Stinky Deodorant - How lonnnnnng will this trigger last?

[PamelaRose]

I am 18 months past HG, and just today I pulled out an aerosol deodorant I haven't used in a long time and whew--the smell reminded me of why! I was right back to 10 wks pregnant, skinny and scrawny and just out of the shower and struggling to comb my hair and get deodorant and underwear on before I passed out again. Most of the intense reactions to triggers have faded and I'm just left with a momentary realizaton that that was something I experienced during one of my HGs, but this was a pretty intense reaction that left me nauseated for a second or two. Bizarre. Just thought I'd share that one--I think some first-timers either do not expect triggers to remain post-HG or don't believe they'll ever get past the point of immediate nausea/vomiting every time they sense a trigger. Triggers do stick around, but the intensity fades and they take on a surreal quality. Like deodorant...who knew.

Do triggers remain after other traumatic illnesses?

[aaronsmommy]

I had a similar reaction 2 weeks ago when we had to use an old set of sheets for our bed. I didn't think much of it until we got the bed made and I stepped back and looked at it - they were the ones on the bed for the 6 months I spent in it and I felt like I should be running to the bathroom!
Yuck!

[PamelaRose]

Sheets would definitely be a trigger. I had to get a quilt rack for the quilt I had on the bed w/Brody's pregnancy because I spent far, far too much time staring at it, memorizing the fabric patterns, counting the seams that needed sewing, and noticing how grubby it was getting. Ugh. Visitors comment on how pretty the quilt is, but there's no way I could stand to have it on the bed again. Not a true nausea-inducing trigger anymore, but just a bad memory.

How're things going with you? Settling into the new job yet? You'll have to update on your little Prince Charming. Reilly's amusing us with her new all-purpose word, "ou-CH!"

[caleighbelle47]

Do triggers remain after other traumatic illnesses?[/quote]


I've read of cancer patients who years after being cured still throw up from simple triggers. Often the smell of a hospital will bring back all of their memories and make them physically ill.

My worst thing is ginger. I tried it in the very begining when I was really sick, because everyone said it worked. It didn't and now I can't even stand the mention of it. I'm still pregnant, but I don't think I'll ever eat ginger again.

Angela

[emily]

I had one of my worst vomitting episodes while trying seabands. Just seeing them makes me sick, which is really weird.

I threw out all of my maternity clothes (which wasn't many, because I had been too sick to shop and the chemical smell on new clothes was too much for me to take). I had worn those clothes too many times and I just can't bear to look at them. I know I will be throwing up in the next set of clothes but I don't care. I just couldn't keep them. I have already been buying a maternity wardrobe (from Gap on clearance and stuff like that). I plan on having a full maternity wardrobe purchased and washed repeatedly before I get pg.

[Natalie]

I am 8 months post delivery and I still can't tolerate the smell of Bold washing powder. I have to move seats if I sit next to someone who washes their clothes with it because it makes me so nauseous.
Does anyone know how long this goes on for? Does it last for ever???
Natalie.

[PamelaRose]

Any detergent or perfumy smells still bring me back, too. And I can absolutely understand adverse reaction to some treatment!

Natalie, you asked if it goes on forever. No, it really will not. There will be triggers that will last in memory...8 years ago, with my first HG, my dad took us out to eat at a local restaurant. We were not telling anyone we were pregnant, and I was trying to will myself to be ok so he didn't suspect anything was wrong. I somehow choked down a hamburger and then spent the rest of the night throwing up painful chunks as I cried and my throat bled. To this day, I still have that flashback when we eat at that restaurant, but I no longer feel the pain or really any emotion associated with it. It's just like my mind acknowledges the memory, but I'm completely removed from the situation by now. It takes time, but you will get past the physical reaction, and even the intense emotional reaction, to the triggers. I don't know that the memories fade--my 4 HGs all blend into one now, so I've lost lots of the isolated memories, but I still vividly recall the big triggers. The really adverse reactions will fade, leavng more of a momentary stab of wistful memory of that time in life.

[niki]

We had just had new carpets put in - a week before I found out I was pregnant. I can still remeber sitting upstairs crying, too terrified to go downstairs because I knew I would start vomiting the minute I smelt them. And to this day, when I open the front door and catch a brief smell of them, the nausea comes rushing back,

[Mar2]

Dawn Power Plus Dish Soap!!! It made me vomit everytime dh did dishes during the first pregnancy. I avoided it like the plague after that. But when I visited my sister in October of 2003, it was the only brand she had. I started doing the dishes and began gagging. Tipped her off right away that I was pg again.

Leaves me nauseous to this day just thinking or writing about it!

[PamelaRose]

Marla, you can keep some of that Power Plus dish soap around the house as a really cheap pregnancy test just in case...

[Mar2]

Pamela! Are you trying to jinx me?! You are right though. If I keep some around, it would be a great tip off. The Dawn-induced nausea definitely feels different even at 3 weeks pg than it does when I'm not pg.

Even though I am almost completely in the "All Done With HG" column, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't daydream about having a "happy little accident!!" But dh is in firmly in the "NO WAY, NO MORE" column so it wouldn't be so "happy" for him. Yet.

[PamelaRose]

Would I jinx you?

Ah, the dream... You're at the doctor for your yearly check and something is noted... You have a quick ultrasound to check it out, and VOILA! "Congratulations, you're 20 weeks pregnant!" lol - Wouldn't that be nice? Your husband couldn't possibly argue with that scenario. Later, as you're out to dinner celebrating your perfect pregnancy, you recall vague dish-related sensations which at the time you'd attributed to the awesome scrubbing power of the Dawn.

Are you thinking of possibly another try down the road? We named our 'happy little accident' Reilly.

[Mar2]

Am I thinking about the possibility of another one? YES! All the time I think about the possibility! And my dream goes something very much like what you described But dh is fairly adamant he can not watch me go thru HG and the infertility issues again. It is funny, now that I am 13 months removed from active HG, I can almost convince myself that I can handle it again. But 27 months after losing the first baby, I can not convince myself that I can handle another loss after HG. I applaud you and everyone else who has made the decision to face that fear multiple times...but I am just not there yet. So I hold on to the dream by keeping DH from getting the big V and by avoiding (or just skimming) the first and second trimester posts

Reilly is such a happy little accident! And sometimes I think an "accident" would be the only way for me to get past this indecision...well, that or menopause. Gosh, why do they have to be so cute, entertaining, and loveable??!! If they weren't, there would be no decision to make at all.

Take care,

[acorn]

This post is so amazingly pertinent to my day today! I put on new deodorant, and WOW, did I get nauseous from it. It's the same brand I used to use, but had thrown out when I was ill. I bought a new one, opened it today, and whammie. uggh.

Amy

[PamelaRose]

I'm glad I'm not the only one freaked out by stinky deodorant! I've been using the nasty stuff up just to get rid of it, and the reaction does fade once you get past the initial shock of smelling it and realizing when you used it last. Someone tell me why I'm not smart enough to just throw it out?

[foxwoodfaerie]

I'm resurrecting this post cause I just am so happy I'm not the only one with lasting effects. I had pretty much convinced myself that this was my first HG pg but, now I am starting to wonder if my second pregnancy, with James, was hg too. I mean, I lost 19 pounds and delivered him at one pound below my starting weight. But anyway, I digress.
When I was first pg with James, I went to TGI Fridays with some people from work. To this day, I can't even watch a TGI Friday's commercial! And that was over 3 years ago!
Also, same pregnancy, my dad dragged me out to dinner for my birthday and I choked down some artichoke spinach dip (God, I just gagged typing that!) and I can't even think about it now, the mere thought makes me sooooo sick.
I've had triggers from deoderants and lotions before too but they aren't bad enough to keep me from using them.
Ruth

[PamelaRose]

Ooh, it would be BAD if the restaurant in question for me advertised! Yuck. I still know exactly where we were sitting, what the weather was like, everything about that night back in May of 1996! I've found that the vomits I remember most vividly are the most violent ones--there are just some foods that should never be available to sick pregnant women!

Hope HG is merciful to you this time.

[Gail]

we just moved into an older house, it's kinda musty smelling. unfortunately, I discovered that I can't tolerate any kind of candles or air fresheners!! It's driving me crazy beause I don't like for my new house to smell either. I keep buying new scents hoping one of them will be okay. My family now has a great supply of candles and air fresheners though