My world of Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

After thinking I just had severe morning sickness for weeks, feeling my skin dry out in flakes and not realising how bad dehydration during pregnancy actually is. Not being able to keep anything down for days, and even water making me throw up, the thought of food, and especially my sons nappies would send me to vomit so much I would vomit bile and/or blood!

 Running to throw up to ten times a day and not being able to look after my son properly, I knew it wasn't your typical 'morning sickness' but thought it would just go away soon enough. I didn't know enough about hyperemesis to even think it may be something more serious.

 

 Each week became worse, so many days I couldn't get out of bed. My son learnt that when he got up in the morning he needed to bring me the bucket. He also got scared of the bucket and thought that's what made mummy sick. If I wasn't a stay at home Mum, there was no way I could of worked! No way I could of even got up to work.

I tried everything in book, you name it I tried it! I had my ginger tea ready, my crackers next to the bed, my mints and life savers in my hand bag, but NOTHING worked. I even got a naturopath cocktail made up! I didn't want to take medication, and thought it would go away soon enough. It didn't and week 13 landed me in hospital for dehydration.

People ask how I made it that far. I didn't, I shouldn't have, I look back now and there was a few days where my face was literally peeling off and my hair falling out that I should have gone to the hospital.

 

There's this stigma about 'complaining' about morning sickness. This stigma that you have to be grateful no matter what, that you can't complain about being sick. Maybe if I complained I might have actually got help sooner/been diagnosed sooner/ given my baby the nutrients it needed to grow. Ha! The stigma is usually from people that complain about their common colds too which makes me giggle :P.

See, I was SO sick that each scan my baby is measuring further behind, I was so sick that the violant vomiting makes my cervix bleed. I was so sick that I often wished I could rewind time.

 

So 13 weeks came around and seriously, I had had enough! I thought this was suppose to leave by now! And I'm still vomiting about 10 times a day! That week I had also lost two kilos, in just three days. The doctor gave me a shot of Zofran, a bag of fluids, a handful of Maxalon, said I had Hyperemesis and then I went on my way! That Zofran was a life saver! I don't think I had ever felt so good in my life. It was like having three months of gastro, to it going completely away! That was a great couple of days, but then again, I became my bed ridden self. On a great day, I was drinking 2-3 cups of water a day and having two very small meals and vomiting only twice. By this stage, I was 15 weeks pregnant. I was trying to grow my little baby with hardly anything to grow it with, with pretty much 100 days of gastro, and vomiting about 700 times in 3 & 1/2 months!

 

Things have become slightly better now the weeks have gone on. I'm 19 weeks now and sometimes it settles by half way. It definitely hasn't settled, but is a little better. I still have days I can't move, that I continually vomit, that I don't eat, and other days I'm great! 

My sickness is only mild compared to some, and still, it's so intense!

 

I'm on a few different things now;

 

Zofran:

 

This medication is used alone or with other medications to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer drug treatment (chemotherapy) and radiation therapy. It is also used to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting after surgery. It works by blocking one of the body's natural substances (serotonin) that causes vomiting.

Yup! I'm on medication they give to cancer patience.

Two of these a day are prescribed, but I only take them when needed because unfortunately being such a drug, its costly.

 

Maxolon:

 

This medication is used to treat certain conditions of the stomach and intestines. Metoclopramide is used as a short-term treatment (4 to 12 weeks) for persistent heartburn when the usual medicines do not work well enough. It is used mostly for heartburn that occurs after a meal or during the daytime. Treating persistent heartburn can decrease the damage done by stomach acid to the swallowing tube (esophagus) and help healing.
Metoclopramide is also used in diabetic patients who have poor emptying of their stomachs (gastroparesis). Treating gastroparesis can decrease symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and stomach/abdominal fullness. Metoclopramide works by blocking a natural substance (dopamine). It speeds up stomach emptying and movement of the upper intestines.

Three of these a day are prescribed, but make me soo tired I try to stick with as less as possible.

 

Restevit:

 

 Restavit belongs to a group of medicines called antihistamines. They block the action of histamine and other substances produced by the body to provide relief from allergic symptoms. Some antihistamines, including doxylamine cause the central nervous system to slow down at the same time and this provides relief for insomnia.There is no evidence that Restavit is addictive.

 

Two of these a day are prescribed, but are used for insomnia so also make you really sleepy!

 

B6:

 

Vitamin B₆ refers to a group of chemically very similar compounds which can be interconverted in biological systems. Vitamin B₆ is part of the vitamin B complex group, and its active form, Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) serves as a cofactor in many enzyme reactions in amino acid, glucose, and lipid metabolism.

 

Whatever that all means, but apparently it helps! I've been told to take 4 of these a day.

So that's where my journey is up to now, I'll update more as my pregnancy goes on. My main concern now is getting enough nutrition to baby. Especially that it's a little behind on growing.

Here are some facts about Hyperemsis too: