Morning sickness the survival guide

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew that the potential of getting morning sickness was possible. However, I didn't know or expect that morning sickness from week six of pregnancy would mean all day sickness. 

I wanted to share in a post my experiences so that anyone who is in a similar situation might find some comfort in my story and find help in some of my survival techniques. This post is more serious than my normal posts but happy pregnancy posts will follow. 

For those of you who haven't been pregnant, morning sickness is not a given; if you are unfortunate enough to suffer then for most people it lasts a few weeks and is gone. For an unlucky few they develop Hyperemesis Gravidarum a severe form of nausea and vomiting. 

I unfortunately had severe morning sickness from week six of pregnancy, which on the bright side is the only thing I am likely to ever have in common with the Royals. As soon as I got out of bed I would feel sick, I would travel and feel sick, if I didn't eat I would feel sick, if I eat I would feel sick, if I smelt strong smells I would feel sick. If I wasn't feeling sick I was being sick and this lasted till I went to bed. 

Bed became a haven with it being the only place that I felt any form of normality. 

At fourteen weeks pregnant it ended up with a stay in hospital when tablets didn't work to reduce the sickness. 

I was seriously dehydrated, I couldn't keep anything down including water, my body started using up fat stores and I developed severe Ketosis and ketones in my urine. To be totally honest I felt horrendous. It was grim :-(

The sickness only really disappeared around 22 weeks; I really can't tell you how grateful I was. It is only now that I can write about it and see the funnier side of the experience. 

Here are some tricks that I learnt and that helped me through:

1.Crackers will be your new best friend, have a packet by your bed. Before you get up in the morning slowly eat three they will do wonders to help reduce the feeling of sickness. 

2.Be prepared when you go out as the thought of being caught short and being sick in public can be really stressful and make you anxious. Pack sandwich bags and tissues; You will be amazed at how discretely you can be sick if you need to be. Just having them in your handbag will make you relax. 

3.Try travel sickness bands, they did help with reducing my sickness. 

4. Eat small meals often rather than three big meals. Think grazing rather than a huge feast. 

5. Sparkling water worked really well, the bubbles helped to settle my stomach.  

6.When I felt I was going to be sick I would smell an Olbas oil inhaler, now I have no idea why this worked but it did.  

7.If you are still feeling sick and vomiting don't be afraid to seek help. There is help and support available. 

Having Hyperemesis Gravidarum truly was a test of endurance, everyone tells you that pregnancy is not an illness but during the sixteen weeks that I was constantly sick it certainly felt like I was ill. The trick is to find things you love, rest when you need to and get support from those that love you. 

It's also not advisable to be on a boating holiday whilst going through this (you can read all about it here). 

www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk
www.helpher.org