Crackered over the Internet!

[tgger007]

I stumbled across this pdf about an HG diet. I read it and ALL the no's area all the food I eat. Where did they get the info? Who did they ask? Nutritionists, Drs, Nurses, or people who really have it? Stuff like this makes me mad, people this is where my friends/family/inlaws go and see and think they are helping me because it's on the internet and backed by professionals instead of a person going through it.

http://www.pwhealthmp.com/pdf/HYPEREMESISDIET.pdf

[krsweetpea]

That's hilarious... Although I do think it's funny that they include antacids in the allowed foods;) I pretty much eat whatever sounds tolerable at the moment. Miss veggies terribly but can't do much with them. I have two truly safe foods. I have several foods I will probably never, ever eat again:(

[krsweetpea]

Oh, I shocked a nurse with one of the foods I craved- she was suggesting very bland foods that just sounded disgusting. I think the most useful thing people can do if they want to support us is accept that our eating may be very odd and limited while we are pregnant.

[jarezuny]

Goodness, that list is ridiculous! My awesomely amazing doctor told me to eat whatever I thought I could eat whenever I felt like it. Which was never much -- like the list of foods we can eat needs to be restricted by suggestions like those! Sheesh.

[Ari1028]

This is funny because my mom also sent me a link to a hyperemesis diet website. Before I was on meds everything came back up and everyone suggested bland foods... Nope, sorry that comes up in 10 mins just like everything else! What is funny is while I was unmedicated I craved FOODMENT a sausage and mushroom pizza ENDFOODMENT and I was able to keep it down. My mom actually yelled at me while I was visiting her one time for eating take out instead of all the bland food she was offering me. Those websites are just total BS.

[gremlinsmummy]

Ba ha ha that's hilarious! I've read other things that say protein is better than carbs for HG. Either way it's no good to me, I have 2 safe foods and that's the sum total of my HG diet.

[sweetpea]

They must be out of their minds!!! They listed coffee as a safe drink - you've got to be kidding me. And non-fat milk - if you're getting less than 500 cal a day it would seem you would need the higher fat/cal content. My last pg I ate two maybe three things the entire time. This time it's mostly just been FOODMENt popsicles END and if I do get a craving I try just to see if I can hold it down!

[eliana1300]

I didn't read the article (that stuff would just make me madder than a hornet right now), but during my second admission to the hospital and my first under my new OB, they had a nutritionist come in with a list of foods I should eat while pg and HGing. I was so weak, but I still managed to laugh at her. She admitted it was kind of a joke, but asked that I at least try some of those things on the list. At that time, I could barely read the list, much less eat anything on it.

Just to put this into perspective: This was the same hospital trip I took right after I switched OBs. I saw my new OB for the very first time around 4 months, and told her that as soon as my appointment was over, I was going to the ER. She kept me in for 3 days, because by the time my in-laws drove me around the dr's office to the ER (literally the office is next door to the hospital), I was delirious and semi-conscious. I almost fainted in the hallway outside her office. She read my charts from the hospital, since I had been getting fluids there for so long, and she immediately ordered home IVs for me. Didn't really even check with me about it. Oh, and when they moved me from the ER to the postpartum floor, I started getting chills and needed heating pads to keep my body temperature up, because something was failing (I have no idea what, I just remember the chills and how I needed more than the two heating pads they gave me). Then this nutritionist walks in the room, after I have been cleared to leave but not checked out yet, and tells me all about the great hyperemesis diet. DH and I totally laughed at her, although his was more disdainful and mine was more weak.

[Kalanit]

with my son my safe food was to chew mentos while drinking chocolate milk. Nope, I guess i should have not eaten that and stuck to nothing. Which is exactly what I did this past pregnancy. While hospitalized, the doctor ordered a nutritionalist for me, who never once showed up and instead sent me a list of 'safe'foods.

[DivineLotus]

Retarded... my safe food was FOODMENT!! Sushi END FOODMENT. Ya take that DOCTORS. I'm going to eat whatever stays in.

[Brynn1984]

I actually yelled at a doctor who had the bad fortune of being maybe the 6th one who told me to "just try to eat a few crackers". I vaguely recall saying something like, "If you or any of your doctor friends tell me to eat one more *bleeping* cracker I will sue you."

[Cin]

Hi, Brynn, welcome to the forums!

Yeah, I used to carry around a letter, and when a nurse or doc crackered me, I would just hand it to them.

I'm going to go look for it...

[Cin]

Huh, can't find it since the forum change! Weird.

In any case, that doc deserved the scolding.

[Brynn1984]

Hi Cin,

Thanks for the welcome Such a brilliant idea to have a letter....I might just have to write one of my own!

[sweetpea]

Here it is Cin. I had it saved from my last pg!

Some notes on “crackering”

“Crackering” is foisting ignorant advice and expectations on a patient with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), from people who know nothing about the disease and think it is morning sickness, or by people with outdated information. Some examples:
• “Have you tried…?” Yes, of course I have tried eating gluten free crackers in bed and protein and ginger and everything else. I would love to do these things rather than take all these medications. But the home remedies don’t work for HG patients.
• Sometimes crackering involves attributing the disease to a woman’s mental state, such as “you must not want this pregnancy subconsciously” or “your body is trying to expel the baby.” The latest research indicates HG is most likely a violent reaction against HcG, for reasons unknown. It is not the patient’s fault.
• “Vomiting means everything is going well with baby, at least.” People usually say this as a way of comforting the suffering HG patient. Sometimes it’s said to delay treatments.
o First off, many babies are not all right. The second trimester miscarriage rate for HGers is about 3 times as high as other pregnant women, according to the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation (as reported by Moderator Cin on www.hyperemesis.org). The babies’ hearts stop because they starve to death.
o Secondly, even if baby is fine, delaying treatments will have short-term consequences for the woman (misery, secondary depression, weight loss, dehydration, malnutrition) and may affect her lifelong health and well-being (extensive damage to teeth, esophagus, stomach, bowels, kidneys, liver, etc.) Not to mention PPD and PTSD once the baby is born.
o Finally, HG can kill the mother. One of the HER Foundation’s members, Maria Giani, died from complications of HG a few years ago. Her twins died in utero as well.
• Sadly, the worst crackering is often at the hands of nurses, and they often scold the patient for taking meds the doctor has prescribed, because “it might hurt the baby.” I must warn you, this makes me very upset; dehydration and malnutrition will certainly hurt or even kill the baby. Zofran will not.

I won’t tolerate crackering. It is unprofessional. It is often condescending. It causes me stress and anxiety, which increase my illness. I must respectfully state that any health professional who crackers me will no longer be permitted to treat me. Repeated crackering will be reported.

[Brynn1984]

I wish there was a "Like" button for this. Very well said.

[hgsurvivorsmith]

Crazy! Getting crackered stinks! I just wrote a post about this topic on my blog. Ugh. Hang in there!

[Cin]

There it is!

Yeah, I carried that everywhere last time. Very helpful.

[DivineLotus]

Indeed. I commend you.

[vcase]

"drink liquids between meal" ha who could eat meals? or drink at all? expecially the first trimester...silly me I guess all those Iv fluids could have been avoided if I had just eaten then drank something.....