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.

We're just waiting for the first scan I guess although I'm wondering if she has already guessed as Ive chucked on the pounds lately and couldn't stop yawning when she was here. I had a few days of feeling not so bad but I'm around the 10 week mark now and everything I've seen on here says it usually peaks about now so I'm guessing it's going to get (a lot) worse before it gets better 😭

sprite imo waiting til the scan is pointless with HG. The earlier you tell people, regardless of any outcome, the easier it is. We told people when I was 7 weeks along because there's no way I could hide it this time. Last time was torture waiting.

I need some advice, I'm starting ondansetron today (5+5w) more as a preventative as second pregnancy. Do I go straight into the 3x 4mg dose? Or perhaps do 2x to see how it goes? Also what laxative recommendations do you have, aside from lactulose, which I find hard to stomach.

HGpg I do hope someone can come on soon with experience of Ondansetron dosing. All luck for escaping it badly this time. On laxatives, I am being hopeless tonight; there are a couple, if lactulose doesn't agree with you, besides the suppositories, and now I can't remember their names. I believe the Senna based ones are considered safe. Pharmacists don't like selling those supositories to pregnant woman, though they use them in hospitals.
Sprite Much sympathy, and Bol too. Good advice from DeadDoorPost.

38+5 and vomiting back just this morning so far, feeling rough, back to lying in bed with blinds down and fan on. Nausea not too awful though, just feeling a bit sick and rough.

Induction in 4 days. I’m ready for the pink castle. Hoping I’m not sick over coming days/throughout labour (will have to wait and see!).

Lots of for everyone especially those in the early throes of it, sorry I haven’t been able to read and comment properly.

37+5 and just generally fed up. Been working on my manuscript though for a bit but DS is being really clingy lately. Not sure if it's a developmental thing or not but it means I can't do much in the way of things that I want to do.
And not been feeling the greatest either. Had a bit of a moment last night. I know the anti depressants take a while to work but I really don't feel like they're working at the moment. And im still stressed about the move because we haven't heard back from the people we need to. Everything is ready, just FiL company being a pita

Finally somebody made an appearance! After a hideous labour I ended up pushing him out with my morphine having run out and no gas and air at 1:59am!
9lbs 9oz! So I guess he really was a parasite!
Only vomited once during labour as I drank too much water in one go and ended up having to have the drip too!
The tea and toast is really something at the end so hold on ladies!! Thank you to everyone over the past 9months, wouldn't have survived without you all!
Now I'm off to sleep since I just escaped hospital 😂💕

Huge congratulations @avacadooo enjoy all those lovely cuddles and the greatest toast in the world xxx
No baby here yet!

Yay @avacadooo! What a cutie! Enjoy some rest (relatively speaking) and recuperation and whatever you fancy eating and drinking!

Hoping things progress soon @DeadDoorpost and that you can feel well, in every sense, there’s been so much going on for you.

Managing to sip water and graze on dry cereal here today, between waking and napping. Another good lesson however in just taking it easy... have kept doing odd jobs here and there, but I’ve now been forced to rest fully today, so a good reminder to myself. Albeit my head hurts and my throat is sore from all the retching earlier!

Congratulations @avacadooo he’s beautiful!

Hi everyone I joined a while back but thought I’d keep a low profile until I knew for sure how this pregnancy was going to pan out. This week the sickness has got steadily worse. Today I’ve been bed bound with it. My whole body aches and I feel as if I move too fast I’ll vomit. I have cyclozene on standby and the plan is to wait for my first scan tomorrow and take if I’m still struggling. I’m only 6 plus 4. My first pregnancy was a mmc despite having HG so I felt horrendous as I’d been ill for a month and our baby still died. This time I’m being as positive as I can for tomorrow. We’re past the point the first one stopped growing even though I got to 10 weeks before we knew. I’m just hoping we see a lovely heartbeat tomorrow.

In the meantime my tummy is very sore. I know it’s my stomach and bowel from the HG but it’s hard not to feel unnerved by this after losing a baby. I’m on progesterone which I think is making the HG worse. Is anyone else craving salty food? It’s naughty but DH has gone out to get me Mcdonalds as a treat as it’s the only thing I can imagine eating.

Anyway I’m looking forward to chatting with you all! Xx

advocadoo Wonderful news.
Congratulations on that lovely baby. I am so glad that you have arrived in the Pink Castle at the end of the Hyperemesis horror journey.
norbert Now cheering you on.
Catconfusion I do sympathise. I had a mmc myself, and I know how anxious and nervous it makes you. The chances are greatly on your side all will go well this time.
beforeihit230 Poor you, and in this heat. Thank goodness you are due to be incuced in four days.
DeadDoorPost I am glad you got some work on your book done. All sympathy about the anxiety over the house.
I hope everyone is coping in the renewed heat.

@Catconfusion from experience, I'd take it now. You don't want to throw up during the scan. Trust me.

Thanks @LucindaE and I’m sorry for your loss. How many weeks are you now? Its such a difficult position to be in. A bit like having a major car crash and getting in a car again. Despite knowing our odds are better this time I’m still preparing for the worst. I’m 40 so mcs a bit more likely. Hopefully all will be well this time.

@Deaddoorpost I think I’ll see how I feel in the morning. I’m a bit better tonight.

Does anyone feel like they have flu? My whole body aches and my stomach is really sore. I’m not ill as I felt like this with my first pregnancy. I guess the immune system takes a hit in early pregnancy. Xx

CatComposed Fear not - I am Mother Hen on these threads now, and my daughter is all grown up. Would you believe I had her before the internet was widely used, and mobile phones were in their infancy.. Having a baby takes about 99 per cent of the sadness over a loss or losses away. But I remember very vividly how it feels to be anxious all the time because you have had one or more mmc's.

Arh @LucindaE I’m so glad your daughter was ok and you got through it. It just sucks the joy out of pregnancy going through a loss, especially mmc as nothing is reassuring.

So I have some very good news ladies. I was up at 3am being very ill and worrying about how bad my stomach is and what impact it’s having on the baby. We went to our reassurance scan this morning and there it was, our baby measuring perfectly at 6 plus 3 with a strong healthy heartbeat. We’re trying not to get carried away as it’s still early but we can’t help being in love with the little blob. We never saw the heartbeat of the first baby and it was half the size of this baby on the scan so all signs are looking good! Anyway hopefully the sickness will give me a break today!

I hope you’re all doing well and the heat isn’t making symptoms worse! Xx

Does anyone have any tips on how to cope in the night? I take cyclizine during the day, but when I have to get up for a wee in the night I can't get back to sleep for hours as I feel sick and as though my stomach is just full of acid. During the day I have to constantly eat as I feel worse if I get hungry but I don't want to have to eat during the night too

We're moving in on Wednesday!!!

How reassuring @Catconfusion glad you got to see little one doing well.

@sprite25 sounds like it could be reflux related? I’ve been on omeprazole, taking Gaviscon after meals, and sleeping on an incline (wedge pillow). I’ll be honest the incline sleeping isn’t my naturally comfy sleeping position but this has all helped a lot, I was getting a lot of acid and waking up in the night spitting it out maybe try things one by one if you’re not already, eg try Gaviscon after meals and before bed and see if that helps, if not ask the GP for something like omeprazole or I think ranitidine is the other. Apart from being more common in pregnancy in general, apparently the acid issues are really common with HG.

Yay @DeadDoorpost! Hope it all goes nice and smoothly!

Better day here today, not being sick thankfully, but still taking it very easy so as to not do myself a mischief. Throat is still a bit rough from yesterday and I’ve stopped the iron tablets, as it was the prominent taste every time I was sick yesterday and I just can’t face it but only 3 days left... and it’s HOT again! The weather is so changeable!

Good to hear you're taking it easy @beforeIhit30 and only 3 days to wait! I've been sniffing clary sage but nothing has happened here yet. Which is probably best as we have no emergency childcare this afternoon 😆 sorry to hear you've been feeling awful again, I'm not too bad luckily.

@sprite25 I also had a phase when I was so sick in the night - also on cyclizine. I think I just lay very still and had to bear with it, which I know is of very little use to you but it passed with lots of rest and finding whatever bit of food or liquid you can stomach. Mine was nesquik so possibly reflux related as mentioned before?

Lovely news @Catconfusion I also had miscarriages before this pregnancy so I can sympathise with the endless nagging feeling that you can't relax yet. Hopefully you can enjoy the good news from today's scan though x

Hey everyone. Sorry to just drop in, I don't spend much time on Mumsnet much anymore but this thread was great during my first pregnancy and was the first thing I thought of with this question! I'm on the same medication that got me through pregnancy with DD, it took a while to get to it first time and did end up in hospital dehydrated, but after that it worked well. Cyclizine 3x a day and ondansetron 8mg twice a day. We preempted the medication with this pregnancy and they put me up to the same dose pretty quickly, I only needed to have three weeks off work in the end. However I'm now starting to feel really sick in the evenings again, even with the medication. Tuesday night I actually was sick, that was at 15 weeks. I'm not sure why this is happening and what to do about it. I'm dealing with constipation too, could that be connected? Does anyone have any insight? I'm so scared the medication isn't working anymore.

OK might not be of much help to anyone but, I've just discovered the orange juice ice lollies from asda, actually tastes like orange juice (rather then the artificial orange flavour of most ice lollies) and I can't stop eating them, the cold seems to help with the nausea and they help with the horrible metallic taste I have in my mouth. Only trouble is having to go out in the heat to buy more as I only have one left 😭

SickRose Welcome back. Congratulations on first baby and on second pregnancy. Sorry you are suffering again. Could you increase the dose? Do phone up the doctor and ask, and about a laxative, as most sufferers need one like Lactulose. Might an anti acid help, like Omprazole? I hope you get some relief soon. I expect someone else will soon be along with good advice.
Sprite25 Great advice from beforeihit30. I can't think of anything to add to it. That is good about ASDA orange ice lollies.
norbert I hope the sage works.
CatConfusion So glad all is well.
I hope everyone is coping in this heat.

Hope you’re seeing some progress @norbert23, I’ll admit that you sniffing clary sage made me smile! DC1 came rather surprisingly several days before due date (surprised as in midwives and the world tell you first babies are always late), but with DC2 there just wasn’t anything happening, I remember the feeling of pacing about, googling tips, rearranging things about ten times just anything to get going! Had a cervical sweep which did nothing too. In the end I was induced nearly 2 weeks overdue, but it feels like forever when you’re at full term.

@SickRose not quite the same, but my DH gets sick when he has constipation issues (he has a gastro disorder), and I’ve read a number of women on this thread whose sickness has been worse with constipation (especially on ondansetron), so it does seem to be linked. You might also be going through some hormonal changes moving into second tri (a guess on my part, I’m not an expert!). I had a couple of UTIs around that time of gestation during this pregnancy, no idea how or why, but that made my sickness worse - no other symptoms, was just picked up at routine midwife appointments through urine tests.

Sounds good @sprite25 I’ve been having icy weak squash which has been good, I’m not normally a squash drinker but it’s been much easier to go down than other drinks. Also been drinking weak tea which has been surprisingly easy to drink. It’s so warm again!

Last few errands today, quite minor, just need to return a few things locally and pick up some prescriptions. But we’re pretty much ready! House is sorted, MIL arriving today, got a big grocery order delivered yesterday... just you know, going to get induced and have a baby tomorrow DH is ‘helpfully’ giving me a regular countdown, “20 hours to go...”!

(Obviously baby may not arrive tomorrow, we’ll just have to wait and see, although it would be nice if I don’t have to hang around too long!)

Anyone suffering with constipation definitely get things moving with some lactulose or movicol (whichever you find easier to keep down). Be prepared you might need to take the higher dosage amounts especially if you have been constipated for a while and you’re on a high dose of ondansetron. Being constipated can definitely make the nausea worse. And oddly for my gives me increased anxiety too. Also don’t worry about becoming reliant on the laxatives, I known with lactulose at least that it is safe for long term use. So don’t hurry to stop taking it once you have had a bowel movement. Try cutting down slowly, either until your not needing it and bowel movements are fine or until you find a maintenance dose that keeps things regular and comfortable.