Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Like (probably) most people, I hadn't heard the term Hyperemesis Gravidarum when not linked to the Duchess of Cambridge. I'd been around more than my fair share of pregnant women before I fell pregnant and in all honesty, thought the ones that complained incessantly were just being a bit dramatic. 

"It can't possibly be that difficult".

Ha.

Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

We found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks 5 days.

Two days later I started to spew. Two days of excitement and pure joy after nearly 12 months of trying before HG hit me.

Thing #1 to know about me: I'm quite anti-'Dr. Google' and don't like to look things up online because of the amount of hysteria and nonsense you can find online (especially pertaining to pregnancy!), so I just went about my days as best I could, managing to keep down maybe an icy-pole one day, a carrot the next... oftentimes nothing at all. Not having the slightest idea that this wasn't normal.

Thing #2 to know about me: I'm kind of an epic down-player. I have no explanation as to why, but I try incredibly hard to not feel like a damsel-in-distress, and instead maintain a vigilant 'everything is fine' façade - even if it's not. Don't get me wrong, I can complain and whinge like the best of them, but generally surrounding trivial things that I shouldn't be complaining about anyway ("I'm SO tired" ... please.)

I just kept thinking to myself 'they say morning sickness goes away after 12 weeks, I just have to get to that point and I'll be FINE'.

Fast forward to 12 weeks and I'm in hospital because I've lost 6kg (over 10% of my pre-pregnancy weight), and am so dehydrated that the nurses tried 4 times to put the cannula in for fluids and couldn't find a vein that wasn't collapsed (they eventually brought in the anaesthetist to do it).

"You should have been in here weeks ago"

"You'll be here at least overnight, if not for a couple of days"

Nurse trying to put in my cannula - "You've broken me"

Me - "@#$%^&* please not again"

I'll add a disclaimer in here, and say there are SO many women out there who have had or are suffering from HG much worse than I did. Some are in hospital for the entirety of their pregnancies, some have to tragically terminate their pregnancies because they are so sick. I also know there are women who would kill to be as sick as I was if it meant they could fall pregnant or carry a pregnancy. There are much stronger women going through so much more than I am, and all of them should be recognised and praised for their courage - this is just my story.

I tried Maxolon, small meals, dry biscuits, sipping water, eating in the middle of the night, eating first thing in the morning, eating ice, sleeping more, lemonade, ginger, you name it. 

Nothing did a thing to help.

I started taking Restavit at the suggestion of our OB early on in the pregnancy which initially didn't help either. If I had something important on that I had to go to, I would take Zofran in an attempt to stop the vomiting enough for an hour or so that I could do what I needed to, and function as a human.

We booked a Baby Moon in Palm Cove whilst I was 14 weeks (thinking that would safely be a couple of weeks outside the golden 12 week mark), which was probably the least enjoyable holiday ever.

I spewed in the mangroves.

I spewed on the beach.

I spewed out the car door.

I spewed off the balcony (luckily it was a ground floor apartment ... not nearly as bad as it could have been!).

I spewed everywhere. 

I must have looked disgustingly hungover to any onlookers.

Needless to say, the sickness didn't go away at 12 weeks.

Nor 16. Nor 20. Nor at 30. I'm now at 35 and still nauseous every day.

BUT the actual vomiting has mostly gone away. 

I can keep food down every day. 

I've put my weight back on and then some. 

And then some more again.

Things that I tried whilst I was at 10, 12, 14 etc. weeks didn't actually help at all, but we persevered and tried again at 20 and things started improving.

I started on the Restavit again, every night. 

It took a little while, but I started to have days where I wouldn't throw up.

Then a week.

Then two.

I maintain my body had to get to a certain point in the pregnancy before any of the treatments suggested by our obstetrician would work, and thankfully, they started working eventually, but not until after about 24 weeks. 

At that point, my HG morphed like a beautiful butterfly into normal run-of-the-mill 'morning' sickness.