Can’t eat anything. HELP

[Rose559]

I’m 7+2 and I’m going crazy with nausea and an upset stomach. I can’t seem to keep anything down. Yesterday I managed a raw carrot, an apple and some salt and vinegar crisps but even that was a struggle. The day before it was a microwave rice sachet. The upset tummy has been around for 10-12 days now and I’m worried my baby isn’t getting the nutrients it needs as I’m struggling to eat and everything I do eat I can’t keep down.

Any suggestions? Tips? Help? Advice?

Thank you!!!

You've lost a lot of weight in a short period of time so best to see your doctor a.s.a.p. They can prescribe something to help.
I'm the interim, maybe try snacking in the middle of the night. I was sick all day every day with both pregnancies but what really minimised this was keeping crackers/banana/other food at bedside and just having one of two bites whenever I woke. The more I managed to eat overnight, the less sick I was the next day....good luck,"morning" sickness is fucking horrible, you have my sympathies.

Poor you having such a bad time with it
I think you need to call your gp ASAP for some antisickness meds and keeping calling back if they aren't working
Sometimes a mix with anti acid can help too
Keep resting plenty and hopefully it'll ease in a few weeks

I think you've already had most of the suggestions I was going to give. My morning sickness was 24/7, but similar to you I was never sick.

Week 7 - 14 I had:

• Ginger biscuits
• Jacobs crackers (dry)
• Pain au chocolat
• Croissants with jam
• Wholemeal toast with jam
• Jacket potatoes
• Cheese on toast
• Ice pops
• Weak cordial
• My pregnancy multivitamin
• Mint humbugs (the smell of them makes me want to wretch now though because they're so strongly associated with feeling sick)

I also chewed mint gum almost constantly while I was awake.

It got me through but it was grim. I'd not thought about it at the time but it was very beige . I guess the fattier items on there might be no good to you if they're making you feel sick? Have you tried putting cheese or butter on things? It might give you an energy/calorie boost if you can stomach it?

There's lots of different salty cracker type foods you could try that might be palatable?

It doesn't last forever and I promise you'll forget it (more or less) once it stops. Plus it's totally worth it! I hope it passes soon for you.

Just to add - if you're only taking B12 and Folic Acid is there a chance that your cravings for veg/aversion to fatty food could be due to needing extra vitamins? Or were you already taking a prenatal vitamin and stopped?

I know they really don't agree with some people and make them feel rubbish but if you can take them then they cover a broad spectrum of nutrients. Iron can be pretty important in helping to avoid pregnancy-related anemia.

I'm 28 weeks and was on sickness meds from weeks 9-18. They were a lifesaver. If you call your GP tomorrow they will arrange for you to get a prescription.

I lost 10 lbs and it wasn't fun.
Good news is it does get better eventually x

Midwife can't prescribe so ring your GP ASAP. The sooner you start taking meds the better they will work. Also remember there is more than 1 option to try, the first one you try might not even help and you have to be really on it. Good luck

@Theyweretheworstoftimes thank you. I’ll give the GP a call in the morning and see what they suggest. So sorry for what you went through!!

@ticktackted I was 61.1 Friday and 59.6 today so that’s 1.5kg in 4 days then lost a kilo the week before so 2.5kg in 11 days and can’t see that going up any time soon.

Thanks @Lamentations. Trying to get the fluid in but even that is making me feel queasy.

@Mylittlepony374 thank you for the suggestion. Going to try keeping some crackers next to my bed as I’m managing to eat them at the moment.

@Curiosity101 so difficult isn’t it. I’m worried that if I phone the doctor they won’t be able to prescribe anything as I haven’t actually been sick. I feel it constantly but have a huge phobia of being sick so think my body is getting rid of it with the upset tummy but I’ve spent the last 4/5 days in bed unable to move. I’ve had to lie in the landing on the way to the bathroom as a couple of metres is too far too walk😂

@curiosity101. I’m not sure about Vitamins, I’ve only been told to take the folic acid and keep taking my B12 as I was already. Iron was fine when it was last checked 6 months ago. I haven’t heard about prenatal vitamins.

Thanks @LittleBoyJuly2020. I’m going to give them a call tomorrow as see what they suggest. No point suffering in silence! Sorry you struggled and glad to hear it does get better eventually. This is my first baby and I don’t want to be a big baby about things which is why I’ve put off calling the GP.

Thanks @pippapegg going to call tomorrow!

@rose559

Have a look at pregnancy sickness support and the HG support thread on mumsnet.

That's how I ended up here. My username is about my pregnancy.

I was so sick I couldn't walk, shower or brush my teeth for months. I was a marathon runner previously. Do not be fobbed off just keep trying and keep asking for meds. They will find the right ones.
You will feel better.

The only thing I could keep down from week 6 was McDonald's.

Anything else i was sick as a dog. I don't even like McDonald's.

@Rose559 Babies take iron from you whilst growing, but they also store a lot of iron ready for use in the 6+ months post-birth. Not only that but your blood volume increases. If you don't have a diet rich in iron then a healthy non-anemic person can begin to develop anemia in pregnancy. Anemia in pregnancy is really common.

I doubt it becomes a problem until the 2nd / 3rd trimester though as the baby is so small until then. It's just a thought anyway and could (and I'm only guessing here), explain your cravings for healthy food.

I'm not sure which country you're in but in the UK the most popular brand in prenatal vitamins is Pregnacare.

I had these in pregnancy - www.vitabiotics.com/products/pregnacare-original

But there are lots of other brands that do exactly the same vitamins in tablet form.

Good luck with everything.

Have you tried ice pops by the way? They can be a really good way of getting fluids into you whilst you feel so ill.

It's probably a good idea to speak to your go about multivitamin as some can make you feel more sick. I personally found this with pregnacare but not with Severn seas pregnancy ones, some supermarket own brands people rave about.
If you are worried about nutrients a multivitamin is probably good only if you can keep it down..they are quite big and hard to swallow when you have severe sickness so maybe look into getting them when you have antisickness meds sorted

8+1 and no sign of anything changing any time soon. I’ve had a diet of crackers, dry cereal and mints for the last 2 weeks. Lost a total of 3.5kg now. Had my phone in with the midwife today who gave me suggestion of breadsticks which I’ll try but wasn’t too worried as I was managing to keep fluids in. I feel awful. Obviously I have no energy whatsoever and I’m so glad I’m furloughed from work. I CANNOT WAIT to eat an actual meal but seems a long way off!!

Maybe it’s twins?! I always recovered by week 16 and totally loved the second trimester to bits. With my twin pregnancy I had hg and was very sick.

If it’s any comfort, sickness is meant to mean it’s a strong pregnancy. I’m so very sorry for you, though, it’s incredibly tough.

Try loveheart sweets, they help with the acid. And extra strong mints and lucozade!

My nausea started from about 6/7weeks & subsided at about 11weeks.
It got to the point where even dry toast i could not handle. 1 week i barely had a full meal. I had 0 energy & couldnt even stomach water.
I ended up being prescribed 'cyclizine' i could take it up to 3times a day if need be. But i only needed it once a day.
What a life saver it was & apart from that if that didn't work my docter was having me admitted!
It was so frustrating people saying to try all the usual stuff, crackers, ginger etc.

@Greenmarmalade oh yes mints/chewing gum & sipping on lucozade i have to admit did help as i also caught a bug while nauseous (i know not much luck)

My GP recommended sipping on lucozade because the electrolytes will give you the pick me up your body needs.

Try cheesy wotsits. It was all my friend could eat. She was hospitalised for most of her pregnancy. She says she is surprised the baby didn’t come out orange.

Someone else mention Lucazade to me but I didn’t think you could have caffeine or artificial sweeteners when pregnant and it has both?

I found sparkling water and water with lemon easy to drink.
I could generally eat bland food such as toast, chips and fish fingers.

@Rose559 you can have caffeine, you just need to limit it to no more than 200mg per day (there's about 60-70mg in an average cup of instant coffee as a guide).

Similar to PP, I was recommended soda water with lemon in it as a stomach settler and it definitely helped.

@GetTheSprinkles I can’t stomach anything with fat unfortunately, it’s all I can taste and makes me gag. Can even taste the fat in a plain cracker but can just about stomach that. Tried toast for the first time yesterday and managed a piece. Cold of course, haven’t eaten hot food in over a week!

@sel2223 how about the artificial sweeteners? I’ve found that even sugared drinks have some sort of sweetener in and read to avoid them!

@Rose559 not sure but I just googled it and the overwhelming answer seems to be that they're fine. There's not much you absolutely can't have in pregnancy, most of it is just about being sensible and having things in moderation.

I’ve never heard anything about sweeteners.

Just an update. Going to call the GP and see if I can get some antisickness meds tomorrow. I’ve managed a single breadstick in 2 days and can’t keep water down at the moment. Lost a total of 5kgs now and it’s only been 2 weeks.

I hope the gp can help!

One of the few thing I could manage when crackers and dry stuff went on to the no list was fruit. It was a bit hit and miss grapes, melon and oranges were OK but apples and bananas were nos. It helped get fluids when drinks were problematic too.

Really sorry to hear this OP it’s horrendous. It does get better eventually but I had it badly too so I do feel for you. Lots of good suggestions above. Agree drinks with sugar in (lucozade, juice, full sugar Ribena) even in small sips helps to stave off the weight loss. One other thing you might manage if you can handle veg is tinned fruit. I found it so much easier to handle than fresh - I think it’s cooked and it’s much softer than fresh fruit. Mushy tinned peaches were a life saver. Sometimes I could handle a bit of yoghurt on them for protein.