@justtheinethen Sorry my message came across in that way because that is not how it was meant at all.
You sound like you're at the extreme end of the spectrum to be on quadruple therapy, and in fact there are women that terminate their pregnancies because their HG is so extreme. As with most illnesses it is a spectrum and the majority of people are in the middle.
But don't underestimate the psychology that underlies illness. For someone like you you may feel it has no impact, but the fact you were getting up and getting dressed is/was achieving so I'd argue you were doing exactly as I advised. You could just as easily have stopped in bed and done nothing, and some people will be inclined to do that.
Two examples:
- fibromyalgia has been shown to respond extremely well to Pain Management Programmes - non-pharmaceutical therapy with multi-disciplinary teams that help patients to take back control of their lives from FM. It doesn't treat the FM, but it does help them them to manage their lives in spite of the FM, and I have spoken with many patients who sings its praises for the difference it has made to their lives.
- The "PJ Paralysis" campaign, where hospitals encourage in-patients to get dressed in their own clothes and sit out of bed. It's not telling them their illness isn't making them unwell, but by lying in bed in hospital gowns their psychology takes on the part of "sick person who can do nothing for themselves and are at the mercy of their disease". Patients improve faster and get home sooner by getting out of bed and trying to feel like their normal selves.
I emphasised going to work because it is a normal activity for a lot of people. I want everyone to feel encouraged that they shouldn't feel like HG is a prison sentence, and that may be because through my filters if I wasn't able to go to work I would be terrible. I need to go to work, and the idea of being too sick to work terrifies me because my brain would tear itself apart stuck at home on my own.
But you should do what you are able to do within the limits that your HG puts you in. Having HG does not necessarily mean that you can't do anything, and what I want to emphasise is that what little you are able to do you should do, even if that's putting on a new pair of pyjamas and lying on the sofa instead of the bed.
Please never ever underestimate the psychology of health. It may not have a bearing on how severe an illness is, but it does have an impact on response and recovery. And it's not easy, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't highlight its importance.