Ezekiel's Birth Story - pt. 5

Finally, at about the third-month mark, my doctor diagnosed me with Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

What Is Hyperemesis Gravidarum?

HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s).

There’s no set cure. There’s no one cause. There haven’t been many studies done. There are a few medicines that are supposed to help, but may or may not. (If you are experiencing HG then a good place to get information is http://www.hyperemesis.org/. I’ll add a link.) I was having major trouble with smells, standing up and getting dizzy followed by throwing up and excessive saliva. I believe mine was due to a combination of all three of these. Thankfully, my doctor was no stranger to this disease. He at first suggested Phinergin again, but I told him my concerns and asked if there were any alternative medications that did not cause drowsiness. He said he could prescribe Zofran, but that it was super expensive. $35.o0/pill out of pocket. He also prescribed a very expensive prenatal vitamin for women with extreme nausea. God totally had everything in hand. While I was being covered by the VA, Sam also had insurance. I took the prescription to the VA first, but they wouldn’t fill it because I was not a cancer patient! I’m hoping that policy will be changed. That’s not a good enough reason to refuse a prescription. They also didn’t carry the prenatals. I then took my prescriptions to a civilian pharmacy and used our insurance. I wound up paying $50/refill instead of over $300 for the Zofran and I think about $35 for the prenatals. Yep, quite a difference.  More later....