Published via Ecency

(Source: https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Battle-Sick-Silent-Forgotten/dp/B0FF9TT5DZ)

I had an extremely rare stroke of luck 🙏 Recently I connected with a prominent HG advocate and survivor (if you're unfamiliar with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, just stick with me for one minute). I reached out to her and asked if I could pray for her.

Well, she was touched by the gesture so deeply that she gifted me with her book for FREE. And I am deeply touched by her gift because I am also an HG survivor -- three times now.

So, to touch back upon my first point, Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a severe condition that can occur during pregnancy. While morning sickness is a natural phenomena that many women experience, HG is NOT. It is identified by its chronic nausea, vomiting, and the inability to retain any food or liquids.

"Despite affecting over six million pregnancies globally each year, HG remains severely underfunded and misunderstood. ... They found the gene. Then they found the mutation. Now, with your help -- we can find the cure."

As I stated earlier, I have endured this condition on three separate occasions -- 3/5 pregnancies. There is no direct cause (there are genetic mutations, in SOME cases), and there is currently no cure. Because health professionals need to take the developing baby into consideration, medication and options for relief are very limited.

"A study led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC ... found that variations in GDF15 significantly increase the risk of developing HG. This discovery shifts the narrative -- HG isn’t simply 'severe morning sickness' or a psychological issue. It’s a biological condition with deep genetic roots."

The last time that I struggled with this condition -- nothing helped. Medication was able to provide temporary relief, and after a certain point, even that would stop working.
I was overnight at the hospital, back to square one, because I had eaten a muffin -- something that obviously was not a "safe food" for me and sent me hurling every 15 minutes again. Despite the fact I was doing poorly again, the doctor discharged me in the morning with the advice of "light foods."

"Too many women are told to wait it out. To try crackers and ginger ale. To 'give it a few more weeks.' ... By the time most women receive adequate medical attention, the damage is already done. They've lost weight, vital nutrients, and sometimes hope."

I have suffered terribly in the hands of healthcare professionals. I have had my family doctor refuse to see me until my scheduled appointment, another 5 days away, despite the fact the hospital and I had exhausted all of my options. I have suffered two miscarriages due to the stress of having to cope with HG entirely on my own. I have had nurses smile when I've informed them that I've passed the baby.

(Our little Elijah)

"The doctor said it was just morning sickness. ... All mothers do NOT go through this. But we’re taught that doctors know best, right?

"By day three, I was vomiting more than I could count. 10, 20, 50 -- 90 times a day. It didn’t matter what I ate -- or if I ate. Food wasn’t the trigger. Existence was. The act of breathing, the smell of shampoo, the flicker of light through the blinds, even water -- fucking water -- sent me into violent, convulsive heaves.

"I told her—my doctor. And she barely looked up from her clipboard. 'Try eating crackers before getting out of bed.'

"Crackers? That’s what she had for me? I was down 10lbs. in a week. I couldn’t keep down sips of water ... I started to feel like a child again. Like I was being patted on the head and told to stop exaggerating. But I wasn’t exaggerating. I was dying -- and no one was listening."

After my second miscarriage, I began to prepare prior to conceiving. I knew that for my next pregnancy, I would not be able to trust our healthcare system, so I began to fully place all of my faith in God. I started taking vitamins again; fasted from time to time. Most importantly, I cut back on recreational smoking.

"A baby cannot survive inside a body that is shutting down. A baby cannot thrive when the mother is dying. You have to survive first. You are not weak. You are not selfish. You are not broken. You are choosing life. And there is nothing shameful about that."

Now -- thanks to this book -- I have every tool readily available to me. I am currently 6 weeks pregnant, a period that would normally have me starved and keeling over into the toilet, and I'm the best I've ever been. I am going to share how I beat HG naturally.

"HG doesn’t just ravage the body. It shatters your fucking mind. It traps you in a cell made of pain, starvation, silence—and shame. And in that prison, it dares you to find a reason to keep living. In the darkest hours, when my body trembled and the nausea clawed at my insides, death didn’t feel scary anymore. It felt like mercy. Like freedom."

I want to start off with a quick disclaimer: a large portion of combating HG is preemptive, meaning it must take place PRIOR to experiencing the condition. I am going to list the Top 4 things that helped me eradicate HG before it had the chance to start:

#1: God: again, I completely put all of my faith into God. I knew that I was not even going to consider healthcare, so I did not give it any thought. Rather, I actively worked to repair my relationship with God. During my last pregnancy, I constantly prayed the Hail Mary -- I have ceased partaking in idoltary since. To this day, I have remained true to my word: no doctor's appointments! 🙏

#2: Diet + Lifestyle: I participated in a couple of 24-hour fasts prior to becoming pregnant. 72-hour fasts are the goal, however -- they completely reset your bodily systems and can even help your body produce stem cells!

"Mitochondria are responsible for metabolizing fats, proteins, and carbohydrates through three critical pathways. If any of these are disrupted, especially in the liver—the body’s central hub for detoxification and fat metabolism—the results can be catastrophic."

Vitamins also helped, with L-carnitine being the most important one. This book helped confirm my suspicions of this molecule for me; I was researching it during hyperthyroidism. It delivers fatty acids to the mitochondria of the cells.

""One possible trigger is carnitine, a molecule that helps transport fatty acids into the mitochondria. If the fetus carries a mutation that affects carnitine processing, it may cause a toxic overload in the mother’s body. This overload could be one reason HG starts so early and hits so hard."

#3. Stress: this has been a HUGE contributing factor to my HG. Hence why I stated that these things need to be done prior to becoming pregnant -- you do NOT want to learn how to cope with stress while vomiting! 😅 I have had to ignore things that bother me, stay offline, cut off arguments with my husband, approach my children softly, and walk away from people and situations that are hurting me. I have not told any family about this pregnancy for that very reason -- they're extremely unsupportive...

#4. Weed: now, once again, having survived 3 HG pregnancies, I truly do not need any judgment. I know what works for me, and my two living children are perfectly healthy partaking during their pregnancies. Weed kept us alive... But, because I will be using it as medicine, I dramatically cut back on my recreational smoking beforehand. I have gone from nearly 10 tokes/day, to only 3 (5 on a really nauseous day...). It curbs the nausea, helps me eat, helps me sleep, and most importantly, it allows me to SURVIVE and actually enjoy this pregnancy! 😭

"Some mothers with HG have found relief using medical marijuana, particularly those with moderate symptoms or when all other medications have failed. In certain cases, cannabis has been described as life-saving."

Again, a very big thank you to Starr Andrews Strong for gifting me with her book. This resource has been more helpful than the hospitals! 🙏 When you're in the thick of HG, it can be extremely depressing, isolating, and soul-crushing; hearing others' voices helps bring light into that darkness. I'm grateful to have come across Starr's story. If you, or someone you know, is suffering from HG, then I highly recommend this book for you. Never be afraid to fight for yourself -- especially before it is too late.