Sex, Drugs, Vomiting & Blockchain
By: Alyze Sam
Tags: Baby, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Health, Autoimmune Disease, Pregnancy

Happy Birthday, my Beautiful Boy!

HG Hope & Cope Guide for You and Yours.

Obviously, being condemned to a bed, hooked up on continuous IV’s, and facing everyone’s false or personal opinion, there’s a major physical and psychological toll HG Warriors struggle with. So, how will you survive? What’s to come? What’s there to be afraid of?

“Starvation begins when an individual has lost about 30% of their normal body weight. Once the loss reaches 40% death is almost inevitable.” Source: Time magazine, November 11, 1974, cited in Pojman, Paul; Pojman, Louis (2011). Food Ethics. Cengage Learning. p. 128.

I read things like this, and look at myself in the mirror. 46% of my body mass total lost. Before this disaster, I spent my spare time rock climbing, traveling, played/coached multi sports, belly dancing, competed in 5k’s, ran businesses, volunteered nearly daily, was at endless social functions- Now, I’m grateful if I can walk around the grocery store with my infant that weighs more than a third of my total body weight. Despite my excellent sense of humor, this disease isn’t a joke.

Here are a few tips I have to help with your HG battle.

1. Say GOODBYE, FAREWELL to unnecessary stresses in your life. Cut out negativity!!!! NOW. Do not listen to that friend that is always complaining about how bad her hair is….

You’re going to puke your baby out and stress does nothing but consumes your time while worsening symptoms. (No, you can’t medically give birth this way. Please do write it in as your preferred birthing method.)

2. Do not listen to the negative criticisms of others unless they pay your bills, write your scripts or they’re holding your hair back as you vomit. I am not being dramatic when I tell you the opinions of others have literally cost precious time, family members, friends, a means to make money, AND worsened my health, while lengthening my recovery time.

DO NOT LISTEN TO UNNECESSARY CRITICISMS AT THIS TIME!

Do you know the exhaustion of carrying ⅓ of your weight around on your hip with a spinal injury is like? It’s hard, and I can’t do it without help. No one has walked in my shoes, and no one else is walking in yours!

There’s no shame in having struggles.

3. Join a Tribe. There’s support groups lead by strong women I’ve come to know, one titled “Hyperemesis gravidarum; The Aftermath”. I’ve personally met other women with Hyperemesis gravidarum, it helped save my life.

One friendship was formed because a fellow local with the disease gave me her doctors information and I was able to get a picc line and treatment, which saved me and my son’s life. (Thanks, Jenny!)

4. Get smart. Becoming an expert should always be your goal in all you attempt. Educating yourself will not only allow your needs to be better met, it will be helpful when you have to make difficult decisions with your health care team.

Fun hg fact!

Some women find relief mid pregnancy. Many have ‘fluffy’ days aka “less-sick” days. (These are the days we try to binge eat!)

Photo Source.

5. Hire an EXPERIENCED TEAM of professionals. Untreated, or under treated HG patients face an extensive recovery in relation to the damage done. Upon seeking treatment for a rare and complicated disease, never attempt an individual not willing to collaborate with experts.

6. Document EVERYTHING. Keep a journal. Know your medications. Hyperemesis gravidarum is like a lot of things in life. It has a “song”. It’s a terrible country song about your pickup truck blowing up and your dog dying, but you’ll notice rhythmic patterns in your disease.

I could drink fresh juice made with alkaline water after my phenergan bolus at 11am. It was a ‘safe’ time. Most of the nutrition I retained was during this time period, if I had not written down each time I ate, took meds, used the restroom, or vomited; I wouldn’t have recognized a lot of issues that were treated by my specialists.

Photo Source.

7. Take your medications when they’re ordered. Do not skip unless your medical provider agrees.

Trust me on this, I’m a nurse.

8. Do not hire and pay medical workers insane amounts of money to turn around and ignore their advice. WebMD is a tool. Honestly, as a nurse, I’ll admit, when a patient said they “did some research and WebMD says…” I cringed and knew I would have to spend the next two hours of my life explaining anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and why it’s wise to take the path the licensed medical professional team has chosen.

Side note: Do NOT drink your own pee for a cure because someone on Facebook told you it worked for them. Just because someone has a degree does not make them intelligent. Get an EXPERIENCED medical TEAM.

9. Practice self care. I prayed, studied and meditated. Your days will pass more quickly if you put your thoughts and focus into achieving a goal, rather than thinking “I won’t survive.”

Photo Source.

10. Don’t punish the ones you love. YES, it’s frustrating to be ill for a long period of time. Pregnancy is 40 weeks on average, recovery is 8–12 weeks for NORMAL birth, a complicated pregnancy may result in a loss of a year or more of your life. Screaming, yelling, picking fights, blaming, bullying, arguing, shaming, giving guilt trips, or other forms of ‘punishment’ towards anyone taking care of you will not be in your best interests.

11. Treat depression. If you’re vomiting “your life away”, you’re going to be sad. It’s okay. Just ask for help. Don’t get it? Keep asking. You’re not alone. Find that person who has time for you. Sometimes, it just takes a little searching on your end. You’re a survivor and you made it this far… if you need someone to carry you to the finish line, that’s OKAY.

I luckily had a few good friends and a supportive partner. They were my depression medication, but you may need more. There’s also no shame in this.

I have an online following of 75k. I posted a ’10 year challenge’ photo and got a backlash of nasty comments on my ‘eating disorder’. My inbox FILLED with people making hateful, hurtful comments. My career suffered, I got extremely upset and I told my doctor I needed something short term to help with the sadness this disease causes.

I was attacked on Linkedin for “Anorexia” Little did they know, I was dying to keep food down, literally.

LASTLY

12. Keep Calm and…… The only goal is to see the face of your healthy child. That, in itself is a worrisome process for a healthy mother, add Hyperemesis gravidarum and it’s a freaking ‘Freddy Krueger’-nightmare of epic portions.

I know this is cliche, and I HATE cliches… but keep calm and take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.

Photo Source.

You’ve already thought about losing that child, or you may have already lost one, two, three…

There’s a magnitude of failure with Hyperemesis gravidarum no words can express. Further, there is no tool in existence to measure the depth of agony the soul exerts when a parent loses a child. Please know, calmness of the heart and mind will ease pain just long enough to get to the next moment.

You may find breathing and remaining calm are the only things you can control. This is a good thing. Meditate and be appreciative of each nanosecond. Concentrate on blesses. Bask in the idea of not being in control of this. It’s not ALL bad, even if that’s difficult to see.

Remember; Figuring out how to secure the rest of your basic needs may be a challenge, but you always have control over “taking a step back” and breathing.

A Special Thanks to You.

If you took the time to read this this, it means you’re suffering, or you love someone that’s very ill. I wish you a pregnancy of epic amounts of food, no puking, healthy weight gains, great health and beautiful babies. Don’t do this alone.

Call to Action.

Are you an Hyperemesis gravidarum sufferer? Have a friend or family member that is? Your story needs to be told.

Are you fighting for health and family?

I’d love to hear your story.

Can you relate?

Did your doctor tell you Hyperemesis gravidarum wasn’t “that bad?”

How do you feel when other women post their ‘belly’ photos, or talk about ‘morning sickness’

We are traveling the world teaching children financial literacy and rewarding kids for altruism!

Want to join?

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Sources:

8 Things You Can Say to a Hyperemesis Gravidarum Sufferer

thecozyden.weebly.com

Hyperemesis Gravidarum — NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders)

Yamada T, et al., eds. Textbook of Gastroenterology, 2nd Ed.; J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia, PA; 1995:1026–27.…

rarediseases.org