Hyperemesis gravidarum in pregnancy

Pregnancy is a distant memory for me, but two of my daughters have experienced it. From that I've gone back to reliving my pregnancies. My middle daughter was the first, and gave birth to my grandson on Boxing Day of last year. My oldest daughter is currently 28 weeks pregnant with identical twin girls.

My middle daughter had a pretty easy pregnancy. It was very similar to how mine was with my oldest. My appetite was insatiable. In fact she was extremely lucky to not have complications because she gained 60 lbs. My oldest is having a horrible time. She has been having severe sickness. Far worse than morning sickness. What she has is hyperemesis gravidarum, and I had it too when I was pregnant with my youngest.

Morning sickness is really common in pregnancy. I always thought that term was silly because pregnancy sickness can hit at any time of the day. Hyperemesis gravidarum is another animal.

With morning sickness you may puke a few times a day in the first trimester. Then again you may not, and just have nausea that is settled by eating a few saltines and after taking in some sips of ginger ale. Either way you are functional even if you feel like garbage. The misery usually goes away by 14 weeks.

With hyperemesis gravidarum you puke at least 5-10 times a day. Usually more than that. Nothing gives you relief. You feel like utter hell. You are constantly visiting the ER for IV fluids, and may need a PICC line. It can become so bad that you have to take sick leave if you are working and be admitted to the hospital for weeks or even months. It doesn't improve until 20 weeks or until you give birth. It's absolute hell.

My poor daughter was severely sick by 6 weeks. She started vomiting 20 times a day. By the time she was 7 weeks along she was admitted and was given a PICC line. Antiemetics did not help her. She dry heaved and vomited all of the time and eventually was put on TPN.

She was released at 16 weeks, but was still on TPN and needed home care. By the time she was 18 weeks she started to occasionally hold water in, but nothing else. Over time it got better.

Today she still has the condition but it's extremely mild, and is off of the TPN. She is able to get some relief by taking a drug called Diclectin. It's a very safe antiemetic. She is dealing with third trimester misery now.

My experience with hyperemesis gravidarum when I was pregnant with my youngest was similar to what she has dealt with. My heart has been aching for her because I understand the misery and pain.

If a woman has hyperemesis during pregnancy once, then there is a high chance of it happening again. I wouldn't at all be surprised if she and my son-in-law are done. They have 2 embryos too because they did PGD. More about that in a future blog post.

None of these pictures are mine. They are from https://pixabay.com.