Letter to Dr. Phil

The HER foundation contributed letters from our forums members for a show that featured Hyperemesis as a topic. The show aired in April of 2007.

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Letter to Dr. Phil

Postby caseyhg » Mar 04, 2007 4:17 pm

Dr. Phil and staff,
Thank you so much for bringing light to this subject. I suffered with hyperemesis during my 1st and only pregnancy ( as much as I love my child and being a mother, I will never put myself & my family through that kind of torture again). Not one person I came across during my pregnancy knew anything about hg. Not a single person. No one (except the women of this the HER foundation forum) could understand what I was going through. I thank God that this forum exsists or I don't know if I could have made it. People need to understand that this is not just a little morning sickness. Our sisters are suffering and our children are dying. Thank you for teaching your viewers about this condition.
Casey Lutz, New York
Mother of Brody, 7 months
and step mother of Sydney, 12 years
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Postby 1968sha » Mar 05, 2007 11:47 am

I want to say thank you for doing this show. I suffered HG with all of my pregancies. My first two ended in miscarriage. I suffered with HG during my third pregnancy for 25 weeks. I was in and out of the hospital and lost 15 pounds. My child was diagnosed with IUGR because of the lack of weight gain.

I am now expecting and at 31 weeks. I suffered with HG again, but on a greater scale. I had a pic line for 4 weeks and was on so much medication, I didn't know what to do. I had Home Health visit to show my husband how to clean the lines and put up my TPN. I took Zofran, but that didn't seem to work. By New Years I had started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am still at home and on bedrest. Since I had such a hard time during my last pregancy and when I went back to work my body went into preterm, my doctor decided to keep me out and to just rest. We are checking to see if this child has IUGR because of my weight loss.

I am so glad you are doing a show on this topic. Many co-workers didn't understand during my last pregnancy and many thought I just didn't want to work. They were much more educated this time, and seem to understand that this is an illness and should be treated with dignity and respect.
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Postby mjmama » Mar 06, 2007 10:38 am

Dr. Phil and staff,

Thank you just doesn't seem enough.

I am now on my third HG pregnancy. I will share only my first because it was the most severe. My second was much easier and this one (I am 21 wks) was similar to my first but didn't quite get as bad.

HG hit with my first pregnancy at week 6. I was in the hospital by week 7 and stayed for two months. They tried several different medications - Phenegran, Reglan and Zofran. I had allergic reactions to both Phenegran and Reglan. The Zofran was all I could take but by week 11 things went downhill. I was throwing up at least 50+ times a day. I would just sit over a bucket. There was no letting up. I hate to know what it would have been like if I hadn't had the Zofran. I was on IV fluids and eventually TPN. I also ended up using a bedpan because walking the the bathroom made me throw up more than using the bedpan did. I would still throw up just lifting my hips in the air. I was horribly and indescribably dizzy. I had to stay on my left side all the time. I didn't bathe for weeks. I couldn't. But then the smell of myself would also make me sick. Finally, they gave me a bath in my bed which was horrible because I had to roll onto my back which made me so dizzy and I would just keep throwing up. I had long hair- down to my waist- which was so madded and gross. You really have to see someone in that state to believe it. My family should have taken pictures. Everytime I had a visitor you could see the disbelief on their faces. I looked like death. My lips were so dry the skin would flake off in huge chunks. My eyes were sucken and I looked, well, like I was starving to death.

They (the nurses and some doctors) kept wanting to put me on an anti-depressant to which I would say no. I wasn't depressed I was SICK!!! They kept saying I was showing signs of depression because I didn't want the lights on or the shades open. I didn't want to talk or move or get up in the morning when they wanted to weigh me. I didn't want to do any of that because it all made me throw up. Talking, rolling over, going to the bathroom, smelling anything, opening my eyes, noises. It all made me sick. They had a psychologist come and see me everyday. It was only mildly irritating because at some point you have to pick your battles. I felt as though I were always battling with the nurses.

I was diagnosed properly and given all of the treatments that they had available at the time. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to keep me from going through what I did. I am thankful that I had a good OB. He really was/is encouraging and supportive. He tried everything and brought in other experts who he thought may be able to do more. It's just that my HG was so severe there wasn't much anyone could do. They just kept me on the TPN, IV Fluids and Zofran.

I would have done anything during that time to find one person who really knew what I was going through. I had several nurses tell me they had the same thing but when they would describe their experience it pailed in comparison. I did eventually make it to my 16th week. I was released from the hospital the day before my brothers wedding. I was able to attend but I was in a wheel chair because I was still soooo weak. I went home on the Zofran pump which was very helpful. Thankfully, I just kept improving from there. It had been so scary not knowing anything about this disease and the doctors being able to give me statistics but not really be able to tell me when or if it would end.

When I found the helpher.org website it was such a relief. To finally have other women who truly knew what this was like. To have a place to be understood and heard. It is an incredibly isolating disease. It is difficult for everyone in the family of the HG sufferer.

I just can't say thank you enough for helping to share this disease with the world. I know there are so many HG sufferers out there who see this. I hope and pray that the medical community will take note as well and all of the women who are being ignored will be believed. I was so surprised to learn how many women with HG have been dismissed by their doctors. Thank you for sharing the true reality of HG with everyone.
Tabitha

Three miracles:
Malachi 9/29/01
Joshua 7/4/03
Lincoln 7/11/07

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