Kate tried the MorningWell CD to relieve her daily nausea and kept a diary to record how it worked ‘It feels to me like the nausea has been deadened a little by using MorningWell.’

I’m not sure how good a test subject I might be for this product. It aims to be a cure for 95 per cent of morning sickness sufferers. I am suffering from severe and (so far) intractable hyperemesis, the exaggerated form of morning sickness that has a little-recognised but devastating effect on its sufferers.

Consequently, I am taking 20mg Stemetil three times daily, as well as having a supply of 10mg Diazepam at my disposal for those occasions when my discomfort is too acute to allow me sleep.

It’s also worth adding that my frame of mind isn’t that great and this might affect how I react to the tape. Not surprisingly, over three months of being unable to sleep or eat properly, as well as experiencing the most diabolical levels of nausea, has left me depressed and distraught. On the other hand, I am a great lover of music and a great believer in alternative solutions. This mind is open!

Day 1: Friday 7th December
The tape arrived in this morning’s post and I decided to give it a whirl straight away. I’d read about it on the Blooming Awful (hyperemesis support group) web site and had formed the idea that it would be a tedious series of noises with some sort of background music. So I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too tortuous to listen to!

Having established that one side of the tape lasts about 25-30 minutes I decided that, as a minimum of 20 mins a day is instructed, I’d try and listen to each side once a day. I’d just eaten breakfast when I tested it for the first time and so was feeling particularly queasy. Can’t say I noticed any immediate effect but I did fall asleep for an hour after listening to it.

I tried side two that afternoon after lunch. Instead of lying down in bed to listen, I plugged in whilst in the bath. Noticed that it seemed identical to side one. I could hear slight crackling in the background and wondered if this was the ‘interference’ the tape provides or if it was just the recording quality.

Day 2: Saturday 8th December
Again, I put side one of the tape on whilst I was in bed. I was feeling pretty bad this morning and I found the tape irritating this time. I had to go out shortly after – something that I dislike doing for fear of being taken suddenly and violently ill in public, but I managed OK.

I plugged into side two while pottering about the house – again after lunch. Felt OK in the afternoon, but I had eaten in stages instead of having one large-ish lunch, which is better for me. I can’t say it’s having any effect so far.

Day 3: Sunday 9th December
A bad start to today occurred when I woke up at 6am feeling hungry and horrid! I gradually felt better as the morning progressed and, though still nauseous, actually went out shopping in the afternoon. Started to think that the tape might have some benefit.

I got to listen to side two a bit later than usual. I was shattered when I got back home, but made the most of feeling able to cope and did my ironing. After that I really was exhausted, so I lay down and read for a while, listening to the tape at the same time.

Day 4: Monday 10th December
Woke at 2am unable to get back to sleep – felt appalling. Took a Diazepam at 3am. I lay down with side one on between 6.45am and 7.15am. I realised that there are some ‘popping’ sounds in one of the tracks that don’t fit in with the rhythm of the music and so started to wonder if maybe these are the ‘special sounds’.

Having resigned myself to a day in bed, I was surprised to find myself improving enough to actually get engrossed in some letter writing. I put side two on while doing some of this and actually got so stuck in that I almost never made it back to bed, and ended up having just a half-hour nap before the children came home.

Day 5: Tuesday 11th December
I do now think that there is some benefit in the tape. It is difficult to quantify, but I am really starting to feel that my worse moments are not as bad as they used to be and my better ones are such that I can actually do things I would never have dreamed of doing a while ago.

Conclusion
There is not any doubt that I have experienced an improvement in my general well-being since using the tape. It is difficult to say, however, how much of this improvement might be due to MorningWell and how much might have happened anyway. It cannot be said that I feel well, but I definitely feel better and that counts for something. I am convinced it helps and I intend to keep using it.

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