Starting week 12 and just diagnosed w/hyperemesis

[dolphinsnb]

Hi there! This is my first pregnancy. I'm in hurricane central - also known as Florida.

Right now, I'm on the first day of week 12! I was doing ok up until about week 8 - just heartburn and lots of burping. Then, about halfway through week 8, the vomitting started. It wasn't too bad at first (as far as vomitting goes). But it got worse the last week or so. I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't keep saltines or crackers down. I went to the doctor Tuesday, and he sent me straight to the hospital for IV treatment because I was severely hydrated. I got released yesterday, but when I was at the hospital, I kept hearing them say that I had "hyper" something or another. So, I've been researching today and came across this website. The doctor gave me a zofran prescription, which I already had to use last night.

I am so sick of feeling this bad. Nothing sounds good to eat. Smells make me nauseous. I'm just miserable. And I'm getting kind of tired of my husband telling me that it's all in my mind. I know he's trying to help and distract me or whatever. But like I'd really CHOOSE to feel this bad for this long!!!!

I think I read somewhere that this should get better by about the 13th week. Oh how I hope that is true for me. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I also read that having this condition makes a lot of people feel like limiting their family size. I'm already there. I can't imagine going through this more than once on purpose.

The only good thing that's happened recently is that I got to have an US at the hospital yesterday, which was my second. I'm also LUCKY enough to have a couple of really large fibroids in my uterus, which automatically put me in the high risk group. (It was about a week after finding out about the fibroids/high risk that the "morning sickness" got REALLY bad. Coincidence????) Anyway, my baby was measuring a couple days bigger than my due date indicates at my first us (~8 weeks), and thankfully, the baby is still measuring a few days big for my due date. That was such a relief to find out the baby is still growing normally!!!! And he/she was dancing all around, having a grand ol' time - oblivious to how miserable I am. So, at least that's one good thing!

Sorry this is so long. It's just nice to vent to people who understand.

[Aimee]

I know just how you are feeling. I was layed out vomiting everything including my saliva. I could not keep anything down. IV after IV lead to a pick-line for my IV. around the end of the 4th or 5th month my OB group transfered my file to a high risk doctor who was my saving grace. Zofran I had been on since practically the beginning it did not stop my vomiting but it helped with the sensitivity to smell a little and sick feeling lightened. The key was predizone, that stopped my vomiting for at least 8 hours a day. I was still vomiting mostly in the mornings until my daughter was born at 36 weeks. But after day and night, mornings and the occasional time at night was not so horrible. I remember riding in the car to the hospital seeing people walk around and thinking I remember I could jog like that will I ever be able to do that again.

Yes you will. It sure feels like you are alone right now. You are not. One thing to remember which is hard. The baby will be fine. I was told your body will feed the baby first. The baby will let you starve to death before it goes without what he/she needs to grow and develop. What you need to concern yourself with is you. One benefit for me is everytime I went in to the hospital and almost every other week in the OB office I was given and ultra sound. I have wonder pictures of her kicking and punching and having a party while I suffered. My one OB said she had it mildly and she could only have noodles. Go to the other forums on polls and there is one about foods that work and don't work. Mostly keep water by you or ice and try your best to keep hydrated. I know that is hard. All you feel like doing is lay there and hope it passes soon. I can not imagine going through it with the hurricanes.

As for your husband............ this is a hard one for him. I read once that if you come to your husband with a problem even if you just want to vent about it he is immediately trying to process a solution on how to fix it. Guys always want to fix what is broken. This is hard for him as well. My husband always said that he wished constantly that it would just go away. I was luck that his sister had HG. There was no was he was going to get away with tell me it was in my mind. Although I am sure secretly he wished it was because to him that can be fixed. How do you fix something you have never heard of or had to deal with and watch the one you love suffer. On the lighter side he now refers to any woman who does not get sick when they are pregnant as pezz dispensers--- they just pop them out".

For now take small steps today all you have to do is take your zofran and drink some water, eat some ice, get some rest, if there was something you could keep down at the hospital try that. Tomorrow you can think about adding something else........... something to try to eat or a baby name, what do you want to do to the nursery, what your son or daughter will look like. Keep your ultra sound near and when you need a reminder about what you are working so hard for and what wonderful blessing is on the way you can look at it.

I will keep you in my prayers and if you need and ear or just to hear you are not alone feel free to email me anytime




~~~~~~~~~~~~
one daughter born
6 weeks premature (very healthy)
12-24-00
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[jjbeck]

Hi there. I am sorry you are going through this. I can understand how you feel. I have been through HG twice. MY DH too had a hard time coping and it was very frusterating for me to not have his support or knowing some thought it was all in my head. Aimee is right in my opinion about men wanting to fix problems... but if they cant it seems as though some just do not want to acknowledge the problem exists. It is frusterating I know....you should not have to try and understand his reasons for telling you it is all in your head when you are feeling so sick... there will be time for that later. FOr now tell him he needs to be more supportive. The site has a section for family members. It might help him to be able to better help you. Support is very important I think.

[PamelaRose]

Congratulations on the pregnancy and the fun ultrasound! I loved to see my little ones wriggling around in there.

Your HG held off a bit longer than most, but it's following a pretty typical pattern. And contrary to what "they" would have us believe about it ending magically after 12 weeks, that's not the case. Many women see improvement after 15 weeks, but weeks 10-14 are typically the worst. Which would explain why you're suffering so right now! Hydration is a must for the meds to work, but Zofran has some additional strings attached to it. It has to be taken regularly; you can't take it "as needed" (despite what most Rx bottles say). 32 mg/day is fairly standard during the worst of it, though many doctors try to be very conservative and dose way lower. There are also many companion meds you can pair with Zofran; moral of the story is that you have many options and don't need to be content with limited relief.

As for your husband, he's only repeating what everyone else says about pregnancy and illness. I even believed that my HG was in my head the first time around, and many other women have been told the same thing, that we're making ourselves sick. Most people have never heard of HG, but they have heard of morning sickness. Of course HG is not remotely close to morning sickness, but people don't understand that. Your best course of action is to educate yourself, have your husband look over the information you find, and realize that people will find it impossible to keep their idiotic cracker comments to themselves. If you get me your e-mail, I'll get you in touch with a volunteer who will help your husband understand, too. Good luck with the storms--hope you are safe and sound!

[dolphinsnb]

Thanks, everyone! I feel a little better knowing that this isn't in my head and that other people suffer through it too. I think I've had to take the zofran everyday but once since I've been out of the hospital. I've been trying to use those motion sickness arm bands first, but they don't always work well enough. I also realized something - I'm actually in my 13th week, not my 12th. I somehow got confused, but was a little relieved to find that I was done with the 12th week since I've read a few places that your chances of miscarriage go way down after the 12th week.

I have a question though. Is extreme "tiredness" related to HG? I know you tend to be tired during the first trimester. I was really tired during part of the second month, but that seemed to go away. Now, it seems like it's back, but hitting me at different times. Before I just needed a nap when I got home from work. Now, I don't want to get up in the morning, I'm sleeping around 10:30/11, and I'm pretty tired all afternoon. I'm thinking about bringing a pillow and blanket to work so I can take a nap during lunch time.

Thanks,
Shannon
shannon.bliss@verizon.net

[PamelaRose]

Glad to hear that Zofran is working. I urge you to set up a consistent schedule for taking it--you'll find that it works better if you take it regularly. Sea bands tend to be pretty useless for full-blown HG, but they may take the edge off of lingering nausea.

Tiredness, it's hard to say. I always asumed that the tiredness I felt while pregnant with my first child was normal, but by the time I was on the third child and was nearly paralyzed by fatigue, I began to suspect that HG was involved. But I've never had a "normal" pregnancy, so I really don't know! I suspect that HG does play a part in the extreme tiredness, but at any rate, your body is asking you to sleep, so you really can't ignore it. That pillow and cozy blanket at work sound like a great idea to me, and I'm not pregnant! lol

[dolphinsnb]

I was getting optimistic that the HG was fading away, but then I got sick again last night. (Ok, so I only went one day without getting sick, but I was HOPING!) I don't know what it is, but I start coughing and next thing I know, I'm throwing up! I do know that something is changing though. I used to be fine in the morning, but Friday I was pretty sick all morning (at work!) and I'm starting to feel that way again today. It's miserable feeling this way at all, but at work, it's just embarrassing!

Shannon

[PamelaRose]

I'm sorry!

Sounds like you need to step up the meds. Have you talked with your doctor about steroids? They have worked wonders for many who were starting to slide back down after 12 weeks. You can also up your Zofran and add a companion med. Hope you can find relief before it gets too terrible agian.