I was thrilled when the pregnancy test was positive. But three days later nausea kicked in so aggressively that it was as if I'd run headfirst into a brick wall.

A week later, at four weeks pregnant, I felt as if I had been poisoned. All I could do was lie motionless and alone in bed. I was vomiting up to 20 times a day, and even when I wasn't being sick, I felt sick. I couldn't bear it if anyone even sat on the bed and I winced at the slightest noise. Light was also intolerable. The only time I got up was when my partner or dad took me to the toilet or when my mum tried to feed me. The rest of the time, I just lay there crying, sleeping or being sick.

My GP diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of pregnancy sickness. It's potentially life-threatening, but I was told I'd be closely monitored and that it can ease at 12 weeks. I felt scared, but hopeful that it would soon be over, especially when I was given anti-sickness drugs. But they didn't help, and five weeks into my pregnancy I was admitted to hospital with dehydration.

I came home feeling marginally better, thanks to stronger medication, but the next few weeks followed a miserable pattern. I'd start the week in bed being sick, and by Friday I'd be back in hospital on a drip and with another anti-sickness drug to take. One week, I was unable to keep anything down for five consecutive days, and one day I was sick 50 times and bringing up blood. It was as if someone had taken over my body. I couldn't imagine ever feeling normal again.

I couldn't stand comments such as, "Oh, you've got morning sickness? I had that." Morning sickness would have been a welcome alternative.

By week nine, the dehydration was getting dangerous. My options were to go on steroids or have a termination. We discussed termination. My mum, dad and boyfriend didn't want me to put my life in danger. But we really wanted this baby, so I agreed to the steroids, even though I knew there were possible, although unproven, risks to the baby.

The steroids reduced the vomiting to 10-15 times a day, but I now had the added worry that I'd harmed my baby. When there was no sign of improvement by 12 weeks, I despaired.

Thankfully, I was given a drip at home and my GP gave me weekly acupuncture. I have no idea if it helped, but I wasn't willing to stop it to find out. I got some amazing support from a woman who'd gone through the same thing – a group called Pregnancy Sickness Support had put me in touch with her. She answered my desperate texts, and the odd call.

By 20 weeks, my consultant confirmed that I must be one of the small percentage of women who would suffer for the whole of my pregnancy. The last weeks of my pregnancy were the hardest; they hold a serious risk of renal and liver failure for women with this condition, and every day I feared the worst.

Then, at 36 weeks, my waters broke. My sickness continued through my labour, but the moment our son James was born, it disappeared. Within minutes, I felt normal, even hungry; best of all, our baby was perfect. I asked the doctor if I could see my placenta: I needed to see the cause of my sickness being removed, to know it had really gone. I was warned that many women who have had hyperemesis gravidarum suffer from postnatal depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. But I felt only euphoria at being a mum, feeling well and having my partner and my life back. Two years on, I feel the same. But now that the condition is back in the news, I've found myself being starkly reminded of those awful months.

I've been told that if I conceived again, the hyperemesis gravidarum would return, but even more severely, so I won't be having any more children. That's hard for me to accept, but I still can't believe how lucky I am to have James.

• As told to Kate Hilpern

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