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April 7, 2007, 11:02 pm PDT

HG 1 Year Ago

I'm almost scared to watch this show. I was also diagnosed with HG shortly after Christmas of 2005 and it was at this time that I found out I was pregnant with twins. My doctor was amazing. I showed up at his office, with my husband practically carrying me, and within a few hours I was on home IV health care. For months, a nurse would come change my dressings and help me adjust my Zofran pump. I think the only thing I really "drank" during the first couple of months was Lactated Ringers from my IV. During the worst of it, my husband would help me sponge bathe. I was too weak to take a shower, and couldn't take a tub bath due to the IV lines. I couldn't brush my teeth everyday, as that would start the vomiting again. (My teeth are now stained from the bile eating away at the enamel). I also had to invest in "adult undergarments" since I would lose bladder control from the pressure and spasms of wretching.

At my worst, I alternated between: wishing I had never gotten pregnant, pleading with God for the misery to end, begging my husband to kill me and desperately trying to keep down frozen carrot slices so that my babies could get SOMETHING. I was about 110 lbs. when I became pregnant and at my HG peak, weighed 90. By the end of my pregnancy, I was up to a whopping 127.

HG sucks all of the joy out of pregnancy. There were many occassions when I was CONVINCED that the babies were trying to kill me. I would lay on the sofa, stare at my belly and wait to die. What I find horrifying, is that my case of HG is probably not even one of the really bad ones. Bad, yes... but by the middle of my second trimester I was off all medications and able to eat (albeit a limited menu). There are so many women out there who go through this condition throughout the entire pregnancy. Some are even so severe that they must terminate the pregnancy in order to live.

I want to watch this show, to see what Ms. Quets has to say. I'm also scared to watch it because I have a feeling that I'll be sobbing the whole show, remembering how horrible it all was, and knowing that if not for the support of my husband, family, and doctor, I could easily be where she is now.

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orestia

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April 13, 2007, 7:01 am PDT

Small size and HG

Quote From: patricet

Cathryne,

Hello! Thank you for posting your comments. I do agree. It appears to me Alison was obese in the photograph that was displayed before she was pregnant, I feel if she would have been a smaller size 6 , adopted a healthier lifestyle eating natural foods containing no chemicals, and been in top physical shape before she got pregnant , the symptoms would not have been as extreme.

My physician "female" told me in her office (She's in Columbia , SC and has a large practice. She's the VP of the School of medicine at usc also) the growing trend today is woman having babies over 40. As a noticeable pattern she See's and has contact with on a day to day basis, the woman who are in top shape physically, smaller size 6 and have chosen to adapted a healthier life styles by eating natural foods before they get pregnant and maintain that pattern during it are the woman 9 .5 times out of 10 who don't have or have a small amount of problems or complications during their pregnancy.

Patrice

That's a myth.

I was 30 years old, 5'1 and 110 lbs. when I got pregnant. I was physically fit (took martial arts), ate well, and generally took good care of myself. Then I got HG and had to call my husband to lift a 12 lb. cat off my lap when I had to go to the bathroom. Adopting a healthier lifestyle is always a good thing, but in the case of HG, a woman's pre-pregnancy condition seems to have no correlation to whether or not she'll get HG. Unfortunately, HG doesn't seem to be one of those "adopt a healthier lifestyle" kind of illnesses. Admittedly, we don't know much about what causes HG in otherwise normal and healthy women. Scientists have only recently begun studying it's effects, both long and short term. Prior to modern day medicine (that's chemical soups not whole grain soups) women just died from it and it got lumped into the consumption/ wasting sickness/ hysteria/ frail-inferior-women category of illnesses.

Please read some of the HG stories that have been posted here. They might give you some perspective on the how broad the spectrum really is of women who are afflicted with HG.

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orestia

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April 14, 2007, 10:05 pm PDT

Oh Please...

Quote From: ohplease21

Ok,

First of all to all of you who claim to have suffered from HG. IF it is SO awful (and maybe it is, I don't know) WHY ON EARTH would you keep getting pregnant after delivering a healthy baby? So many of these posts are "I had HG too, it is so awful, I had it with all 15 of my babies". Of course I am exagerating, but you get my point. It apparently wasn't bad enough to dissuade you from doing it again.

Second, Allison was not suffering from this disease any longer when she signed the papers....so HG can not be used as an excuse for giving her babies away. Did ANYONE ELSE on this board griping about the misery of HG place their babies for adoption? No? Didn't think so.

Third, she kidnapped the children 16 MONTHS later. So, you are going to tell me that HG made her do that too?

Fourth, for all of you spouting the children's "blood right" stay with Allison even though she is obviously unstable, the children were conceived with donor eggs and donor sperm. SO, if you want to look at it that way Allison is not their "parent" either. I wonder what the genetic parents would think of this situation if they knew. Who THEY would want raising these children.

Fifth, the adoptive parents are likely not going public because they have nothing to gain by doing so. They are fighting in a court of law, not the court of public opinion. They did nothing wrong, why should they have to go on national television and defend themselves?

Feel free to keep belly aching about how horrible this "disease" is, I am not saying it's not. My point is it must not be THAT bad or women would not go through another pg after suffering through it once. My personal opinion, surprise surprise, is that it is too bad they are only charging her with parental kidnapping. She should be in prison for life after what she did, but instead she will likely only serve 3 years. If she gets those children back, it will be a travesty.

First:
Here are the problems with this statement:
a) Most women don't know that what they have during their first pregnancy is HG, so they try again assuming it was a fluke of nature; and

b) Even if a woman is diagnosed as having HG, it is not a 100% foolproof likelihood that she will have another HG pregnancy, highly probable... but not necessarily a guarantee. For a lot of women, the joy of holding a beautiful baby is worth the crapshoot.

Second:
a)   No one is saying she had HG while she signed the papers. What we are saying is that she quite likely had serious PPD and quite possibly a temporarily diminished mental capacity due to the effects of HG (starvation/fatigue/depression, etc...);

b)   No, I don't recall them placing their babies up for adoption, because a lot of women ended up aborting their babies so that they could live (assuming they didn't miscarry due to starvation and dehydration). Ask them what body part they would cut off to be able to hold and cuddle that little missing hole in their lives. As for those of us lucky enough to bring our children to term, we have to wake up every day for the rest of our lives and look at their beautiful and wonderful smiling faces knowing that during our pregnancy, we wished they would die. There's some lingering post-partum guilt for you.

Ask us if HG had a long-term effect on us.

Third:
See answer Second:a above.

Fourth:
a)   I haven't touted the children's blood right, so I won't address this point further;

b)   As to mental stability, Allison might suffer from a TEMPORARY and TREATABLE form of depression. If you wish to question her ability to parent based on depression, don't bother. There are lots of good moms out there who battle depression.

Fifth:
I agree with this. They are under no obligation. I feel quite sorry for them as well. Their desire to have children has been preyed upon by unscrupulous agents. They are suffering, Allison is suffering and the children are suffering as a result. This is a pitiful situation all around.

Sixth:
Yes, you have said that it is not a "horrible disease." Your very reference to "belly aching" about it only emphasizes that you do not take it seriously, nor do you view it as a real illness which might serve as a mitigating factor in Allison putting her children up for adoption. It IS that bad. If it weren't, women wouldn't still be dying from it.

Your opinions as to Allison's legal future are your own. It is indisputable that her actions were criminal. As to immoral, that is where the question really lies. I agree that I'm looking at this with "mommy eyes." I strongly suspect I would have done the same thing were I in her frightened and desperate shoes.

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orestia

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April 14, 2007, 11:37 pm PDT

Bears Repeating:

This comparison on the effects of HG bears repeating and is taken directly from the HER website. The link to the HER website is as follows:

http://www.helpher.org/index.php

*Take special note of the post-partum recovery time.

If anyone out there needs support and information on HG, this is the place.

Area Impacted: Morning Sickness: Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Employment May lose an average of 0-3 weeks of employment and/or use sick time. Job performance is reduced. Often are unable to work for weeks or months and may lose their job or be forced to resign. Daily Activities Can perform most household responsibilities at some point during the day or week when symptoms are less intense. May be unable to perform even simple household chores or care for themselves (shower, drive, etc.) when symptoms are severe. Energy Level Fatigue is mild to moderate and decreases workload. Recumbent rest is needed to alleviate symptoms. Fatigue may be severe for weeks or months. Bed rest is often a necessity. Prolonged fatigue is very common. Relationships & Socialization Relationships may be stressed but social functioning is only temporarily curtailed. Relationships are often greatly strained and may dissolve. Isolation is common and may lead to depression. Abuse and neglect of the mother may occur. Finances Financial loss due to medical care, loss of work, and use of sick time is significant but usually within a few thousand dollars. Financial loss due to medical care, loss of income, and additional paid services (child care, house cleaning, errands, etc.) can be devastating. Stress Level Psychological stress is mild to moderate and may result in manageable depression during pregnancy. Psychological stress is typically moderate to severe and often results in anxiety and depression. Increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD). Recovery Postpartum recovery is typical and usually takes a few months. Postpartum recovery is prolonged, averaging 6 months – 2 years.

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orestia

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April 15, 2007, 5:34 am PDT

EEP!

Quote From: orestia

This comparison on the effects of HG bears repeating and is taken directly from the HER website. The link to the HER website is as follows:

http://www.helpher.org/index.php

*Take special note of the post-partum recovery time.

If anyone out there needs support and information on HG, this is the place.

Area Impacted: Morning Sickness: Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Employment May lose an average of 0-3 weeks of employment and/or use sick time. Job performance is reduced. Often are unable to work for weeks or months and may lose their job or be forced to resign. Daily Activities Can perform most household responsibilities at some point during the day or week when symptoms are less intense. May be unable to perform even simple household chores or care for themselves (shower, drive, etc.) when symptoms are severe. Energy Level Fatigue is mild to moderate and decreases workload. Recumbent rest is needed to alleviate symptoms. Fatigue may be severe for weeks or months. Bed rest is often a necessity. Prolonged fatigue is very common. Relationships & Socialization Relationships may be stressed but social functioning is only temporarily curtailed. Relationships are often greatly strained and may dissolve. Isolation is common and may lead to depression. Abuse and neglect of the mother may occur. Finances Financial loss due to medical care, loss of work, and use of sick time is significant but usually within a few thousand dollars. Financial loss due to medical care, loss of income, and additional paid services (child care, house cleaning, errands, etc.) can be devastating. Stress Level Psychological stress is mild to moderate and may result in manageable depression during pregnancy. Psychological stress is typically moderate to severe and often results in anxiety and depression. Increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD). Recovery Postpartum recovery is typical and usually takes a few months. Postpartum recovery is prolonged, averaging 6 months 2 years.

Egad! When I pasted and previewed this originally it looked very nice and neat and orderly. Now it's a mess!

Go to:

http://www.hyperemesis.org/hyperemesis-gravidarum/impact-hyperemesis/index.php

and ignore that previous mess of a post.

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orestia

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April 27, 2007, 6:32 pm PDT

Still checking...

Quote From: the_polkadot

Is there anybody still reading this message board and following the posts? I am wondering if people are still be as proactive to make sure that their voice is heard...If you are out there...I would love to hear your current thoughts and opinions on this case....

I'm definitely keeping up with this board. However, I haven't heard anything new on Allison's case. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for her, but sadly, I don't have much faith that the legal system will come down on her side. I think too much money is involved in the adoption business for her to get a favorable outcome.

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Messages By: orestia

HG 1 Year Ago

Small size and HG

Oh Please...

Bears Repeating:

EEP!

Still checking...