How I Ditched Debilitating Morning Sickness (HG)
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If you’ve ever experienced morning sickness so bad that you couldn’t function, this is for you. You’re not alone and there is hope.
I was pregnant. And miserable. I mean,I was excited about our little baby that we’d get to hold and love that fall. But daily, it was a battle to be joyful.
I know that I’ve instantly offended some of you, because sharing my struggles with just my friends yielded a rather broad response base.
I heard, “Be thankful, there are dozens of women who can’t get pregnant” and “Sick means you aren’t miscarrying!” and “I’d give anything to feel like you do if I could just have a baby” and “Be joyful; you don’t want this baby to every hear what you’ve said and think you didn’t want it.”
And scads of variations of those (unsolicited) admonitions that I just couldn’t seem to appreciate.
I heard every single one, and each one pierced my heart.
I need to tell you that I understand those sentiments and even said them to myself during that season.
But what I suffered from is beyond morning sickness.
It was nothing like the normal queasiness and puking I’d experienced three times before.
This time around I was vomiting between ten and fifteen times a day, sometimes more. I lost 7 lbs in three days when it started and lost steadily throughout the first and second trimesters.
Oh, and that was with a prescription anti-nausea pill from my OB.
I also experienced a slew of other “delightful” symptoms that I won’t gross you out by sharing.
I struggled with feeling hopeless and depressed, because I was too weak to care for the children I already had and I felt like I was failing this tiny little life inside of me.
Knowledgeable people in brightly colored scrubs kept telling me it wasn’t that bad, and treated me like it was all in my head.
Well meaning women would lavish me with words about how blessed I was, and all I wanted to do was throw up on them instead of running for the bathroom.
It was a truly trying time.
What did I have?
I had morning sickness on steroids, aka Hypermesis Gravidarum (HG).
Nothing inside my body felt right and I was afraid I wasn’t getting all I needed for the baby. I was completely miserable and I could barely function. I’d been throwing up water, for goodness’ sake!
We had six children other than this one we were anticipating that missed me being able to be me.
I wasn’t able to eat a meal with them for over a month because I was always in the bathroom.
I wasn’t able to play or laugh, because I was too busy trying to stay alive and keep the baby growing inside of me safe and nourished.
I was scared.
This challenged my life in a way I never imagined pregnancy could. Many have said they understand, but unless you have spent more time hugging a toilet than hugging your children, you just don’t. This quickly became one of the most discouraging seasons of my life.
And then one day a wonderful woman pointed me toward a European study. This study linked H Pylori with HG in 90% of the women studied. Wow.
I continued to read and seek out what others did to find relief. They shared the results studies they had read, various remedies they had tried, and what foods had worked for them.
Now, not every woman with HG has h pylori, and I get that.
However, if it was the missing link for me, I was willing to dive in and try something…anything…for relief.
I didn’t find a single one that suggested a remedy I felt was comprehensive enough based on the medical studies I had been reading, but I felt this one explained best what foods are good for women with morning sickness challenges, especially those with HG and HP.
This article was hands down the most detailed with many great references that were not in ‘medical speak’ (I strongly suggest reading it). There was a lot out there, now that I had an idea where to look.
DISCLAIMER:
But first, I have to tell you: I’m not a doctor.
The following information isn’t intended to cure, treat, or prevent any disease (not even your morning sickness!). I’m just sharing what I did and my experiences with this wretched sickness.
The information included in this post is for entertainment purposes only, and is only meant to be informative. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for your own situation, or if you have any questions regarding conception, pregnancy, or your prenatal treatment plan.
After all of my research, I pieced together a regimen that seemed to address what I was going through.
Here’s what I settled on, and what I did for 3 weeks.
I continued with some of the treatment, not all, for the rest of my pregnancy (also noted below). By the third day, I was able to keep more food down than I had on any day prior. Two months of misery were now being eclipsed by the hope of healing!
So what worked for me?
Here it is:
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- Baking soda, 1 tsp in a few ounces of warm water, before treatment. Why? Because it prepares an ideal environment for the H Pylori to come out of hiding so that the following treatment will be more effective. Also, it helps settle the stomach even better than calcium chewables or gooey pink tummy settling medicine or anything else I’ve tried!
- Coconut Oil, 1 TB 3x daily. (My favorite coconut flavored brand is this one, while my favorite unflavored is this one). This is an anti-bacterial medium chain fatty acid that is very healthy for a myriad of reasons. I do this all the time, anyhow, but am much more diligent right now.
- Himalayan Pink Salt, 2 tsp daily. I add this to the baking soda and just knock it back, 1 tsp in the a.m. and on in the p.m. H Pylori creates a mineral deficiency in the body and this is a great way to build it back up.
- Colloidal Silver, 3x a day, 1 tsp each time. The purpose of the silver to fight the bacteria in your body by binding with it and removing it. If you’re tummy isn’t empty, it can’t do that, so timing is quite important. {This I will only do for 21 days, not the entire next trimester}
- Magnesium Citrate, 2-3x a day. This one you listen to your body on. Don’t take it to the point that you get really loose stools. The purpose of this is to help combat the magnesium deficiency that often leads to this particular bacterial infection, as well as to help move it out of your body. It has other benefits such as relaxing and soothing, and relieving some of the other symptoms that go with HG (such as headaches).UPDATE: I began taking BioCleanse, which is part of the Plexus Triplex for my magnesium needs, after the 21 days.
- Probiotics, per package instructions. This creates an internal environment that is hostile for H Pylori growth and helps to reset gut balance and establish some healthy bacteria, which is critical for feeling and being healthy but has been lacking because of everything else.
- Cook with spices (once you can eat)! People around the world use these spices to treat H Pylori: oregano, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, thyme, ginger and raw honey.
- Drink filtered water with fresh lemon. Filtered water is great for healing because tap water contains many things that are harmful for us, but our body needs water. The vitamin C in the lemon is also a potent enemy of bacteria. This is also good for the liver. Our family uses a Berkey water filter, and has for years, but any filter you choose should be fine.
A Word of Encouragement
If you are suffering from HG, you have my sympathies and my prayers.
I’m so sorry you are experiencing this.
Please remember, it’s only a season. It will come to an end and you’ll have your sweet baby to hold and love on.
It may be a very long season (mine lasted all 9 months, although I got significant relief once I used the above regimen).
In the mean time, I pray that you find what works for your body. This will not last forever.
You feel like it will, but it doesn’t. I pray you will find joy and have moments of relief!
I went on to have a healthy baby boy who wasn’t my biggest, but wasn’t my smallest either. I was able to nurse him, and also able to get back on my feet a few weeks after birth.
My recovery did take a little longer than other births, but my body was starved and tired, so this wasn’t a shock. Two and a half years later, and I’m pregnant again but with no HG. There is hope, sweet mama.
I am experiencing everything described however, I am not vomiting. There was one day I did 4 times because I made myself just get it out, in hopes I would get relief. I’ve had stomach problems my whole life and i have never been one to vomit. I am bed ridden all day and an barely get up to go to the bathroom, let alone take care of my toddler. I’ve honestly thought about having an A…. I feel hopeless and helpless.
I’m so sorry you’re feeling so poorly. I hope your doctor can help you find a solution; it sounds like a very challenging pregnancy. Hang in there; it’s always worth it once you get to hold them, but it’s hard to remember that when you feel awful.
Can this regimen be started at any time in the pregnancy? I’m currently 5 weeks only and I feel the nausea starting. I’m trying to do positive self talk and keep claiming I will not be bed riddenly I’ll this time. Last time was horrible. The. Whole. Pregnancy. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t stand the smell of people. Even my kids and husband sent me vomiting. I guess I’m just trying to mentally prepare myself with an arsenal of ideas in case this pregnancy yields lots of puking like the last.
Oh my dear, I feel your pain. I remember my 4th pregnancy being like that – but my fifth was so much better; I’m praying yours is, too.
As for advising you, I can’t give medical advice — I’m only sharing my experience here and what worked for me. My best pregnancies were those where I ate very little to no sugar and good amounts of protein (I followed the Brewer diet) and took supplements.
I am 7 weeks and just did the baking soda remedy. And OMG. My stomach deflated like a balloon . I can feel the nausea disappear. My stomach no longer looks bloated. I mean ginger works but not like this. This was instant. I may try the other remedies but for now im liking this one. Thanks for sharing. I am 41 yrs old and have 3 grown kids and a 4 yr old and currently 7 weeks pregnant.
I’m so glad you found relief; I know it’s kind of gross going down, but the relief was wholly worth it for me.