Yay for h1n1! Tell me your story please! Edit for update
All of a sudden yesterday ALL the sysmptoms hit me... fever hot/cold flashes body aches headache sore throat cough.. yea it is wonderful! I called my dr's on call nursing staff and they actually have h1n1 nurses who can treat over the phone! That is soo nice cuz now I don't have to leave the house! My husband is at the pharmacy right now to pick up the tamiflu script. I hope it helps!
Update:
I went to see my OB and he said I could have or could not have H1N1... without getting tested it could just be the regular flu. But he said taking the tamiflu is still ok and it will still help. So that is good... on the other side... I lost 5 lbs! Even with Thanksgiving...and eating umm like 4 times? lol... Still very achy feeling, but otherwise some what better. I think I am slightly dehydrated..which I am not sure how since I have done nothing but drink for the last 3 days... I have drank so much water and powerade I thought I would explode! BP was good, lungs are clear so that is definately a good sign. Dr said that I am far enough along if I went into labor, while still being sick like this they wouldn't stop it... YAY! I am soo hoping to have this baby before Christmas! That would be nice. Umm lets see... I am now taking robitussin dm for the cough that makes my back feel like it is tearing to shreds... oh yay... this part could last another 2-3 wks! YIKES! But he said day 3-5 is typically the peak of the flu (either one) and I should be on the downhill side now. Since I have been fever free for over 24 hours I am not contagious..YAY! Ok, I think that is all I have for updates...oh.. all three of my kiddos have colds :(
I hope your experience is better than mine. I don't want to scare you with my story, but you asked, so here goes.
On a Thursday morning I woke up feeling crappy....headache, nausea, fatigue, etc. I had to work, so I came in anyway and felt lousy all day. Went home and went right to bed after work. When I woke up Friday I felt even worse so I called the OB. He said I should see my primary care doc for a flu test and in the meantime take Tylenol cold. By that time I had a fever and chills, my whole body hurt, I could barely get out of bed. My primary care dr has hours on Saturdays, so I had hubby take me there Saturday morning. I was so sick I could hardly walk. They told me they didn't do H1N1 tests because many insurances were not covering them at the time and the out of pocket cost was 300 bucks. So, she gave antibiotics and sent me on my way. I did actually feel a little better after a day or so of taking the antibiotics. I came to work Wednesday and almost passed out while trying to wash a dog. I got so hot and weak feeling. My boss sent me home and I slept the est of the day. The next day, Thursday....a week from when I first started feeling sick....I was even worse. I felt so weak I really could not get up. I went to the ER and was admitted. I was so dehydrated that they gave me 4 bags of fluid before I could even pee in the cup. Chest x-rays showed that the bottom 1/3 of my lungs were not working at all. 3 days after being admitted I was moved to ICU. Every med they gave me caused sie effects and then I needed to get more meds to treat the side effects. The antibiotics caused diarrhea and a yeast infection, the diarrhea caused my potassium to be very low, etc...My O2 sats were bad, I had to be on oxygen and could not get out of bed and move around or all the alarms hooked to me would go off. Moving caused my oxygen to drop even lower. Finally, after 9 days I got to go home but still needed oxygen tanks at home and was on bedrest, up to go to the bathroom only. I got out of the hospital on October 17th and just this week I was cleared to go back to work, light duty only. I saw the lung specialist the other day and he says I still have some damage, I need to go back in 3 months for more testing.
The worst part is, I was VERY healthy. I eat well, I exercise, etc. I hardly ever get sick. The lung doctor explained to me why H1N1 is such a big deal. The virus actually causes the body to attack it's own cells while trying to kill the virus. So, a body with a great immune system will attack it's self that much harder. In the case of H1N1, it's in the lungs and the lung tissue becomes da,aged and inflamed. That can't be treated during pregnancy, because the best treatment is high doses of steroids. While I was in the hospital, there were 2 others besides me, pregnant with H1N1. One died and the other was airlifted out to another hospital. I only know this because my mom is a nurse there.
I'm really grateful to still be alive and that my baby seems to be doing well. Long term, they don't know how this will have effected him, though. Lack of oxygen to the brain can obviously cause all sorts of problems that we may not know about yet. All I can do for now is keep my fingers crossed.
Missi....loving wife to Jason, mommy to Ricky (1-12-05), and soon to be mommy to Logan Douglas (due Feb 2010). I'm a cloth diapering, baby wearing, breastfeeding till baby wants to quit, homeschooling, non-circumcising, anti-cry it out, part time working, animal loving, trashy romance novel reading, farm raised hillbilly. I have had Meningitis and Swine Flu and lived to tell about it. Any questions?
I'm still sort of getting over mine. I was told right away to get Tamiflu but didn't because of all the horror stories I've heard about it. Especially people hallucinating and trying to kill themselves - No thanks. The only thing I used was Robitussin because my cough got so bad. I'd have to say the first 4 or 5 days I felt like total death, especially while trying to take care of my daughter - then being worried about the pregnancy as well.
The first 4 or 5 days I had the fever, BODY ACHES, trouble breathing, etc.. (Get plenty of SLEEP, it really helped me) and then on day 4 I got a horrible cough and my lungs hurt so badly. The robitussin helped with that for a while.
Eventually everything else went away around day 7 except for my cough which I'm still dealing with, but it's getting better every day.
But the first 4-5 days were the worst. Never saw a doctor and never took the Tamiflu that I was supposed to and it went away on its own. I did drink a lot of broth and water, got a lot of sleep though.
hope you feel better.
The woman that died was 33 weeks. They waited and waited because her doc wanted to deliver her but the OB wanted to wait for the baby's sake. By the time they took her into surgery she was too weak to make it. My mom heard that the baby did ok, though.
I'm sure you'll be fine.....but just in case, maybe you could make sure your husband or someone knows that they should insist on delivering the baby and treating you before you get too sick?
Quoting logunsmommy:
Thank you for posting. I am a little scared about it. I am otherwise healthy too.. and that is what scares me. How I got it, and not my kids, who get sick much easier... I am 34 wks, so if they have to they can deliver the baby... and treat me then right?
Missi....loving wife to Jason, mommy to Ricky (1-12-05), and soon to be mommy to Logan Douglas (due Feb 2010). I'm a cloth diapering, baby wearing, breastfeeding till baby wants to quit, homeschooling, non-circumcising, anti-cry it out, part time working, animal loving, trashy romance novel reading, farm raised hillbilly. I have had Meningitis and Swine Flu and lived to tell about it. Any questions?
My husband is very adamit about me being here.. with or without this baby. If it is life or death for one of us, God forbid that be, he would tell them to save me first! I am glad for having such a wonderful husband, and being able to be strong enough to say that. I would never be able to chose me over my child... I would want the dr to do everything possible for both of us.
Quoting MissiHampt:
The woman that died was 33 weeks. They waited and waited because her doc wanted to deliver her but the OB wanted to wait for the baby's sake. By the time they took her into surgery she was too weak to make it. My mom heard that the baby did ok, though.
I'm sure you'll be fine.....but just in case, maybe you could make sure your husband or someone knows that they should insist on delivering the baby and treating you before you get too sick?
Quoting logunsmommy:
Thank you for posting. I am a little scared about it. I am otherwise healthy too.. and that is what scares me. How I got it, and not my kids, who get sick much easier... I am 34 wks, so if they have to they can deliver the baby... and treat me then right?
Sheesh with the horror stories! Women CAN recieve bad care and things CAN go wrong. Protect yourself! REST REST REST and more REST. I took Tamiflu and it was fine, no side effects. It decreased my symptoms and I got better faster than hubby who didn't get a script or see a doc (because he wasn't the preggo one).
Take care of yourself, rest, drink LOTS of fluids, and eat as much as you can. You will be fine. Sounds like your doc's staff is on top of things and just know that they are a phone call away. Call them if baby stops moving or your fever isn't controlled by tylenol. DO NOT go to work until you are fever free for three days!! It will take a lot out of you and mess up your immune system. No matter what your boss says, do NOT go to work. They should be understanding since you are preggo...but you never know. Take care hon!
Sarah Bella
Trying to find a replacement for my old caffeine habit?
- logunsmommy
on Nov. 28, 2009 at 11:47 AM