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.

Eallison88 thank you! I’m definitely trying but sometime like you said it’s ok to feel rubbish and today is one of those days! But it’s okay tomorrow shall be better! :)

Sounds like you had a scare last night, glad they seem to be on top of everything though and definitely get some sleep when you’re home again!

Moonkid sounds so familiar with the ketones! I have interstitial cystitis and so have UTIs all the time, my ketone levels are always up and down but it’s not a true representation. I had no ketones once but very dry skin, low blood pressure dry mouth ect and they ignored it all. I ended up spending three days in bed unable to get up because of dehydration. Hopefully after you’ve had some rest the side effects you’ve had will wear off and you feel a little better.

Cattaxi and Reastie I’m glad you have a good GP, it’s taken me a while to find mine in my surgery but she’s much better and understanding and I think that really helps! Having that support is invaluable.

I’m feeling quite exhausted and dizzy today, I actually made it out the house yesterday for a few hours which made a big difference but it’s certainly worn me out. I’ve been struggling the past week with severe dizziness and I can’t stand up for longer than 2 minutes which has really impacted on me doing anything. Blood pressure is low at 80/40 although that’s pretty good for me, just hoping the doctor can suggest something tomorrow to help other than the usual. Getting increasingly bored of daytime tv! The pets are keeping me entertained though, I feel like animals tend to notice when you’re unwell, our cat and pug have been cuddling me all day today and not left my side which is lovely and makes a difference when I’m home alone waiting for the fiancé to get home! I’m going to attempt to do some washing up this afternoon, have let that slip this week

Hope you all have a good day!

Am so over this now...eugh

Urgh, today I have been to the gp, unpacked the online shopping order and cooked dh and dd a special valentines meal. It was way too much for one day and I feel absolutely terrible now. Off to bed :(

Lacey sounds like the dizziness is caused by the boood pressure? I had a phase at the start of second trimester where I kept going really dizzy, it was horrible.

Oh eallison what a lot to go through, hope you’re feeling reassured and better now

Reastie that’s great that your GP is being so supportive, it helps in making it clear to your workplace that this isn’t a minor thing that will just disappear overnight. Hope you feel better soon.

Lacey I had really bad dizziness initially, it’s gradually easing. You need to get Netflix on (I’m running out of stuff to entertain me too!)

elpreggo sending you and well wishes.

Decided to test going out today, to get medication (pharmacy is a bus ride away, there are closer pharmacies but it’s my nominated one for scripts to be sent digitally and I forgot!). Went with DH to drop off DC2 at nursery - so far so good. Sat at the bus stop, there’s a 12 minute wait. Then I passed out at the bus stop good thing is DH was there and I could tell I was going to go, but I was already sitting down so didn’t really know what more I could do! So DH stood in front of me to catch me whilst I just slumped forward... still, by the time the bus arrived I was ok and decided to carry on, had to sit down regularly but managed more than I have done for a while (had some food whilst out and got some joggers for DCs). Got quite tired so came home and have been in bed since, DH did school run, but currently just tired and not sicky (thankfully). Will take it easy tomorrow to not overdo it, but feels like a sort of mixed triumph for me! I haven’t been ‘out’ like that in over 6 weeks so it was a really nice break from lying in bed and being sick (despite the fainting).

@beforeihit30 I've ran out of Netflix shows that I'm now watching chasing monsters, it's about fishing for giant fish 😂😂

I'm also so over this, had a phone call from the mental health team because I had a crying session to my gp last time because the hyperemisis and I've got a court case looming where I'm a witness ( was at work and some nutjob robbed the first place and threatened me with a knife) I don't think I dealt with it very well and it's just gone a year since it happened and being sick all the time isn't helping. Now I'm worried they'll get social services involved and my anxiety has gone into easterners level of drama thinking they'll take the baby away, but I know I'd be so much happier if I wasn't being sick and stressing about work cause I reckon they're going to sack me because of the hg.
I'm a carer and work alone and I don't feel safe being with service users in case I have to be sick while at work and if I'm the only one there it's not safe but they don't care and don't understand how ill I am, my boss said she was the same when she was pg but my sister is her best friend and said that was bullshit because she bragged constantly she never had morning sickness which has angered me I don't understand why someone would lie about that.

I've also been up all night with stomach pain and had to go to the loo at 3am and then woke up this morning and had to run to the toilet or I would have shit the bed. Then had to quickly bleach my loo before throwing my head down it. 😫

I'm also still so tired, I managed to sit on the couch for six hours yesterday before having to go back to bed. I feel 84 not 24.

Beforeihit30

I really hope so, I had low bp before pregnancy so wondering if it’s a mix of that and hyperemisis. When did it start to ease for you? I’m 16+6 currently so I’m keeping my fingers crossed it eases over the next few weeks. I’ve ran out of Netflix things to watch, I found a series on amazon but that’s finished too now unsure what else to do when sat in the same place all day haha although I did manage to do the dishes today and that’s given me a real boost in mood this afternoon, every thing I used to do seems like such a massive achievement now.

Congrats on getting out today! It really does feel like a triumph doesn’t it! Sorry to hear you passed out but it’s good you had support with you, I find it makes me feel much more at ease having my partner with me. Definitely take it easy tomorrow!

Oh avacadoo that made me laugh, DH and I just moved onto ‘Hoarding: Buried Alive’ having burned through Netflix since I’ve been signed off 😂 you poor thing with the work and court stress though, what matters most is to take care of yourself and to be kind to oyurself, and be reassured that no one is taking your baby if you would find the MH support helpful then it sounds good that they picked up on your stress/anxiety, but appreciate it might feel like another thing going on.

@beforeihit30 that's the next series on my list then 😂 I feel like a fishing pro, it's so sad 😂😂

I'm glad my gp has referred me but she thinks I'm depressed but I think it's just my anxiety with ptsd cause I ignored it all at the time and I threw myself into wedding planning and a new job so this is the first time I've stopped to think. It also doesn't helping feeling totally useless all the time and I'm frustrated at my body not cooperating with me! I'm wondering if I can get the mh team to sign me off until mat leave because I don't think I can cope at work, I hated my job before because the company is really bad and I've decided not to go back after my mat leave cause they ignored me when I told them my concerns for a service user who's partner ended up threatening to punch me.

Another fun hobby I've recently acquired is googling ghost stories, kills some time!

Avacadoo last pg I was due to be a witness in court about a fatal accident I was present at months before I was pg. I had ptsd about it and the thought of having to be a witness in court was causing me such anxiety, especially mixed with the nausea yuckness. I believe my GP wrote a note saying I was not fit to be a court witness due to pg issues (ie nausea and anxiety). I wouldn’t have been able to help as it was so long before the court date I couldn’t remember much so they were better off using my statement the police took as it had as much as I coukd remember at the time. My mw wanted to write to court saying I wasn’t fit to do it but said she was unable to so I believe it had to be a gp. Also I’m sure the mental health team will be helpful, I’m seeing my mh team next week. They won’t be wanting to get social services involved to take your children away, they will be wanting to support and help you through this.

I’m working my way through Netflix too! Still have a lot to watch though, currently just started ‘designated survivor’. I’ve watched a few of the decluttering and home improvement light stuff on there too.

Beforeihit glad you made it out the house but sounds quite eventful!

Lacey fwiw around 16 weeks was when my dizziness was worst.

Still feeling terrible and in bed.

Goodness, suffering and horrible drama all round.
eallison I am so glad all is OK. What a horrible scare.
cattaxi I am so glad you have meds. I wonder they didn't test the urine immediately , though. What have they prescribed for the migraine? Just curious.
moonkid Happy news you have been discharged. There have been a few on this thread who have sworn Cyclizine made them worse. It often makes people feel sedated.
avodadoo How horrible about that violence at work. Sympathies about the coming court case. I am sure you don't need to worry about the approach to mental health. PTSD is so common, I think, with Hyperemesis; it hasn't been recognized as it should have been. I hope the appointment helps a lot.
elpreggo I am so sorry you feel bad so late on. Did it never ease, or did it come back?
beforeihit30 Oh dear about passing out. It was brave of you to soldier on. I am glad you feel better for the outing.
Restie I am glad, too, that - despite the spite of the PC - you have been effectively signed off by that sympathetic doctor. Poor you about having to be witness about a fatal accident in your last pregnancy.
LaceyB I hope some of the tips on liquids etc might help. Everyone is very supportive here.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

Getting out and about can be such a double edged sword -it can give us such a sense of achievement, and it can be a joy to have a change of scenery/company. However it can also wear us out, and we can find it so much harder than anticipated. Important to try and find the balance between pushing ourselves appropriately and pushing too far - a difficult line to tread, in my experience! Well done for successful ventures!

The events and activities of yesterday have caught up with me today (That and that 10.10pm bedtime... hubby and I got talking, and before we knew it, it was 10 past10!). Luckily I've got nothing but the dietician today. Which will be a fun one, trying to work out what foods I can/can't, should/shouldn't be eating! I'm gonna ask if someone can get a Doppler and just check heartbeat again, after yesterday's scare. Hopefully they'll be happy to!

Hope everyone is ok and had a restful night.

Oh, Netflix recommendations;
The Crown
The Good Place
iZombie
Project Runway
Suits
The Good Wife (if it's still on there)
Grimm (again, if still there)
Person of Interest
How to get away with murder
Once Upon A Time
Star Trek Discorvery (the new one, I am not a trekkie at all,can't stand the old stuff, but thoroughly enjoyed this)
Dr Who
Jonathon Creek
Sherlock
Luther
Line of Duty

Amazon Prime recommendations
UnReal
Lucifer
Greys Anatomy
Outlander
Mrs Maisel (or whatever it's called)
New Amsterdam (not high class telly, but entertaining enough)

IPlayer box sets
Cuckoo
Pint of lager and a packet of crisps (oldie but a goodie!)
Death in Paradise
Outnumbered

Hope there is something new there for someone! There are more that I can't think of at the moment, if I remember I'll pop them up.

I second The Good Place and The Crown. Love them!

I'm managing to keep the sickness down atm but still suffering every now and then if I don't take the tablets at a decent time. I didn't need 3 ondansetron last time so this is totally new for me

Also,Outnumbered is also on Netflix not just iPlayer. Also a good one. The majority of the episodes are pure improv because of the kids.

See I’m not overly keen on the good place, it’s ok but not as good as the hype. Maybe it’s because I watched it when I felt at my worst so I couldn’t really focus on it. Currently as well as Netflix working my way through my ‘lost’ box set which I’m really enjoying rewatching. Thanks eal for all those recommendations.

Trying to work out dds birthday party in a week. We can’t manage (ok, I, not we!) a children’s party so dd has decided she’s happy that we give her a sum of money we would’ve spent on the party and my mum is taking her shopping in half term. She’s very excited to go mad in smiggle —overpriced stationary tat—. But she wants a family party with traditional party games so trying to arrange that for next week end and working out how to make it easiest for me. Wondering if I can get away with doing it in the morning (feel worse in afternoon) and do it before lunch so I don’t have to do party lunch for everyone. I can’t sit with dh and dd at mealtimes and have to eat on my own as just watching them eat whilst I do makes me feel worse so if I can get away with just giving a bit of birthday cake and cup of tea that would be preferable... anyone know any good gentle non physical party games suitable for adults to play with children (dd will be the only child, have about 8 people coming)? Am doing a pass the parcel already and dd wants to play through beanbags at the skittles. Thinking about hiding a prize and getting dd blind folded and everyone to shout warmer or colder to find it. Need a few more ideas though!

thanks LucindaE and beforeihit30 - mat leave starts on Wednesday thank god!!! the sickness is coming back with a vengeance :(

Not really managing to keep up! Cyclezine has turned me into a zombie!
Did anyone else experience this? Did it get better? My sickness is slightly better on it. But I’m still struggling to function due to being so spaced out!

yep, cyclizine makes me more tired but I have to take it religiously :(

Yes @cattaxi I was groggy and tired out for the first 10 days or so but now it's fine, I've been on 3 a day for about 6 weeks I think. Hope it eases off soon.
@Reastie Good luck with the party - pass the parcel sounds like a winner! You can just relax and enjoy pressing pause 😀 hopefully others will take the on entertainment so you can rest for most of it.
Hope your visit with the dietician is good @eallison88 it sounds like you've had a long week xx
I've spent the last few days feeling a mixture of exhausted and sick, but my actual throwing up is getting less frequent now. Still retch a lot though which is gross but I've been in bed all day today so it hasn't been too bad. Hugs to everyone - one more day almost done x

Turned out not to be with a dietician. It was the diabetes consultant and then the diabetes midwife. An hour in total. Fairly positive, overall. Clear understanding that my diet is limited and eating the perfect 'diabetes' diet may not be possible I have an apt with a dietician next week, apparently, and an obstetrician consultant specialising in diabetes straight afterwards. They wanted to change my consultant to this one I'm seeing on Tuesday. However, I said i didnt want to be removed from my current consultant as she has been so supportive. So the diabetes consultant immediately said that was fine and we'd just add appointments with the other consultant, if I was happy to meet her. So that was good. I'm a bit stressed about the food side of things, but I'm hoping after the dietician apt with hubby there (cos he's house chef!) I'll feel a little more positive.

Lacey my dizziness started to get easier around 10 weeks, the MW said that my disturbed eating and drinking schedule probably wasn’t helping so trying to be a bit more considered about how I do things and that seems to have helped. It’s not 100% (see: passing out at the bus stop ) but it is significantly better and I feel generally okay whilst walking, start to get dizzy or faint if I have to stand or lean/perch for more than a couple of minutes but previously I could do about 30 seconds so it’s definitely improved.

Eg I have quite a slow morning (when I’m awake in the morning ), take my medication, start with some fruit tea and then have something to eat then is fairly reliable (for me that’s things like a banana, sometimes eggs, sometimes a bagel, occasionally fruit granola, it varies but I usually cycle between these depending on how I feel). I drink quite a bit throughout the day, I’ve found sparkling water and fruit tea are currently my go to drinks (liquids I can stomach) but it has varied over the weeks. I’ve started to get the hang of which foods and drinks I can stomach more than others, so I’m less likely to retch or vomit after and keep it down (doesn’t always work hence I lot a lot of food on the Monday just gone! But it’s much better than it was).

Thanks all for ‘getting’ me about the joys of leaving the house (and my episode!). I slept really long last night, about 12 hours, I was totally wiped by it. But I feel okay today, just a bit achey and tired, slight queasy, and made sure I didn’t do anything today so that I could recuperate.

Hello ladies! Sorry for my long absence, I've kind of been off mn for a while. Trying to keep my head above water with my return to work after the sickness eased at around 20 weeks. Felt alright for a good 6 weeks or so, still very nauseous in the mornings and occasional vomiting, but considering I weaned off my cyclizine and ondansetron I'm not too bad. My main issue now (@27 weeks and counting) appears to be severe acid reflux! I had the same with my son, however I cannot tolerate gaviscon, which is all the pharmacist would offer me today.
I remember a lot of you take ranitidine. I wondered if anyone has any advice on this and what dose I should try to begin with? I bought some 75mg ones over the counter this afternoon. I've a gp consultation on Monday so should probably wait until then, but I feel so desperate! I feel dreadful as soon as I eat and drink anything from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. I've started to bring up into my mouth when I think I'm just going to burp 😩 it's so grim. I can't lie in bed comfortably as the acid just rises up my throat and burns like hell.
Hoping someone might have some tips and advice for me.
Thanks 🙏

kisses4u I expect you'd be absolutely safe taking whatever the dose recommended on the box is. I take 150mg twice a day, so 75mg once or twice a day certainly isn't gonna do any harm (whether it'll help is another matter, but getting the stuff into your system should mean that when GP prescribed higher dose it should start working quicker). There's also omeprazole, which I think is prescription only. Works in a different way to ranitidine, so if ranitidine doesn't work you could try omeprazole. Some women find one works much better than the other. I actually take both!!

kisses4u Sorry to hear of the acidity. I certainly can't better eallison's advice. A lot of sufferers feel the same; the sickness greatly decreases, but the heartburn is awful. I am so glad you were well enough to return.
eallison It must be so difficult working out a diet taking both Hyperemesis and diabates into account. I gather that some people become anxious through not detecting a heartbeat with a Doppler, though there is one, but I expect that is early on, so it sounds a good idea.
Reastie Can someone make some tasty sandwiches for the party and do the games?
elpreggo I am sorry that things are grim, and so glad you get ML on Wednesday!
cattaxi Again, great advice from others about Cyclizine. How long have you been on it?
norbert I am so glad you have improved a bit.
Apologies to anyone impolitely ignored....Watch me cross post.

I didn't ask to hear heartbeat in the end as baby was doing dances pretty much the entire time I was there.