Messages By: gagirl11

I wanted to send in my thoughts regarding hypermesis.  I have watched my youngest daughter suffer twice with this horrible disease and I am so grateful that Dr. Phil is bringing national attention to it.  Her first pregnancy was just a nightmare.  We didn't know what hyperemesis was, neither of us had ever heard of it.  She started getting horribly sick around 6 weeks gestation and it continued throughout her entire pregnancy.  They finally delivered her baby at 36 weeks because she just could not go on any longer.  She had been hospitalized 6 times and I can't even count the number of trips to triage for IV fluids.  She finally hit the wall at 36 weeks and begged her doctor for an induction.  Even then she was so weak she could barely make it through labor and delivery and was even throwing up on the delivery table.  In addition to all of this her husband was deployed with the Marine Corps just before the baby was due.  Add that emotional trauma to the HG and what she went through was just unimaginable. 

As a result she had decided to never become pregnant again but this past November she did and about 12 weeks later the HG nightmare began again.  She is now 21 weeks and has already been hospitalized twice and has had many trips to triage.  This time she started out with a better doctor, Dr. David Dixon in Tallahassee, FL, and he has been treating it much more aggressively.  They put in a PICC line right after her first hospitalization and fortunately that has made a difference.  Currently she is taking Zofran, Reglan, Pepcid and Phenergan at night before going to bed.  He also currently has her on a 15 day round of steroids.  Fortunately she began turning a corner a couple of weeks ago and so far is doing better.  However, at 21 weeks she has already lost 30 pounds and so far hasn't gained any of that back.  She lost a total of 40 pounds during her first pregnancy.  It's absolutely amazing to me that these babies survive at all. 

My heart truly goes out to poor Allison.  I have personally seen the HG nightmare and what that poor woman went through defies description.  Thanks so much to Dr. Phil and his staff for bringing this into awareness.  I would also like to express my eternal gratitude to Kimber and the HER Foundation, they have truly been lifesavers for my daughter during this pregnancy.