3rd week of relentless morning sickness

[HoneybeeFlo]

Hi all,

I'm here looking for some support, advise and encouragement as I'm 8.5 weeks and even though I'm so happy to be pregnant, I'm stuck at home alone with intense nausea.

Gratefully, I haven't actually been sick but the relentlessness of the feeling of sickness is really starting to get me down. During the first 10 days or so I was able to surrender to it and enjoy the rest but now its been so long (17 days), I can feel it affecting my ability to be 'well' mentally and emotionally. I'm just zoning out and watching TV to try to distract myself which is really unlike me.

I haven't been able to work for 3 weeks now which is pretty difficult as I'm self employed. My family are stepping in to support me financially for now but it is stressful because being self employed, I rely on my ability to keep working to guarantee my ongoing work. My partner keeps telling me not to worry about money but its difficult to adjust because I'm usually so independent.

On practical terms, ginger and mint are offering a temporary light relief but don't enable me to do anything. I have pressure point wrist bands on which I think are helping a little. Just trying to eat little and regularly which is hard because the fridge makes me gag! I treated myself to the expectful app and the meditations have been helping when I get stressed/emotional about the nausea.

If anyone can relate to this and went through something similar I'd love to hear from you. Please do share how you got through it : )

Big love x

[Lovefood1984]

Mine was so bad I couldn’t work (nausea, thankfully not a lot of sickness) and was drinking less than 500mls of fluids a day. Best thing I did was go and see my GP and get some meds for it, thankfully they took enough of the edge off to become what I called ‘functionally nauseous’ in that I could eat enough to keep me and baby going and go to work. Might be worth considering x

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to Lovefood1984]

I didn't think the GP could do anything so that's good to know. Anti-sickness drugs haven't worked for me in the past with my motion sickness but it might be worth a try. Thank you x

[jessyjessy572]

Hi have been through the same mine started the moment I found out and lasted till almost 13 weeks, I had history of miscarriage and really didn’t want to tell anyone so continued to work just tried to do more from home work. After running out half way through the meeting everyone guessed any way but that’s different story. I have got some anti Sickness tablets from the doctor that that helped a little ( but will be honest it was still tough), looks like you are trying all natural methods I guess from my research at the time different things help everyone differently. For me it was eating small portions of carbs, bread, pasta etc were mine best friends, I could not stand taste of water but for some reason black tea with sugar worked ( I don’t even like tea with sugar before pregnancy). The funny thing is you will just wake up one day and all of the sudden it all will go away so just keep up a little longer and hopefully it will soon get better

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to jessyjessy572]

Gosh that is a long time to suffer with it.

Thats interesting about the water and tea thing because I've been the opposite. I struggled to drink water so used to rely to juices and tea but now all I can stomach is water! I am managing to drink a lot of water by sipping throughout the day.

Thanks for that last sentence - I am so looking forward to the day when it just goes away : )

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

Reflexology helped me through, as I had sickness and nausea up to 23 weeks. It is miserable. I hate to tell you that 17 days isn’t that long so if it’s bad enough to stop you working then please see your GP, there are safe medications that can help.

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

Wow 23 weeks is very long. I'm so sorry to hear it went on that long. I can't imagine that. One of the previous comments mentioned going to the GP too so I think I will try that if there is no change soon. Thank you for your message : )

[Mitt45]

I had HG from 5 weeks and the last time I vomited was 16 weeks. I was off work for almost 3 months.

I tried acupuncture, it did help a bit but it didn't get rid of it for me.

I would say dont suffer in silence, go to ur GP and ask for sickness meds. Try cyclizine.

It didn't stop the nausea and vomiting for me but eventually made it copable. I'm 29+5 now and still take 2 cyclizine a day. As I said I have HG so extreme case but you should defo seek help.

As for eating, the medical profession kept telling me my body has stored that baby will use so not to worry but that I needed to keep hydrated.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope you feel better soon. Xx

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to Mitt45]

Thank you for your message and I'm so sorry to hear you suffered so much. I hope you are doing ok with it now. Great that the cyclizine helps - I will definitely look that up.

It has been so comforting this morning for me to read all these comments from you and the others and realise I'm not alone in this x

[Lovefood1984 in reply to HoneybeeFlo]

Cyclizine was what I had too 😊 Definitely gets you more functional 😀 x

[Naijagirl1]

I had it with my first and now going through it with my second. I couldn't function so I had to go on medication which is helping but doesn't take the nausea away 100%. I've just hit 12 weeks and hoping in the next week I'll be done with it so I can get my life back. It's so difficult being sick and having to go to work. The other day at work I was sick in the toilet and so tired I just went to a corner and cried.

Ginger and all that stuff doesn't do anything for me. With this one I'm also having really dry mouth and the metallic taste is crazy so puts me off alot of foods. My sense of smell is another one. I dread going into my local Lidl because of the smell.

Hopefully yours clears up by 12 weeks; maybe try and sleep through it as much as you can and try and sip water regularly. Toast and peanut butter might help hold your stomach a bit but to be honest your body will dictate what it likes and doesn't like.

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to Naijagirl1]

O goodness its so reassuring to read your message but I'm so sorry you are suffering too. I can't imagine going into work feeling like this. I think I would end up crying in the toilet like you did quite quickly. There are no women at my work so I think it would be really hard to keep up and cope. I hope your work has been understanding.

My sense of smell is also off the charts. I can smell things so far away! If my neighbour cooks something I have to close all the windows and go somewhere else. Going to the shops are really hard for me too because I can't get in my car easily and I worry about being around all the food. My sister is having to do my food shopping at the moment - My diet is basically raw carrot and plain jacket potato - so its a pretty easy shop for her!

Sleeping is helping loads so yes I'll try to sleep more. I'm getting 10-12 hours a day which feels like loads. I might try to start napping in the afternoon.

I really appreciate your message. Thank you : )

And I really hope it clears up for you soon x x x

[laurafig]

I also went through the same and for me it lasted until about 16 weeks. I work for myself so I could work when I felt like it, but if it was a normal job I def wouldn't have been working. I just couldn't do anything at times, even shower! I think it's much more common than people say AND much more than just 'morning sickness'. I tried acupuncture (which is a more intense form of the wrist bands) and eventually I went to get medication which worked. Maybe go to your GB for advice on the sickness and also seek out support groups such as Pregnancy Sickness Support. I follow them on instagram. Good luck and just do what you can to get through this temporary time. Even if that is eating kitkats for breakfast!

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to laurafig]

I can't believe yours went on until 16 weeks - that must've been so tough. My few weeks seems not so bad now. It's been so good to hear about the experiences of others to know theres nothing 'wrong' with what I'm going through.

I can completely relate to the shower thing. Yesterday work rang me to ask me a question at midday and asked how I was - I said 'I've just managed to shower which is a massive achievement' - they didn't know what to say. I don't think they realise how bad it is. It's an office of 5 men so its unchartered territory. Its great that you could do little bits from home though. I'm going to have to try to do that soon.

Will check out the sickness support on Instagram.

Thank you so much for your message x

[laurafig in reply to HoneybeeFlo]

Despite mine going on for much longer, I still wouldn't wish even a day of it on anyone else so anyone who does get it is doing great by my eyes! You just have to do what you need to at the time. Mine has gone away now and I'm so thankful it didn't last the whole journey (still a few weeks until i pop!). Amy Schumer, the comedian recently had her baby and she was really open about her sickness. She even talks about her on her netflix standup (which she did whilst she was still going through it!).

As I say, do what you can, when you can and don't suffer if you don't need to.

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to laurafig]

I will definitely check out Amy Schumer - thank you : )

Best of luck for the last part of your pregnancy x x x

[Missnursie]

So glad to hear someone is gonna through the same! I am 10 weeks pregnant today and the sickness over the last few days has been just awful. I seem to vomit every night at 3am and then at least 3 or 4 times throughout the day I am on cyclizine that I got from the hospital as I had to be admitted for fluids I was so dehydrated, but the tablets don’t always stay down so it’s a bit of a losing battle. I’ve had to be off work on and off which I hate but hoping it will pass soon! Sorry I don’t have much advice but same as you just looking for support! Everyone keeps reassuring me it’s the sign of a healthy pregnancy but boy is it tough! X

[HoneybeeFlo in reply to Missnursie]

Hi : )

Its so nice to hear from someone going through something similar. Although, I'm not actually being sick - I've come close so many times but mine is just manifesting as constant nausea. I'm so sorry you were admitted to hospital. That must've been scary? Have you been in touch with the pregnancy sickness support charity? I've found their website and instagram really comforting.

I've not been to work at all now for a month and have had to just drop everything. You've done well to go in at all and for as much as you have. In the last week I have managed to go for a 15-20min walk in the evening which is having a vast improvement on my wellbeing. But this is TOUGH. The one thing I am now starting to enjoy (apart from being a Netflix expert) is being really honest with people about how I am when they ask. There is such a misconception that pregnancy is the most easy, natural thing in the world and that everything is totally magical. I told my brother to imagine how he would feel if he walked a 15 mile hike then drank a bottle of whiskey - 'cos that's how I've felt from 5am until 7pm every day for a month now!

x x x