Support Thread for Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Sufferers

[Sagres]

Wow we have been made a sticky - yay for us!

Hope those of you that are pregnant currently are having some OK days or have found a safe food.

Diamond Girl - I noticed in another thread your scan didn't go well - I am really really sorry to hear this honey. I hope you get a definitive answer soon instead of being stuck in limbo. Thinking of you.

[Lily Dust]

Oh no, Diamond Girl, I havent seen the other thread but sending you and thinking of you

Sagres- woohoo for us suffering chickies, hey

As much as I hate having had HG, Im am pleased to be finally be among you girls, people who genuinely understand

[Diamond Girl]

Thankyou or thinking of me. Yes, the scan didnt go well . Sack measured 5w?d when I was 7w3d and no heartbeat. I really did know it was too good to be true not to be sick.

That being said I am still hoping and praying for a miracle when I have my next scan. Blood test results come back on Monday.

[UsPlus2]

DG, is there any chance you have your dates wrong? I truely hope your blood tests come back with better news on Monday.

[Sagres]

Diamond Girl I see your signature has changed - I take it you have some good news

[Diamond Girl]

Yes, I had an internal u/s today which showed a beautiful heartbeat and a baby that measured perfectly for dates! I am over the moon! Obviously its time for my Obs to get a new machine, LOL, because I was one stressed out mummy!

[Sagres]

Sorry about being a bit stalkerish there! Just popped in here and couldn't help but notice!
I am very very very happy for you. But most importantly, any signs of HG or are you feeling like a wonderfully happy healthy pregnant lady?

[Lily Dust]

Yes, I had an internal u/s today which showed a beautiful heartbeat and a baby that measured perfectly for dates!

Diamond Girl that is fabulous news!!!! I am so happy for you hun. Heres hoping that HG is not visiting for this pregnancy....wow, just awesome news

[Diamond Girl]

Thanks for your kind wishes!

No HG which still makes me nervous, though I definately do have m/s for most of the day now. I know it is not HG because I can keep food down and I generally do feel a bit better if I eat regular small meals. I cannot classify this as severe in any way which is good. I spoke to my Ob and he said it is possible to be very sick in one pg and not in another and he thinks it has a lot to do with my HCG levels. My levels were only 40k at 8w with this pg, yet they were over 100k with both boys at 6.5w. Very unusual!

I hope you all are able to have a HG free pg too, I guess Ive shown it is possible.

[CaseyM]

Hi Ladies,

We are considering TTC for #3, but terrified of being sick again for so long after no help from doctors with first 2 children.

We want to find an OB that will help medically (if that is what is needed this time) and just meet with and talk to an OB who is sensitive to HG, before TTC.

Does anyone know if we need a referral just to talk to an OB or knows of an OB that understands HG suffering in Perth??

xx

[Sagres]

Welcome CaseyM!
I am not sure what suggest on the ob front as I am not in Perth. With obs in general I find asking friends and family is a good way to find some one who people have been happy with. Of course HG isn't something that people really know enough about to know if a specific ob is understanding of it or not, so I'm not sure if word or mouth is helpful this time. You could always try posting a thread in the section for WA members?
Do you you have a good GP who will help you out with treatment and/or referrals to obs they think will help you? If you don't that might be the first step.

[CaseyM]

Hi Sagres,
Thanks for your reply. We are new to WA, only been here 6 months so don't even have a good GP. When I was pregnant, my GP just told me to eat saos first thing in the morning and said it was best to have no medication when you are pregnant. A week later I felt like dying. I would just have to move from lying on one side to the other to throw up. Couldn't sit, couldn't stand, couldn't talk, the smell of EVERYTHING made me throw up. My dogs, my shampoo, my laundry powder on my clothes, walking past my kitchen, in the end even my bed... I'm not large, but in 3 days I lost 3kgs. I could smell someone smoking 6 houses away - and throw up, couldn't go into coles near the meat section - I would throw up. I would eat, it would come up. I would eat more, it would come up. I just can't do that again with two kids to look after. But I just looooong for another little person giggling and running around. There are lots of recommendations for good Obs, just wondering if anyone in WA who has/had HG found a good one that understands and will help ease the crap with medicine if needed. I would travel an hour to see a good one that would help. So, seeing a GP for referral is the first step - even though I'm not pregnant now and just want to talk??

xx

PS. Congrats on your magical news!!

[Sagres]

No I don't think you could get a referral for an ob now (you would need to be pregnant to get that referral) but I thought if you explained the situation to a good GP they might be able to give you a few names of obs that they consider good that you could contact and have a chat with?
So did you see an Ob with your first 2 pregnancies? I am not really sure but from what I know of obs that I and my friends have used, I would have thought all of them would (and have) prescribed maxalon or other meds to some one in your situation. The search may not be as hard as your think, I think the number of obs who would help you would be fairly high? Some of the others in this thread might have more information on this?
BTW did you ever go to hospital due to dehydration when you were pregnant? I would think (hope?) that if all else failed and you went to hospital they would give you something to help ease the vomiting?

[CaseyM]

Hi Sagres,
No, we lived in the country 3 hours from the regional hospital, so no obs for the previous pregnancies. One time when we were in town for my checkup at the doctors I asked for help about the vomitting, but at the time I "wasn't sick enough" and "it should settle down". It did settle down - when I was 7 months pregnant, but I was nausious up until a week AFTER my daughter was born. I was told "this is what it feels like to be pregnant" so didn't know any different. I lived on hydralite and gaviscon. That's the hard bit about living in the bush, when you are sick, you just have yourself to look after yourself, there is none of this "lets just check it out at the ED". There was no way I could drive - let alone drive for 3 hours each way to get checked out. Just lucky enough that I could resign from my job and stay home while my husband worked.
I looked up one of the recommended obs on this site, and he has an office about 25 minutes away, so might just call and see what the receptionist says about just having a chat with the ob. It is a scary thought to go through all that again - it is the sickest and loneliest I've ever felt. But the desire for a little one is so strong.

[Lily Dust]

No, we lived in the country 3 hours from the regional hospital, so no obs for the previous pregnancies. One time when we were in town for my checkup at the doctors I asked for help about the vomitting, but at the time I "wasn't sick enough" and "it should settle down". It did settle down - when I was 7 months pregnant, but I was nausious up until a week AFTER my daughter was born. I was told "this is what it feels like to be pregnant"

Yep, unfortunately I was in a similar predicament, small country town and no one had even heard of HG!! I was also told 'welcome to pregnancy' as well as 'pregnancys the easy part, wait till labour starts' and that was by a midwife pffft, laughed at her, labour was a piece of cake compared to HG and IVF!!! Which brings me to my next point...I was lucky (if you can call it that) my IVF clinic which was in the city knew of HG and spoke to my local GPs urging them to provide me with Zofran, had they refused, the IVF clinic would have sent me the scripts. I even struggled as the local GPs were reluctant to hand out more then 1 script telling me I probably had some kind of bug and they treated me like some contagious leppa (sp?), 1 script (10 tablets) lasted me 3 days- fat lot of good that was!!! CaseyM, Im so sorry that this is where you are at, you are right it is such a scary thought to entertain having to be that sick for that long again no advice really jsut

[CaseyM]

Lily Dust

THANK YOU!!

It is nice to feel not so alone. I'm not the most confident person, so can't handle being told by doctors just to "deal with it - you want a baby, this is what you have to put up with". So I don't want to be really sick, travelling around with two tired/hungry kids, looking like a homeless lady asking for help from a doctor who doesn't care either way, only to be told to put up with it. I think I would just cry. (mmm... maybe that would work...)!! HA!! Sounds like you must have had the same doctors as me!! I hope your IVF clinic were good to you. Must have some really nice nurses.

I just want to feel that someone will help me if I need help, so I don't want to get pregnant until I KNOW someone will help. Mind you, I have learnt alot from others on this site. I have vitamin B6 and ginger root powder tablets in my cupboard, so when I am ready, I will start taking these before TTC!! Phenergen just knocks me out - so too scared to try that!! LOL!!

Thanks for the hug.
xx

[Sagres]

That sounds really bad CaseyM it is just beyond belief that doctors would treat you like that.
But looking forward you are closer to better medical resources now and you have us here so it WILL be better next time.

[CaseyM]

You know what - its really nice to have you guys!! You are right, I am much closer to help now, just might take me a little while to find an ob that will help - but much better to find it while I am still capable, rather than crook as and uncapable. Be prepared - that's what the boyscouts say isn't it??!!
And when things get bad and I just want to hear from someone else who is/has gone through it, I have you guys here, if I can get to the computer room. Honestly, some days I didn't leave my bed, so I want to find help as I now have two kids to look after - mind you, if I wait till next year, they both will be in full-time school, which gives me the best part of the day to take care of myself. ATM my eldest is in school 5d/wk and my little one will start school next month - two days a week.

thanks for your support. I will try and find a local ob to talk with.
xx