Early pregnancy and I feel AWFUL

[yellowbeaker]

Everyone keeps telling me it gets better but this is so hard

Every day I feel like shit. Constant nausea, headaches, fatigue, wind and burping. I have never slept so much in my life. I promised myself when I found out I was pregnant I would up my game and start taking better care of myself ie eating lots of veg, getting exercise every day etc. (DP and I had been trying to get pg for a long time and when it didn't happen I got depressed, ate my feelings, piled on weight and then got pregnant!) Right now I can not stomach much, toast is my friend and as for exercise I am lucky if I am getting out of bed most days.
When I do sleep I feel like I am drowning in saliva. I am overweight so this is probably not helping my ability to cope with all of this but I don't want to adversely effect the baby by hiding in bed until I feel better. I need to find a way to push through it but it feels impossible.
Not sure what I want to gain from this post, I have just woken from a nap and still feel so drained. DP is being so lovely and jokey and fun to keep me happy which has really helped lift my mood. he is also completely embracing the moaning and has said its a small price to pay compared with what I am going through. I just feel like crap

Sorry you are feeling this way. I am 9 weeks pregnant with my second and feeling pretty rubbish today. With my first I felt pretty much how you have just described. I am also overweight and keep giving myself a hard time about it but I know it isn't helping and must stop. I can't give you much advice because I never found much of a cure the first time but I can tell you it gets better. One difference between 1st and 2nd is I am making myself try other foods which I think I avoided last time. I've found whilst I dont think I want fruit and fresh veg, once I give them a go I really enjoy them. And lemon yoghurt randomly. So a nice change from the cheese and bread or pasta I practically lived off last time. Might be worth a try? Good luck. I know how intense it is. It does get better x

It’s normal

it just feels relentless. 24/7 I feel horrendous so whilst it might be "normal" I am finding it really really hard. I had to take holiday from work this week because I am doing such a crap job, I can't focus on anything and I work in finance so mistakes could be very costly.

I am 8 weeks tomorrow so a smidge behind you. The baby is very much wanted so I keep trying to remind myself it will all be worth it in the end. Just feels like I have weeks and weeks of this to come and I don't know how I am going to manage. I have read some people start feeling better at 11 weeks, for others its around 14-16. That makes me want to cry.

Have you considered speaking to your GP? If it's nausea that's making you feel so bad they may be able to help. I suffered in silence the 1st time and said if I got that bad again I would ask for help. Might be worth a try. I also find forcing myself out for a walk in the fresh air does help, despite every ounce of my being telling me itd a bad idea before I go.

Never been more tired in my life than early pregnancy, or felt so awful. It's why I just can't fathom the stories of women who make it through pregnancy without knowing they are pregnant. I'd have thought I was dying if I hadn't known I was pregnant. But it does get much better. Just eat what you need to (for me it was salt and vinegar crisps and McDonald's), sleep as much as possible and trust that in a few weeks you will be able to, and want to, go for walks and eat healthy food. And congratulations!

Big sympathy from me, pregnancy can be so so brutal. Do speak to your GP regarding the nausea though, and don't let them fob you off saying there's nothing they can do! I really suffered with nausea, could barely function but had an amazing GP and after some trial and error with medications finally had a good mix that let me have some resemblance of a normal life. I remember the hopelessness of feeling how you describe, I now have an 11 week old and even with how hideous it felt, I still want to do it again 😆 I really hope you feel better soon.

@yellowbeaker similar situation to you: 8 weeks and feeling rotten constantly. Also overweight and feel bad I didn’t lose more weight before this pregnancy. I had several MC and just ate all my emotions in the last 2 years.
What helped me a bit was acupuncture and an acupressure band (£5 from amazon), also herbal teas from Holland & Barrets. And frappuccinos 😬🤭

I am between jobs atm so I am lucky that I can sleep a lot during the day. But no idea how I will manage starting a new role!!

It is absolutely hideous. I feel you.
I'm past that stage now thankfully and almost to the 3rd trimester but I clearly remember how awful I felt (with both Dc1 and this pregnancy sadly).

Constant 24/7 nausea. Not often actually sick though. Couldn't focus on anything at all but still had to work and parent etc. Knackered. Food aversions to everything but needed to eat to prevent sickness overcoming me (basically lived on beige freezer food and plain bagels for 14 weeks). At night, couldn't sleep due to wind pains and burping etc. It's just awful.

BUT.... it is usually the case that it'll suddenly get better around 13/14wk mark. In my experience, I felt shit from 5wks with peak crappiness at 8-11 wks and then by 12wks I noticed a few hours each day where I felt okay. By 14wks I felt okay most of the day. And was fine by 16wk.

Don't beat yourself up about lack of exercise or bad foods. It's survival at this stage 100%. I also put on weight at this stage due to carbs but it evens out eventually when you start to feel better. I also couldn't manage much exercise at all until about 14wks.

Massive sympathy for you. This was me a few weeks ago, I am now 12 weeks and feel nauseated most evenings but a huge difference from how I felt for the 5 weeks prior. During the worst of it in week 7 my gp started me on cyclizine and it made a huge difference to my eating and ability to go to work. I took full dose every day and just stopped taking them roughly 2 weeks ago.

I genuinely dont think I ate a single fruit or vegetable between weeks 6 and 10 and am only just being able to start stomaching them now - I'm not beating myself up about that and neither should you xx

thank you for all the nice comments. the fatigue has floored me!

I am really trying to push through it but end up sleeping for hours on end after doing anything. I cleaned the kitchen earlier then napped. Then sorted all the washing and then had to nap. My kids (teenagers thankfully) are being totally neglected and don't have a clue why I have suddenly turned into a sloth! Poor DP has really had to pick up the slack and I am extremely grateful he has been so understanding. I have my midwife appointment next week so I will speak with her and see what she says. I think my iron levels may need checking. I am taking supplements but I am not sure it is enough and I always have issues with iron levels. Just really helps talking to people who get it. My dp and best friend are the only ones who know at the mo and my best friend doesn't have kids so whilst she is being nice I think she thinks I am laying it on thick. Really struggling to eat. I had some soup and toast earlier. Need to eat some dinner but I hate the idea of everything we have in the house.

Sorry, you're feeling bad - it sucks, you have my sympathy. I remember thinking I wouldn't get pregnant again as the fatigue was so bad. I work from home and as soon as I finished I just climbed into bed at 5pm. It does get better for the majority of women. I know that doesn't help much when you're suffering but hopefully it shouldn't be too long until you feel like normal again.

It really is dreadful! I hope it passes soon for you.

GP started me on cyclizine at 7 weeks due to 24 hour nausea. This held the actual vomiting off a little bit longer.

NICE guidelines state that effective management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is better achieved the earlier you start anti emetics. So I suggest contacting your GP. Some are more sympathetic than others, all the GPs I dealt with (for report prescriptions and sick notes) were very supportive.

If the fatigue has floored you, don't feel guilty about slowing down! I took naps, my husband took on more home stuff etc. your body is making some pretty drastic changes!!

Also I know it feels never ending, but I'm 15 weeks and beginning to feel like a normal human again. I did an online workout this morning and then met a friend for a walk this afternoon. With no nap! That would've been impossible even 2 weeks ago!

@yellowbeaker I struggled for a week and went to the docs, they gave me some stuff to try and after a few days it really started making a difference! I’m glad I didn’t try and push through the sickness. You’ll come out the other end, you’re doing well!