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.

Oceansound90 Welcome. Many find 10 weeks one of the worst times. There's a big hormonal surge round then. A great many sufferers have to be signed off with this. Do ask for a sick note and some other meds. There are still others that they can try and combinations. Everyone is very supportive on this thread. Here is my normal spiel, which I hope will help. Most sufferers find that they improve a lot at some point between weeks 14 and 20. Even those who are unlucky enough to suffer throughout generally are not as ill later on as they are in the first part. A good anti acid can make a surprising difference to the sickness. Kesostix are worth buying online or from a chemists, as while they aren't they best test of dehydration, hospitals take them seriously. Some drinks that have helped others: full sugar flat coke, ice lollies, the juice of tinned fruit, Lucozade, apple juice, Ribina, Dr Pepper, soda water, Elderflower water, tonic water, ice cubes, Iron Bru, lemonade, lemon squash, orange squash, orange juice (if not too acid), fizzy orange, 7Up, isotonic drinks, sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), fizzy water, apple juice, Robinson's fruit drinks, Rubicon sparkling mango drink , raspberry Lucozade sport and frozen ice cubes of flat Lucozade sport . Foods of a sort include tinned fruit, cuppa soup, nibbles of crisps and chips, cheap ice cream, Scotch pancakes, bagels and biscuits.
Wingiingitatlifesincebirth Very brave of you to take them out. You deserve the Order of the Hyperemesis Heroines for that! Sorry you feel so bad today. It seems like a good idea to get a sick note if you can. Your advice is excellent as ever, however ill.
Donought100 Do keep us informed. It would be great if that really helped.

@Oceansound90 definitely get a sick note and look after yourself.
I am dreading going back to work tomorrow, talking to people all day long makes this so much worse, as does wearing a mask and people eating smelly food. I just want to sit in silence and wait for it to be over!

I've been off for 3 weeks now, GP was more than happy to give me a sick note.

I wonder if someone can help me. I’m nowhere near as I’ll as all of you as I’m not actually vomiting but I basically have extreme nausea, sometimes I feel like I can barely see it’s so bad. I’ve mainly been in bed this week as I took a weeks holiday but I’m supposed to be back tomorrow and in a two hour meeting.

I’m calling the GP today with the hope that they give me some medication. I’ve tried all the non medication options. I had this kind of nausea in my first pregnancy but I was much younger and less assertive and didn’t ask for any medication (which I regret in hindsight). What medication works best for nausea without actual vomiting and will they actually give me anything if I’m not at risk of dehydration? I can still drink squash in small amounts and I can eat toast so i haven’t lost any weight.

Thanks

@Anniemabel don't worry the doctor can still prescribe you medication if your nausea is making you bedbound. I am the same as you a lot of the time although I do go through phases of vomiting. I have put on weight not lost it because I have to constantly eat to counteract the nausea! Someone else will be able to give you better info about medications. They usually try you on cyclizine first I think. That's what I'm on but other women need to keep trying different medications. They have stronger ones but will only prescribe them if the first ones don't work. Just be really firm with your GP that you need help and don't back down. GPs can be a bit hit and miss some of them will tell you to eat a ginger biscuit and get over it, but I think most are fairly reasonable. Good luck. X

Thanks. I’m gearing myself up to be firm. It’s so hard because people always say things like “pregnancy isn’t an illness” etc. And the media paints such a different picture of pregnancy that many people just don’t understand. This is my 4th and they’ve all been hard, the first one and this one are the worst though!

So the meds are finally working, I'm no longer being sick just nausea instead, I'm going into work for the first time in 3 weeks, I want to explain to them it's not normal morning sickness but not sure how, any suggestions?

Hello wonderful ladies, I hope you are all well.

I'm 17weeks today. I managed two weeks back at work, on reduced hours but still ended up taking a day sick each week on that. I am speaking to GP tomorrow and think I need to be signed off again. I started a bad vomiting cycle on Wednesday and it took me until Saturday to pull through it, I probably should have gone to hospital in hindsight! I don't know why but I'm always so desperate not to go in.

I had a relatively good day yesterday only vomiting a few times in the morning but the constant nausea is back hard and this morning has been horrific. Haven't managed to get meds down yet for the day so it seems likely this will be another day off sick. I feel bad though as we took DD(3) to the cinema yesterday and went out for a meal (I picked at a risotto and just being in a resultant with the smells sent my stomach churning!) so I feel like a naughty school girl if I take today off. Does anyone else have that guilt?

I'm still taking the cyclizine and metoclopramide on the bad days but I'm thinking if the sickness is still so strong I need to try something else again.

Wishing you all a settled tummy day!

@bex758 this website is great to direct them to www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

I also find saying I'm like princess Kate but I didn't get a tiara seems to help people make a link!

Is anyone taking metocloptamide? I'm worried about the side effects and going to work.

Anniemabel Welcome. Goodness, your fourth with this scourge, you brave thing. It is possible to have Hyperemesis without vomiting. Which meds reduce nausea best vary with each sufferer, I think. But a good anti acid can make a huge difference. As you are a veteran you don't need my spiel about 'have you got kesostix,' and 'do you fnd flat full sugar coke, ice lollies and the juice of tinned fruit helpful'. When if at all did it ease with you before? I am glad you can stand toast and juice.
bex Mother Hen flaps and clucks and says she thinks you are going back to work too early, when you've been in and out of hospital so much for severe dehydration. Can you take more sick leave?
doritdiva It might be worth phoning Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7638 2020 for advice about a medication that doesn't make you sleepy.
gretagreengrapes All that eating in the office sounds grim. Given the lockdown, can you work from home or be signed off?
Dimpous Mother Hensays do get signed off. Good advice from you, Donought100, SweetpeaOrMarigold and everyone.
wingingitatlifesincebirth How are things today? I hope a bit better?

Hi Lucinda I’ve just had a much better day today distracting myself with work even lay down at lunch time and rested and managed to eat a fajita for dinner - I have no idea if this will stay down however I have not ate properly for so long I’ve lost 6 pounds now without trying.

Hope everyone is doing ok today, for the repeat offenders in this group can you tell me does it get worse with each pregnancy ? This is my 3rd and I honestly feel like sickness hit a lot earlier this time and nausea horrendous I’m actually wearing sea bands even tho I’m taking ondansetron I’ll do anything 😂

Hi everyone.

I have news. I had my baby girl on the 27th October at 36 weeks.

She's needing some help with her breathing in the NICU hence the delay I letting you all know.

I vomited thought labour, but nausea left me with an hour of birth.

Hope you are all ok. X

Can I jump on board?
Currently in A and E waiting to be admitted to a gynae ward and to have scans. Been vomiting non stop for 6 days, threw up 48 times yesterday. GP told me to come to A and E and turns out I'm very dehydrated and showing ketones in my urine (not really sure what this means outside a quick google)
On an IV and anti sickness but still sitting in the waiting room waiting for the results of the fucking covid test I had to have before I am admitted to a ward.
I'm so fed up, exhausted, starving but the thought of food makes me sick, want my DH to be with me, A and E just put a tannoy announcement out to say it's really busy and if you can go home and see GP you should, which I've never known before.

I'm so fed up. This is my first and it's taken all the joy and excitement away.

Sorry to bring a rain cloud.

@IAmSeriousAndDontCallMeShirley congratulations on your pink bundle so glad she is doing well pretty sure I remember you from this group in 2017 no more
Sickness !

@BunAndOven you sound very poorly how many weeks are you ? Do not leave the hospital you need to be seen and hydrated at the very least. Xx

Thank you @Wingingitatlifesincebirth I'm on a ward now, a lovely side room, I think they feel bad how long I was left in A and E for.
Been given more anti sickness and just had a sandwich so fingers crossed. Scan tomorrow. Think I'm about 6 weeks. So worried it will be bad news, I've just been so ill.

@BunAndOven that sounds awful. I hadn't even thought of the complications of covid with just getting admitted to a ward. What a pain in the bum! That's the last thing you need. Fingers crossed the results come back really quickly.

Can I ask everyone who is on 2nd line drugs have they helped? I've been through all three first line - cyclizine, promethazine and prochlorperazine, and I'm still virtually bed bound. I can keep vomiting down to just a few times a day if I sleep most of it and don't move... which isn't practical with a 6 yr old at home. I really wish I had some quality of life though. My poor daughter thinks I've abandoned her. I'm having to go to the hospital tomorrow for bloods and I want to cry at the thought of leaving the house. How easy have you all found it getting ondansetron etc? My GP isn't being the most supportive since she didn't even know what promethazine was and agreed to sign me off for one week only - as if my hyperemesis was going to magically disappear by 11 weeks. So any advice would be great. Thanks.

Thank you wimgingit

Yes I was here in 2015 and 2017! 2020 WILL be the last time

@singleandttc I personally only got given ondansetron after dehydration hospital admissions and that was in my first pregnancy I really struggled to get them after from GP despite hospital giving them to me because they just didn’t seem to be happy.

Fast forward second baby different area given them right away as I know they work. But of course they are expensive as I am
Constantly reminded. But pregnancy sickness support website have great resources and I think they can advocate for you if need be and believe They are worth it as I manage to function. Xx

@IAmSeriousAndDontCallMeShirley congratulations!!! How lovely, hope you’re both fighting fit and home soon ❤️

I didn’t throw up for a week and then spent Saturday night with my head down the loo. Felt horrendous since. My nausea never went away but it was more manageable now it’s just baaack. It’s like the meds work for about a week then wear off 🙈 this is the second lot, Cyclizine first now Promethazine! My dating scan is Monday amd having never got that far I’m so nervous, hoping OH is still allowed but gutted we can’t go see our families to tell them and hug them.
Hope everyone else is well.

Ps - sour apple rocket lollies 8 for £1 in the freezers at Tesco, heaven 😍

@Jlw2020 get in touch with the hospital's PALS (patient advice & liaison service) about your OH attending your dating scan. Mine very kindly made an exception for me because I have lost several pregnancies at this stage before and was afraid of receiving the same news alone. But it meant rescheduling my scan in the imaging department where the rooms are larger, rather than in the antenatal department. If you go through PALS you are much more likely to be accommodated. You don't ask you don't get! Good luck. Oh and my scan was lovely, the sonographer took ages and the baby was wriggling around. X

Congratulations @IAmSeriousAndDontCallMeShirley lovely news, hope all is well 

@doritodiva have you had any side effects to the metocloptamide? I felt a little fuzzy headed for a day or two but didn't have anything else. Hope you're okay.

I'm almost at the 20 week mark and had an awful Sunday throwing up! I seem to go through phases of it being manageable then it's a lot of sick, nausea at the highest level followed with constipation which I'm at now. Thankfully I am gaining weight at this stage though.

Hope everyone is coping x

BunandOven Welcome. I am glad you have been admitted and are getting fluids and IV meds. I hope they can sort out an effective regime of meds for you. The sickness is very unlikely to have affected the viability of the pregnancy. Hopefully the scan will be reassuring. Everyone is very supportive on here. Here is my normal spiel, which I hope will help. Most sufferers find that they improve a lot at some point between weeks 14 and 20. Even those who are unlucky enough to suffer throughout generally are not as ill later on as they are in the first part. A good anti acid can make a surprising difference to the sickness. Rest helps along with anti sickness meds. Kesostix are worth buying online or from a chemists, as while they aren't they best test of dehydration, hospitals take them seriously. Some drinks that have helped others: full sugar flat coke, ice lollies, the juice of tinned fruit, Lucozade, apple juice, Ribina, Dr Pepper, soda water, Elderflower water, tonic water, ice cubes, Iron Bru, lemonade, lemon squash, orange squash, orange juice (if not too acid), fizzy orange, 7Up, isotonic drinks, sips of chocolate milkshake (maybe soya), fizzy water, apple juice, Robinson's fruit drinks, Rubicon sparkling mango drink , raspberry Lucozade sport and frozen ice cubes of flat Lucozade sport . Foods of a sort include tinned fruit, cuppa soup, nibbles of crisps and chips, cheap ice cream, Scotch pancakes, bagels and biscuits.
IAmSeriousAndDon'tCallMeShirley Congratulations on your baby girl. I was just thinking of you today. I think around the time you posted! I hope you can take baby home soon. Enjoy her and my goodness, you were brave to go through it three times. Your OH had the dreaded virus, too. Mother Hen will miss you and so, I am sure, will everyone else.
Wingingitatlifesincebirth I am so glad you had a better day.
Singleandttc Do phone Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7538 2020 who will phone back with good advice about getting stronger meds.
Anya212 A hormonal surge is very common around 20 weeks, so with any luck it is that.
Donought100 Great advice for Jlw2020 about the scan. I didn t know about that procedure, that's really good. Jlw2020 All luck for the scan. The chances are greatly on your side.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

I don’t have hyperemesis so slightly feel like I’m hijacking the thread so I’m sorry if that’s not allowed but not sure where else to ask... I’ve just been prescribed cyclizine for pregnancy nausea (I’m not vomiting) but it’s not working. I’m in bed trying to work (working from home) and I can barely focus on the screen I feel really awful.

I have taken 4 tablets so far (started on Monday). Would I know by now if it was going to work?

@LucindaE thank you so much! You are wonderful

Out of hospital now, been prescribed stemetil and ondanestron which seems to be doing the trick. Signed off work for a week for now but will see how I go I think.