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Hyperemesis Gravidarum

I was really looking forward to being pregnant. Unfortunately, my morning sickness went from bad to worse pretty much right from the get go. Since this was my first pregnancy, I didn’t really know what to expect and figured that all women had it this bad. When I noticed I had lost of bit of weight, though, I got concerned and called my obstetrician. She told me that a little bit of weight loss can be normal during the first trimester due to the morning sickness. When I weighed myself a few days later and found that I had lost even more weight, I called her again. This time she asked me just how much weight I had lost. When I told her, she made an appointment for me to come and see her the next day.
At the appointment, my OB had me describe my symptoms, as well as weighed me. When I was done telling her how I always felt nauseated and seemed to always be in the bathroom throwing up; how I could barely get anything done because I felt so exhausted all the time; and how, despite always feeling thirsty, I seemed to always have too much saliva in my mouth, she said “Hyperemeis gravidarum.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, as I’d never heard the term before. Turns out hyperemis gravidarum is a severe type of morning sickness. She said it wasn’t common but it also wasn’t rare for a woman to develop it during pregnancy.
I was worried that all my throwing up would be harmful to the baby, that it wouldn’t be getting all the nutrients and such that it needs. My doctor said not to worry; since it was caught early enough, it was unlikely that my baby suffered any damage. Boy was that a relief to hear.
Once I knew that my baby was okay, I wanted to know how to get rid of hypermesis gravidarum. My obstetrician said that it usually goes away on its own by the 20th week of pregnancy. 20th week?! I was just in my 12th week! There was no way I was going to go another two months having to constantly throw up. The last few weeks had already made things pretty miserable and I couldn’t help but feel kind of down. I couldn’t go anywhere, not even to work, because I felt so miserable. I had a really understanding boss who let me work from home, but even that was difficult because I felt so tired and drained all the time. The thought of having to feel this bad for another 8 weeks was just too much. Then my doctor finished her sentence and informed me that some women also have hyperemesis gravidarum throughout their entire pregnancy. I burst into tears. What if I spent my entire pregnancy with my head in the toilet?
I had always looked forward to pregnancy and doing all those pregnancy things, like shopping for nursery furniture and baby clothes. Even trying on maternity clothes seemed exciting to me. But I hadn’t been able to do any of that so far because I had been so sick. And now my OB was telling me my entire pregnancy was going to be like this?! It was too much.
Thankfully, hyperemesis gravidarum is treatable. After getting treated at the hospital (I needed to have some fluids and nutrients restored), my OB prescribed me some anti-nausea pills and recommended I try acupuncture or massage therapy. These treatments helped a lot although I still had some morning sickness.
I’m now going into my third trimester and my hyperemesis gravidarum hasn’t bothered me in weeks. While I still wish I could have enjoyed my first trimester a bit more, I’m glad that the rest of my pregnancy proved to be as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be.

Jasmin Kistiner