If you have clicked on this page I am guessing the chances are that you either have, have had or know someone who has Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). In which case, I know that a basic overview of what HG is will be a repeat of everything you have already read on other sites.
But I know just how unknown this condition is and so there is a chance that you may also have clicked on the link out of sheer interest, wondering what it is and why there is a page dedicated to it on my blog. So before I get on to my own personal experience of HG and the resources I have found helpful and the projects I am currently working on, I want to give a few basic facts about it.
So, what is Hyperemesis Gravidarum?
Most people accept that Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP) or "Morning Sickness" is just part and parcel of pregnancy. However very few people are aware of just how bad this can be and that Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) even exists.
HG is an extreme form of NVP and is more like having a stomach flu or food posioning for months on end rather than the occasional moments of nausea and odd vomiting session experienced by most expectant mothers.
There are many different levels of HG and sufferers range from those who consider it to be "mild", perhaps battling nausea and vomiting at home right through to those with "severe" HG which has them in and out of hospital throughout their entire pregnancy. Thankfully HG is not the killer that it once could be here in the UK but awareness and compassion from both society and the medical profession is extremely limited. This means that not only does a woman with HG suffer through the worst sickness imaginable, but she does so while having to fight just for the support she needs.
It is often difficult to get a diagnosis and treatment for HG and many doctors are reluctant to prescribe medication until a woman is dehydrated enough to require hospitalisation. And yet many HG survivors who have gone on to have subsequent pregnancies have found that early and aggressive treatment with anti-emetics and IV hydration can limit the severity of their symptoms and make HG much more tolerable, if not necessarily easy.
There are so many symptoms that may suggest a woman has HG, and a whole list of them can be found on the HelpHer website here. However, it is most women's experience that there has to be a significant loss of body weight and ketones in the urine before their GP or midwife will realise how severe the sickness is.
It is all too common for HG sufferers to be told everything from, "have you tried ginger?" to "this is normal, just get on with it". A woman suffering from that level of sickness may be too weak to fight for what she needs and often needs an advocate. Yet when facing HG, especially the first time round, it can be all too easy to feel there is nothing you can do and that you just have to accept what the doctor says. In fact it can be far too easy to believe that it really is normal and you are just weak, leading to depression and isolation at how ill you feel and how unable you are to cope with what you believe every other pregnant woman deals with easily.
Which leads to the fact that many HG sufferers not only deal with the physical effects of the condition but can also become very isolated, depressed and even go on to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And the emotional effects of HG can last far beyond the pregnancy itself, even affecting the woman's decision of whether to face further pregnancies or not.
Finally, we must not forget the extremely stressful and painful experience that the woman's partner, parents, siblings and other children go through every single day that she is sick. They can become as isolated and vulnerable as the pregnant woman herself and yet they are so often overlooked even if the woman herself manages to get the treatment she needs.
This is just a very basic overview of what is a complicated and extremely traumatic condition that can ruin what should be one of the most wonderful times in a mother's life. I cannot possibly do the topic justice on just one page of my blog and so I would like to now draw your attention to some of the most resourceful sites on the web dedicated to this conditon before sharing my own personal experience of HG with you and what it has inspired me to work on now my pregnancy is over.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum Resources on the Web
HelpHer - Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation
The HelpHer website is full of fantastic information for mothers, partners, medical professionals, and the media. It was the most helpful resource I found during my pregnancy and the forums are particularly helpful and supportive both whilst in the midst of HG and afterwards.
Pregnancy Sickness Support UK is a charity that hopes to offer a support network for HG sufferers and raise awareness of the conditon here in the UK. I only found the site after my pregnancy was over but I would sincerely recommend checking it out.
Motherisk is based in Canada and has huge amounts of research available to read online into many different facets of pregnancy that HG sufferers will find interesting, include research into the effectiveness and safety of drugs during pregnancy.
My Personal Experience of Hyperemesis Gravidarum
I went into pregnancy absolutely overjoyed that I had managed to conceive on only our second month of trying. I had suffered from Endometriosis for years and knew that my fertility may have been affected. So when that second pink line appeared on the pregnancy test I honestly believed nothing could dampen my spirits. This was at 4 weeks, but by 5 weeks I was nauseated, by 6 weeks I was pretty much bedbound and by 7 weeks I was almost hospitalised due to dehydration thanks to surviving on less than 500ml of liquid per day.
I managed to avoid the hospital by keeping a diary of every single sip of liquid I took so I could try and force just that little bit more liquid in to me. My days revolved around working my way through as much liquid as I could tolerate, which was at most around 1100ml, but usually more like 800-900ml during those first couple of months.
I was given Buccastem tablets but still continued to struggle much more than waking, trying to take my mind off it by reading (I couldn't watch tv but thankfully was lucky enough to be able to read, despite the headaches the dehydration caused), psyching myself up for the dreaded walk to the bathroom every time I needed to pee because even if I managed to stumble to the bathroom without retching, I would be sure to heave on my way back to bed. Pretty much everything made me retch: motion; trying to put food in my mouth despite sometimes actually feeling hungry; being hugged by my husband; the smell of antibacterial spray, toilet cleaner or any other chemical; and even coughing or trying to talk at the wrong time of day.
HG was, quite frankly, my living nightmare as I had suffered from Emetophobia (a fear of vomiting) since childhood. As such I spent the first few weeks of sickness thinking that I was simply over-reacting to normal NVP. This wasn't helped by the reaction I got every time I saw a doctor. But even I began to realise very quickly that this could not be normal because if every pregnant woman started retching every time she tried to walk downstairs or get dressed then pregnancy would be considered one of the worst illnesses ever.
So I began fighting for medication, yet was brushed off with so many different suggestions. My hypersensitive gag reflex was attributed to a post-nasal drip I had been suffering with and one dr even suggested I try nasal douching. Let's just say that squirting salt water up your nose and down your throat is not helpful when every little thing makes you gag!!
Eventually at 21 weeks a GP agreed that it was ridiculous I was still sick and still unable to gain any weight, so prescribed Cyclizine and Loratidine. These helped immensely. My daily routine went from waking at 5am, refusing to move until 9am when I might be able to stumble downstairs and eat a couple of mouthfuls of cereal, getting ready for work at 11am, coming home from work at 2pm and falling back into bed to a much more normal lifestyle. I would sleep better at night, waking fresher at 7am and was actually able to get out of bed and watch a bit of tv before heading off to work and my mantra of "please don't throw up" soon became a rare occurence rather than my daily theme tune. I even began to put on weight and gained 9lbs in two weeks despite still eating far less than I normally would!
I still continued to feel nauseous. And if I overdid it during the day I would have to retreat to bed or suffer through more dry heaving into the toilet. But it was tolerable. Weeks 22 - 30 were wonderful and although my nausea increased after that it was never as bad as before.
I did however find the rest of my pregnancy difficult because I developed Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP), and was so unfit thanks to months of being bedbound that I had little to no energy which just got worse the bigger my bump got. And I was so mentally and emotionally exhausted that I couldn't wait for the end of my pregnancy.
I was induced at 39 weeks exactly, due to finding out I had Obstetric Cholestasis at 37 weeks (although I had symptoms from about 30 weeks and never thought they may be caused by something else). My baby was born in September 2011, weighing a hefty 9lbs 6oz. He is healthy and well and I couldn't be happier to have him here. And yet the emotional trauma from HG plays on my mind daily.
I always wanted 2 or 3 kids and now I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to try again. My husband and I have spoken about adoption and we may well go down that route, but my heart breaks at how I wasn't able to truly enjoy all those magical pregnancy moments such as the first scan, finding out the gender, choosing a name, feeling baby move for the first time etc because of how ill I was. And knowing I will never get to do those things again hurts more than anything.
And so, as writing is a skill that I find very easy I have decided to write as much as I can about HG to help raise awareness and support for other women who have to face this cruel condition. You can find out more about what I am up to below:
Projects I am involved in
I am currently putting together a book about HG and am looking for other HG sufferers and survivors who would be willing to share their own experience and/or offer comments on the topics covered in the book. I am hoping to find an agent and/or publisher in the near future and so would be happy to hear from you if you are interested in being a part of this work.
Please send me an email at pregnancyproblems@hotmail.co.uk for more information.
