Do You Have Hyperemesis Or Morning Sickness?
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Are you pregnant and experiencing extreme nausea? If so, you may be suffering from morning sickness or Hyperemesis gravidarum. Morning sickness is quite common in women, which is characterized my nausea usually during the morning. However, some women experience morning sickness that is unrelenting and lasts all day. These women have hyperemesis gravidarum, which is simply a form of morning sickness that is very severe. Women suffering from this are unable to keep the proper amount of food and liquid down. This causes problems for the woman and the fetus. This is a complication in pregnancy that is quite rare, although severe when it occurs. It is believed somewhere from .3% to 2% of pregnant women experience this. It is difficult to nail down the number specifically because morning sickness is something that many women experience and narrowing down those who have the severe form from those with mild or medium levels is more of a challenge.
Causes
Doctors do not know why some women experience hyperemesis gravidarum, HG for short. Currently, researchers believe that the hormonal changes in pregnancy are the reason some women experience HP when others don’t. One hormone that is raised during pregnancy and is a likely culprit is HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin). This could be the reason some women experience HG and even lighter forms of morning sickness. On the other hand, several things could be playing into the problem. For example, raised levels of progesterone and estrogen could be partially to blame. These could cause hyper-salivation and make it more difficult for the stomach to digest and empty ingested food. An immune response to the baby could also be part of the problem. The truth is that doctors and researchers just don’t know what causes HG although they do have some clues.
Another school of thought is that the pregnant woman has a psychological condition. For example, if it was an unwanted pregnancy then the woman’s brain may be causing the extreme nausea. This theory has been disproved, however some doctors still buy into it. If you are experiencing HP and a doctor tells you this then you should seek medical care elsewhere.
Symptoms of Hyperemesis Gravidarum
There are many symptoms of HG and if it is not treated properly you may experience some of the following symptoms. For example, you may experience dehydration, ketosis, strange sense of taste, nutritional deficiencies, loss of five percent or more of pre-pregnancy body weight, metabolic imbalance, and others.
There are some women who have experienced HG and lost as much as 20% of their weight. Part of the problem is that certain smells make the problem worse. Women who experience HG generally notice symptoms before women with simple morning sickness and it usually lasts longer.
Diagnosis
If you are pregnant and find yourself dehydrated and losing weight although you are trying to eat then you need to see your doctor. More than likely the nausea began in the first month of pregnancy and you have not been able to control it despite trying to. If you have a fever, abdominal pain, and your nausea began later in your pregnancy then you probably have a different problem like hepatitis, appendicitis, gall bladder problems, or some other infection. With any illness during pregnancy you should seek professional care.
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