Lyndsey Plummer’s pregnancy turned from happy news to frightening news when her constant illness and weight loss turned out to be an allergic reaction to pregnancy. Diagnosed with hyperemises gravidarum, she has to take powerful medications to keep healthy while her pregnancy continues.
Within a month of finding out that she was pregnant, Lyndsey was vomiting 50 times a day and losing weight. She ended up being admitted to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City after losing more than 10 percent of her body weight. With severe dehydration, her pregnancy was making her deathly ill.
Hyperemises gravidarum is considered an allergic reaction to pregnancy. It is characterized with severe vomiting that can lead to dehydration, weight loss, and more. To combat the illness, Lyndsey has to take powerful medications that are normally prescribed to those with cancer and on chemotherapy. Within hours of the first dose, she was already feeling less nauseous.
Now, at 20 weeks, she has been able to return to work and feel normal in her pregnancy.
“My bump is growing and I’m feeling much better now, but it has been horrendous.
“I didn’t eat or drink anything for about four weeks and some days I was so weak I couldn’t even walk.”
“The difference made by the tablets was unbelievable. It is amazing to be able to eat and drink again after going through all that. I can’t believe I’m still pregnant and the baby is fine.”
There is little known about hyperemises gravidarum. The condition is rare, yet dangerous for those who suffer from it. Lyndsey hopes to bring more awareness to the illness and encourage more experts to find a reason why some women experience such a severe reaction to pregnancy. – Summer, staff writer
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