If you are reading this, my guess is that you are pregnant, in which case congratulations! However, it also means that you are experiencing severe morning sickness (or maybe even just morning sickness period). For that I am sorry. Unfortunately, surviving severe morning sickness during pregnancy is something I am very familiar with. Some may say I’m even an expert at it!
Throughout both of my pregnancies I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravardium (HG). You may remember Princess Kate had this! What does this tongue twister mean? Well for me this meant that I vomited from week 6 of my pregnancies until week 40. Oh! But wait! It didn’t stop there. With the vomiting came weight loss! I was down 10lbs at 5 months pregnant to be exact! And then of course there was ALL the food aversions. My menu for my first pregnancy involved about 6 items and with my second it was shockingly less. It is pitiful to say that I was lucky to consume 1000 calories per day. I was vomiting a minimum of 3 times per day. At times I would vomit so uncontrollably that I was hospitalized. Does this sound familiar for anyone reading? If so, then I urge you to keep on reading!
I have developed a guide for surviving morning sickness during pregnancy whether it be mild, moderate, or severe, just the first few months or the whole darn pregnancy. Having done this 2 times through I have tried every tip, trick and recommendation given to me (and trust me everyone and their mothers gave me their 2 cents!!!). Without a doubt I know the struggle and I am here to tell you that you are not alone, and you WILL get through this.
Now let’s get started on surviving morning sickness during pregnancy!
*Please note these are simply suggestions as to what worked or didn’t work for me through my pregnancies while coping with HG. Always consult with your health care provider first.
Regular IVs saved the day
I can’t stress enough how magical regular IVs were to help with hydration. I pleaded for my doctor to set me up with a home nurse so I could receive regular IV with my first but was told it was not possible. However, when I got pregnant with my second, I could see things were much worse and I didn’t want to have to go to ER every time I couldn’t stop vomiting. I am lucky enough to live in Canada where this service is covered and available. With that said, please PLEASE advocate for yourself and request regular IV. If I would have had this in my first pregnancy I likely would have prevented any hospital visits.
Anti-nausea medications work for some but not for all!
Again I need to stress that I am not a medical professional but in my experience anti nausea medicine, Diclectin in particular, was in no way effective for my condition. My OB had me taking up to 8 a day and I was still vomiting. Not to mention it made me super drowsy as if I wasn’t already from being pregnant! Any doctor I encountered kept pushing me to take diclectin regularly insisting it would help. Trust me, with my first pregnancy I was diligent in taking it as the doctor ordered with no improvements. With my second, the doctor agreed that diclectin wasn’t strong enough.
Next we tried gravol which also didn’t work and managed to make me even more tired. Finally she put me on Zofran which she called “the big guns”. She sadly told me that if this didn’t work than nothing would. Sure enough I was still vomiting while taking it and I was already very nervous about how it would impact my baby.
Needless to say I tried it all and nothing helped. So I stopped it all and my condition remained exactly the same. I would have much rather not taken anything for the sake of my baby and although I had 2 very healthy and happy babies, looking back I should have stopped this much earlier. Always remember it is your choice when it comes to medications. If after a few weeks it still isn’t working, it likely won’t work.
Tune out people who tell you they experienced the EXACT same thing
Reality is HG only affects less than 3% of woman. There is a BIG difference between first trimester morning sickness and 40 weeks of aggressive morning sickness. With my first pregnancy, I found this to be one of the most discouraging things is when people would tell me about how bad their morning sickness was for the first few weeks. Most would lecture me on how this is all a “normal” part of pregnancy. They would ask if I tried ginger, soda cracker, diclectin or acupuncture because it helped them so much! I felt like screaming at them because of course I tried everything and anything to stop this terrible feeling. I thought I was going to go crazy if one more person ask me “hey did you try…”
Reality is, everyone experiences pregnancy very differently. Therefor, not one thing is going to work for everyone. I encourage you to try everything of course! But know that what you are experiencing is different from someone else and try to avoid comparing!
You are not crazy or weak, your experience is REAL!
For the first few months people expect that a pregnant woman will be vomiting and nauseous but after that 12 week period people start to think you’re exaggerating or just not trying hard enough. Do you feel this way at times? Because this is how I felt!
Just remember this is your experience and it is very real! You are not going crazy but just hang in there because it is temporary. I promise it will end if not within a few months than you will feel like a million bucks once the baby is born like me! Seriously, as soon as the babies were born the nurses could see my colour come back instantly and my appetite returned to normal. It was AMAZING!
Don’t compare yourself to others at the same stage of pregnancy
For both my pregnancies, lots of my friends and family were pregnant at the same time as me with similar due dates or later. People would constantly comment on how small my belly was compared to others. Without a doubt these comparisons weren’t very polite to the person they were comparing me to. Also, it made me feel like I was harming my fetus because others were growing so much more than me! In actual fact, every woman’s body is built different, and every baby is built different. Even the position of the baby can affect how your bump looks!
So embrace that bump and ignore how other people’s bumps look or what other people say.
Your baby will be perfectly fine
Last but not least, this will not impact the health or weight of your baby. My doctor kept stressing that the baby will take everything and boy was she right! My first child was 7lbs 6oz and my second was 6lbs 7oz. Needless to say there wasn’t much baby weight to lose in my case since I gained under 10lbs with both. But they sucked all those nutrients from the minimal things I was eating. And maybe some extra nutrients from my hair, teeth and skin but it all went back to normal!
So try to focus on staying physically and mentally well as best you can because your baby will continue to take it all from you and be healthy and happy!
There you have it! A guide to surviving morning sickness during pregnancy. I hope you find this helpful because I certainly wish I had someone telling me these things when I was pregnant and struggling.
If you are looking for ways to keep. your mental health in check during this trying time read the post on 10 Ways to Become Mentally Fit
Please pin and share on Pinterest and follow me, Running on Forks.
Cheers to a healthier you!
Tricia
xo