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
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.

@Melleebacca

Sorry you’re feeling rough with constipation and sickness. I find they make each other worse, and I end up with things going the other way (which cures the constipation but cramps on school run are something I dread!)

I’m sure you’ve tried them, but prunes? I’ve never seen one but they’re recommended a lot on my c-section group, apparently they come in packs from the supermarket?

Or glycerin suppository for a quick fix?

Hope you feel better soon. Anaemia on top must be awful. I’m wondering if my post covid exhaustion might be anaemia but the midwife who tried to take my bloods yesterday couldn’t get a vein 🙄 and she wouldn’t let me take my own bloods even though I could see the perfect vein and am fully qualified. She kept shoving the needle in at a junction (ouch) and then stabbing randomly to the edge of the vein and wondering why there was no flashback even though I told her she’d missed it. I think they forget we can actually feel the needle sometimes! So now I have to trek back to the phlebotomy dept!

My bump’s measuring small so need a growth scan, but have a scan anyway this week. I’m hoping it’s just I lost weight with covid/HG flare not the baby measuring small.

AnnaNext Welcome. I am glad that combination is working and oiu have avoided being admitted. Everyone on here recommends only reducing meds very slowly. You may feel better on meds, but this scourge can hang around a long time, and it's best to do it cautiously. Here is my normal spil, which I hope hels. 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, Vimto, 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, I seem tol have missed a few posts. Anaemia and constipation sounds a dismal combination. Do tinned peaches help with the latter?
FateHasRedesignedMostWith luck with you it is as it has been with others on this thread, who measure small but who have normal sized babies. Am I right in thinking the scans can be very inaccurate? Great advice as ever.
ohCARP Sorry to hear of the flu. Another horrible thing to have with Hypermesis.
Wishing all luck to those having scans and cheering everyone on.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

Didn’t want to abandon ship without saying goodbye.
Termination booked for Monday. No meds working hospitalised twice.
Good luck beautiful ladies and goodbye. Thank you to those who took time to respond to me x

@Zandasstar7 I'm so sorry you're suffering so much. I hope Monday goes as well as it can and you start to feel better soon

@ohCARP bless you. I am just so blessed to have survived one HG with my ds 5. Good luck to you. You will get there sending love xx

@Zandasstar7 will be thinking of you!

@FateHasRedesignedMost I have prunes, dates, dried apricots and also pureed plums. Then there’s lactulose as well. I think it’s the iron meds are setting off the nausea, plus the fact I’m trying to drop my last ondansetron dose. Every third day without ondansetron and I’m spending the whole day trying not to hurl.
Don’t worry too much about the growth scan, I measure small every pregnancy, and have had lots of growth scans, and then end up with larger than average babies. I’m expecting this one to be 9lbs if I make it 40wks, but I expect him to come a little earlier. I’m almost at the point of counting the days. Just remember they’re really effective parasites.

Melleebacca Excellent advice as ever.
Waves to ohCARP and everyone.
Zandastar7 Wishing you the best.

Thank you for the welcome @ohCARP and @LucindaE :) your advice is very helpful, I will stick to these doses for now and only cut down very slowly after a long good spell! Wishing you all the best.

Just wondering how many of yous have had a positive reaction from taking Xonvea?
I’m currently on stemetil and ondansetron and still constant nausea and a lot of sickness. I think I’ll get prescribed Xonvea today to take alongside it and I’ve heard positive things so hoping this is the thing that helps me get back to work

@Sicksmellymess I haven’t tried it, but I believe it’s a combo of vit B6 and one of the antihistamine like anti-emetics. So you could potentially take it alongside ondansetron.
I did ondansetron and cyclizine this time around and found that combo reduced my sickness, but I’m yet to find anything that takes it all away. I hope you find a combination that helps 👍

Doing a bit better here, I’m pretty sure baby has finally settled into the head down position after a hellish week of flipping around. Head down seems to reduce my comstipation which is greatly appreciated! And I’ve actually slept through the night the last few days 😱. Nausea is still pretty bad in the morning and late afternoon, but I’m rolling with it. Only about 10wks to go if he comes on time like his sisters did 🤞🏻.

@Sicksmellymess I’m taking Xonvea and it reduced my sickness! I wasn’t sick after every bite to eat or drink. The nausea was still quite bad though so I upped the dose to 3 daily and the last two days I’ve actually felt somewhat “normal”. I was just about to switch to ondansetron in the hope it would stop the nausea but looks like the increased dose has done the trick.

You will probably be able to add it onto what you are already taking as they don’t interact and are different drug classes!

@ChloeHel @Melleebacca
I’m hoping taking it alongside ondansetron will help, it’s just the constant really bad nausea and feel of needing to be sick that’s making me bed bound now. I feel ridiculous because my sickness has eased but the nausea really is just as bad.
I’m only 14 weeks and I’m nearly at my wits end I don’t know how people manage the full pregnancy like this. Did it reduce your nausea a lot because mines is so bad I just feel like sleeping all day

@Sicksmellymess the new dose increase has definitely helped the nausea. The last two days I’ve been fine until the evening and then the nausea kicks in again. But I’ve been able to get out of bed for the first time in 6 weeks! I’m now 12 weeks so here’s to hoping it carries on this way.

Sicksmellymess Hopefully, Xonvea will help matters. Many have been greatly helped by it.
AnnaNext A good plan.
ChloeHel I am glad things are better. Excellent advice for Sicksmellymess From you and Melleebacca Melleebacca That's good news about baby's position and the constipation.

Thank you all, fingers crossed. I’m not very active on here but hope a lot more of us are finding some sort of relief. Everyday is a day closer 🤞

Sicksmellymess That is so true. Cheering you all on.

30wks today. 70 days left. 29 days of work left. Been gagging at work again as I try to come off the ondansetron (and probably doing too much). I’m now tucked up in bed. So glad it’s the weekend!

@Sicksmellymess the more you rest, the better you will feel. I keep freaking out that I have so much to do and not much time, but in all honesty, nothing is really all that necessary.

Waves to everyone else.

Hello all.
Rough couple of weeks. Doing too much and paying the price I think. Had my 20 week scan on Wednesday - back for a rescan on the 7th April as baby was in an awkward position and not all measurements could be completed, but those that could be all looked good. Felt very deflated not coming away with a photo and it all felt a bit meh, but feeling more positive now.

Horrendous evening/night last night but think that was because my dog was attacked when our on his walk and ended up with a wound on his side that's had to be stapled. Managed to not be sick at the vets, which I took as a bonus in the whole situation.

Hope everyone manages to get some decent rest and feel a bit better for that.

@Melleebacca 30 weeks!! Congratulations!! Have a restful weekend, hope the gagging stops.

@PopGoesBang sorry about your dog that is so upsetting and actually traumatizing. 20weeks you're half way!!

I had my 12w scan yesterday and all is well so that's given me a boost.. and they put my dates forward so I'm 13w today. I hope everyone has a good weekend with manageable sickness.

@nee22 thank you. Only good thing seems to be the dog isn't overly aware. Quite possibly the saying no sense no feelings was created for him! He's just lapping up the extra attention.

Glad all went well at the 12 week scan. Hope you find the sickness eases a little as you go into the second trimester

Had my growth scan yesterday, all is fine apparently and she’s on the 50th percentile, her growth in line with previous scans and estimated weight 4lb2oz at 31+5! Such a relief!

Sickness keeps coming and going. I keep waking at 3am and can’t get back to sleep, then by 6pm I’m exhausted and want to go to bed! Also the SPD and PGP are getting me down, it feels like my pelvis is splitting in half. So even in bed I can’t get comfortable, I’m either nauseous with heartburn or my hips and pelvis hurt no matter what position.

At least the weather is finally sunny (and warm) so less layers are needed for school run. And soon it’s the school Easter holidays so I won’t have to walk anywhere!

@FateHasRedesignedMost I’m taking a little calcium powder each night to help with the heartburn (it also helps me sleep but I still wake up ridiculously early too).
So glad growth is going well for you, but it does suck that you’re in pain!

@nee22 woah! I’ve never had my dates moved, so I’m a little jealous of you! The finish line is just a wee bit closer for you now. Glad the 12w scan went well, and I hope you start to see some improvement in sickness levels soon.

@PopGoesBang This wee one has never given me a good ultrasound photo, and the 20wk scan was awful with me being constipated and told my bladder was too empty. I hope your rescan goes better, but try not to be too saddened by the first scan going poorly.

Hi everyone how are you all doing? Any of you had to have a diabetes test I'm dreading it as I have to eat first thing but they've told me a cant eat until after my test which starts at 845 for 2 hours 😭 I had glucose in my urine the other day when they tested I'm dreading it.

@Zandasstar7 I feel your pain here of you need anything as I've got the t-shirt xx

Great news about all the good scan results! Glad to hear of the relief,
FateHasRedesignedMost.
PopGoesBang Sorry to hear of dog's being attacked
Melleebacca Mother Hen says to you and to PopGoesBang Try not to overdo it! Easy for me to say. Does calcium powder help with heartburn? That's interesting.
Starbeach Sorry to hear of GD test. Wishing you all luck. Several onn here have had it. I do think they should provide a sick bowl just in case.
Waves to nee22 and everyone...

@Starbeach glucose test is just awful. I didn’t have to fast beforehand, and just did the 1hr one. But sitting on an uncomfortable chair while heavily pregnant, with a belly full of the most disgusting liquid ever, is a form of torture. I really feel for you. Have a sick bowl and icy cold water ready for afterwards, and plan nothing else for the day - it made me feel rotten all day.

@LucindaE I have a calcium magnesium powder that I have with a little bit of water when I feel heartburn or reflux. It seems to calm the acid. Might be a placebo, but I will take any relief I can get.