Even if you think you tried it all, there’s still a lot you can do to alleviate your symptoms and stay healthy.
Expecting new life is a miracle. For many of us it’s also a big challenge. Most women experience some amount of nausea and vomiting at the beginning of pregnancy. It’s unpleasant, but it’s usually short lived and manageable. And then there’s HG.
If you are lucky enough to have never experienced HG, formally called hyperemesis gravidarum, it can be really hard to understand. But those who live through it can attest that HG is not morning sickness. It’s a debilitating and potentially dangerous genetic condition that causes severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that affects a woman’s ability to eat, drink, and function, and requires medical treatment. The misery of HG can best be described as an unending bout of severe food poisoning. It’s really really awful.
I suffered through six HG pregnancies of varying degrees of severity. In my more moderate HG pregnancies, I couldn’t eat normally, cook, work, or take care of my kids properly because of the extreme nausea. My most recent pregnancy was so severe that it came close to life- threatening. I was so sick and weakened from the unbearable nausea and resulting malnutrition that I couldn’t talk, walk unassisted, or see clearly, and I developed debilitating complications that did not resolve after my baby was born.
In my search for healing, I learned that most doctors are unfortunately not educated in effective HG care. As a result, we suffer so much more than we should. My research led me to discover protocols for HG that are largely unknown in our community, and that actually work. Nothing can take it away, but proper treatment for HG can control the vomiting almost completely and lessen the nausea enough to eat and function. HG without vomiting sounds like a dream. But as I started to share these protocols with women and their doctors, I was amazed by how much of what we suffer is preventable. I am passionate about sharing this information so that everyone with HG can have safer and easier pregnancies.
HG ranges from mild to severe and often needs a complex treatment plan. I help women understand the information that’s out there about potential medications, dosages, and combinations that can help them and that they can ask their doctor for. There are some women who feel miserable and don’t even know that what they are going through has a name and can be helped. And then there are others who tell me they tried it all. Both types of women are amazed at what these protocols have to offer them and their doctors, as I was when I discovered them. There is no cure yet for HG, and it will still be hard, but it can be much more manageable.
Some important things to know about HG to discuss with your doctor:
- Current data indicates that it’s better for mother and baby to take medication as early as necessary to control symptoms and eat and drink properly, than to wait. Starting medication early can prevent more severe HG.
- Most women with HG find that they need a combination of a few medications to get symptoms under control.
- Not every OB is the right one for HG. If your doctor is unsympathetic or unwilling to prescribe, look for another doctor who will offer you better care. Come with knowledge of what you need.
- Research shows that taking supplements to strengthen the body can help women have safer pregnancies. There are specific supplements that are important before HG.
- Studies have shown that taking vitamin B1 in the form of Benfotiamine or Thiamine TTFD before and during HG can be crucial to combat the nausea and prevent dangerous complications.
- Don’t worry about what type of food you can tolerate when you are sick. In HG any calorie is a good calorie and every bite is a mitzvah!
My own suffering was largely preventable. I wish I had known then what I know now. I can’t go back, but I can do everything possible to help others get through HG with their health intact.
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