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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Emetophobia & pregnant

9 replies

AndBeholdAWhiteHorse · 10/04/2019 04:46

Currently sat up watching TV after waking up feeling sick. So far the best "cure" for me is marmite toast. However I know it isn't good to keep eating toast in the night.

Unfortunately I have emetophobia which I thought I had a handle on after therapy for it a few years ago. Cue this morning getting up feeling extremely hot and sick. Shaking and dizzy and generally feeling very unwell. I eat some toast & I feel human again.

I guess I just wondered if others have similar symptoms and/or middle of the night "cures" they could share.

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Spargle · 10/04/2019 05:22

How pregnant are you? For the first 14 weeks or so, I had to get up for breakfast very early indeed. There weren’t any other feasible options - breakfast simply had to happen between 4 and 7.30 am (says she at 30 weeks at 5.08, having finished breakfast - dehydration headache this time, but I was hungry, too!).

I found that either cornflakes and milk or Rice Krispies and milk were the only possible breakfasts, apart from one glorious week on holiday, when I had cornflakes with chocolate in (couldn’t stomach it on my return, so lucky I only had one serving left!).

Other tactics I used were sleeping with the dimmest of lights on (waking up feeling sick loses a level of awfulness when it’s possible to see, for me. When I could finally sleep with the light off again it was amazing!), and taking bedding and a bedroll downstairs so I could sleep in the living room between breakfast and second breakfast (going back to bed and trying to sleep felt like a horrible idea, but falling asleep in the living room, reading, felt less awful, so I did mostly get an acceptable amount of sleep).

I would definitely recommend just rolling with it. Right now, your body is really struggling. Give it what it tells you it wants, and don’t worry that it flies in the face of non-pregnant advice for how to do things sensibly.

Oh, and I’m also a bit emetophobic (moreso with other people now - have managed to learn how to just go with the flow when it’s happened to me recently, and it’s not actually been that bad), and have made it through this pregnancy so far with a number of days when I’ve felt too sick to get dressed, but I’ve not actually been sick. Even when the gagging started before the proper nausea finished, my body held on to everything most admirably. Anecdotally, people who are emetophobic seem less likely to be sick than average. I think that anyone who is sick often is unlikely to be emetophobic, because they mostly have to get over it, so it’s the people who are naturally good at not being sick who are more likely to develop emetophobia, and less likely to be sick while pregnant.

AndBeholdAWhiteHorse · 10/04/2019 08:06

@Spargle
Thanks for your reply. I am only 6+3 and the nausea hit bang on the 6 week mark. Like you in the night it is the worse thing. The day I cope better. I have a book to read and moved myself into the lounge but I will leave a blanket there to help me sleep.

Unfortunately this morning my toast trick didn't work and for the first time it came back up. It was a pretty horrible experience but once washed away & teeth brushed I felt a lot better and shakily went back to bed.

I will try your suggestions though to see if that helps. I think I waited too long to try the toast so I'll get up when it first hits next time and maybe try cereal too (I have exciting bran flakes Grin)

I'm also glad I'm not the only one having second breakfast!!!

Can I also ask did you holiday in the UK or abroad? I promised a holiday with my mum but not sure where to go.

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MeredithGrey1 · 10/04/2019 08:20

I’m emetophobic too and really struggled in my first trimester (I’m 29+4 now).

For me, food that I didn’t have to get out of bed to eat was helpful, the floor next to my bed looked like a picnic with various boxes of crackers! I had these dry oatcake things which I would nibble on if I woke up, because I found that if I got up without eating I’d feel worse. I also found Granny Smith apples helped, not sure why but I think the sour juiciness helped my mouth feel less ick and a bit fresher which helped - I rarely finished one, would just nibble at it for hours whenever I felt a wave of nausea and it seemed to settle my stomach a bit.

After bursting into tears at the GP, he prescribed me some anti-sickness tablets. My sickness wasnt bad enough for someone without emetophobia to take tablets, but my GP could see the effect it was having on me so I took cyclizine and for me personally it was a god send. In the past I’ve had issues around restricted eating and struggling to maintain a high enough weight, and that was creeping back in with the morning sickness which is why he decided the cyclizine was right for me, but might also be something that could help you if you start struggling more?

AndBeholdAWhiteHorse · 10/04/2019 08:35

@MeredithGrey1
I like the idea of a picnic by my bedside. I must confess a pack of digestives went with me this morning in case it happened again. My partner just looked at me like I'm greedy. I will try oak crackers and similar too as better than biscuits. Apples sound a good shout. I have the pink lady ones so will try those. So far though fruit has gone out the window. I mainly want carbs and cheese! But apples may be a good place to start getting back into the habit.

I'll bare that in mind about the tablets. Did they give you any other side effects? I'm usually ok but as the previous poster said and as you know if you have emetophobia you'll do anything not to be sick and not to feel sick. I want to be able to overcome it and therapy really did help but everyday for me is a bit much to be ok with. But I'll see how I get on. I don't want to keep being sick. I'm also worried about weight gain as I'm eating to avoid feeling sick and it is mainly bread which I'm going for.

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MeredithGrey1 · 10/04/2019 09:08

@AndBeholdAWhiteHorse Cyclizine is an antihistamine so the first couple I took made me so sleepy they basically knocked me out, but after that I was fine. I was worried about using them as a crutch in a way, and not dealing with the underlying emetophobia, but the nausea was just so bad that I wasn’t really in a place where I could deal with it properly, I just needed to get through it.

AndBeholdAWhiteHorse · 10/04/2019 09:14

@MeredithGrey1
Are you still on it now? I didn't know antihistamines helped with sickness. Medicine really is amazing! I'm glad it helped you. I know how scary trying to deal with emetophobia can be and I think you're right to not deal with it at that time.

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Spargle · 10/04/2019 09:27

We went to Budapest. I found my nausea was a lot better there, and I did have some time when I didn’t actively feel sick (I definitely didn’t feel right, but it was a lot better!). Also, everything there was very cheap, which was helpful. And there was a gluten-free restaurant round the corner from my accommodation, without which I might not have survived! (DH let me steal anything from his plate, and ate anything I couldn’t handle, which was an absolute godsend. He didn’t get many chips.)

Honestly, though, anywhere abroad which is nice is probably helpful. Just been working in Geneva, and found that anti-nausea bands were basically not necessary for the first time in this pregnancy. It was a shame to return home and feel vaguely rough again!

If you feel like it would be good for you to eat fruit, perhaps consider tinned pears - they seem about the least offensive to me (I almost ate a complete real pear one time, but didn’t want to repeat that particular experience!). Also, the juice/syrup water might be easier to drink than a real drink.

Lolly ices can be helpful too. And when you definitely need to eat something, but not any actual food which exists, you might consider half a chicken or vegetable stock cube in a cup of hot water, perhaps with rice noodles if you’re feeling adventurous. It is about as easy a thing to consume as possible, and really helped me at my most desperate.

You need your DH a bit more on board, though. Mine initially thought I was being grumpy, but I was actually just feeling very, very ill. Eventually, he decided he’d better be extra-helpful, and delivered more than one meal to me while I just lay there on the floor in a most pathetic manner (“meal” being a loose definition!).

You should try not to clean your teeth straight after you are sick, though. The acid weakens the enamel, and it needs 20-30 minutes to settle down afterwards, or it gets damaged.

On the subject of teeth, I switched to a children’s toothpaste and mouthwash, and try not to use the adult stuff right now - the milder flavour is much less intolerable. I brushed my teeth top outside, then top inside, then bottom outside, then bottom inside. As soon as the toothpaste flavour started to become intolerable I rinsed, and as soon as brushing my teeth became too much I stopped. This meant that some days I didn’t clean my teeth properly, but it was better than setting off the gagging. The mouthwash helped to keep things healthy, I think. And I used a small, non-electric toothbrush, although some people prefer electric.

The medication might be helpful. I didn’t realise it was an option for me, but in retrospect I’d probably have benefited. Maybe give it a couple of days to see if getting up as soon as you realise it’s time to eat will help you, and see the doctor if it’s not effective. Keep an eye on things as week 9 approaches, too - if things become less manageable, you can re-assess.

Good luck! It’s pretty hellish, but it will pass!

MeredithGrey1 · 10/04/2019 09:50

I still have it, but I don’t take as much. I can take up to three tablets a day and some days I’ll just take one in the morning, some days I won’t take it at all, occasionally I’ll take two. The nausea seems to be creeping back now I’m in the third trimester but is nowhere near as bad as in the first trimester.

AndBeholdAWhiteHorse · 10/04/2019 10:09

@Spargle
I am so craving chips with vinegar. I think that may be lunch today! European destinations definitely seem the best option and it is interesting to know that you were feeling better there than here. I wonder why? I like the idea of stealing food from your DH too. I think a fork might enter my hand if I tried that Wink actually I think he might be a bit more understanding after this morning's sickness.

We were looking at NYC but I cannot imagine a seven hour flight feeling like this. Whilst I am not afraid of flying I hate being cooped up in my seat. I'll see where might be suitable for us both this side of the pond.

It's funny you mention tinned fruit. My mum suggested the same thing with apricots. I'll see how I get on with the apple but the bananas I have are staring at me like little evil sick inducers. There is no way they'll go in. I don't fancy anything colder than my body temperature if that makes sense.

I'll wait next time with the tooth brushing. Without sound gross the taste of butter was left in my mouth and I needed it gone but I'll give it a bit of time. I have some mild toothpaste too so if it gets too much I'll swap.

It sounds like you went through a really tough time with it all and you could've benefited from medication too.

I'm going to keep an eye on it. I have the midwife appointment next weds so maybe I'll speak to her if it gets worse. I'll be 7+3 then.

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