Spitting up thirty times in one day during pregnancy and already feeling nauseous when you have to swallow. That is hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a very serious form of morning sickness. Miriam van Dijk (46) in Eva Schippers-Crumming (39) both had it and found each other in this difficult time.
Eva: “I experienced it during my previous pregnancy and I knew it immediately: HG struck again. I knew that the next few months were going to be very difficult. From that moment on -everything was too much for me. The sunlight, the voices of children playing outside. These were all triggers that made me suddenly start spitting up. Thirty hours a day was completely. normal.”
Miriam: “Very well known! During my first pregnancy, I had never heard of HG. Fortunately, I have a GP who heard my complaints and sent me to the emergency room immediately, and the then I was admitted for a week. He noticed that there was still a lot of ignorance about the situation. Then a nurse would say, for example: ‘You have to take these medicines.’ She stood in front of me with a glass of water and she didn’t realize that just the sight of that glass of water made me spit, and that was exactly why I was there I tried to explain, but I still had the feeling that I took the wrong bed while feeling so bad!
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“I’ve turned from a nice, honest woman into a greedy monster in the last two years. And I’m ashamed of that decision.”
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Very happy but so sick
Miriam: “When a friend said to me: ‘I know someone else who is dealing with this.’ I thought at first: yes, sure! You don’t hear it that often.
Eva: “I really enjoyed communicating with Miriam. It made me feel less alone. It’s a strange situation: on the one hand, your biggest dream is coming really and you’re very happy that you’re pregnant. On the other hand, you feel so terribly sick with it, we sent each other trigger warnings: ‘be careful, something’s coming that you might not like’ .’ The other person could easily respond with: ‘I’ll listen to him later, I’ve just been in hospital and I need to recover first.’
Miriam: “I can only describe my pregnancy as horrible. Because that’s what it was like lying in a bed upstairs in the attic day after day and not being able to tolerate anything. When I think back on it, I still feel emotional. When the children came – I’m a mother with a prize – home from tennis, I thought they smelled ‘tennis’, and now I couldn’t tell you what it smells like I couldn’t lights, no sounds, no umbrella, suffer. It wasn’t even the smell of the cleaner or the refrigerator.
A lonely rollercoaster
Eva: “A new life is growing inside you, but at the same time you have a feeling that you can no longer participate. The world literally passed me by as I lay flat in a hospital bed in the living room. I simply could not do that. do anything to the zoo once i dreamed what it would be like when she was born. And I filled a box full of cards with all kinds of fun things we could start doing after I got pregnant. To the pool, baking cupcakes, indoor dance party. it helped me keep perspective.”
EMDR therapy
Miriam: “HG is a real attack on your life. I understand that some women cannot continue with their desired pregnancy or sometimes even with their life. It is so intense .I still remember a moment when I had to go to the hospital for potassium infusions. The doctor in the room didn’t agree with it, but luckily he understood me. I was fine as it was.”
Eva: “I started with depression symptoms and I could hardly see bright spots anymore. Of course, my daughter is six months old now, but I’m still not what I used to be – both some mentally and physically. I deal with the problems with EMDR therapy, among other things being pregnant, and doing the daily things that I raise our oldest, but right now I’m still feeling nauseous with every ovulation, sometimes including split ups, and my energy level is barely recharging.”
Miriam: “Fortunately, my nausea disappeared after giving birth. I had a very nice maternity period, with good maternal care. My bed was downstairs and I was able to move outside for a while -now and again. I am also physically and mentally certainly not the old one yet birthday with a group of friends and family, but when I was preparing, I was already a ‘ felt like it was a bad idea and I dismissed everyone quickly it became too much for me. Fortunately, my job is lenient and they give me time to recover, but nam if it were up to me I would have started again a long time ago it’s hard to be patient for so long.”
More and more knowledge
Eva: “With a normal pregnancy they say: it’s nine months on, nine months off. Unfortunately, with HG that can be much longer. We think our story is very important to share, to help other women who are or end up in the same boat.
Miriam: “I was told at first: you are pregnant, that nausea is just part of it. But with HG it is very different.”
Eva: “Definitely! Fortunately, my midwife saw the connection with HG quickly this time, but if you feel like your midwife or other health care provider doesn’t understand you properly, sometimes it’s more better look for someone who takes you seriously.”
This article first appeared in Marie Claire 02 2024.
2024-05-12 14:39:05
#Miriam #Eva #illness #voice #spy
