One year ago today, just a couple of weeks after discovering I was pregnant, I ended up at Summit Hospital's ER due to complications from hyperemesis gravidarum or HG. I eventually ended up at Centennial Women's Hospital a couple of times until I was able to go home with a medicine pump attached to a subcutaneous needle, then an IV and finally a PICC line. I had a wonderful home care nurse who came several times a week to take care of me. You can read back on this post for a rundown of what happened. It was, hands-down, the sickest I've ever been in my life!
What I didn't elaborate on was exactly what hyperemesis gravidarum really is. There are actually a host of websites dedicated to this condition in pregnant women, with the H.E.R. Foundation (Hyperemesis Education & Research) being one that I learned a lot from which states, "HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s)...There are no known causes of hyperemesis gravidarum, only theories, but it is likely that HG is caused by a number of interrelated factors that vary by woman and by pregnancy. Treatment thus differs because women will respond differently to medications and other interventions."
Give me a moment to climb aboard my soapbox (oh wait, a blog is just one big soapbox)...
Please do not mistake HG with morning sickness! To do so downplays the severity of the condition. It certainly did not help at all when women would tell me that they understood what I was going through because they had such bad morning sickness. Yet they were still able to go about their days fairly normally. HG is not a condition that causes some discomfort and allows you to continue to be functional. It is a debilitating illness that stops normal life right in its tracks. For a few months, I could barely make it out of bed. Taking a shower was a monumental effort. Friends would ask me if I was bored. I was so sick, boredom was never a factor. I didn't have enough energy to do much of anything even watch T.V. or read.
Dr. Vasquez said that I had the worst case of HG he had ever encountered. I was in the hospital a few extra days because he was trying to research what would be the best means of treatment and then find an infusion company that would provide that much medication to a pregnant woman. At one point, during the course of trying different meds, I passed out in my hospital room when I was trying to get to the bathroom. I remember the room spinning and feeling really dizzy and the next thing I knew I was coming to on the floor. The whole time I was sick with HG, I was so scared I'd lose the baby. After struggling to get pregnant in the first place, I was discouraged that I couldn't just have a healthy pregnancy. But against so many odds, I ended up with a healthy, beautiful, amazing baby girl and I am so very grateful!
Today I am none the worse for the wear and can't believe it's been a year since my experience with HG all started. As I reflect back on it, I am so thankful for my friends, family & co-workers who supported me through it, most especially Jeff who took better care of me than I could've ever hoped for.
I'm taking time to learn more about HG and hearing other women's stories is amazing. Some suffered more so than I did, even to the point of losing babies and sustaining damage to organs due to such severe dehydration and other complications of HG. I had never heard of this before getting pregnant. To read more about it, check out the National Organization for Rare Disorders website and the book "Beyond Morning Sickness."
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