Constant nausea - any tips welcome

[IVFwithPGD]

Hi,

I’m 9w 5d and really struggling with constant nausea at the minute. Its been none stop since around the 5/6 week mark. I’m not actually physically being sick, it’s just a constant nausea feeling, even during the night.

I’ve tried ginger nuts, and they really don’t help me at all. I’m managing bland foods such as toast, jacket potatoes and cereal. I’ve gone off meat completely and finding I can’t really eat many meals, especially anything remotely healthy - which isn’t ideal.

Has anyone got any tips that have helped their nausea? I’m at my midwife booking appointment this afternoon and plan on asking for some help/advice. I’ve lost a couple of pounds as well .. nothing extreme but just slightly worried I am loosing weight this early into pregnancy.

But any tips and tricks you lovelies have tried, I’d love to hear .. willing to try anything help keep this feeling at bay.

Thanks in advance 🤍 xx

[Redsequin]

Hi lovely. I'm sorry you're suffering from nausea. I am too! It's awful. Here are the various things I do/have tried. They help in varying degrees, although some days nothing works...

* Eat little and often. If you let yourself get hungry, nausea will be worse.

* Try keeping some salted pretzels by the bed if you wake up feeling sick in the night.

* Lemon water or fizzy lemon water can take the edge off. Also, try lemon-flavoured boiled sweets (sucking on any boiled sweet should distract from the discomfort).

* Keep the windows open! Cool air can help.

* Nap if your day allows it. Apparently, nausea is worse if you’re tired.

* Sharp fruits can be a good way of getting some nutrients and seem easier to eat: try green apples/pineapple/mango/strawberries/grapes.

* Low-sugar fruit ice lollies can be soothing. Judes do a fruit and veg one: probably have a few vitamins in them!

* Watery veg., like cucumber and lettuce, or plain-tasting veg., like green beans or peas, seem a million times easier than broccoli or spinach!

* When you’re really bad, salty crisps can settle your tummy. (I like hula hoops for this!)

* You could try seasickness bands. Didn’t work for me but others swear by them.

* Make yourself eat something small as soon as you wake up. It definitely helps the rest of the day be less awful.

* Cold food is easier than hot food because it doesn't smell!

Hugs xxx

[IVFwithPGD in reply to Redsequin]

That’s really helpful 🥰 thank you so much!!

On a weekend, I’m definitely resting and napping more. Unfortunately I work in education so Monday - Friday I’m just having to power through and then flopping on the settee once I get home on an evening.

Fruit - yes I’m managing fruit fine, thankfully. However can’t stomach veg or salad which I used to love.

Going to go on the hunt for some low sugar ice lollies and I’m going to purchase some salty crisps.

Hoping that come the second trimester it starts to ease up 🙏🏼🤞🏼 And hopefully the same for you too lovely.

Feel bad even putting the post up, I don’t want it to seem like I’m ungrateful. I’m so so thankful to be pregnant after all of the ups and downs, but some days the nausea feeling can just be so draining and it makes you feel like you’re not even in control of your own body.

Thank you again 🥰 xxx

[Redsequin in reply to IVFwithPGD]

Wow, you're working in education through this? What a trooper. I work from home and that's hard enough, even with the advantage of taking several breaks to be horizontal on the couch.

I think if you're managing fruit you don't need to worry too much about veg. Honestly, I know people who could only eat crisps or mashed potato through their whole first trimester and their babies were just fine. Thankfully, they're very good at stealing the nutrients they need!

Also please don't feel bad about asking for help. I think those of us who've experienced infertility put so much pressure on ourselves to enjoy every second of pregnancy, but it's very normal to feel both extremely grateful and hate the physical sensation of feeling sick at the same time. I don't think anyone enjoys nausea. 😨

Hugs xxx

[SJA14]

Aw I really feel for you, it’s horrible isn’t it? Makes it really hard to concentrate when you have to work as well… 🙁

I’ve been struggling the same and I’ve found it helps just to have small snacks throughout the day rather than eating proper meals. A few things that I seem to be ok with: Ready salted hula hoops, peanut butter on toast and Mac and cheese - could try these!

I also found that water was making me feel so sick and I was getting a bit dehydrated but someone said to try putting in a small drop of squash and it’s soo much better.

I was the same with my first and it went away at about 14 weeks. Good luck! x

[DianeArnold Partner]

Hi IVFwithPGD. You're doing all the good things. Make sure you drink plenty of water too, even if only sipping. Your midwife will monitor this closely. Good luck! Diane

[KiboXX]

Oh it’s the worst isn’t it 😫😫😫

This probably isn’t what you want to hear but I’ve never found anything that actually helps and I’ve tried it all! The good news is, for most people it peaks around 10 weeks and is normally gone by around 12 weeks.

As long as you’re taking your pregnancy vitamin then your baby is getting everything it needs so don’t worry about what you’re eating. Just eat what you can, when you can. I completely went off meat my whole pregnancy thing with my daughter, it’s really common xxx

[Purpledoggy]

This is what happened to me - nausea non-stop 24/7 but not actually being sick. I found Fever Tree ginger beer, home made ginger biscuits (with lots of extra ginger), and soda water (I got a soda stream after a friend's recommendation) helpful. Frequent little sips of the drinks rather than necking them was best. Little salted pretzels were great as a night-time remedy - I kept a bag by the bed and would have 2 or 3 when I woke up in the night really nauseous. The nausea is often hunger masquerading so trying to eat frequently (every 30 mins if you have to) can help to stop it getting too out of hand. xx

[Sunflower35]

I felt the same as you and was put off by the same things, I also lost a bit of weight (2-3kg) that are now slowly coming back at 18 weeks. So I would go to the supermarket and randomly looked for ANYTHING that I wouldn’t feel disgusted by on that day, as I found that if I could snack on small things (no matter how random), the nausea would stop for a little bit. Most things would only work for a couple of days at most, except for fruit and toast, which I managed for 6-7 weeks until I went off them. Some weeks I would be ok with 1 type of fruit as a snack, other yoghurt, other fresh orange juice, actimel, a pack of prawns, some nuts, maybe a boiled egg, fish fingers, pasta, slice of toast, homemade chicken soup or lentil soup. Bananas were good too. I have gone off most of those by now but thankfully nausea is gone at 18 weeks and I’m just left with poor digestion and not much I fancy 😆. I still cannot have salads and struggling with greens, so I try raw carrots, red peppers… Just wanted to encourage you to snack frequently as it was the key for me. Having said that, I’m lucky to be able to work from home and my desk is next to the kitchen, so I have the luxury to go to the fridge frequently to stare at it in despair for 3-4 times before I finally find something I can stomach.Stay strong, it will be over soon!

[Hidden]

Have a look into electrode pulse watches for anti-sickness , you use them with a little conductivity gel. they are really expensive but can be amazing! Depends on your budget etc of course ! Good luck

[Positivechangeplease]

Sounds all too familiar. Don’t worry about losing weight that’s actually really normal at this point. I was the same as you, macaroni cheese bland food - if I had anything else I could only manage a mouthful really, I think I was managing fruit (because veg blurgggh) and sweet things. Lunch was easier probably a sandwich and crisps - definitely could manage salt and vinegar crisps. But basically the nausea for me lasted all day. Ginger biscuits I found worked when I woke in the middle of the night but not really in the day. Hang in there hopefully not long to go before it lets up

[Daffodil99]

Another hand up for nausea here. Week 9 was the worst for me, I'm week 11 now and am having some ok days in between others where i seem to heave pretty much constantly. I lost 6 pounds and midwife didn't seem too concerned. And I echo the admiration for you still being able to go to work .....I'm not sure what I'd do if i couldn't work from home!

So the things that worked for me....

Ice lollies - they've been a godsend on bad days. I was worried about the amount of sugar etc in them so started freezing fruit juice in those little lolly holders you can get on amazon. Seem to do just as well. Will try mixing my own smoothies and freezing those when i have more energy.

Pickled onion monster munch - not healthy but i can eat them so some days i just give in. Better than nothing.

Fresh fruit - strawberries, apples, melon and grapes are best.

Marmite on toast (sometimes)

A bit of squash in my water means i can drink it more.

And boiled sweets have been my saviour. Again i was worried about sugar so bought those herbal ones you can get in Holland and Barrett.

Hope this helps. Fingers crossed we'll all feel better next trimester! x