My HG Journey

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Heard of it? It's not quite the most well known, but it does seem to be more common than we think. After all, there are 7 billion people in the world...2% of pregnancies is still in the millions at minimum.

In a nutshell, it's debilitating morning sickness that lasts the whole pregnancy. But please, don't call it "morning sickness" because it really doesn't do justice. "Hyperemesis" or "HG" will suffice.

First Pregnancy

When I got pregnant the first time, it hit me bad at 9 weeks--it was a nice birthday present....not really. I lost 10 pounds so quickly and couldn't keep anything down. I had to stay home from work for a couple days. Luckily for me, I have a couple sister-in-laws that have had Hyperemesis as well. They informed us of a medicine called Zofran and I jumped on it, calling my doctor and asking for it. I had it later that day, and boy was it a miracle for me! From that point on until my baby was born, there were probably only 20 days I didn't have to take it. Yes, days. That's a whole lot of medicine and not entirely cheap (about $30 a month while living on half a teacher's salary in the end). 

When labor hit, it was 12:30 am, so I figured my night dose of medicine would last so I didn't take it with me to the birthing center...It was a 16 hour labor. Most definitely didn't last. I couldn't keep down anything so I ended up with an IV for fluids to help me keep some energy. Most definitely not going to forget it next time!

2nd Pregnancy

So, my first pregnancy was manageable with medicine 1-2 times a day, for the entire pregnancy. When I got pregnant again, we didn't have insurance and knew it was going to be pricey. I didn't have any nausea whatsoever, but then I also miscarried at 8 weeks.

3rd Pregnancy

Shortly after, we got pregnant again, expecting to get at least 8 or 9 weeks in before HG hit again. The nausea hit at 5 weeks. I tried OTC motion sickness pills to no avail. My midwife gave me dissolveable Zofran at 6 weeks, which didn't really help either. By 7 weeks, I was deteriorating, for lack of a better word. I couldn't keep anything down (not even water), or even stand up. It really was debilitating. (Strangely, I didn't lose any weight.) Luckily my husband was home that day, that he was able to get in contact with a doctor in our area that is familiar with HG (we'd moved since our first pregnancy and didn't have a doctor in our area yet). The doctor called us back and told us to come right away. He was on call that day (clinic is in a hospital) and was able to work us in. What a blessing! He set me up on Homecare so I didn't have to go into the ER for fluids several times ($$$$$). He also gave me Zofran pills.

Within a couple days of being on IV fluids at home, I was feeling a little better, but still not able to keep anything down. I contacted my doctor for a different medicine, which he happily gave me Phenergan. It totally knocked me out the first day, but really helped a lot! I was able to start eating again and then as I became hydrated I was able to take Zofran in the morning and Phenergan in the evening to manage it all. Now at 21 weeks, I'm still dependent on the two, but boy are they lifesavers! Unfortunately, this time around, I had to quit 1 of my 3 jobs and take a leave from the other two. I go back to one in a few weeks and then the other once I've adjusted to having two kids in my care. Life is crazy, but I am definitely grateful for modern medicine! Seriously though, I'd be dead if it weren't so.