by Proudmama » Mar 10, 2007 4:26 am
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my story of HG and other issues with you all so here goes...
After trying a short time to get pregnant, my husband and I were overjoyed with the news that we were expecting a beautiful little one. We were so excited. At four weeks, we shared our news with our immediate families. They were so excited. This would be both sides first grandchild. Since we live several hours and states away from any family, we hoped we could keep the news from extended family at least for a couple of months. At six weeks, I began feeling very ill. I could not stop vomiting. My husband and I just thought it was "normal" morning sickness. I talked with my mom (over the phone) and she said it was normal. If I would not think about it then I would feel better. In other words, "it was all in my head". After a couple of weeks, I called my OBGYN. The so called nurse said that I needed new vitamins. I tried to tell her that they would not stay down but she just insisted it was the vitamins. I proceeded to try these new vitamins. Nothing... A couple more weeks went by and I was loosing weight. I could not eat or drink (no ice chips either). My husband tried everything. He went to the store almost everyday to find me something I might be able to eat. Still, nothing worked. After several more phone calls to the Doctors office (only the nurse would talk with me), and trip to the ER for IV Fluids (only to have 2 liters of saline solution and an ER Doctor that said it was just morning sickness), my regular OBGYN appointment finally arrived. (By now, my parents know this was not normal). Now, you would think that my OBGYN would know that I (and my husband) had been calling her office. But no...she proceeded to "yell" at me for not calling her sooner. She said, "You look awful. You are green." I said that I had called her, at least 12 times in the past few weeks. The nurse said I could not talk with her. My OBGYN appeared very upset and left the room. She came back in after talking to the nurse in the hallway, and told me to start Zofran immediately. I did. After losing almost 15 pounds in just a few weeks, the Zofran worked. I felt better. I could now walk in my house without heading straight to the bathroom. I could actually leave my house to try going to the store. Before the Zofran, all I could do was go to work (no smells) and go home and sleep. At about 16 weeks, I was feeling better.
You would think that this would be it, no. My next Doctors appointment, the so called "nurse" ran the screens for birth defects early. This caused my results to read a false positive. My husband and I worried for a couple of weeks about our baby. Finally, we get a call saying that the "nurse" messed up. We would have to run the tests again. She misread my chart. We retested and thankfully, everything was fine. I was so upset. Needless to say, that was the last time the nurse worked with me. (I later learned that she had been let go). I guess that I was not the only one she had messed up with.
Anyway, baby time arrived. My mom and dad had been out visiting a couple of weeks before my due date. My mom decided to stay an extra week because she felt that I would deliver within the week. She said that you are going to have a large baby. She was right. I was so glad she stayed. A couple of days later, I went into labor. My regular OBGYN was not going to be there but one of the other Doctors would deliver my baby. After nearly 24 hours (3 hours of pushing), the Doctor said she would have to try to deliver my baby with a vacuum since the head appeared to be stuck. She had to do a double episiotomy to use the vacuum. This did not work, she needed to use the forceps. She tried and tried. She said one last try and we were heading for an emergency c-section. I did not want that so I pushed. This caused me to tear. I ended up with a third degree tear. My 9lb 6oz. baby boy was born. He was the largest baby born that night (including scheduled c-sections). The Doctor said she would have done a c-section if she would have known how large my baby was going to be (he was two weeks early). My regular doctor did not seem concerned that my baby was large. My husband and I were so happy to have our healthy son.
Still, my issues were not finished. Not only could I not nurse by son, due to lack of milk, but I was so sore I could not move. At my six week checkup, my doctor would not even discuss my nursing issue. (I went to a lactation consultant. She was surprised with my problem and told me to see my doctor. I tried everything but my doctor would not see me. I could only give my son 1 oz of milk with each feeding. I was so upset.) What my doctor did do was perform a third episiotomy because of the way I healed. I was sore for another few weeks. Around 12 weeks after giving birth, I was having bladder control problems. I went to see my Doctor and she said it was just normal. One year and a half later, I am still having these problems. I finally went to a Urologist/OB and he finally told me the cause. By having such a large baby (compared to my smaller size), my bladder muscles have weakened. My bladder is lower than it should be. I am now on medication.
Needless to say, I have since changed OBGYNs. I will be going to my first appointment with my new Doctor next month. My husband and I spoke with him about my HG and he believes in it and is willing to actively treat it, should it rear its ugly head again.
Regardless of what I went through, I am so thankful for my handsome baby boy. He is my world. I would go through it all again for him.
One side note, when I went to pick up my medical records from my old OBGYNs office, the ER information was there. It stated HG for the cause of my visit. Image that, HG but no one tells my husband or myself. We just were told "normal" morning sickness.
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Baby #2
DH and I decided to try for a second baby. This time, we found a new Doctor through numerous phone calls and an interview. My new Doctor told me that he has dealt with other HGers in the past and would actively treat me if I develop HG once again. He also wrote me a script for Zofran right then and there. Well, once again, within a very short time, I was pregnant. I called my OB, who was very surprised that I was pregnant so quickly, to set up an appointment. He actually called me personally to make sure that I was not sick yet. He told me that at the first sign of vomiting, call at once. It only took few weeks to start to get sick. I was miserable. I began to vomit uncontrollably. I already had plans in place (thanks to this website) to have my dad bring my mom out to help with my DS if I were to get sick again. Well, I called my parents and out mom came to help. I ended up in the ER for the first time around 7 weeks pregnant. My OB was very upset that I did not call him first and the ER did not send my report to the office. After the first pregnancy, I was very skeptical of actually calling my new Doctor. I was extremely dehydrated and my weight had already began to plummet. The next day, I called my Doctors office and he moved my first appointment up. Upon my checkup, he wanted me in the next week for a weight check. I did not make it a week as I landed back in the hospital. I had lost over 15 lbs in about 9 weeks time. My Doctor immediately set up Home Health Care nurses to tend to me. I tried oral Reglan, oral Zofran and numerous other stuff but nothing worked. My Home Health Care nurses put me on a Reglan pump but that did not help. Upon their request, my Doctor called my insurance company and demanded that I be placed on a Zofran pump. It help a little but it was combined with oral Reglan. My weight continued to plummet. My Home Health Care nurses tried to get my Doctor to send me to a High Risk OB and to start steroid treatment and place a PICC line in me. My OB decided that he did not want to go that route as he had a patient in the past with HG that he did this and she nearly died due to complications. He instead placed me back in the hospital for more IVs for a few days. I was down nearly 30 lbs before I started to feel a bit of relief. My Doctor decided to pull my nurses (of which I was opposed). At my next visit, I continued with oral Zofran but was not feeling well once again. I told my Doctor that I was very nauseous but he said that was normal in the second trimester. Once again, a few days later, I was back in the hospital for more IVs. By the third trimester, I was in a full relapse. I had lost 6 lbs in just one weeks time. My Doctor treated a feeding tube my weight continued to drop. I was back in the hospital for IVs. When I was released, I still was unable to eat much of anything. Thankfully, my weight held steady but contractions started early. I went to the hospital and got more IVs. My next appointment, concern turned to my BP. It was very high and the nurse rushed to get the OB. He suggested I take it easy. My next appointment, my BP was even higher and I was told stop work immediately and go on bed rest. The next night, my water broke and my DD was born. She was 3 weeks early but healthy and a lot smaller than her big brother, weighing in at 6lbs 10.5oz. I had one last vomit after she was born and then I was HG free. I weighed less after she was born than I did when I became pregnant but she was worth everything. I would not change a thing. I am blessed to have my two beautiful babies.
Jamie
DS born 2004-HG (Week 6-Week 20)
DD born 2006-HG (Week 5-Delivery)