This is the second post in my Hyperemesis Gravidarum series. The first post covered up until part way through week 9. All these posts are taken from my Instagram @HGreality account and were written during my second HG pregnancy.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum Weeks 9-12
31st August (9 weeks pregnant) Black haze
The vomiting has returned along with the crippling nausea – when even the air moving around you can make you retch. Along with it a black haze in my head. I just can’t seem to see the wood for the trees at the moment. All I want to do is cry. The hour long car journey home from our holiday cottage took it out of me today. I have been sleeping most of the day. But in my dreams I keep booking a termination. The dream is so vivid I wake up assuming that I am not pregnant any more. I don’t want to feel this way.
1st September (9 weeks pregnant) Best. View. Ever.
Back in hospital – my fourth Friday in a row. Hoping iv fluid will improve things and I can get help for mental health and constipation. A few bags of this and I will be able to string a sentence together to explain how low I feel. Thank you all for your support xx
1st September (9 weeks pregnant) Hello!
Wow. I never thought I would get any followers on this account. My notifications have been going mad all day. A huge thank you to Susie Verrill for telling people about me.
Thought I better introduce myself. I’m Emma and currently 9 weeks into my second HG pregnancy.
I had bad morning sickness with my first pregnancy which sadly ended in a missed miscarriage. A few months later I fell pregnant with Adam. The nausea started in week 5 (ironically 6 years ago today) and by week 11 I was hospitalised. The HG lasted the entire pregnancy and I was bed bound for 9 months. There is a link in my bio about my HG story.
When Adam was 7 weeks old I discovered Pregnancy Sickness Support charity and went along to their annual conference. I became a volunteer for them and in 2015 became a trustee. I administrate the PSS Forum and support women every day going through HG. I also blog about simple play activities to help entertain little ones when going through HG over on Adventures and Play
Over the past 5 years I have been preparing for another HG pregnancy. I saw my GP, put a care plan in place for early medication and attending therapy sessions for PTSD. Unfortunately though the HG kicked in sooner and harder. I’ve been bed bound for nearly a month and on my 4th hospital admission.
Last time I hid from the world. I didn’t exist for 9 months. As a result no one knew how bad I had been. This time I wanted to be a voice for the women out there who are suffering alone. PSS helped me tremendously in coming to terms with my last pregnancy and the things that go behind the scenes of the charity is phenomenal. I wanted to do my little bit to help raise awareness. I’m one of the lucky ones. I haven’t had to fight for a diagnosis or for medication yet every day is a battle with this condition. 31 weeks left and counting!
2nd September (9 weeks pregnant)
I have a new game for the Krypton Factor or the Crystal Maze…. how to get out of a dress and into your pyjamas whilst hooked to a drip.
To make matters worse my dress had a zip up the back, I was wearing a bra and had to put on two strappy tops. I get squeamish with cannulas now and the ones in my hand always hurt more. After lots of threading and solving the puzzle I finally got into bed.
I know the logical thing would be to ask the nurse to temporarily remove my drip. However I learnt that this requires being off of the drip for several hours whilst the nurse finds the time to reattach me. Or worse what happened last time – I got the drip removed to have a shower, vomited in the shower, spent two hours asking to have the drip reconnected only to be told my ketones were negative and I couldn’t go back on the drip. I am not making that mistake again so won’t be showering today!
2nd September (9 weeks pregnant) Friendship
Last pregnancy I wouldn’t let anyone see me. I stayed isolated the full nine months. Part of my PTSD was linked to people not understanding how ill I was – but i never let them see so how on earth were they meant to know.
I didn’t meet Kate until our boys started swimming lessons when they were a few weeks old. She has heard many times about how horrific my last pregnancy was and was always there to help me prepare for round 2. Kate was the person who persuaded me to raise awareness of HG through my blog.
Today Kate visited me in hospital for the second time. Despite me saying I didn’t need anything she went shopping to buy some pick-me-up treats. She really thought about what an HG sufferer could cope with from smells, to opening packets with one hand with my cannula, entertainment and new drinks I haven’t tried yet. It certainly brought a smile to my face after a day of crying.
No matter how hard it is to ask for help or accept visitors when you are so ill please try not to shut yourself away. It only leads to resentment and your friends don’t get the opportunity to see what HG is really like. I have learnt from my mistake last pregnancy. From taking Adam for a hair cut, to days out, to visiting you in hospital – you need people around you to help.
3rd September (9 weeks pregnant) Suicidal thoughts and opening up
On Friday night in hospital I finally told my mum about the dark thoughts I had been having. She spoke to the nurse and started the ball rolling for mental health to visit me. I was so worried about admitting these feelings. This is so unlike me and I feared it would reflect on how I am as a Mum to Adam. It is the HG and subsequent dehydration causing me to feel like this.
I’ve just met the lovely mental health team who could tell this wasn’t a wellbeing issue – it is an HG issue. No amount of wellbeing services will help if the “stressor” of HG is still there. She wants to “nip this HG early” to improve my quality of life. I will see her again next week but in the mean time will start on steroids.
I am so thankful she took me seriously and understood it was the HG making me feel this way. I am hoping this breaks the cycle of drip, ok for two days and then deteriorate before hospital treatment.
3rd September (9 weeks pregnant)
A vitamin iv (which is bright yellow) and a steroid iv and then I can be discharged. I am hoping this is a turning point. Still haven’t really eaten which is unlike me in hospital but at home I can keep on top of my own medication.
4th September (9 weeks pregnant) Smells
I am back at home. I took my second dose of steroids today and have managed to keep food and more importantly some fluids down. Unfortunately the sickness returned again last night. I usually get a couple of days reprieve after a hospital visit. However I vomited because of smells.
HG gives you the nose of a blood hound. I can smell my husband whilst he is walking down the hospital corridor. It isn’t anything my husband has done – he just smells when I have HG. Along with Adam and everything.
This was an issue last pregnancy but it has taken a whole new level this time. My kitchen absolutely stinks. Every door has to be shut, windows open yet still one intake and I am spewing. I have resorted to having a tissue over my nose most of the time.
A trip to the bathroom usually ends in vomiting because our bathroom is next to the kitchen.
Last nights vomiting was brought on because of clean clothes. I was asleep on the bed we have put downstairs in our study (I am unable to walk upstairs). My husband brought through some clean clothes and placed them near my bed. Because the clothes had dried in the kitchen the smell had soaked into the fabric. The smell woke me up and immediately I had to reach for the sick bowl I seriously need help because each breath is difficult.
5th September (9 weeks pregnant) Vomiting
Despite being on 4 types of antisickness medication, only discharged from hospital Sunday evening and being on steroids I am vomiting.
This isn’t morning sickness vomiting – where you feel queasy, vomit and then get in with your day. This is HG vomit. In the past few hours I have vomited 10 times and still going strong.
There is nothing left in me to bring up. I have to wait until 6am until my next antisickness tablet. I am soaked in sweat, wheezy as puking triggers my asthma and thirsty beyond belief but know a sip of drink will come back up again.
After visiting the bathroom earlier this evening, which started this vomiting episode, I decided I wouldn’t leave my room tonight. The smells are just too intense. My husband brought me a jug so I could wee in that during the night. However, I hadn’t planned on what to do when my sick bowl was full. Another bathroom trip was required which set off more vomiting.
To make matters worse the steroids cause insomnia. I have spent the past few weeks blissfully sleeping all night and most of the day. Now I am wide awake and desperate for the temporary relief that sleep can bring.
I didn’t think anyone would want a bedraggled vomiting me on their news feed so swipe to see the reality of HG.
6th September (10 weeks pregnant) Feeling sad
Adam has gone back to school. This is the first time I haven’t done the school run. I haven’t been able to get his uniform ready, make his pack lunch or get him dressed.
I love being involved in Adams education – we have an entire blog of learning play activities! Yet now I won’t even be able to see his teacher due to Hyperemesis.
Adam has taken it all in his stride. I am thankful that he will now have the structure and routine of school rather than the unpredictable hospital visits he has coped with for the past month. It is time for him to play with his friends and extend his learning. I am just sad I get to watch from afar.
6th September (10 weeks pregnant)
This time exactly three years ago I was on a fundraising walk for Pregnancy Sickness Support Charity. We complete the Yorkshire 3 Peaks – 25 miles. I live in flat Norfolk were hills do not exist let alone Peaks. It was extremely hard work. Today my achievement was a shower and shave my legs. This is the first time I have managed it since my sickness started a month ago today. What a difference 3 years makes.
Thanks to the steroids and 4 types of antisickness medication I had a better day. However, once I am back home (I stay at my mums house all day) the crippling nausea starts and I am clutching my sick bowl yet again.
7th September (10 weeks pregnant) Heart breaking
Adam is back at school and I couldn’t even be there to take a photo. A huge thank you to @playandlearneveryday for making it happen. I was sad I couldn’t make our sign this year so she made me one instead. My Mum is going to do the school run everyday whilst I am too ill. It breaks my heart not to do such a normal every day task and to be involved with Adam’s school life. This is the first milestone I have had to miss since being pregnant/ill.
Instead I was recovering from a night of vomiting, of crippling nausea and no sleep. To make matters worse constipation (a side effect of my medication) hit full force again. So as Adam was going into school I felt like I was in labour in agony on the toilet. This is the reality of HG
7th September (10 weeks pregnant)
Another week ticked off on my Spewing Mummy Pregnancy Calendar. I never have to do week 9 of pregnancy again.
You can purchase your own copy on the Spewing Mummy’s site along with a while blog of vital information.
At 10 weeks into my first pregnancy I had just been signed off sick and was midst of the endless process of getting diagnosed and starting medication. It wasn’t until week 11, after I had lost 2 stone in two weeks, that I was finally admitted to hospital.
This pregnancy has been very different treatment wise. I started medication the day I got a positive pregnancy test, was hospitalised by week 6 and on steroids by week 9. However I have found this pregnancy much harder to bear. I no longer have that hope when the doctors tell me it will finish at 14/16/18/20 weeks. People assume that because I am not vomiting all of the time that I must be ok. That is so far from the truth. I am still bedbound. Despite being on 4 different types of anti sickness tables AND steroids I cannot do anything myself. This weeks milestones have been: being able to shower by myself (and shaved my legs once!), able to walk to the loo unaided (slowly like a old woman), keeping fluids and food down from 8am-6pm.
Other than that I need help for everything. If it isn’t within arms reach it doesn’t exist. I can’t prepare food or drink, walk any distance, sit up, watch tv, read a book, look after Adam in any way or breathe through my nose at home because of a smell. I am simply existing before the next medication. 30 weeks to go!
8th September (10 weeks pregnant) Smells
Can you remember the kids programme Wacaday? Remember the game Mallets Mallet? Well it inspired me how to solve the HG smell problem. Place Vicks on a tissue and use a plaster to keep the tissue in place! I now can use two hands at home AND I can get some escape from the smell of my house. I have resisted writing on the plaster – for now!
9th September (10 weeks pregnant) Medication
What is inside my medical bag… I get a lot of people sending me messages asking me if I have tried x or y, seasickness bands or alternative therapies. Thought it would be an easier way to visually show how much medication I am on. No one wants to take medication when they are pregnant but without all of this I wouldn’t be alive.
So we have for the sickness:
Prednisolone steroids – 40mg a day for 10 days
Ondensetron – 20mg throughout the day
Cyclizine – 50mg three times a day
Prochloroperazine Buccal – 3mg at night (can take up to two a day)
Domperidone 10mg up to three times a day
To help with acid reflux:
Ranitidine 150mg twice a day
To help with constipation (a severe side effect of the medication and pregnancy): Lactulose
Senna
Glycerol suppositories
Vaseline (haven’t had an unassisted poo yet)
Others:
Dispersible aspirin because of Pre-eclampsia last pregnancy
Epi-pen because severe fish allergy
Inhaler as vomiting triggers my asthma
Deodorant – got admitted to hospital last pregnancy as an emergency and couldn’t bare not having deodorant.
Straws – can’t drink anything unless through a straw
Moisturiser – skin is so dehydrated
My trusty blue bag goes EVERYWHERE with me! This is what HG really looks like.
10th September (10 weeks pregnant)
Getting surprise post is always nice but even more so when you are ill and do not have contact with the outside world.
Fellow blogger and twice HG survivor has sent me this amazing aroma diffuser and oils to help me combat the smells in my house. It brightened up my day completely. A huge thank you @muminthemadhouse You are an absolutely star
10th September (10 weeks pregnant)
What would your positive affirmation be for an HG pregnancy?
I love the idea of positive affirmation cards just like @theyesmummum but want ones specially for an HG pregnancy. What things would you say to yourself during a vomiting episode or the long nausea crippling nights?
My black mood hasn’t eased yet so looking for ways to bring light into my dark days.
Ps – my DIY tissue mask with Vicks on means I can cuddle Adam without gagging! Ironically Adam says the smell is “yucky” but the benefits of a cuddle are worth it. He has taken to the Nut Brown Hare my sister in law bought bump. He likes to cuddle it whilst watching the tv episode on my phone. A few minutes normality amongst my day.
11th September (10 weeks pregnant) Tears
Today I had my first tears from Adam. He came downstairs early this morning to watch Pre-recorded tv programmes he likes. After a while I could hear him rewind an advert over and over again. It was beautiful music but then I suddenly heard him wail. I knocked on the door (our sign that mummy needs help) and he came through in floods of tears saying “I want my Nana”. He climbed into bed with me shaking because of the tears. Eventually I got out of him “I want the baby to come out now”. After more tears he opened up that he wanted the baby to come out so he could play with it and so i wouldn’t be ill anymore.
We both cried on my bed whilst cuddling. My body wanted to retch because of the smell but thankfully I had my nose cover on. It turns out that Adam had watched the Pampers premature baby nappy advert. My husband saw it and said it brought him to tears. Tonight Adam and I are staying overnight at Nana’s house. My husband is a headteacher and has a governors meeting late. It does mean I escape the smell of my house and get to watch Adam play whilst I lay on the sofa. A nights escape from my prison!
12th September (10 weeks pregnant) Proud Mum
I am so proud of my HG baby. Adam came home with the school Proud Penguin today. This time last year we had no idea how Adam was going to start school without a 1:1. He had an amazing 1:1 during his two years at Pre-School whilst we went through a lengthy Autism diagnosis.
Adams Autism diagnosis process meant we delayed having another HG pregnancy. Endless assessments, speech and language therapy sessions, occupational therapy etc meant my sole focus needed to be on Adam. We also wanted to wait until Adam was fully settled in school. Thankfully he goes to an amazing school where he thrives. The wait has paid off.
Ironically Adam is probably the person who accepts HG the most. He understand that I am poorly and can’t do anything yet doesn’t avoid me. He has distanced himself but then I am no longer his main care giver. Despite always being on the move, Adam will lay still next to me. He is the person who talks the most about the baby and most sentences start with “when the baby is here in March…” I made a promise to myself before this HG pregnancy that I wouldn’t feel guilty about putting Adam through this. Guilt would be a wasted emotion that no one would benefit from. He is surrounded by people who love him and it is wonderful to see the relationship he has with my Mum grow even deeper. It isn’t always easy (as my last post shows) but I know these 9 months are short compared to a lifetime sibling.
13th September (11 weeks pregnant) Over the moon
Today I had an extra scan. This scan was to help my mental health. Last time I was admitted to hospital I opened up about suicidal thoughts and wanting to terminate this much wanted baby. Dehydration causes havoc with your brain. Today I had a review of my medication and a scan so I could see there is a baby making me feel so ill.
We have another little mover just like Adam. The baby wouldn’t stay still – doing flips and dancing around!
Most importantly of all I saw the heart beat. We lost our first baby in 2011 with a missed miscarriage. It wasn’t detected until our 13 week scan. As a result I have been struggling with being so ill and not knowing if the baby is ok.
I have the official dating scan in 13 days time. Today was just about seeing a heartbeat and giving me something to cling on to during my dark times. My little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
14th September (11 weeks pregnant)
If I could offer just one tip for preparing for another HG pregnancy it would be to buy this book –Hyperemesis Gravidarium The Definitive Guide. It covers absolutely everything you need to know about the condition. Coping strategies, medication, preparation planning etc.
I have written a full review of the book. Over the next few months I will share more about the book but it is my top HG preparation tip.
15th September (11 weeks pregnant) Repost from the Pregnancy Sickness Support Instagram account:
Here’s the first post in today’s Insta Takeover by HG sufferer and PSS Trustee, Emma. ‘6am and my alarm goes off for my first medication of the day. It has been a long unsettled night. My body now wants to sleep through, but I know I will feel horrendous for the rest of the day without this first tablet.
I am currently on 4 different types of anti sickness medication along with steroids. It has been a long battle to get the right treatment, but I now have vomit free moments. The nausea is still crippling at night, but I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
My first HG pregnancy was a very different story. It took 11 weeks of vomiting and severe dehydration before I was diagnosed, admitted to hospital and given treatment. I had never heard of HG and didn’t understand why I couldn’t cope with the sickness.
This time I fully understand HG, having volunteered for Pregnancy Sickness Support for the last 5 years. I had a care plan in place to start medication as soon as I got a positive pregnancy test. This happened on Saturday 5th August. By the following Monday I was back at the GP to try another medication, and by Wednesday I was in hospital. I was hospitalised 4 times in 4 weeks before starting steroids.
You may be wondering what I have on my nose. This is a home made device to help combat smells. I place Vicks on a tissue and use a plaster to attach it to my nose. Without it, I vomit as soon as I leave my room. My nose cover means I can breathe through my nose, and smells no longer wake me to vomit in the middle of the night.
I can hear my son waking and going through to my husband. This time of morning used to be my favourite – cuddles in bed to start the day. Now I am unable to look after Adam at all. My mum comes round at 8am when my husband goes to work and she gets Adam ready for school. I am unable to do the school run. Instead, my mission for today is to have a shower – I can assure you this is no easy task when you have HG.
Repost – Prison
This is the second post in today’s Insta Takeover by Emma. ‘This is my prison
It isn’t my bedroom. Last pregnancy I spent 9 months sleeping on our sofa. I was unable to manage stairs and needed to be close to a toilet. In preparation for this HG pregnancy we put a bed in our downstairs study. It means I can close off the world as much as possible, and my son can still play in the living room.
I have everything to hand in my prison. Medication, sick bowls, tissues for excess saliva, emergency food, a cold fizzy drink with a straw (the only fluid I can tolerate), and a bag of pyjamas. If anything is out of arms reach, it may as well not exist. My dozen pillows enable me to sleep in an almost upright position – something that helps with my nausea.
People assume that once your vomiting is under control (only thanks to 4 different types of anti sickness tablets and steroids) that HG is cured. Sadly this is not the case,as i am still bed bound because of my other symptoms.
I am unable to walk further than the toilet due to dizziness and nausea. I cannot go into my kitchen because of the vomit inducing smell, let alone prepare food. The sensory overload from movement, smells and light is just too intense. Cuddling my own son makes me gag because of how he smells to me. I find it difficult to concentrate so reading and watching tv are out of the question.
And on top of all this is the side effects of my medication. Chronic constipation has meant I have passed out due to the pain.
My mental health has also suffered. I spend hours crying uncontrollably with despair at my situation. I am lucky I am surrounded by people who understand HG. I have spent 5 years educating people about the condition. The misconceptions I found last pregnancy resulted in PTSD.
The isolation is hard to bear. Not being able to do everyday tasks, missing out on life and not being there for my son hurts.
My body feels poisoned. It feels as if it is battling inside me and leaving me as a shell.
I spend my days waiting for my next medication and dreaming of life after HG.
HG is certainly more than just vomiting and nausea’.
Repost – Family Support
The third post from Emma, in today’s InstaTakeover, ‘Family Support’. ‘Support is essential in an HG pregnancy
I simply wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of my Mum. She looked after me throughout my last pregnancy and is now my full time carer, as well as looking after my son when my husband is at work. HG is something you can not survive alone.
During my last HG pregnancy I knew I would have to go through it again in order to extend our family. My fear of not having another child was bigger than my fear of HG.
We decided to wait until our son was in full time education before trying again. This has worked out best for us as it means Adam has the familiarity of school throughout the day and I can rest.
Before going through HG again I made a promise to myself. I wouldn’t feel guilty about going through HG again. Guilt would be a wasted emotion that no one would benefit from. The emotion would eat me alive. It is certainly easier said than done but I have to see the long term gain Adam will have with a sibling.
Adam seems to accept HG. He knows that I am unable to do anything for him but he talks excitedly about the baby. Most of his sentences start with “In March when the baby is here…” He has also developed a stronger relationship with his Nana. It is now Nana he calls for when he is upset, who listens to him read and helps him with his homework.
Going through HG again when you already have a child is tough. But it is also a constant reminder. I survived HG before and created my amazing son. I will survive it again.’
Repost – Nausea Hell
The final post for today’s Insta Takeover by Emma ‘Nausea hell’
Evenings are my worst time. Even with all my medication, the crippling nausea always returns.
This is a photo taken a month ago. I was at breaking point yet again. I hadn’t eaten anything for days and was surviving off ice cubes.
My husband came into my room as I was attempting to lick an ice cube. I was in floods of tears due to the pain of unrelenting nausea. I knew the ice cube would come straight back up again. “No one ever sees this side of HG”, my husband said. “They don’t see the suffering. HG women simply disappear for 9 months and re-enter the world with a baby”. It was at that point I gave my husband my phone. Despite the fact I always shy away from the camera, I wanted to document what thousands of women are going through.
During my last pregnancy I was ashamed. Ashamed I couldn’t cope “with a bit of sickness”. I had to put up with what most HG sufferers have to go through on top of the actual illness – unhelpful medical opinions, suggestions of natural remedies, work discrimination, losing friends who didn’t understand, the isolation… But why should I be ashamed for having a severe medical condition that makes pregnancy a living hell?
If you are suffering from HG at the moment, please know that you are not alone. Use resources such as Pregnancy Sickness Support to get support and understanding. The helpline, having a peer-to-peer supporter or using the forum are just three ways you can access help. At PSS we know exactly what you are going through as we have all been there. You are not alone.
17th September – Helping children understand HG
My biggest concern about going through HG again was the impact it would have on Adam. I knew I wouldn’t be able to look after him and the thought would scare me. How to explain to a child that Mummy is ill without blaming the illness on the baby?
Luckily Spewing Mummy has written an amazing book suitable for children. It educates and empowers children during this difficult time. Instead of focusing on the negatives of the condition the book looks at ways a child can help and become an HG Hero. I was lucky enough to see the book when it was in its infancy and got my hands on one of the first copies. Adam even has his own signed version. The book comes with a certificate to give to your child at the end of the pregnancy.
Our blog even gets a mention. At the time of printing our blog was called Adventures of Adam and highlights the HG friendly play activities we have on the blog. At the beginning of the year our blog named changed to Adventures and Play in preparation for another child. How To BE An HG Hero is available from the Spewing Mummy shop and Amazon. Can’t recommend it enough!
18th September (11 weeks pregnant) – Passing the hours away with HG
Despite my vomiting being under control (thanks to 4 different types of antisickness tablets and steroids) I am still unable to do most things. I have zero energy and barely stay awake for more than a few hours.
I still can’t concentrate long enough to read or watch tv. Thankfully I can tolerate looking at my phone screen.
Solitaire has been my chosen game. I don’t have to think during the game and in the evenings it can distract me enough from the nausea.
However a look at my stats demonstrates that practice does not make perfect when your brain is mush. How few times I have actually won a game! I have played the two versions of the for nearly 44 hours since becoming pregnant but havent won more than 300 games. I would hate to know how many games I have actually played!
Strangely though I do not feel bored. I am too ill to feel bored.
How did you pass your time during HG?
19th September (11 weeks pregnant) HG preparation: the hospital bag
Now I am not talking about the giving birth hospital bag. I’m talking about the HG first trimester hospital bag. Essentials that you need to make your stay because of dehydration easier.
I learnt the hard way in my first pregnancy. Each hospital admission was a shock and I was unprepared. One stay involved my husband rushing home to get emergencies and I spent two days without deodorant or toothpaste.
This time I set aside a bag and started to pack it even more I had a positive pregnancy test. Here are some of the things I find useful:
* Wash bag: make sure this is easy to carry and open one handed (due to the cannula). Inside it have toothpaste, toothbrush, mouth wash (to use after vomiting), hairbrush, baby wipes to use as flannels for a strip wash), deodorant and travel shampoo/conditioner and shower gel. I am yet to find travel ones where you don’t have to squeeze the contents out – impossible to do one handed. * pjs, knickers and comfortable top
* eye mask and ear plugs as hospitals are bright and noisy during the night
* maternity notes * medication * some form of entertainment although you will mostly just lay there. I found puzzle books helped last pregnancy. * some snacks: you won’t feel like them to start with but once the iv fluids get in you may start to feel hungry. I struggled with not eating little and often in hospital and being restricted by the three meal times
* some drink and straws. It is unlikely you will want the water so have your our drink. Hospital ice is the best though!
What things would you add as your essential hg hospital bag?
20th September (12 weeks pregnant)
This is the second HG book written for children that has helped Adam understand my condition.
I bought it back in 2012 a month before Adam was born. At that point we called him Pringle as Pringle BBQ Crisps were the only thing I could stomach for weeks. I cried so much the first time I read it. I couldn’t imagine having the strength to go through another HG pregnancy let alone with another child.
The book is more geared towards an American audience with the rabbit having a feeding tube. However Adam associates the blue bag with my blue medical bag.
21st September (12 weeks pregnant)
This is the face of someone who over did it today. I am suffering the consequences BUT I managed two hours out of the house today to visit friends!
I feel this should come with a very large footnote. I would not have been able to do this in my first hg pregnancy. It has taken a lot to get to this point including:
* medication. I am on the highest dosage of 4 different types of anti sickness tablets and steroids. If I were to miss one of those tablets by 5 minutes I would be vomiting.
Rest: thanks to the wonderful support of my mum I am able to rest all of the time. I can’t look after Adam, can’t prepare food or even pour a drink. I literally do nothing other than lay on a bed or a sofa all day and night.
Preparation: I knew mid afternoon would be a good time. I would be taking two tablets during the time and it was before my evening nausea kicked in. I would also have recovered from having a shower in the morning. I had my medication with me and my mum was just a phone call away.
Support and friendship: the school mums I was meeting know about HG. I have been training them so they knew how serious my condition is. I knew there wouldn’t be the “just a bit of sickness” comments or unhelpful advice. .
It felt wonderful to have every day type conversations and feel semi human for a while. I am completely exhausted now and very nauseous. It will be an evening spent clutching my sick bowl but for two hours I got to be an every day normal mum rather than just being ill. A great way to celebrate getting to 12 weeks!
23rd September (12 weeks pregnant) Oh how different your life pans out because of HG.
Today I should be getting glammed up to go to a wedding. My husbands best friend is getting married today and my husband is best man. I should have been watching my son and husband in their suits was celebrating with champagne.
Instead my husband has had to go to the wedding by himself, Nana had taken Adam to his swimming lesson and I am stuck on the toilet. The horrors of severe constipation have not left me. I long for the day I can poo without medical intervention and manual extraction. Oh how different my day has panned out!
24th September (12 weeks pregnant) Paying the price
Yesterday whilst my husband was at his best friends wedding Nana took us to the beach. We have found one that we can park close by and I am able to make the few steps to the sand without my wheelchair. I watched as Adam ran around and made pictures in the sand.
Today I am paying the price. The nausea has increased and I have battled to keep my eyes open. I have literally only moved off of my bed to go to the toilet which unfortunately was another traumatic experience involving blood. Counting down the hours until Tuesdays ultrasound.
25th September (12 weeks pregnant)
Just some of the medication I have to take in intervals during the day and night. Tomorrow I find out what will happen to my steroids. I have been reducing the steroids by 5mg each week for two weeks but can notice a huge difference as my symptoms are worsening. If you were in steroids for Hyperemesis how long were you on them for?
26th September (12 weeks pregnant) 12 week scan and all is perfect.
We survived a three hour hospital appointment. On another positive I am staying on steroids until at least week 20 (obviously reducing dosage each week). However I have to have daily Fragmin injections as I am bed bound to reduce the risk of blood clots and tomorrow I have to return to hospital to have the dreaded Glucose Tolerance Test for gestational diabetes.
I had the tea twice during my last pregnancy but I was 20+ weeks. Thankfully I am able to still take my medication but have to fast from 12pm tonight. Tomorrow is going to be tough.
You can read the rest of my HG diary by clicking on the photos below:
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- Emma’s HG Diary week 0-8
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- Emma’s HG Diary week 9-12
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- Emma’s HG Diary week 19-25
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