Do you get the 3rd degree about food?

[bear]

Hi all,

I'm new to these boards and I'm so happy I found you all!

Here's my story in a nut shell. I'm 17 weeks and still very sick with HG. I have a PICC line (finally this one works after 2 other attempts), 2 liters of IV a day, Zofran every 12 hours, and vit's in my IV. I've been home on disablity for over 2 months now and I'm on my 2nd OB.

So here's my thing.....the first words out of everyones mouth when they call or come over is....what did you eat today? Then it's always follwed by, "you really need to eat more or you will get sicker." No duh!!

I don't understand why people think I'm purposly not eating or drinking. I obviously would if I could. I'm painfully obvious that I'm very underweight but everyone still feels the need to tell me about it. GRR!!!

Does anyone else have this problem?

I'm so glad I found you all!!

-Trish

[IslandDreamer]

Gee, you mean we should eat? NEVER thought of that, eh? Everyone's expert now....all the McDonalds Drive Thru medical degrees are coming out. Gotta love it...not. How frustrating.

When I was pg, I did not get quizzed on my food consumption. Anyone who asked would have been swatted with my bag of meds or roly poly. Mostly I got suggestions for things that would be edible...which is a charming list of useless suggestions from people who have never heard of hg.

I'm really sorry this is so frustrating and people lack understanding and compassion.

[MamaLily]

Trish -

Hi and welcome! I'm so happy you've found us here...this is a wonderful place for anyone whose life has been changed by HG.

I'm sorry to hear that you're still sick. It sounds like you are getting good care, but it is still frustrating to feel very sick at 17 weeks. I really hope that you will start feeling some relief soon.

Is this your first HG pregnancy?

It is so frustrating when people try to help you manage your health. And when they don't realize that their questions/suggestions (although probably well-meant) just don't help you. I'm sorry that you have to deal with it!

Again, welcome! Please feel free to post any time with questions, suggestions, frustrations, etc. We are here for you!

- Anna

[mammaclare]

People who don't understand, simply DON'T UNDERSTAND! It is enough to make you shut out the whole world (I know this one from experience).

I wonder if you have enough Zofran on board--twice a day sounds like it may be too little. Forgive me if you have told your story already-is the vomiting under control? If not, ask for more Z--you can have up to 32 mgs a day.

Also, eat whatever sounds good, when it sounds good and try not to listen to people who "had a little morning sickness". They can all kiss your big toe.

[bear]

Thankfully most of my vomiting has stopped. I take the Zofran for the hypersalivation and the gagging feeling I get. Most of the nausea has fadded, thank goodness! I have the 4mg pill form that I'm allowed to take 3 times a day but I find it so much easier to just infuse the liquid Zofran right into my PICC. It's works within seconds and I don't have to choke down a pill.

For my first 2 months I went from IV to PIC, to IV, to PIC, to IV and then finally my current PICC which goes all the way to my heart. I kept clotting all of my lines and Phlebitis at my IV sites. My first Dr would let me go 3-4 days without hydration becuase they just couldn't schedule the PIC team quick enough. They would wait a day or two before even calling me back, and when they did, it was always the nurse, never the DR. GRRRR! My visiting nurses all urged me to switch DR's becuase he wasn't responsive enough or aggressive enough in my treatment. He made me feel like I was a hypochondriac so I never pushed it. My nurses saw me every other day and said that I was only getting worse and that they needed to do something quick.

So I switched DR's. The Dr I see now wants me in there every week to monitor my progress. If I need more Zofran or IV fluid, she just prescribes it. She knows that I know what I need at that moment. They also are very sympathetic and helpful which makes all the difference in the world.

I've been on disablilty since August 9th so I'm getting major cabin fever. The first month and a half I had various family members take care of me during the day and my DH at night. Now I'm to the point that I can make my own breakfast and dress myself so I don't have any more company. I think they all forgot about me. So now I'm starting to get a little depressed. My dog is great, but he doesn't really talk back....ya know?

So that's my story in a long nut shell. I'm just now starting to do some small tasks around the house, like get the mail, run a load of laundry...I get just so out of breath so quick that I don't accomplish very much....plus I hate dragging around that darn IV pole!

Any other hints with meds? I'm down 11lbs and haven't gained an ounce yet. It doesn't help that I started all of this very thin. My back now looks like I'm a skeleton. Hey, now I know what to be for Halloween!

It's so nice to find all of you!

trish

[dolphinsnb]

Yes, I definitely know how it feels to have people telling you to eat and drink more. (LIKE I WANT TO FEEL SICK ALL THE TIME!) (LIKE I DON'T WANT TO EAT AND GO TO RESTAURANTS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!)

Everytime my boss asks me how I'm doing, he says that he's not going to have any sympathy for me if I don't drink enough and cause myself to get dehydrated. (Ever occur to him that you lose fluids when you throw up??? It's not just a matter of drinking!)

So, everyone who says some people just don't understand - they're absolutely right!

I also really understand the depression you're feeling. I haven't had HG as bad as you. I'm still working. (I usually feel much worse late afternoon/evenings than during the day.) It feels like the only normal thing in my life right now is going to work. When I get home, I'm too tired to do anything. I get winded trying to put laundry up. I can't make myself dinner, nor can I think of anything that sounds edible. My husband has been doing a second job for fun since the end of August. So, he's gone a lot at night - leaving me there alone...not feeling good...and bored out of my mind. The depression got really bad this weekend. I couldn't stop crying. But I did think of something this weekend that is helping a LITTLE bit. I went to a craft store and got a needlepoint kit. I'm going to make something for the baby's room! I haven't cross stitched or needle pointed in a LONG time, but it's giving me something to work on. And it doesn't take too much energy either! I just started this week. So, I don't know if it's going to help in the long run, but it's helped for a few days so far!

Good luck to you!

Shannon

[Pesto7]

Shannon,
Your HG sounds like mine! I can still work thanks to zofran, but don't get too much sympathy there because most people don't even know I'm pregnant and those that do ask me how I feel every day. I just started lying and telling them that I was ok, rather than get into it and get all of their suggestions and comments. Fortunetly my boss is really understanding when I need to go home. I still try not to get into too much detail about it because I don't want him to think that I am a hypochondriac or just want sympathy. Although I do like sympathy much more that suggestions! I really think that my Dr. and I are handling this as well as we can and I could be much worse off!

-Jil
Ist time pg 21 weeks still with HG