Letter

[BethersinMN]

Dear Dr. Phil:

As I sit and try to come with the right words to describe how this disease has affected my life there are just not enough words. This disease affects so many women and ruins what is supposed to be the happiest moment of their life their pregnancy bonding with their baby. These women are your sisters, mothers, wifes, business women you name it. This disease has no mercy and can affect just about anyone. Sadly, many women including myself, without the right treatment choose to end their misery and we then have an unimagniable hell to live with, a baby that was never born. A part of our future gone forever.

I got hyperemesis in 1995 while pregnant with my first born son. At this time, I was married to a alcoholic who was very unsupportive and never there for me. Hyperemesis started in at week 9. My OB dr. having never treated anyone with such an illness thought this was just morning sickness and would give me medication and told me it would go away. I was constantly given an IV and Compazine. I was drugged up and cold and miserable. Unfortunatly it didn't go away, until there were 30 trips to Urgent Care for non-stop vomitting and 45 trips to the hospital between the 3rd to the 8th month. My beautiful son was induced and born January 9, 1996 and is a very healthy 11 year old boy.

I remarried and my second pregnancy ended sadly in miscarriage. My third pregnancy was due to intenstional blockage and the baby had to be taken. I am guessing it was due to so much zofran medication and not being able to go to the bathroom. My 4th pregnancy we started medication earlier on and I was doing great till my OB took me off my medication cold turkey for depression and my body went into withdrawal. I then was unable to eat or drink for a week and I had to have that baby taken out. Vomitting for me when it would hit lasts about 17 hours non-stop even with medication.

This disease has caused so much pain in my life. I have lost 3 beautiful babies. Two of my babies I believe lost to this horrible disease and it's impact.

We are trying again with wonderful perientologists that will do everything they can to get us through.

Thank you for doing this segment and for getting out there information to the public on this disease. I can't tell you how much it means to me and all my sisters at HER Foundation and we can only hope for a cure so that more women do not have to suffer.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Malecha
Lakeville, Minnesota