Support Thread for Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Sufferers

Here is a place for those unlucky enough to be enduring a HG pregnancy. Please share your stories and help support other women who are doing it tough with HG.

HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting. It is sometimes called Severe Morning Sickness, but this often leads to an assumption that it is not as bad as it actually is. Sufferers can vomit many times a day from conception, sometimes to birth, and are often unable to eat, drink, or care for themselves or others. Some drugs exist that can ease the symptoms, which often ease during mid pregnancy, but for some women the symptoms only ease when the pregnancy comes to an end. Many women who suffer from HG have to be hospitalised and put on a drip to ease dehydration, often multiple times during their pregnancy.

Hi guys.

I suffered HG with all 3 of my girls pregnancies.
I tried maxalon, not only did it do nothing, but it sent me into massive panic attacks. Zofran did nothing at all.
I only put on an average of 4 - 5 kilo's in each pregnancy, because of the amount of weight I lost.

I was lucky that mine eased at around 20 weeks. After that point with my girls I felt really good! With DD3 that was when my SPD kicked in big time, so I never got a break.

Its so hard everyone suggesting things to help that you know won't work. Having the really insensitive ones tell you to just 'get on with it', even though they see how sick you are.
The isolation coz you don't have the energy to go anywhere, or to clean your house so people can visit you.
The debilitating tiredness. I would throw up with the girls & the effort would knock me out for 2 hours.

DD1 was raised by TV during those few months :( Nick JR. I want to cry just thinking about how neglected she must've felt :(

Clover, I could have written your post exactly when I was pg with my two boys. I never thought it could get so bad.

The guilt over not being able to look after your own child is overwhelming sometimes.

OMG I have just put a similar post to this asking for advice!!! I will be back shortly to share my story. Gosh, this has brought tears to my eyes :(

hey
I am also a HG sufferer.
mine last 28 weeks then came back at 36 weeks pregnant.

nothing worked.
actually one thing did, not eating and only sucking on ice blocks and crushed iced drinks so slushies.

The best thing I can say is that it does go away....eventually!!! It really doesnt seem like it ever will at the time thats for sure.
Found out I was pregnant at 3 1/2 weeks gestation, started throwing up at 6 weeks on the dot- spewed 12 times that day and from there it just kept going, finally stopped at about 36 weeks. DD was born at 38+4 weeks. Had heaps of problems getting any medication at the Dr as many of them believed that HG is 'physcological' (sp?) and it was only after the IVF clinic convinced them to write me a script for Zofran that they did. Tried maxalon with no effect except becoming non responsive and uncoordinated. Did not leave the house from Valentines day until May 15th the only left when I could be in the vicinity of a toilet :( Think the only thing I could eat from about 10- 20 weeks was peeled green apples. Tried every m/s remedy known to man kind and nothing worked. The guilt of drugging my baby with Zofran was overwhelming and on many occassions cried without being able to actually produce tears I was so dehydrated. Everything ached so badly.
I hated everyone saying 'it will be worth it in the end' cause whilst it was I could have produced the same perfectly healthy child without the constant spewing and being pretty much unresponsive!
HG just sucks in everyway imaginable, it cruel, unfair and badly misunderstood!

Extended version of my post on another thread:

Hyperemisis with both pregnancies here.

Totally unmedicated first time...lost 12kg, couldn't eat, In hospital heaps for dehydration, the usual. Puked 10 times in one morning when I was 36 weeks and thought I was going to die, it was so violent. Stupid me thought that amount of vomiting was normal in pregnancy and it was what every woman went through, so I never mentioned it to Drs until after the pregnancy. I hadn't even heard of the term Hyperemisis!

This time...the ONLY thing that kept me sane was just biting the bullet and spending the required $150 a week on Zofran. It wouldn't take away the sick feeling but it did stop the vomiting. Maxolon sent me batty with shakes, sweats and pain.

Another lifesaver - buy some hospital vomit bags. Available in packs of 3 from servos and chemists, or from the supplier in packs of 50. I have one in every room of the house, in the car, 2 or 3 in my handbag. Until I bought them, I was vomiting into plastic shopping bags...most of which have tiny sneaky tears and holes in the bottom. As if puking violently in public isn't bad enough...you get covered in it! Buying the proper bags really helped.

Note about Zofran: If you start taking it very early in your pregnancy it has apparently been shown to actually reduce the time that your hyperemisis lasts (helps stop it for good). I'm 25ish weeks now and not puking every day, just a few times a week, so it's worked for me.

I feel for us all, ladies...Hyperemisis is HORRIBLE. I would have rather had normal morning sickness anytime! Does anyone else find the vomiting so violent that it's just physically exhausting?

Only put on 5kg last pregnancy (after the 12kg loss) and haven't put on anything yet for this one...still 7kg down on my post-preg weight.

The vomit and stomach acid ruined my teeth so much in the first pregnancy that my dentist asked me, very seriously, if I was bulimic! Hello $5000 dentist fee. Both pregnancies, after weeks of constant puking, I could literally 'bend' and dent my teeth with my tongue...they have gone that soft. This time is better, as the Zofran has helped, but I can still dent my molars now.

I wish I'd have thought of that AAS. The bags I mean.
The number of trolleys i left to run to the loo. Walking across the woollies car park & having it hit there & then & having to bolt for the loo. Everyone saw it :redface:

Its embarrassing, even when you make it to a toilet, coz everyone can hear you.

& yes, the violence of it exhausted me. I'd get the shakes, head spins & heart palpitations after every vomit.

I'm in the middle of my second lot right now. God I feel so crap.

Tired all the time, either brewing a spew or starving after having a spew but knowing that whatever I eat will come back up.

Speaking of which..... I'll be back.

And I'm back... Did I mention I feel like crap?!?

Here's a question for you. Big TMI warning.

When you vomit, do you wet yourself? I'm finding that my bladder control this pregnancy isn't great. I've occasionally wet myself when spewing but this time I literally have to try and strip off from the waist down prior to a vomiting episode.

Am I the only one with this??

Fi

Fionaw that happened to me a few times with DD3 as well.
I used to try to hold the vomit til I wee'd, or have a shower straight after.

Yeah it's happened to me too. I try to make sure that I go to the loo every few hours, even if I think I don't need no. Horrible weak bladder with 1st Hyperemisis. Wore pads sometimes...it happens. You shouldn't be embarrassed around us becuase we all know that the violent vomiting can cause that!

TMI but when I have Hyperemisis and vomit, my body totally shuts down on everything except puking, I literally cannot focus on anything else, or move, or run to a loo or anything...hence the bags.

Ok, time for my HG experience. It was bad for me, but not nearly as bad as so many others have experienced. To anyone who is going through this; you are not alone, but please do seek help.

DS1: Started at 5 weeks. Vomited so many times on the very first day that I cant remember how many, and it continued this way until 18 weeks. By 10 weeks I had lost 8kgs, was vomiting up blood because I had ripped the lining of my osopeogus, and later bile. Never medicated because doctors didnt believe I was sick enough. By 20 weeks I felt normal again, but continued to vomit every now and again. M/s returned at 36 weeks and lasted until delivery.

DS2: Started at 5 weeks. My mum started to look after DS1 because I was too sick. Did not leave my bed/lounge until 14 weeks except to go to hospital or Drs. Demanded (not asked) for medication and was put on Maxalon and later zofran, though I continued to vomit. Got bad anal fissure from severe constipation, sent to hospital to have IV fluids, had keytones in the urine, wet myself while vomiting daily, vomited bile, blood, food, water, medicines..., bones sticking out because I lost nearly all of my fat stores, no baby bump till 14 weeks, no energy to care for myself, absolute depression. Thought that dying was a better alternative than living with HG (luckily that thought passed quickly). Normal m/s from 14 weeks - 25 weeks. I was one of the VERY lucky ones with HG to have it pass before the 3rd trimester.

Baby 3 - Very mild m/s. I cannot believe I am 7 weeks and have not vomited once. I have felt sick from time to time but it passes if I eat a cracker or something (which makes me laugh because NOTHING worked for me last time). I am convinced that I will not see a heartbeat at my scan on Tuesday. I know I should be grateful that Im not sick, but I am petrified that I have lost my baby. :(

Yeah I remember the vomiting blood...horrible and painful. Worse than the bile, I think!

Its unbelieveable how much you forget, I read everyone elses stories and then the horror of vomitting blood comes back! I had forgotten about that part, I guess its a way of coping with trauma?

DiamondGirl, I can imagine that terror, I had 2 hours where I wasnt sick and I was terrified and certain I has lost DD :( sending you oodles of sticky vibes for Tuesday :hug:

Yes, I had forgotten so much too, but when I sat down and thought about it, it just came back. I suppose because I had it twice, the memories didnt fade as fast.

Thanks Lily Dust for the sticky vibes. Im going to need them.

OK, back to post my story.
Reading this I can see I didn't have it as bad as many of you, I suspect that may be because I don't have a very good sense of smell, and I've read things that say smell plays a very big part in HG.
Anyway I've only been pregnant once so I don't have different experiences to compare.

I started feeling really obvious MS at about 7DPO and then started throwing up constantly at about 6.5 weeks I think. At first I thought I had gastro because I just thew up solidly for 3 days and couldn't keep anything, even water, down, and then on the 4th day I felt better. But this pattern just repeated itself over and over again so I realised it was MS.
I thought the vomiting was par for the course so I didn't see a doctor or anyone until I had my first ob appointment when I was 8 weeks, she weighted me and I realised I had lost 5 kgs in 1 week. She gave me maxalon which actually did help me to a degree. On the days it worked it made me throw up less (perhaps only 4 or 5 times a day) and made me sleep most of the day, but more often than not I would throw up the water I had with the tablet and it wouldn't do anything.
I remember my DHs 30th birthday when I was about 14 weeks. I wanted to make it a bit of a big deal so I decided to make this special chocolate mud cake recipe. I didn't have the ingredients for it. Mum was staying at my place but doesn't drive so I drove us to the supermarket, sat in the car with a bucket and chucked my guts up while she went and got the ingredients, then we went home and cooked that damn cake, doing one or two steps, throwing up, doing another couple steps, throwing up again etc etc. Hope he appreciated it!
I don't really remember the exact times but I think it eased to about 3 spews a day on the sick days (which were probably 3 out of every 5 days) around 25ish weeks, then later it twindled out to perhaps only being sick once a week or once a fortnight, but the nausea remained the whole time and I felt only a few minutes away from being sick all the time up until delivery day. Actually funny story, I had an epidural towards the end of my labour and THAT killed the nausea. Who would have known? I was actually 10cm dilated but because I didn't feel sick I suddenly felt ravenous and was begging the midwife to feed me! Don't think they would consider that option for treatment in the first trimester though!

So, to respond to some of your posts.....

clover - the impact getting pregnant again will have on my DD is something that weighs on my mind soooo much. I just don't want her to go for weeks with me just laying on the lounge doing nothing. My mum lives 6 hours drive from me and I don't have any immediate family any closer than 4 hours away. But I am trying to come up with a plan.

AAS - the hospital bags sound good, I mostly used freezer bags which were good cause I could always have them in my hand bag and after use I could tie the top and throw it away. They also passed the 'simultaneous throwing up and driving' test a few times!

fionaw - sorry you are living through this now. I remember occasionally having some bladder issues when throwing up. I was wearing liners most of the time because I had major fluid leakage from every possible orifice the whole time so I just wore that and pretended I didn't know what was really happening.

Diamond Girl - I have absolutely everything crossed for your scan on Tuesday, I am sure everything is going well in there. I guess that is one thing about HG, you never really go through that doubt about if things are still happening down there.

Lily Dust - I thing you are right, I think you do forget to get over the trauma. I had totally forgotten about the shakes, headspins and heart palpitations after every vomit until I read it here.

WOW I wish this thread had been around when I was pg with DS3 it's brining tears to my eyes reading through :cry: and I feel lucky I didn't have it as bad as some of you ladies :hug: :hug:
Actually even if the thread was here I wouldn't have been able to read or post, that was something I couldn't do, I couldn't read anything, and trying to look at the computer screen was impossible! :sick: After 5 months though, when I started to get better I would have loved this thread!

I'll come back later and post my story.

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.

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

Sagres- woohoo for us suffering chickies, hey :lol:

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

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.

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

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

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!

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?

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!!

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?

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.

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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"

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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 :wall: 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 :hug:

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

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.

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

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You know what - its really nice to have you guys!!

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Isnt it lovely to have a bit of support from others who have suffered like you have :hug: Thanks Sagres for starting this thread!!!

I think its a great idea CaseyM to find a Dr to have a chat to in advance. Yes, one particular nurse at my IVF clinic was an absolute angel, I am eternally grateful to that beautiful lady. When I had my D&C she came into work just to see me and give me support :(

Diamond Girl, how you getting on hun??

:hello: to everyone

Hi all, I am still ok, still no HG, just m/s. What a miracle!

Casey, I think you are on the more severe side of HG. I had mild HG with DS1, but I would say moderate with DS2. If you are still sick a week after birth then Id say that is severe. Part of the problem with HG is being believed and taken seriously by Drs. I hope you can find a Dr who supports you 100% and knows you arent exaggerating, but that you really are sick and need help. I think it is great that you want to be proactive about your next pg. I did the same, with this pg I asked my GP for a maxalon prescription at 4 wks, because my HG always started at 5wks. He laughed at me and said 'come back when you are sick and we will discuss it'. I said, 'if I wait until Im sick, then I'll be TOO SICK to come and get it, especially with 2 kids!'. Luckily I havent needed it this time though. Ive also read that it does help if you are medicated straight away to help delay the vomiting cycle. I was medicated from 6wks last pg, but it was already too late.

Lily Dust - I have always said that giving birth is the easy part, its the months of torture with HG that are worse!

I really hope all of you ladies can have a HG free pg. I cannot tell you what it feels like to actually feel relatively normal during pg. Problem is that I still dont believe I am actually pg, and I have asked for another u/s next week to make sure everything is ok.

Well. No miracle! Baby is gone....

I should have known better. No HG means no baby for me...its happened twice. The only pgs that have gone to full term are my two boys and I had full on HG with both of them. Worst of all, now I know I will have to endure months of HG again after thinking I escaped it this time.

P.s Sorry for the angry post. Its just not fair!

DG, I have just been over to your other thread and I am so so sorry for your devestating loss :hug: Vent away sweetie, you are entitled to feel angry, it is just so unfair. I cant take away your pain, that you already know but please be kind to yourself and if you need to lean on us, we will be here :hug: