jemimah wrote::?: Hi I'm Jem from OZ - Australia. I live in Victoria (Mornington Peninsula) and have suffered undiagnosed hg for 2 pregs (I say 'undiagnosed' because both times I lost 10 kg and vomited for 9 mths but doctor was unhelpful and unwilling to discuss my situation. Got the feeling he thought I was a hypocondriac (spelling?) all in my head) I am DESPERATE - we want to have one more baby but I CANT GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN. I need a proactive doctor who is willing to treat me - am willing to travel. Anyone from Aust who can suggest an ob/doc?
I plan on 'interviewing' docs before I fall preg this time - I have to be prepared 'cos I will have 2 littlies to look after, a house to run, a job and LIFE TO GET ON WITH. I suffered PND mildly this time, which I put down to the negligent way my preg was handled so I need some suggestions.
HELP!
Hi Jem
Traci again, sorry it took a while to get back.
I have 3 sons and had little or no treatment with the first two. I know how you feel...I could not have had this baby without the support of the women on this group. This time round I took some medication and needed to get to the hospital every day for drips, and I managed better than before. It was still difficult to even be in the same room as my boys - then 1 and 3 - and I did absolutely nothing to look after them or the house. Fortuanately my husband knew the routine. I was completely out of action until week 20 but it took me most of the pregnancy to feel any energy again. I wasn't sick for the last trimester but it wasn't until I delivered that I again felt full of energy (despite 3 boys
)
I only saw one doctor in Australia - a gp because I couldn't get into an ob. My parents are in Yeppoon QLD. I wasn't pregnant at the time but preparing for this last pregnancy. The doctor gave me a prescription for Maxolon. I couldn't get him to agree to any other drugs but I don't think he really considered me to have a problem that Maxolon wouldn't fix. He hadn'T seen me while I was sick.
I also know (from other posters here) that Stemetil is also given frequently in Australia. Phenergen is available and so are steroids and zofran although you will need to find a doctor who is willing to prescribe them. Zofran is very expensive in Australia and not necessarily covered by insurance. A few of the prescription drugs were a little bit cheaper when ordered through the internet (Australian sites).
I am sorry but I don't have my file of information any more. You wil need to look up the medicines listed on this site and find the Australian names. Post a question here if you need help with this. I found that the blooming awful site had a list which used the Uk name and US name which helped a lot.
Then you can decide what medicines you would be happy to try. Some women have a reaction to some medications. If you find a helpful doctor while planning a pregnancy you might get some samples to try before to check that you don't have a reaction to a particular drug. It would be better to know beforehand that something is not going to be possible rather than wait until you are already feeling sick.
It would also be worthwhile checking with your insurance company to see which medications are covered.
Some of the medications are available over the counter in Australia. You could easily stock up on them. Some are available over the counter in the US or elsewhere and I am sure we could find someone willing to send some to you.
I had a friend in Spain and managed to get diclectin cheaply over the counter. (not available in the States and somewhat expensive when ordered on prescription from Canada) I chose that medication because I was in touch with Motherisk in Canada and had a friend there who could organise things for me. I didn't talk to my doctor here about what I was taking. You are hopefully in a better situation where you can see a range of doctors and fins someone to help.
I noticed Satyam (and the other Australians) haven't been on here yet. Someone will have more information than I do. Please keep in touch and between us we should be able to help get some information ready for interviewing doctors (even if you do phone/email correspondence with someone in a bigger city). There is a page on this site that should get you started.
http://www.hyperemesis.org/mothers/refe ... doctor.php and when you find a doctor you could suggest that he/she read the information for practioners as listed on this site.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Traci (my boys are enjoying the sun in their new sandpit made by Pop-pop while baby boy is asleep)