Emetephobe- yet trying to get pregnant.

LeFemmeViolette · April 2016

For those of you who don't know, emetephobia is a fear of vomiting. It may seem like a silly fear to some, but it is a very real thing that I (and many others) live with.

It is definitely a scary thing to actively be trying to get pregnant knowing full well that morning sickness is a real possibility. But I'm being brave and pushing on. So, I am curious to know what others have done (or plan to do) who are also facing this challenge.

wifeinraleigh28 · April 2016

I think I experience this, but I didn't know there was a term for it! I just keep trying to remind myself that not ALL women experience morning sickness. I have rarely thrown up in my life time, and the few times that I did traumatized me. I threw up when I was 6 years old (from food poisoning), and then I didn't throw up again until I was 25 and drank too much. Those are the only times in my entire life that I can remember. I am now 30. Since I rarely throw up, I'm hoping I won't throw up when pregnant!

I think for me, I just try not to think about it...

LeFemmeViolette · April 2016

@wifeinraleigh28Its always nice to know there are others out there. I am in Raleigh, too, by the way! : )

rachlee2010 · April 2016

I 100% have this fear. Morning sickness always worried me. With my son I had no morning sickness. My mom and grandmother also never had morning sickness so I hoped I followed them. I still worry about it with my next pregnancy but I try to remember as much as I hate and fear vomiting I'm find afterwards and a baby is way worth some vomiting if that must happen

wifeinraleigh28 · April 2016

@LeFemmeViolette I'm excited to meet another in Raleigh! I've run into a couple others on these boards who were in the triangle, but more towards Chapel Hill area. What RE are you using? We're at Carolina Conceptions.

oxinfree · April 2016

*edited because I tagged you as la femme instead of le femme...

Hi @LeFemmeViolette - so I only learned this term recently and I was shocked to discover it was an actual thing with a name and that so many other people experience it. This may be long winded but here we go...
So a bit of background on me - I'm not just talking it bothers me, but like you I imagine, it's a crippling, debilitating fear that causes some embarrassing moments in my life - mostly of panic attacks when I'm near or around it. Plane rides are especially horrifying for me if anyone is feeling ill... and too frequently am I sat near someone who is. It's like the universe trying to force me to face it. I turn away in movies and myself have not thrown up since I (and my whole family) had salmonella poisoning in 1999 (I think that is when this really came to its peak).

So now to answer your question. I have been doing a LOT of work on this. Given my infertility, it has become something I am determined to overcome for concern that I have such a strong mental block for my fear of vomiting/morning sickness that I'm somehow not allowing myself to get pregnant. I know this is likely not the case, but the mind is such a powerful organ so it does make me wonder...

Anyways. I'm not cured, and I have no idea what to expect when (or if) we finally do fall pregnant, but I guess that's something I just hope to be able to sort out at the time. I like to believe that after all my struggle, even THAT would be worth it for a baby. It may well be torturous and scarring for me possibly, but at the end of the day, just one more price to pay for my dream of a family.

Part of me also secretly hopes that I'm just one of those women who feel nauseous, yes, but don't throw up. Heck I know women who throw up very easily who aren't pregnant... maybe we're built differently... But also, I do get sick from time to time and feel very queasy yet never throw up. It's as if I block it somehow (again... the mind is crazy powerful). Anyways, wishful thinking, but we really won't know what our bodies do until that time comes.

oxinfree · April 2016

ps. @LeFemmeViolette - I had my egg retrieval on sunday the 3rd... is that when you had your IUI? If so, our "ovulation/conception date" would be identical. Let's keep in touch!!!!

LeFemmeViolette · April 2016

@oxinfree, Thank you for writing those paragraphs because that is me to a T. I've struggled with this pretty much all my life, and also have anxiety and panic attacks over it.

For 10+ years I was on Klonopin, which helped keep my panic attacks at bay. Then, when we decided to start trying for a baby I went off it (very slowly- prob took about 6-9 months). This of course re-introduced panic attacks.

But, I've been off Klonopin for over two years now while we've been TTC, and things seem to have gotten a little better. Still anxious about pregnancy, for sure. But just like you said, I'm not going to let it stop me from starting a family. This anxiousness is especially odd when I take a pregnancy test (or get AF) and find out I'm not pregnant. I am mostly disappointed, but a little relieved too because I have another month of normalcy.

I started progesterone suppositories last night (yay- not...) and today my stomach feels kinda blegh. Hasn't sent me into a panic or anything but I hope it doesnt get worse.

And yes, my IUI was on the 3rd! : )

oxinfree · April 2016

oh wow. I'm on the suppositories too @LeFemmeViolette (just wrote a question about it actually as I'm on such a high dose). My stomach has been a little blegh as well but not bad at all, and hard to say what its from as ER recovery + bad cold all week. I've been doing them since Sunday night and hasn't really changed a whole lot.

I would be so thrilled if both us by some miracle happen to get bfps this cycle. We could support each other through the whole pregnancy and childbirth (yes I'm freaked of throwing up while delivering) in a way very few others would understand. fx for both of us. Ps. I created a test/beta thread for the last two weeks of April. Not sure when my actual beta will be as they haven't told me yet (day 5 transfer is on Friday) and it could be sooner but you should join us over there

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