Hyperemisis

[mpenzi1]

Hi,
Following all the media on Hyperemisis today I noticed that there was no section on Mums Net surrounding the issue. My name is Lynda and today I took part in an interview with Jeremy Vine (Radio 2) regarding this acute condition which affects 3% of women during pregnancy. You can follow the interview below:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sv851#synopsis

Radio 2 did this interview becasue there were reports in 2 of the national newspapers (The Mail and The Sun) today regarding a mother who chose to terminate her pregnancy due to Hyperemisis.

See link: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1289198/My-morning-sickness-bad-I-abortion-Mothers-agonisi ng-decision-vomiting-40-times-day.html

I personally had Hyperemisis with both my girls and can honestly say it was the worst experience of my life and that I did at one point consider termination. The only thing that helped me was a support network we found online (this no longer exists!).

Just to let you know that if you need any advice or someone to talk to I am here!

Warmest Regards,
Lynda Martin

www.mpenzi.co.uk

Lynda that's great. I suffered so much with mine right up until the birth. Wish there had been a bit more support available at the time as nobody else I knew had had it.

Lynda I heard sections of the programme today, thank you for sharing your story. It is something that needs increased awareness.

No personal experience of hyperemesis (yet!) as am only 4 weeks with DC1, but I so feel for you poor families who have suffered with it. I have to admit I got very angry at some of the callers who labelled mothers terminating due to this as "selfish". Of course it's always people who haven't been through the ordeal who pass judgement . Walk a mile in someone's shoes and all that!

Do you have any stats on what percentage of mothers suffer with it? Or if there are known risk factors etc?

I had it so badly that I had a gastroscopy whilst pregnant (vomiting blood). Consultant thought I had an ulcer (I didn't). I was sick from the time I found out I was pregnant to the moment I had ds. He is an only for a variety of reasons not least of all because I would never want to go through a pregnancy again. I had no support at all unfortunately. I would say it was the worst time of my life but frankly it was eclipsed by ds's traumatic early arrival and all that that entailed.

Oh Lynda, this condition is SO poorly understood isn't it - I had hyperemisis from 6 weeks and am only now trying to get off the anti-sickness drugs at 39+6! I was in hospital for many weeks on a drip, had alergic reactions to every anti-sickness med they gave me until they tried me on the most expensive one at 12 weeks - Ondansetron (also known as Zofran).
Without this drug I have no idea where I would be now - I had lost 2st in 6 weeks, was unable to walk or shower without assistance and was vomiting up my stomach lining (sorry if TMI) for weeks before they even tried me on it. I couldn't sip water or even swallow my own saliva without bringing it up again. Nobody can know the full extent to which this condition can ruin your life unless they or someone close to them have been through it. I still have problems with appetite supression, terribly slow digestion (even for pregnancy!) and low weight gain but it is nothing compared to what may have happened had I not found the right meds. With all of this in mind it is understandable that some women just cannot carry on - we were about to start IVF when I fell pregnant naturally, so terminating was the last thing on my mind but having said that, I may have become very seriously ill with permanent damage to my stomach and liver had I carried on much longer.
I am still baffled by the lack of info Drs have about treatment available beyond Cyclozine - I have been managing this condition myself owing to the lack of support and information out there and quite frankly it has been a nightmare for me, my DH and my close family. Surely there should be something out there for us in terms of support networks and up to date information on treatment. 'Patients are usually re-hydrated overnight and told to eat little and often' just doesn't cut it!
Many thanks for your post Lynda - it is so refreshing to hear this condition talked about without it being likened to 'bad morning sickness'.

I had it when I was pg with DD for 'just' 3 weeks. I got used to throwing up anywhere in the house as it came on in seconds, my duvet got washed a lot that year . I remember the smell of sick was always in the bathroom and being sick in the garden borders too.

It was so wretched I couldn't keep sips of water down and ended up 'eating' ice cubes. At the point NHS direct (and my mum) told me to get to my GP's who prescribed Avomine which allowed me to eat in the evening and keep it down, even if it did knock me out.

I was off work alot during that time as if I didn't have the tablets I was throwing up but when I did take them I fell asleep. I felt very depressed too, the sensation of being ravenous but not being able to eat (or knowing it will come back up) was horrible.

It's a miserable experience IMO. Was one of the reasons I decided against having 3 dc's.

Carole Malone has written a vile article about this poor woman in today's NOTW. I know she's a tabloid tat hack but she scoffs at experts saying there isn't enough support for hyperemisis.