I have two children and suffered hyperemesis throughout both pregnancies. Pregnancy for me was traumatic, lonely, and a very depressing time. I started vomiting around 5 weeks, vomiting up to 20 times a day, unable to make it through an icy pole/ice lolly. Water wouldn’t stay down. I lost weight and visited the hospital for IV fluids and medication.
Battling Daily Challenges
HG took over, leaving a shell of someone who struggled with everything and cried at the drop of a hat. It was exhausting. HG made me feel ugly. Ugly to look at. Ugly to be around. Daily mundane tasks became hard: brushing my teeth, eating, drinking, and being present for my husband and daughter. Cooking was impossible as I couldn’t set foot in the kitchen or near the sink, bin, or dishwasher.
Seeking Relief: Medication and Coping
By week 10, I was taking 4 pills a day to try and settle the vomiting and get myself out of bed. I took ondansetron and steroids to get through. Having hyperemesis is hard to hide. I did not experience the joy of announcing either pregnancy as I could not find any energy or excitement to do so. All my work colleagues and friends knew before I told them that I was pregnant, as they could see how sick I was. I took weeks off work and spent a lot of time in bed, as sleep was the only way I could escape the nausea and loneliness.
Find more information on medication and support:
Learn more about common medications.
Email help@hyperemesis.org for support.
View Treatment Algorithm.
Anticipating Milestones
During my first pregnancy, I kept waiting for the milestones, ‘you’ll feel better at 12 weeks, oh 16 weeks then, no, 18 weeks surely will be the key’. The anticipation of feeling ‘normal’ ate away at me as the day never arrived. Going for a second, I did not allow myself to think it would get better; I knew I had to accept that it wouldn’t.
A Lonely Journey
Having hyperemesis affected my mental health in many ways; it distanced me from my family and friends and took away the joy of others’ pregnancies and births. My vision of what pregnancy looked like was completely and utterly wrong.
Find support
- Email help@hypermesis.org.
- Support Groups.
- Find peer support.
The Long-lasting Effects
There are three years between my kids; it took a long time for me to get the courage to go again, and only the desire to give my daughter a sibling gave me the will to do it. The thought of being pregnant gives me chronic anxiety and, for a long time, really affected our intimacy. I developed such a phobia of being pregnant; I just knew I could not have another child ever again and underwent surgery to remove my fallopian tubes before my second child turned 2.
Both pregnancies felt like they went on forever.
Hyperemesis, a Unique Challenge
I had what hyperemesis sufferers call ‘fluffy days,’ days in which I felt better and more able to function. Still, the nausea did not lift until I gave birth. Some people equate it to a hangover or having gastroenteritis, and I do believe there are elements of these. Still, honestly, hyperemesis is in a league of its own. It is debilitating and unrelenting.
~ Hollie, Australia
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