Hyperemisis & Cyclizine

[Friedseasalt]

For those of you who have experienced this & were given Cyclizine, how quickly does it work? It has been 24 hours and I’m still being so sick. I’m wondering if I’m possibly bringing them back up. Feel terrible

After a couple of days of continuous use they worked a bit for me initially, my sickness then just increased and increased so I needed a different medication. It might be worth going back to your GP for something else.

It didn't work for me. If it doesn't work for you after a few days, go back and ask for something different. Hyperemesis sucks!

It took the edge off for me but I still had the sickness terribly, ended up hospitalised for dehydration - a drip of fluids was the only thing that made me feel better in the end! So brutal, you have massive sympathy from me! It does get better in the end!!

It took a while and I nearly gave up but make sure you take them 3 times daily (assuming that's what's been prescribed) and after a week or so of regular medication hopefully you'll be OK. It's allowing me to function like a human!

It didn't work for me by itself, was slightly better combined with metronidazole but i still ended up on hospital for dehydration. Eventually they gave me ondansetron which was a life saver for me.

Keep an eye on your ketones (pharmacy will sell urine test strips) and if they reavh 3 or 4 (check with midwife team, i am not a doctor!) then get yourself admitted to a ward for some lovely IV fluids.

Much sympathy, HG is horrible

Yes same for me

Me too.
I ended up on IV cyclizine which was very trippy.

It didn't work for me but I had better luck with the one beginning with P...can't remember the name. Meant I could keep some food and water down.
HG is awful so sorry you're going through it.

It didn’t work for me either, but the GP switched me to Xonvea which has been a lifesaver.

I’m now 20 weeks and still taking it. I still feel nauseous 90% of the time but it’s mostly stopped the vomiting.

It doesn't.

Ondansetron was the only thing that worked, but it wasn't given easily. Even during Covid, they would have rather sent me to hospital for fluids than prescribe ondansetron.

Thanks everyone really appreciated . I feel like I was fobbed off with little information and a prescription. But can’t keep going on like this. Back to the GP tomorrow.

It stopped me actually vomiting but I still felt sick and nauseas and shit.
But I could at least get through the day without my head down the toilet for most of it.

If you do get prescribed Ondansetron, be mindful that it could make you really constipated as well.

Many many years ago now but didn’t work for me either. I’m another one who needed a drip. A different medication afterwards helped a bit but I was still sick every day despite eating very little.
I will never forget it. It was an awful time. Hopefully you will get some relief soon.

Cyclizine didn't work for me. I'm now on prochlorperazine which seems to be helping

It didn't work for me so I was prescribed Xonvea

Thanks everyone. I’m allergic to prochlorperazine so can’t take that unfortunately. I’m in hospital and currently getting fluids, also had Jab of Cyclizine so hopefully feel some relief from this.

I had metaclopramide, so you may not have reached the end of the things to try. It was a few years back, so not sure if any pregnancy advice has changed for it. Good luck finding something.

Cyclizine helped a bit but vomming and nausea was still bad then I had prochloperazine but didn't really make a difference. Ondansetron was the best - I've been on that since week 13 and now at week 40. Unfortunately it didn't really lessen until week 22 or so for me, then it really started improving - I think when the placenta started doing more. You have my sympathy, it's miserable. The HG led to elevated liver enzymes for me, so keep an eye out for any electrolyte imbalances - the consultant said it can cause blood/liver issues due to the constant vomiting

She did say - if I have another baby, I should take xonvea, apparently it's an absolute game changer.

I was prescribed 4 different anti emetics (and IV fluids/anti emetic injections in hospital) until finally got some relief with Xonvea which I continued to take until the day I gave birth.

Massive sympathy from me OP, it’s an unbelievably awful thing to go through. Don’t stop calling your GP surgery until you find a medication that helps and that you are being taken seriously. There is also support you may wish to look in to https://pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy journey x

It wasn't until I went onto Ondansetron that I stopped vomiting with my second baby. I still had nausea but I wasn't actually throwing up (highlight was when I threw up and peed myself at the same time and just had no idea where to start cleaning up myself and my kitchen). That was back in 2018 and there does seem to be an increased awareness of HG now and definitely compared to when I had my first in 2013. I had HG with my first baby too and prochlorperazine was the most they'd give me after cyclizine didn't work. Sickness and nausea stopped at week 27 with baby 1 and week 34 with baby 2.
I hope that the meds you have now work
for you and the drip helps you.

https://pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/get-help/what-is-hyperemesis-gravidarum/
This charity are a really good source of support and information both for you and your GP on treatment options.

Thank you all for your replies. I am writing back at this hour as I am up being sick. It honestly feels constant. I was told that ondansetron wasn’t an option until after 12 weeks. Was anyone else told the same? I will look into the support linked above 🙏

There is some research that associated use before this gestation with a tiny increase in cleft palates. That being said I took it well before this gestation in my first two pregnancies and it did help and both my babies were fine. It does tend to cause awful constipation though coupled with the general dehydration of HG so if you do go on it you may need a laxative too frankly. I wish I'd taken laxatives earlier both times as I really didn't need that on top of the sickness.

I feel for you OP, HG is fucking awful. The Pregnancy Sickness Support charity are fantastic if you need a listening ear or advice about meds.

The thing that worked better for me than anything else was Xonvea which I only knew about for my third pregnancy.

I'm so sorry you're still suffering. Unless you've been through it, I don't think anyone can fully understand how terrible and distressing it is. Do you know if you have lost weight compared to your pre pregnancy weight. That along with dehydration seemed to get medics taking me more seriously.

Ondansetron is a second line med and yes, there is often a reluctance to give it which is misplaced . I think it's still the memory of what thalidomide did which causes some doctors to not want to prescribe anything. Doxylamine and B6 were used in the USA from 2013 and also in Canada for years before that. It's wasn't available here until late 2018.

The below information is from the website I linked:
"There is some reluctance to prescribe Ondansetron in the first trimester, however an ondansetron research paper found that there is no link to heart defects and an extremely minimal ‘associated risk’ (not direct cause) to cleft lip/palate when taken in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy (the face is fully formed past this point.) In a regular pregnancy, with no medication use, the base line risk of cleft lip/palate is 11 in every 10,000 babies.

With ondansetron use there was found to be an extra 3 babies in every 10,000 so it is a very tiny risk – however to get to the point of ondansetron use then a person would have likely been at the point of dehydration and possibly malnutrition, so these could also be a factor in causing the extra 3 babies. Please read our blog here if you wish to find out more.

Ondansetron is prescription only.

The RCOG Greentop Guidelines 2024 state Ondansetron is safe and effective, Its use as a second-line antiemetic should not be discouraged if first line antiemetics are ineffective. Women can be reassured regarding a very small increase in the absolute risk of orofacial clefting with ondansetron use in the first trimester, which should be balanced with the risks of poorly managed HG. is safe and effective and can be used alone or in combination with other antiemetics".

The site has a link to the guidelines and research which you could share with the obstetrician when you see her/him. If you feel up to it write down any questions you have, discuss weight loss as a result of HG

Oh and you're officially allowed to tell people who ask if you've tried ginger to shove it where the sun don't shine! Because someone always has to say it.

Hope you get some more sleep soon

sorry To hear you’re still struggling, it’s so debilitating.

I believe Xonvea was designed specifically for pregnancy sickness so is safe to prescribe. It’s been an absolute life saver for me. I’ve been on it since 8 weeks and am 20 weeks now and still taking it.

I fell asleep without taking it the other day and was up in the middle of the night vomiting so I imagine I would be pretty miserable if I wasn’t taking the xonvea!