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.

Evening. Hope all are as well as can be. 14+3 today and on my 4th day of no vomiting. I actually collapsed yesterday and was taken to hospital... I'd had a migraine and had been feeling horrendous all week, I thought it was just the hyperemesis playing a new game, no vomiting but worse fatigue and listlessness. Anyway it turns out I'm severely anaemic and my blood pressure was 85/55. Had an iron infusion and have honestly woken up at home today a different person. Wondering how much of the hyperemesis was being provoked by the anaemia?

violetcuriosity Collapsed with anaemia? That must have been awful. Glad you're a bit better.
ohCARP Daily migraines? I do hope not severe, and you have anaemia too.
Elle1709 Glad things aren't too bad. Mother Hen here is fine.

Thank you so much @LucindaE, your advice has been so helpful. I hit a complete low on Tues/Weds and felt so poorly and overwhelmed. On Weds I started on the metaclopramide meds and I feel like I've turned such a corner since the start of the weekend. I've been able to eat and drink normally and feel so much better for being nourished and hydrated. I've been able to look after my DD which has had me sobbing in relief.

Thank you also to @BalletN for the 'how to be a HG hero' recommendation and helping me reframe how to tell my DD the news. She is so excited and this has helped me to feel a lot better about the pregnancy.

Another great place that I found support was through the peer support programme on the Pregnancy Sickness Support website - if you are reading this and struggling then please give this a try. I was given emotional support and also lots of information about medication routes which has helped me to understand the pathways and what to push for with my GP.

Hope everyone else is doing ok x

@tweetypi I'm glad the medication is helping you! I also got advice from pregnancy sickness support and they were fab.
It was my little boys 4th birthday party for family yesterday. I managed to have some pizza and cake. I wouldn't have managed that a few months ago so feeling grateful for the progress I have made! Even though I'm still sick it's nowhere near as bad as it was. Sending hugs to all those early on and really suffering! xx

@ohCARP how bizarre, I’ve too been getting daily headaches, wouldn’t class them as bad as migraines but quite painful! I had my 34 week appt on Thursday and BP was 104/72 so definitely not pre-eclampsia! And also the same with the Braxton hicks, really quite painful!! I never had them with my first so they are actually taking my breath away.

Was on a week course of antibiotics for a cyst which made my HG return with a vengeance! Antibiotics didn’t do anything to the cyst, had to go into MAU and had a consultant come in and aspirate it..not nice!

Hospital bag is now all packed and I am patiently counting down the weeks. I got my last pack of Xonvea on Friday that will see me through the rest of this pregnancy. Can’t believe it’s nearly over!!

Hi all,
been really struggling over the last few days. Metaclopromide doesn’t really work, Cyclozine also stopped hence why they swapped to MetC. Been an emotionally and physically draining last few days as it tends to occur at its worse after 4pm and then throughout the night. Honestly don’t know what more I can do at this stage.
Went to GPOOH yesterday but there weren’t enough ketones for admission - bought my own ketostix now to avoid these wasted journeys.
Any other advice? All i do is eat dry beige foods and been on fizzy drinks / isotonic drinks as advised by GP and nothing seems to stay down. I thought the MetC would be my saving grace but it seems to do a worse job than cyclozine.

I promise I don't have shares in Prednisolone as whenever I see HG on Mumsnet I am straight in there promoting them. They were a massive game changer for me and they don't seem to be offered unless people ask.

I was hospitalised twice in the first 9 weeks of this pregnancy with HG, lost weight and I could not keep a thing down. I tried all the standard anti sickness stuff, including ondansetron but still ended up in hospital. I honestly think I would have terminated if they wouldn't have given me the steroids. HG is truly vile and I don't think people appreciate how incapacitating it actually is.

I was given steroids from 9 weeks and I haven't been sick since. They are wonderful. I can now eat most things but I do need to take anti sickness medication as well. It took a few weeks for my diet to be anything more than macaroni cheese and egg mayo sandwiches but we've got there. I'm 16 + 3 now and feeling much more human - I even ate a Subway yesterday!

Steroids do come with some hideous side effects though and I am suffering with these. I look like the marshmallow man because I have such bad water retention (including in my face) and I just crave salty food. They also decimate the immune system and I am on the covid treatment list. I still think it's better than the sickness though but others might not feel the same. I am currently tapering so have come down from 40mg a day to 25mg and hoping to continue this.

This thread is amazing for advice and support as well, as well as providing a safe space to rant. HG really is hell.

tweetypi I am so glad that Metoclopramide is helping. I so agree with you and with BalletN that Pregnancy Sickness Support offer excellent support.
ChloeHel Sorry to hear about the antibiotics caused a Hyperemesis relapse, and the headaches, too. I remember those painful Braxton Hicks all these years later. I am so glad you are on the home stretch now.
SpringChicken06 I am sorry to hear that neither Cyclizine or Metaclopramide have helped. There are several others they can try - Stemetil and Xonvea, for instance. Ondansetron helps many on here, but is usully offered only when other meds have failed to helop. It can be so difficult requesting new meds. Can you stand phoning up to enquire about other meds which might help? Or, as with tweeetypi, Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7638 2020. Glad you 've got kesostix.
IHaveBeenFallingFor30Minutes I am so glad that steroids helped you so much. That's excellent news. The side effects do sound tough, but if it was those or unbearable nausea and vomiting,then obviously they are preferable!
So glad that this thread is helping.
Apologies to anyone rudely overlooked.

I hope everyone's headaches are getting less frequent.

Hi everyone, been reading through this thread and it's been really helpful- hope it's okay if I join.

I'm 9 weeks into pregnancy #4, suffered with severe morning sickness in all of them and was in and out of hospital with #3.

I honestly feel in such a bad place, I'm wondering why I keep putting myself through this.

At the moment, I'm only vomiting around 1-5 times a day which I suppose isn't too bad. It could be up to 25x a day with #3. But I just feel so low. I've hardly left the house for the past month as I feel so ill all the time and I'm terrified of vomiting, any small movement makes me feel nauseous.

I've been vomiting up blood and the OOH GP prescribed prochlorperazine a few weeks ago which doesn't seem to help at all.

I told my midwife how much I've been suffering and she was really dismissive. My own GP doesn't seem to take me very seriously either.

I'm managing to keep small amounts of food down such as plain rice, pasta or dry Rice Krispies. I don't drink much throughout the day as I find liquids so hard.

I know it's not as bad as other people and I really shouldn't complain but it's starting to take a mental toll on me. I was sick up to around 26 weeks with #3, so I almost see no end to this.

Hi all
Someone recommended this thread to me. I had hyperemsis during my first pregnancy and was prescribed ondansentron in my 2nd trimester.

I'm not 7 weeks pregnant and all the symptoms have come flooding back! They prescribed me cyclizine which was useless as it was the last time.. the doctor is reluctant to prescribed ondasetron this early due to links with cleft palate and I have a family history of cleft palates too.

He has prescribed xonvea which is quite new drug. Has anyone here heard of it or taken it? Would love to know thoughts?

Thanks

Welcome to Harley8888 and limoncello Sorry you are both suffering. As you are both veterans, I feel presumptuous giving any advice. However...
Harley8888 Yes, a number of sufferers on this thread swear by Xonvea. I hope some will soon come on to advise.
limocello There definitely are other meds they can try, such as the Xonvea above. I hope some effective meds will make things more bearable. It certainly sounds as if you had Hyperemesis even before, and vomiting 25 times a day as you did before is defintely bad enough to Hyperemesis! When reporting the amount of vomits to a doctor, do remember that they often count each separate heave as a 'vomit' so if you give them the fitures for heaving sessions, which can be protracted, they can underestimate the extent of the violence of the sickness.
Did either of you find an anti acid helped in your previous pregnancies? It can make a huge difference.

Hi @LucindaE thanks for your response. I've been reading about Xonvea today and I'm thinking of asking the GP if he will prescribe it (not sure if he'll think I'm telling him how to do his job!).
If they count heaves well I probably have 20+ per episode of vomiting which is probably why I've got blood coming up.
Even though I'm a "veteran" I still feel no one cares or takes it seriously, I was insulted by my midwife suggesting flat lemonade as if I haven't tried every home remedy going over the years.
This pregnancy wasn't planned (although I'm happy) so I feel unprepared to be going through it again and I am feeling fairly depressed.

@LucindaE Thank you😊

@limoncelloo I feel there is such a lack of understanding of hyperemesis. Its just seen as morning sickness. People just assume you're being dramatic and compare it to their own experience.
The GP I've seen is actually taking it quite seriously. I tend to bypass my midwives and go straight to the gp if I want things to be taken seriously. Hope you get something to help x

limoncello I am sorry that you have been left feeling so isolated, and I do hope that the GP is willing to prescribe Xonvea. I so agree with Harley8888 that Hyperemesis is still widely misunderstood.

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I've noticed anti acids mentioned a few times, and I wondered is this something that I would need prescribed by the GP or can I just buy it over the counter. If so, does anyone have any good recommendations and are they okay to take alongside the anti nausea medication? Im still on cyclizine and im 31 weeks, but the nausea is still really bad at night and im struggling to sleep, im hoping an anti acid could help. Thanks.

@Elle1709 I'm on omeprazole alongside cyclizine. It's prescribed by my gp. I think it's quite commonly used. Hope you get something that helps x

@ChloeHel my hospital bag is packed too and thank god because I've just spent 3 days in hospital with suspected preterm labour. I highly recommend putting things in labelled zip lock bags!

Fortunately it all stopped and baby is still cooking. They gave me steroids to help lung development just in case. I've had a feeling this baby would be early for a while but not this early! I'm 33+4 today. My poor 2 year old has coped really well but she was very clingy at bedtime. I had to promise that I'd be here when she wakes up tomorrow.

I started my mat leave today and I'm so glad I did. I'm planning on doing next to nothing until this baby is born!

@ohCARP oh no!! Glad baby is managing to hold on! Do they think you may go into labor soon? My friend who is also pregnant told me about this fibronectin test that she had to have done the other day as she was having terrible labour pains at 32 weeks, and it tells you if you are going into labor within the next 1-2 weeks..never heard of it before!

Aw I’m feeling you, my 2 year old is exactly the same, it’s like she knows something is happening because I’ve been in and out of hospital due to bloody cholestasis. Which I knew I’d get because I had it with her!

What a relief to finally finish work, I finished at 33 weeks too. Just relax as much as you can…which is hard with a toddler haha

@ChloeHel I've had two of those fibronectin tests now! First one was negative then 3 weeks later (Tuesday) I had one again which was inconclusive so they had to treat it as positive. I had pain free contractions for 14 hours on Tuesday. A minute long and two minutes apart. God knows what's going on 🤷🏻‍♀️ they've sent me home now but said to go back if anything happens. I live close to the hospital and they said that's why they were happy to let me go so maybe they think I'll have a preemie. I hope not. A few more weeks would be great.

I've been drinking raspberry leaf tea but I've decided to stop that just in case!

Oh gosh choleostasis sounds so awful. A few women in triage had it and it sounds like they've really been suffering. Can they give you anything to take away the itch? I know the only "cure" is delivering the baby but I hope they can do something in the meantime. You've suffered enough!

@ohCARP hold on for 3 more weeks baby! Sounds like an absolute whirlwind! I was going to start the raspberry leaf tea but I keep hearing people say it can make contractions worse and I remember with my first I had the worse contractions so I may skip it this time round! Got the ball out though, not that my DD is letting me bounce much as she wants to go on it!

There is a medication they can prescribe but in most cases it fails to help so because I’m only mild I just need to keep having weekly blood tests and just put up with the itching!

Elle1709 As BalletN says, Omprazole is one of the best. You can get all sorts of other anti acids over the counter, like Gaviscon tablets. Sorry the nausea is still bad at night.
ohCARP Aagh: that must have been stressful, and poor DD. Having a sibling will make it all up to her. And you're only just starting maternity leave. I'm amazed you and ChloeHel have managed to keep battling in to work. Sorry you have been in and out of hospital too, ChloeHel.

Hi all,

Hope it's OK if I jump in this thread to share my experience as I feel I'm really struggling.

I'm 10 weeks pregnant with my first after years of trying which I'm absolutely overjoyed at, but I never expected pregnancy could be this hard.

Bit of background: I was diagnosed with hyperemesis at 7 weeks and have been hospitalised twice since then and received IV fluids and have so far tried Cyclizine, Prochlorperazine (which both worked for about a day and then I went back to being sick many times a day) and now I've just started taking a combination of the two although I fear already that I'm slipping down the slope of becoming just as unwell again. They seem to make it harder for me to vomit, rather than actually stopping it, meaning it's just putting more strain on my body trying to get everything up (sorry TMI!) I've lost over a stone in weight in the last 2 weeks.

I'm really struggling to stay positive, I haven't left my house in a month apart from doctors/hospital and can't begin to comprehend that I might continue to be in this state for months to come. I can do nothing for myself and my husband is a saint looking after me but most times I can't even walk from my bed to the bathroom (about 6 steps) without being sick and the smell of anything (nice or nasty) makes me instantly vomit.

The only slight positive is that I have less food aversions now and can eat a bit more. At the beginning I had an aversion to EVERYTHING under the sun and would spend my days going through every food in my mind trying desperately to think of something that didn't turn my stomach.

I guess I'm just trying to look for a bit of empathy and support as I still haven't told family and healthcare professionals have been really hit and miss! Most have been understanding and taken seriously but I wanted to punch the midwife who told me everyone gets nauseous and sick and pregnancy and it was my fault for just not managing it properly and "I should just try ginger" - arghhhhhh!

@Minnie3003 Hi 👋 that sounds awful I'm so sorry you are going through it, I know how awful and debilitating it is. I was the same during my first trimester, I took 3 months off work and spent the entire time in bed. Alot of the time I didn't even get a shower and I used to hold in needing on toilet as I knew if I sat up to go for a wee I would be sick, sorry TMI! I couldn't pass the time with anything as looking at my phone, TV or book would make me sick. My partner also spent alot of time looking after me, but I felt really guilty as I wasn't much company at all. I was prescribed cyclizine which helped, I tried a few anti emetics but they didn't work for me. Luckily I did get some relief in the second trimester, while my nausea hasn't completely gone away I can now go weeks without being sick (I'm 31 weeks) and I have managed to get out of the house and eat food etc. Im still on my medication, but i remember it always worried me so much that it would last forever. I guess its good to know that even if it doesn't fully go away, I think the first trimester is usually the worst time and for most people it does get easier. I decided to tell my family and work early as I couldn't hide the way I was feeling and it really did help having people coming in and checking on me, even if its just someone to cry to! I know what you mean about annoying comments, my partners auntie gave me no sympathy at all, saying something like "well you got pregnant, what did you expect, just put up with it like everyone else". I think it is very misunderstood. This is also my first pregnancy after trying for years and having fertility treatment, I always wanted to have more children but I think this will be my only pregnancy, I don't think I could go through it again! I hope you feel better soon 💕

Minnie303 Welcome. Sorry you are suffering badly. It is exhausting trying to argue for stronger meds when you feel so ill; will OH act as your advocate - the irony is that they accept the word of a husband/partner more than that of the sufferer (just as if it were the 1960's!). Many have been helped by phoning up Pregnancy Sickness Support on 024 7638 2020. They will phone back with good advice. Sorry to hear about the insensitive remarks - especially bad from a health care professional. The amount of ignorance is dismal. Ten weeks is in fact, often the low point for many, and a time of a hormonal surge. Here is my normal spiel which I hope may help. 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, frozen smoothie 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 (M and S has been recommende), 7Up, isotonic drinks, sips of strawberry or 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.
Elle1709 Good advice.
ChloeHel Sorry, i meant to emphasize, choleostatis sounds awful. Sympathy over that.