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Pregnancy

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

Hyperemesis Support

988 replies

LucindaE · 19/10/2022 19:24

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
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Roxster · 13/03/2023 11:00

@Randyforgiles you have described how HG has been for me perfectly! I’m praying that 16 weeks is the magic number for me and I start feeling better soon.

Randyforgiles · 13/03/2023 15:40

@LucindaE thank you that sounds quite positive. As of this afternoon we have cautiously decided to continue with the pregnancy. I'm planning on calling the GP tomorrow for an appointment to discuss my current medications and whether I can get something to head off the nausea. Is this something people tend to have success with? Is there anywhere I can look for evidence eg NICE guidelines? I will not be leaving without omeprazole, that's for sure. By my estimate I've got another week before things really ramp up, I'm trying to get as much done while I'm still up to it but I'm queasy and headachey already 😶

LucindaE · 13/03/2023 17:28

Randyforgiles Cheering you on. With any luck you should get pre-emptive meds, which can make a great difference. I link the NICE guidelines in my introductory posts on these threads. Pregnancy Sickness Support have a great deal of informaton on their website.

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Randyforgiles · 14/03/2023 15:07

The soonest the doctor can even have a phonecall with me is next Thursday so I've just sourced my own omeprazole and I'll start taking it when it arrives. I think that's a bit rubbish though because I'm on a few medications marked as 'unsafe during pregnancy' but also 'do not stop without speaking to your doctor' so an extra 10 days to wait seems quite long. I might try for an urgent appointment tomorrow.

LucindaE · 14/03/2023 21:26

Randyforgiles Good idea. I hope you get an early appointment.

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LucindaE · 15/03/2023 18:09

I hope everyone is coping today...

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Randyforgiles · 15/03/2023 19:49

Positive news, I rang for an appointment this morning and managed to get in with my favourite GP. As I said before it was partly to discuss my other issues but I mentioned that was worried about the return of HG, and that my reflux was starting up. He prescribed me a fair old supply of omeprazole and cyclizine without a word of persuasion! He ginger-ed me during my last pregnancy, albeit in a well meaning way, so he must have changed his tune a bit. Thank you for your encouragement @LucindaE , I definitely wouldn't have been brave enough without it. I hope everyone else is coping okay.

LucindaE · 15/03/2023 21:29

Randyforgiles That is good news.

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Roxster · 16/03/2023 12:45

Had a good day yesterday, managed to actually eat most of the day. Today is a different story. I don’t know what I’ve done that is so different. It’s really disheartening though, because on the good days you think you might actually be getting better then the next day hits you like train crash. Also struggling with headaches not sure if it is related or not.

Yoga817 · 16/03/2023 16:12

@Roxster are you taking ondansetron? I had headaches the first two weeks of taking it but they have improved now. Might be related.

I have long passed the 16 week mark and can safely say my HG is going nowhere! I accidentally took my ondansetron 3 hours late yesterday morning and was violently vomiting all afternoon. The dose of Ondansetron is sooooo sensitive. It seems I'm a long hauler 😭

Roxster · 16/03/2023 16:22

@Yoga817 hi yes I’m on ondansetron. Can I ask do you get breaks in your nausea at all? Also how do you keep your spirits lifted? I’m having to increase my dose of antidepressant because I’m just not coping with HG mentally.

Yoga817 · 16/03/2023 16:25

@Roxster I feel very lucky to say that the ondansetron keeps the vomiting at bay most of the time so long as I'm on time with my doses. The nausea is still there sadly and the aversion to multiple foods and water. It is a really hard journey mentally and like you I have found my self in a dark place. I think the only advice I can give is to take it minute by minute as it makes it feel less overwhelming. I do have some happy moments when I feel the babies move too and it reminds me of why I'm doing this. It's so hard though and I really hope you can have a break from it soon. What dose are you taking? Do you have a good support network around you? Hugs! Xx

Roxster · 16/03/2023 18:09

@Yoga817 I’m taking 4mg twice a day and cyclizine 3 times a day. My partner and his family have been wonderful. Just adds to the guilt though of what this illness is doing to everyone. You sound like a very strong woman, I wish I could feel that strong. Just wish there was something that could be done about this nausea. I could cope with being sick if you actually got some relief after it. Just feels like a vicious circle. 😣

LucindaE · 16/03/2023 18:20

Roxster Sorry you are still suffering from nausea, besides the headaches.
I had terrible migraines up to week 16, but Yoga817 's advice about Ondansetron headaches at first with Onadansetron sounds highly to the point. A good day is often a sighn of more to come. It is very hard to bear the nausea, worse in some ways than vomiting. Yoga817 Great advice. Feeling two babies move must be quite something!

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Roxster · 17/03/2023 14:28

Ladies, I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I’ve spent the whole day in bed crying again. I’m getting support from the mental health team but I know nothing can improve for me while I feel this sick. Please please please tell me how you are getting through it?

Yoga817 · 17/03/2023 18:02

@Roxster so sorry you're suffering. It is truly awful having to put up with these symptoms 24/7 and you are very resilient for doing so.

I'm not a Dr but I'm wondering if it might be worth talking to your GP about coming off cycilzine and upping your ondansetron dose to 8mg X3 per day. Cyclizine gave me awful side effects and made me feel so depressed and teary along with zero energy to the point I was bed bound and not able to fetch myself a drink from the kitchen. When I came off it I felt a lot better and the ondansetron made life bearable albeit not perfect. It's just a thought of something to try.
Hugs! You're doing great! Xx

LucindaE · 17/03/2023 18:50

Roxster Sorry you are suffering badly. I can't improve on Yoga817's advice. I didnt
realise that Cyclizine can cause symptoms other than sleepiness.

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Peanutbutter7 · 17/03/2023 19:33

Hi all, hope you are all doing ok. I’m hoping this is the right thread. I wasn’t diagnosed with HG in my last pregnancy but I’m wondering if that’s what I had. I had nausea from about week 6 of my pregnancy onwards and very severe up to about week 14 where I couldn’t do anything apart from lie down. The rest of the pregnancy it was up and down, some days worse than others. I could only eat very limited food and drink, and didn’t end up gaining any weight. I wasn’t actually physically sick that many times so I’m wondering if this could be HG or not.
And secondly, I am pregnant again, 6 weeks now and I can feel nausea coming on. Last time I was prescribed cyclizine, which did absolutely nothing. Can anyone suggest any other drugs for nausea?

Roxster · 17/03/2023 20:34

@Yoga817 thank you! I will speak to my GP and see what they say. I might as well have a hotline to him by now! Thank you for your support again.

LucindaE · 18/03/2023 16:15

Peanutbutter7 Welcome. Congratulations on your pregnancy. It certainly sounds as if you had i t before. I'm glad it got a fair bit better, anyway. There is a new-ish drug called Xonvea which has helped many on here. Do ask for pre-emptive meds asap to try and stave off really bad symptoms developing. Although this is your second Hyperemesis pregnancy, here's my normal spiel, which I hope may help. Most 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 and dry cereeal.
Roxster I do hope the dr suggested stronger meds.

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evuscha · 19/03/2023 03:56

Hello everyone! I had my first HG pregnancy back in 2019, and this thread was such an amazing help back then! I went through a few weeks of being ignored with the usual ginger advice, but luckily my GP prescribed cyclizine about 9 weeks in, and it eventually helped. I think I got out of the worst around 16 weeks even if I had to stay on cyclizine til delivery.

I have since moved to the US and it took me this long to even consider a second child, I am now 5 weeks pregnant and feeling well so far but I know it will probably hit me in about a week or so. Has anyone found it made a difference to try proactive aggressive treatment right from the start? US is generally more pro-meds and my Dr advised a combination of B6, B1 and doxylamine that I’ve been on for a few days. Equivalent of cyclizine is sold over the counter (I remember having to jump through hoops to get my prescription renewed each time in the UK) so I can add that when nausea kicks in. I also have an ondansetron prescription if I start feeling worse. I guess I don’t want to overdo it with taking too much unnecessarily, but I heard from multiple people that subsequent HG pregnancies tend to be worse, so I am terrified and want to stay ahead of it?

Thaimoon · 19/03/2023 09:15

Thinking of all you mums today and wanted to say how amazing you all are, even when you don't feel it. Cheering you all on

Bunda · 19/03/2023 11:33

Hi all. I'm glad I've found you. I'm on week 8 of my pregnancy. This is my second child and second hg pregnancy and I seem to have had forgotten how bad it is. I'm on cyclizine and omeprezole and have been prescribed metoclopromide but haven't got it yet. I'm pretty sure I need an iv but not in ketosis and dreading sitting in a&e for 6 hours. My biggest issue is excess saliva which is totally revolting and makes me even more sick. I'm fortunate to be staying at my mums for extra support with dd1 while dh works but the guilt is unreal. I'm holding back the tears most days, mainly cos I don't want to lose any more fluids.

Bunda · 19/03/2023 11:35

Roxster · 17/03/2023 14:28

Ladies, I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I’ve spent the whole day in bed crying again. I’m getting support from the mental health team but I know nothing can improve for me while I feel this sick. Please please please tell me how you are getting through it?

So sorry Roxster. I'm feeling the same. Sending you love. Xxx

Roxster · 19/03/2023 11:46

@Bunda sending love your way as well. I’m glad you have the support of your mum. I wish there was some magic pill that would take this all away.xx

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