Michelle's HugStory
I had to tell my story when I found this site. I hope it helps all who
are afflicted with Hyperemesis Gravidarum.....
I found out I was pregnant on January 21, 1998 and I was so happy. My
husband and I started trying to get pregnant a year after we had been
married and after only three months of trying it happened! This would be
our first child and we couldn't wait for the pregnancy to progress and
begin making plans for our little arrival. I started feeling nauseaus
around five weeks and that quickly progressed to vomiting by the time I
reached 6 weeks. I knew morning sickness was a normal symptom of
pregnancy so I snacked on crackers, gingerale and tried all the other
morning sickness remedies suggested. I went to my first OB appintment
and told the nurse how sick I was and she recommended a bland wet to dry
diet. They informed me to let them know immediatley if I was unable to
keep food or liquids down. After a few days of trying the bland diet
with no relief I called the OB and they prescribed suppositories to
relieve the morning sickness. These didn't help me at all.
By week seven I was miserable. I couldn't function at work without
getting sick whenever I put anything in my stomach. I finally decided to
let my OB know that my morning sickness was getting severe and they told
me to come in to the office. I remember driving to the OB's office that
day holding a bag in my lap to vomit in becuase driving made me sick.
When I got to the doctor I was weighed and I had lost 5 pounds. My urine
sample showed protein and it was at this point that my OB told me to go
straight from her office to the hospital. She was admitting me. I called
my husband at work and he was so relieved that I going in the hospital.
He knew my sickness was more severe than normal. While in the hospital
they put me on a clear liguid diet the first day and then a wet to dry
diet. I stayed in the hospital for four days and then sent me home on
bedrest with IV therapy and a home nurse came daily to check my IV,
weigh me, and check my urine. I was given the drug Reglan in my IV for a
month and this really seemed to help.
In early March I decided to go off of the IV and try to see how I felt.
This lasted for three days before I was severely sick again. I would go
entire days just eating a few crackers and some seltzer water. My poor
husband couldn't cook or eat in the apartment because I couldn't
tolerate the smell. He would constantly offer different foods for me to
try and I would try to eat them but end up vomiting. I would go from day
into night constantly sick, my only relief being sleep. As soon as I
opened my eyes in the morning I would start on this cruel cycle all over
again. I didn't know how long I could last like this and I dreaded going
on the IV again because whenever there was a problem with the IV I would
have to be stuck again. My arms were scarred from having IV's in so many
places and it was so painful to have the IV put in. The OB had wanted a
the drug Reglan administered to me in a portable pump. With this I could
have a midline IV connected to a little pump that looked like a beeper
but slighlty bigger and it was portable so I could do some normal
activities and store the pump in my purse. The meds would be delivered
into my body constantly and midline IV usually lasted for two weeks or
more. My insurance coverage didn't approve it the first time I was
hospitalized because it can be expensive.
I went on like this for two weeks before I had to be re-admitted to the
hospital. By this time I was nearly 12 weeks and had lost 30 lbs.! I
couldn't imagine being sick any longer and I was so afraid I would lose
the baby. While in the hopital they did a battery of tests and it turned
out I had hyperthyroidism and finally my insurance company approved the
Reglan pump. I was put on a dosage of a drug called PTU four times a day
and I was also hooked up to the pump. For the first time in 12 weeks I
was not sick and could actually eat something! The amazing thing through
this whole ordeal was that the baby was fine. The baby continued to
thrive and grow and looked healthy and active on all of the utlrasounds.
I was taken off of the Reglan pump after two weeks and continued on the
PTU meds until I delivered. After my struggle with HG I also developed
Gestational Diabetes around my 28th week of pregnancy, but my sickness
never returned and I delivered a healthy 8 lb. 3 oz. baby boy on
September 16, 1998.
I had to write my story because I know how it feels to not see an end in
sight to HG. In my case I'm sure my HG was aggravated because of thyroid
dysfunction but it was relieved by my doctors being so vigilant to get
the HG under control. I hope my story helps women. If anyone wants to
e-mail me with questions I can be reached at shellygh@aol.com
Michelle Houston (proud mother of Cheo Houston who turns one in a week!)
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