Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Pregnancy

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

Hyperemesis Support

994 replies

LucindaE · 22/11/2021 19:52

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
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
OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
LindSan · 20/02/2022 15:16

I wanted to let you ladies know I went into spontaneous labor on the 8th and had my sweet baby girl. It took a few days for the nausea to 100% go away but I am now free of the horrors of HG! Loving life again!!!

FateHasRedesignedMost · 20/02/2022 15:37

@MyOtherCarIslAPorsche

Well done for getting your daughter into hospital and making her realise how serious HG can be. In the days before IV fluids and medications many women died from HG; I believe one of the Brontë sisters suffered this tragic fate. As the saying goes, you can’t paint without canvas.

They may discharge her once stable but this admission should have opened up routes for her to get seen immediately when she becomes very unwell. I used to go straight to EPU after my first admission.

Do tell her many women get signed off work their entire pregnancy. I’m one of them; I was off the entire pregnancy the first time too. This year I’ve been signed off since July as I had surgery then got pregnant straight away, and HG kicked in before I’d fully recovered. I don’t feel guilty. I’ve worked for the NHS for many years, and sick pay is part of their package. There’s no way I could even get through the commute to work let alone be on a clinical ward.

Tell her to ask any staff for extra blankets, even cleaners have a key to the linen cupboard. Ear plugs and an eye mask might help too.

FateHasRedesignedMost · 20/02/2022 15:39

@LindSan

Congratulations on your baby girl! And congratulations on reaching Lucinda’s pink castle and the end of HG! 💗💖💗

FateHasRedesignedMost · 20/02/2022 15:42

@ChloeHel

How are you feeling now? I’m so glad you got IV fluids and meds in hospital. Please don’t hesitate to go back if the meds aren’t holding you, I think it took a week for them to stabilise me and find the right meds combination the first time. Being in hospital wasn’t pleasant but so very preferable to being stuck on the bathroom floor at home!

FateHasRedesignedMost · 20/02/2022 15:50

@Waddlegoose

I’m sorry you’re feeling so awful. Is seeing a private GP an option? I had to phone one to initially get ondansetron and metaclopramide prescribed this time as my surgery had no appointments (and had lost my notes from last time!)

I find it helps to chunk down the months into more manageable sections, take it day by day, hour by hour. I look for little signs of time passing, like daffodils coming up, now pansies and crocuses, birds nesting etc.

FateHasRedesignedMost · 20/02/2022 15:58

@Melleebacca

Sorry about the tough week!
Constipation on top of HG is just horrendous and seems to make it worse for me, leading to more ondansetron and a vicious cycle. In the second trimester I sometimes resort to glycerin suppositories for instant relief. It’s hard enough carrying a big baby without that soreness on top!

My bump is measuring small but I have a long torso so I guess the baby spreads out. DH keeps saying to let my bump ‘pop’ but I instinctively hold it in which probably doesn’t help!

Melleebacca · 20/02/2022 16:23

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche oh thank god your daughter got admitted! I have been reading the posts here and there and getting so worried. It must be awful watching your daughter go through this. My 6yr old is well aware there’s a genetic component to HG, and she is already expecting to be sick when she has babies. It’s unfortunate that she relates having a baby to being sick.
Your daughter shouldn’t worry about the meds, or work. The only goal is to get through the pregnancy with everyone alive and as healthy as can be. I had 4 months off with my first. I lost 8kg and I was also small to begin with. They hired me a replacement when I was 6wks pregnant because I couldn’t work, especially not in a lab environment. Companies survive. Covid is currently showing us here that it’s better to tell employers you’re sick right away so they can plan for an absence rather than trying to push through and having multiple absences in the long run.
I’ve been on ondansetron since I tested positive, it’s one of the most controversial meds for HG. It works. But there is an increased risk of cleft palate. The risk works out to be about an additional 6 cases per 10,000 pregnancies. All doctors are very reserved at prescribing meds in pregnancy, but in my case, and your daughters case, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Melleebacca · 20/02/2022 16:32

@LindSan congratulations! The pink castle! The glorious food! Served to you, I hope on a silver platter while nursing your beautiful addition. So pleased for you!

@FateHasRedesignedMost I’m essentially only eating laxative causing foods, and taking lactulose daily etc, but the struggle is balancing how much I take on days I’m at work because the toilet is actually a decent hike from my building. I ended up bad this week because we’ve had so many staff away, I’ve been working harder, and with a sick husband, the same thing happened at home. Hopefully I’m in for a quieter week this week.
Also, I’m only popping now at 25wks, a little earlier than I did with my daughters (28wks), despite the fact I weigh less now than I did with them. I can’t seem to gain any weight since I lost 4kg at the beginning, but baby is huge. I’m expecting to deliver at my pre-pregnancy weight, and then spend months gaining nutrition and muscle back again.

@abbs1 thinking of you this week as you enter the pink castle!

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 20/02/2022 17:22

@FateHasRedesignedMost

Thank you so much.

It's been a nightmare. I've cried (out of sight) for the past couple of weeks as she's kept down very little. She looks so frail.

She had treatment for PTSD after her daughter. She had the most horrendous end to that pregnancy. Baby was in NICU for 6 wks. An amniocentesis at 30 wks led to collapsed membranes onto the baby, who had just been diagnosed with a major condition. Baby came home on oxygen. Her experience in NICU was not straightforward - many complications.

I believe all this contributed to a heightened anxiety. Which I can see. Telling her to face reality is the equivalent of telling her to 'pull herself together'. I'm trying to tell her as gently as possible rather than a brutal, slap in the face reality check.

She'll know all there is to know - she's highly intelligent, and will have been googling, it's just that, sometimes, she could do with a bit more 'strength of character/get up and go'. But I know her feelings come from trepidation. She wasn't to know she'd have twins this time - it's really made her head spin, worrying about three children under 3 and everything.

She's as high as a kite at the moment because she kept breakfast and lunch down. I'm sort of dreading what comes next.

rainbowzebra05 · 20/02/2022 18:10

I ended up on on a drip on Wednesday. They've swapped me from cyclizine to proclorperazine (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) which seems to be a bit better - I'm not actually vomiting now, just constant nausea and dizziness.

Can I ask how long others had off work please? My husband's adamant I'll be fine to go back on Monday (it's half term this week) if I just open a window and have a fan on. I managed a wander round dunelm earlier, had to hold my breath at the diffusers/candles and needed a nap when we got home as a result of the half hour trip. I'm not sure he really gets that it hasn't just "gone" because I'm not throwing up as much!

I hope your daughter gives in soon @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche - it took me ages this time and I only managed to talk myself into Wednesday's EPU trip on the back of the ladies on here x

LucindaE · 20/02/2022 18:29

Lindsan Lovely news. Smile [flowers Brew Star Welcome to the
fabled Pink Castle at the end of the Hyperemesis Horror ride! Enjoy every minute of your baby girl.
Melleebacca I am sorry: I only just saw that your OH has been ill. Much sympathy over that added stress.
rainbowzebra05 Don't rush back to work. You don't sound anything like ready for that, and will only have to go off sick again. Your OH is mistaking your stoicism for full recovery!
FateHasRedesignedMost Fine advice as ever, and from everyone
to MyOtherCarIsAPorsche and everyone else.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

OP posts:
LucindaE · 20/02/2022 18:30

rainbowzebra05 I meant to add that I'm sorry that you had to be admitted, and that recent admission shows you are not anything like well enough to return to work.

OP posts:
ChloeHel · 20/02/2022 18:47

@FateHasRedesignedMost I’m not the best but the cyclizine is helping! I’m managing to keep food and fluids down most of the day, the struggles are in the evening when the cyclizine has worn off, then comes the vomit! But I feel better than I did pre-hospital. I think I’ve accepted that the nausea won’t be going anytime soon and to just relax as much as I can.

@rainbowzebra05 I’m going to have as much time as I need off work, until the nausea has completely gone there is no way I’m going back! This is going to be my first week off! With my first I tried to power through and went to work but it mentally affected me and not to sound over dramatic it scarred me a bit because I then associated the work place with that nauseating feeling! So just take as much time as you need :) many woman have their whole pregnancy off because HG is so shit!!

rainbowzebra05 · 20/02/2022 19:11

Thank you. He's an "if your leg isn't hanging off you go in" type and having me off sick is causing logistical issues with things like the nursery run, as it's nearer my workplace than it is to home or his work. Feel like I need to give him a more "solid" concept than "I still feel sick" but I can't work out what to expect of myself and how ill is too ill for going back.

It's impacted my mood massively, even on that basis I'm not well enough to be in currently. It was easier with my last pregnancy because I knew I wasn't returning after mat leave so didn't really care about my attendance Blush

abbs1 · 20/02/2022 19:32

@Lindsan Congratulations hun! So happy your baby girl is here safely and youre doing so well. Enjoy every minute of the newborn cuddles 💖

@Melleebacca thank you so much hun. I had a lot of braxton hicks and tightenings last night and this morning after my stretch and sweep yesterday but now its all stopped. I was hoping labour was starting before Thursdays induction but nothing yet.
Can't wait for baby girl to be here.

I hope youre doing ok. 🤗

@myothercarisaporsche Im so glad your daughter stayed in and got help. HG is so hard and it was the toughest journey Id ever faced. As many have said the IV fluids and medication make you feel on cloud 9 but try to encourage her to rest and not worry about work. Her body needs a lot of recovery and from what youve said she will probably be going into hospital a couple times a week for fluids and medication to keep on top of this sickness over the coming weeks.
I went on sick leave at 6 weeks and never returned to work. Its brutal but mum and babys health takes priority. Sending hugs. I can imagine how worried you still are. Keep reaching out here for support. 🤗

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 20/02/2022 20:32

@abbs1

Many thanks for the information and support.

She thought she was out of the woods.

She was just saying - she was glad to be out of the hell hole.

A couple of times a week?

Is this EPAU? I don't think she could face 8 hrs sat on a chair in A&E again. She only got a bed because the first drug they administered gave her a funny turn.

rainbowzebra05 · 20/02/2022 20:51

[quote MyOtherCarIsAPorsche]@abbs1

Many thanks for the information and support.

She thought she was out of the woods.

She was just saying - she was glad to be out of the hell hole.

A couple of times a week?

Is this EPAU? I don't think she could face 8 hrs sat on a chair in A&E again. She only got a bed because the first drug they administered gave her a funny turn.
[/quote]
She'd be best calling her local EPU, explaining the issue and they're likely to have her in there directly if needed in future - provided the hospital allows it that way (it sounds like most have relatively up to date EPUs though). Mine shares a ward with antenatal so you're taken there and have a bed while you're seen.

abbs1 · 20/02/2022 21:06

[quote MyOtherCarIsAPorsche]@abbs1

Many thanks for the information and support.

She thought she was out of the woods.

She was just saying - she was glad to be out of the hell hole.

A couple of times a week?

Is this EPAU? I don't think she could face 8 hrs sat on a chair in A&E again. She only got a bed because the first drug they administered gave her a funny turn.
[/quote]
She definitely needs to contact EPU as they should be able to have her come in as and when needed and get her IV medication and fluids quickly without spending hours in A and E.
Is the hospital she's under on this list? www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/get-help/treatments/hg-day-clinics-across-the-uk/
These all have day units for HG sufferers during the week. If not EPU should still be able to treat her.

I went to mine daily for fluids and IV medication from 7-12 weeks and got treatment within an hour of arrival. They had a bay ready for me everyday so I was in from 9am-4pm and if I was really bad I went to a and e on weekends but got there for 6-7am when it was quiet so got seen and treatment started within an hour.
From 12 weeks I had home visits as they had availability in my area at the time. Can she ask if there is any availability for home visits for fluids and IV medication so she can rest more?

I always went home from EPU feeling great and I could eat a bit but by 10pm I was back vomiting all night as the tablets didnt work on their own.

Do you know what medication she's been put on at all?

Im so sorry she is so unwell. HG is so horrendous not just for the sufferer but the family as well. My husband felt completely helpless. I spent many days just crying to him and wanting it all to end and all he could do was hug me and tell me everything will be ok.

This page got me through many dark days. Im so thankful @LucindaE has kept it going for so long and I hope you find the support you need here.

Melleebacca · 21/02/2022 00:21

@rainbowzebra05 with my first, I had 4 months off work. Second I was a stay at home mum. This time I managed 2hrs a day, but that was also the term before summer and there was very little work for me (it was mostly a mental distraction). I only managed to work through due to taking strong meds, and my husband running the entire household. I didn’t really want to try to work, but after a previous loss, it really helped my mental state. Also, I’m nauseous till the end. Vomiting stops for me between 12 and 24wks (meds dependent), but I stay medicated well into the 3rd trimester and nausea doesn’t leave till placenta is delivered.

@abbs1 it will all be over soon!

@LucindaE fortunately Hubby is on the mend, but it’s been a tough few weeks. Positive cases at my school have meant I’m on reduced hours at the moment, with a good likelihood of school closing, so I might get a few decent days to recover 👍

Sicksmellymess · 21/02/2022 10:23

Hi!
I’m 9 weeks pregnant and been sick since 4/5 weeks.
I’m taking a cocktail of Cyclizine, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine. This is all they can offer me apparently, I’ve been taking 3 a day 3 times a day, I’m still sick 3-4 times daily (only just improved) I’ve been off work for a month and due back but the thought of going back is scaring me. I don’t want to be in work being sick, the stress making me worse etc.
This is my first pregnancy so I often get looked at like I’m just being over dramatic.
I was in hospital on a drip for 18 hours at 7 weeks.
Someone please give me hope

LucindaE · 21/02/2022 13:04

Sicksmellymess Welcome. Don't call yourself names! Smile Nine weeks is often the worst time for most people. As you will see in my normal spiel below, things get a lot better for most sufferers. It isn't true that there aren't other meds, unless there's some medical reason that you can't take them. For instance, there is Xonvea, and also, Ondansetron, though they are more expensive, I believe, and you need a laxative with Ondansetron. Do get another sick note. You are certainly not well enough to go back for a long while yet. Here is my normal spiel, which I hope will help. Ignore the irrelevant bits: Sufferers find that they improve a lot at some point between weeks 14 and 20, or sometimes later. 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. When reporting on the vomiting to doctors, remember to emphasize the number of heaves in each vomiting session, as doctors tend to count these as 'vomits' and this can lead to their underestimating the severity of your symptoms. Besides drinking through a straw, here are some drinks that have helped others: full sugar flat coke (if you don't find it too acid), 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. Also, pink lemonade , cloudy lemonade and Sprite. Foods of a sort include tinned fruit, cuppa soup, nibbles of crisps and chips, cheap ice cream, Scotch pancakes, bagels and biscuits, potato smileys, minature salty Yorkshire Puddings , dry cereals and slices of melon and mango. Protein drinks have also been mentioned.
Melleebacca Sorry you are stil nauseated. I'm glad OH is one the mend.
abbs1 Fine advice for MyOtherCarIsAPorcshe from you and everyone.
rainbowzebra05 Definitely don't rush back to work.
ChloeHel I am glad that the Cyclizine is helping.
Great news about Lindsan and nice of her to come back to leave that message; so encouraging for current sufferers.
We haven't heard from SkaterChick in a little while.

OP posts:
7Worfs · 21/02/2022 15:01

Hello fellow sufferers… I’ve just started week 13 and have small windows of feeling a bit better, but mentally am at an all time low - crying a lot (bawling) and having doubts, being scared of balancing a toddler and a baby, and most of all - EMCS and recovery.

Got my first scan tomorrow.

When will it be safe to stop Stemetil and see if I don’t need it anymore, week 16-ish? Do I come off gradually or cold turkey? I’m scared of that too.

BlueSky57 · 21/02/2022 16:04

Hi all. Just checking back in, I am now just over 10 weeks and still alternating cyclizine and stemetil (?).

The last 2 days have been better. Not amazing as I’ve still felt sick constantly & have slept for hours on end. I have been sick less than 7-8 times each day though which is a massive improvement. However, since yesterday I have had terrible heartburn and acid reflux for the first time. I am struggling to take antacids as they are mostly mint flavour & mint is a vomit trigger for me Sad

I called the doctor to extend my fit-note again today. I also asked if there was any other medication I could swap to as in all honesty, the ones I take have zero impact on my nausea I had to speak to a different doctor & she said no more meds available. She then said wait for my 12 week scan (March 3rd) ‘to see if everything looks ok’ and then call back if I’m still sick Confused

Now I’m worried. Is she implying I might be having issues which is why I need to wait for the scan?? Do you think she is suggesting something with the baby is causing my HG? I tried asking but she dodged the question & said she had to go Angry

PopGoesBang · 21/02/2022 17:14

@BlueSky57 It may be that they will consider different meds after your 12 week scan - although many gps will prescribe things like Ondansetron prior to this. My gp felt happier when I reached 11 weeks for me to have it - but I had also only just got to that point, I didn't have to wait. I know many other ladies on here have had it from the start.
It might be worth phoning back tomorrow and explaining how bad things are again and see if if different gp has a different view. Possibly if not, with talking to your midwife. I know mine was happy to leave it to the gp, but I guess if they are being rubbish they would step in.

I really wouldn't worry she was implying anything about the baby and the Hg, in my limited knowledge I think it is just the hormones we have to thank.

LucindaE · 21/02/2022 19:33

BlueSky57 I can't improve on PopGoesBang's great advice, except to suggest you ask if your GP is willing to prescribe Omprazole for your heartburn, which can help with the nausea a lot. If you are having that many separate vomiting sessions with an improvement, it must have been grim before.

7Worfs While I didn't go for it a second time myself, everyone on here has said that managing a new baby and a toddler is as nothing to managing with a toddler and Hyperemesis, so try not to fret. Much sympathy over your low mood. Almost certainly your scan will give you the boost to your spirits you need.

OP posts: