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.

@LucindaE I am really upset with DH too :(

8 wks tomorrow, hg since week 5. Fed up, in bed 24/7 feeling sick and really tired. I'm taking prochlorperazine for the last 2 weeks. I'm signed off work till Monday but going to call tomorrow as I cant go back to work like this. I'm not vomiting everyday but the nausea is leaving me debilitated. I get people say just have a ginger biscuit or in China they work on the paddy fields whilst pregnant, we have it easy. I'm eating but it has to be something I really fancy and then will feel sick again and the sight of that food then brings on strong nausea. My 6 year old dd is being amazing but I feel so sorry for her.

I've been told I should feel better be week 12 but reading this thread I'm not going to hold my breath.

Thoughts with all of you on here and thank you for the advice and support you are offering even though you feel just as rubbish.

fluffy don't even bother with ginger biscuits. Not worth burning your throat throwing them back up again.

Threw up a tiny bit earlier because of phlegm. Even DH is fed up of it.

And I've realised I've got both a dry vag and excess discharge. Not thrush. Don't know how that's possible but whatever. I can't wait to stop being pregnant

bless you fluffy it is horrid and you are in the early stages (sorry). Rest as much as you can even though it can be isolating and depressive in itself but meds and rest are two of the most important things you can do during this hideous illness.

Eat and drink what you fancy and keep an eye on your urine output and colour as you donmt want to get dehydrated. Don’t feel bad about being off work I have been for the past 7 weeks and don’t expect to go back anytime soon.

Take each day at a time and minute by minute if you need to, fx you will get there I promise xx

Dead I’ve been having that same problem these past few days eith the icky throat which has made me throw up today ugh. I seem to have excessive discharge atm, if its not one thing then its another.

Reastie how are you doing today? you haven’t got the dreaded cold have you x

Bentley I was off work from 4 weeks. I started to do s bit from home around 13 weeks, just like an hour checking emails and stuff a couple of times a week. I went back to work (I work part time) at about 16/17 weeks and I’m 20 now but still working slightly less hours than before pregnancy.

Sorry I’ve been slow to post, I’ve been so tired. I’ve not done anything in particular, but I had a break from iron and vit D (I just got fed up of taking them ) which probably hasn’t helped. Outside of pregnancy I always have to supplement with vit D anyway, so I really should take these! I’m feeling alright, nausea has been back again and haven’t had the wherewithal to do any organising but I feel like things are okay (relatively speaking).

Bentley I’m sorry your DH (and sounds like your manager also) isn’t appreciating what you’re going through. See one of my earlier rants about my lack of sympathy for DPs You’re also entering what is usually the peak period in HG, around 8-13 weeks can be the hardest time. FWIW this is baby no. 3 for me but first HG pregnancy, I don’t know anyone else who has had HG but know plenty of people who have had children. This is not normal. I was nauseous, occasionally sick in first tri two times around, I got big, I got tired, I moaned. I never needed to take time off work, or avoid just leaving the house. I’m nearly 27 weeks pregnant and I have been off work since January, and won’t be returning to work before I start my leave later this summer. I normally work full time, travel for work, do some voluntary stuff, have children, I’m the breadwinner... I’m not a lazy person. This really, really isn’t normal, or easy, and it really saddens me to see how many women have to put up with a lack of support during what is an awful illness

fluffy sorry you’re in the throes of it too, I’ve been the same, my medication has broadly managed the vomiting but the nausea was crushing for a long time. Unfortunately we can’t do much but ride it out, other meds can be tried but in my discussions with doctors it is harder to manage the nausea medically than to reduce or prevent the vomiting.

Hi all,

Scan after lunch. Right in the middle of my usual nap time so bit worried about how I’ll manage without. Still fighting off a cold but resting yesterday made a difference to me yesterday. Physically my body just feels like it needs a walk or a bit of activity but I have to force myself not to as I know I’ll feel worse. I hate having to enforce myself to do nothing.

—crazycatlady— blii did you manage to do all that with the clothes and clean the sink? A few weeks ago I gave the kitchen sink a proper clean for the first time in months and it looked so much better after!

Dead ask your gp or mw to see a doctor at the hospital. If your gp is being weird about drugs innthird trimester they should hopefully be able to help you. I definitely still need them.

Re drugs I looked into this a while ago before I was pg as I was worried about not being able to get ondansetron if I needed it. What I found out is some gp practices are unable to be able to prescribe it unless it has been recommended or given by a hospital/specialist. It’s not that they don’t want to always, it’s that sometimes they can’t. Some people have to get all their ondansetron via their hospital and others can get gps to prescribe if they have had it from hospital already. So it’s not always a case of gps being deliberately unhelpful. Sometimes you can google and find out if your local pct has a rule on this. Mine didn’t say online but I asked my gp before pg so knew she logistically was able to prescribe. I think this is done because of the expense of it. I know eal always says it’s cheaper now but my gp told me each 10 day prescription she approves for me costs over £100 on her screen.

Bentley I haven’t managed to work at all during pg. I haven’t even tried to return. I have the kind of job that is very difficult with this. Last time I tried a reduced return to work around 20 weeks but it made me worse and I had to give up. I think it very much depends on how you go and what job you have. I really recommend giving your dh this to read and this and there might be other good links from that page too. I read a lot about hg online and so many sites just didn’t seem to understand how I felt and the other oriblems I had alongside the sickness and the amount of sites that still say things like ginger for hg are infuriating. I spent last pg thinking I was just really weak and why coukd everyone else just get on with it. It’s only now that I realise my experience of pg is very different to normal. Also re sleeping your life away, one of the main coping strategies and acknowledged effective ways of managing hg (as much as it can be managed) is to rest. People without hg may be able to just suck it up and keep going and that’s fine but that makes it so much worse for hg. Fwiw for the first few months I kept being asked to do work from home which was making me a lot worse. I didn’t want to let them down so I did it but in the end had to draw the line and say I couldn’t. If you are signed off they can’t ask you do to anything. I was advised by my union to refuse. Imagine if you were in a coma in hospital, they wouldn’t expect you to be doing stuff then! If you’re signed off you’re not fit to work, that includes just doing x, y, z quickly.,

Composed are you any better today?

Fluffy jumper I felt really down last pg telling myself things about why couldn’t I just get on with it and people in other countries had to ignore it. You can’t think like that, you just have to do whatever it is to cope.

Hi to everyone else. Friday today so getting closer to a new week and another week bring over. Apt on Monday I get my provisional section date, woo hoo, will make me feel like things are slowly moving closer.

Thanks ladies, I'm signed off for another 2 weeks, my husband is really trying to understand. It has given me a refresh on how I need to listen to my patients and not just list off things that are meant to help. I'm also worrying as my sister is taking my dd away for a weeks holiday and I've never been away from her for more then a night. But I know she will love being with her cousin and her uncle and aunt.

managed a shower today by myself after 2 days of not being able to sorry tmi. Fluffy don’t be too hard on yourself and allow yourself to take one day at a time. DD will be fine mine is 8 and altho I struggle with the guilt of being an absent parent I’ve realised there isn’t anything I can do as I am physically too weak. She’s i good hands and this is only for a relatively short time so I am allowing myself to be more kind to me.

Reastie not long left now (wish I was at the end!) hope the scan goes well and you don’t suffer too much from the outing.

I haven’t yet taken an ondansetron today trying to see how long I can hold off for but I managed to sleep straight through last night so feeling better than usual. Now just waiting for my sis in law to comb my hair for me one of the things I still can’t do for myself yet and as my hair is super thick I run out of energy.

Sorry if I have missed anyone x

Yes I managed to get the clothes done. Well one child. I done the other child’s clothes today. So they are now kitted out for summer. The kitchen sink was also done. I think I done a better job as I took a stool in there and sat down and done it .
Urgh composed, I feel for you about your hair. Mines long and thick too. At one point at the beginning of this pregnancy I had the kitchen scissors in my hand and I very nearly cut off all my hair. It was in a huge matted mess. My mum brushed it out for me. It’s help with the little things like that too that can really make a difference.
Fluffy, that sounds like a nice break for you. Although you’ll miss your DD I’m sure she’ll have the best time. The rest will do you good.
I’ve had a pretty chilled day today. Not being able to have my morning nap because the kids are off school is taking it’s toll, definitely feeling more nauseous than usual these past few days.

Hi ladies, currently having a bit of a freak out as had an early scan today - am now 10 weeks (apparently they offer one with hyperemesis) and discovered it’s twins!

I don’t know what to make of it - think I’m still shell shocked. Hard to feel excited as I’m still feeling so awful and unwell. Also panicking as to how we will afford it as we’ll need to move, get a new car and loads of stuff. And how will nursery fees work 🤯🤯

My husband was shocked too but now happy and excited which feels like how I should be feeling but I’m still in the OMG state.

fluffyjumper Welcome. I am sorry you feel so foul. Unfortuantely, this scourge tends to go on for longer than for normal pregnancy sickness, and in fact, many women often suffer from that for 14 weeks. Most sufferers feel a lot better somewhere between 14 and 20 weeks. Have you got kesostix to check on your urine, just in case you become dehydrated? While it isn't the best way of determining dehydratoin, hospitals do take those measurements seriously. An anti acid can help with the nausea, but it is a good idea to try other medsif those aren't helping as much as they might. Try and ignore the idiotic remarks, patricularly about ginger, which helps nobody. Some drinks that might help: flat full sugar coke, ice lollies, ice cubes, the juice of tinned fruit, soda water, lemonade, Robinson's fruit drinks, fizzy water, Elderflower Water, Edlerflower cordial and tonic water - that was eallison's tipple, fizzy orange, orange sqauash, orange juice (if not too acid) tonic water, Lucoazade, Dr Pepper, Iron Bru and sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya). Foods of a sort include nibbles of crisps and chips, cheap ice cream, tinned fruit, Scotch pancakes, biscuits, cuppa soup, baked potatoes, slices of melon and mango and jelly. It will be hard for you to be parted from DD, but I am sure she will have a wonderful time with her aunt and her family and the rest will do you good.
Bentley Ignore all nonsense about ginger biscuits. About as useful as the eighteenth century cure all of snails!
Biii Congratulations on wardrobe work. I am so glad your mother saved your hair,and that compsed's sister does hers.
DeadDoorPost That sounds horrible. The vaginal pain isn't what some call 'fanny daggers', is it, a sort of stabbing pain? I remember that after all this time. If not, maybe it might be an infection?
Reastie I hope your scan went OK?
Good advice from beforeihit30 and others....
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked...

HermioneKipper That's wonderful news! Also, that accounts for the severity of the symptoms. Very likely in a singleton pregnancy you might have escaped suffering so badly. People with twin pregnancies on this thread often suffer dreadfully in the beginning but improve massively.
We have a couple of twin pregnancies on the Due Dates list; I'll have to call up the list

HermioneKipper congrats on your twins! My DP has a bit of a panic in the early days when I told him that the sickness can be worse if your expecting multiples, but I just have one in there. I did have massively high hcg levels which made me worry about twins. I remember my blood test at 4 weeks showing that they were over 10,000! I think my body just makes a lot of hormones as I started with a bit of a loose pelvis at 16 weeks too. I don’t expect to feel fully back to normal until after the birth and I’m not sure how hormones associated with breastfeeding will make me feel either.

Congratulations on twins Hermione that would have been a shock (but think.. 2 extra weeks to think about and get used to it).
I too had an early scan due to HG which was nice, although mine also confirmed just another singletons pregnancy for me. So we're now out of the multiple run of children as we don't plan to have any more. We'll let our siblings have them instead!
LucindaE definitely not fanny daggers and not an infection. Oh well. It's not sore or anything now and sex doesn't make it worse so I'm not too worried.

I had a sad moment briefly last night. DS was eating some crisps so he wasn't trying to tip my bowl of noodles over and at one point he was eating the crisps from off the floor. It made me feel incredibly guilty despite knowing he was the one who put them on the carpet in the first place, but I just felt like he was somehow in a family that doesn't care about him, like seeing a child who's in an abusive family on tv in the NSPCC adverts etc. Had to remind myself it's just the PND still talking. I can't wait for it to finally pass. I know it could take time but I'm honestly fed up of feeling like this. I may have to ask to go back on my meds if it continues.

Good morning everyone. I hope I'm ok to put a post on this thread.

Feeling super sorry for myself lately. I'm 8+3 today. My sickness started at around 6 weeks. I've only been physically sick a handful of times (which is horrendous and goes on forever!) but the nausea literally starts from the minute my eyes open in the morning until my eyes close at night. I'm so exhausted!

I've had 1 or 2 good days, and was so thankful for those days. I've hardly been able to eat or drink anything. I've lost 5lbs in two weeks, and can only seem to sip of Diet Coke and ice lollies to get some fluid in me.

I've had two days off work sick and I'm seriously starting to struggle. Keeping on top of the housework is also soul destroying when I feel so rubbish. I don't even want to go in the kitchen and look at how many pots I have to wash (don't have a dishwasher 😪😪).

Hope everyone has a weekend feeling well, and enjoy the weather!

Hello, long time no check in. Just wanted to say that I now have a little boy, Caleb, delivered by EMCS on 23rd May at 38+6. Every moment of the pregnancy was so worth it, even the vomiting, the hospital admissions, the injections, the HG and the diabetes combined. My sickness died back around 26 weeks this time round, and I weaned off my meds. I then was back on ondansetron 4mg for the final couple of weeks as the nausea ramped up again, but only as required rather than 3 doses a day. Once he was delivered and the anaesthetic wore off, I no longer felt sick or nausea! Hurrah!

I wish you ladies all the best, and a sickness free post-birth state! :) Thanks Lucinda for the most supportive threads ever.

Here he is, meeting his big sister! I'm so totally done with having babies, though the emotions got the better of me and I changed my mind about a hysterectomy before I went into theatre.

Sorry for not updating after scan, have had a bit of a scare. All ok at scan, baby measuring average and estimated 6lbs 5 atm, which is shocking as dd was always huge and measured off the scale. I sort of presumed I must make big babies but not always the case it seems! Anyway, went to the loo yesterday evening and had fresh blood when I wiped. Felt so sick I didn’t think I’d manage to get to hospital without a mental breakdown. Hospital said to see what happened but would have to go innthe next day (today) for monitoring, possibly overnight if anything changed. Didn’t get any sleep from worry and went in first thing this morning. Waited 3 hours for doctor. Doctor doesn’t know what caused it but said couldn’t see any more to come so shouldn’t be any more bleeding and to call if I have any more. Been home and still it’s continuing so just building up strength to call hospital again and hope they don’t need me to go back. Nausea playing up hugely because f the anxiety and stress and lack of sleep. I’m not sure how I’ll cope if I have to go back to hospital. I know most people would just find it annoying to have to wait so long but for me I genuinely find it so difficult to manage to stay and wait because of how I feel sick and mentally can’t cope with feeling sick when not at home as part of my emetophobia. If I have to feel sick then I feel like I need to be on my own at home. I hope that doesn’t sound too weird.

Dead sorry about that sad moment with the crisps, hope you’re ok.

Hello Marty and sorry you’re here. FWIW if you see a doctor and they ask about how often you’re sick I’m pretty sure you should count each time you’re sick or heave as a separate number.

I’m so glad it’s all worth it. I remember you having so many pg issues. I can’t wait until I’m on the other side too!

Hermione congrats on twins! I remember they told me I could have twins with dd because of the sickness. When it was just one from the scan dh was quite disappointed!

@Reastie thank you. I have my first midwife appointment next week (6th) so will try and make a docs appointment to line up with the midwife and see if I can get anything to take to help. I'm scared of dehydrating! Today I've only had one wee and it was when I woke up....!

I've just managed to stomach some lunch (soup) and hope it stays down. Going to have an ice lolly now for pudding and try to have a nap.

Hate feeling this rubbish but luckily my OH has finally started to see how ill I am and has been so good (I think he thought I was exaggerating before!) and he has done washing, ironing and cooking as well as working 45 hour weeks at work. Bless him.

reastie glad to see baby is Ok, but please go in if you can. Better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks dear. Bleeding touch wood has now stopped. Only had a minimal amount in the hour or so after being at hospital so hoping it was the last of that.

Marty hope lunch stayed down

Fingers crossed.

Spent a few hours at Moat Park for my nan's birthday today. Potentially her last one as she has cancer and dementia so had to keep reminding her about the baby. She loves seeing DS though. He makes her smile so she was happy today.

It's so warm though

Marty93 Welcome. Sorry you feel so foul. Great advice from Reastie.
I am glad you are going to try and get meds from a doctor. It is possible to have Hyperemesis without excessive vomiting. That is a marked weight loss. It's very sensible to be afraid of dehydration. While the best way of measuring it are physical symtoms such as dark, scanty urine, dry skin, headache, blurry vision, etc are better tests of dehydraton than measurements taken by kesostix, they do take those measurments seriously in A and E departments if you need fluids, so it is worth buying some kesostix either from a chemists or online. I am glad that you are able to endure diet coke and ice lollies. Below on my reply to fluffyjumper I have listed a whole lot of drinks that might help. Things do get a lot better for most people between 14 and 20 weeks and even those unlucky ones who suffer throughout almost never feel anything like as bad later on as in the early stages. I am glad OH is helping.
Reastie That was unnerving. I am so glad the bleeding has stopped.
Rest as much as you can.
SassehMonsta What a lovely photo of the two together, with your DD in a tiara Congratulations on Caleb. Thank you so much for coming back to encourage others. I am so glad that this thread helped. Do keep calling back in if you have time.
TwoShades1 I hope you don't sufferfrom the breast feedning hormones. If you do, at least you will know what it is and that it isn't your fault if you have to stop early.
DeadDoorPost I am sorry to hear you still have PND. I hope your doctor can give you good advice about that. Intellectually, of course, you know that your thoughts about LO eating from the carpet were not logical, but such feelings are very distressing. Sorry about your grandmother having dementia and being ill otherwise, too.
HermioneKipper Sorry, you did give me your date. Here is the Due Dates list. Now there are FOUR SETS OF TWINS ON IT! I have never known such a thing before.
Due Dates
Due Dates
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
ClareDB 27 December
HermioneKipper 27 December TWINS!

Hermione congrats on the twins .
Reastie how are you today? Dead nice to hear you were able to get out of the house, I’m waiting for the day I can do that without fear of throwing up everywhere.

Not been a good few days, been throwing up atleast once a day and sometimes two lot less than the earlier days thank god. However once i throw up I then get scared and stop eating completely, not been able to get out of bed for the past 3 days and feeling very sorry for myself.

Literally begged dh to take today off work but he is unable to and that made me cry even more, I have to summon up the strength to give dd a bath and prep things for school tomorrow but I have no energy. Want to spend the whole day in bed asleep but thats proving harder than expected.

I hope everyone else is having a better day and sorry if I have missed anyone.