New to the board, not sure if I have HG

[newmommy-to-be]

Hello All,
Here is a lil' bit about me:
I am in college right now finishing up an AS degree in Sign Language Interpretation. I am 22 years old and 16 1/2 weeks pregnant with my first child. My pregnancy was unplanned and has made me a little insecure and incredibly frightened. I have been sick since my 6th week and have been using zofran. I just found out about HG and think I have these symptoms but I am not too sure. My case isn't severe enough to put me in the hospital but it has caused daily discomfort.
My syptoms:
nausea/vomiting
vomiting bile
constipation
intolerable sense of smell
loss of over 15 pounds since pregnant
dehydration
eating only small amouts of food

Most of all I am scared of hurting my baby. I have read that my body supplies adequate nutrition for my baby but will I ever feel normal again?? Will I have these problems with all of my pregnancies? I feel that if I expierence these syptoms again I won't ever want to be pregnant in the future. Can anyone offer any advice to relieve my worries?

Eager to learn more,
Kelly

[MamaLily]

Kelly -

Hi and welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear that you have been so sick...hang in there, because hopefully things will get a little bit better for you.

It sounds to me like you probably have HG. There is a great page on this website that discusses the differences between morning sickness and HG. http://www.helpher.org/mothers/hypereme ... /index.php. It's worth reading!

Yes, it's true that your baby will take what it needs...the problem is that you are the one who ends up depleted. Getting HG under control is very important for your health and also for the health of your baby.

I know you will get some great advice from other women here. I am a moderator in the 2nd Trimester Folder...I hope you'll post about yourself there so we can help you through this. Hang in there! It will end and you will feel completely normal again. I know it's so miserable, but in the end it is 100% worth it for your baby!

- Anna

[PamelaRose]

Yep, it sounds like HG. Anna gave you a great link to read to see for sure, but the big clinical indicators are weight loss and spilling ketones (dehydration). HG varies in severity from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy, so sometimes the lines are a little fuzzy. It sounds like you're receiving decent care, and that's wonderful.

We all worry about these babies, and we all find out that HG babies are remarkably healthy. My ancient OB expressed it best when he said, "Babies are leeches--they're parasites." Technically, they are. That little baby is taking whatever he or she needs to grow from you, and your body puts the little one first. If HG holds its grip past the 1st trimester and you're still struggling, then it's time for TPN - tube nutrition - to keep your body going in order to supply the baby. As long as your doctors are aware of your health status and are keeping a close eye on you, don't worry. Your baby will be just as healthy (and a whole lot cuter--HG produces cute kids!) as any other baby. And the moment your little one is born, HG will be a memory--promise!

If you'd like someone in your area to talk with about HG as you go through it, send me an e-mail with your location and e-mail address, and I'll match you up with a buddy. Support makes a huge difference and can aleviate some of those fears. Hugs to you, and best wishes.

[Ivydragon]

Kelly,

HG is hard! I'm glad you have a case that is under fairly good control. Chances are you'd be in a really rough place with your pg if you weren't on the Zofran. Please let us know when you are asked to wean from Zofran, because stopping cold turkey can be shocking as to how sick you still are without it, and lots of physicians think that HGers should be off of it before they are ready. It's best to wean gradually so you know you really are ok without it. There are also some over the counter options (B6/Unisom) that you can add or substitute that may help you. Are you trying small frequent snacks and drinking lots of liquids so that you are staying neither hungry nor full and hydrated? There's a lot of info in the top post in the first trimester folder that is really informative that may be very helpful to you.

Anyways, the other gals told you so much to reassure you about the health of your child. There have been many studies done researching babies born to mothers during times of famine and malnutrition, and women in suffering 3rd world countries have healthy babies even if they aren't eating enough themselves. Your baby will be ok. Calories are far more important than nutrition, and things you crave will probably stay down better than what may be "logical" because it's "healthy".

I was really scared I would need my meds after I delivered. I was afraid I'd grown dependent on them, but my first midwife said that "once you are not pg, you are not pg, and you won't need them" and she was right. Once my children were born, I had my appetite back (probably too much of it back, lol). Depending on how severe the HG is during a given pg, and depending on long it is allowed to stay out of control, and how much an HGer can recover from the worst before delivery all impacts how long it takes to recover after delivery. With your pg, you stand a very good chance of feeling fairly normal once you've delivered (although normal is after-birth pains, and your healing from birth and breast changes - but normal for all post-partum women).

Now, will you have HG again? Yeah, probably so. HG tends to be a little worse each subsequent pg. With knowledge and planning and support and good Drs., you can face more HG pgs and endure them. HG is hell, and there is no escaping it, you can only try to make it easier to endure. I'm not surprised to hear you say that you may never want to be pg again. Almost all of us think that. Most of us curtail how many pgs we're willing to face because of HG. I have had 2 HG pgs, miscarried a pg, and we have adopted. We want to adopt again worse than anything, because there's no way we can face HG again. Others choose to pursue a child through surrogacy, and others choose to simply call their families complete a bit earlier than they'd hoped to. A few just stare HG in the face, and have the number of children they've always wanted ~ we ought to have pedestals for those amazing women. It's a really personal choice, and difficult to make. HG for sure makes us all think twice (or 100 times) about getting pg again, or at least about when that next pg will be. You can always come here to find out how other women have handled these types of decisions and dealt with their choices.

Huge hugs, and let us know what we can do to help you.

Andy

p.s. Pamela, I know a Mom and Daughter HG duo if you need the info, Pamela. DJTURR is from Florida.

[PamelaRose]

Thanks, Andy - I do remember now that they're from FL too! Did you see another mom/daughter combo here last week? I find that really interesting since the new ACOG report says daughters and sisters of HGers are more likely to have it; it doesn't seem like many of us are true to form on that one, so I'm curious as to how accurate that prediction really is.