Eating anxiety

[LadyJella]

My husband is bringing home dinner, and I'm already having anxiety over having to eat it. I don't want to eat! I've had a crappy day with food today, more than usual. I just took a zofran but I'm still nauseous. I think he's here. Crap!

[krsweetpea]

My advice is try to eat if you want to or eat/drink whatever appeals to you. Sometimes I need to override the fear of eating-other times I've been glad I didn't because I manage to avoid vomiting. Sometimes than I can eat or drink something else later. I still get freaked about eating even though much of the time I can manage something...

[LadyJella]

My husband makes me eat. He is very worried for the baby and me. Ever since my doctor told him it's better that I force it and vomit than it is to eat a little and not vomit, he's been adamant that I keep trying to eat. I was only able to get past this dinner because he spoon fed me while I had my eyes closed. He's supportive and pushy.
I don't think my doctors know too much about how to treat hg. My GP only gave me zofran after I said I wasn't keeping anything down. She told me to tough it out the previous time I called and told her about my unbearable and constant nausea. Then she chastised me for losing too much weight a couple of weeks later. I thought I was doing a good job of toughing it out with zofran. That's when she said I needed to be eating or drinking something every 5 minutes. Well, I guess I should be glad that she sent me to the ER from there. It took 4 bags of IV to rehydrate me. The nurses kept asking if I had to go to the bathroom yet, and I didn't until after my 3rd bag. I can't believe I spent weeks so dehydrated. My ob gave me reglan which I'm still not sure is working. She told me I had nausea so bad because of motion sickness. When I told her the reglan and zofran weren't doing much after my trip to the ER, she said my only other option was to go back to the hospital. Notice neither doctor has even mentioned hg. I overheard one of the doctors saying I had it. That's how I found out. That's what led me to this site. This site is what has been keeping me sane and giving me hope. Thank goodness for you ladies and the fact that my symptoms did get better once I hit 12 weeks. I'm having a bit of a relapse now. Throwing myself pity parties now and then. You're welcome to join! Oh, and I'm 13weeks due oct 21st and still not showing.

[krsweetpea]

Awww, I'm sorry you are having such a rough time. It's sweet your hubby is supportive.

I know this might not help but I didn't start showing until 20 weeks! I am just starting to wear some maternity things and I am 28 weeks. I was able to start eating little bits after starting zofran(oral and iv) and 6liters of lactated ringers a week at 16 weeks. I lost 17 pounds by 16 weeks and just found out yesterday that I have hit my pre-pregnancy weight.
Despite the weight loss and little eating baby is measuring on track.

I started having improvement with treatment and my hg is now "mild"... Which means I still need some treatment and feel nauseous all the time, but as long as I take my meds and don't over do I feel ok for having hg;)

Some of the other women could probably advise you better. This is my first time getting treatment. I have a two year old son and most likely had undiagnosed mild hg with him.

So, time may help it get better for you! I certainly pray it does!!!
Hugs,
Katy

[AnneCan]

Are you taking Unisom/B6 too? If not, look under "medications" on this site for dosage, and just make sure you go in for fluids anytime you aren't drinking much. You can buy unisom over the counter in the states. You can also try an acid blocker to see if that helps a bit (like Zantac/Nexium, etc). All meds work better with fluids.

As for eating...well, it's a constant challenge with HG, and you just have to do the best you can. Try all sorts off different things even if they seem odd. When you hit on things that settle okay, you can add them to your "safe list". If you're struggling to get enough calories/nutrition, try ice cold ensure wth extra protein (I could only drink vanilla ensure). You can try different brands/flavours, or even the carnations breakfast drinks (but ensure are better nutritionally). Don't chug them..sip it ICE COLD over a few hours. My doc had me drink 2-4 a day, but I could only even get down 2 a day at the most.

[LadyJella]

Do you think it's ok if I don't consult with my doctor first about unison/b6? I have been drinking one ensure a day, but I'm still losing about 2 lbs a week. Is that too much? I will try to drink more than one, but I hate the aftertaste.

[krsweetpea]

I really think you need some more care. 2 lbs a week is quite a bit. There is a chart on here where you can enter your starting weight and your current weight and see if your weight loss is considered severe. One thing I've noticed for myself and some others here is that we tend to down play our suffering and think we should try harder. It sounds like you are trying very hard and need some help! Hugs!

[AnneCan]

My doctor had me come in weekly for blood work and a weight check to monitor how I was coping during the worst of it. She's a great doctor, and she was treating my HG, but not agressively enough (she's very conservative with meds for everyone). I had to constantly ask her for better treatment. After I lost a significant amount of weight, she transfered me to a high-risk OB who then put me on more meds.

I find that I have to be really direct with my doctor about what I want and need. It means staying really informed of meds/dosages, hydration options, and your own personal limits and expectations on being treated. Sometimes doctors respond better when you bring a second person to the appointment to help argue your case. Maybe you can meet with your doctor to ask if they can do weekly bloodwork to check on iron, electrolyte balance, and organ function. Also ask about Unisom/B6 if you'd like, but you can get it over the counter if they aren't aware of it. I'm in Canada, and we have to get it by prescription here (it's called Diclectin and it's specifically meant for pregnancy. It's timed-released, but otherwise the same thing). Motherisk recommends it as a first "line of treatment" with NVP. You can also get some acid blockers over the counter (Zantac), and others are by prescription-only (like Nexium). When you're not eating much the acid burns your stomach, so it's good to control the acid throughout an HG pregnancy. You can use an acid blocker (like Zantac), and/or acid reducers (not sure which ones, but I think Nexium/Protonix??), and antacids, like diovol/tums/gaviscon, etc. You may get reflux, so these help that too.

As for the ensure...I know! The aftertaste is like a metalic-vitamin-plastic taste. If you can drink more than one, it will really help to slow down your weight loss. It sucks having to drink it, but if you can manage more without throwing it up, it will really help get the calories and vitamins you need. You still may need more than that in terms of fluids/meds though, so keep on fighting until your weight loss is under control!

Good luck and I hope you get some more relief