it coukd be they’ve given you a lower dose and you need to check with them and increase this and it might help more.

Oh yeah, another gem from the mh nurse. She asked me repeatedly about when did I stop feeling sick with dd and I said as soon as I had her. She asked me about 3 times and seemed really about how it went away so quickly, but that’s normal right? Maybe she doesn’t know anything about hg? she also asked acusingly if my mw didn’t realise how bad I wasn’t mentally last time as if it was he fault. I told her I didn’t realise how low I was until I was better looking back on it so realistically how was she to know from a few short appointments?

@Reastie thanks for that, when I looked when I was prescribed I did think it seemed a lower dose than the tablets. I feel a bit better this morning after deciding I wasn't going to go to work so got a bit longer sleep, need to decide whether to try and work from home or just take it off though. First I need to get the nursery run done. Decided I'll shower when I come back to avoid lightheadedness. Of course this is all happening while DH is away with work!

Another question - for those who feel they got their sickness under control with meds, how "good" did you feel? What's a realistic improvement to hope for? Last time even with meds I was still sick in morning but nausea was still present throughout day, at a manageable level.

Ppw at my worst I was on max dose cyclizine, ondansetron and stemetil simultaneously. For me it made the difference but I still felt extremely nauseous in my first trimester most of the time (still do now, but it’s generally not as servere and I can eat a better diet at least). I had to constantly try to force down food as I knew I’d feel worse if I didn’t, I was sofa bound for weeks and weeks and felt so sick I couldn’t focus on reading books or even at times talking etc but I wasn’t physically sick but I put this down completely to the drugs and the fact I did everything in my power to ease my life to get through (eg I haven’t done a school run since October). In my first trimester I feel I was better than last pg (I had more drugs this time and started them earlier) as in then I couldn’t even get out of bed for weeks. I stillmhad/have days where I can’t do anything but lie in bed but overall my first trimester, once I introduced ondansetron at full dose, was a noticeable amount better than last time. But for me drugs haven’t and didn’t cure the nausea and I’ve still had it serverely even on them it’s been mentally tough. I don’t want that to sound too negative, the drugs have been worth their weight in gold and by now I would have had an abortion if I hadn’t taken them I think. It’s been the difference in getting through pg and not, but they haven’t cured me. Many people find they can cope with daily tasks and work when taking medication, I’m just very weak and pathetic (so I feel!). I think if meds mean nausea is at a manageable level most of the time compared to not taking them that’s a good sign. I personally don’t think it would be realistic to expect a medicine to take away all nausea. It might be adding another medication to the stemetil will help you more than last time. I think if it’s affecting your daily life and ability to work then that’s a gauge that it’s impacting your quality of life so to try to do something about it.

reastie can you ask your midwife the stuff about c section etc? I know my midwife would do everything she could to answer those questions.

My DH found some old Cyclizine in the medicine cupboard last night. They're from about 3 years ago but worked well enough for me to keep down some water and make it to GP this morning. Got a prescription for less stale Cyclizine now so hopefully that will help. Did anyone take B6 with Cyclizine? If so, did it help?

Thanks everyone.

In the end, didn't get fluids but got 4 doses of IV anti emetics and some sleep. Ketones went down while I was there...

Scan went well. Due date is defo 8th September so I'm a week behind what my dates tell me. sigh

To whoever asked about the fluids... no. They didn't expect to give them to me while I waited. But once I got home after being discharged I slept for 12+ hours.

Now on Prochlorperazine and Phernegen as they're trying out different combinations. Both make you drowsy. Which is nice as it should mean I'll be able to sleep really well this time. Also means DH has to step up and help.

I bought some b6 to take with my cyclizine @Onlyinanemergency but I didn't notice any difference unfortunately. Really wanted it to be a magic cure!
Thank you @Reastie for the advice, I'm so tired and bored of feeling like I've eaten something bad all the time. I must have been to the toilet 10 times last night with cramps etc. I'm going to pop into the doctors today and ask about my sick note and a repeat prescription. I do have an Avomine prescription from the first doctor visit but it made me really groggy and out of it during my first pregnancy, which is why I tried cyclizine instead. I wish there was a magic cure! I'm sorry about how your mh nurse treated you, I can't imagine how hard that must be, especially when just getting to the appointment is a so difficult x

Pity it's not a miricle cure norbert23, I'll probably give it a go anyway. The Cyclizine seems to be helping but now instead of waves of nausea and vomiting I'm getting stomach pains. They are coming in waves and definitely seem to be in my stomach and not lower but I'm really worried. Did anyone else have this?

Morning folks, how is your day going?

I'm really struggling. I didn't keep anything down yesterday and last night was very agitated and upset. I cried a lot to DH and actually told him I don't feel I can do this anymore. He was great and advised me to sleep on it and that we could discuss it today. I actually felt like I couldn't go through another 5 minuted of this last night. I felt starving to my stomach, weak, dizzy and overwhelmingly nauseous.
I took a while to get to sleep but eventually got over around 3am and slept well.
This morning I'm regretting saying that to dh and have been feeling quite upset and anxious - I know it's silly but I feel like the babies might know I didn't want them last night and just give up on me.
I've still been unable to eat or drink today. I'm actually unable to put anything to my mouth, I almost feel afraid of bringing it back up it's so sore and I have no energy.
I'm going to phone the antenatal clinic for advice - maybe they can give me an IM injection or something. I'm just terrified of being turned away.

Thanks reastie. I have an appointment with GP this afternoon. Hopefully get something else to help then. It's a new practice for me though so don't know any of the doctors so got my fingers crossed she's helpful. I am really concerned about my diarrhoea too, it's so unlike me and to have had it for 10 days now just feels like it's totally draining me. I weighed myself this morning and I've actually lost a little weight from a few weeks ago. Not surprising when I've had no dinner the past 2 nights but don't want that to continue.

I understand what you mean about trying to sort everything else around you. Last time I should have been off work a few times but battled on with the odd day working at home or off sick. Hate the thought of letting people down at work. Already got that feeling this time but if I feel like I did yesterday I just can't deal with it!

I'm so sorry you feel this way moonkid, I hope you get some advice today.