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.

@Snowwhite2020 that's fab timing re DH being able to go, I'm so pleased for you. I imagine it made it a lot more real for him. And I certainly don't envy being a ftm in lockdown, so tricky and worrying. Although I have thought they've managed pregnancy and birth as well as they can on the whole. I certainly wouldn't want to be in charge of making the decisions! But yes, here's hoping it gets a bit more normal from here on in

@BuffaloMozzerella it isn't one I have heard on but a quick Google seems to show it is used for HG and contains Vitamin B6 which I have heard of as being useful in combating sickness. How far along are you? Were you taking something else previously?

I'm 7 weeks with my second pregnancy. I was sick as a dog with my first until 20 weeks and was also unfortunate enough to develop a prolapse after the birth so I need to avoid being sick as the pressure on my pelvic floor/prolapse is too much with all the retching and vomiting.

I've just had the most almighty row with my partner because I asked him to get me some crisps to see if I could stomach them. He's just eaten them all and announced I should be eating healthily not eating junk food and that is 'pregnancy 101'.

I feel like walking out I'm so annoyed with him 🤬

To be honest although I was very sick during my first pregnancy (5/6 times a day at least) I'm not sure I actually had HG. I wasn't bad enough to be admitted to hospital. I basically nibbled on carbs and sipped milk or flat coke for weeks, couldn't stomach water.

I did ask the Dr for some meds at the time but he told me they don't like to prescribe meds for pregnant women and I then felt like I just had to put up with it. He doesn't seem to have had a problem with it this time though after receiving a letter from my consultant!

Welcome to BuffaloMozzeralla. Five or six separate vomiting episodes a day sounds like Hyperemesis. Much sympathy about OH eating the crisps, that was very insenstiive of him. I don't suppose he realises that isthe only food that you can endure the thought of.I hadn't heard of Cariban, but it is interesting about the B6 component. As you are a veteran, you don't need my spiel about 'have you got kesostix, as while not the best test of dehydration they do take them seriously in hospitals' and 'Do you find flat full sugar coke, ice lollies and the juice of tinned fruit any good ' - and you have obviously found flat coke useful in the past.
hudsonmaw Poor you, having to be admitted. I do hope the fluids help and they give you a more effective regime of meds.
Herewegoagainx4 I am so glad you got a private scan. It's a shame it has to be only you there.
Waves to SnowWhite2020 and everyone.

@BuffaloMozzerella much sympathy to you over the crisps and the comments from OH... my husband would be a brave man to try it! It is so difficult when you can only bare the thought of one specific thing and your partner eats it or eats some of it... very hard. No wonder you had an argument. Hope tomorrow bears better things for you and he learns his lesson... xx

@LucindaE Thank you.

I pretty much approached my last pregnancy sickness like it was a bad hangover, hence the flat coke. It leaves a pretty horrible aftertaste but mostly stays down. God knows what shape my teeth will be in after these pregnancies as toothpaste and even the act of brushing can set me off!

@Snowwhite2020 Thanks. Well I can confirm I went ballistic. He's been back to the shop and we now have about 25 packets of crisps, don't fancy them anymore though! Typical.

@BuffaloMozzerella glad the house is well stocked in case you should feel like them again in the next few days/ weeks! Salt and vinegar crisps were one of the only things I manage to eat when feeling particularly nauseous and sick. Pom bear ready salted crisps also good :) xx

Hi Buffalo I'm in Ireland and cariban is the first line of defence for Hg here. For me (vomitted 100 times a day the whole 9 months) they may as well have been smarties. However I took them from 6 -9weeks to stave it off. I know lots of women who swear by them though so hopefully they will help you. On am entirely unrelated note I would throw out all the food in your house that is not for your first child and tell your husband it's survival 101.

For anyone who hasn’t tried it- frozen grapes and/ or blueberries are quite nice when you are experiencing bad nausea/ sickness. Gives you a bit of fluid too without it being a “drink”.

@Snowwhite2020 I like a handful of grapes here and there and always add ice cubes to drink as colder is much easier for me but I hadn't thought about combining that with frozen grapes! Melon is good too when I can stomach it, juicy but not too fluid-y...

@BuffaloMozzerella hope OH goes on to be more understanding. Yes in an ideal world we would all eat perfectly from the get go but actually be dehydrated and unwell from HG can be serious for you and baby, far better to be eating something. besides which babies are renowned for being parasites and getting all their needed nutrients from our bodies, stripping us of them and meaning we have to deal with the issues that then come from that! The pregnancy sickness support website has lots of useful information on including some bits aimed at partners/those supporting women with hg so might be worth a pointed look with him. And if your meds don't seem to be doing anything get straight back onto the dr!

Also with the prolapse, I had a slight prolapse last time around and have found with vomiting I am much better sat on the bed or sofa with a bowl as I can position myself a bit better for support. I often end up sort of sat with one foot pulled up so the heel is providing extra support to the prolapse. Engaging pelvic floor is impossible when vomiting!

Itsallthelittlethings How horrific- 100 times a day. I hope that was heaves rather than heaving episodes? Interesting that Cariban is so popular in Ireland.
BuffaloMozzerella I am glad he got you some more crisps. Hopefully, the urge for them will come back.
SnowWhite2020 Great tip fromy you about blueberries - full of Vitamin C -and from Herewegoagainx4 about melon.

I did it! I'm no longer pregnant and have my lovely girl here. It's all worth it in the end, hang in there lovelies. That said I'm never doing it again, I am delighted to never have to be pregnant again!

@justtheonethen yay! Congratulations!! Thanks for checking back in with us 💖 Enjoy your time with your OH and new baby xx

Huge congratulations @justtheonethen and well done! Enjoy all those squishy cuddles with your lovely little one and have some whilst you're at it!

Hi Ladies, been reading your posts for a while and finally braved it to comment.
You are all better than me! I commend you all for continuing with your pregnancies. I wish I had found it in me to do the same.
I terminated my last hg baby in May. I have terminated 2 previous hg babies too and suffered 2 miscarriages. (Hang my head In shame and grief). I tried EVERY medication available with completely ZEROA effect. I was only being kept alive via a drip. I could not even sip fluids or eat a crumb. My kidneys were starting to fail and I had constant black outs.
Since my termination I have battled with daily painful grief.
I have found a consultant that has said he could try me on sickness injections that are injected into the bottom and if they fail I could have a pic line in my arm. Has anyone had or heard of anyone resulting to this?
I am 40 years old and my clock is ticking I try to tell myself I don’t need another but deep down that ache a a longing is destroying me.
I have 2 sons. They are 14 & 4. I just don’t know what to to. Xxx

Hi lovelies

Unfortunately cyclizine didn't help for very long and I'm back to square 1 of throwing everything up constantly :(

I've been prescribed something else, my husbands gone to collect it.

But the doctor gave me this big talk on how all these tablets can have a bad effect on my baby which has left me feeling more miserable :(

Is this true? And if so,how did you get by knowing this :( I feel so guilty already but without meds I don't think il be able to survive :(

Hi everyone!

I've finally had a day where I've had a couple of short periods where the nausea has eased slightly - really hoping this is the start of some improvement again! I still find the thought of eating most things makes the nausea worse but I've found that if I blend some frozen mango, Pineapple & banana into a sorbet and eat it very slowly it seems to help - very refreshing so thought I'd share in case thats useful for those struggling.

@Herewegoagainx4 - was it today that you had the private scan? If so, hope everything has gone OK.

@jaysdream7 - so sorry to read your post, that must be such an awful position to be in. Sorry I don't have any experience of the injections, I really hope there is something which can help you.

@mia22221 - sorry to hear the cyclizine didn't work for you - I had the same situation first pregnancy, the cyclizine did nothing for me and I ended up in hospital for the dehydration. Not sure if it's ondanstron which you have been prescribed but that's what I combine with cyclizine now and always get the same warnings from the doctors. I did a lot of research first time round and there is really little evidence to suggest any increase in issues from those taking ondanstron, but given they can't trial on pregnant ladies they have to be cautious. Having said all that, I still feel guilty now second time round for taking the medication but I know what happens if I don't & dehydration is far more serious for both mother & baby so that's what I have to remember.
Fingers crossed the new medication helps you.

X

Jaysdream7 I am so sorry over your tragic experiences. I. I have known people be given injections as an emergency treatment on this thread, and I bellieve they have worked for them in the short term, but I am very sorrry that I don't know how effective they are as a routine treatment. I don't think many people in the UK have a picc line, though I knew a sufferer in the channel islands who had private medical care had one and it helped her a lot. I know that they routinely offer it with health insurance for Hyperemesis in the US. I think it might be a great idea to phone Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7538 2020. They will have to phone backbut they will, with expert advice.
mia22221 I am sorry the doctor made you feel bad. The risk is generally considered to be very small and definitely smaller than that of suffering from prolonged deydration, as others say. What meds are these that have been prescribed?
justtheonethen Happy news. Congratulations on your baby girl. Enjoy her and revel in your entry to the legendery Pink Castle.
JadeI must add that frozen mango, pinapple and banana sourbet to recommended foods. Fine advice. Waves to Snowwhite2020 and Herewegoagainx4 I hope things aren't too bad today. It's pleasantly warm rather than downright hot at the moment, which must be a relief for sufferers.

justtheonethen That should be 'legendary'! And I want to say thank you so much for being so helpful on this thread.

@Jaysdream7 I’m so sorry to hear of your experiences too. That must have been and continue to be heartbreaking. I agree with @LucindaE s advice to phone pregnancy sickness support. Good luck xx

@mia22221 I’m sorry to hear of your experience at the doctor. Unfortunately this is just not the first time I have heard of such experiences... I agree that it is more important to ensure that you stay hydrated and able to eat at least something (not to mention the potential mental ramifications of such intense and prolonged nausea and sickness) xx

@LucindaE @Snowwhite2020 @JadeBA2

Thank you, I've been prescribed prochlorperazine
And the doctors didnt mention of taking this with cyclizine

So far it's not done anything :( but luckily I'm managing to keep fluids down
Currently feeling the worst sorry for not replying properly to you all and thank you all for ur replies x makes me feel that I'm not 100% alone in this x

@mia22221 you are not alone xx

@Snowwhite2020 thank you so much it means a lot to me xx

I posted in this group maybe about 6 weeks ago after being in hospital and my anti sickness tablets not working, they ended up giving me different ones and I would say I was starting to feeling better. I was eating and going out and starting to enjoy pregnancy however I’m now 14 weeks and it feels like I’ve gone backwards.
I feel constant nausea even on the tablets, don’t fancy anything, hate the smell of my house again and am so exhausted. I feel like I’m back at 8 weeks when I was at my worse.
I guess I’m just writing in here so I don’t feel alone as I’m so fed up with feeling like this 😭😭 anyone else wish they could just fast forward and have baby, I really can’t wait till we get to that point xxx

@MrsJamieLWeir I had a similar retrograde and it was really hard to take, though mine came slightly later. For me I had a really bad week then a dodgy week and then it seemed to lift again to a reasonable level (for now). Hang in there. I would maybe phone the midwife/ gp and let them know and see if they suggest adjusting the meds. When I feel bad I go back to the basics- meds, rest, eat whatever food you feel you can and sip at whatever fluid you can/ try some
Frozen fruit in your mouth. Look after yourself, it’s the only way... are you trying to work through this atm? Xx