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.
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.
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.

BeforeIhit30 you’ve hit the nail on the head, due to being pregnant its normal for others to excuse this disease which couldn’t be furthest from the truth.

If it truly was normal and all the traditional methods worked would we have to resort to meds and IV fluids etc? the sheer ignorance of it all baffles me. I thought I was getting better alas no still going to keep at the meds.

Re iron I took it religiously whilst trying to conceive and once the hg hit I have given
up but when I could I used to take the ones from boots, they are tiny and manageable.

Deaddoor I hope it all works out re the house, if fil cant do it is there anyone else you can ask? Its such a faff trying to rent at times and all the hoops one has to go through.

Hermionekeeper don’t worry its not tmi, I am lucky at times if i can even manage a wash or even a wipe down with a towel. Fingers crossed its temporary just do what you can when you can and do not push yourself too much, rest is important.

I have spent the whole day in bed yet again but am starving just trying to think of a safe food to try. Hope everyone else is doing better and apologies to anyone I have missed x

before I found eating spinach cooked helped with the iron. But midwife also told me not to worry after it made me ill on the tablets.

Before I’m going to copy something I wrote to teddy on this thread a couple of weeks ago about iron because I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to retype, sorry.

I take floradix liquid and when I first start taking it I take a very small dose (say about half a tsp twice a day) and take it with food rather than the recommended half hour before food as its gentler on my stomach. I then gradually build up every day the amount I take and have never had any side effects that way. Whence started taki;g it suddenly at normal dose it upsets my stomach for a few days (despite being one of the very gentle iron supplements on the market!). Obv if you need to up your iron quickly this might not work as you might not have time to do it slowly. Tips for iron absorption are to have vitamin c with iron to absorb more, to not have antacids within an hour or so of iron as it inhibits absorption and meat sources of iron are better absorbed by the body than vegetable sources.

Bentley111 Welcome. Sorry you feel so bad and about your losses. You have already had some great advice. Do push for meds. It is not normal pregnancy sickness to be really ill all the time. The GP will probably prescribe Cyclizine or Stemitil or another med as a first course of treatment. If that doesn't work, there are ohers to try, so don't hesitate to go back if they're not working. Also, an anti acid can make a huge difference. It is worth getting kesostix from a chemists to check for dehydration. Scanty urine, dry skin, a headache etc are better indicators but many a and e departments insist on ketone readings for admission for rehydration. Some drinks that have helped others: coke, full sugar, though some need diet, flat, and maybe frozen into ice cubes, the juce of tinned fruit, ice lolies, ice cubes, Lucoazade, fizzy orange, orange squash, orange juice (if not too acid), Iron Bru, Dr. Pepper, Lemonade, Robinson's fruit dirnks, Elderflower water, soda water, tonic water, Elderflower coridal and tonic water - eallison's tipple, sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), nibbles of crips and chips, tinned fruit, cheap ice cream, cuppa soup, Scotch pancakes, slices of melon and mango, baked potatoes, biscuits and jelly. Ah - and I am jealous about the horses, though of course, they will be a trial while you are ill.
putputput Welcome back. Congratulations on going for a second. Several sufferers on here have toddlers and I hope they can give expert tips. Are there any family or friends who can be called in?
DeadDoorPost I am sorry about the trouble with a guarantor.
Very brave to eat chilli!
TwoShades1 Thank you so much for updating us. Don't feel you are boasting - it is very encouraging for those suffering badly to see how much better it can get. Congratulations on a return to work. [smlle]
Reastie Congratulations on cake. Excellent advice.
beforeihit30 Congratulations on socialising with Hyperemesis - and for excellent advice from you too.
advocadoo Poor you with a migraine. They are horrible.
Teddyreddy I am so glad you are feeling better after a bad week before.
HermioneKipper Certainly take a cab,and also, a handy receptacle in case of emergency, such as doubled carrier bags or nappy bags and tissues.
Username I am sorry that you are at a very bad bit - coming up to the 10 weeks stage is notoriously bad. Things will get better. Don't feel guilty about LO. They seem to forget about a period of comparative neglect very quicly, if all the anecdotal evidence from these threads is anything to go by.
Bili I seem to have scrawled a message about tea by your name. I really missed it too, and I didn't suffer for very long at all. The day will come when you enjoy a slice of cake and a cup of tea again!
composed Thank you. I think that understanding is gradually improving and the treatment is gradually becoming more huamane - but it is happening very slowly. Here's Margaret O'Hara's excellent website which does explore some research etc.
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssoshome
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

This is the latest Due Dates list, which massively needs updating.

Due Dates
bumblebee 20 May
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

LucindaE my due date is all the way on 30th nov!! thats agessssss away and I am on the end of the list, fingers crossed the hg ends waaaay before then x

LucindaE My due date is 17th October

I have had no luck with iron or even keeping folic acid down. TBH wafer has been a push most days but was admitted again on Friday and the hospital doctor prescribed prochlorazepine which dissolves on my gum and ondansetron. I haven't been sick since. I still have nausea and no appetite but this combination has meant I'm keeping water down and I can at least sleep without waking up at 2 every morning to vomit! I echo what all Pps have said keep pushing for different meds this is my fourth combination the others did nothing.

Typo sorry water! And my due date isn't u til the 16th Nov.

Sorry, this is a self indulgent moan post

So DS isn't getting any better at sleeping through the night. For whatever reason, he's taken it upon himself to wake up every 2 hours or so and I just can't cope with the sitting up and comforting him til he goes back to sleep. I'm exhausted, and DH wakes up but doesn't help because hes irritable so will only make things worse. And if DH doesn't wake up then he'll complain in the morning that he's tired and that jist makes me mad because if hes tired then how does he think i feel?!?!!

I know we're in a difficult situation with the job and house at the moment but I'm trying to tell if it's just sleep deprivation that's getting to me, or whether it's actually the PND getting worse. I just don't know anymore.
And obvioisly, because I'm not feeling decent enough I'm then snapping at everything and I just feel like an absolute crap mother.

I can't do a 3rd child. This is hard enough.

@beforeIhit30 that's exactly what I feel like. I entered pregnancy expecting to feel a bit crap, perhaps a bout of sickness here and there, but definitely wasn't expecting to feel like this, especially at just under 6 weeks. I'm pleased that you managed to get a bit of leverage. I am concerned about not being taken seriously.

@LucindaE thanks so much for your advice. I completely agree, I think external indicators are a much better sign of dehydration than ketones, especially in pregnancy when there is no rhyme or reason to what your body is doing. Will try coke frozen into ice cubes, that sounds like a manageable one. Licking ice lollies seems to be better than drinking water at the min, have also found sips of Summer fruit squash to be beneficial. Had a few spoons of rice for dinner which stayed down until this morning.
Will ask DH to pick up Kesostix in town later.
Horses are luckily not too much of a trial at the mo as DH is only too happy to step up and look after them, bless him. He was up early this morning mucking them out. I do feel awful that they aren't being exercised but thankfully the weather is nice and they have a lovely big field to roam.

Don't worry @composed I'll overtake you! My EDD is 13th Jan.

Just dashing on to say DeadDoorPostWhat will help is a sleep club. They used to do them, and I can't believe they will have stopped, as it is torture for sleep deprived parents.The problem is older babies get used to being made a fuss of at night (I had a sleepless baby and was a very soft parent). Do ask at your Medical Centre, saying the combination of Hyperemesis and sleeplessness and other worries are making you even iller.
Back soon to comment on posts and update the Due Dates list.

Thanks reastie and Lucinda! Yes, so good to be able to drink tea again too! And congrats to Eal! Sorry if I’ve missed anyone! I had a water birth and would recommend if you can. I kept in my mind for much of the sickness and the labour ... although it feels it, none of this is permanent, it will all pass xxx

ugh today is horrible, had a massive row with husband which made me take my tabs late and now I can’t get back on an even footing.

Spent the whole morning crying, just want this to be over.

Today has been awful here too. Was up at 3 being sick and then again at 7.30.

Also had a row with my husband. He’s been good up until now looking after our toddler alone but he’s starting to get extremely irritable as to why I can’t get up and help with breakfast etc. My mum ended up taking her for the day which has been so helpful but he was grumpy with her too which pissed me off further. Stupid man

Poor you @composed. I feel the same. There’ve been many tears and almost getting to the point where I wish I wasn’t pregnant.

This was a very much wanted pregnancy and I had a miscarriage back in Jan.

@HermioneKipper I too had a mmc back in Dec and had been actively trying to get pregnant again so it is very much wanted like you. However it has been so hard and altho my dd is 8yrs old I live far away from my own family so have had to rely on others.

My husband same as yours seems to be getting more and more irritated with each day even tho he has seen me like this before and knows more than most how hard it is for me. As harsh as it sounds I absolutely hate him atm. It takes two to make a baby and all I ask for is his support.

My mum was beyond pissed when she rang only to have me cry down the phone about what had happened, she would have marched all the way up here and taken me with her if it wasn’t for dd’s school.

I’ve told him not to contact me and just leave me be, the stress causes me to relapse when upto this point I had been managing to eat.

I am so sorry that you are still quite early on and there are more bad days than good, are you on meds?

Hermione sorry about things with your dh. I think mine has been a lot better this time because he knew what to expect. He was useless last time and just didn’t get it at all. Even this time we have moments!

Bentley hope your day wasn’t too bad.

Dead you’ve got a lot going on today to cope with, I hope you’re ok.

BlodmI’m glad you have got some medication that is helping.

Bad day today. Yesterday was a pretty good day somI’m not sure I can complain but feeling fed up. Not really managed anything today and spent a lot of time in bed.

Composed xposted. I’m sorry things are difficult for you too.

@foreverblues Congratulations! Hope you and your lovely girl are doing well xxx

@HermioneKipper - my bets friend is a dentist and advised me to look for a children’s toothpaste with the same fluoride levels as an adult one. There are a few around. Also she recommended a product called GC Mousse to re-strengthen enamel which gets badly damaged from vomiting so much. It’s available from Amazon.

I had a few hours sleep this afternoon so that helped me feel better but I still feel like crap. Still feeling a bit touchy but not as bad.

I'm glad others are having bad days, as bad as that sounds. Just reminds me I'm not the only one struggling.

Composed and HermioneKipper I am sorry that OH's are not being properly supportive. Hopefully they will realise soon!
DeadDoorPost Glad you got some sleep.
Foreverblues So true about tea.
Reastie I am glad OH hasl learnt this time round.
Bentley I do hope the frozen coke helps.
BlodwynBludd Lots of people find Ondansetron the most helpful. Do invest in a laxative, though, if you don't have one already, as the constiption can be severe.
CalmerComber Good advice. How are things now?

I've updated the Due Dates list.

Due Dates
bumblebee 20 May
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
TwoShades1 17 October
cattaxi 19 October
BlodwynBludd 16 November
Composed 30 November

Thank you Reastie DeadDoor composed Blodwyn for iron tips and feedback, I’m looking at some of the different things you can buy in Boots and such. I’m going to ask the GP about it and get whatever prescription I can get but take it from there - I don’t know what dose of iron they recommend, thought it was in my hospital letter but it isn’t, so at least if I can get some idea of that it could help me in narrowing down other options. I also don’t really know what it’s for I mean I know what iron is, but I don’t know if there’s a specific concern with being low on iron.

DeadDoor so sorry to hear it’s all a bit tense, you’re absolutely right, you’re just not in a position to be managing things like night wakings I also totally get what you mean when you see you’re not the only one having bad days. I find it reassuring especially when people st 20+ weeks are still having bad days, that I’m not ‘abnormal’.

Also sorry to hear others having difficulties with partners/husbands composed Hermione and that’s so right, “it takes two to make a baby”, there is already so much that the mother has to do by carrying the baby, and HG compounds the difficulties, a partner can’t just opt out of sharing that load, especially to just do their job of being a parent to their children.

Managed to eat some ‘real’ food yesterday and today which has felt amazing. I have been eating food, but not the type of food I would normally eat (have mentioned loads probably haha, but normally eat low carb high fat; obviously during the worst sickness it was just whatever I could get to stay down, since then it’s been a lot of carbs and some salad). I’m kind of tired of all the sweetness in my diet, because I’m not used to it (like zero sugar fizzy drinks, they’re still really sweet from the sweeteners and flavourings, or fruit juice, and biscuits!). But they were some of the things I could manage. Well yesterday and today I actually cooked, probably the 2nd and 3rd time cooking in the past 5 months. Yesterday I made cauliflower cheese, roasted tomatoes, and fennel and herb pork belly; and today chicken stew (recipe from DH’s family’s home country) with dumplings, plantain and spinach. I cannot express just how good that makes me feel, both cooking and eating. I have missed them both it may not last forever (I was totally wiped and fell asleep about 4:30pm waking at 9pm, hence I’m still awake now!) but it was a lovely reminder of some of the things I can have again once this is over. Plus the significant reduction in sugar and carbs and being able to increase some of the fat and protein means I haven’t had constant hunger over the past two days, which has helped the nausea a lot.

Sorry you had a rubbish day @HermioneKipper  perhaps it's his frustration at not being able to help that's coming out? Completely U to be grumpy with your DM though.
I've had 2 MCs and was in tears on Saturday thinking this may have been a mistake. The midwife said it's really normal to feel like this. Hope you have a better time today 

@beforeIhit30 your cooking sounds amazing! Would love to have dinner at yours once this awful sickness is over

Yesterday wasn't too bad. I managed to get out of the house to walk the dogs with DH. I am, or was, really fit and active and was out of breath about 5 mins in. I did feel so much better for some fresh air. DH cooked a roast last night and I managed a slice of beef, half a roast potato, a carrot and a spoonful of peas. The thought of gravy made me gag
My dog woke us up at half 2 this morning needing the loo and that completely set me off. Have been in the bathroom pretty much since then either vomiting or retching. I emailed my manager and HR telling them about the pregnancy this morning as didn't want to call in sick again. Luckily supportive so that's a huge weight off my shoulders.
GPs at 10am this morning. Dreading going in the car but I am so excited at the prospect at some sort of relief!

Before that’s great! I remember with dd having for the first time a pasta bake with courgettes and tomatoes and actually really enjoying it. It felt incredible to have a food that wasn’t potatoes that I coukd manage and I felt so great! I can now eat salad this pg and really missed it in the first half of pg when I couldn't eat it. I know that sounds weird but I was so excited when I could eat it again I’d have it twice a day! Tomatoes in salad were the first food aversion I had in pg this time. I remember having my dinner about 4 days before af even due and feeling sick when I ate it and thinking ‘this feels familiar...’ . Fwiw iron is to do with healthy blood. In pg your blood volume increases by about 50% so you need more iron because of this. It’s pretty common for pg women to have low iron but isn’t a great position to be in. It can make you feel very tired, nauseous (great!) and weak if it’s too low.