First trimester with twins… how did you get through it??

[quinntanyad]

I am 9w5d pregnant with twins and have been experiencing debilitating nausea, fatigue and dizziness since 6 wks. I vomit daily but the amount of vomiting has gone down since taking Zofran, although I still feel nauseous all. the. time. I’m also taking unisom with b6 at night but I’m not convinced that’s doing anything. I eat small meals (mostly fruit, crackers, toast, oatmeal) every 60-90 min and drink lots of water and Gatorade. I haven’t officially been diagnosed with HG, but my OB basically hinted that I have it while at the same time insinuated that this is just part of having twins because of the extra hormones pumping through my body…
I also have an 18 month old son who is at home with me 2x/wk (he’s at daycare the other 3 days). I feel so guilty that I can’t play with him like he’s used to. Miss Rachel has been on our TV a lot. My husband has been doing everything with him during the evenings and weekends, and has taken on all the cooking/cleaning. I work PRN (as needed) at a hospital but have had to turn down multiple shifts because I simply can’t. Standing up or walking from room to room makes my BP drop and makes the nausea so much worse, so I am basically horizontal 24/7. Even showering is a chore and almost always ends with me feeling extremely dizzy to the point where I have to sit down. We’re supposed to go out of town next week to visit family but I seriously doubt I will be able to go. It just sucks.

If this sounds like you now or was your experience when you were pregnant with twins, how did you cope??? I am seriously desperate for any and all advice…
My husband thinks I should try different medication, so I am calling the doctor about that tomorrow…

EDIT I’m now 11 weeks pregnant and started taking the dissolvable form of Zofran. The doctor who originally prescribed the pill form instructed me to take the pills as needed every 6-8 hours, so I was just taking them when the nausea got really bad (e.g., when I felt like I could vomit). Another doctor from a completely different OB office prescribed the dissolvable tablets. He told me that Zofran doesn’t work unless it’s taken consistently, and that I should take one every 8 hours. Even though I still feel nauseous most of the time, I do feel a much bigger difference with the dissolvable Zofran and have been able to eat more of a variety and keep it down. My advice would be to talk to your doctors about the dissolvable vs. pill form and if a consistent schedule is recommended! Some other things that have helped is upping my water intake (like ~90-100 oz a day!) and taking colace daily to help with constipation. I also realized that dairy is a trigger for me (I’ve never had an intolerance before this pregnancy) so I am staying away for now.

 

[savdbygrace]

@quinntanyad Yeahhh, twin pregnancy is brutal. I started feeling better around 16 weeks. Hopefully you start improving in the second trimester too.

 

[fisherofmen83]

@savdbygrace That's about what happened for me too!

 

[smcjdc7]

@savdbygrace thirding this!

 

[peterjames0510]

@quinntanyad Yeah this sounds like my experience. I don’t have any other children but I was incredibly sick. I took it one day at a time and lowered all expectations of myself. If you have friends/family/can afford to pay someone to help with your son then get the help. Take each day as it comes and keep taking your meds on time, eat the little meals and keep hydrated. Rest as much as you can. Time just passes and it sucks and for me it slowly got better by about 20-25 weeks. My babies are 7 months tomorrow and it feels like a very very distant memory now but it was absolutely awful at the time. I just had to keep pushing through

 

[aksumite]

@quinntanyad I ate plain Greek yogurt every morning before even getting out of bed and that really helped me. To this day I cannot eat plain yogurt because I just associate it with that horrible time in my life. It got better for me around 12 weeks. Hopefully not too much longer for you!

 

[xmalx]

@aksumite I also did this. Every morning, my partner would bring me yogurt. I wouldn’t sit up until it was on the bedside table. 16 weeks now and am not experiencing nausea at all. 8 weeks ago, I didn’t believe it would end.

 

[quinntanyad]

@aksumite I am going to try this! Thank you so much

 

[aksumite]

@quinntanyad Did it help?!

 

[blessed2953]

@quinntanyad This was exactly my experience with my first singleton (sick until 16 weeks) and now my twins (I’m currently 28 weeks). With my twins I was sick until 23ish weeks. It was absolutely brutal. My body just hates hcg and being pregnant. I took zofran and bonjesta BID and still have to take one bonjesta even now at 28 weeks or else the nausea comes back at night. I also have a 19 month old and I hate to admit we’ve had many tv days as I tried to navigate working from home full time with him and just trying to get through the day. If anyone can help you during the day-take it! Even if it’s someone to cook you food or watch your toddler for an hour. I found the easiest way for me to eat was begging someone anyone to just drop off whatever food and I’d try to take a few bites and that was all I could do. I know it sounds cliche but literally taking it one day at a time and just trying to get to the next was what got me through. Now im dealing with pain and not being able to move great and feeling guilty that I can’t do as much again with my toddler. There is always something with twin pregnancy but give yourself grace- you are growing two humans! I hope you feel better soon, hang in there!

 

[mcclintonforthree]

@quinntanyad Oh my goodness I am so sorry you’re going through this. I’m now 29wks w twins and feeling much better, but through week 22ish had awful HG and it was hell. Vomiting 15x/day and so nauseous 24/7. Multiple ER trips for dehydration and Zofran drips. What wound up helping was getting on a med schedule of Zofran, Reglan, Promethazine suppositories staggered every few hours, and then Unisom and Benadryl at night. Staying on top of the schedule for a solid few days started to curb the vomiting. My husband did everything around the house / for me / the dog (I do NOT know how you’re doing it with a child). I had a dr note to work from home and took calls from bed or the bathroom floor. All I wanted to do was sleep/be horizontal. I shudder thinking about it. In first trimester, doctors said my main focus should be hydrating so if you can do that, try to. I wasn’t able to keep any food down so no suggestions there as everyone is different in terms of what they can tolerate. Even thinking about saltine crackers to this day makes me feel nauseous lol. Ugh I am so sorry. Please just listen to your body / what it needs. Rest and hydrate!

 

[vanessabrannon78]

@quinntanyad I have 8week old twins. Unfortunately, I was miserable during my pregnancy and had HG as well. For me coping was doing what you’re doing now. Just getting by day to day. Thankfully my HG went away at 15weeks but I faced new challenges in my second and third trimester from 2 babies competing for space with my internal organs. Very uncomfortable 2 babies squishing my lungs/stomach. I was short of breath, my heart raced anytime I walked, horrible heartburn,I couldn’t eat a full meal without feeling uncomfortably full/short of breath after( it was like a had a gastric bypass). I would be starving but had to be mindful not to eat more than a few bites or there would be hell to pay afterwards. Give yourself some grace with your son you’ll be no good to him if you pass out from over exerting yourself. He’s being taken care of by your husband and daycare. Your health and mental are just as important during this time. The best thing you could do is learn your triggers. Sit down in shower(order a shower chair off Amazon), rest as much as possible especially when you’re feeling dizzy etc, stay hydrated, continue trying to eat balanced meals/snacks frequently if you can(waiting too long to eat can make your nausea worse).

 

[paradox5050]

@quinntanyad This was me. I ended up being prescribed two additional anti nausea meds, omeprazole, and probably something else. And I was still unable to work full time. I'm the kind of person who works through anything, and that first tri knocked me all the way out. And then, around 12 and 13 weeks, I got better. It was hell while it lasted though. It made me decide to get my tubes tied lol (among other reasons).

 

[quinntanyad]

@paradox5050 Lol I already told my husband he will be getting a vasectomy cannot go through this again…

 

[paradox5050]

Also, mint tea, some lozenges that made a smallll dent, and anything anyone said worked for them. But honestly - a lot of sleep and laying down.

 

[onditq]

@quinntanyad While I didn't have HG/my nausea wasn't as bad that basically sounds like my first trimester. Somewhere around 13-15 weeks it was like a switch got flipped. Suddenly the nausea was gone, the energy came back, and while I still wasn't pre-pregnancy me, it was much much better. Hang in there! Second trimester for most is much much better.

 

[piano_bry]

@quinntanyad I'm 8w with triplets and I feel you, I'm already exhausted. Insatiable tiredness, vomiting between naps (unisom rarely helping too), cramping, all the while trying to gain weight for my three babies. I think I'm already starting to not fit into my clothes.

The only way I'm able to deal with it is laying down whenever I can; it brings a little relief from the nausea and tiredness.

Remember, you got this!

 

[quinntanyad]

@piano_bry Omg triplets… you are a super woman! Thank you for the solidarity I hope we both come out of this soon!

 

[piano_bry]

@quinntanyad Thank you! I don't feel very super haha

 

[blessed2953]

@piano_bry I had to pop down here to comment. I’m 28 weeks with twins after my singleton and I literally can’t even imagine more than 2 with the way I feel. You are a friken rockstar! Hope you feel better soon!