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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Dealing with hyperemesis gravidarum

Sooooo..... where have I been?? 


It's been several weeks since there's been a single post on Facebook, and months since there's been a post on the blog. I would love to tell you I've been so busy working out and eating right that I just haven't had the time, that's not the case. 

As most of you know, what with my announcing it on facebook, my husband and I are expecting baby number 3. This was a planned pregnancy and the whole family is very excited about it. My heart has always been to have a big, beautiful family. I was so looking forward to taking our readers along on the journey of staying healthy and fit during a pregnancy. Unfortunately, my plans of that have been smashed into a billion pieces. Why?


A little something called Hyperemesis Gravidarum.
Now, normally when I tell someone this is what I've been diagnosed with they say... "Oh, is that like morning sickness?"

Let me start off by explaining that this is NOT morning sickness. It's a temporary but life altering sickness during and sometimes after pregnancy. Here are a few facts about HG and some of the things that make it different than morning sickness.
 
 
Morning Sickness:Hyperemesis Gravidarum:
Nausea sometimes accompanied by vomitingNausea accompanied by severe vomiting
Nausea that subsides Nausea that does not subside
Vomiting that does not cause severe dehydrationVomiting that causes severe dehydration
Vomiting that allows you to keep some food downVomiting that does not allow you to keep any food down
 
Women with normal morning sickness are able to eat and go about their day as normal. Someone suffering from HG is unable to eat or drink without medication, and has trouble functioning as normal. Things like working, taking care of the kids, daily chores and even showering become overwhelming tasks.
 
 
Some of the signs and symptoms of HG are:
 
  • Severe nausea and vomiting
  • Food aversions
  • Weight loss of 5% or more of pre-pregnancy weight
  • Decrease in urination
  • Dehydration
  • Headaches
  • Confusion
  • Fainting
  • Jaundice
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Low blood pressure
  • Rapid heart rate
  • Loss of skin elasticity
  • Secondary anxiety/depression
  •  
     
    
    I plan on writing about my personal experiences with HG in a blog very soon, but for now I just wanted to share the differences between HG and morning sickness. HG is so rare that it only affects 1-2% of pregnant women, so many people don't even know what it is!  
     
    I really hope this answers a lot of questions about why I haven't been posting, and what the heck is wrong!!
    Stay tuned for more later!!
     
     
    Love,
    Holly