HyperG Pregnancy Podcast:
Hyperemesis Gravidarum |
Morning Sickness | Pregnancy
Stories | Alternative Treaments
By Rachel Dewell: Mother of 5,
RN-BSN, Hyperemesis
Gravidarum Survivor
I had never heard the words,
Hyperemesis Gravidarum, until I was
googling, ‘extreme morning sickness’ one
day. I was always searching for answers. I
couldn’t understand why my experience
was so much worse than everyone elses.
Why was I the only one?
Have you ever had one of those
conversations, where you start by testing
the waters and say “I get sick when I’m
pregnant.” And the other person says,
“Oh, yes, so do I.” And then you press
further, “I mean, I get really sick. I threw
up every day.”
“Me, too.” they say. “I couldn’t eat or get
out of bed without throwing up.”
Ah, you think, this is one of them. They
know. “I lost twenty pounds. It was just
awful.” You say, looking for validation.
You just want someone to understand.
“Yeah, but you’ve just got to push
through. Thank God for crackers, right?”
And there it is, the hole. The crack in the
understanding. She’s on one side and
you’re on the other. She didn’t know.
You are alone again.
My fourth pregnancy was the worst of
my five pregnancies. She’s also my only
girl, so that makes her extra special. I had
just started to crawl out of the hole that
is HG. I was about 16 or 17 weeks along. I
had been sick since 7 weeks. I had lost 20
pounds, thrown up daily and felt faint
just getting up to go to the bathroom
once a day. I thought it would never end.
It was a Sunday. My husband had taken
the kids with him to church. I got up to
try to find something to eat. I saw a
tomato sitting on the counter and
decided to try it. I sliced it up and
sprinkled salt on top. Then I sat down
and raised a bite to my lips.
As soon as I tasted it, I started crying. It
was the first time since getting sick that
anything had tasted good - that anything
had tasted like food. I just sat there with
tears streaming down my face, while
eating that whole tomato. For the first
time, I finally felt hope.
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