Different Shades Of Green …I mean, “Morning Sickness”
There are about 80 bajillion ways that morning sickness can affect (or not affect) a pregnant woman (or her husband). Forgive me for the number, I’m just guessing on that figure. She can be sick all day, she can not feel it all, she can be sick but still on her way…or…a whole bunch of other things.
Me, I’m much too complicated APPARENTLY for plain ol’ conventional morning sickness. (My body hates me.)
So, to clarify…
I have hypoglycemia. It’s where your blood sugar can get really low, and for the most part it just makes you miserable, but if you let it get too bad, you can encounter some huge consequences. Like, death and coma being the biggest ones. It took me about 19 years to figure the whole hypoglycemia thing out. It took a while to put a name on it, as it’s hard to test for it (within the perfect time frame), and then it took a while for me to figure out HOW and WHEN and how much to eat. And, more importantly…how often. But, I did. And, just like that my hypoglycemia was under control – only rearing it’s ugly head if I forgot to eat or didn’t have a chance…or skipped lunch for a brownie.
But, then…all of that goes down the drain when I get pregnant. My body morphs, and I no longer know what’s going on. I get the same hypoglycemia SYMPTOMS, but BIGGER…more magnified. Maybe it’s a chemical change, maybe it’s because the pinto bean we already have named that’s living inside of me is eating all of my food…who knows. Maybe it’s all of that and more.
My first pregnancy was significantly harder…not because the symptoms were different…but, because I had NO CLUE what was going on. I just thought I was probably going to die or something. Ish. I cramped frequently, I couldn’t walk or sit up, NOTHING stayed down, I passed out like it was a new thing and I felt all around like crap. My doctor suggested smaller meals, but of course…I knew that. But, how you go smaller than orange gatorade, I’ll never know. I couldn’t keep ANYTHING down. I refused to believe that it was hypoglycemia, something I’ve battled my entire life, because it didn’t feel the SAME.
Nobody told me that pregnancy can MAGNIFY your current condition – regardless of how “in control” you (thought) you were.
Until this pregnancy…and it all makes sense.
So, I have all of the same symptoms as last pregnancy, and while I don’t FEEL much better at least I KNOW what’s going on. And, it’s not me dying.
I have an incredibly new modified diet: LOTS of fruit, NO beef or pork (at least until I’m no longer throwing up, last time the Morning Sickness went away after the 1st Trimester), eat every 2 hours…something, lots of water, and as much protein as I can stomach. Oh yeh, and I have to eat lying down…especially the “bigger” more filling meals of my day. Sitting and Standing are iffy. Sometimes I can, sometimes it’s out of the question. It just depends on how my body is processing the food. I carry around an “oh shit” bowl and have food stashed in every room pretty much. L eats most of it. After some meals, I feel great – if only for 30 minutes. And, then some days…I can’t get my sugar up at all and feel like crap all. day. long. (Like yesterday.) Unfortunately, getting your sugar levels back up once they’ve bottomed out (which mine are more prone to do at this point, as opposed to when I’m not pregnant), can be hard. It SEEMS like you could just pop in a candy bar and go, but I can’t. Well…I could…but in 10 minutes, I’d be laying on the floor and totally out of it. Pure sugar will make your levels rise like crazy and bottom out. So, instead, I have to eat complex carbs and protein…and, lots of it.
And, while death and coma are the BIG “symptoms” for hypoglycemia, those are both pretty unlikely. For me, at least. Unless you put me on a boat with no food. I think I’d have to not eat for at least a couple of days…or a week or something.
What IS happening?
I’m dizzy.
My brain spends half of it’s time in a fuzzy state – especially when my sugar is low. Imagine how you feel right after waking up (being awoken…that confused state).
I have to be careful how I exert the little energy I have. Would I rather fold laundry or would I rather get up and go pee and grab a snack? Because the oatmeal and fruit I just ate will last me for a bit and the baby will get the rest. It’s about choosing. Darn, sucks to not be able to do laundry.
Showering has become a thing I only do when hubs is home. I know my limits from last time and I’ve fallen way too many times.
I sleep alot. Something about being “sick” or with lower than normal sugar levels makes you REALLY tired. Or, maybe it’s the pregnancy. Or both.
The bowl.
Sudden onset of dizziness, clammy hands, and blacking out. I don’t get the “warning” time like pre-pregnancy. It hits and fast. I don’t move around alot, but when I do, I’m generally ready to sit down in a split second. I’m not above sitting down in the middle of the grocery aisle or parking lot. I can either do it by my own free will or let nature and gravity do it for me…which hurts a lot more and really makes my OB not too happy.
And, from last time – I’ve learned that it is NOT GOOD to “help” yourself throw up. You know how you feel so much better afterwards when you are sick because you drank too much the night before? Well, not so much in this case. Once I start throwing up, I keep on. And, then…it’s an uphill battle to get your stomach to accept more food, which causes all sorts of issues.
BUUUUTTT….as sucky as I feel, I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress from LAST TIME. I know what’s going and why, although I’m still struggling to fix it. Heck, maybe after a few more pregnancies I just might have this all figured out. Heh. Oy. Anyways, if you have been pregnant AND hypoglycemic (that’s been magnified) all at once, and you figured out to kick it’s arse, let me know. I’m doing the special diet thing and all that jazz, but there has to be something more. So, if you know…please share the info.
And, if you just found me through a google search, I’m really really sorry you feel like poo. It should get better really soon, and if you have to – you can always go to the doctor and get a special IV where they’ll raise your sugar levels and bypass your stomach (because it goes straight into your blood)…that always made me feel much better. Just sayin’. And, don’t make yourself throw up, and just keep remembering that in the end, it’ll be worth it all and more. That, I can promise you.
PS – I’m slightly behind on mailing out my pkg to my bloggy swap partner. I’m planning to bribe my husband to take it tomorrow. I’m going to blame being sick and a 4 county wide power outage (which was us and everyone else) for my lateness…but, it was mostly because I waited til the last dang minute. Sorry. I promise I’ll mail it soon. Tomorrow, hopefully.
Welcome back!
Comments
Kim
Oh Ash.. I feel terrible that you feel so horrible.. I wish I lived closer to help you out..
HUGS to you..
Siobhan
I feel bad for even admitting this, but I never had morning sickness with either pregnancy. I DID have about 4 weeks of nausea and having to sit down and only move my eyeballs, but no projectiles. Great tips though if I ever get pregnant again and it DOES happen, because you know I just jinxed myself, right?
Feel better soon!
Zoeyjane
Honey, I’m telling you: oranges, really salt soup broth (like won ton or lipton’s onion), and 2% chocolate milk. Between those and stoned wheat thins, I only passed out a few times.
ann
Boy does this bring back memories. I too have hypoglycemia, not diagnosed until 2 years after my daughter was born, she just turned 20. I gained 21 pounds during pregnancy, lost 55 afterwards and I wasn’t heavy to start with. I looked anorexic. I simply could not eat enough to feed me and her.
I ate every hour. I got a food thermos and put it beside the bed so that I could eat immediately upon waking (cottage cheese and berries were my best source in the morning, though now that has too much sugar for me to tolerate.)
These are some suggestions:
-Avoid all grains (whole grain or otherwise, grains for very sensitive hypoglycemics, which you are during pregnancy, can really affect your blood sugar).
-In the same vein, avoid potatoes, rice.
-Stash dried apricots everywhere. I have them in my purse, beside the TV, beside the bed, in the washroom, everywhere so that you can get to them fast, even in your pocket (in a baggy of course). Eating 1/4 to one half an apricot slowly (really chew it, swish it around your mouth) can give you enough sugar to raise your blood sugars without spiking them because there is also fiber in them. This can give me 15 minutes or more to get to a real food source. Did you know that digestion of carbs or sugars begins in the mouth so if you take the time to swish it around and let it be absorbed you can eat much much less and prevent spikes. Always eat though, this is not enough to sustain you, it just saves you from passing out.
-Avoid lots of fruit, there is lots of sugar in it. Stick to berries and applies for low sugar fruit. Always pair it with a protein such as cheese, nuts, peanut butter. Never eat fruit alone. No fruit juice at all.
-Up your intake of vegetables, avoid root vegetables though such as parsnips, turnips, maybe carrots. Eat green beans, wax beans, peppers, squash, etc. Always eat vegetables with lunch and dinner. I like a really full salad for lunch which includes lots of veggies plus a protein and a homemake dressing of olive oil, vinegar and spices. Good oils help you to stay full longer. I try to have 3 vegetables for dinner. Vegetables don’t include potatoes though.
-Snack every hour if you have to. It felt like I was eating constantly, but I started to feel better. They can be small snacks.
-Eat 1/2 hour before bed. Hopefully this will sustain you through the night. If not, have apricots ready for if you experience low blood sugar at night and have a snack there too. For a while during the pregnancy I had to wake up and eat during the night.
-I know I said no grains, but one grain that was and is still good for me is oats, rolled oats not instant. See if you can find gluten free, for some reason gluten can affect hypoglycemics. Put a small amount of berries in the bottom of your bowl, add a small scoop of soy or whey protein powder, vanilla can be nice though make sure there is no added sugar. Cover with rolled oats. Add seeds or nuts if desired. Add milk. Microwave for 1.5 minutes. Eat. This can help you last for up to 3 hours if it works for you.
Luck.
ann
Boy does this bring back memories. I too have hypoglycemia, not diagnosed until 2 years after my daughter was born, she just turned 20. I gained 21 pounds during pregnancy, lost 55 afterwards and I wasn’t heavy to start with. I looked anorexic. I simply could not eat enough to feed me and her.
I ate every hour. I got a food thermos and put it beside the bed so that I could eat immediately upon waking (cottage cheese and berries were my best source in the morning, though now that has too much sugar for me to tolerate.)
These are some suggestions:
-Avoid all grains (whole grain or otherwise, grains for very sensitive hypoglycemics, which you are during pregnancy, can really affect your blood sugar).
-In the same vein, avoid potatoes, rice.
-Stash dried apricots everywhere. I have them in my purse, beside the TV, beside the bed, in the washroom, everywhere so that you can get to them fast, even in your pocket (in a baggy of course). Eating 1/4 to one half an apricot slowly (really chew it, swish it around your mouth) can give you enough sugar to raise your blood sugars without spiking them because there is also fiber in them. This can give me 15 minutes or more to get to a real food source. Did you know that digestion of carbs or sugars begins in the mouth so if you take the time to swish it around and let it be absorbed you can eat much much less and prevent spikes. Always eat though, this is not enough to sustain you, it just saves you from passing out.
-Avoid lots of fruit, there is lots of sugar in it. Stick to berries and applies for low sugar fruit. Always pair it with a protein such as cheese, nuts, peanut butter. Never eat fruit alone. No fruit juice at all.
-Up your intake of vegetables, avoid root vegetables though such as parsnips, turnips, maybe carrots. Eat green beans, wax beans, peppers, squash, etc. Always eat vegetables with lunch and dinner. I like a really full salad for lunch which includes lots of veggies plus a protein and a homemake dressing of olive oil, vinegar and spices. Good oils help you to stay full longer. I try to have 3 vegetables for dinner. Vegetables don’t include potatoes though.
-Snack every hour if you have to. It felt like I was eating constantly, but I started to feel better. They can be small snacks.
-Eat 1/2 hour before bed. Hopefully this will sustain you through the night. If not, have apricots ready for if you experience low blood sugar at night and have a snack there too. For a while during the pregnancy I had to wake up and eat during the night.
-I know I said no grains, but one grain that was and is still good for me is oats, rolled oats not instant. See if you can find gluten free, for some reason gluten can affect hypoglycemics. Put a small amount of berries in the bottom of your bowl, add a small scoop of soy or whey protein powder, vanilla can be nice though make sure there is no added sugar. Cover with rolled oats. Add seeds or nuts if desired. Add milk. Microwave for 1.5 minutes. Eat. This can help you last for up to 3 hours if it works for you.
Luck.
Nissa
SO glad you’re over this stage. I was the same way. I thought the morning sickness was worse than labor. Hugs!