Hyperemeis Last Time And Getting Ready To Do It Again gluten-free

[imagine22]

Hi,

I had hyperemesis last time (on zofran the ENTIRE pregnancy) and it was just horendous - lying there for months with 24/7 severe nausea and vomiting; unable to eat, drink, read, watch tv, listen to music, go anywhere etc as it all made me vomit even more. I had nightmares about being pregnant for months after my beautiful daughter was born.

SO understandably im terrified about doing it again but I was diagnosed with celiac recently and am hopeful it wont happen again if i stay gluten-free.

My specialist for celiac says i need only wait a month (or a couple of weeks!) of gluten-free before trying to get pregnant but ive read here that people are waiting much longer? My biopsy showed marked damage so its not a mild amount to repair so im not sure now how long to wait to give myself the best chance of a normal pregnancy without debilitating hyperemesis.

Ive been gluten-free for a week and still feel really tired all the time so do you think i could try after i start to get more energy or should i wait 3-6mths? do you think there is hope for a hyperemesis-free gluten-free pregancy?

[Ursa Major]

I believe there is an excellent chance that any upcoming pregnancies should be completely problem free, if you're very diligent with the gluten-free diet. But I disagree with your doctor about waiting only 2 weeks to a month before trying to get pregnant.

Your body needs a lot of energy to heal the intestinal damage, without the added stress of 'making' a baby. I'd give it at least six months, to make sure that most of the healing has taken place. It will take longer than that to heal completely, but if by six months from now you feel more energetic, and you think you have figured out the diet sufficiently to be safe, than I say 'go for it'.

Another thing is, that at the beginning, you inevitably make mistakes and get yourself glutened. It really takes a while to figure it all out. Shopping will be stressful, you have to figure out how to cook gluten-free, you will still need to get people around you to understand.........there are many stressors. A lot of people get depressed and discouraged at first. This is not the time to be pregnant if you can help it, even if you wouldn't have to worry about healing the damage to your intestines.

I know you sound like you really want to get pregnant now. But you'll be glad eventually if you wait a few months. You will also be able to be more confident that you've ensured a healthy pregnancy, and hence, a healthy baby.

[azmom3]

I had hyperemesis with all my pregnancies until the day I delivered also, so I feel for you. I don't think people can even begin to imagine what it's like unless they've gone through it themselves. I remember the no tv, music, lights, etc., and the non-stop vomiting, IV's, zofran, etc.. This was the most stressful time (physically and emotionally), of my life. It's been over 2 years since my last was born and I still think about and compare everything to what I went through. If only I'd known about being gluten free then.......

I definitely agree with Ursula that if you can wait, you will probably be so glad you did and both you and the baby will probably be healthier because of it. If there's a chance that this can prevent or lessen the severe and debilitating sickness, then I would give it 110% effort and get yourself as healthy as possible first.

I would love to hear how everything goes with you. I've always wondered if there was a link somehow. I tested negative for celiac, (but am not ruling it out for me yet), and my son's blood test was positive. He was by far my most difficult pregnancy....hmmmm.

Either way, good luck to you.

[lonewolf]

I had hyperemesis with both my daughters and was absolutely miserable both times. (During my first pregnancy I had actually lost 19 pounds at 20 weeks and lost 2 jean sizes ) My son wasn't as bad, I just felt nauseated without actually vomiting more than a few dozen times for the whole 9 months. I wish I had known about gluten and Celiac back then. I'm positive it would have been different.

I would advise you to wait a few months too. Let your body fully recover from your first pregnancy - guaranteed you had it harder than most- and let yourself heal from the Celiac damage. My health completely broke down not long after my 3rd was born - too much had been taken out of me. (Mine were 21 months and then 20 months apart.)

[doulagrl]

I had Hyperemesis (HG) with my last pregnancy with my son. I agree that no one can understand what it is like without having been there. My mom loaned me her laptop computer to keep me busy but even the blinking of the cursor would send me running to throw up. Our insurance company wouldn't pay for Zofran so I was on Phenegran and Reglan and the whole pregnancy. I was terrified about getting pregnant again (I'm now 29wks along) and knew nothing about gluten intolerance. This pregnancy started the same way. I lost a 10lbs in under 2wks and was trying to deal with an active 2.5yr old while throwing up every 30min. I was talking to a friend about my lifelong battle with poor health and she put two and two together and suggested I go gluten free. We didn't know there could be any connection between HG and ingesting gluten but within 48hrs of stopping the gluten I stopped vomiting. I thought it was just coincidence, that perhaps this pregnancy was different and I had just hit a point where I would stop throwing up. I went almost three months gluten free and saw huge improvements in my health and didn't throw up once the whole time. When I did a brief gluten challenge within 24 hrs to vomiting returned and again stopped as soon as the gluten was cut back out. I"m still learning and one of the first signs when I accidently get "glutened" is I'm head first down the toilet throwing up. I then know to go back over the past 24hrs and try to find out what it was I ate. Everytime there has been something with a hidden gluten ingredient. I also have a friend who also had a very similar health history to mine, including recurring mono infections and severe HG. She spent a lot of her pregnnacy in the hospital was diagnosed with Celiac two years ago. They had decided not to have any more kids and I'm now trying to track her down and let her know that her HG might have been gluten induced and perhaps they can have more kids after all.

So I'm very hopeful for you that you will have a healthy pregnancy. I agree with the other ladies that you should wait a while to get pregnant to give your body time to recover and renourish before stressing it with a pregnancy. I'm so sad that we didn't know about this before I got pregnant and the little boy I'm carrying has been diagnosed with a cleft lip by ultrasound and there is a good chance that it was caused by my body's inability to absorb suffiicient Folic Acid during those critical first 12wks. So please to give your baby the best start possible; wait a while to allow your intestines to heal, make sure you are taking a good vitamin supplement and calcium to help build back up your body and make sure you are taking a the higher recommended dose of folic acid so your body is ready when you try to conceive.

Mel

[imagine22]

Thank you all for your advice. I had better wait longer than my Dr sugested, as you are right it takes a while to get used to the diet and not get glutened! i have only been on it nearly 2 weeks and have stuffed up accidentally twice.

doulagirl oh i hope like you i can aviod hyperemesis by eating gluten-free! the stupid thing was i would wake every morning of my pregnancy and take my zofran wafer and eat gluten for breakfast and that was my best chance all day to keep something down as it was after the zofran - and i had gluten every day for breakfast!

the last 2 days i think im starting to feel less tired but i know it will take months for my body to repair to a state ready for a potentially difficult pregnancy. Last time i was in perfect health - had prenatal vitamins 6 months breofre pregnancy and ate well and exercised daily etc then got hyperemesis anyway - but i think the preparation was the only think that helped my baby turn out so well as i got practically nil nutrician for the first 4 months then minimal for the rest of the pregancy.

thanks for your help everyone