With both of my pregnancies I suffered from "morning" (ha! try all day!) sickness. When I was pregnant with Goose, I rarely felt sick, but I threw up often. All day. Everyday. It didn't bother me, and didn't slow me down, I tried all the different tips that people told me about to ease it, but no such luck.
My second pregnancy....wow...just wow.
A few weeks after I found out I was pregnant I started to get queasy and vomit occasionally. I was prepared for that...but it got worse..and worse...and even worse. I was constantly throwing up (on the very very rare occasion that I went somewhere, I carried a bucket and I kept garbage bags in my purse and car) I couldn't keep ANYTHING down. I felt run down, and if I tried to get up and do anything I was dizzy. I was so sick that I made an appointment with the doctor. The first one I felt brushed off, and even though I love my doctor's office (I mean LOVE!) I was a wreck. Pants was with me and she told him to have me rest. I went back not even a week later, and I was severely dehydrated, and was told that I was literally starving. I had lost weight, and got an IV and an anti-nausea medication. Little did I know..that iv fluids would become my new normal. I had Hypermesis Gravidarum. It didn't go away, and it was SO hard.
You try to explain to people, and they just can't grasp it. After throwing up a lot with Goose, I thought I could handle any "morning" sickness with my 2nd pregnancy....ha!
I threw up. ALL. THE. TIME. I couldn't shower because I would get dizzy to the point of passing out, and throw up so badly that I was dizzy and needed help out of the bathroom. I couldn't drive. My 4 year old was taking care of me. It was awful (but super sweet of her). On the occasions I went anywhere, I would get dizzy to the point of passing out and leave, usually getting sick along the way. I did my best not to complain, and to try to keep up with my day to day and some kind of "normal" for Goose, but I was struggling.
It was frustrating because people would say "try crackers" and I wanted to scream. And when I was a little over half way they would say "try ginger ale" or "not much longer now!" I was so angry at those people! I know they meant well, and I'm glad they offered kind words..for the most part..but do you really think if ginger ale or crackers would "fix" this I would still be this sick?
All I wanted was to eat. I would sit and cry because all I wanted was to eat anything and not throw up until there wasn't even bile in my stomach. I ended up gaining NO weight, and I lost almost 18 lbs the last few weeks of my pregnancy and a couple weeks after Little Bear was born I was down almost 40 lbs. My last 2 weeks of pregnancy I had a regular coke, a couple chocolate milkshakes, and bottles of water. None of which stayed down.
I had no energy to be excited. Most of the time I was pretty sure I had ruined our lives. It didn't feel like it could get better but the thought of worse...it was unfathomable.
That is a lot to deal with, but being severely dehydrated you are a mess. I would cry, and have no tears. I couldn't focus. I would go for an IV and it was a struggle to get a vein. One time after being poked too many times to count they poked a final time and blood went everywhere. I could see the horror on my husband's face. I passed out when they took my blood for the glucose test, just to be told I had to do the 3 hour. I was depressed. I was disgusted. It took a toll on my family. Goose was terrified for me, and Pants had to work, and do it all. I worried that I'd ruined everything for Goose. I worried that this was harming the baby. I worried about the stress placed on everybody around me.
Looking back, I don't know how I made it, but I did. I wish that I could explain the horror of it. The strain on loved ones and the feelings of failure..but there is NO way.
I thought when I delivered I would be better, in fact I was craving my first meal after having her,(without being sick) I wanted a grilled cheese, fries and a chocolate shake! I was induced because they were worried about the stress on me, and of course the baby. It didn't work like that! It was a battle, I got better than I was, and able to do more, but I was still throwing up multiple times a day. Around the time she was 14 months old I started feeling better. I believe, in most cases it usually is "cured" by delivery, but not in my case. I found out after continuous vomiting that I ended up with bad reflux and a hiatal hernia, and will most likely end up with surgery to fix the hernia.
If you've never had morning sickness...yay! If you encounter somebody with morning sickness, please please puh-leasse don't suggest crackers! Or assume they are exaggerating. I had no idea about HG before pregnancy with C, it only affects about 1% of pregnancies. I'm here to help educate people because it was terrible and I had nobody who understood or had been there, and they tried but its not the same.
I tried a lot of different suggestions for morning sickness, including medication. Here are some things that helped me:
- Unisom (not gels!) plus 25mg of B6. I'd take a unisom at bed time and B6 every 8 hours. (This worked better than the medications like zofran which I also tried)
- Sour(ish) Candy- I was a fan of sour apple lollipops with the gum inside.
- If you aren't *craving* it-DON'T eat it. If crackers don't sound good..don't eat them!
- Don't get too hungry or full. I had to carry snacks at all time.
- Too warm or too cold can make "morning" sickness worse!
- Rest as much as possible
If you found this blog and you have HG..hugs, take any help you can get! If you don't have it....consider yourself lucky! Please feel free to contact me!
