Is there a lentilly weavery way I can control hyperemesis?

[TigerFeet]

I'm 7+1 wks pg and have been dx'ed with hyperemesis today.

None of the traditional remedies work, ginger, peppermint, sea bands, eating little and often, etc etc etc

I am sick 5+ times a day and can't even keep water down until mid afternoon. I've lost about 10 lbs in the past two weeks which admittedly I can afford to lose but is obv not ideal.

I am running on empty, bordering on dehydration, arms and legs feel like lead, I'm finding it difficult to concentrate (esp when driving) and am very weepy.

In desperation I went to the GP today and have been prescribed an antiemetic, I don't have them yet as the pharmacy will have to order them in so I'll be able to pick them up tomorrow. Unfortunately due to pregnabrainscramble I can't remember which ones tehy are.

Is there ANYTHING else I can do? I wanted to avoid drugs but if the alternative is to end up in hospital on a drip then I dunno... I'm almost wondering if it would be preferable to be on a drip than to take drugs but then it's only a temporary fix and as soon as the drip came off I'd be back to square one wouldn't I?

I have a 4yo who is getting very distressed because I have been so ill and haven't been able to do all my usual mummy stuff due to the constant nature of this. I need to think of her too, if I end up hospitalised then she will be beside herself.

Any advice would be very gratefully received. Thanks.

I think you definitely need to take the drugs that the doctor has prescribed. If you continue to be dehydrated you are putting your baby at risk.

Hehe, I am going to get a TShirt:

"Yes I have tried ginger biscuits and THEY DON'T FUCKING WORK"

There will be a little round red face on it thus:

I do appreciate people taking the time to give advice but the difference between MS and HG is that the usual MS stuff doesn't work, which only leaves more extreme options.

(@ PW as well!!)

T shirt brill idea!

Fwiw hydration is crucial. I found I could manage a little to eat if I had been drinking things - for instance it might not be your thing, but I would make milkshake with lots of ice in it and on the days when I had been drinking that without eating, I often found I had an appetite later on.

Lots of people find when they've been on an IV drip for fluids they feel way, way better for a few days

I think if you can't eat don't worry but try to get something liquid down - I couldn't bear water btw, but milkshake was weirdly fine

I mean it's crucial in terms of feeling less sick iyswim - not talking about the baby or your state of health as there's nothing much you can do about that, however much people tell you to eat for that reason - hope that makes sense!!

arghh

what I am trying to say is, people would say 'you need to eat for the baby's sake' and it wouldn't really help, it wasn't like I was deliberately not eating iyswim! I felt guilty about the baby getting enough nutrition already.

But anything that makes you feel less ill is worth a go xx

(did you have HG with child#1 at all?)

You poor poor thing. I had HG this last pregnancy (DD is 8 weeks now) and was horrible. Unbelievably so - all that worked for me was taking drugs - and I took a lot of them in various combinations - and acupuncture. HG drugs really are well tested and anything that makes you able to keep anything down is worth it. I started off being really squeamish about taking any and ended up on 3 different ones plus gallons of gaviscon. Don't hesitate to go back to GP/hospital if you really can't keep water down - I stupidly carried on going to work and made myself really sick.

It took a lot of acupuncture to make a difference - so lots of ££ (our summer holiday - which we couldn't go on anyway because I was so sick) but it did help. If you can get it free all the better. The other thing I found helped was to do a spreadsheet of what I could eat and drink, when I was sick and what drugs I took. As time went on I had better and worse days and it gave me something to focus on. Also helped me to try and get to 1000 calories a day - which was really hard when I was being v sick - but was enough to keep me and the baby going.

There are some American websites that are quite useful too. Not least to point other people to for a proper explanation of why it isn't like morning sickness.

Fingers crossed that it gets better for you soon. If I had had energy I would have punched midwife who kept suggesting ginger biscuits. Other favourite comment was 'at least you won't have baby weight to lose'. Which is no consolation at all when you feel that bad.

I also found it much worse when I was tired - so get all the help you can with your DD - I know my worst days were when I had to look after DS too (I'm very lucky and my DH could look after him most of the time).

I had very bad HG with both boys.

I tried everything and I mean everything. Accupuncture worrked whilst I had the needles in, so I did get a little refielf.

I also tried

Aromathaphy
Homopathy
Seabands - positioned by the accupuncturist
lollypops
CDthing
ginger - real grated in boiling water
peppermint tea
ginger biscits, crackers
Scotch pancakes before sitting up
ice
icecream

Infact anything I fancied eating which wasnt a lot.

I ended up in hospital on a drip, had steriods, every anti sickness med going. Even zoloft which didnt work for me.

In the end cylerzine lactate game me a little relief, instead of vomitting all the time, it was reduced to about 20 times a day.

DH had to inject me 3 times a day in the rear .

Infact I had to have a crash section under spinal and epidural, which I had already had and was told that if they needed to give me a general I would need to be ventolated, as they coldnt stop the sickness and had the op (with some pain) and two nurses suctioning the vomit - nice

But I have two fantastic children born 15 months apart and although it was terrible I kept focussing on the end result and got through it.

Hi haven'tread the full thread ( I usauaally hate it when people write that!!)

I 'm on my third pregnancy with hyperemersis, and with careful management this time, have managed to avoid hospital (so far fingers crossed)

Between the last two dd's I managed 7 hospital admissions and worked through a variety of antiemtics, IMPORTANT if the stuff they give you first off go back and get something diferent ( I my case they always tried to give me the cheap (ineffective for me) stuff first) this time i knew what worked and demanded that from day one.

The poster that suggested that if you end up in hospital they will give you the antisickness meds as a part of your treatment is correct, as they want you to get to a point where by you can cope at home without IV fluid ( at least for a week or so between admissions).

I'm lucky this time it now seems to be easing (22 weeks)but I find if I'm overtired or stressed my sickness comes flooding back.

I have tried most things and find that for me ondansetron is the most effective, but anything is worth a try as what works for one and all that.

Good luck and you're not alone

Ho ho! Ginger biscuits, eh?
Ginger bollocky bollocky bollocky arsepart motherchuffin' buggering bollocky shit off and die ginger biscuits.
There we go. That's what i think to yer ginger biscuits.
as well as one especially irritating person who kept reminding me that being sick was a sign of a healthy pregnancy (which i doubt, anyway)....that wore very thin very soon.
But, yeah, I just found that as soon as someone was gearing up to pass on a ginger-related gem, I'd just interrupt (nicely) and say "It's beyond that, with hyperemesis you do need meds"....a tad dramatic, but it shuts them up pronto.
and madhouse - you had a nightmare, eh?

God yes madhouse, that sounds bloody awful. At least mine went away around 25 weeks.

I understand the theory behind sick-pregnancy-equals-healthy-baby, but I did get very irritated by the following conversation, repeated many times over by GPs/hospital workers (but never my lovely community mw thankfully):

HCP: So how are you feeling?
policywonk: really, really sick
HCP: Excellent.

I had quite bad hyperemesis til 25 weeks in and out of hospital with drips etc, tried acupuncture, did reiki on myself, travel bands, and am a big believer in homeopathic remedies but no joy in this case, in the end i took the drugs, which was called something beginning with c!! Best thing i ever did to stop the sickness. I could function again. Dd was born very large and healthy. The only other thing that gave me slight relief was full sugar freezing cold coke. Dont think my pregnancy liked any 'natural' methods, and wanted drugs and sugar filled crap. But in your case the acupuncture etc could work. If im completely honest, in the end i was so rough, i just wanted it to stop and would have taken anything if the doctors told me it was safe. Try other methods if medication makes you feel uncomfortable, but at least you have the fallback.

oh TF, I have nothing useful to add but just wanted to add my vibes for you...
(and lolol at policywonk's >)

oh tis, me, Molly! And for once I won't recommend cider vinegar...

This sickness= good pregnancy thing - apparently, new research has shown that you produce 5 types of hcg, in differing proportions, and women who produce more of the acidic end-group type (if memory serves) are more prone to sickness.
Also, if you're prone to travel sickness as an adult - how about you guys?
and as the bloody reassurance? once you've got see chucking up 3 times a day as a luxury.....

that shoulda read "got to the point where you see"
dunno what happened

If you're struggling to get some water into yourself, here's another tip that may help to at least avoid the dehydration that can make HG worse:

Warm the water a bit in the kettle (or boil it then let it cool down) and drink it out of a mug rather than a glass with a tiny splash of lemon juice or Ribena in it. For some reason that helped me a little bit when I couldn't keep room-temperature water down. Other suggestions include sucking on ice cubes, drinking icy cold, flat Coke. Even if you can't manage food, liquid is extremely important.

Poor you - I really hope the meds help you. Don't feel guilty about taking them - they can be enormously helpful in curbing some of the vomiting and helping to keep some liquid in your stomach.

I thnk what we are all saying is that it is key not to get dehydrated and the meds will help with it.

You can get through this - we all did

Keep focussing on the baby at the end - it is worth it

Another idea is smoothies and ice lollies - you're gonna get some nourishment AND liquid, then.
Choose lollies made from real fruit juice - i remember the only way I could get round a trip to M&S was to suck on one of their real orange juice lollies before I'd paid for it - I squared it with a random member of staff first! She seemed to understand - i just scanned the wrapper.
But when it really comes down to it, you've always got the meds - i don't see anyone on this thread who's against them.

Yes often HG sufferers can't manage water at all, I always found juice or squash or milk much easier to countenance iyswim. I still can't drink straight water!!

I've just come back from my 4th acupuncture treatment for morning sickness. Has definitely helped - after each treatment I've felt markedly better. And they'll stick needles in you for any other ailments you might happen to have at the time!

Oh no poor you.

The acupuncture is sounding promising though TF

TigerFeet - firtsly, all my hugs, I have been there, but without the added burden of a 4 year old. I am also lentil weavery, but found that nothing apart from the drugs helped with my HG last year, and even then I was hospitalised 4 times, sorry. Ice cubes and very cold lemonade (but it had to be Boots Shapers Cloudy Lemonade)helped a bit. Ginger, in any form, did nothing. My sea bands did me no favours either. Mint tea had some effect. A friend of mine had some success with accupuncture, but alongside anti-emetics. If you can get enough fluids into you to stay hydrated, then you will probably manage to stay out of hopsital (my docs were far more concerned about dehydration than the vomiting and food aversion).

If it is any comfort, I had every antiemetic going in the end (weeks 9-15) and my HG DS is now 5 months old and is bright, alert, healthy and happy.

Good luck!

Hi everyone and thanks so much for the sympathy and good wishes.

The medication is Avomine

I took one mid afternoon yesterday, I couldn't pull myself together enough to even ring about acupuncture so I thought perhaps I should.

Well they stopped the puking - yay - but they completely knock me out - boo. I spent most of yesterday evening in a daze. However I did manage to drink some water and to eat without throwing up which let me tell you was fabulous

I haven't dared take one again today as I need to be awake for dd but happily the single pill I had yesterday saw me through until after lunch today

I am therefore going to take one in the evenings in the hope that I can get through most of the next day without throwing up. I can live with the nausea, at least I'm not dehydrating and I'm getting some nutrition into me in the form of mountains of buttered toast. I can keep my vitamins down too, which has cheered me up no end.

I had the best night's sleep in ages too - I had been waking up in the night feeling extremely nauseous but also with a raging thirst. Not last night. I think a good sleep has helped enormously.

DH currently shitting himself as he has read that excessive MS can be a sign of twins He's been wandering around going "It's an old wives' tale, isn't it? It must be!...."

It's great that you're feeling a bit better.

I used to split my cyclizine tabs into two halves and take half at a time to eke them out a bit. They used to knock me out too - I'd take one and then need to go to bed within about half an hour. Dunno about yours, but cyclizine is an antihistamine, which I think contributes to the tiredness.

Anyway it's very good that you're getting better sleep, as tiredness makes HG worse.

Hope things continue to be manageable for you.

Hyperemesis is horrific. I'm 18+5 weeks and it hasn't gone. I am in a strict routine though which really seems to help me. I get up at 6 everyday, if i get up any later I wouldn't even be able to make it to the toilet without being sick. I spend a while in the bathroom being sick, until all the bile and everything is gone. Then I go sit down and have a bowl of cereal and just sit there for half hour so it settles, then at 9.30 everyday I have a bacon or sausage sandwich. I have lunch at 12, usually beans and Jacket. Then about 2 o'clock I start to feel like a real normal person. I have good days and bad days but the best advice I could give to you is

• Make sure you drink 2 litres of water or squash everyday, even if you keep being sick, keep trying. *Try and eat Melon as it's full of fluid! *Be head strong. Do not let this drag you down because the minute you get depressed and cry, you don't stop and giving up will make you so much worse. *Avoid Tea, Coffee and Coke as these are diuretics and will badly dehydrate you! *Kill anyone that tries to tell you it's only morning sickness and to eat ginger biscuits or ginger tea.

Good luck

HUGS

TigerFeet - I was sent for an early scan in case it was twins - it wasn't! (although it was quite exiting to think that it could be for a few hours). Then loads of people, including lots of medical professionals, told me that only girls made you this sick. In the end I had a singleton boy. So the old wives don't know everything!

Hayley You're doing so much better than I was. On a good day, I could manage a couple of slices of toast and a cuppa soup all day. Maybe some scrambled eggs or porridge. On a normal day I could manage a single slice of toast and some ice cubes! At one point I was even throwing up the antemetics.

The good news is that my HG just stopped one day after 15 weeks. I hope that happens to you both soon .