When I found out I was pregnant, I was immediately worried about morning sickness like most pregnant women. My worry was heightened due to the women in my family becoming extremely sick during pregnancies. My mother was hospitalized and even required a feeding tube when she was pregnant with me.
As my pregnancy was in its early stages, I thought that I would escape this plague of extreme sickness, but by Week 7, I found myself in the hospital due to extreme dehydration, nausea, and constant vomiting. Over the next 9 months, I would be hospitalized over five separate times for an elusive medical phenomenon that appeared during pregnancy.
Upon my first visit to the hospital, I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or HG, is extreme sickness or vomiting for the duration of one’s pregnancy, not just the typical morning sickness seen in most pregnancies.
While I found that there is currently no cure for HG, there were methods recommended to try to mitigate my symptoms. While most of these common remedies did not work for me, there were a few natural and medicinal remedies that I found success with. Read on to see how I made it through my 9 months with HG!
Natural Remedies For Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Ginger is often cited as a natural remedy to combat nausea, and while that may be true, it was not the case for me. The two main things I used to fight my 24/7 nausea were peppermint essential oil and a handheld fan. These two remedies may seem very odd, but when put together, they did provide me with some relief or at least a distraction from my intense nausea.
Some research has found that peppermint essential oil helps with nausea and is a relatively easy remedy to obtain. I had success with soaking a cotton ball in peppermint essential oil, putting it in a small cup, and sniffing it every 5-10 minutes. The smell helped me focus on something other than my symptoms and would provide temporary relief.
Besides avoiding riding in a vehicle for extended periods (for me, it was 10 minutes or longer) or other non-pleasant scents, I found that having a handheld fan that provided a constant stream of air again helped me concentrate on something other than my nausea. You tend to get overheated when nauseous and constantly vomiting, so having a continuous airflow on my face seemed to help be a resourceful distraction.
Medication Remedies For Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Many medications can be prescribed for HG, such as Phenergran, Reglan, and Zofran. Even a combination of Benadryl and Vitamin B12 is commonly suggested to women who are suffering from constant nausea and vomiting. None of these medications seemed to provide me any relief. In the short term, there were times when these medications would allow me to stop vomiting long enough to “right” my system, but overall, I mainly found myself lacking any medication relief.
One of the only things that I found helpful in the realm of medicine in treating my HG symptoms was getting frequent IV fluids. I would visit the Labor and Delivery department at my local hospital at least once a week and receive fluids through an IV so I could rehydrate and hopefully stave off the intense vomiting that would inevitably rear its head again in 24-48 hours.
Another medicinal remedy that I relied on was taking antacids, which is normal when having acid reflux during pregnancy or when you are plagued with nausea and vomiting. While chewing antacids was not always an option, sometimes I could swallow antacids, especially if I had just received IV fluids.
Mental Health Remedies For Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Finally, the last way that I coped with my symptoms of HG was by having weekly sessions with my therapist. It is known that women who have HG are at a higher risk for depression during and after pregnancy, so having a plan for your mental health is essential during those nine months.
Due to the isolation of being sick or even bedridden for months on end, plus having the usual anxiety of growing a human inside your body, it makes sense why women would have an increased risk for depression. I was no exception and, thankfully, was in a position where I was established with a therapist and was able to have weekly sessions.
These sessions allowed me to have an outlet to talk about my experience besides medical professionals and my family. They even became another source to bounce ideas off of regarding mitigating systems. Mental health and its correlation to HG is often overlooked, but it is an important aspect of this diagnosis that should not be ignored.
Other Resources For Hyperemesis Gravidarum
We recently wrote an article, “What Is Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Understanding Severe Morning Sickness,” which provides an in-depth look at HG, its symptoms, other possible remedies, and a list of resources to visit if you suffer from HG.
Overall, the nine-month-long suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum is grueling and a unique experience for each person. Hopefully, medical professionals will make advancements in the future as far as treatment and understanding this diagnosis and provide relief to the tens of thousands of women who are diagnosed each year!
