When it's a little more than Morning Sickness

Today I'm celebrating 9 weeks and also recovering from a stint in the hospital on Tuesday. 

The "morning" sickness that fills my days

Morning Sickness is something you expect going into pregnancy. There are funny TV bits about a lady having to run away randomly in order to not lose her breakfast, comical bits about how smells can turn your stomach, I digress.

Most women (around 70%) do end up feeling occasional nausea in the first trimester, and a fraction of those women also experience vomiting.

If you're a pop culture fan and watched the news a few years ago, you probably heard about Kate Middleton-- who doesn't love her-- experiencing this sickness on a pretty severe level.

While I've always wondered what it would be like to practically be a princess, I never wanted to understand what it was like to have hyperemesis gravidarum.

Long story short: it sucks.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum: A Beast in Itself

Essentially, only 1-2% of pregnant women experience it, and it usually weakens by the end of the first trimester like other morning sickness. BUT while you're dealing with it, your life is pretty much consumed by all day-night nausea and an onslaught of remedies to allow yourself to choke down enough water and food to keep going.

With advances in modern medicine and an arsenal of tricks, the growing baby is usually okay. Even with limited amounts of food your body usually takes what it needs, but when dehydration hits things get a little tricky. 

That was my issue on Tuesday.

No Liquids, No Fun  

I spent the hours of 1-8 a.m. curled up on my yoga mat in the bathroom floor wishing for sleep, but instead I was throwing up (or, when there was nothing left, dry heaving) every 30 minutes. I hadn't been able to keep anything down since Sunday night, and I was feeling it. 

My doctor had prescribed an anti-nausea medicine (phenergan/promethazine) to use as needed at my first appointment, but I wasn't able to keep that down.  I called their office as soon as it opened,  and the receptionist updated my doctor, who then called in a prescription for Zofran.  

I won't lie, I was infuriated. There was no way for me to keep fluid down, much less pills.  I hadn't kept liquid down in two days at that point, and I told them that. My family has quite a few people in the medical field, and they all urged me to go to the local emergency room because I was obviously dangerously dehydrated.  

Upon getting there I found relief.  Within 20 minutes of checking in I was being poked and administered fluids, electrolytes, and intravenous anti-nausea medicine.  My husband was able to go out and grab lunch for himself, and he brought a smoothie back for me when I woke up from my daze.  I've never tasted something so good.  

I spent around 8 hours in the hospital hooked up to the IV.  I received around 2 liters of fluids, and was able to sip water before I left.  My blood work and tests showed that my body was in ketosis, essentially burning its own fat, because of dehydration and lack of nutrition.  

I returned home and was able to eat a little more, drink some sports drinks, and sleep peacefully.  The next day was much better, and although today the nausea is rearing its ugly head again, I feel more prepared.

Marching On

Hyperemesis is a very different experience for everyone who goes through it.  Given, my case is mild for now compared to many women.  It seems that aside from the really bad  days of being stuck on the couch or in bed, I am at least able to trudge through a day of running errands or doing things around the house.  It's helpful in my case that it really didn't start until after finals. I usually have 2-3 really bad days a week, and I know it could be worse.

There are so many women with HG worse than mine who actually have to be hospitalized, have a home nurse administer daily IVs with medication, or even get a pump of Zofran that is attached to them. I thankful to avoid that, and so in awe of their ability to persevere. 

This is one of the most challenging experiences that I've ever faced, but as I looked for resources I realized many people are shamed for HG. They feel like they can't be open about how awful it is without eyes rolling and discounting their sickness as per se morning sickness.  That or receiving criticism for not taking the life-threatening condition in stride and just being grateful for the pregnancy.

It's so important for people to share their experiences and normalize this, as it is such a detriment to your spirit when you feel so alone during it. Here's to hoping that education can open people's eyes and let them see just how thankful we are for the lives we grow, as we deal with a daily struggle to function.  

So this is to those of us dealing with it and the loved ones supporting us.  May we be thankful for the good days and look forward to the better ones.