Topic : 04/12 Twin Tug of War

                                                             Dr. Phil

It made me sick to watch this.  I tried to read all of the messages on the board they too made me feel not so good.  I have 3 girls. (6 and the twins are 15 months)  They made me so sick I wanted to die.  I would love to share my experience with Hyperemesis however I do have 15-month-old twins.  I feel for Allison and her babies.  We will pray for them... Let us know if there is anything we can do.

N&J

I have had HG three times. The first time I had it my mom was able to help me out for six weeks. I was treated with an IV.I started feeling better after the 12th week, but was vomiting until my son was born. The second pregnancy caused me to stay out of work 5 months. I was on bedrest, except for doctor's appointments. My mom lived with us for six months to help care for my first son who was 4 by then. I lost 43 pounds. Let me say that unless you have been there, you really don't understand. I was hooked up to a TPN nourishment bag 24/7. My husband, mom, and myself had to learn how to flush the line, and keep it open. I ended up with three different ports this pregnancy because of infection. I was scared to death that things getting pumped into my body would hurt my baby. During the 5 1/2 months of TPN, I also took Zofran, and made numerous trips to the porcelain bowl. Also, my son who was 4, started sleeping on our floor because "Mommy was always gone." I made numerous trips to the hospital. He continued doing this for a year and a half, until he was assured mommy wouldn't go away anymore. During my 7th month, my thyroid was taken out. THe doc tors found out I  had Graves' disease. After the surgery, I was able to begin eating again. My husband and mom cried when I first put food in my mouth. Was I going to do this again. Probably not. Then mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She loved her 6 grandsons, but wanted a granddaughter. We tried, and became  pregnant with a girl. The first 12 weeks were hell again, TPN again,,, hospital visits again... The list goes on. My mom died before seeing her granddaughter, but even when I was on bed rest, she was still helping out. THe bottom line is this, you don't understand unless you have been there. I had a great support system, but family and friends just didn't understand. Will I do it again, NO! We're done. To those women out there experiencing this awful disease, I do understand. Yeah, I can say it will get better, and it will. To those who have not experienced it, don't give advice, just be there to listen and help. It is physically, emotionally, and mentally  draining on the expectant mother, and the family.

Also, to Dr. Phil, I hope you read this. THanks for the show. It is wonderful that this disease has been exposed to the public.

OMG! How is the relationship between him and his brother now?

If her support system was made up of people like me, then they had no understanding of this disease.  I was totally ignorant of it before this program.  From what I gather about it, it is an aggressively debilitating condition which more or less hits a person out of nowhere.  I would not have known what to do so I can't say she should have seen it coming.  The tremendous strain and emotional distress this apparently causes would certainly impair someone's judgment.  IF this was the case, the legal status of this adoption is questionable.  BTW, the courts do not give parental rights.  parental rights are considered natural.  It requires a court action to terminate them.  The question then reverses and becomes ..I wonder why the courts did not terminate her parental rights if there was not an outstanding issue to be resolved.

 

Please do not misunderstand me.  There are six adoptions between my two sisters, so I certainly have no issue with adoptive parents.  I have a feeling that, before all is done, the adoptive parents may be the final victims here.  Sadly, there is no way there will not be victims.  Thank you for your time.  

My fiance and i found out i was pregnant the day i was taken to the ER. My fiance had come home from work to find me passed out on the floor, at the ER i was diagnosed with HG and that was the point my world turned upside-down. Because of my condition i could not work and everyone knows money is what makes the world go round. The bills started to pile up, my fiance was stuck working two full-time jobs while i lay in bed. Not only has our credit gone to the crapper but so has our relationship! I dont think anyone who hasnt been diagnosed with HG will ever truly understand what kind of effect it has on someones life. I felt like i was dieing and a couple of times i caught myself wanting to die.  My daughter arrived healthy and i no longer have my condition BUT the thing that most dont know about is the Forever lasting scares it leaves on your life. Im trying to keep my head up and i wish the best of luck to everyone who is suffering with this illness. Thanks so much to Dr. Phil for bring it to light!

I have suffered 4 times with HG. I could write tons of info here regarding my experience but do not want to rehash the hellish months filled with this condition.  I cannot complain too much because there are women who had it worse than I ,however, anyone who suffers from this even for a portion of their pregnancy has my prayers.  I lost my first baby to a miscarriage after 11 weeks and I think it made the MC even more terrible knowing that I sufffered and did not have a beautiful baby to be rewarded with.  I was able to get pregnant right away and I experienced HG once again.  Whenever I found out I was pregnant, I always felt like it was the "calm before the storm" knowing the onslaught of vommitting and excess saliva (needing a spit cup 24/7) weight loss etc.  I waited 3 years before my husband and I decided to have another baby.  Once again I had to be put on Zofran (thank the Good Lord for good insurance!) This medication was $80 per pill!  and it helped a bit but the always present nauseousness was there.  Not to mention all the other regular unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy on top of that.  NO ONE fully understands the extreme strain this can put on a woman and family members!  I felt so guilty for not helping out with my first son, house work etc.  I managed to work through each pregnancy and would just throw up in a trash can in my classroom closet when I was unable to make it to the bathroom.  Some how, it always worked out that my students were not around when I had to vomit.  The other thing I wanted to mention was how important it is to have a support system in place when this occurs. I was blessed to have a loving understanding husband and a friend who also experienced HG so we could support one another and complain as much as we wanted to each other.  Two years later I had an unexpected (but planned by God) pregnancy and once again had HG.  This time with a 4 year old son, and almost 2 year old son at home I decided I didn't have to work and took a 6 week leave and used most of my sick time to just stay home near the bathroom.  There were many times when I sobbed on the bathroom floor thanking God for the ability to have a baby (I felt so guilty feeling angry about the pregnancy when I knew there were many women out there who couldn't have babies) but wondering why I had to experience this HORRIBLE sickness!  I now have 3 beautiful boys and would not trade them for anything!  My  5 1/2 year old knows that I can't watch Bob the Builder because it makes me nauseous since he used to watch that each day while I was laying on the couch, the music makes me sick to my stomach and that was almost 6 years ago.  My last pregnancy I came across the HER foundation on line and it helped to see that so many other women experience this but I was also disheartened to see that there was not really a cure for it.  I pray that the airing of this program will help bring this to the public view and somehow funds will be raised to help find a cure for this terrible disease!  I pray that this mom in prison will get her babies back.  I also pray for the adoptive parents, having 2 adopted brothers myself, I know how hard this will be for them also!

I totally agree. I just posted my story too. That's it, unless you've been there, you don't understand. I hope you are on the mend soon.

     I have never had hyperemesis so I won't pretend to know what you all are/have gone through.  It sounds unimagineable.  From everything I have heard and read though, hyperemesis ends as soon as the baby is born.  If that is the case then I am confused to how Allison can use the disease as an excuse for being under diress if she was no longer suffering from hyperemesis and hadn't been for over a month at the time when she signed the adoption papers.  I totally understand that it affects you, both physically and psychologically, but it doesn't sound like it does 5 weeks after birth.  Any insight would be great.

i pray that this woman gets released from prison and gets her children back. and to all of you that are suffering from the same illness, i send you hope and strength... i hope you can get through this.