Your moderators from outside of the US!

Discuss issues unique to your country such as your health care system, medications, etc.

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Your moderators from outside of the US!

Postby Cin » Nov 14, 2006 11:23 pm

Hello, ladies. My name is Cindy, also known as Cin here at HER. I'm now one of the moderators for HG Outside the US. I'm 29, have three children, and live in Canada's far North (Yellowknife, NWT). I've also lived in Ottawa, Ontario, New Brunswick (Moncton, Saint John and Frederiction) and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. I grew up in Sydney on Cape Breton Island.

My HG started during the second trimester of my last pregnancy. I'd already had three pregnancies and two beautiful sons. I had "bad" nausea and vomiting in pregnancy with the boys -- I was a public puker once a month, and was nauseated off and on for all 9 months. I thought I was "soooooo sick." Yes, I was a fluffy bunny!

My pg with Naomi started the same -- survived well with Diclectin and sleep. And then week 14 hit, and all heck broke lose.

You all know what happened next -- or some version of it. Puking up to 14 times a day. Killer nausea. Dehydration. Multiple hospital visits. IVs. Lost 15 to 20 lbs. Medical leave from my job as a journalist for CBC Radio. Every anti-emetic in the book. Pytalism. Sensitivity to sound, smell and movement.

Zofran saved me -- but I relapsed on and off for the rest of the pg. So I classify my HG as "mild."

Naomi was born Aug. 2, 2006. Hooray! That's her in my avatar.

I'm particularly interested in how ladies coping with HG living in rural or remote areas, and in any Canucks who hit the boards.

:hugs: to you all!
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Mom to Alex, 12 -- NVP
Isaac, 10 -- NVP
Naomi, 8 -- HG
Edward, 4 -- avoided clinical HG through aggressive pre-emptive treatment and pure luck (aka medicated fluffy)
Cin
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Postby bibliojo » Nov 25, 2006 12:11 am

Hi, I'm Joanna and also from Canada (specifically Vancouver) I'm 35 and have had two HG pregnancies. My first pregnancy was in 2002/03 and I was treated with Diclectin, Maxeran (otherwise known as Reglan on this site - the US name for the drug), Gravol and Ranitidine. I was hospitalized twice and required numerous IVs. My second pregnancy was in 2006 and I took Diclectin, Gravol, Ranitidine, and Zofran for the nausea and vomitting. I needed IVs just twice and had no hospital stays. I credit my second pregnancy being a milder form of HG due to preparing my body beforehand, finding an OB that knew how to treat HG and beginning meds immediately as soon as the nausea started and increasing the dosages as the NVP warranted.

I'm here to help any way I can whether you are from Canada or elsewhere in the world! Good luck to you!

Joanna
Last edited by bibliojo on Dec 15, 2011 1:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
2 HG pregnancies
Lukas - February 2003
Katya - October 2006

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bibliojo
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Postby Trudy » Nov 25, 2006 9:57 pm

Hi my name is Trudy and I am from New Zealand. I am 38 and the mother of 4 beautiful children, Beth and Adam here with us and Laura and Abby (Twins) in heaven. I have survived HG 3 times and know what is it to have to fight for your life, the life of your baby(s)and some decent treatment.

My 1st pg I was pg with twins and I spent 2-3mths in hospital with HG until we lost them. HG took our babies lives and almost took mine. I was given a range of medications but nothing was effective. I was given Zofran too late.

My 2nd pg the HG started at 5 weeks, I was admitted to hospital where I virtually stayed for 5mths. Zofran worked to control the vomiting but the nausea was horrific. The Dr's wouldn't give me Zofran at home so I stayed in hospital.

My 3rd pg I had nausea from conception and HG by 4 weeks. This time I only had 1 day in hospital thanks to early and aggressive treatment, thanks to the education and support I received from the HER Foundation

I am here to support you and hopefully help other New Zealanders' (and anyone else) prepare, get through, and deal with the effects of HG. The health systems in NZ are very different from the US.

I am always available if you need me.
Last edited by Trudy on Dec 12, 2011 4:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
Trudy
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3x HG Pregnancies
Abby and Laura went to heaven Oct 2002
Beth born 21 May 2004
Adam born 7th Feb 2006


“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars".
Trudy
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Postby Natalie » Nov 27, 2006 6:34 pm

Hi

I'm Natalie and I am from Bristol, England although I have recently moved to New Zealand. All of my experiences with HG took place in the UK. I have 3 children from 3 HG pregnancies which ranged in severity from moderate to severe, intractable / refractory HG.

HG with my first pregnancy began during week 7 when the morning sickness I had been having spiralled out of control. I received pretty horrendous treatment from my GP who diagnosed my condition immediately but then did not prescribe any medication to control the nausea or vomiting. I was left to suffer until week 10 by which time I had become totally incapacitated and had lost 15% (around 21 lbs) of my pre-pregnancy bodyweight. I had major food aversions including vomiting at the thought of food, smells were banned and I was only able to lie in bed on my side in a darkened room with no light, sound or movement. The lowest point came when I was throwing up every 15 minutes on the dot and dry heaving in between. I most surely had become dehydrated but still was not prescribed medication or admitted to hospital. It was a living hell. I had become was totally unable to care for myself which resulted in me leaving my husband for the first time in over 2 years of marriage to move 120 miles away so I could live with my parents to enable my mother to look after me 24/7.

It was only then that I was finally given medication (by a different GP) to control the vomiting. She did give me the option of going in for IVs but my natural aversion to the NHS and hospitals (I work in one) not to mention the particular hospital in question (ewwww) and my stubbornness (or stupidity) meant I took the decision to carry on as I had been. With the meds, the vomiting drastically reduced to a couple of times a day (totally manageable in comparison) but nothing touched the nausea. I also lost my job as a result of taking so much time off sick but I was just too ill to take them to an employment tribunal even though I had a great case.

Going into my next pregnancy, having found this site, learned about HG and written a protocol, I was adamant I would not take the same treatment as before. I had found the best GP in all of Bristol (or even the world!) and he was fully prepared to be proactive with my treatment. So when the nausea and vomiting began at 5 weeks, I immediately started meds. With that pregnancy, even the the nausea was ever present, I only vomited around 2-4 times a day but it was a total breeze compared to my first pregnancy. I still lost 12% of my pre-pregnancy bodyweight (14lbs) but was not nearly as bad as before. I put on my first lb at 24 weeks and it remains one of my highlights of my pregnancy!

It took over 3 years to pluck up the courage to go for our no. 3. I honestly thought from the years of being on HER, having written material that was published on the management of Hyperemesis that somehow I would be in control of the HG. Boy, was I wrong. I knew almost straight away that I was pregnant, well before any extra blue line turned up on a pregnancy test. Food was YEUCH! By 5 weeks I was dehydrated I was admitted by 6 weeks. I then spent 3 weeks in and out of hospital trying anything and everything to stop the vomiting but nothing, absolutely NOTHING worked. The longest I managed to stay out of hospital was 36 hours. By 9 weeks, the Drs stopped sending me home and I remained as an inpatient on the ward. All my fluids and meds were by IV and injection. the low point was when I was referred to a dietician who said if a treatment combination couldn't be found, I would have to be tube fed. We finally found a combination of medications that worked and I went home around 12 weeks on a cocktail of meds.

During that pregnancy I tried Bonine (sent over from a friend in the US), Phenergan, Stemitil, Cyclizine, Metoclopramide, Ranitidine, Zofran, Hydrocortisone, Prednisilone, Domperidone, plus others such as Pyroxidine (B6) and other nutritional supplements the dietician prescribed.

I think it is fair to say that it was worse than both of my previous pregnancies combined. It was hideous. I hope that is not too depressing to read. I think what made it manageable (just about) was my support network, a GP (different to the one in my first pregnancy but in the same GP practice) who was nothing short of amazing and a lovely Registrar.

If I never get to say this anywhere else, I will say it here: the staff from the nurses to the domestics on Cotswold Ward at Southmead Hospital were brilliant. Thankyou for the bottom of my heart.

I feel I have experienced the spectrum of treatment for HG on the NHS can be extremely variable; it can be great or it can seriously suck. Needless to say, I am keen that nobody should have to endure the same kind of treatment that I received during the first 10 weeks of my first pregnancy. I know in comparison to our HG sisters across the pond, the management and treatment of HG on the NHS is very different. Drugs available to them are not so readily available to us (if at all) but I want everybody to get great treatment across the board. I am also interested in helping to minimise the impact HG has on the other aspects of our lives. So, if you have any questions or need help with preparing protocols etc. do get in contact and I will do my best to help.

Natalie, x
Last edited by Natalie on Jun 24, 2008 3:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2003 - DD
2006 - DS
2010 - DS
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