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.

Sorry to see so many having a hard time!
Not been on much recently as dd not well and quite unsettled in general, hating being put down at all. Shes not quite mastered crawling yet so lots of frustration.
Ive been doing ok , feel guilty now i see you all suffering!

Hair I’m so pleased for you feeling much better.

Norbert hope you feel better from the bug soon.

Eal I hope you get the insulin level worked out.

Feeling rubbish again right now. Exactly the same as yesterday. Woke up ok, did a bit of gentle exercise, had a bath, did a small amount of chores (less today than yesterday) and come over awful and feel like bm is coming . Just hope it doesn’t last too long.

Reastie - my friend had two c sections and she said exactly what you have on the constipation / trapped wind. I thought I was going down the C Section route as I had a low lying placenta but it’s shifted now.

Don’t understand why they can’t just prescribe movicol especially when you are suffering with HG! How frustrating. I’m running low on movicol so I’m nervous to see if they just give me CosmoCol as it’s the same ingredients. I wonder if Cosmocol works differently with laculose maybe? I know you mentioned you can’t take laculose but it’s driving me mad wondering why they have different effects on me! Might have a chat with my GP and explain how bad the cramps were and that I can’t use it.

Beforeihit30 - ah that could be my understanding of just assuming pain relief = bad constipation after birth. My friend was discussing her C Sections a few weeks ago and she told me she had the worst the constipation of her life which I think has immediately scared me. Thanks for your advice, that’s good to hear on the gas and air as Im hoping to cope with just that. Hopefully it will just be the standard few days - surely it can’t get worse than ondansetron constipation!! 🙄

Haha very true Lucinda 😂

Anyat I’ve read that GPs are unable to prescribe specific brands, just the medication. And given cocosmol is half the price of movicol almost always cocosmol will fulfil the prescription. I think the only way round it would be to call up chemists and find one that will do movicol for the prescription, but my prescriptions are fulfilled at the pharmacy at the actual surgery so it’s really awkward to be able to do this. I have so many problems with mistakes with prescriptions as it is I don’t want to add any more complexity! I’ve decided I’m going to take a stash of movicol to hospital with me when I have csection to take afterwards until things have, erm freed up after the section. Given I’ll be taking ondansetron up to and including the day of my section I know I’ll need it! I’m just worried about it causing a lot of cramps etc on a delicate post section stomach. I think post birth constipation is so difficult because the whole area is so delicate (or with csection there is the stitches). Honestly, the amount of time and effort googling and thinking and worrying and suffering with bm issues this pg is just ridiculous!

Reastie and Anya That sounds grim. Hairgician Sorry that DD is unwell. I remember that furious scrabbling and screaming my daughter used to do when trying to crawl too early.

@LucindaE
I know what you mean. Makes my day longer when trying to keep her amused!

So we're upping insulin in slightly bugger jumps with more regularity. Hopefully I'll find the "sweet spot" as it were sooner rather than later.

Utterly exhausted today. Not really sure why, haven't done more much than I have recently, but did have my son all day for the first time in couple of weeks (he's been with my MIL for mornings cos I've had hospital appointments).

On the bm front , I'm wondering if it's worth asking the doc for something else. I seem to be either completely bunged and have to get a bit manually involved, then have a few days of fairly normal, followed by a few days of it being impossible to go, but when I do it's practically diarrhoea, even tho it's been nearly as difficult to pass as when it's proper constipation. I don't know if a different laxative would be any better or worse... and I'd rather not try if it could be worse!

Thanks mother hen & reastie 😀 I've survived but it did set me off puking when I woke up this morning so I'm going to be very good the rest of the week and chill x

Hope everyone is resting up well

In some ways I’m feeling better and have been able to do a little bit more and drink/eat things I couldn’t before, but right now I feel a bit rubbish. Just a bit more tired, and some headaches (paracetamol has helped), and a bit generally ‘bleurgh’/groggy. But I think I’ve figured out why. Apparently I have a UTI (MW told me yesterday, based on a test I did weeks ago, and urine test yesterday confirmed it was still the case - I had no idea!), that’s not the issue, it’s the antibiotics I’ve been put on. My symptoms are all common side effects, so I’m figuring that’s the issue as the timing coincides. Feeling a bit pathetic and miffed that my rubbish feeling is being caused by meds, but at least I’ll be done with them by the end of this week!

Also still struggling to find a reliable breakfast. Can’t do eggs/sausage/bacon/beans (makes me feel sick), can’t eat bread (gives me upset stomach), but eating light (like yoghurt and fruit) isn’t enough and my nausea is worse from the hunger. I can sort of do hash browns, pancakes, but lazy me doesn’t want to cook every morning (I don’t cook at all actually right now!). I don’t have a toaster but have all the other usuals (oven, microwave, hob). But I also try to avoid too much wheat, as if I have it regularly it affects me (tummy upset). And cereals haven’t worked out.

Maybe I just need to live on hash browns for breakfast?! Off I toddle to the online order...

@beforeIhit30 what about potato cakes, I've always toasted them but I can't see why you couldn't just microwave them? You can also get corn tortilla wraps and corn thins which might be an option?

I've just had a rubbish night and awful morning after trying to drop the last ondensatron yesterday - trying to take this morning's lactulose was the final straw . I'm struggling with insomnia in the middle of the night - I get to sleep ok but I wake up 1 to 3 ish and can't get back to sleep. In previous pregnancies insomnia was the first sign of anemia and taking iron fixed it - but I can't take pregnacare at the moment as it makes me ill. Anyone have any tips on how to get back to sleep at night, or on a form of iron that doesn't make nausea worse?

Beforeihit when I was at my worst I had gluten free crumpets microwaved or rice noodles (you just soak in boiling water for a couple of minutes) with soy sauce and salted cashew nuts (coukd manage salty foods) or oatcakes for breakfast. But I know what works for one doesn at all for others. I’m back to my usual homemade muesli now thank goodness, I hope it lasts!

Today I’m trying to have a day of doing nothing to see if that helps my morning intense nausea I’ve had last couple of days from doing stuf din the morning. All I’ve done so far is have breakfast and a bath. Want to try some gentle stretches as past couple of nights I’ve been up through the night with really painful hips. Want to see if stretches help or if this is the start of the painful night wakes. Anyone remember when they started waking in pain at night? I’m 26 weeks now and was hoping for the night waking strong pains to be a bit later.

Teddy I’ve heard spatone is a gentle way of getting iron. I usually have floradix liquid for iron. I have it with food not before food as it suggests as I find that more gentle on the stomach. I also start with a small dose and slowly build up over a week or so to a normal dose. Most people have no problem with floradix as it’s so gentle but my stomach is ridiculously sensitive so I build it up. Also have it with a glass of orange juice (or somehting with vitamin c) as it helps you absorb more. If you take antacids don’t take them at the same time as iron as it inhibits the absorbtion, leave it a couple of hours between the drugs. That’s my iron lowdown!

Eal I would recommend movicol, although you might get issues getting it on prescription (as I’ve said previously) as its often given as cocosmol under prescriptions which some people seem to have cramping/effectiveness issues with which they don’t have with movicol yet the medication itself is the same. I take 2-2.5 sachets a day (dose is 1-3). I have bm every day, some days I feel like I need to go more but I’m so far never more than 1 day without a bm and when I do have them they aren’t rock hard pebbles. I still have bm issues, I go on average 3-6 times a day and have a lot of nausea before I go, but I’m unsure if the nausea is just me (some people seem to have this during pg), it’s cetainly a lot improved than when I took Senna. There are days I feel constipated and that I want to go more than I’m able but I don’t go (touchwood) days without With Senna I would have days sometimes where I couldn’t go but at least with movicol it keeps things moving daily. Usually I’m a very regular bm person so not sure of that makes any difference. I wonder if movicol is counteracting the ondansetron but then when I get pg related hormone constipation it makes things go off kilter for a few days a bit.

beforeIhit30 Another vote for potato cakes. That’s what I’m currently having every morning and they’re staying down most of the time. Love hash browns, could you cook them the night before and then just heat them in the microwave, save you cooking each morning.
I’ve got an odd craving this week - gravy granules... wtf? Maybe it’s the salt?

Blii I had weeks where I ate nothing but mashed potato with loads of gravy from gravy granules! I definitely managed salty foods a lot better than anything else in the first trimster.

Oh I'd love a potato cake!!

I think thjs might be the wrong place to say I've never eaten a potato cake! Might need to fix that.

Feeling glum today. Haven't left the house or gotten dressed in a week and have no desire to do so. Can't shift a sinusey headache. Have a scan on Friday though so trying to look forward to that!

Supposed to go to Mersea on Sunday/Monday for a family birthday and then back to work on Tuesday. These things seem laughable at the moment but we'll see.

Hope your Wednesdays are going ok. At least there is new Queer Eye to watch 😉

Thanks for all of the breakfast ideas! I’d forgotten about things like potato cakes (yummy). If I rotate things around with stuff like hash browns (yes, could cook then reheat, good thinking!) then it won’t be constant wheat so I should be okay.

Had another work catch up call today. Found out who the new boss will be, my experience of them previously has been very positive so I’m feeling good about that (even if I have no idea when I’ll return to work!). Had to tell current line manager that I’ve gone backwards a bit sickness-wise, but that it might be the ABs, but that it might just be the hyperemesis! They’re still pretty relaxed and supportive which I hugely appreciate.

Tired and nauseous. Not exactly novel but hoping some of the extra impact really is the ABs so that it lightens up once I’m done.

Teddy I second Spatone, I used it in my second pregnancy and it did the job. Main issue is feeling up to drinking it. It pretty much just tastes like water, but with a slight metallic taste to it, so I think compared to most things it’s pretty easy to tolerate. Comes in a sachet of liquid, you don’t actually have to drink that much. But if you didn’t get on with the taste it would be easy to mix in with another drink.

Hi! I’m struggling to keep up. 9 weeks is just as bad second time around. All I’m capable of is lying on the sofa. Cuclzine is still helping, but if I exhort myself at all I start being sick. It’s so frustrating with a house, a 3 year old and a 13 year old who all need attention. Dh is great and basically doing everything. But I feel so useless.
Work are great, but again I feel useless as I have no idea when they can expect me back.
I keep wondering what on earth we’ve done. Then I get the massive guilts about not feeling excited about this baby.
HG is such a fucker.
Rant over!

Hope everyone else is doing ok.
Re: breakfast, I sometimes manage a plain tortilla wrap warm or with a slice of emmental if I’m feeling adventurous!

cattaxi I suspect that most, if not all of us who are on a second (or more) HG pregnancy have thought exactly the same thing, that it's a massive mistake. I know I certainly did. I felt so guilty that I had ruined my relationship with my 3year old and that I was killing my husband (he also was doing everything, and still is doing most things). At the same time as you, 9/10/11 weeks. I'm now 3rd trimester and though I am by no means well, I'm a million miles better than I was then. My relationship with my son is very much on the mend (I'm still exhausted all of the time and snappy and shorter tempered than I normally am), and I'm confident that with time we will be as we were again. And I'm sure the same will be with you. I am also confident that you will feel better than you do right now. I also think you need to get to your GP and ask for more meds than cyclizine. It's a good start, and another drug in combo may be all you need to get you back on your feet.

Potato cakes with lashings (Like, use a fork to stab extra holes into the potato cake so that it absorbs even more) of butter. That's gone straight on the list of post baby foods!!!

Thanks @eallison88 - you are right. It will all come good.
What other meds can I try? I’ve had stemetil and it was useless. I’m really keen to avoid orandsten. I’ve had huge problems with a lazy bowel / constipation & horrendous piles in the past that I have no desire to risk going back there! Especially as the cyclezine has kept me out of hospital.

I think I’m just having one of those weeks. I was actually pretty well from 14 weeks in my first pregnancy, so there is a good chance I will be the same this time. I just hate being so dependent on others. And I feel Really bad for my poor ds. We usually have such fun together.

I’m having vegetable fingers for dinner again. They seem to be consistently an ok food for me. About to do the Tesco order too, so maybe I’ll stick some potato cakes on.

norbert Do rest as much as you can.
Teddyreddy I was wondering about iron in drop form, and this 'spatone' sounds good.
Was it beforeihit30 Who was asking for breakfst tips? I wonder if croissants might be bearable? When I was on the mend I found them nice, rich as they are.
cattaxi Sympathies; wise words from eallison. Things will indeed get better. I wonder if adding a medicine to Stemetil might help, like Cyclizine or another? I am not medially trained, but some women on here have been on Metaclopramide, Cyclizine and Stemetil, as I recall; but I may have got that wrong. Do you find an anti acid helps?
Reastie Good advice.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

Hi everyone, hoping I can join this thread.

I’m 8 weeks pg and feeling impossibly low at the moment. For the last couple of weeks I’ve experienced nausea so intense that lifting my head off the pillow makes me heave. I’m rarely sick but the nausea is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Struggling to keep hydrated because water seems to make me feel more sick that anything else.

I have a 15 month DS. I feel like a terrible mum because all I want is for other people to look after him while I lie in bed. I genuinely don’t know how I can sustain this for weeks and months to come and have moments where I think about just ending the pregnancy despite it being a much wanted baby.

I ended up in hospital with a virus over the weekend and the doctor there prescribed me some ondansetron which seems to have helped a bit but she only gave me a weeks worth and when I went back to my doctor yesterday he just told me he wasn’t able to prescribe that drug and that I just needed to keep sipping water.

My DH has been wonderful but he works really long hours and is getting worn down with having do everything at home. He told me today he really needs a break and I feel like such a drain on the family.

Sorry this has turned into such a long rambling moan but I’m finding it really hard to articulate how I feel to people. I feel like I’m isolated in my own personal hell at the moment.

Thanks @LucindaE I’ll look into what combos I can take. Antacid isn’t helping 🙄

You are very welcome here @chj17 - the advice and suppprt is excellent. I hear you on the feeling useless thing, especially when it comes to parenting. It’s so hard. Can you ask to see another GP about the meds? They really should be able to prescribe you something to help.
I’m 9 weeks, so we are probably due around the same time 🙂

car Welcome. Sorry you feel so bad, and were in hospital with a virus. You certainly need to get a prescription from your GP. Unfortunately,before prescribing ondansetron they tend to try the other, cheaper anti emetics first, cyclizine, Stemetil, and so on. You can point out that you have already been on it for week and it hasn't stopped the symptoms. I hope the doctor might be more likely to continue it then. If you remain on ondansetron you will almost certainly need a laxative, as it does come with tied up bowels. An anti-acid can help a lot. Lactulose is considered to be safe in pregnancy.
Can anyone else help with LO? Relatives or friends? Don't feel guilty; LO will almost cerainly forget this time of comparative neglect if others' experience on this thread is anything to go by.

On suggestions for liquids and food of a sort, full sugar coke, ice cubes and Dr Pepper and fizzy water, eallison's tipple of Edlerflower cordial and tonic water, the juice of tinned fruit, Iron Bru, Lucoazade, fizzy orange, orange squash, and if not too acid, orange juice, lemonade, sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), Robinson's fruit drinks, tonic water, soda water and Elderflower water. For foods of a sort, tinned fruit, cheap ice cream, nibbles of chips and crisps, baked potato, cuppa soup, Scotch pancakes, biscuits, slices of melon and mango and jelly.
Don't despair; things do get better for most people at some point between 15 and 21 weeks.
cattaxi I hope they can find a combination that helps. Sorry to hear that anti-acid doesn't help.

chj17 Sorry, I made a typo. I'll repeat the message below in case you miss it.
car Welcome. Sorry you feel so bad, and were in hospital with a virus. You certainly need to get a prescription from your GP. Unfortunately,before prescribing ondansetron they tend to try the other, cheaper anti emetics first, cyclizine, Stemetil, and so on. You can point out that you have already been on it for week and it hasn't stopped the symptoms. I hope the doctor might be more likely to continue it then. If you remain on ondansetron you will almost certainly need a laxative, as it does come with tied up bowels. An anti-acid can help a lot. Lactulose is considered to be safe in pregnancy.
Can anyone else help with LO? Relatives or friends? Don't feel guilty; LO will almost cerainly forget this time of comparative neglect if others' experience on this thread is anything to go by.
On suggestions for liquids and food of a sort, full sugar coke, ice cubes and Dr Pepper and fizzy water, eallison's tipple of Edlerflower cordial and tonic water, the juice of tinned fruit, Iron Bru, Lucoazade, fizzy orange, orange squash, and if not too acid, orange juice, lemonade, sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), Robinson's fruit drinks, tonic water, soda water and Elderflower water. For foods of a sort, tinned fruit, cheap ice cream, nibbles of chips and crisps, baked potato, cuppa soup, Scotch pancakes, biscuits, slices of melon and mango and jelly.
Don't despair; things do get better for most people at some point between 15 and 21 weeks.