Morning sickness

[Figandolive]

I am currently about 8 weeks pregnant and I am waiting to be contacted by my midwife/get bloods done.

I had a miscarriage in the summer and I have been badly let down by my local hospital provider and I feel very alone and frightened.

I have had morning sickness (all day nausea) for nearly two weeks but I am lucky as I am a teacher and I have had half term. But it is getting so bad I can’t get out of bed. I am stressed about how I will be able to work. The symptoms are getting worse not better. I have absolutely no energy and I constantly feel sick.

I have tried all the tips regarding ginger, water and bread. The bands are not working. I can’t get through to my doctor and I currently have no midwife and support.

I have read morning sickness can last for weeks and weeks, but I am so stressed about work. I can’t rest anymore and nothing is working and I feel extremely low.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Seb9]

I would call 111 if you cannot get hold of your doctor and speak to someone about getting a prescription for anti sickness medication and see about getting checked for dehydration etc if you're feeling really bad. It could be Hyperemesis Gravidarum and you might need fluids etc.

[Figandolive in reply to Seb9]

Thank you so much! I have submitted an e consult to my gp. I should hear from them tomorrow. I finally had some food today and feel a little better but I think I will need some medication for me to be able to do my job. Thank you for your response.

[MrsOrangejuice]

I felt absolutely awful from about 5/6 weeks in my last pregnancy and it lasted up to the third trimester. This time it's been even worse and also 24hrs without let up. Ginger etc makes absolutely no difference. I've found it extremely difficult to work and I do very long hours and expected to be constantly on it. So finally bitten the bullet and got my GP to prescribe something - only just picked up the meds but am so hoping they work. It's not HG with me and I can eat and drink, it's just absolutely constant nausea - either can't get to sleep or it wakes me up, and because it went on for so long last time I just don't think I can keep doing it, plus have a toddler. Are you able to take some time off sick or reduce your hours temporarily? I think it's fairly common to do this, even though it may mean telling your employer earlier than you have/want to. Can you email your GP surgery if you can't get through on the phone? May also be worth trying 111 or the EPU - it can be a serious medical condition and you may need to be monitored or get fluids x

[Figandolive]

Thank you so much for your reply, and I am so sorry to hear about how much you have suffered in your last pregnancy. I am quite similar and it is the nausea for me that is waking me up and stopping me from sleeping.

I am a teacher and I haven’t informed my work yet and I am planning on doing this next week. I have been off for over a week (2 week half term) so thankfully I haven’t had to officially take time off. I have carried out an e consult to my doctor so I am hoping to hear from them tomorrow. I had suspected sepsis in the summer and 111 didn’t get back to me for 7 hours and if they refer me to a&e I will struggle to go due to my horrendous experience.

Thank you for getting back to me. As I haven’t revealed the pregnancy it’s been hard to seek support apart from my husband and one of my close friend. May I ask what medication you were prescribed? Thank you so much.

[MrsOrangejuice in reply to Figandolive]

Good that you can do the e consult option - I think it's very common and women have taken the meds for so long without issue that hopefully they'll just prescribe them for you. I did hear that not all women get relief with the first ones they try, but that there are about 3 common ones so you can ask to try others if the first ones don't work. I've been prescribed cylizine 3x a day. It is really hard in the early stages as it's when you can feel at your absolute worst but when you may not want to be telling people just yet, and you run out of excuses, although everyone understands when you do finally tell people. My SIL had HG with her first and had to tell people early, as otherwise I think we would have thought she had something terminal(!) and with the second she told people almost immediately as she wanted help and understanding. But it's a very personal decision and only for you and your partner to decide when you want to x

[Figandolive in reply to MrsOrangejuice]

Thank you so much for your replies. They really give me hope that something can be done about this. I do not feel like myself and I am really not coping.

I have been up the entire night again due to nausea and I am really struggling. I will hopefully speak to the doctor today but as someone who has quite high energy levels this has really knocked me and I feel extremely low.

Thank you for giving me guidance.

[Sunnyday33]

You cannot be penalised for having any time off due to pregnancy related matters. Confide in your Headteacher, they cannot tell anyone else, and explain you are really suffering with morning sickness.

[Figandolive in reply to Sunnyday33]

Thank you for this!

I think because I only found out quite recently I feel like I have no support. I lost my first baby just before 12 weeks and it was so hard to keep the pregnancy from everyone.

I am not sure of my rights so this gives me comfort. I think as soon as I talk to my headteacher this will ease my anxiety. I really enjoy my job and like to do my best, but I can barely eat, drink or sleep at the moment, I feel like a shell of my former self.

[Twiglet2]

firstly dont worry about work please just phone in sick. Then go to the GP and explain that you need some meds to help with morning. Sickness and a sick line for work for a fortnight. If I remember correctly the midwife had to email my GP anyways to sign off my prescription for the meds so they should be able to help. I was about 8-9weeks before I got a call from a midwife to ask for the meds too as that is normally about the time for first booking appointment but you don’t have to wait for that just go to GP and don’t feel bad about taking the time off work they will cope and hopefully you will feel better soon to return to class… ps ice lollies helped get me hydrated before the meds kicked in as I couldn’t even keep water down (and yes it was winter for me too lol) xx

[Figandolive in reply to Twiglet2]

Thank you for this!

I am off again this week due to half term. I am quite a social person and I had about 7 activities planned and I have had to cancel them all due to feeling so poorly, I am a people pleaser so even my husband knows I’m bad if I have done this…

Thank you for the information. My gp should be contacting me today. I will get some ice lollies today that’s a great idea.

I really appreciate your response.

[Morgana77]

Hi Figandolive

I have recently been following Dr Barbara O'Neil on tik tok. She is very much into natural remedies. I had horrific morning sickness myself so I feel your pain it is just the worst so debilitating .

I ll be honest not much worked for me I tried everything. The injection cyclazine works better than the tablet form but the hospital wouldn't give that on a regular basis I doubt.

So whilst always researching myself as a private Maternity Nurse and doula Dr Barbara O'Neil recommends Magnesium she suggest those with bad morning sickness may have magnesium deficiency? Worth exploring I guess? Always check with your GP first.

Let me know how you get on out of interest or if anything else has worked.

All the best with your pregnancy and congratulations! J X

[Seb9 in reply to Morgana77]

Do be careful who you're following on TikTok, I did a quick Google of this person and she's not a doctor and has actually been banned before from giving out medical information. gritdaily.com/barbara-oneil...

I would recommend following Jen Hamilton, she's a labour and delivery nurse who advocates for equity in delivery and gives really good scientific evidence.

Photo of text

[Rezeva in reply to Seb9]

Do be careful to judge people based just on a quick search on Wikipedia. I suggest you listen to her lessons, THINK about what she is saying and the research she is basing her knowledge on... Maybe you'll find she makes more sense than the certified doctors who are just blindly following the feeding hand of big pharma...

[Seb9 in reply to Rezeva]

Oh there was a ton more than just the Wikipedia page on her, but the Wikipedia page was fairly concise, the fact that she is banned for life by the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) from providing free or paid health services is more than enough for me to shout loudly that her information should be disregarded as useless and potentially dangerous. She's charging people for her 'cures' so she's in my opinion worse that pharmaceutical companies as she knows full well her 'remedies' don't work, are totally unproven, completely unregulated and with no come back on her if you follow her advice and get sicker or die. Hard no on giving her any of my time or money!

[Rezeva in reply to Seb9]

It wasn't really my intention to change anyone's mind about anything, but maybe just provoke a thought for other people who might stumble across a new name and are interested in learning more about the kind of medicine, human kind spent millennia exploring and using to their advantage... As compared to not even 80 years of "modern medicine", which many people know is a corrupted big pharma business...Some people prefer to dig deep, listen to different people, learn and come up with their own conclusions - some prefer to give away the responsibility of decision making to other hands...

The beauty of life!

[Seb9 in reply to Rezeva]

I wouldn't call research into her kind of medicine digging deep, it's just misinformation and disingenuous scamming of vulnerable people. She and people of her ilk are criminal and unfortunately, because they're totally unregulated, the amount of harm they do will be totally unquantifiable. In my opinion people like her are just as, if not more so corrupt that pharmaceutical companies.

Making decisions based on misinformation and disinformation is dangerous. Most people that fall prey to these types of scammers have had unfortunate experiences that had lead them to mistrust medical experts and pharmaceutical companies, which I do have sympathy for, but to me it's looking for cures and hope in the wrong places, and from people who are only there to make money from those vulnerabilities.

[NHLondon]

Oh i hope you are alright, its a really tough time the first trimester. I was sick and had indigestion/ couldn't keep food down up until 9 ish weeks. i would recommend to have small portions throughout the day, try things like smoothies or soups. If you can try and avoid processed foods, i found that made it worse for me. Also I definitely recommend to rest as much as you can and avoid any stress.

I'm currently 26 weeks now.. and it does get better.. but I also had miscarriage last year at almost 12 weeks.. was heart-breaking.. but this time I told my manager straight away and told them I cannot take on any stress. luckily my employer was very understanding and let me just work as I could.

If I were you, I would ask the Doctor for a sick note (you can also self certify for a week).

I'm constantly anxious all the time about how my pregnancy is going, but everyone keeps telling me to have positive thoughts. But yeah keep on at your Doctors/ they should get back to you before 10 weeks to book you in for your scans.

hope it all goes well for you.

[Fulcher88]

Am 8 week nd had miscarriage in summer aswel a just phone women health nd book myself in to get scan at my local hospital nd as your appointment my still be open when u had miscarriage x