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.

Managed to book an earlier appointment for tomorrow. Yay for online booking! Means I have to be awake for 8.45 but that's fine. Same Dr as well which is good.

Hope everyone has a better day today. I managed to get some of my favourite cereal yesterday so I'm going to try and have some of that later once i know the meds are working.

Lucinda I wish I was by the sea but I'm not. I didn't go to the beach on Monday either, but stayed home 🙈 currently laying in bed waiting. Don't know what for yet. Maybe to go back to sleep.

It’s hard reading about some of you that are still so sick! I feel quite guilty about feeling good. I’m 20 weeks tomorrow and seem to barely need my ondansetron anymore. I went 5 days without, then 3 days on half a tablet and now I’m 2 days without. My headaches seem to be well under control with vitamin b6 and constipation isn’t an issue as long as I keep taking the lactulose. I’m finally starting to feel excited about this baby (even though it was planned!) as up until recently I mainly regretted getting pregnant as I wasn’t desperate for a baby and my partner wasn’t fussed either way about more children (he is very happy, but already has 2 with his ex so feels quite fulfilled as a dad already).

Twoshades when did you start to reduce the meds and how did you know you wanted to?

Reastie good luck with the app today hope its postive.

Dead yay for the earlier app, hope you enjoy the cereal! I was craving coco pops the other day but was too scared to risk it, still having horrid food aversions.

I am stupidly counting down the days till 16 weeks as I think that’s when I started to turn the corner with my dd but alas every pregnancy is different as they say. I have to have a bath today no matter what as I didn’t manage much yesterday incl that supposed shower

composed to be honest I had never taken more than 2 ondansetron in a day. I found early on (around 8 weeks?) that taking one in the morning when I first woke up really helped and sometimes I might have another later in the day particularly if I had something like an appointment I had to attend. I often found that only the initial tablet worked and any taken later really didn’t do much, so I stopped bothering with taking any from late afternoon onwards. The one in the morning carried on until about 17 weeks when I tried not taking it but I started to feel sick and ended up taking one mid morning, tried another time and same again. I then had a gp appointment to get another script for ondansetron and it was a different gp. She suggested breaking the tablets in half and seeing if half was enough. It worked and I spent about a week on half every day before going without again. Went 5 days without but them the sicky feelings were coming back so did 3 morning of half a table to first thing and I felt ready to try without again and now I’m 2 days without. I’m just going to keep going as I am and not worry too much if I have to dip back into them every so often to keep things going smoothly. I think there is a large mental part to it for me. When I take the ondansetron I feel calm knowing that it works and when I skip it I’m anxious worrying about getting sick again. Then I think the anxiety makes any mild sickness seem worse.

Just got my HV appt through and it's when I'm away for my bros wedding. Typical.

Almost been sick a couple.of times today so far. Didn't end up having cereal but had buttered crumpets instead.
composed I'm counting down the weeks until I give birth as I know 100% I'll feel better then. sigh only 15 weeks to go

Saw anaethetist this morning. Have a plan for section that I’m 50% happy with 50% wishing they could do more but appreciate the reasons they can’t or think this is the best option. No one can guarantee it’ll actually be followed though so could be for nothing. But I felt listened to and accommodated where it was easily possible for them to. Good news was he had read my written background beforehand and so knew about my situ. Just lying on the sofa recovering now.

Dead I’m sure they can change to hv apt. I got a ‘courtesy call’ from a hv weeks ago to see how I was but never returned the call so I’m not sure when my visit will be. I suspect post baby. I just felt too depressed to bother returning the call and saying how rubbish I was feeling. Glad you got an earlier apt.

Composed I think you’re right to count down to 16 weeks. Even if you’re still suffering then fx it will be a lot improved from where you are. I’m still struggling but can’t tell you how much better things are in general from the early weeks.

Two shades sounds like you’re doing really well.

Before I think you’ve been lucky with your cats! Ours does what he wants when he wants no matter what we want.

Next thing is scan on Friday which I’m looking forward to a bit. I hope I don’t have a bad day to make it difficult.

That's good reastie at least he's read the notes and knew! As for me, I know it can be changed, just wish it didn't need to.

Dead how ar you feeling about going away to the wedding? Hope you’re not too anxious about it (you have no reason to be, only that I find it stressful and hard to do anything).

Have felt absolutely exhausted this afternoon after hospital this morning and now feel like I’m getting a cold, which could account for the feeling off past couple of days. Dd tells me she is getting a cold. Honestly, this is my third cold whilst being pg and I literally barely leave the house or see anyone to catch germs 🙄. Makes a cold harder to deal with when anything like this makes th nausea worse.

Reastie glad to hear the app went well and it helps to ease your worries a bit going forward. Do you still throw up reastie even now this far along or is it just the nausea?

Dead have you heard from the mental health team or is it the hv you would have to deal with? I remember you saying you left a message for them a few weeks back.

Before how is your day going?

Twoshades I usually have one first thing too and on a really bad day I do find myself having 3 overall. Atm I am trying to stick to 2 max due to the awful constipation.

You would think staying in bed and doing nothing would help ease the nausea but oh no have found myself dry retching a few times today and that scares me about actually throwing up as I am scared to.

I am literally counting down the days till the end even tho I am only 13 weeks. My husband wants me to try having water as I haven’t managed for the past 3 months even frozen. I think because it is so light in weight and sloshes around its easy to come back up straight away.

Lucinda hope you’re well x

Composed I’ve read some people on here have had better luck with heavier liquids like milk or soya milk or milkshakes because they are less light than water iykwim, or maybe juice from tinned fruit? Fwiw I can’t manage water still but weirdly can manage peppermint tea, which is really just flavoured water! I’m mainly struggling with nausea so count myself lucky, but it’s still often intense and totally debilitating. This evening is bad, probably because I’m coming down with something. I totally get your counting the days, I have been doing this since before I even got bfp (I just knew several days before af due because of that familiar queasy feeling). You’ve made it to 13 weeks, that’s prerty much 1/3 done now, you can totally hold on for the rest. It might not be easy and will be an endurance but you’ve survived this far. Just get through each day at a time. I have emetophobia and am absolutely petrified of being sick so completely understand your feelings. I’ve literally spent my whole life formmomths putting all my energy into trying not to be sick.

reastie I'm not too worried, I'm hoping the appt tomorrow will give me stronger meds in time for the wedding on the 17th june. Fingers crossed.

composed not heard from them. Should probably chase them up about it but I hate speaking over the phone.

This may be TMI but has anyone else noticed a change in their discharge? I'm certainly producing more and the smell is different. Its not a UTI. I'm guessing it's just the hormone changes but don't remember it with DS pregnancy.

Reastie I can only manage fizzy drinks atm and think thats better than nothing, dh can’t understand that everytime I have had hg I become allergic to water literally.

I almost thought I was going to get away with not havig hg this time but alas no when it hit it hit. It takes away from the experience don’t you think? not being able to fully enjoy being pregnant and doing what other women seem to be able to just do and get on with. When I was at the hospital last fri there were so many glamorous pregnant women, tanned and with makeup whilst I was there holding onto my sick bag and willing myself not to be sick after looking at the water cups.

I definately know this will be my last as I can’t go through this again, I’m not strong or brave enough. How about others? Reastie this is your 2nd too and door? plans for anymore in the future do you think....

composed With any luck things will get much better. Can you stand listening to audio books or the radio?
DeadDoorPost Silly me; I thought you were on a seaside break.
beforeihit30 That is sweet about the LO's and cats both.
Reastie I had to laugh at that impossible cat. I am glad that at least you feel a lot better than in the dreaful first tri and that you have a scan to cheer you up and that about half of the meeting today was fifty per cent positive.
TwoShades1 I am so happy that you are feeling so much better at 20 weeks.
Apologies to anyone rudely ignored.

composed yeah this is my 2nd. Don't really think we'll have any more. DH isn't really coping well either atm with the stress of no job etc and obvioisly for me it's the HG that is the problem.

composed and Reastie emetophobe here too! I basically spent months just laying in bed being too scared to do anything in case I was sick! Used to have a bucket and sick bags next to the bed and didn’t go anywhere without them. I’ve been feeling reasonable for a while now and only just put away the last bags from next to the bed last week! (The bucket went about a month ago). I still have a couple of sick bags in my handbag though. I managed to shower every day, often sitting in the shower and then just sitting wrapped in a towel to dry as somehow in my mind I was less worried about being sick in the shower as at least the clean up would be easy!

composed see my earlier comment about constipation! I way under estimated it and it took a while to get on top of it particularly as most of the laxatives made the nausea worse.

Hello ladies, hope everyone’s ok.

I’ve not been doing too well. The vomiting has stopped since I’ve been taking the ondansetron but the nausea is as bad as ever and I can still barely get out of bed. I feel so weak, shaky and exhausted all the time. I’m managing to force down some food (plain bread and crackers) and sips of water as I’m desperate not to end up in hospital again.

What’s weird is I’m so hungry but I can’t bear any food at all. The thought and taste of everything is repulsing me.

Am counting the days and it feels like time has never gone slower. Wish I could fast forward to feeling better.

Have been trying to take lactolose as am terribly constipated but it’s so disgusting - I’m struggling to bear it.

I’m on ondansetron 3 times a day at 4mg a time. Can I up the dose? My gp didn’t know so I need to ring the hospital tomorrow.

@HermioneKipper Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. Afraid I don't know about ondansetron, I got changed when it wasn't doing much for me. I hope you manage to find a food you fancy eventually - bizarrely for me it's caramel rice cakes. When I'm feeling terrible they're the only thing I can stomach!

Hermione max dose ondansetron is 8mg 3 x day in pg. fwiw even with all the meds I still had the worst nausea and the food thing sounds familiar too. For me I found if I could eat, and I had to force down things that I could cope with at that second, it would help. I would have to eat literally every half hour and I would be crying when eating as I felt so sick and really didn’t want to eat but it would feel better if I coukd manage to. But everyone’s different and that doesn’t seem to be the case for everyone. I could only eat really random things which would constantly change too. I’m on movicol for constipation which is a sachet you mix with water. It tastes yucky on its own but I have it with lemon squash so it tastes nice. It takes a few days to work though.

Dead I’ve started having a bit more discharge but I think that’s normal for the last month of pg for me, not sure about earlier. Keep an eye for itchiness incase it’s thrush as that can cause discharge but I’m pretty sure changes like that are normal.

Composed this is my third pg (first was mc) second child. I’ve had this every single time. First time I thought it was normal and coped withiut medicine (although had mc at 6 weeks), second time it absolutely broke me physically and mentally and wasn’t treated as much more than a normal pg experience by the professionals, despite the fact I was signed off for almost all the pg. this time I was very aware that it wasn’t a normal experience, did a lot of research into medication etc andspent literally years thinking about if I couod cope again. I didn’t think I’d ever have another yet every day I wished I could manage it. For lots of people they have a rose tinted view of pg and birth and forget the bad bits but I forgot nothing of my suffering! It got to the point where it’s now or never and I thought I’d regret not trying and didn’t want to live with a what if. But it took me 8 years to get to this point to feel this way. Before that I just couldn’t manage to think I couod ever go through it again. Having an older child does make things easier than those with younger ones as they are more independent and understanding and can go and play on their own etc. Never say never is all I’ll say on that as I spent years saying ‘never again’ to everyone so I’m sure they now think this one was completely unplanned when the absolute opposite is the case!

Urgh, definite sore throat today so making me feel quite rubbish. Typical, just when I might have been able to enjoy the scan tomorrow now I’m worried about feeling ill and having to get to the hospital.

Oh, interesting fact from the anaethetist yesterday. He said when we take oral pills a lot of it doesn’t actually get absorbed and to the place it needs to to do its job compared to with iv. I was questioning why he was suggesting only 4mg ondansetron iv when I take 8mg tablets and he said 8mg iv is a lot stronger than the pills and works much more effectively because of how it gets innthe system. Which of course makes sense when you think about it. He said only about half the dose you take actually gets to where it needs to. Obv don’t take more of your meds than the dose! But just found that interesting.

That is interesting Reastie. No wonder I always felt better in hospital with the IV ondansetron and felt like the tablets did nothing. It makes sense.
Ah I love cats, if I didn’t live in a top floor flat I would be crazy cat lady.
Today I have set myself the task of sorting out the kids clothes, taking out all the stuff that doesn’t fit and also taking out most the winter stuff and putting their summer stuff in the drawers. All summer stuff is currently under their bed so I’ll just swap it over. And then if I am feeling ok then I will take the rest to charity that doesn’t fit.
I also need to clean the kitchen sink and draining board. That has not had a deep clean since December, just my husband lightly wiping it over.
So that’s my day planned.
I hope everyone has a good day. This weekend is going to be HOT apparently.

Well, I've finally joined the ranks of having a useless GP. Been told they can't prescribe me anything else and that I'm going to have to stop in 3rd trimester anyway "but keep drinking so you don't get dehydrated"

And this is from a woman who had HG herself apparently.

The gp rang me (a different one) about extending my sick note this morning and was actually really nice. Said she couldn’t prescribe me anything else as they can only do the usuals - cyclizine and metaclopromide and could only prescribe ondansetron if it had already been done by hospital. So @deaddoorpost worth trying to get a consultant appointment for further drugs? Or ring maternity triage and see if they can help?

The gp has arranged a consultant appointment for me for next week and then told me I should’ve been given an early scan when I was in the hospital last week and has arranged that for me tomorrow. Felt so nice that she was taking me seriously.

Hi everyone,

Sorry I've been so quiet, had a rough couple of days. The promethazine is working to and extent but I'm still being sick, I'm still feeling so nauseous and all I want to do is sleep.

Dh has taken a few days off work to look after me this week which has been great but I think he's beginning to get frustrated at the amount I've been sleeping and the lack of food I've eaten... or then brought back up.

He reckons I can be doing more to make myself feel better instead of "sleeping my life away" and out of all the pregnant women he's known (which amounts to 7) none of them have been like me so he doesn't understand why I can't just pull myself together. Anger is an understatement right now... but feeling far too weak and tired to argue.

I'll be 8 weeks on Monday - is/was anyone else managing to work or am I just being really weak? I'm due to go back on Monday but I really can't see myself being able to get through the day.

I do have a GP appt tomorrow - she was so kind and empathetic last time, I just don't know what she'll advise this time.

Hi Bentley you sound like you’re going through a peak in hg, I was the same around 8-10 weeks. Have you thought about maybe asking for diff meds? No meds as far as I am aware gets tide of nausea completely but some do help with stopping the throwing up.

As for dh its made me angry on your behalf, not everyone pregnant woman is the same and you have an illness!

I wouldn’t advise going back to work just yet as rest during hg is just as important as meds. I have been off since 6 weeks and currently 13 now and have told my managers to not expect me back till
maybe even aug as I turned a corner in my first hg pregnancy around weeks 16-20 but I don’t know what will happen with this one yet.

See the docs and ask for an extended sick note and poss new meds?

Hope everyone else is doing ok, having a bit of a wobble today so staying in bed and not moving at all.

Bentley I am outraged at your OH's attitude along with composed. If you had a broken leg, would he expect you to walk about? But there is no point in my being rhetorical . I so agree with composed people find the early bit the worst and it might well be worth asking for something else. Are you on an anti acid? That can really help with the nausea. Don't think about going back to work yet; I am afraid that if you have it this badly, you may expect to be off work for a while yet. As others say, you need to rest as an important part of the treatment.

HermioneKipper There are the jelly suppositories - used in hospitals, but not sold to pregnant women over the counter, so you might need someone to get them for you, and also, the stuff that Reastie is on, Movicol, I think. Some can stomach Fybrogel. I am so glad you have a consultant appointment. Good advice for DeadDoorPost from HermioneKipper. Sorry GP is not helpful.
It is odd how some GP's seem to be able to prescribe Ondansetron, and some not. I suppose it depends on the local guidelines, or some such.
TwoShades1 I amso glad you can bid goodbye to the sick bucket. Some on these threads have given names for them. 'The Blue Bowl of Doom' was one, I recall.
Reastie You will say in the future, I am sure, how right you were to choose not to liv e with regrets. I remember you well from all those years ago, I think partly throgh your being a cookery teacher.
Bili I hope you are in a position to be a mad cat lady some day!
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

That's good to know @composed hopefully this "peak" will drop over the next fortnight. Work have been pestering me - I had an email from my manager... "if you have time, could you just do xyz..." - as if I've just taken a few days leave. I don't think many people, DH included, actually understand that this is a serious, genuine and debilitating medical condition and I'm not just feeling "a bit sicky."

I have done a lot of reading online but not having personally known anyone who has suffered with HG, it's hard to know what is "correct" as everyone I guess is different. Lots of literature points to women getting through their day munching on a ginger biscuit 😩 and I guess I'm feeling quite isolated as that's definitely not me.

I have thought about asking for different meds but am scared they won't be as effective. I'm throwing up 2-3 times per day as opposed to 5-6 so are definitely working. I will see what she suggests tomorrow.

Thank you both for the support @LucindaE and @composed - am feeling down and it's good to have people who understand.