emetophobia

[august2020]

Hi, I'm new here, just found out I'm 4 weeks pregnant, on Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas to me!

I have extreme emetophobia and the thought of morning sickness is making my anxiety awful and the MS hasn't even started yet! I've had this phobia of throwing up since I can remember and I haven't been sick in over 9 years now. I never expected to have a child so soon, I wanted time to get therapy for my phobia as it is really ruining my life. I have no idea what to do now! I know I most likely wont be sick and because of my anxiety, I feel sick most days anyway, even when I wasn't pregnant. I've been crying a lot since I found out, I'm absolutely terrified. Becoming pregnant has always been the scariest thing because I know nausea and vomit comes with it! It's got to the point where I would rather die than throw up, I know it sounds pathetic to anyone who doesn't suffer with the phobia themselves. Anyway, my anxiety is so bad and I'm only just pregnant... I don't want to be spending the whole 8 months left feeling this anxious and unwell. I need to prepare for when the morning sickness hits, even if I'm never actually sick.

Please help!!!

CONGRATUALTIONS! I’m sorry that your phobia is taking away the excitement of your pregnancy.

First of all, not everybody gets morning sickness, so hopefully you’ll be one of the lucky ones! Even in those who get the nausea, it’s the minority of those that actually vomit. Try and keep that in mind - it’s not an inevitability.

Secondly, look at cognitive behavioural therapy online. There are free programmes you can use and it has been shown to be the most effective method of managing anxiety and phobias. Get started straight away so you can begin managing yourself ASAP.

Finally, Now’s the time for therapy. If you can afford it, get a private therapist (specialising in CBT or hypnotherapy) because the waiting list for an NHS one will probably take you into your second trimester! Even if you just have a few sessions while waiting for NHS.

Phobias are horrible, but can be managed. Good luck OP, I hope you get on top of your anxiety xx

Very few people ime actually puke with MS but just feel dreadfully nauseous. Of course ,some people don't feel ill or are sick at all. It sounds like you need to get some counselling asap if you're this worked up already. Congratulations btw

I've been pregnant lots of times (really, lots) and it has never made me actually sick. In fact most women don't actually vomit even the ones that feel nauseous.

Please don't let worry get to you. Congratulations!

Fellow emetophobe here.

Congratulations on your pregnancy :)

I was really anxious in the beginning. Currently 27 weeks. I had nausea but avoided vomiting. I did everything I could to avoid it progressing past nausea (whether I actually stopped the vomit or whether I would’ve just had nausea anyway, who knows!). also, I wanted to make sure I had everything in place before any hint of nausea could hit, as I had more hope of controlling the situation. But that’s just me, we are all different!

If the nausea hits, you will need to find what works for you. I found that biscuits were my friend, so I had so many types available to me. It helped if I NEVER got hungry. Biscuits I could suck helped. Still carry a pack of biscuits around with me now!

Peach squash helped, along with ice cubes made from isotonic drinks. I’m never without a cold drink to sip.

Gaviscon also helped. I tried sea bands which personally didn’t help, but others swear by them.

I also purchased some special vomit bags on amazon. Part of my fear is throwing up when I’m in public or in my car etc, so having these stashed everywhere helped me manage that fear. I did stop doing the food shop etc between 7-11 weeks ish and fiancé did it instead, which helped.

I did see my GP (I would urge you to do the same) and he prescribed anti sickness (that he prescribed pre pregnancy anyway) that I could take when I just couldn’t cope. To be honest I rarely used them, but the fact I had them helped. GP could also make sure you’ve been referred for some therapy to help with the phobia and anxiety (anxiety is not helped by pregnancy hormones).

Once I knew I had everything in place it helped me settle a bit and get on with ’normal’ life.

Congrats OP!

I don’t have much to say that everyone else has said already, but wanted to add that anxiety has huge physical affects on the stomach. Being extremely anxious destroys the stomach lining over time which I imagine would only worsen nausea affects? In which case I would suggest speaking to a professional about your anxiety and how you are feeling as soon as you can. It’s not too late for therapy if you’re able to afford it!

another emmetophobe.
I have 3 children and been emmetophobic for all pregnancies.
I wasn't sick once.
Don't worry.I think from what I understand emmetophobe can sort of control it.

Congratulations OP!

I’m emetephobic & rather ironically have suffered with Hyperemesis in both my pregnancies 😩 and I’ve still managed to do it twice.. but don’t worry, I’m just one of the very unlucky ones!

I’d personally say to speak to your GP should the nausea & sickness kick in & you start to struggle. There are safe, effective anti-sickness medications available. Despite being very sick on repeat, I’d have a panic attack every flipping time which obvious makes the entire experience even worse. I’ve even passed out in panic on occasion. I have to a minor extent coped with pregnancy sickness as I know I’m not actually ill but only a smidge. In all honesty, I spent the majority of the first 16 weeks just dealing with it the best I can. I cried a lot, threw things like a toddler , sobbed on my other half, lived on carbs (toast, mash, chips, crisps) & got signed off work for weeks. You just have to do whatever works & whatever gets you through it. Don’t feel guilty.

My HG has meant I’ve had no choice but to take meds but equally, there’s a mental health element. Having panic attacks & struggling to breathe etc, is not good for you or baby! The meds I take prevent me living in hospital but mentally, knowing the vomiting is being stopped medically helps me cope as I know I’m unlikely to throw up. So as hard as the nausea is, I can just about get through it!

I promise it’s all worth it in the long run! So much so I’m doing it a second time! It’s not easy but you can & you will get through your pregnancy & have a wonderful baby!

And hey, you may be totally fine! Loadsa people don’t get any sickness at all! Lots of luck & love 🧡

Congratulations on the pregnancy!!! And lots of sympathies because pg with emetophobia is tough but you'll be amazed with how much you can cope with. I've also been severely emetophobic since childhood, however 2 pregnancies (first one sadly ended in miscarriage), csection and taking care of a baby actually improved my phobia to the point I feel "in remission" and able to lead an almost entirely normal life. My pregnancy was a blessing in disguise for the phobia because I was forced to confront so many situations that would have made me panic.

Long story short, I was never sick but I did have morning sickness in both pregnancies. MS is actually weird because it doesn't feel like standard stomach bug/food poisoning nausea, but more like extreme hunger. So to an emetophobe it was actually quite confusing because I find hunger comforting. I always wondered how people could possibly "eat to avoid morning sickness" but that actually works. MS starts like extreme hunger and then tips over into nausea if you wait too long. I found the trick was to eat easily digestible foods (crackers, crisps, pudding, rice cakes) as soon as I felt hunger pangs to keep my stomach slightly full.

I also had lots of bloating which sometimes triggered panic, but I found that fennel tea helped a lot with that. Some other things that might help are sea bands, vitamin B6, Phenargan, Rennies, metaclopramide and listening to meditation videos on YouTube. I kept repeating to myself that no matter what happens (even I were to be sick), I can't wait to enjoy my pregnancy once I feel better. Try building up a bond to your baby and let that help you through the toughest moments.

If you feel like you absolutely can't cope with the thought of the next few weeks, then look into doing Rob Kelly's Thrive Program with a Skype consultant ASAP. I did this two years ago and it made a huge difference to my way of thinking. You can find lots of consultants on the website and write to them saying it's an emergency. These are similar to therapists, but the program is more about teaching you a new way to process your negative thoughts and not "traditional" therapy in talking about feelings, the past, your childhood etc.

Lastly, I used to get very anxious reading about the weeks that people's MS started or ended so please don't get sucked into that. There's a good chance you might not get MS at all, and of course you don't read about that online because those people have no reason to post about it. MS is over-represented here because people post for support and those without it are just going about their lives. My MS disappeared virtually overnight sometime in week 8, which is early by most standards. I was able to work from week 9 and attended an overnight wedding during week 10.

Further down the line, I had zero heartburn or sickness in the third trimester and was also not sick or queasy in the least during my csection.

Wishing you lots of strength and peaceful thoughts for the new year!

Sympathies to you OP, I also suffer emetophobia so know exactly what youre going through, I'm 9+2, like you I was nauseous most days before pregnancy due to anxiety but I've found that so far not much is different being pregnant, I'm using all the same coping methods from before and don't really feel any worse or better. Peppermint oil on a tissue to smell when it gets bad, lemon and ginger tea, seasickness bands and trying to regulate breathing to stay calm. The anxiety is actually worse than the nausea. I'm Hoping I don't get any worse and that by 12 weeks I can relax a little knowing the worst time For sickness is over. Keep. In touch,