Not certain this is it but I started coming down today with all the classic symptoms, i feel awful and it's hitting me hard and fast. It could just be a bad cold or another virus, and I have chills but no fever (yet?).
Looking for any advice about when to go to my OB for antivirals, or any other thoughts. Does the flu itself harm the fetus, or is it just the accompanying fever that can be damaging?
ETA 12 weeks and yes I got the flu shot over the holidays from my OB.
persimmon / 1130 posts
I’m not pregnant, but wanted to say that I would go in ASAP if I were you. They can swab you and let you know. It’s hitting people really hard this year, so I’d be cautious. My infant came down with it last week and she’s faring okay, but I know others who have been out of commission for over a week.
nectarine / 2951 posts
My best friend is @20 weeks pregnant and she had the flu last week. Her doctor prescribed her Tamiflu. I’d go to the doctor ASAP. She had the flu shot too... not very effective this year!
My 4 year old was swabbed yesterday and has the flu! He has a mild case. He is totally fine except for the high fever.
nectarine / 2262 posts
I thought I had it over Christmas but my flu test was negative and I got better in about two days so I think it was just a virus. That being said, I did call my OB's office the morning I woke up with the fever and feeling bad. I was out of town and it was a Saturday. The on call doctor said I need to go to urgent care and get swabbed ASAP and if I have the flu, need to take Tamiflu ASAP (it is more effective if started earlier in the illness course).
So if I were you, I would go to the doctor/urgent care immediately to get tested. Some of the strains of flu this year are not affected by the vaccine and are making children and even healthy young people sick and dying - it is because they are having respiratory problems, getting pneumonia or sepsis, and it can happen quickly. Pregnancy women are considered to be immunosuppressed and it is more dangerous to get the flu when pregnant, you are at a higher risk of complications.
pear / 1767 posts
My son got the flu when I was 6 weeks pregnant with my second and it was recommended that the whole family get Tamiflu prophylactically. I called my OB to discuss my options and she said that there hadn't been a ton of research on Tamiflu on pregnant women but that it was generally not seen as unsafe and a better alternative than the dangers of the flu. I decided to wait it out that time and to see if I started to develop symptoms and I ended up not getting it. I did, however, get the flu 3 weeks ago (while not pregnant) and Tamiflu is only effective if you get it within 48 hours. If I were you, I'd go ahead and get tested and then make the decision as to whether to do Tamiflu or not. The nurse practitioner I saw said that Tamiflu wasn't particularly helpful with Influenza B but that it did shorten the duration of Influenza A. I will also note that I got on Tamiflu and my husband didn't and I recovered maybe two days sooner than him so it wasn't anything earthshattering.
ETA: I had always thought it was the fever you were worried about with respect to the flu rather than any direct harm to the fetus but I'm no expert.
nectarine / 2461 posts
@LemonJack: @Alba4: @MrsADS: @hilsy85: @Shantuck: thank you for the super consistent feedback, I am not interested in messing around with a wait-and-see. Going to get tested this afternoon. @Shantuck: I wondered about Tamiflu and safety, too--I know my OB gives it if you do test positive, but glad to hear you made it out the other side okay. @MrsADS: I know, I've been reading about it for months, it's so nasty this year. I know families who got A and THEN got B all over again.
persimmon / 1345 posts
My 5 year old tested positive for flu last week. We think my husband had it too but who knows bc he refuses to go near a doctor. Her pediatrician advised me to call my OB immediately. Even though I wasn’t tested, they still gave me Tamiflu for Flu prevention. If I actually has the flu, I would take it twice a day. Instead the label says “flu prevention” and I’m taking it once a day for 10’days. It does give me a headache and light dizziness so I take it at night and fall asleep. I’m 36 weeks so early labor was a concern.
Good luck and stay healthy!
grapefruit / 4466 posts
No advice beyond what's already been said, but just want to say that I hope it ends up being just a cold and that you feel better soon 
pomelo / 5257 posts
@LCTBQE: I hope it's not the flu! This season is awful. My sister had the flu and was out of work for a week. Feel better 
apricot / 285 posts
Go now to doctor or walk-in. My ob would not see me, I went to MinuteClinic and was tested within 24 hours of symptoms last week. I tested positive for Type A, I had a major headache, chills and quick onset of a cough. I am 23 weeks pregnant and was immediately put on Tamiflu. I had no side effects from the Tamiflu and I'm someone that refuses all meds when pregnant. I try not to take Tylenol, my ob strongly encouraged me to take the Tamiflu and Tylenol. I did for the week.
I have never had the flu before, it was no walk in the park but I had the flu shot and caught it early. I hope you feel better, but the fast onset is a sure fire sign of the flu. And as others have said the sooner you go the better. My toddler was put on a Tamiflu as a precaution as well, we talked to his pedi about that.
Updated: Also to be clear, I don't believe the flu can impact/pass to the baby. Complications from the flu can be harmful which is why they strongly encouraged me to hydrate and take the meds. I also contracted CMV in my first trimester, which can pass to the baby, so I have been dealing with virus after virus this pregnancy.
nectarine / 2461 posts
@periwinklebee: @MrsSCB: thanks, friends
@MACSUNSHINE: @misolee: ugh, I'm so sorry to hear this happened to both of you. did you feel like with the tamiflu/tylenol you were able to break up the fever and keep it at bay? I went home from work intending to go to the walk-in clinic to get tested, but when I woke up from a nap I was actually feeling a little bit better, and still no fever. Talked to my OB and she said from what I was describing she thought it was just one of the 24-48 hr viruses going around. She told me if I feel worse instead of better tomorrow to go straight there for testing, so I'm going to stay on top of it but even being a cautious person I have a feeling now that this isn't the flu.
apricot / 285 posts
@lctbqe my fever was never too bad luckily. I honestly just felt with the fast onset and the terrible headache, chills that it was easier to be tested. I did take Tylenol for close to 48 hours which is extremely unusual for me so maybe it did keep the fever at bay.
Do what you are comfortable with and I hope that you feel better. There are so many different things going around this year it can be really hard to say for sure. And if you are still have chills, headache, cough etc I would just get tested tomorrow.
nectarine / 2461 posts
@MACSUNSHINE: Also I'm so sorry to hear about the CVM, it such an under-discussed issue. What did you do, just ride it out and get a lot of monitoring?
nectarine / 2461 posts
@MACSUNSHINE: oops I wrote over you earlier. I'm actually already feeling better--felt the worst at about 1pm today, and that was miserable, but starting around 6pm the chills went away. I suspect if this was the flu that after 12 hours I'd be getting worse, not better. My girlfriend who had the flu who has a same-aged toddler told me for a full week she couldn't even feed her boy because she couldn't sit up. If it's not getting better tomorrow I will go in first thing, I'm not averse to taking helpful medication that's proven safe.
apricot / 285 posts
@lctbqe glad you are feeling better! Yes with the flu I think you would feel worse. Although a stomach bug is no fun either!
And thank you, the CMV has been a roller coaster. Monitoring is the only thing that can be done. I participated in a study blood draw which is the only reason I found out. I had never heard of it before and even when they asked they said only 1% if women contract it for the first time during pregnancy so I was very surprised when I was in the 1%. I actually am participating in the study to see if receiving antibodies during pregnancy reduce the transfer to baby and thus birth defects.
Now that I have had time to emotionally process it, I am much calmer and hopeful that my experience will prove to be helpful as they study and determine if testing should be standard. I threw that out more as I am very familiar with viruses that are risky to baby but appreciate you asking.
persimmon / 1345 posts
@LCTBQE so I actually didn’t even have the flu. Bc there was an active case in the house, they wanted me to take the Tamiflu for prevention bc there’s such a small window for it to work if I were to get the flu. Im not big on medication either so I wrestled with this but ultimately I decided that if my daughter got it, better safe than sorry. I’m also 36 weeks (had my son at 38) so I did not want to be sick while going into labor.
I don’t know if it was the Tamiflu or it was just the timing of the whatever virus, but the day after I started taking medication, my throat was on fire and coughing got really worse. I also had buildup of something in my eye like pink eye. Still working through it but nowhere near as sick as some other ppl.
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