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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Hyperemesis Support

996 replies

LucindaE · 23/07/2019 15:09

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.

Hyperemesis Support
Hyperemesis Support
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Melleebacca · 09/11/2019 19:02

Hi Marshy! Sorry to hear you’re feeling rotten. Flat lemonade is a life saver, and frozen coke helps too. I never drink anything other than water normally, but in pregnancy, the sugar helps get the calories up, and also does provide fluids.
My midwife recommended milkshakes too, but I can’t stomach them during the peak sickness, so will have my next one in the second trimester.

Bol87 · 09/11/2019 21:56

Hi @Marshy86 & @melleebacca & @Jay2020 Smile glad you found the thread, it’s so helpful & supportive! @LucindaE who keeps the place running is away at the moment, so asked me & I think others to keep an eye!

You are so brave going for a 3rd Mellee! This is my second & I am done. I was hoping this pregnancy might be better but actually, it’s been worse! Sigh. So now all my hope is gone I’ll ever have a nice pregnancy! But you are right of course, it is worth it in the end!

Sorry to hear of others feeling awful, it’s so tough. Def try ondanesteon, it’s the only thing that works for me!

Re-heartburn, omeprazole is my hero! But ranitidine isn’t too bad either. I found an antacid really helpful with my sickness & nausea.

People are a bit hopeless with HG. I don’t think they mean it personally. They just can’t imagine how bad it can be! The hospital admissions def help - my in-laws didn’t really get it until I ended up in hospital, then I think they realised how poorly I was!

Love to all 🧡

Melleebacca · 09/11/2019 22:10

@Bol87 I said I was done after the first one and after the second one. Seriously. If they didn’t love each other so much, a third would never even have been a thought. I don’t have a good relationship with my siblings, so I expected constant fighting, not constant cuddles!

Marshy86 · 09/11/2019 22:36

@Bol87 my MIL came to stay at one point (doesn't live local) and witnessed how poorly I get even on meds but kept telling me it was because I ate dairy so ended up going dairy free just to prove if was HG not dairy 😂 I think hubby may of had a word secretly as I did say if one person make another condescending comment about sickness I'd punch them in the face 😂 I'm honestly not a violent person at all and usually the peace keeper but I was emotionally at such a breaking point with sickness I started getting frustrated and upset.

Luna222 · 10/11/2019 09:05

Just want to say thank you re the replies on the previous page. I'm going to go back to my doctor and ask about Ondanesteon. I just hope something finally works! If one more person asks me if I have tried ginger I swear I'm going to scream.

Bol87 · 10/11/2019 10:08

Ugh ginger 😷 I cannot stand it in pregnancy, it makes me feel more sick. It’s horrible! Usually I quite like but pregnancy does weird things to me taste buds! I also can’t stand mint in pregnancy, another sickness tactic I’ve often been told to try!

Hope your GP is supportive @Luna222 !

Bol87 · 10/11/2019 10:08

*my

LucindaE · 10/11/2019 21:02

Bol87 Thank you so much; you have done a wonderful job.
Welcome back to Mellebacca, whom I remember well, and welcome to the new sufferers Lunda22 and Jay6202 and Marshy86. You have had great advice from Bol87 and others. I so agree how important it is to keep an eye on those dehydraton symptoms like inelastic skin and dark urine, headache, etc and to invest in some kesostex as A and E departments do takeh their measurements seriously. I so agree too with Meleebacca's suggestions about frozen coke and lemondade. It is a pest when milkshakes are unbearable. Some can stand the soya chocolate ones. Other drinks that have helped sufferers are the coke left to go flat, juice of tinned fruit, ice lollies, Lucoazade, fizzy water, Elderflower water, ice cubes, soda water, Elderflower cordial and tonic water (eallison's tipple), Robinson's fruit drinks, fizzy orange, orange squash, Lucozade, orange juice (if not too acid), 7up, Dr Pepper and Ironbru. Some foods of a sort are nibbles of crisps and chips, cuppa soup, baked potatoes, cheap ice cream, Scotch pancakes, biscuits, toast, slices of melon and mango and tinned fruit - especially peaches and pears.
Rosina38 Welcome back from Lanzorote. I am so glad you had a good time and that Ondansetron has helped so much.
Waves to Whatsup11 and I hope that everyone is coping.

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Melleebacca · 11/11/2019 00:07

Hope you had a lovely weekend away @LucindaE!

Still managing on ondansetron and salty chips today. Retching a few times a day, but I haven’t bought anything up yet, so still winning! Targeting making it to 7wks before vomiting, then hopefully it won’t last as long 🤞🏻

Whatnext11 · 11/11/2019 15:53

Ugh after a few good days I'd almost forgotten how horrible a bad day is. Neither anti sickness tablets have worked today, despite not having kept anything down I think, keytones test read fine so I must somehow have taken in some fluid. Ugh. Roll on tomorrow!

LucindaE · 11/11/2019 20:11

Melleebacca Cheering you on. You are very brave. Did additions to Onansetron help at all last time?
Whatsup11 Sorry about the bad day. I am glad at least the ketones are low.
I hope everyone is coping today.

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Tigerduvet · 11/11/2019 20:42

Hello! Wondering if I could join? Currently 9 weeks with my third (hyperemesis) pregnancy and think this is the worst one yet. I’ve been prescribed Ondansetron and cyclizine after my hospital admission last week but it doesn’t seem to be stopping the constant nausea, and I’m still vomiting around 5 times a day. Is this the best it’s going to get? Feel like I’m constantly at the doctors but I fear they’re exhausting their options!

HL123 · 11/11/2019 21:11

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has had experience of HG without actually physically vomiting? I'm 8+5 weeks pregnant and for the last 3 weeks I have had constant nausea that only goes when I'm asleep.
I've been in tears almost daily and have not been able to work for the past 2 weeks - I can barely even do the washing up without feeling even more exhausted and unwell.
I am able to eat plain foods such as toast and chips, but I don't actually enjoy them.
I am wondering whether this is just regular 'morning sickness', and I'm not coping well with it, or if you can actually have HG without physically being sick.
I've been prescribed cyclizine which just seems to make me drowsy, and I've tried all the natural remedies such as ginger and sea bands but nothing has helped.

Melleebacca · 11/11/2019 21:42

Hi @LucindaE, I tried metoclopromide with number 1, but that didn’t really help me. I’m doing really well on ondansetron this time around. 6w4 and still no vomit! I need to go up to 3 x ondansetron a day, but I can’t remember what the best schedule is to do that.

Hi @Whatnext11 - if you’re been sick for a few weeks ketones stop showing up in urine. Doesn’t mean you’re not dehydrated though. Ketones are a really complex thing, that occurs when you’re burning certain types of fat. But your body can become used to the new diet and stop creating ketones even though you’re sick and dehydrated.

Hi @Tigerduvet nothing helps the nausea sorry! Anti-emetics only prevent the act of vomitting. Glad I’m not the only crazy one doing this a 3rd time.

Hi @HL123 this is my 3rd HG pregnancy and while I haven’t vomited yet (🤞🏻 I can make it to Friday when I will be 7w), if I wasn’t on Ondansetron I would’ve been sick two weeks ago. Generally the GP uses the loose rule that if you’re sick enough to lose 5-10% of your body weight it’s HG. Even though I haven’t been sick yet, I’ve lost 2kg in the last 3weeks.

Hope everyone else is having a “good” day

abbs1 · 11/11/2019 21:43

@Tigerduvet I'm so sorry your suffering so bad. I was in hospital 3-4 times a week even on ondansatron and metoclopromide as it didn't stop my vomiting only iv meds and fluids did from weeks 7-12. Because I couldn't stop vomiting i ended up from 12-18 weeks on steroids as well as anti sickness as that was the only way to stop it and keep me out of hospital with a nurse coming twice a day to give me my medication. I'm still on anti sickness now but managing not to be sick. Still nausea though.
I hope you can get some more help.

LucindaE · 12/11/2019 15:24

Tigerduvet Welcome. As you are a veteran, expecting your third - very brave- I wouldn't presume to give you my usual spiel about kesostix for the early stages of dehydration and some good drinks including full sugar flat coke, ice lollies and the juice of tinned fruit. When did it ease with your other two? Most sufferers on here find that they get a marked improvement at some point between 14 and 20 weeks. Even those unlucky ones who suffer throughout almost never feel as bad later on as they did in the first stages. Did an anti acid help with either? At nine weeks you are coming up to the worst part- unfortunately, as you well know. Have you got childcare aranged with family/friends/nursery etc so you can rest as much as possible? Sorry - all this seems to be phrased as questions!
HL123 Welcome. Some do have Hyperemesis with very little vomitng, but 'sigificant weight loss' and all the rest of it. Most get some relief between weeks 14-20. Might an anti acid help? Some drinks and foods of a sort that have helped others - some of which you seem to be having already. Flat full sugar coke, ice lollies, the juice of tinned fruit, Lucozade, fizzy water, Elderflower water, Robinson's fruit drinks, fizzy orange, lemonade, Dr Pepper, Elderflower coridal and tonic water (eallison's tipple), 7Up, Iron Bru, soda water, ice cubes, chocolate milkshakes (maybe soya), cocoanut milk, orange squash and sips of orange juice if not too acid. Some foods of a sort: nibbles of chips and crisps, baked potatoes, cuppa soup, cheap ice cream, tinned fruit, slices of melon and mango, Scotch pancakes and biscuits.
Melleebacca What you say to Whatsup11 about ketones is so true. It is awkward A and E departments seem to rely on them. I meant to ask Whatsup11 if she had inelastic skin (ie, not bouncing back when pinched), or dark urine or headache etc, and stupidly forgot. I hope you are both doing not too badly today.
abbs1I am so glad that it is relatively under control.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

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Pastnowfuture · 12/11/2019 16:13

Hi everyone. I have made it to 16 weeks (which at one point seemed impossible). Symptoms have eased considerably in last 2 weeks. I'm still vomiting daily but its restricted to mornings and evenings.There is about 5 hrs in the day when nausea is mild enough for me to function (shower, walk dog, read) and eat, allthough diet is still completely limited to fruit and bland carbs.

I know I should be focusing on how far I have come but instead I think constantly about how much I want HG to be completely gone so I can feel like a normal human again. I appreciate everyone is different but is there still hope that by 20 weeks I will be magically 'better'? X

Melleebacca · 12/11/2019 17:06

@Pastnowfuture The one good thing that comes from HG (excluding baby of course), is that it gets you used to functioning in a less than ideal situation that the life change of having a baby is kinda all done before baby is even here. If you can survive an HG pregnancy, sleeplessness with a baby is nothing! And you’re already got ideas on what to do when you stuck on the sofa with a baby. I always feel amazing in the postpartum because I can eat everything again.
Also it’s not magically going to get better, you’re just going to notice that your good time of the day gets longer, until it’s at the point of the illness being a minor nuisance in the day. Hope you keep feeling better!

Pastnowfuture · 12/11/2019 17:44

Thank you @Melleebacca it has certainly helped me develop appreciation for the small things in life.

Bol87 · 12/11/2019 17:59

Hey @pastnowfuture - it may get a bit better for you, it has for me! 16 weeks, I felt better than I had in the first trimester but still really struggling.. I managed to introduce one or two extra foods. But it’s kept creeping a bit better week by week. I’m 22 weeks tomorrow. I’m now back eating pretty regular food, can’t do anything spicy & I still hate chocolate 😭 but I’m managing average meals & vegetables again! It’s an odd one, I never feel like eating anything. If you asked me what I wanted for tea, I’d say nothing. But actually I’m starving & can eat it when presented with it..

Still feel sick 24/7 but it’s just about bearable, I’m still on a decent whack of ondanesteon (I just start vomiting without it, I tried!) but I’m back at work normal hours.

I was feeling better than this at 22 weeks last pregnancy, which is a big gutting but I’ve been more ill this time so perhaps not surprising!

Hope it keeps on improving for you too 🙏🏼🧡

Pastnowfuture · 12/11/2019 19:28

@Bol87 Thank you. That is encouraging. Fingers crossed for both of us.

Whatnext11 · 13/11/2019 11:44

Thanks @Melleebacca and @LucindaE and others I may have missed. Keytones took a drop so I did end up on a drip, feeling fed up now tbh. Not feeling great today either and as I threw up when I'd only had a tea earlier I'm nervous to try some food today. Not eaten much since Monday so do need to try. Feeling a bit dehydrated do sipping water.
Hope all fellow sufferers are doing ok today. I always read but not always up to posting.

Emmaemmaemmaemma · 13/11/2019 13:47

Hi ladies I’m new to the thread! Been suffering pregnancy sickness all throughout and bad headaches but nothing like started last week I ended up hospitalised for dehydration. They gave me cyclizine and metoclopramide and diagnosed me with HG before discharging me Monday. Have been ok since discharge but just thrown up now I’m freaking out it will be the start of what happened the other day where I couldn’t keep food or liquids down and ended up hospitalised. I feel so helpless Blush I need to get back to work I can’t afford the time off. Don’t feel I had any helpful advice off the hospital they said I may end up hospitalised again gave me the tablets and then let me go!

Emmaemmaemmaemma · 13/11/2019 13:48

Meant to say il be 21 weeks tomorrow

Whatnext11 · 13/11/2019 15:24

emma I really hope it passes for you. Mine is different as it started at I think 6 or 7 weeks so hoping it passes. I think in the case where you are so dehydrated you end up in hospital, that is the only fix to get you back on track but that doesn't mean the medication etc won't help you avoid getting to that point. Others can advise you better.

Anyone else fed up of the phrase 'mornimg sickness'? It makes it sound so mild! Started saying hyperemesis even if GP hasn't formally said it.