My Battle with Hyperemesis Gravidarum
I am siting hear with my three week old baby girl. I just
can’t believe she is mine and she is perfect. In every way. It is time to write
how I survival with Hyperemesis gravidarum.
This is not a birth story it is a story about living with
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) for 9 months without letting up. My pregnancies was
not the glowing, happy. That every woman wishes for. I had Hyperemesis
Gravidarum. I was sick and very ill. I almost even die. The doctor at the hospital
told me that I was at deaths door when I went in. My veins blow out many time
because dehydration.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a complication of pregnancy
characterized by intractable nausea, vomiting, and dehydration and is estimated
to affect 0.5–2.0% of pregnant women. Malnutrition and other serious
complications, such as fluid or electrolyte imbalances, may result.
Charlotte Bronte a well-known author. She die in early
stages of pregnancy due to hyperemesis gravidarum wouldn't have minded the fact
that her day that marks the anniversary of her death 157 years ago is now, at
the instigation of the Ayden Rae Foundation, the first annual worldwide
Hyperemesis Gravidarum Awareness Day.
From The Life of Charlotte Brontë, written by her friend
Elizabeth Gaskell
”She was attacked by new sensations of perpetual nausea, and
ever-recurring faintness. After this … had lasted for some time, she yielded to
[her husband] Mr. Nicholls wish that a doctor should be sent for. He came, and
assigned a natural cause for her miserable indisposition; a little patience,
and all would go right. She who was ever patient in illness, tried hard to bear
up and bear on. But the dreadful sickness increased and increased, till the
very sight of food occasioned nausea … Martha tenderly waited on her mistress,
and from time to time tried to cheer her with the thought of the baby that was
coming. “I dare say I shall be glad sometime,” she would say; “but I am so ill
– so weary -” Then she took to her bed, too weak to sit up … Long days and longer
nights went by; still the same relentless nausea and faintness … About the
third week in March there was a change; a low wandering delirium came on; and
in it she begged constantly for food … She swallowed eagerly now; but it was
too late.”
Wakening for an instant from this stupor of intelligence,
she saw her husband’s woe-worn face, and caught the sound of some murmured
words of prayer that God would spare her. “Oh!” she whispered forth, “I am not
going to die, am I? He will not separate us, we have been so happy.” Early on
Saturday morning, March 31st, the solemn tolling of Haworth church-bell spoke
forth the fact of her death to the villagers who had known her from a child,
and whose hearts shivered within them as they thought of the two sitting desolate
and alone in the old grey house. Charlotte Brontë is thought to have died of
Hyperemesis Gravidarum on March 31st 1855 In honor of Charlotte Brontë the
Ayden Rae Foundation is designating March 31, 2012 as Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Awareness Day.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) can so lead to many
complications to mom, baby and our external relationships with others. It is a
terrible disease that makes any pregnant woman affected with it in a
debilitated state and can be life threatening. She can’t even take care of her
kids that she already have. The typical saltine crackers and sipping Ginger Ale
is not a solution. I does not work. I could not keep any thing down.
In late August I found out that I was pregnant. I felt so
sick. Something was not right. But I was not sure what at the time. I started
to have signs of Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) but at the time I did not even
know I was pregnant. It was slow at first, some pretty intense nausea
throughout the day which didn’t lead to vomiting but was very uncomfortable.
The same time I was announce our pregnancy to our family and friends I was
telling them I had Hyperemesis gravidarum.
About two weeks later it all changed – I couldn’t get out of
bed, I was vomiting 30-40 times a day. Yes! That is not a typo- THIRTY to FORTY
times a day. I could not keep anything down any food or liquid. I began to lose
weight quickly and had chronic constipation.
HG was not welcome! It was an uninvited friend that stay
around for nine months and would not leave. I had it so bad that I just could
not do anything. I laid in bed all day and all night only getting up to puke –
most of the time I just did it in a bowl I had on my night stand. And when my
husband would get home he would empty it. I only got away from HG in my sleep.
My poor sweet, Children was feeling negative effects of it
as well. My youngest was three at the time was the most was affects by this. He
wanted to play with mommy. But I could not even get out of bed to play with
him. He watch T.V all day. I felt like a bad mom. I could not even clean the
house make dinner for my kids and husband. Take walk with my kids like I did
before I got sick. Go to church. Do my church callings.
This continued on for 6 months before I was starting to feel
human again. Sure, I had oral anti-nausea medications and I went to the
hospital weekly to get hydrated. The doctors would discharge me because I had
not thrown up in the last thirty minutes I always had to bring something to
throw up in in the car. Nothing worked. NOTHING. Nothing takes away the nausea,
the pain and the loneliness. The worse is the depression.
My doctor put me on a PICC in October of 2015. It was so
pain have them put it in. My arm was so sore. It hurt so bad I just wanted to
cry. I knew that with a PICC line I would be able to receive fluids every day
without worrying about running out of veins. I was definitely looking forward
to not getting poked anymore but the best thing was I got IV fluids I did not
have to go to the hospital any more. I also found out that my Zofran can now be
run directly into my PICC. I had a nurse come to my home and show me how to use
my PICC. She would also came every week to change the dressing of my PICC too.
I had great friends and family that help me. They were
great. They took care of my kids. They even got me food and some to drink that
I could try to keep down. They even brought in meals in. I even had a few
friends that would call to check in with me. I did not know how I would get
along without them. I felt very bless to have them in my life.
My little girl was born by C-section on the 23 of March at
38 weeks. My sister law had my little boy that morning and the three oldest
kids were at school. So it was me and my husband there. As soon has the baby
was taken out I felt so much better. I was like a light stich was turn off. I
was not sick any more. I felt great.
I am extremely weak
and doing "normal" activities exhausts me, my joints hurt constantly
from being malnourished and bed ridden so long, I have nightmares almost every
night about my experience, and I also have been having anxiety when I think
about anything pregnancy related or see/hear something that reminds me of my
own pregnancy. I am so grateful that I survived my pregnancy and even more
grateful that I now have a healthy adorable little girl.
