I will begin this post by saying that NO I am definitely NOT pregnant right now (or looking to be so anytime soon). A blog writer I follow wrote this post tonight and I wanted to share it with all of my readers....
Hyperemesis Gravidarum
She explains in detail about this pregnancy illness. It is not morning sickness... it is not extreme morning sickness... it is beyond that. This is what I had with both of my pregnancies.
With my first I was confined to my bed for at least 2 months and incapacitated for 3 full months. I lost 20 lbs before I ever gained any pregnancy weight. Like Sarah said it feels like you are at the brink of throwing up 24 hours a day, everyday for months. It is the worst thing I have ever experienced. I think all I ate for those 3 months was mini wheats and pears (they had to be peeled because I couldn't even eat the skin)... as for meat.... not a chance. It was a very difficult time. I had to stay overnight in the hospital to recieve fluids and antinausea medication just so I could eat.
Through the struggle there were a lot of tears and prayers. My husband nursed me everyday.... even had to bathe me. He laid beside me in bed and peeled pears! He cleaned and tried to eat out often so there wouldn't be the smell of cooking food in the apartment. He is amazing!
It returned with baby #2 but wasn't as severe as I started taking antinausea medication before I even felt sick at 6 weeks pregnant. This time I had a 1 yr old to take care of.... Have you tried caring for a small child when you are at the brink of throwing up?!? H-A-R-D! Again Ian was amazing taking care of me and our small daughter. My Mom came out to help too when she could. Hailey watched a lot of t.v for a few months and I laid on the couch crying. I lost 10 lbs the second time around and was incapacitated for only 2 months (I was very grateful for this).
I felt through both pregnancies that a lot of people thought I was weak (most didn't say anything, but you can tell when someone thinks you are being overdramatic). I even thought myself that "I must just be a big whimp because women have babies all the time and can still function normally while pregnant". I wish I had had a better understanding of this illness before I became pregnant... and I want more people to understand what the experience is like for those of us who have hyperemesis.
It gives me anxiety thinking about the next baby (perhaps in 2 more years).... You do forget some of the suffering (probably just enough to get pregnant again... and then it hits you)..... I hope when that time comes that I will have a handful of understanding and supportive people around me to jump in and help me care for my 2 girls and husband because I can't do it without you!
3 comments:
I don't think or know if I technically have had or have hyperemesis gravidarum but I think I was pretty dang close. I'm sick my entire pregnancies, every single time, and this is baby #3. I lost 20lbs with this one, and that was thanks to not being able to function and throwing up at least 3 times a day in my first and most of my second trimester. The only thing, I think, that has been saving me this time around is being in the states because they have a miracle drug called Zofran. Canada JUST got it. I would honestly give it a try for you next one. It's EXTRMEMLY expensive, and it works like a charm... well... at least it does for me.
I also know what it's like for people to look at you with a judging eye. I have 9am church, and at the very beginning of my pregnancy, there was no way I could make it. I tried, so hard, and ended up either throwing up at church, or going home straight after taking the sacrament. People in my ward guessed immediately that I was pregnant. When you drastically lose 20 pounds and look like you're going to die everytime you're around, it's pretty obvious.
The good thing is when you find someone just like you! Cause then you know you're not alone!
No one understands unless they've experienced it. I had this with my first and it definitely took a great amount of faith to have another….and space them 2 year apart. A girl in my ward just found a higher strength anti-nausea and now she can sort of function at 3.5 months prego. Wish that was around whn I had my first.
Oh my goodness - I'm sure this is what I have when I'm pregnant - it was so bad with my first that I threw up twice a day without fail until I was about 6 months pregnant. I lost 13 pounds in the first trimester and only ended up gaining 7 pounds total in my entire pregnancy. I was taking diclectin but I wasn't taking enough because I didn't know enough about it. With my second and third I was taking 10 of those little pills a day (and at over $1 each that was expensive!) and I still felt nauseous but I least I could keep some things down and I got almost completely better by the time I hit 6 months.
I know a girl that was prescribed anti-nausea drugs normally reserved for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and was still sick. And yes, you do get people who judge and think you should just suck it up but they just don't get it - I even forget how bad it can be!
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