LadyHutch
HutchMom
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Since HG has the potential to kill mothers, and many sufferers with severe HG terminate very much wanted pregnancies to simply survive, I am hoping this will make sticky status.
80-90% of women will present during pregnancy with NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy), and this morning sickness resolves quickly and does not affect quality of life. However, .5-2% of women have something much, much worse...and if you have had it, you will know, it is NOT morning sickness. It is a debilitating disease that robs your body and your baby of needed nutrients, leaves the sufferer with no dignity or quality of life, strains marriages and families, costs jobs and creates an impact so lasting, many mothers alter their family planning in drastic ways.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is characterized by relentless nausea, frequent vomiting, dehydration and malnutrition. My personal experience looked like vomiting more than 20 times a day on a bad day. Vomiting episodes were long, drastic and exhausting...I just kept throwing up until I had nothing left or only bile and stomach acid would come up. I'd be shaking, weak, and seized up with retching. Pain in my stomach, throat, chest, and eventually my head. I burst blood vessels in my eyes from the violence of these "sessions". The worst part was the vomiting did NOT resolve my nausea. I often felt worse, rather than better after vomiting. I also had "cyclic vomiting": a condition where something would trigger a session of vomiting, and the vomiting itself (both the smell and action) would cause me to vomit more, creating a cycle I could not escape.
As horrid as the vomiting is, the unending, unrelenting nausea was worse. It never went away, and mere blinking made it worse. A breeze in the room made it worse. The smell of my child made it worse. My own smell made it worse. The smell of my own hair or feeling it brush across my face made it worse. I could not fathom eating or drinking, the idea was preposterous to me...how could someone eat or drink feeling this way?
Imagine being in a gravitron at the fair (one of those machines that spins you so fast you stick to the wall), on a boat in hurricane high seas, with flashing lights and having food poisoning all at the same time. This is the kind of nausea I felt. It never stopped and everything made it worse.
By the time I was 7w0d, I had lost 8 pounds. Since I am 5'7" and weighed only 127 lb at the first appointment to confirm my pregnancy two weeks earlier, this was alarming. By my 8w3d appointment, I had lost 7 more pounds (>10% of my initial total body weight). I could no longer tolerate water. I was so starved and dehydrated, I was spilling large amounts of ketones in my urine, that looked like maple syrup. The doctor, who had by this point prescribed me Diclegis and Phenergran added Zofran to the mix and sent me for rehydration at the hospital for the first time. I was so dehydrated it took 4 tries to get a vein. I was given hydration, vitamins and some zofran in my IV and sent home.
Two days later, I was back in the ER, another IV, more hydration. And again 2 days after that. On that appointment, I had become so ill, a PICC line was inserted, and I stayed overnight. I was fed TPN, a form of nutrition, through my IV.
Today, (9w5d) I get my first visit from my home nurse, where they will continue t hydrate me via my PICC and feed me until I am able to eat again. My Zofran pump comes today. I am actually excited by that.
The reason I am telling you all this is so no one dismisses severe nausea and vomiting as "morning sickness". The things people will say to you are astounding. Yes, women have been having babies since the beginning of time and pregnancy is not an illness, but HG IS and illness. Women die from it (not so often these days, with good intervention). Children die from it. It is frightening for toddlers to watch mom so sick and overwhelming for partners and caretakers who must stand by and try to care for someone so ill. Few understand, and even doctors will be insulting and condescending.
How do you know if it is HG, and not morning sickness?
For me, it was pretty evident, pretty fast. But here are some comparisons for you to help decide:
Morning Sickness:
-You lose little if any weight.
-Nausea and vomiting do not interfere with your ability to eat or drink enough each day.
-You vomit infrequently and the nausea is episodic but not severe. It may cause discomfort and misery.
-Dietary and/or lifestyle changes are enough to help you feel better most of the time.
-You typically will improve gradually after the first trimester, but may be a little queasy at times during the remainder of your pregnancy.
-You will be able to work most days and care for your family.
Hyperemesis:
-You lose 5-20 pounds or more. (> 5% of prepregnancy weight)
-Nausea and vomiting cause you to eat very little and get dehydrated from vomiting if not treated.
-You vomit often and may vomit bile or blood if not treated. Nausea is usually moderate to severe and constant.
-You will probably require fluid hydration through a vein and/or medications to stop the vomiting.
-You usually feel somewhat better by mid-pregnancy, but you may continue to be nauseous and/or vomit until late pregnancy.
-You will likely be unable to work for weeks or months, and may need help caring for yourself.
So if you find you have stopped eating and drinking due to nausea and/or can't keep your head out of the toilet, please find a doctor who has experience treating HG, and get intervention before you become so ill you need hospitalization.
There are some amazing resources out there....use them:
https://www.helpher.org/
https://www.beyondmorningsickness.com/ - these people are saving my life right now
Please, don't just chalk it up to morning sickness if you find yourself no longer able to care for yourself. Its awful, but you CAN get through it.
80-90% of women will present during pregnancy with NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy), and this morning sickness resolves quickly and does not affect quality of life. However, .5-2% of women have something much, much worse...and if you have had it, you will know, it is NOT morning sickness. It is a debilitating disease that robs your body and your baby of needed nutrients, leaves the sufferer with no dignity or quality of life, strains marriages and families, costs jobs and creates an impact so lasting, many mothers alter their family planning in drastic ways.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is characterized by relentless nausea, frequent vomiting, dehydration and malnutrition. My personal experience looked like vomiting more than 20 times a day on a bad day. Vomiting episodes were long, drastic and exhausting...I just kept throwing up until I had nothing left or only bile and stomach acid would come up. I'd be shaking, weak, and seized up with retching. Pain in my stomach, throat, chest, and eventually my head. I burst blood vessels in my eyes from the violence of these "sessions". The worst part was the vomiting did NOT resolve my nausea. I often felt worse, rather than better after vomiting. I also had "cyclic vomiting": a condition where something would trigger a session of vomiting, and the vomiting itself (both the smell and action) would cause me to vomit more, creating a cycle I could not escape.
As horrid as the vomiting is, the unending, unrelenting nausea was worse. It never went away, and mere blinking made it worse. A breeze in the room made it worse. The smell of my child made it worse. My own smell made it worse. The smell of my own hair or feeling it brush across my face made it worse. I could not fathom eating or drinking, the idea was preposterous to me...how could someone eat or drink feeling this way?
Imagine being in a gravitron at the fair (one of those machines that spins you so fast you stick to the wall), on a boat in hurricane high seas, with flashing lights and having food poisoning all at the same time. This is the kind of nausea I felt. It never stopped and everything made it worse.
By the time I was 7w0d, I had lost 8 pounds. Since I am 5'7" and weighed only 127 lb at the first appointment to confirm my pregnancy two weeks earlier, this was alarming. By my 8w3d appointment, I had lost 7 more pounds (>10% of my initial total body weight). I could no longer tolerate water. I was so starved and dehydrated, I was spilling large amounts of ketones in my urine, that looked like maple syrup. The doctor, who had by this point prescribed me Diclegis and Phenergran added Zofran to the mix and sent me for rehydration at the hospital for the first time. I was so dehydrated it took 4 tries to get a vein. I was given hydration, vitamins and some zofran in my IV and sent home.
Two days later, I was back in the ER, another IV, more hydration. And again 2 days after that. On that appointment, I had become so ill, a PICC line was inserted, and I stayed overnight. I was fed TPN, a form of nutrition, through my IV.
Today, (9w5d) I get my first visit from my home nurse, where they will continue t hydrate me via my PICC and feed me until I am able to eat again. My Zofran pump comes today. I am actually excited by that.
The reason I am telling you all this is so no one dismisses severe nausea and vomiting as "morning sickness". The things people will say to you are astounding. Yes, women have been having babies since the beginning of time and pregnancy is not an illness, but HG IS and illness. Women die from it (not so often these days, with good intervention). Children die from it. It is frightening for toddlers to watch mom so sick and overwhelming for partners and caretakers who must stand by and try to care for someone so ill. Few understand, and even doctors will be insulting and condescending.
How do you know if it is HG, and not morning sickness?
For me, it was pretty evident, pretty fast. But here are some comparisons for you to help decide:
Morning Sickness:
-You lose little if any weight.
-Nausea and vomiting do not interfere with your ability to eat or drink enough each day.
-You vomit infrequently and the nausea is episodic but not severe. It may cause discomfort and misery.
-Dietary and/or lifestyle changes are enough to help you feel better most of the time.
-You typically will improve gradually after the first trimester, but may be a little queasy at times during the remainder of your pregnancy.
-You will be able to work most days and care for your family.
Hyperemesis:
-You lose 5-20 pounds or more. (> 5% of prepregnancy weight)
-Nausea and vomiting cause you to eat very little and get dehydrated from vomiting if not treated.
-You vomit often and may vomit bile or blood if not treated. Nausea is usually moderate to severe and constant.
-You will probably require fluid hydration through a vein and/or medications to stop the vomiting.
-You usually feel somewhat better by mid-pregnancy, but you may continue to be nauseous and/or vomit until late pregnancy.
-You will likely be unable to work for weeks or months, and may need help caring for yourself.
So if you find you have stopped eating and drinking due to nausea and/or can't keep your head out of the toilet, please find a doctor who has experience treating HG, and get intervention before you become so ill you need hospitalization.
There are some amazing resources out there....use them:
https://www.helpher.org/
https://www.beyondmorningsickness.com/ - these people are saving my life right now
Please, don't just chalk it up to morning sickness if you find yourself no longer able to care for yourself. Its awful, but you CAN get through it.
I've been off work for 6 weeks and its been terrible. I too have lost nearly a stone, vomited blood and been unable to look after myself let alone my toddler!
