Intro

[this was copied from a hyperemesis forum, hence was originally intended for quite a restricted audience]

Hello,

I wanted to share what I've learnt about my condition, because I
really really hope it might be helpful to others.

Sadly I can't hang around long because reading and writing make me
feel ill, so apologies if I'm repeating anything other people have
said.

First a bit of background: I was pregnant with my first child, Felix,
six years ago. I suffered from hyperemesis. I would vomit hourly, 24
hours a day, for weeks on end. Was unable to eat a mouthful or drink
a drop, got dehydrated, ended up on a drip. It starrted around 8-10
weeks (can't remember exactly) and continued to five months, but at
the beginning and the end it was only short bouts. In the middle was
a 6-wk period when I had three fortnights of non-stop vomiting and
ended up on a drip in hospital.

Earlier this year, I had a miscarriage. I wasn't sick during that
pregnancy. So the fact that I'm sick during this one is to some
extent comforting, because I wonder if it's an indication that
hormone levels are high and therefore healthy.

My mother, her sisters and her mothers all had hyperemesis. My mother
had it in her first pregnancy, didn't have it at all in a pregnancy
which miscarried, and experienced nausea but wasn't sick much in her
third pregnancy.

I'm now 8 weeks pregnant and the nausea has been increasing. This
week has been the worst and I have started vomiting. I'm nauseous
most of the time, but there are definite triggers which make it worse
and definite things which make it better. I'm also exhausted and
can't do anything strenuous, which will also make me feel more
nauseous. I'm also hypersensitive to smells and noise and bright
lights.

I've had two mornings this week when I've thrown up and after that
have felt much much worse. I was convinced the cycle was starting,
and that I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything without throwing
up again. BUT I managed to beat it.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel easily as bad as I did when I
was suffering from full-on hyperemesis, and although my life is no
fun at all, I am hardly throwing up at all and I believe this is
because I am intervening to manage the situation. I really hope I'm
right, because if I am then hopefully I can help others too.

Here is my theory:

By far the most effective, and often hardest, thing I would
recommend... keep eating. Non-stop. My theory is that the hormones
build up in your stomach and for people prone to hyperemesis the
stomach is hypersensitive to the hormones, and reacts by evicting all
contents. The only solution is to keep stomach constantly full of
absorbent food (potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, crackers), which absorb the hormones and stop the stomach from reacting.

It definitely works. If I'm feeling awful, I have to eat stodgy food.
It makes me feel better. If I don't, I get rapidly worse. The BIG
problem with this is, the more nauseous I feel, the less I want to
eat. I have to do it v. slowly, otherwise my stomach rejects it and
the whole thing escalates fast. Add to this the fact that, because
I'm pregnant, my metabolism is in hyperdrive and my body is craving
as much energy as poss to get on with important job of Making Baby.
So all food is digested super-quick. Result: I have to eat at least
once an hour, preferably every half hour. Often I leave it too long,
then feel too ill, then have to force it down v slowly and sit very
still indeed. Any motion at all will have adverse effects.

The most important thing: I have to eat several times in the middle
of the night, to keep stomach full. Otherwise when I get up in the
morning, it all goes wrong. I have to eat while lying down and wait
for it to settle before attempting to get out of bed, and when I do
get out of bed I have to do it very slowly indeed. This is a crucial
time of the day. If I get this wrong, it sets the whole day out of
kilter. Once my body has been allowed to expel what's in the stomach,
I feel much much worse and it's really hard to get back on track
again. Presumably this is because the hormone level then builds up
fast and has nothing to absorb it. Some days I've spent hours and
hours sitting in the same spot, eating very very slowly, until
finally I get in balance again.

I find it's crucial not to move while eating, to eat as much as poss
before getting out of bed, to eat every time you wake in the night.
Personally I keep a loaf of bread by the bed and eat slices of dry
bread - three a night. Dry biscuits aren't enough, they're not bulky
enough to absorb the hormones.

I'm someone who has always vomited easily, and if I feel nauseous the
main thing I want to do is vomit. I find it eases the nausea to
vomit, so that's what I want to do. But due to this theory about
hormones being absorbed by food, I think it's crucial to avoid
vomiting at all costs. This goes against my nature and is no fun to
do. It means sitting very still when I want to vomit, thinking of
other things, imagining myself somewhere else, imagining the nausea
is outside my body. I used a hypnotherapist to help me with this bit:
He taught me how to hypnotise myself and convince myself the nausea
is elsewhere, but now I just relax, close my eyes, and try and throw
the nausea outside myself. I think anyone can do it with practice,
but it's not a miracle cure. I still feel pretty deadful. And without
the eating, it doesn't work. The eating is definitely the key.

It's tedious and no fun and I have to work really hard at it, but as
long as I'm not vomiting I know it's worth it.

Here are some other things I do to help:

Lots of rest, minimal stress. Sack all commitments, give up on
getting anything done, get friends to help out with childcare. As
soon as I do anything taxing or tiring, I start feeling ill.

Get fresh air and gentle exercise when poss (small walks round local
park).

Have showers. But not baths. They make me feel v ill indeed.

Listen to music.

Lie down.

Relaxation exercises and self hypnosis. Imagine the nausea is outside
your body and belongs to someone else. Imagine you are a leaf being
blown on a mountain top.

When very bad, remove all stimuli. Lie quiet in darkened room.

Drink as much as poss.

Don't eat anything fatty or sugary. You wouldn't believe how healthy
my diet is at the mo. Even a small piece of choc can make me feel
ill. I've sworn off all junk food.

Avoid reading and writing, as printed word makes me ill (this has
always been true - when I'm nauseous I can't read. When I was a kid I
could never read in the car. It's a recognised thing, but v.
annoying).

Avoid moving transport of any kind.

I was taking zinc (main active ingredient in ginger), and B complex,
and I don't think they made much difference. But now I'm taking
Pregnacare which also has iron, magnesium and various other things,
and I think that might be making a difference.

Things which don't work for me: acupressure, ginger, homeopathy,
acupuncture.

In my first pregnancy I used to try eating a dry
biscuit before getting out of bed. It didn't work. I now believe that's
cos it wasn't enough. I should lave eaten more, and left it longer
before getting out of bed.

Also, in my first pregnancy I worked very long hours until I was
physically incapable of working any longer. I think this really didn't
help either. That's why this time I've given up all thought of working
until late in the pregnancy, and I gave up work before I started
feeling ill. It's easy to get a doctor to give you a sick note if
you've suffered hyperemesis in previous pregnancies. Just tell them
you're nauseous and need rest to help prevent it developing into
something worse. I know this can cause problems with income, and currently I have no income at all or any prospect of any. But I would rather that than risk my health.