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

Hyperemesis Support

997 replies

LucindaE · 01/09/2020 21:15

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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9
YoungScrappyHungry · 13/11/2020 06:41

Does anyone have any experience of steroids and/or metaclopremide thy can share?

I've been prescribed steroids and metaclopremide. Thank you so much @Pumpertrumper, as I asked for it specifically from hour post.
So.far I'm feeling so much better, still in hospital, havent had it this morning get and can see already what a difference it has made.
Hard to know if that is both of them together or one or the other.
I also asked for it to be prescribed in oral suspension as you suggested Pumper and the doctor.took a little persuading but said yes! Thank you so much.

Jlw2020 · 13/11/2020 07:47

Had my scan on Monday ❤️❤️❤️ Due date brought forward to 19th May.
New tablets from yesterday, metoclopramide? I’m currently eating toast and feeling okay about it??

Hyperemesis Support
bunhead34 · 13/11/2020 10:56

Well I'm trying to stop the ondansetron and just take the cyclizine - had no ondanseton yesterday or today so far 👀 wish me luck.

@Jlw2020 that's a beautiful scan! I did try metroclopramide but it didn't agree with me, I'm sure it works for others.

@FilthyforFirth I'd also love to be reassured that it does go away. Not even just the sickness but the exhaustion and foggy head and daily headaches. People have been making hilarious jokes like 'you better get used to it you'll feel that that till
It goes to school looool 🤪' and it honestly
Makes me want to cry

kalidasa · 13/11/2020 13:01

@YoungScrappyHungry I've had both metocloprimide (with DS1) and steroids (with DS2). The metocloprimide helped a bit I think but I had to come off it in the end as I started to have some neurological symptoms (twitching). I was told not to take it again so didn't have it with DS2.

With DS2 I was put on steroids first at about 7 or 8 weeks I think as nothing was controlling the vomiting. I was on a big dose IV initially and had to switch back to IV a couple more times on readmission. Eventually from 14 weeks I was finally out of hosp on a tapering dose orally. I can't remember how long the taper lasted for -- until somewhere in the second half of pregnancy. My consultant has said if I had another pregnancy like DS2 she would recommend steroids from an early stage.

Just to reassure everyone else that it does end. After DS1 I didn't feel totally better immediately -- I still had some nausea and even a little bit of vomiting related to the hormones of breastfeeding I think, which was really disappointing, and I had also lost a lot of confidence with normal eating and had to relearn it. But I did feel better after a while and I think that experience of some nausea continuing after birth is actually really unusual. With DS2 even though the HG was actually even worse it disappeared totally once he popped out and psychologically I bounced back much faster, and didn't have the same eating problems as after DS1.

YoungScrappyHungry · 13/11/2020 14:59

@kalidasa thanks so much! Sounds awful. It really does take it out of you, but yours sounds particularly protracted.

Can I ask if you started feeling better straight away on the steroids? As I have been a different person since I started them and I just want it to continue!

Tiff94 · 13/11/2020 15:50

@YoungScrappyHungry I also was put on steroids started feeling better pretty much that week. Only felt sick on days I lowered the dosages. I've been on them 5 weeks but taking ondansetron and xonvea along side it. As I got very ill when I'm metoclopramide. I'm now on day 4 of not taking steroids as my consultant wants me to slowly bring myself off if I can manage have been okay a little nauseous if I miss my ondansetron dosages now.

kalidasa · 13/11/2020 17:43

@YoungScrappyHungry yes as I remember I did feel better immediately with the steroids. It still took me a long time to get out of hospital (several weeks) but I think that was because I was in such a state. My recollection is that they didn't stop me vomiting completely but they helped a lot with appetite and just generally how I felt, and that they helped with the nausea as well as the vomiting -- whereas my recollection of ondansetron was that it was good at reducing the vomiting itself but didn't do much for the nausea, and of course it's pretty impossible to eat and drink with very intense nausea, even if you are not actually throwing up constantly.

YoungScrappyHungry · 13/11/2020 18:50

Thanks all. Yes when the consultant did their rounds this morning he didn't even know I was on steroids and said 'We'll get you off that', I really had to explain to him that nothing was working, I had gone through 5 meds, lost a stone and been admitted twice now.
When be left the nurse said mothers with rheumatoid arthritis are on steroids for the entirety of their pregnancy and she's never known any issues.
I'm really really hoping it stays this way when I'm home.
Don't want to be back in hospital until June!

YoungScrappyHungry · 13/11/2020 18:54

@Tiff94 sorry forgot to ask, when you became ill on metoclopromide was that pretty much straight away? I've had about 7 doses now and so far so good, just a bit spacey for a while but thats it and small price to pay!

@kalidasa yes that makes sense.
I've been both - nausea, no vomiting but not hungry and vomiting but no nausea and starving hungry! Not sure which is worse. At least with vomiting you get some relief for a while.

LucindaE · 13/11/2020 19:26

kalidasa You are invaluable! Great advice.
FilthyforFirth I'll add your due date. To add to the reassurance that you and bunhead34 have already had on whether Hyperemesis does really go, yes, certainly; but in a tiny minorty of cases - less than ten out of all the sufferers who have been on this thread over ten years- it lingers a bit, but yes, it certainly goes with everyone. I had this, and I didn't suffer for very long or anything like as severely as kalidasa and others. In some cases it seems to be connected with the hormones of breast feeding.

Great advice from Wingingitatlifesincebirth for bunhead34 about meds. Unless you have felt a lot better for a while, then it doesn't seem to be a good idea to come off Ondansetron quickly. Some sufferers experiment by slightly and slowly reducing the dose.
Waves to YoungScrappyHungry and everyone.

OP posts:
LucindaE · 13/11/2020 19:33

Jlw2020 Here's your due date udated.

Waves to Tiff94 and everyone...

Due Dates
Nifler2019 13 November
FilthyforFirth 26 November
SnowWhite2020 26 November
IGottaGetThroughThis 6 December
Pygmyseahorse 18 December
KatieFTM 20 December
Seeker2020 25 December
bluesskiesandapples 25 January
Xbambi 16 February TWINS!
ChubbyMumFromSkye 13 March
PhotoMum4 18 March
Anya212 28 March
BB2021 4 April
Tiff94 4 April
doritodiva 12 April
bunhead 13 April
Dimpous 13 April
Funkypolar 19 April
Tiff94 21 April
ohidoliketobe 1 May
QueenBee95 2 May
Fruitloops34 5 May
Firsttimemum21 14 May
SweetpeaOrMarigold 20 May
Jlw2020 19 May

OP posts:
kalidasa · 13/11/2020 19:41

@YoungScrappyHungry yes I had a massive battle with the steroids too, with one consultant constantly trying to force me off them and overruling the others. That consultant has retired now thankfully! Funnily enough I actually have rheumatoid arthritis too (though it is mostly in remission) and my rheumatology consultant was indeed very relaxed about using steroids in pregnancy if necessary, rheumatologists think of them as one of the safest options in pregnancy and the obvious choice if you have a flare, so it's quite odd that so many gynaecologists / obstetricians still think of them as risky. When this battle was going on when I was pregnant with DS2 my Dad, who's a retired doctor, did some research for me and was v. reassuring about steroids in pregnancy. There may (or may not) be a tiny increased risk of a cleft palate, but if there is, that is just as likely to be down to the malnutrition produced by the hyperemesis before they got it under control as by the steroids. In other words, women on steroids for HG are not a good control group because by definition they have all been desperately ill / dehydrated / in protracted ketosis in the early stages of pregnancy.

Nam095 · 13/11/2020 23:09

Hi ladies, I’m new to this thread and I think I may have HG. I’m 6+5 and since around start of being 5 weeks I was feeling really nauseous pretty much all day, and then I got to the end of 5 weeks and I’ve been throwing up or retching all day every day since then. I spoke to my GP a few days ago and was prescribed stemetil, I don’t know how quickly it’s meant to work but I’m taking 1 pill 3 times a day and it’s not helping whatsoever. The worst part of this all is that I’m so weak and so hungry, but everything I eat I just bring back up 😔 I’m at my wits end and I don’t know what else I can do, no matter what I eat my body just seems to reject it. Would anyone recommend speaking with the midwife to possibly get IV fluids? As I know I’m most likely dehydrated as I can’t even drink anything either and my pee is always very dark and I’m not peeing anywhere near as much as I used to when I wasn’t nauseous.

gretagreengrapes · 14/11/2020 07:24

@nam095 I was very much like that at the beginning of my pregnancy, I completely understand how awful it it. Scroll up to one of @lucindaE posts as there will be a big list of things people find helpful. I find sipping with a straw works.
Definitely speak to someone to check you over even though its the weekend. Call your local early pregnancy unit or 111 for a weekend GP appointment, there are things that can help and you don't want to get worse.
I know everyone is different but I want to tell you that it does get easier. I was wretching at 4 weeks before I even knew I was pregnant and I'm now 18 weeks and still taking ondansetron but so much better than the first 14 weeks.

SweetpeaOrMarigold · 14/11/2020 12:05

Hi all, it's so nice seeing everyone helping each other on here 💕
I'm 13+4 now and had a lovely scan this week, baby is fine thankfully.
I've got a phone appointment with my obstetrician Monday to discuss steroids as I've lost 5kg now and still vomiting all day. Ketones are ok because I can eat my toast and jam at 7am, but then nothing else stays down. Yesterday I ate at 9 and 12 and 3 and managed to not vomit til 5 but brought up everything I'd eaten the whole day, its just sitting there. Then bile and dry heaving sat exhausted by the loo for half an hour. The headaches are awful too aren't they?
Have looked at the risks of steroids and think in the wider picture it's worth it, I'm hardly peeing and it's always so dark so it can't be good for me.

Wingingitatlifesincebirth · 14/11/2020 13:01

I Have to agree this group is so helpful ! Please can everyone tell me their go to drinks that actually stay down really struggling to find one 😢

LadyPenelope8 · 14/11/2020 13:12

@Wingingitatlifesincebirth have you tried lucozade sport??

I've managed to get a small supply on ondansetron from the gp. It's stopping the vomiting but I'm still so nauseous, and retching/dry heaving a good few times a day. I'm so grateful I'm not being sick, and am managing to keep little bits of toast down, but I'm just not getting any relief. It's putting me in that horrible bit of not being 'bad enough' to go to hospital but still too bad to feel I can cope.

Does anyone know if you can take metoclopromide with ondansetron? Cyclizine just doesn't do anything for either.

gretagreengrapes · 14/11/2020 13:38

@Wingingitatlifesincebirth my go to drinks for my whole pregnancy so far (must sip slowly preferably with a straw!) have been apple and blackcurrant squash mixed with 50:50 tap water and sparkling water so its not as fizzy, milk with banana nesquik powder, lucozade or orange juice (freshly squeezed which I am not sure is essential we have just never bought it in a carton).

My partner bought me about 12 different drinks in and I can just rotate around them all, have options available! Hope you find something.

Tiff94 · 14/11/2020 15:23

@YoungScrappyHungry I got Ill about 3 days into metoclopramide I stop taking after day 5 I think I ended up in hospital after that. They did make me very spacey too I slept a lot while on them

snapple21 · 14/11/2020 16:32

Advice please?

I'd been doing well on cyclizine, stemitil and ondansetron. However I'm now 2 weeks after starting ondansetron and I'm getting really sick again and dehydrated :( this happened two weeks after I started the stemitil as well. Why is it that my body seems to get used to them? What else can I do? Feeling very down tonight. Can't eat or drink much.

Wingingitatlifesincebirth · 14/11/2020 18:43

@snapple21 how many weeks are you sometimes I find it’s Just a hormone surge and if I weren’t on
My meds I’d be admitted but it’s really awful in any event!

Ondansetron can make you constipated so maybe could this be why you feel worse ? Cyclazine did nothing for me but make
Make dizzy and sick even more so I didn’t stay on it long term. Could you also be over tired ? I find when I’m really exhausted I feel 100 percent worse !x

LucindaE · 14/11/2020 19:01

Jlw2020 Sorry, how rude of me. I forgot to say what a nice scan picutre that is.
Nam095 I so agree with others, it sounds as if you are dehydrated and need your urine testing asap to see if you need fluids. As Stemetil doesn't seem to be helping you, there are other meds they can try, and combinations. 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.
greatgreengrapes Good suggestions from you and everyone about drinks.
Wingingitatlfiesincebirth I hope you find some drinks from the suggestions that help you.
LadyPenelope I so agree about Lucozade or Lucozade sport. It is miserable existing on a bit of breakfast, and not always that. I hope it eases for you soon. Several sufferers on here have been prescribed Metaclopramide along with Ondansetron.
Tiff94 Sad That was unpleasant about the Metaclopramide.
Snapple21 It looks as if kalidasa's advice about steroids to SweetpeaorMarigold and others might be very relevant to you by the sound of it. Very useful that her father was a doctor and not anxious about the use of steroids.

OP posts:
snapple21 · 14/11/2020 19:55

Thank you for replying. I'm going to ring the hospital in the morning if I still feel so bad. I'm just trying to sip some Fanta lemon. But I keep retching so badly. I'm 12 weeks now.

snapple21 · 14/11/2020 19:55

The ondansetron has made me constipated this is true.

Wingingitatlifesincebirth · 14/11/2020 20:22

@snapple21 not to rude or TMI I feel
So much worse when I’m a bit bunged up Hmm, but absolutely call hospitals in morning if you haven’t managed to keep anything down it’s so hard to get out from under it when your dehydrated. Hope you feel better soon currently sipping on Lemon fanta myself in solidarity - with my super large spit up cup Shock! X

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