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.

I’ve taken ondansetron since 7 weeks too.
So got home again last night but already can feel that fluids not doing so well today. Cough a little better since starting antibiotics. Seeing my midwife tomorrow so will see what she thinks then.

@1potato I think you just click the wee paper clip? I had a couple cocker spaniels when I was a kid, they were hilarious!

@DeadDoorpost a spa day sounds like a dream! I hope you have a good time!

@Reastie that's great you got a travel system, this baby has made me so frugal I've got my sisters quinny so I'm hoping she de crumbs it before she brings it over...😂

@ElkieMacjibe don't stress about heart defects because you'll drive yourself crazy with worry! The doctors don't prescribe anything that's going to be more dangerous than not eating or drinking! The little buggers are resilient creatures!

Honestly I don't know how you guys do this more than once! Proper superheroes! I feel like somebody's shoved my stomach in the washing machine because dh had a cold and now I have it. Sharing is not caring. The only thing stopping the nausea is coffee🧐
Going to put my face on and go bother dh at work for a bit so I can get some free chips.😂

elkie wiih my son i took ondansetron from week 6 til day I have birth, he had no problems. This time I started it just over 3 weeks. No problems have been picked up on scans (and there have been numerous scans!!!). I understand the worry, however the risks are incredibly low. And risk to baby from dangerously dehydrated and starved mother is definitely higher.

ElkieMacjibe I so agree with others; the doctor wouldn't prescribe Ondansetron and Metocloramide if he thought that the (low) risks associated with taking it didn't outweight those of being dehydrated etc. The guidelines regarding drug prescription in pregnancy are very strict now. There have been countless woman on a cocktail of meds during the nine years these threads have run, and no reports of damaged babies. I've added your date.
beanhunter How are things now?
Reastie It's a great idea to recycle that travel kit.
Waves to eallison, Redskyandrainbows67 cattaxi 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
advocadoo 11 August
canonlyhope 13 August
Bili 16 August
Hairgician 16 August TWINS!
norbert 26 August
beforei hit30 3 September
stroen 4 September
DeadDoorPost 8 September
1Potato 8 September
MoonKid 1 October TWINS!
Elkiemacjibe 12 October
cattaxi 19 October

So today I actually full on wet myself. My bladder/pelvic floor has taken such a beating that it's completely given up. Got home from nursery pick up and my son announced he needed a wee just as I was about yo sit down. I asked if he could wait and he said no, so I had to decide which one of us wet ourselves. I decided i stood most chance of holding it in. I did not. I'm just so glad we were at home and I was wearing a pad that held the majority of it. I'm also constipated beyond belief. If I take lactulose I get the runs, if I don't then I get no movements. Either way I get painful cramps that I know are bowel related.

What are the chances any of this will return to something vaguely normal after I give birth?!

Hi guys - just saying hi before I have to do work and then fall asleep!
Food was great thanks @Reastie I had a bit of beef and mash / gravy and it was like heaven! Congratulations on leaving the house and a double win for the nice travel system!
I'm still coping on no tablets too which I seriously can't believe - celebrated with chips and mushy peas for tea 😋 after a very safe day of a banana, sandwich and crumpet. I still have a bit of nausea but it's mild.
@eallison88 you poor thing, I think you did amazingly well to let your boy go first! How frustrating given that you're suffering with everything else as well.
Good news on the meds today @ElkieMacjibe I hope they make you feel much better x

I’ve only been sick once today! Woohoo! I think I’ve only achieved it by staying sedantry on the sofa all day & not eating much. But it feels like a win.

I’m hoping that I can keep going like this and avoid hospital. I also really want to avoid the orandledstan (sp?) due to all this talk of constipation. Pregnancy hormones are giving me enough of that! And my piles have flared up massively already. So glamourous!

Ealison - I used to throw up so hard I would wet myself too in my second pregnancy (when pelvic floor had already long gone). Oh the glamour!

Just before I totter off the thread with the very helpful advice from you all thank you- I just wondered is there anything you can do about your teeth? My enamel (sp?) is all damaged from months of puking from my last pregnancy - does it help to clean teeth after puking or is there protective action you can take?

Good work cattaxi - id def count that as a win

@Redskyandrainbows67 my dentist told me not to brush after puking, but to regularly use good mouthwash & brush properly other times. He also recommended sensodyne enamel protection / repair toothpaste.

eallison and Redsky Much sympathy over puking and wetting yourselves. I used to do it and it was only my first pregnancy not counting the MC. eallison Could you stomach Fybregel or whatever that evil mixture is called?
advocadoo You are very brave to drink coffee. I am glad it helps!
cattaxi and norbert Good news from both, of varying degrees...

Ah, and RedskyandRainbows67 I hope you only are leaving temporarily, for tonight?

I feel a bit of fraud on this thread until I am pregnant again but I will keep checking back in to offer words of support to you ladies when I can. Hg is one of those things that only the poor few that have been through it understand!
Thanks for the teeth advice cattaxi - yes my dentist recommended that toothpaste too now to try and fix the damage! I will try mouthwash after next time.

To add to the teeth advice, I was advised by dentist to leave at least 15 mins after puking. He also advised to leave 15mns at least after bruising beforen puking, but thats a little less easy to manage!

I threw up my cyclizine yesterday (on the side of the road)and now it looks like a relapse coming back on this morning. I've also a major headache that sleep hasn't shifted. Does anyone know a good liquid painkiller that is safe to take during pregnancy

1potqto poor you. FWIW I’ve got calpol 6 plus liquid or dissolvable paracetamol for if I need it because I struggle with tablets.

Norbert that’s fantastic

Eal I’m constipated atm too. Not terribly, but since Saturday I’ve not had many bm compared to before. I thought I had it all under controlish. I wonder if I’m ok counteracting the ondansetron constipation but if pg gives me constipation it sets me backwards until that passes. It’s hard to know the best thing to do because movicol takes a couple of days to work through the system to work so if I increase today it won’t take effect. Or maybe over time I need to add in more laxitive if it works less over time (does this even happen?). Eal do you pretty much have a standard dose of lactulose that helps or have you had to increase over the months?

@lucindaE
A bit better. Antibiotics seem to be helping. Still no appetite and vomiting lots. Midwife later but hoping to avoid more admissions.

For whoever asked about laxatives. I can’t keep lactulose down so am taking a tablet form of a similar drug - sodium docusate. Can buy in the supermarket. Says not safe in pregnancy but my consultant says it’s fine and I’ve been taking since 14 weeks (now 34) without issues. Still only go twice per week but that’s better than once every 2-3 weeks!

reastie I was taking 15ml twice a day. When it settled I dropped to 15ml once a day. In recent months I've taken to glugging 15ml from the bottle (I know, I know) as I know what 15ml feels like in my mouth, if you know what I mean. 15ml daily seems to do very little atm, whilst 30ml daily seems to work too well and give me the runs.

I'm feeling rather fed up. Sat in triage again, waiting for a doctor, been here nearly 2 hours. Another small bleed. I'm fed up cos Tuesday is the day I have my son. Yes, it's hard work, but our Tuesdays together over recent weeks have done so much good for rebuilding our relationship. I'm fed up that I'm here and not with him. I had pancake day plans! I've found a low carb (diabetes friendly) spinach (iron for pregnancy goodness) and feta (sheeps milk, therefore dairy free) pancakes recipe that looks lush that I was gonna make with this afternoon. Now I'm sitting here waiting for who knows how long. There's been talk of me being seen at the antenatal clinic when I have these bleeds rather than having to come into triage, so we'll see if that pans out into anything.

lucinda when the doctor arrives I'm gonna ask if there is anything they recommend as an alternative to lactulose. I'm wondering if my body has just got too used yo it.

Eal sorry you’re stuck there waiting for a jab again. FWIW I did a lot of research online and movicol is often the most recommended with ondansetron as it works by adding liquid back into stools which ondansetron takes away. Most of the time it does work well and is far far better than I ever was on Senna, it’s just randomly every couple of weeks I seem to have a few days where it doesn’t work as well. So far it’s either sorted itself out or I’ve just marginally increased the dose to sort it. Some days I feel like I do nothing but poo but maybe that would be the case on any laxitive, and I guess it’s better that than not going at all.... It seems to be a very gentle laxitive compared to some.

@LucindaE I spoke to soon with the coffee, had a massive spew earlier after finishing my cup and it was horrible also ended up with a nosebleed at the same time.
Went for a walk yesterday and it was so painful by the end my right hip and leg and back are still in agony so it was quite a hobble to the loo. Mil is telling me it's all worth it for the bundle of joy at the end, I honestly couldn't give a shit about that because it's not an enjoyable experience so far.
Baby brain kicked in I've just put chicken nuggets into the oven but I'd accidentally put them straight onto my plate frozen and was about to eat them 😂

@eallison88 that sucks you're back in triage, you've still got time on the pancake front though!!

I'm free! Gonna go buy ingredients then pick my son up. I say pick my son up, what I mean is go to my MILs, borrow a bed for an hour. Then we'll go home and make the batter for the savoury pancakes. All very reassuring, again. Midwives have said to speak to my consultant 're coming in for every bleed. I see her on the 18th so hopefully that will productive.

avacadoo 're pain in hip and legs; mention it to midwife she can refer to physio. Also, look into chiropractor, I swear by mine for keeping me physically in one piece during this pregnancy and last!

eallison I so agree with your recommendation to advocadoo about chiropractors. They can really help with migraine, too, for 1potato. I do hope that the consultant can help you with the small bleeds and having to go in for injections problem.
RedSky That will be much appreciated.
1Potato Sorry about relapse. I was going to say Calpol, and Reastie has recommended that, so can only say that I hope you have some more good days soon, and on the migraine, mine went at 15 weeks thank goodness, having been horrific before then. As above, if you can arrange it a chiropractor can really help with acute treatment for them.
Good suggestions from Reastie and beanhunter. Reastie Sorry about bowel problems, and beanhunter Much sympathy about two awful viruses as well as Hyperemesis.
advocadoo Oh no, I had to smile about your description of your 'hobble to the loo', though it's awful.

Apologies to anyone rudely missed.

@ElkieMacjibe with ondensatron and heart defects, i know earlier smaller studies showed mixed finding some American research looking at 1.8 million women just came out. It found no increase in heart problems, and a very small increase in cleft palate (increase in risk of 3 in 10,000). I found it reassuring, the article is here jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2718793 .

@Reastie cutting the pills in half is a genius idea, thank you! I took premade bottles of squash full of ice in a small cooler bag into work today which helped hugely with the dehydration - cold drinks are much easier for me but we don't have a freezer at work.

teddyreddy can I recommend a decent insulated bottle? I swear by my klean kanteen insukated classic. I can put 5 or 6 ice cubes in at 7am, and they're still frozen several.hours later. I am then able to top up with water as I finish it. They're not cheap (tho some of the kids versions, which is identical, is currently on offer at babipur.com cos theyve introduced new colours so selling old colours cheaper). I've got two (well, I've knicked my sons!) And I swear they've kept my hydrated when I would have had no chance otherwise. I'm the same as you, can only stomach ice old drinks.

I'm just back from hospital again. 3am toilet trip involved much more blood than normal bleeds plus 2 rather sizeable.clots. Same old reassurance.