Don’t Mess with Hyperemesis Sufferers

I posted this on my personal facebook and was surprised by the amount of support I got.  I’ve posted about Hyperemesis Gravidarum there before but this time, perhaps because of my vitriol, it seems like this resonated with more people.  I’m better to the point where I can actually be angry now, and even leave the house, but I dream of the day I can feel like an actual human again.  Since I think this is a great article, I’m sharing it here too:

As I’ve said in the comments there and on my page, this is a much more polite article than I would have written, I am not yet to the point (maybe after this sweet little one is here) where I can talk about my experiences with it both this pregnancy and with my first, it’s still too traumatic.  I did post this comment in response to someone on FB regarding when you should consider yourself an HG sufferer… basically if you’re *suffering* you probably have HG and deserve support and treatment:

The best description I read differentiating ‘morning sickness’ or NVP (nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, the updated medical term for it) and Hyperemesis Gravidarum is that NVP is periodic, often able to be controlled with diet and lifestyle changes, and while uncomfortable does not result in “misery”. If you experience nausea that does not relent throughout the day, you probably have HG. If you lose weight due to inability to eat or drink, you probably have HG. If you vomit repeatedly and cannot control or stop vomiting, you probably have HG. If vomiting does not ease your nausea, you probably have HG. If you can’t keep down water or liquids, you probably have HG. None of these things are normal or healthy, and there are treatments available that people should know about. If you experience MISERY, not just discomfort, due to your nausea and/or vomiting on a regular basis, you have HG and by God should be given medical help, support and comfort. There are multiple anti-nausea drugs on the market that are now covered by insurance that a few years ago were not, there are multiple anti-vomiting drugs also, and a host of other medications such as acid reducers, vitamin complexes and natural remedies such as marijuana which help women and their babies survive. Most women who get HG don’t know what it is unless they are hospitalized and are lucky enough to be seen by a doctor who isn’t a moron.