The FLU!
7:46 PM
Druggie? It's not nearly as fun as it sounds...
I've been sick... for what seems like months now... but it also seems like I've been pregnant for years, so there is a pretty good chance that my sense of time lapse may be skewed.
Beginning about a week ago I would wake up in the middle of the night (surprise, surprise!) and have this horrible pain on the right side of my face. I have TMJ, so I thought maybe it was acting up. The pain was only at night while lying down... weird and definitely not like my usual TMJ symptoms. After several nights of the pain, which began getting worse and then occurring during the day randomly, the light bulb went off and I realized the pain was in my ear and not my jaw joint. I know, seems dumb I didn't realize it... but they're close together and I have pregnancy brain... cut me some slack!
I had one of the doctors in my office look in my ear. (side note: I STILL find it comical that it's an OB/GYN office and they were checking my ear... but whatever...) I was told: no infection, possible fluid, take sudafed. Awesome. That was Thursday.
Friday and Saturday I slowly began getting worse. Added to my ear ache were congestion and sore throat. By Sunday I was running a fever and had all sorts or aches and chills... fabulous.
Monday I called into work and then headed to the always wonderful Primed <sarcasm for those of you unfamiliar with Primed>. After normal lab work and a negative strep test I begged for a flu test and after much hesitation from the nurse, I got one. Guess what?! Positive!
The doctor comes in... I have the flu and fluid in my ears. duh. He asks if I have a list of OTC medicines that are safe to take in pregnancy provided by my OB doctor...
you mean this list?
He then tells me that I must know I'm very limited in what medications I can take. He wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic in case of any secondary infection and said I should take Tylenol for any discomfort. That's my weapon against THE FLU? whatever. Thank You Primed for another wonderful $50 copay wasted.
I called my OB/Place of Employment and my fantastic nurse told me Tamiflu was perfectly safe and she called it in for me.
Yay!
My "happiness" was quickly diminished when I called the pharmacy and was told insurance isn't paying for Tamiflu and it would be $75.
Thank You Blue Cross Blue Shield for your phenomenal coverage in my time of need.
SO. Here it is Tuesday evening. I'm still feeling horrendous. Probably worse than when I started out. Some positives? No more fever, my ear ache is much less intense, and my nose is now a running faucet instead of a sinus fortress harboring all sorts of congestion. Not sure if that last one is a positive, but I'm hoping it's a step forward.
I don't think I've ever been sick this long... so I turn to my true love for more info... GOOGLE! What is EVERY website telling me...
During the course of your pregnancy, it is possible that you may catch a cold or flu virus. Because your immune system is affected during pregnancy, your symptoms may persist longer than usual.
Great. Best news of all? Baby doesn't have the flu! His squirmy self is wiggly as ever!
Here I sit with my medication arsenal hoping I'll Get Well Soon. I feel like I should apologize for the crankiness of this blog... I'm usual a tad more cheerful, but I am SICK AND TIRED... literally.
Hopefully my road to recovery is all downhill from here. Though moving downhill has become especially difficult with this giant belly... maybe I won't fall!
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