Struggling- shifts and sickness

[Sleepycat91]

I work for the emergency services so do a 6 on 4 off pattern, im 7+1 weeks and sickness hit me last week. I need to eat constantly or im feeling/being sick. When ive slept and wake up im at my worst. I start my early shift at 7 and have a half hour plus journey so im up at 530 and being in the car makes me worse so struggling with my early shifts being sick, lates, im okay and i did my 1st night last night and was being sick at 3am, and i fell asleep at work which ive NEVER done, luckily my supervisor took pity on me and i went home an hour earlier. Of course ive woken up in the last hour and just feel horrific. Im eating often and using mints and chewing gum but on top of tiredness aswell i just feel awful 😔 just a pity moan more than anything i guess xx

I had this too, needing to eat constantly or I felt so sick and almost passed out a couple of times. I would say eat little and often, snacky food but with regards to work I'm quite lucky I work in an office so I can't help with advice for how to handle shift work.

The sickness starts to ease, for me around 11 weeks I felt normal

What emergency service are you working for? I was taken off the road as soon as they found out I was pregnant for health and safety. Surely they need to do a health and safety check for you and find alternative duties to help you out. It does suck being off the road but if your feeling rough it's probably a good idea to let them know.

I work shifts in a similar way to you. On my earlies I would get up at 4 and throw up. This gave me enough time to commute to work an hour+ away and eat toast when I got there. This would tide me over and I told my boss early so they could risk assess and I was then taken off nights. But ultimately I'd get some anti nausea tablets if you are being sick or struggling with the nausea. They really help! I hope you feel better soon.

Could you request to do late shifts until the sickness wears off?

Hey, I work the same shift pattern as you (and I suspect possibly the same job?)
I told work straight away when I found out I was expecting and obviously went non-operational. My supervisors have been really understanding and instead of doing proper night shifts I've been working 6pm-3am. It's made life so much easier and the tiredness has got much better. It may be worth asking if you can do the same? Otherwise my only other advise would be to drink a LOT of water to keep you going, I found that I started getting dehydrated much quicker than normal and eating fruit instead of the usual midnight snacks.
I hope you manage some sort of arrangement and that it starts getting easier as your pregnancy progresses 😊

If you are in theNHS pregnant women do not need to work night shifts. Get your GP to write a note stating this.

I stopped being operational a year ago, im a much loved dispatcher now aha. So no risk from anything operational wise. I didnt sleep much yesterday which i think was my first mistake due to having to go for a scan. Works really good and know how rough i feel and always checking up on me and if i said, no i feel rough, can i go home, theres no argument. I think im just feeling so drained from feeling and being sick and its just zapping those energy reserves i do have. Im usually awful of my 1st night and feel a bit better on my second but usually depends what area im managing and how entertaining the person im crewed with is. I want to carry on with my shifts as much i can. Im just so miserable with the sickness, i know when i get home later and go to sleep, im going to wake up and feel horrific for hours and i have to go to a fun run at my boys school. Xx

Have you seen your GP for some anti-sickness meds? I ended up on Ondansetron. They are a lifesaver and really helped me get through the very rough bits and carry on with work.
Hope it passes soon x

I work shifts too and found the only way to get through was to keep cereal bars in my pocket to nibble, and eat LOADS on my breaks to keep my stomach full as long as possible. I also kept lucozade sport nearby for a bit of extra energy/to sip when the nausea was creeping in. It’s good that work are keeping a check on you, but if you find you’re struggling, look after yourself and take a bit of time off. I’m almost at the third trimester now and I’ve only just stopped feeling awful everytime I’ve had to go off sick- realised me and my baby are what’s important right now and if works making pregnancy more difficult then it’s really okay to admit that and have a break. Good luck hun, hope you feel better soon.

Yes Tini - I got through my first pregnancy with no meds despite hospital admission for sickness - this time they diagnosed HG and gave me cycliIzine and ordenastron. It's a complete game changer.
And ditto what other people have said about having snacks to hand all the time
There's a good website about pregnancy sickness which has diet tips - essentially whatever you fancy, sugar and carbs are the way forward. Don't beat yourself up if you just can't face a healthy dinner. I also found I couldn't eat anything I'd cooked, so I needed my husband to step up there. And cold stuff, ice lollies, iced drinks - so much easier to get down than a hot meal.