Tag Archives: Ondansetron

Remembering my HG Loss; Angel

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Today, (21st October 2021) is the13th anniversary of my little ones death. ‘Angel’ was my sons twin, he/she died at 9 weeks into the pregnancy due to the severity of my hyperemesis gravidarum. I only started receiving IV fluids and IV medications at 9 weeks into my second hg pregnancy, the morning after, we found out that one of our little ones had passed away.  I cant help but wonder if I had received more help for the hg, would I be blessed with twin 12 years old instead of just one?

Today I look back to my 2nd HG pregnancy during 2008/9 and think how badly I was looked after by the health care professionals, especially compared to my 2019/20 pregnancy. I was only 20/21 and despite having suffered HG before, was neglected and left to look after a toddler all the while severely dehydrated and deathly ill. My condition became so bad that I went into early liver failure on several occasions. In the end my liver was the reason I had to deliver Joshua prematurely. Throughout that pregnancy I was denied strong anti-emetics like ondansetron until well over 20 weeks despite multiple admissions to hospital and practically begging for help!

How is it I was allowed to get so poorly that I lost one of my babies? That I went in to early organ failure? And that I could be denied such a lifesaving drug for so long despite being so unwell??

Sadly this situation wasn’t rare or even uncommon, especially back then. Since Kate Middleton brought light and awareness to this awful and debilitating pregnancy condition, things have started to improve. But there are still some hospitals and doctors who are refusing medications like ondansetron to women who need it, for uninformed reasons.

Many GPs and hospital doctors do not like to give out medications that can increase the risk of congenital abnormalities to the foetus. It was always believed the Ondansetron increased the risk of cleft lip/cleft palate. And in truth there is a very slight increase in risk. But the risk is tiny.

In every 10,000 normal pregnancies there are 11 babies born with cleft lip/palate

In every 10,000 pregnancies where a woman has used ondansetron there are 14 babies born with cleft lip/palate.

Thats an increase in 3 in 10,000…when you compare this to the risks to the baby when the mother is dehydrated and malnourished, its seems tiny and insignificant. Personally I feel that as long as the risks have been properly assessed and the mother informed then it should be her choice to take medications like this. They may very well be a life saver for her and her baby! Would my baby be here if I had been allowed Ondansetron?

So today I think about all the women who are still left to suffer without the proper help they need to deal with their HG. To the women who sadly lose their babies to HG.

Did you know that the chance of pregnancy loss in an HG pregnancy is 1 in every 3. So one baby in every 3 HG pregnancies wont make it to birth.
Many women feel they cannot continue and are forced to terminate their wanted pregnancies because they cannot cope with the symptoms of HG. 5% of all terminations account for women who couldn’t deal with their pregnancy symptoms. That’s a huge amount!

I believe its time that women are supported, its time that doctors and health care professionals listen to the struggles of women and actually help them control their nausea and vomiting for the sake of all the beautiful little ones lost because of this insidious condition.

If you need help with you symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Or if its become so bad that you feel your only choice is to terminate. If your health practitioners are not taking you seriously I urge you to contact the pregnancy sickness support charity who can help advocate for you and give you some support to help you deal with your symptoms. They are non-judgemental and will LISTEN.

https://www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/get-help/

Please reach out for support, you don’t have to face HG alone!

R.I.P Angel
R.I.P all little ones lost to Hyperemesis Gravidarum!

You will never be forgotten and always remembered!

 

 

 

Final Diagnosis and Tube Referral

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So weeks after these were due I finally have the result of my gastric emptying scan and to be honest I was pretty shocked by them! I thought I had a motility problem but I just didn’t realise how bad it was.

It seems that during the time I was at the hospital for the gastric emptying scan the food barely moved at all, there was only a tiny amount that was digested that they couldn’t measure it precisely. With the pictures and data they collected Doctors could see that it would take my stomach 910 minutes to half empty. The average person takes between 43-115 minutes to half empty so my stomach was significantly slower than it should be. My GP had the results before the consultant and diagnosed me with severe gastroparesis, with this result, my symptoms and my continued weight loss he has suggested a feeding tube. My dietician also suggested this and asked for me to be referred to endoscopy for a feeding tube placement.

I don’t know how I feel about ‘needing’ a tube, I feel upset with myself and my stomach for not working properly and i’m frightened about having to rely on a tube again and not eat normally. However it has been a long time since I have been able to eat properly anyway. I have to avoid eating in public or going out for meals with friends and family because I can end up vomiting so I often avoid it or take double of my medication. If I take double medication, It can stop me vomiting (until the meds wear out) but it doesn’t stop me getting the same excruciating pain I usually get. It is so much easier to vomit sooner and end the pain quicker than delay the vomiting and have to deal with the agony until my the medication wears off and I end up vomiting hours later. So eating ‘normally’ has already been something that I cannot do.

I worry about the procedure of the tube itself. My dietician is thinking they will give me a gastronomy or gastro-jejunal tube (G-tube or GJ tube), which is surgically placed and comes with quite a long recovery. I worry about how I will cope with the pain of it, especially with a little toddler running around.

On the other hand I really welcome having some nourishment back, being able to feel like I have more energy. Not getting enough nutrients is affecting my body in lots of different ways: My periods have not come back since the birth, early onset menopause, thin and dry hair that breaks easily. My nails are brittle and break easily. I am ALWAYS so tired and cold, I have to wear 3 layers of clothes inside and 2 pairs of socks, even with the heating turned on. My hips hurt when I sit on a hard chair/bench or in the bath. Laying in bed is uncomfortable where I have so little fat. I am so irritable and my mood is so up and down. I am prescribed medication for my mental health condition but it doesn’t always stay down so my mental health in uncontrolled. I hate how I look now, I don’t look healthy and always have such heavy eye bags. Having the tube giving me some nutrients can improve all of this for me and give me such a better quality of life, so I welcome the idea of this.

In the last few weeks my weight has continued to drop and I hit a new low of 115lbs, my GP has asked that I get an expedited urgent appointment for this tube, so now I am waiting for an urgent appointment with my gastroenterologist to discuss the need for the tube. In the meantime he has doubled my erythromycin medication. Unfortunately I don’t find this medication helps me at all and i’m allergic to metoclopramide and domperidone! However due to the delay in appointments because of the pandemic I have been warned that even urgent appointments are taking a long time. I just hope its soon because I am really struggling now, this condition is getting me down! For nutrition I have Fortisip milkshake supplements that contain minerals and are full of calories but I often struggle to keep these down as they are quite heavy on my stomach.