A spinoff thread: Tell me about your hyperemesis!

[pumpkinhead]

Was it mild, moderate or severe? What (if anything) did you take for it and how long? When did it start and how long did it last? Did you have it with subsequent children?

Mine was moderate. It started between 6-8 weeks and lasted until the birth of my son. I started Diclectin at either 12 or 13 weeks after losing 10 lbs and it stopped the majority of the vomiting.I'd only needed IV fluids on one occasion. I still had most of the nausea until around 7 mos at which point, I was only mildly nauseous in the morning and in the early aft and was able to eat 'normally'. I was able to retun to work at this point. I tried to stop taking the Diclectin on two occasions to see if I still 'needed' it. Once at around 8 mos and once on my due date. To say that I still needed it would be an understatement .

I have no idea about the 'subsequent children' part, but as dh and I have begun discussing a second child, I've been thinking about it with more and more dread. I WANT to have a second child badly but I'm really afraid I'll be in for a similar ride. If someone told me that I would FOR SURE have a repeat performance, I prob still would have another, I'd just have to put more planning into the pregnancy part . Like have a supply of Diclectin on hand and find an VERY sympathetic employer. Essentially arrange it so I could put life on hold for a few months...

[rainbowmoon]

I'm in the same boat as you..DH and I had planned to conceive our babies close together (probably start TTC this fall/winter) but I am scared because of the hyperemesis and already having a little one. mine was moderate and I puked everyday at least 10x from weeks 6-11. the worst of it was for about a week (8th) when I couldn't get any type of fluids down other than popscicles. i didn't take a thing for it during my last pg but next time I plan to use fenegran if I have to.

[eilonwy]

With Eli, it started at 4 weeks and continued through 14-15 weeks; I lost 45 pounds and took phenergan suppositories for it so that I could hold down some water.

I had no morning sickness to speak of with NewBean, though I have had a few stomach viruses (which I normally don't get) .

[LavenderMae]

Mine is mild. With my dd I lost weight and survived on ice chips for a couple of months. I started getting sick at about 4weeks, a few days after I found out I was preg. I vomited numerous times a day and the smell of just about anything made me hurl. I also woke up in the middle of the night to vomit. I had excess saliva too that was just awful.
Then at about 12weeks or so I had to eat every 2 hrs or I vomited, I still felt like throwing up all the time but I had to eat or I was more sick feeling. Finally in the 4th month it went away and I felt pretty good the rest of my pregnancy besides fatigue.
With my son I vomited less but if I coughed, sneezed or cleared my throat I would vomit. I started vomiting around the 6th week, I started getting bad indigestion the week after conception before I even knew I was preg. I also had to eat from the start every two hours or I would vomit, I still vomited sometimes when I ate too, couldn't win either way. I had severe fatigue the first 4mths with him. I stayed nausiated the whole pregnancy with my son but didn't vomit after 4mths, just felt like I was going to a lot. I was hospitalized at 34 weeks with what they thought was preterm labor but it was really dehydration. I didn't lose weight the first trimester with him but I didn't gain any either.
I didn't take anything either time but was prescribed phenegran (twice) with my ds. After the first 4mths or so I gain weight REALLY :LOL good!!

[OnTheFence]

I had hypermesis starting around the 5-6th week of pregnancy and lasting until I was 35 weeks along. I threw up on average 4-5 times per day (one day I threw up nearly 20 times). In the beginning I took nothing for it because I thought it was due to taking progesterone but then around the 10th week I had lost nearly 10lbs and could barely keep anything down. I tried various things to curb the vomiting to no avail and finally asked for drugs. I started on Zofran which did nothing and then went to phenegran. Mid pregnancy I was losing an average of 7lbs per week until I started taking the phenegran like candy. I also read everything I could about this drug and probably could recite studies, the PDR, etc to you in my sleep. When I did eat I ate well and did the Bradley diet and then went to do the Brewer diet because of pre-e. I did gain weight in the last trimester and the vomiting tapered off. Around the 35th week it just all stopped and I ate like a pig. My son was born at 38 weeks weighing nearly 8lbs.

[Mothra]

Mine is pretty severe. I've had it three times, with each of my kids, the middle pregnancy being the "easiest". My first pregnancy I was hospitalized I don't know how many times, four or five, before they realized that I had a serious problem. Midline, home IV, but the line got infected and I ended up in the hospital for four days getting antibiotics. Idiot nurse did not recognize the infection and it spread. I had to have a central line placed in my chest in the ER because they could not get another line started and I was passing out. They tried 17 times that day. I weighed about 117 when I got pregnant and was under a hundred pounds at my lowest. I am 5'7". I had TPN, which is artificial nutrition, for over a month. I could not eat or drink anything. I sucked on ice chips to keep my mouth moist. I had home IV and TPN until about 20 weeks. All of the sudden it went away, which just strengthened my doctor's belief that it was psychological. Asshole.

Second pregnancy it didn't start until 8 weeks and never got as bad. Obly hospitalized once, had home IV with Anzemet. Changed docs because he thought it was psychological. Finally got good treatment. Started to feel better at 18 weeks, never had to go on TPN, but still lost 15 pounds. Didn't stop puking until 21 weeks.

Third pregnancy I was in the hospital at 5 weeks, PICC line at 6 weeks, home IV (Zofran, Benadryl, Zantac, B6, hydration) from 6 weeks to 19 weeks when my line got contaminated. TPN for about 6 weeks. Lost almost 20 pounds, Down from 134 to 114. It wasn't pretty. Tried an NG tube but it was defective and I wouldn't let them place another one. Started to feel better around 18 weeks, completely stopped puking by 20 weeks.

My kids weighed 8lbs at 36 weeks, 9lbs. at 38 weeks, and 7lb 9oz at 39 weeks. They have all been perfectly healthy. My teeth are completely trashed from all the puking, I think I have gallstones, and my doctors are worried about the strain on my heart from all of the puking. Several times I had to be knocked out because I could not stop heaving. It was horrible. The worst moment of my life had to be puking blood into an emesis basin and a nurse telling me that I wouldn't stop until I accepted the baby. Nice. I've got a million horror stories.

I'm done haiving kids. It took me four years to have a second one. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Mothra

The worst moment of my life had to be puking blood into an emesis basin and a nurse telling me that I wouldn't stop until I accepted the baby. Nice. I've got a million horror stories.

that has to be one of the worst things i've ever heard! noone ever told me my problem was psychological! my mom and sister had both gone through the same thing, though, so i had a lot of support that way. (a well-documented famiily history helps). i'm sorry you had to go through that.

[Mothra]

My family and friends were very supportive. They felt helpless because they were thousands of miles away and had never even met my husband (we eloped and then had a honeymoon baby), but they never for a second suggested that I was making anything up. My dad actually got on the phone with my doctor and yelled at him after I told him he'd scolded me for eating soup. I felt vindicated, though, when we got back to Hawaii (we were living in N. Cal. when I first got sick). I met with a couple of Army doctors that assured me that in their twenty years of treating pregnant women with hypnosis, they'd never once seen anything that suggested it was a psychological condition. My first doctor had only been an ob for three years, which we did not know at the time, and there was absolutely no research when I got pregnant with my first. The only stuff out there said that it was caused by a "hysterical personality" and usually found in women who had poor relationships with their own mothers. The second time around I just got a lazy jerk and switched to a brand spankin new ob resident who did nothing without researching the hell out of it first. I had to switch doctors three times in my last pregnancy to find someone who would listen to me. Ugh. My home health nurses were awesome, though, and they got me through it. Except for the one that missed that infection. She had hyperemesis, too, and wasn't treated for it. I could tell she thought I was just overreacting.

My second, no third, cousin had a baby this year and she had it, too. Her family was not as supportive until my parents talked to them. I can't imagine going through it without the support of my family, which many women do.

[Mothra]

eilowny-- were you ever tested for H. Pylori? It is pretty rare to have some degree of hyperemesis once and not again. You're one of the lucky ones!

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Mothra

eilowny-- were you ever tested for H. Pylori? It is pretty rare to have some degree of hyperemesis once and not again. You're one of the lucky ones!

I never have been, because I've never had stomach problems really. No ulcers, and I rarely vomit. I get nauseated a lot, but it takes something serious to make me actually vomit.. with Eli, I think the reason I actually vomitted was that I got migraines along with the "morning" sickness (which lasts all day... why do they call it morning sickness?! )

I attribute my luck to breastfeeding during pregnancy. I still lost 35 pounds, but I never felt sick unless I didn't eat; I think that my body knew better, kwim? Just remembering how sick I was with Eli makes me want to tandem next time too, but I think that the depression from not having enough milk for my son was probably worse than the hyperemesis, so I'm willing to do it again. Not looking forward to it, but I feel capable.

[Mothra]

I was torn as to whether or not I should have weaned my then 14mo old when I got pregnant this last time. Ultimately I feel like I made the right decision, to wean him, because I was in the hospital for a week less than a week after we found out I was pregnant. There was just no way. The slightest bit of stimulation made me hurl, so I don't think I could have done it. I did nurse right up until the point that I got sick, and I really thought it would help some because I'd read that breastfeeding can offer some protection, but nope. He was okay with the weaning, though. It wasn't a big deal at all, thank goodness, because I don't know what I would have done. Part of me feels like I should have waited until he was older to get pregnant, but I knew I was going to be sick and I just wanted it OVER.

I hardly ever vomit when I'm not pregnant, either. Birth control pills, even the low-dose ones, have always made me sick, though, and I'm prone to motion sickness. I also have middle-ear issues, which some think is a contributing factor. Weird. There doesn't seem to be any common thread between women with hyperemesis, except the agreement that it sucks.

[anothermama]

With my dd, it was severe. I ended up at one point vommitting up blood and in the ER twice for dehydration, as well as losing about 20lbs in the first trimester and a little bit into the second. It was horrific. I hated it.

I am preg with #2 and it was mild, it still sucked, but I was able to control it better and I didn't lose any weight. And, it was more "typical" in that it started to fade off at around 16 or 17 weeks. And now I'm 37 weeks and have a normal weight gain (about 35lbs at this point) and can eat just fine. I was never able to eat normally with my dd.

[pumpkinhead]

Thank you ladies so much for sharing your stories! It's amazing what we go thru to have our babes. I should have added that ds was born at 42 weeks weighing 6lb 14.5 oz, healthy inevery way. I was shocked that he was so little (as I am not exactly little ), but I don't think it had anything to do with the drugs or the hyperemesis. Dh was a small baby.

I also have to say the my DH was wonderful! He did EVERYTHING for 7 months. All of the cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. I also had wonderful family support.

Wow, Mothra s. I can't believe the lack of medical support you had! To insinuate that it was psychological...did they even *HAVE* medical degrees, these idiots? MORONS! I am SO OUTRAGED on your behalf! : : You must be one strong Mama s.

[pumpkinhead]

Originally Posted by Mothra

I hardly ever vomit when I'm not pregnant, either. Birth control pills, even the low-dose ones, have always made me sick, though, and I'm prone to motion sickness. I also have middle-ear issues, which some think is a contributing factor. Weird. There doesn't seem to be any common thread between women with hyperemesis, except the agreement that it sucks.

You know, your first paragraph describes we pretty well. Except for the inner ear issues, everything else, we have in common. I think my body is pretty sensitive to progesterone. My first symptom of pregnancy (before the puking) was abdominal cramping 'attacks'. They were pretty severe. I ended up inthe ER twice for IV narcotics. When the pain ended was when the vomitting started. They still can't explain to me *WHY* this happened but one ER intern suggested it might be an intense sensitivity to progesterone. I had this 'sort' of cramping (albeit not nearly as severe) when i tried taking the pill on two occasions....

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Mothra

I hardly ever vomit when I'm not pregnant, either. Birth control pills, even the low-dose ones, have always made me sick, though, and I'm prone to motion sickness. I also have middle-ear issues, which some think is a contributing factor. Weird. There doesn't seem to be any common thread between women with hyperemesis, except the agreement that it sucks.

I have never taken birth control pills because a)they made my mother very very ill, and b)i can't remember to do anything every day, to say nothing of at the same time. However, I also have middle ear issues and have had several inner ear infections where I'd get dizzy and fall over for no reason (loads of fun! :LOL) and am very motion sensitive. I can't read microfilm without getting nauseated, and actually have to close my eyes to scroll down when I'm reading on the computer.

[LavenderMae]

I hardly ever vomit non pregnant also. I get motion sickness and sometimes (not very often) get dizzy for a day for no reason. It happened just this Wednesday, I was so dizzy all day although I think it might have been from sinus stuff this time.
I think I do have middle ear problems , especially in one ear. I took the pill briefly once when I was 17 , it made me feel very crazy and depressed I only took for one month.

[Sassafrass]

Well, mine has never been diagnosed as hyperemesis because in my first 2 pregnancies, the Drs didn't take me seriously even though I lost about 10lbs each time and threw up until I was 18 weeks or so. Went on to gain 17lbs the first time, had a 7lb baby. The second time I gained 15lbs and had an 8 lb baby. This time around, I've got midwives, but she never told me that is what I had. I also was too stubborn to go to a dr and get some meds or something. I was threatened with an IV during the second preg, but I managed to stave it off. I lost 15lbs up until about 18 weeks or so, and have regained about 6lbs now at 33 weeks. I was so sick at first, I could barely pick my head up off the bed or couch. It was no fun for anybody. I can handle vomiting if I feel better afterwards, but for me, that just made me feel worse, so I put it off as long as possible. What helped me, was taking a half of a unisom at bedtime. This helped me sleep, and also allowed me to feel a little better in the morning, which led to me being able to eat breakfast, which meant all the difference in how my day went. Don't get me wrong, I never felt even remotely good, but I could take care of my kid's basic needs. Anyway, that is bad stuff and it is the reason I waited so long to have another baby, and the reason that this is probably my last child. I would love to have more, but this pregnancy has been no picnic.

***I forgot to say that none of the "remedies" offered up by friends, family, or even online have helped at all other than the unisom.

Angela