How it all began

November 29, 2018

It was one eventful day. My husband’s cousin was visiting, and we had planned to put up a real Christmas tree that year. I went for a shower and much to my surprise I was unable to shut it off. I got out, got ready and told my husband about it. He was not able to fix so we had to call a plumber. We ended up spending about $300 early morning to get it fixed. Then we got a Christmas tree, super happy and excited, it was our first real Christmas tree. We decorated the tree, put out Christmas decorations, everything seemed just perfect. We were sitting upstairs when we heard some noise which seemed like someone had broken in the house and ran downstairs to check. Much to our surprise, the Christmas tree fell. A lot of my favorite ornaments broke and there was glass all over the floor, tree sap and it was messy. We cleaned the mess, decorated it again and unfortunately the tree fell two more times. I was very upset and in a bad mood.

As the day progressed, I started feeling very nauseous and sick. I blamed it on the mimosas I had been drinking all day long. I called my husband who was at work and told him not to disturb me while I was sleeping. However, something inside me kept poking me to take a pregnancy test. I took one, and it came out to be positive. I was shaking and numb.

My husband came home and found his cousin and me in the living area. I was waiting to break the news to them. He was busy taking the trash out. I walked towards him and put the pregnancy test on the counter. At first my husband did not realize what was happening and he proceeded with taking out the trash and putting the new trash bags in the bins. Finally, after about five minutes he realized and they both were looking carefully at the pregnancy test and trying to figure out the results. I took another test and it showed the same results. Next morning, we went to urgent care and it was confirmed we were expecting a baby.

Fast forward to December 2019

As the days were progressing, I started feeling very nauseous and tired. It kept getting worse to the point that I could not deal with driving or being in front of the computer for too long. I spoke to my manager and got work from home approved. Within the next one week, I started throwing up and it was very bad. I took an appointment with my OB-GYN and was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) of pregnancy.

What is Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) of pregnancy?

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) of pregnancy is a complication with symptoms of severe nausea, vomiting and weight loss. From what I was explained it is caused by hormonal level rise. The symptoms usually last till the end of the first trimester however for some women it stays throughout the pregnancy. HG is very different from morning sickness. If someone is suffering from HG, the nausea does not seem to subside, and the vomiting is severe. Excessive vomiting causes dehydration. Often the vomiting is bad, and it does not allow to hold down anything at all. 

My journey with HG:

Once I found out I had HG everything changed. I am not Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (she suffered from HG in all three of her pregnancies) who had it relatively easy- best medical care, staff taking care day and night. There were a lot of things that I could no longer eat or drink. Certain smells would make me throw up. I was initially prescribed Diclegis but that did not work for me. So, I was prescribed Promethazine. It did work for me however there were visible side effects. I was sleeping all the time and right after taking the medicine my feet had a tingling sensation, my heartbeat would go up and there was general discomfort in the body. I voiced this concern to my provider and the doze was decreased. At this point I was very week and constantly loosing weight. I had lost about 10 pounds.

Two days before Christmas, things got bad. I could not hold anything down and was throwing up every few minutes. I was advised to go to the Emergency Room right away. We were at the ER; I was very badly dehydrated. I was given IV fluids to deal with the dehydration and IV Zofran to deal with nausea. I felt better and was sent home. First couple of days were ok however things started getting bad again and a week later I was back at the ER. This time things were different. The ER doctor insisted IV promethazine. I resisted and informed that it does cause a lot of discomfort however it seemed like he ignored my concerns and proceeded further with giving the IV medicine. Shortly after, the medicine reacted. My heart rate went up, I started having difficulty breathing, everything seemed to have slowed down and was turning blurry. All I remember is the doctor and a bunch of other people surrounding me, a portable XRAY machine and my husband and mother in law standing at the back looking around all worried. I would not lie, but deep down I was scared as hell. They did some tests and proceeded further with giving me Benadryl to take care of the reaction that had occurred. When they injected Benadryl in the IV, it was stinging very badly. What happened next cant be explained in words. I started feeling blurry and my vision was bad for the next few minutes. After about 30-45 minutes things seemed to be getting back to normal. After some further evaluation, I was sent home.

Couple of days went by and I was sick again. I could not hold anything down. The OB-GYN suggested since it was happening on a weekly basis, they would be admitting me to the hospital and keep me under observation while they try to find what worked for me. We agreed and were at the hospital for two days. Few different medicines were tried and tested, and we were sent home with Zofran and Omeprazole. We were advised about the risks associated with Zofran- chances of cleft palate and possible heart diseases. We were assured that these risks were very low percentage as indicated by the latest studies. Zofran and Omeprazole kept me going for the next month and then the same thing happened again. I was throwing up a lot, there was acid reflux and I could not hold down anything. We went to the ER; I was given IV Zofran but that did not help, and I was still throwing up. So, they decided to admit me and keep me under observation for a day or two. Again, they tried some different medications without much luck, but later Zofran ended up working the best. I was sent home after two days.

How I felt throughout?

I was very week and mostly confined to bed. I also lost a lot of weight. For two months I was on sick leave. I could not go out for car rides as they would make me terribly nauseous. What I hated the most was that every other person I spoke to did not acknowledge Hyperemesis. They confused it with Morning Sickness. People have very low awareness about it. The reality is that Hyperemesis is very different from Morning Sickness. The reality is that Hyperemesis is difficult to deal with. The reality is that it takes a toll on your body. I am very fortunate that my husband supported me through it. From waking up in the middle of the night to get me some Gatorade to throwing away dirty vomit bags, dealing with my several thousand mood swings he did it all. Sure, the house was a bit messy, but he tried his best. It is very important to feel supported through this tough time.

If you know someone who is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum please support them as best as you can. Say encouraging words.

I took Zofran throughout my pregnancy. We were advised about the risks associated with Zofran- chances of cleft palate and possible heart diseases. We were assured that these risks were very low percentage as indicated by the latest studies. The possibility of a low risk was very overwhelming. Because I was taking Zofran, my OB-GYN sent me for advanced ultrasound in early March 2019. They checked the heart and made sure it was developed properly and was functioning right. I will be honest as the appointment was coming near, I was getting very overwhelmed and praying more for everything to be ok. As we were hoping, we were informed that the ultrasound looked good. Everything was developing as it should. We were relieved to hear that. And that was the end of my very difficult first trimester.

The second trimester and the third trimester were relatively better. I was healthier and gaining weight as expected. I was feeling happier and throwing up relatively less. I was eating ok. However, there were certain things I still could not eat. For example- apples. I was able to eat them at the beginning of my pregnancy, but my body rejected them soon after. Eating apples would trigger vomits. Same thing for blueberries. But other than that, I was feeling much better and ready to welcome my little man in this world.