Preventing HG Podcast: Hyperemesis Gravidarum | Pregnancy | Morning Sickness | Nutrition | Root Causes | Alternative Treatments

I've been there before. Panicking in the bathroom, wishing it wasn't true.

It's a hard question to try to answer because nothing I say is going to make you feel magically better. If you're already sick then more than likely it's going to continue to some extent. But learning what works best for you and fighting it everyday could mean the difference between hospitalization and infection, or staying home.

If you haven't done it already, I highly suggest you get a Doctor's appointment, the soonest available.

Ask for medication and start taking it round the clock right away. If you haven't gotten sick yet, you could just have it on hand until it starts. For some people it's violent from the start. Keeping yourself out of a bad cycle of dehydration and vomiting and not eating is the overall goal.

Medication to ask about:

• Zofran: (prescription) (ondansetron) Anti-emetic (it helps control the vomiting)
• Unisom: (Over the counter) (doxylamine) anti-histamine (helps control the nausea)
• Diclectin: (prescription) (Pyridoxine/doxylamine) which is unisom and B6 together in a time release capsule.
• Phenergan: (prescription) (Promethazine), (I.V., suppositories, pill)
• Reglan: (prescription) (Metoclopramide) dopamine-receptor antagonist. It can help with nausea and vomiting by helping with gastric emptying. It's often given to people with GERD. However, one adverse effect to watch out for is called tardive dyskinesia. It can also make you feel tired, restless and anxious.
• Gabapentin: (prescription) (Neurontin) anticonvulsant and analgesic, usually given to control seizure disorders or neurological pain. This is still being trialed and is not commonly prescribed. Adverse effects for pregnancy are unknown.

Dealing with constipation as a side effect of medication, notably Zofran. You can ask your doctor for a stool softener to be proactive and try to prevent constipation from happening. You can also try milk of magnesia or another kind of magnesium pill or liquid. That can help in numerous ways, including getting some much needed magnesium. If you're already constipated, I would suggest doing more than that to try to get ahead of the problem. Glycerin suppositories (can be found in more drug stores in the U.S.) Enemas (like Fleets brand enema): It comes in a self contained package with saline. One time use.

• Willard water
• Saline
• warm water

Magnesium oil: You can make it yourself. It's actually not an oil but a solution of equal parts magnesium chloride and filtered water.

What would you tell someone with HG who just found out they were pregnant?

Interview with Lily Nichols, RDLily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified LEAP Therapist and Certified Pilates Instructor whose approach to nutrition embraces real food, integrative medicine, and mindful eating. Her practice focuses on digestive health, food sensitivities, and of course, prenatal nutrition. She's passionate about helping moms with gestational diabetes control their blood sugar using real food, mindfulness, and exercise. Her forthcoming book, Real Food For Gestational Diabetes, will be available in 2015. For more from Lily, including her free ebook, 33 Yummy & Healthy Pregnancy Snacks, visit PilatesNutritionist.com

In this episode:

• Gestational Diabetes (GD) aka "carbohydrate intolerance"
• A1C test gives an average blood sugar of the past 3 months
• Testing in the first trimester can predict GD with 98% accuracy
• By the tenth week, there is a 3 to 3.5 percent increase in insulin production than normal
• Insulin resistance in the second and third trimester is the body's normal way of shunting glucose to the baby
• Why the current recommendations don't make sense
• The difference between nutritional ketosis and diabetic ketoacidosis
• How you can control you GD with diet
• Why medicine may be needed
• Why we don't have enough studies on ketosis and pregnancy
• Why the studies we do have are poorly designed
• Gluconeogenesis: Glucose can be made from fat and proteins

I had a great time talking to Jessyka Earl about her experience with HG. She has one child from one pregnancy and she was sick right up until her premature labor and birth. She had to change doctors during her pregnancy when she didn't get the care she needed. She was also never formally diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. This is common but if you're not getting the care you think you need, seek a second opinion.

Jessyka's wake-up call came at about 6 months post-partum when she started feeling like she had HG again. That's when she decided she had to take her health seriously and to try to figure out what was going on. I hope this episode is helpful for you.

You can follow Jessyka here or email her. jessyka.naile@ gmail.com

Things that were mentioned in the episode: Zofran Seabands Stress can cause nutritional deficiencies. How to know if you need Magnesium. Why you need Zinc. Why you shouldn't take magnesium and zinc at the same time. (Take zinc in the morning with food and then start taking magnesium, spread throughout the day.) I put together a booklet that explains this in further detail. You can sign up for the download here.

Since I first published this episode, I've heard from many people about this topic. There is a lot of interest about medical marijuana for seizures (especially for children, because it seems like a safer alternative to most anticonvulsives), cancer, pain, and of course, nausea. I found a few articles about it that I didn't have last time. Hyperemesis Gravidarum and Clinical Cannabis: To eat or not to eat. It's long, but makes some good points about starvation during HG. Pregnancy and Medical MarijuanaHere's an interesting study: Infant exposure during gestationSince then, Ricki Lake announced she was directing a new film called Weed the People. It's about the use of cannabis as a medical treatment for children. I've enjoyed Ricki Lake's other films like The Business of Being Born. (Side note: She's also set to direct a film about Birth Control. I can't wait for that.)Thoughts?

Amy Upchurch almost died in her first pregnancy because of an infection she got from her PICC line. She was hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum during that pregnancy and the next two. It was during her fourth pregnancy that she took matters into her own hands. She and her husband had been researching the causes and associations with HG and they had developed a protocol which she started as soon as she got pregnant. While she still had nausea and some vomiting, it was a huge difference from any of the previous pregnancies. She and her husband now sell these products in their online store called, Pink Stork Solutions. Listen to the podcast to hear what she did and why. Check it out and sign up to her mailing list to get a coupon code and the full protocol that she developed. You can contact Amy on facebook, twitter, or through the Pink Stork Solutions website.For more information about the Folate vs. Folic acid debate, check out this article. If you want to learn more about how Magnesium, Zinc and B vitamins work together to help prevent HG, check out my e-book here.

Have you ever wondered what Acupuncture was or whether it's worth the time and money? In today's episode I talked to Julie Chang from Fertility Revolution. She's been an acupuncturist for the past 15 years. She uses Chinese Medicine, which includes herbs, acupuncture, supplements and nutrition to help women and men grow their families.

Fertility Revolution Podcast is a 5 day a week podcast talking to anyone from infertility doctors to attorneys and infertility advocates.

We discussed when to start therapy, how to evaluate whether acupuncture will work for you and the best time to seek treatment. Hint: it's not when you're vomiting 10 times a day.

I found several interesting studies that showed that acupuncture could limit nausea and vomiting in Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The key is consistency which can be a problem for women if they don't have enough help or support or funds. If this is an option for you, it's certainly worth a try.

Send Julie an email or connect on Twitter. Listen to her podcast here.

Have you tried Acupuncture? Did it help you? I'd love to hear about your experience.

Today's guest, Dr. Tom Guttuso, is currently conducting a four-year clinical trial to test the efficacy of Gabapentin otherwise known as Neurontin, with refractory Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Initial results of the small pilot study were positive. Dr. Guttuso also talks about how drug trials work and the only thing that they're testing.

There is a closed facebook group dedicated to talking about Gabapentin during pregnancy. Request to join if you'd like to interact with other women who have taken Gabapentin during their pregnancy or would like to. There are other Doctors in the U.S. who are willing to try Gabapentin before the study is complete, especially for severe Hyperemesis that was controlled with other drugs. The group often post studies that they find, like this one. The results  look promising.

I know many women can't wait until the study is complete to try to have another baby. Would you consider taking Gabapentin or will you have to wait to see the results in 4 years?

Diana had 3 full-term pregnancies with Hyperemesis Gravidarum before her current pregnancy. During this current pregnancy, she was not free of nausea but she has not taken any medicine or vomited even once. The difference? She stuck to the low carb, high fat diet from before conception through to today.

There is a lot of controversy about using a ketogenic diet during pregnancy. Some say it's unwise, impossible, and not worth the risk. Others, like Diana, have found it to be a lifesaver. In fact, she said that this pregnancy was the first pregnancy that she did not fear being pregnant and found herself feeling happy. That sounds like a win.

I plan to continue to explore this idea. I don't know that it's for everyone and there is very little research done at this point, but some women are trying it out of desperation. Logically, I think the risk is small, but I know that many will disagree with me. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Keto Pregnancy This blogger's wife was in ketosis during two pregnancies Message boards are often the best places to see people talking about this Article discussing metabolism and ketones JImmy Moore's Podcasts about Low Carb diets and Ketosis And his book, Keto Clarity (Affliate link)

Diana's blog What is Blighted Ovum? (Diana's story) What helped Diana with Post-partum Nausea Diana's protocol for very low carb before pregnancy Facebook group about Ketogenic Pregnancy

I struggled with this one. I started interviewing my guests months ago and I asked each of them this question, but I hadn't really thought about answering it for myself.

It's a hard question to answer.

Every time someone answered I had that feeling like I could've said that. I've thought that. That was my experience. Except my guests said it in a more articulate way. Last night as I was trying to answer this question for myself, and I kept bumping up on this...for lack of a better word....contradiction. It's a contradiction.

I want to get rid of HG. I want to lessen the severity. I want to never have to go through it again. And yet, I'm thankful? It's made me a more resilient person?

This is true in so many areas of life, right? Overcoming poverty makes a person stronger. Overcoming cancer makes a person pursue a healthier life. Being bullied makes someone an advocate for the defenseless. But that doesn't mean we want poverty, cancer, or bullying. Or that we don't want to prevent it.

It is a contradiction. But we can still hate the bad things and use them to make the world a better place AND not want anyone else to go through what we went through.

Maybe it's in the overcoming it where the magic is because it still hurts to hear of someone who has HG. It still makes me remember the nausea.

At least that's my conclusion.

What do you think? How did HG change your life?

Mentioned in the Podcast:

Tara Bulin: Preventing Hyperemesis Gravidarum facebook group Jessyka Earl: The Unexpecting Blog Holly Amy: Previous interview with Amy. Ashley Ziegler: Itsy Bitsy Little Blessings blogDiana Johnston: The Whining Puker blog Vanessa Pack: The Ayden Rae Foundation Dani Doughty: The Ayden Rae Foundation Amy Upchurch: The Pink Stork Solutions

Today's podcast is an interview with Albert Donnay, a toxicologist, who became interested in Hyperemesis Gravidarum when he saw that the symptoms were similar to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. It was around the time when the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her first child and suffering with HG.

I know many people are skeptical of this theory and I was to at first. I don't know if this applies to me, but what is interesting is that it does match up for others. Not everyone knows if they've been exposed to carbon monoxide because it's odorless and tasteless. Listen in to find out:

• The risk factors in your life that could have contributed to carbon monoxide exposure
• Why the symptoms go away as soon as the baby is born
• The simple and free solution

Resources: www.mcsrr.org CO detector: Rattler T40

Take the SURVEY HERE. This is for any woman who has been pregnant to fill out, even if you did not have Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Thank you for taking the time to fill it out. It will help Mr. Donnay do more research.

What do you think? Have you looked at any old pictures to see if you showed the signs of the telltale face of CO poisoning?