Liz's Health Update

Liz is doing much better after the IV fluids. She has Hyperemesis gravidarum, which is basically super extreme morning sickness. They think it is caused by an over reaction to estrogen and progesterone in Liz's case. As far as the baby is concerned it is actually a good sign. All of her hormone levels are good and even the nurse that came out to change the IV found the heart beat with no problem.

The IV fluids were to get her back up to the level where drugs could actually work to fight the nausea. The doctors finally found a combination of drugs that seem to keep the nausea down to a manageable level. She is on subcutaneous Reglan and oral Zofran. The Reglan is delivered continuously through a pump into her thigh. Reglan works on speeding up digestion while the Zofran works on the nausea center of the brain. She was taken off of the IV fluids when the nurse saw her on Sunday as she was keeping liquids down. She was able to get at least 48 ounces of liquid with tea, chicken broth, popsicles, and the like.

She has since worked back to some solid foods, mostly crackers and pretzels. She has had some chicken noodle soup and mash potatoes too. As long as she does not let her stomach get empty she has been doing pretty well. If we can keep her from getting to dehydrated she will not need the IV again. The doctors and nurses tell us that it normally clears up by the 16th week even in sever cases like hers. So she has about 5 more weeks to go. Once she is stable for a week or so they will start reducing the medication to see how she does.