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/topics/nausea-vomiting-in-pregnancy
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.

Ttc2017 That is worrying. Hopefully, all will be well as it was last time.
It's very stressful having to wait.

I hope Ttc2017 will have some good news and everyone is coping today.

Thanks blood has gone brown today and eased off to nearly nothing now. Got scan at epu in morning . Hope everyone else is ok x

@Ttc2017 I hope everything went well this morning, sorry to hear about the scares re bleeding. How are you feeling now?

@LucindaE I am plodding along counting down the days, need to do my hospital bag but have no motivation whatsoever. Really feeling it this pregnancy emotionally but fingers crossed not long left. Hope you’re having better weather x

Hope everyone else is doing better, sorry not to name check x

Scan went well lil baby was ok heart beating and moving around they couldn't find any reason for the bleed I'm hoping I don't have any more bleeds now x

Ttc2017 Good news!
composed Cheering you on. You have been invaluable on this thread. We will miss you when baby arrives.
On which, here's the new due dates list.

Due Dates
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 18 May
Jlw2020 19 May
Snapple21 30 May
kingfisher657 24 June

Thanks @RockinRobinn and Lucinda, I really appreciate the support. My meds have been adjusted again - I’m now on a combination of ondansetron, prochlorperazine and Omeprazole - and I’ve been referred to obstetrics, who have asked me to see how the weekend goes and discuss next steps on Monday. I thought I felt a bit of a difference this morning but had my booking appointment this afternoon and it has really set me back. Absolutely exhausted today and the nausea is horrendous. Hoping for a change tomorrow.

Ttc2017 Great news! Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Just a thought but I’ve been diagnosed with cervical ectropion (harmless but can cause bleeding during pregnancy) - might be worth getting checked for this, if you haven’t been already and if it happens again? Which hopefully it doesn’t!

@Ttc2017 so happy that the scan yielded good new!
I'm 16 weeks now and finally feeling more like myself but I have upped my cyclizine back to 3 times a day as I start to feel better and decrease down to two then after a couple of days I start to feel rough again. So I will stay on 3 for a couple more weeks and get my return to work out of the way a bit before I decrease again. And I definitely can't go without the omeprazole the difference on the day I forgot to take it was huge! Saliva has calmed down with upping to 3 tabs a day again too thank goodness. No way I can spit at work or even keep popping sucking sweets like last pregnancy as I'm in PPE.
Feeling optimistic that the worst is over sickness wise as I've not had a proper vomit for a week just gags. Got my whooping cough and flu vaccine on Thursday and hoping the whooping cough doesn't make me more nauseous again like last time.
My due date is 24th September.
Hope everyone is doing ok and manages a fluffy weekend ❤️

MimPimMim Glad to hear you are on a new lot of meds. Sorry booking in appointment was exhausting. Good suggestion for Ttc2017
RockinRobinn Added your date. Ah, about PPE! Wishing you all luck with your return to work. I don't know what's happened - every other date I have is April or May!
I hope everyone is coping.
Due Dates
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 18 May
Jlw2020 19 May
Snapple21 30 May
RockinRobinn 24 September

Hi everyone

I'm definitely in agreement with the variability of sickness. I'm 17 weeks now, had several days where felt OK but then my ondansetron ran out and the GP surgery took ages to sort it. Rapid relapse! Now back to not doing anything, needing support with care of my boy and thank god I've got next week booked off work! Not loving this rollercoaster! Just shows how important the meds are still. Hope everyone is hanging in there.

@Anxious9thPG

I am 18 weeks and have some good days too, but like you the GP was taking ages to sort my prescriptions and I was having to jump through hoops to get them. Each time they only gave me 10 day's supply. It's really frustrating!

I'm so lucky the dr finally put me on a repeat prescription for the cyclizine and omeprazole. It was so draining calling every week to get more so I really feel for you.
I definitely couldn't be without it yet though! And I'm still so variable it can change really quickly too. So different from my first pregnancy, this on is definitely worse but I've managed to avoid the hospital this time 🥳

Anxious9thPG A few good days are often the sign of more to come.
Sorry to hear of the difficulties you and SkittlesRainbow are having with obtaining prescriptions.
RockinRobinn Congratulations on keeping out of hospital and I am glad you've got a repeat prescription.
I hope everyone is plodding along.

I hope everyone is bearing up.
There was snow on the ground here in Nothern Powys this morning.

Hello all hope everyone is doing better these days or getting there. Those who may be struggling with gp’s and meds have you asked the hospital/maternity units if they can write to your gp’s to keep you in good supply. Its horrible when feeling atrocious to then keep requesting meds as opposed to getting a good stash.

My consultant wrote to my gp in my last pregnancy asking for my ondansetron to be put on repeat and to give me 30+ tabs at a time I think it was.

Thoughts with everyone, another day done x waves to @LucindaE, I am 32 weeks so fingers crossed not long left to go (trying to talk myself into positivity) x

Hi all, does anyone else have days where they just can't cope? I've mostly stopped vomiting thanks to my prochlorperazine but I'm still constantly nauseous. I've been eating crap (crisps, bread, doughy or carbs things) because it's what my body can tolerate but I feel so awful about it and I'm usually so healthy that it's making me feel worse! I'm also now not sleeping and haven't slept a full night in 10 days which is impacting me at work. How do you mamas with work or other littles manage?!

Top tips for constipation on ondansetron please. My GP doesn't seem to get it. I've had lactulose and now he's giving me laxido but the lactulose has done nothing. I don't know if I could stomach prune juice. At the end of my tether 😔😔

@nsg90 yep the early days are the worst, lack of sleep and restricted diet all add to the overall feeling of rubbish. I would say don’t be too hard on yourself, eat what you can hg does limit the choice of food we can tolerate but know that baby is still getting everything he/she needs. In re to sleeping unfortunately I have no tips as I suffered with severe insomnia during the first trimester and it only got better during the second trimester. Are you able to nap/rest any during the day? or have you thought about taking time off work for a bit as help is just as important as meds, I’m sorry I can’t be of more help! Failing that have a word with your gp or midwife? see if they have any advice or even the pss website x

@Annie1290 ugh did the gp not advice you to take lactulose alongside the ondansetron as getting on top of it before is better than the situation you seem to be in now! Ive only ever tried lactulose and learnt my leason of needing to take it regularly alongside the meds. Some have had luck with movicol(?) which may be similar to laxido and others I’ve read had to resort to enemas which can be purchased in a pharmacy? Have you tried a warm bath at all? or maybe diluting the prune juice with some water if its tolerable? I really hope something helps soon as I totally sympathise with you its a horrible feeling x

@nsg90 I meant to say rest is as important as meds*!

Annie1290 That sounds awful. Apart from composeds great advice, I wanted to say that many on here are helped with the suppository things in Boots- but although they use them in hospital for pregnant woman. they avoid selling them over the counter to pregnant woman, so it might be best to send some one else. A couple of sufferers on here have bought some sort of enema thing online. A heroic few manage to retain Fibregel and find it effective. Some say that tinned peaches good, and potato skins if you can stand them, or cocoanut.
nsg90 Sorry to hear of your insomnia. The limited diet alone is enough to make anyone fed up. I hope you get a greater improvement and the nausea reduces. It is very brave of you to keep on soldering on at work, particularly if you have lo's. Good suggestion from composed about taking some time of on sick leave if you can.
composed Cheering you on on your way to the fabled Pink Castle at the end of the Hyperemesis Horror Run. Great ideas as ever.

@LucindaE I meant the suppository! sorry, I think some had to resort to enemas as a last resort due to the constipation getting so bad 😕 apologies @Annie1290 hope it doesn’t get to that stage for you. I think I remember reading once someone also saying putting your feet up on a stool/having them elevated instead of laying them flat when you’re on the toilet as it can help(?)

Another day almost done, remember this too shall pass as the saying goes on this thread x

I hope people are starting to feel better. I'm now 10 weeks and 1 day and today I managed to clean my house properly today, I still have loads of stuff to do to get back on track but I'm pacing myself, I'm tired now but feel so much better for doing something normal 😁

Hi everyone, hope everyone’s plodding along. Jumping on the lactulose bandwagon to ask if there’s anyway of making it more palatable?! I have been diligently taking it (and it does help, for me) but finding it harder and harder to get it down as the days go on - it only has to touch my throat now and it makes me heave. Is there any way to make it less awful and/or is there an option to take it less frequently but still benefit from it? Thanks everyone - pregnancy is all glamour isn’t it...

@mimpimmim
I work in care and we usually put lactulose in drinks like cordial, light fluids help bowel movements too.

@Annie1290 I had that too, first time in my life. I had Fybogel from the Pharmacist, it felt really nice to drink and I missed it after I stopped needing to take it - perhaps I'm a bit weird! It took three days to work, that's the only problem, but after that, all was fine again.

Can anyone help with weight gain? I am 18 weeks now and have started to feel like I can eat again, for the last three weeks when I am not having a bad day I consume A LOT. It's like I am making up for lost time. When I was at my most unwell I lost a stone in three weeks, now I have stood on the scale and see I have GAINED a stone in three weeks. I have never gained weight at this rate before. Is this bad? It seems too fast. But I wondered if it was mostly the baby plus a few extra pounds due to eating after starvation. Anyone experienced similar or should I speak to my midwife?