Hyperemesis Gravidium - Severe Morning Sickness

Hyperemisis Gravidium. When you hear it you probably say what is that? Is it a virus or a type of infection? Sure feels like. No it's actually a severe case of morning sickness, which many times gets over looked or passed on as just morning sickness by doctors. With every pregnancy that I have had I have suffered from Hyperemisis. It has been the unhappiest part of my pregnancy. On May 23, 2001 I gave birth to an alert baby boy of 5lbs. 12 oz. I had a short labor, a healthy baby and no complications. What more could I ask for? Right?

Hyperemisit Gravidium is a condition that scientist don't know where it originates from, and really don't know how to prevent it. Though there are many online sources that say you can eat ginger or take B6 vitamins suppliments, it really does not help in this case. The condition completly drains you and takes everything out of you. There becomes a point where you can't keep food or water down, and you loose up to 5% of your body mass. Instead of just the norm in the beginning stages of pregnancy where you have nausea and vomiting this is the extreme version. It usally starts in the 7th week of pregnancy and continues into the 16th week. In some cases Hyperemisis continues thoughout the entire pregnancy. They say that babies born from mothers who suffered from Hyperemisis are low birth weight, however there have not been any real sustainable evidence of this, nor has much testing been done. One thing doctors have concluded is it's not genetic. I met with various doctors as I attempted to get though this condition in my 2 pregnancies that I kept. I kept receiveing the same answers.

Well the road to Matthews's birth was not an easy one. At 7 weeks I began having morning sickness; and most moms know what that feels like. However, It turned to where I was not be able to keep anything down. No food or water. So each day I would get up at 5am and eat breakfast in a tub of warm water. I don't know why this helped but it did. By 7:30 I was on my way to work. During the day was so difficult, everything I ate made me ill and I would end up throwing it up. When I finally had enough I went to my doctor and complained. I was told it is normal and it will pass, just relax it's part of the pregnancy. After about another week I went again. This time I fainted while in the office. When I awoke I was in the ER receiving fluids. The doctors informed me that I was severely dehydrated. I spent 2 days there and ate broth, oatmeal and ginger ale. When I was released I was given rectal suppositories, which did no justice. At home the condition started again. The dehydration, vomiting and nausea, and lost of appetie. I would go to the ER to receive fluids. This was so annoying and involved a lot of waiting. I was always told there are more serious emergencies than my nausea, and this is something I would have to deal with if I want to have a baby. So I would sit down and wait to be called on. The fluids were a temporary fix, just enough to get me hydrated for the week. I was suffering from severe dehydration and it showed. My beautiful 130 lbs. all muscle curves have now changed to skinny, sagging skin, along with bags under my eyes, and pale-dry skin. I looked horrible. No one would say it but I knew it. I tried many ways to recreate my looks, but in the end they would fail. Each day that passed without being able to keep food down I lost more weight.

On a Friday in November if took a $30.00 taxi home and the next day I was admitted to Lawrence Hospital, in Westchester County. They were so nice and so comforting. One morning the nurse took my weight and the scale read 115lbs. I could not believe I had lost so much weight in so little time. I just kept repeating 15lbs that is a lot of weight gone. At first all I received was IV fluids and I thought this must be what starvation feels like. I kept asking is the baby ok or did it die already from the lack of nutrients. I had so many questions just not enough answers. The truth is the doctors really did not have any answers to give me. Because this condition is so rare they really did not know what caused it, why is came about, what could they do to resolve. After 2 days I was informed the best way to treat HG was to have IV therapy. This is where you are provided vitamins, and electrolytes via IV. I spent a week in the hospital and during that week I ate broth, water, soup and finally the day came when I could eat real food. The doctor provided a sonogram of the baby and it showed that he was just fine. I however was on the road to recovery with a lot of uncertainty. Many friends said I should terminate the pregnancy so I would not suffer and the added perk you can finish school on time. However I had a different plan. I would battle through this. I retuned to work a week later. I was so lucky and grateful to have an employer who was so understanding. Now that the nausea was gone, I had a hearty appetite, and basically made up for lost time. I began to eat everything in sight. I cooked full meals each night, and had mini dinners at the house once a week. It became almost insane. The day before I delivered I went in for my check up and when they weighted me I was a whopping 290lbs. Talk about being shell shocked and overweight. To my benefit I did not have any health issues due to the excessive weight gain.

Now in 2006 with my 4^th pregnancy, I again had to battle HG. This time new state, employer, hospital, and doctors. This time I decided to figure out a way to beat this. I researched many sites and read many books to give me some new insight. I researched if blood type and RH Factor had any association with HG. All negative. I tried everything from ginger, herbal teas, B6, meditation and graham crackers; but nothing worked I was stuck again. However I was determined to be positive every step of the way.

When the HG got bad I would send Matthew away for the weekend and I would spend mine in the ER receiving fluids. Much like the first pregnancy I was told I would have to wait it out, and the answers were few. I kept thinking to myself, I always thought pregnancy was supposed to be a happy time, not so miserable. As I jogged through my family, I could not find one person who suffered from HG. Just me. My daddy always said I was special. After 12 visits to the ER and my mother demanding I be kept I was admitted. During my 6-day stay I received the same treatment as with the first pregnancy IV therapy. Hyperemsis Gravidium created a lot of damage to the lining of my esophagus, so I had to wait 2weeks eat solid foods again.

I learned by talking to the nurses that there are so many women who suffer in silence from HG and many times the symptoms get looked over.Mostly passed over as she is just going though the pregnancy and really should deal with it. It has been said that it is a psychologial condition where woman really does not want the baby and the body is trying to naturally abort the baby, which from experience is so untrue. Most women like myself either wait it out with little or no medical care or many of them like myself choose to terminate the pregnancy.

Now 9 months later my youngest Christopher whose birth weight was 6lbs 13 oz is on the go. I think of myself as a survivor times two. Is this my last pregnancy, but the greatest feeling I have is that I did not give up.

For more information on HG visit HG.org.