Hyperemesis - just sharing my frustrations!

[Fixmybike]

Just getting to week 15 and STILL feel so miserable. Started feeling sick in 6th week and got gradually worse until fluids were ancient history and had to be on a drip for 2 days. Swore i would never go back, as the pain of the iv was unbearable but 3 weeks later and it seems all to be escalating again. I'M JUST SO SICK AND TIRED of feeling rotten and the anti-sickness tablets are no good. Work is a shambles as I'm in or out depending on how many times I'm being sick. My boss thinks I'm being silly as his wife's had three without too much problem (so he knows it all) and I do feel a bit guilty about lying in bed when everyone else is beavering away. Hubbie is sympathetic but no good around the house so I still need to face the stinky kitchen, the stinky fridge and the stinky stove. Even the shower gel stinks to me these days.
Roll on Christmas when we move in with the inlaws temporarily and I can be waited on hand and foot! Not sure that managing our complicated house move is helping the stress (and therefore sickness) levels.

Sorry about the rant, but it helps just a teenie bit to take it out on the page like this!

You poor thing . It's bloody awful isn't it? I had it with all 3 of mine, and would have hit the next person who said "ginger snaps" if I'd have been able to lift my hand. I had a drip, which was definitely not sore - and I really hate needles - so wonder if it had been put in right? WOuld you consider trying it again, or is it a no-no?

Hope you feel better soon

Oh poor you Fixmybike. I had 3 hyperemesis pregnancies and what you describe is horribly familiar. Is this your first?
The one bit of practical advice I would five you is to ask to try a different drug - people on here may be able to give you some ideas. Which ones have you got at the moment?
And DON'T FEEL GUILTY!!!!!

I have cyclizine and have also tried buccastem. The only relief I have had is from the intramuscular shots given by my GP and at the hospital but they are VERY PAINFUL and only seemed to last a few hours. Unfortunately with the drip, I was so dehydrated they struggled to find a useful vein so I ended up with it in the inside of my elbow, which meant I had to keep my arm out straight for 2 days!
Because I was a bit better for a few days after the hospital treatment i do wonder if it isn't actually the dehydration that's making me so sick. I do seem to be hanging over the loo more now that my fluid levels have dropped again. MUST FORCE MYSELF TO DRINK!!!

There's a long thread on here by Nickytwotimes and posters on there said that the key to dealing with Hyperemisis is to stay hydrated.

Quite how you manage that when you can't keep anything down is beyond me though. Have you tried sucking ice cubes/ice lollies?

I really feel for you - I have had severe nausea/sickness with all 4 of my pregnancies and I have at times found it unbearable, I just don't know how you Hyperemisis ladies cope.

I would say though that if you go back to the hospital before things get as bad as they did before then the issues with the drip should be far easier as they should be able to find a suitable vein as long as you're not too dehydrated.

I wish you lots of luck and I hope it clears up very soon for you.

Yes, do look at old hyperemesis threads - there are lots. And can I echo IckleJess in more general terms - the worse you let it get, the worse it will ultimately be - the sooner you catch it the less bad it is, so although it is hard to do so in the state you are in with HG, it is worth trying to push for better & quicker treatment if you're not getting what you need.

Ah yes, unfortunately, they only seem to admit you to hospital if you are already showing ketones in your urine and therefore severely dehydrated! The buggers.
Will check out the other posts.
Ladies, don't know how you have done this more than once...

subsequent children after an HG pregnancy = the triumph of hope over experience....

My 2nd pg was less bad than the first so I thought my 3rd would be even less bad. How wrong can a girl be.....?!
Not having any more though.

There is someone on MN who has at least 4 children despite bad HG - I think the reason is that she went private and got the drugs that actually work (ondansetron, if that's how you spell it).

Fixmy - I was admitted to hospital on my GP's sayso alone, no test for ketones.

I had HG in my first two pregnancies. The only thing I think kept me out of hospital was lucozade - not the sports stuff but the sweet tasting original stuff (but only in the lemon flavour). I used to sip that, and sometimes get through a few bottles a day and only that for days on end, but it kept me hydrated and as it wasnt solid food or huge amounts then my stomach didnt seem to react. It gave me some energy too.

If I ate I was usually sick straight away and felt that awful nausea all the time but lucozade literally saved me.

I am pregnant again and 6 weeks now and a bit freaked out as I am ok. Half of me is sitting there on edge waiting for it to hit and the other half thinks there must be something wrong. I always feel sick from before the test turns positive and by now I am being sick 10 times plus a day. I am a bit nauseaus and dizzy and sick once or twice a day but nothing like before and it isnt getting worse. I dont feel like I'm dying.

Anyway huge sympathies to you - I know how awful it feels. Mine lasted 40 weeks both times and I used to lie on the sofa begging DH to do something as it was just so painful . I am hoping you can rest over christmas to some extent as tiredness always makes it worst.

Just wanted to send my sympathies. I had two hyperemesis pregnancies and it is hell on earth. I find the only men who are sympathetic are the ones whose wives suffered from it too. My boss during my first pg was an angel and helped me so much. Don't expect too much sympathy from your boss but DO NOT FEEL GUILTY. Noone who hasn't experienced it can understand the desperation and lack of interest in anything. (In fact I'll be impressed if you make it back to this thread and read all the posts to the last word!)

Stay hydrated, this is vital. The IV may hurt (it hurt me, bit not others) but it is doing you and the baby good. Just keep reminding yourself why you are doing this and keep thinking of the baby you will have at he end of it.

Best of luck lovely. Hope you get better soon

Can I come in and wallow too.
Feel so shit. I'm 8wks and this is my 3rd pg.
I've been given a drug cant remember what its called but its not cyclizene, begins with 'a' and is normaly a travel sick med.
Am still sick, but have managed to stay out of hospital so far.

If the cyclizine isn't working then demand Zofran (also called odansetron). It was the only thing that made a difference for me.

I'm pg again and this time my sickness is nowhere near as bad as last time. I'm able to get out of bed for a start!

I had 2 HG pregnancies and I would also say - ask for Ondansetron . I tried several medications but that was the only one that touched it .

Ice lollies are the way to stay hydrated - water had a horrid metalic taste .

I also found that i craved sugar and salt, especially in my 2nd pregnancy . I could drink full fat coke and eat prawn cocktail crisps and would hardly taste them . Don't worry about eating healthily - if it stays down , eat it !

Just before I was admitted to hospital for rehydration my GP recomended adding salt to flat coke and sipping it . It's worth a try to avoid hospitalization .

Do not feel guilty - your boss has NO idea - please get signed off by your GP for as long as you need it . I did not work from week 9 of my 1st pregnancy . You are ill , you are not a malingerer .

Lots of sympathy from me . It is no fun , and much misunderstood . Just take heart from the fact that it will end . Best of luck !

Thank you for all your messages. It helps so much to know others have been through it and survived. I keep looking down at my bump and wondering how a 4inch baby is fitting in there after so much weight loss - still under my pre-baby 8 stone weight!

In both my pregnancies I lost a lot of weight in the first trimester. One of my rather skinny stylish friends made an eye-poppingly inappropriate remark suggesting that pregnancy is a fantastic way to lose weight . I'm not friends with her any more

Don't worry about the weight, the baby will take what it needs from your body. You will start gaining weight once the sickness stops. Trust us who have passed through the shadow of the valley of hyperemesis before

Hey can I join? I have it too! Feel so miserable with it. Im now 13 1/2 weeks and there has been no let down, I have everything crossed it goes soon. I too lost weight in the 1st T, and spent 4 days on a IV. I swear I just keep trying to drink so I can avoid the misery of being in hospital.

I hope your feeling well soon

Hi Lady Emma Lou

Hope your managing to keep some fluids dowm now.

Looks like I'm going in to hospital in the morning. Feel so crap
I juse need to be ok for Christmas. I've got my two beautiful Dc who need me. I'm lucky my Dh is very 'hands on' and would be cooking dinner even if I was well
but its breaking my heart to think I might miss them opening their gifts in the morning.
FFS I've just read that back and it sounds like I'm about to die! lol Just gets me so down.
I'm holding out for a wonder cure

Hello, how are you feeling? Not had hyperemesis myself just normal MS. But have had labyrinthitis and when pavlov was going through her preg I could identify with a lot of what she was describing as very like when I have that so sort of ended up following her threads. Anyway no real point to this post just some sympathy.

FixMyBike - i really feel for you. Have had really bad Hyperemesis too and this is my 1st pregnancy. The worst thing is that because it is so rare, other people just don't get just how awful, debilitating, demoralising and destressing it really is.

Read all the Hyperemesis threads/posts on here as only people who have been thru varying degrees of it truly know how horrendous it is and can support you.

I am 13+5 now and had terrible HE from week 5+3 which eased a little by week 11. Was hospitalised 3 times (stayed from 4 days to 6 days).

Yes my intravenous catheters did hurt a little as did the intramuscular and intravenous injections but i could justify the pain if it stopped the incessant vomiting. The exception was when an incompetent nurse forced through a blood clot in my iv line (i'm a vet so i knew what good iv line management should be) but i didn't go back to that particularly badly managed hospital.

Also some doctors are better at treating it than others (and it is sometimes depressing how bad some are) but it is worth knowing what the treatments are...

• iv fluids - stop dehydration, the most dangerous part of the whole problem, if not treated can lead to kidney failure etc

• anti-sickness drugs - to help prevent you getting dehydrated by taking in oral fluids, inlcuding... promethazine, cyclizine, prochlorperazine, metoclopramide, domperidone, and lastly ondansteron (or ondansetron) - these are all the actual drug names, they may have different trade names

The drugs above are usually "tried" in that order due to 1. risk of side-effects and 2. COST to the NHS (ondansteron is very expensive and not widely used so doctors loathe to use it but it was the ONLY thing that stopped my bouts of excessive vomiting, for a while...until the next bout!). BTW Hyperemesis babies are usually very healthy so don?t worry about the little blighter ? they think it?s a possible link between the size/blood supply of the placenta and the amount of hormones flooding our systems.

Bouts of vomiting even in hyperemesis wax and wane. The trick is to eat and drink on the days you can. Even if it is just crap (but try to take a preg multivit if u can). For the last 2 weeks when not vomiting I have been living on Ribena (the only drink now that doesn?t make me sick) and crumpets with marmite and butter. Hardly balanced, but they don?t freak me out.

Bear in mind it will ease AT SOME POINT. I'm still throwing up occasionally, feel horribly nauseous all the time and so shattered i sleep about 18 hours a day but i am better than i was 4 weeks ago.

Hello,

Good to feel that I am not alone. 8 weeks pregnant with#3. Have already been to hospital, and have ondansetron and ranitidine.

Still feeling dreadful though, and just trying to get through each day. It's so hard, but I know it will pass.

My DH is marvellous, so I have warned friends, and simply gone in to hibernation mode. It is the only way I can cope.

Huge support to you all, your babies will be worth it, and you will forget the horrors of hyperemesis in time.

One thing I found helpful when facing the fridge/oven smell was a dab of Vicks under my nose. You may be nauseated by Vicks, so might want something else, but it makes you feel "armed" at least.
Ooooh...people who don't understand hyperemesis bug me "Well, i felt a bit queasy, but I was never actually sick" is my all-time fave from a helpful chum who mentioned ginger biscuits every time she saw me.
I remember going ape at someone who was gearing up to tell me off for losing weight, too.
I'd get signed off...I'm self-employed, so I could work around my bouts, but I tell you what.....it was a killer.
Eat and drink when you can, like others have said.
Another thing I did was to tell myself that any chuck-ups before noon were morning sickness, not HE, and so didn't warrant meds or special attention. Utterly irrational, but it helped me break the day up. You really do live hour by hour when it's really bad.
Best wishes, and it will pass.
My 1st words to DD when she was plonked on my stomach in April were: "Hello....you've been making me sick for months!"