Flu + early pregnancy = I've never felt so ill before

[marjragu]

Hi

I've started a new thread to find out if anyone's had a similar experience to me and what their experience was. I've constantly googled to see what advice there is about the getting the flu virus during pregnancy and it mostly says get the free flu jab to prevent this. Unfortunately this didn't work out for me.......

So I had every intention of paying to get the flu jab but I hadn't got round to it when I started to fall ill and realised I had the flu virus. It was HORRIBLE!! I was completely wiped out in bed for days. My body and my throat were in so much pain and I could barely move. I had a fever and medicines/pain killers did not lessen or kill any pain or the fever. While I was really ill, I began to suspect that I was also pregnant and took a test that confirmed that I was (around 4/5 weeks pregnant) I'm obviously delighted but I would be lying if I said it's been easy.

Thankfully the flu symptoms have since mainly subsided apart from the sore throat, achy body pains (mostly in my arms) and the absolute exhaustion (btw friends and family members who have had the flu in the past said it took them up to 3 months to feel completely right and they weren't pregnant). I'm currently 10+6 weeks but I have basically been housebound and feeling very rough and wiped out since I first came down with the flu. I have since developed morning sickness and am nauseous almost 24/7 and sometimes I'm actually sick. I don't feel myself and haven't done so for weeks. I thought the aches and pains, lethargy, exhaustion, nausea and sickness would start to ease up as I'm ending the first trimester but no sign of that yet.

If anyone has had any similar experience I'd LOVE to hear from you. I know that pregnancy is tough and I wouldn't want to undermine that in any way. But at the same time I'm worried there's something more to it. Having observed my lovely family, friends and colleagues in their pregnancies, I'm sure they've found it tough but I've never seen anyone having to take as much time off work as me or have ZERO social life. A good day for me is being able to get up, shower, get dressed and get myself fed and if I'm really lucky, get a short walk. I'm worried that there's something else wrong with me (blood test results are all fine but why do I feel so bad??) and I'm also worried that I'm about to loose my job (how many days can you take off??). I feel REALLY rough. I've been to the doctors and their advice was to rest and eat well. But I've spent WEEKS resting (I've literally done nothing else!) and eating as healthily as morning sickness permits and I'm still not feeling up to much. There is a possibility that there's more than one little one inside me as do have a family history of that (hopefully soon to be confirmed either way). But I just feel at my wits end. I'm dying to have some sort of life and be able to go back to work. PLEASE!! Any help?? Any ideas of how to have some sort of normality???

Just for the record I do intend on getting the free flu jab but my GP says I must wait until I'm stronger - there's not a chance while I'm currently like this!

Sorry you're having such a rough time. I don't really know how to help but I wanted to say that sickness related to pregnancy shouldn't count against you. Have you told your employer that you are pregnant? Maybe they could work a way for you to do reduced hours and from home? Once they know you are pregnant I believe you are protected by law.

Sorry I haven't experienced anything similar but having the worry that you may lose your job on top of everything else must be so stressful!

Bless you, sounds like you’ve just been really unlucky getting flu in the first trimester!

I suffer with Hyperemesis and so the first 16-20 weeks of both my pregnancies have been spent pretty much in bed & signed off work. Pregnancy related time off does not count towards sickness at work. It’s really isolating but it does get better. I’m 29 weeks now, life is back to mostly normality. I still hate food & I still feel sick 24/7 but I go to work, I’ve had gentle socialises with friends over Christmas & I can take my toddler to playgroups & her gym class etc!

It will get better I promise! Most people find MS starts to ease up by 14 weeks & you’ll also start to feel stronger from the flu too! First trimester complete fatigue is totally normal, I used to go to bed at 8pm & just showering was too much some days! It eases as you hit the second trimester on the whole but pregnancy is exhausting., something to get used too 😄

Hi OP, sorry you are feeling this way. Pregnancy related illness is very protected so I don't think you need to worry about losing your job. But you do need to go to your doctor I think, as if you keep taking time off, your job may reasonably expect a note from the doctor. Also maybe the doctor may be able to help. I think pregnancy is different for everyone, I've seen people in work signed off for weeks with sickness and others (like me) whom it hasn't its really affected. I'm sure the flu takes time for you to build up again so it will get better! Good luck

Getting flu at the beginning of your pregnancy is very unlucky, you poor thing. Your body is probably still recovering which won't have helped. The nausea sounds pretty normal though I'm afraid - mine was pretty constant until about 15 weeks and I vomited a three or four times a day most days. Unfortunately you just have to ride it out really - go to work as much as you can and work through the nausea. I was sick in my work bin quite a few times! And I certainly didn't have any social life. I used to fall asleep in the car on the way home from work, sleep on the sofa until my dinner was ready, eat what I could, shower (and vomit in the shower!) and then go to bed. And my back was agony. The good news is, it all passed and I felt really well for the rest of my pregnancy, no problems whatsoever, and was well enough to work right up until about 40 weeks. Hang on in there - it gets easier!

Hi OP, I’m 11 weeks and just getting over flu myself. I was incredibly ill and ended up in hospital. I needed a lot of fluids and medicine to get better. I’ve never been so ill in all my life. Take it easy and get lots of rest. I know it’s tough, way worse than the usual pregnancy tiredness but it will get better eventually. I was given tamiflu and it was diagnosed early enough which has helped me get over it quicker

Omg I am going through this now and honestly I have never felt so unwell before. My morning sickness has hit a peak, haven’t seen doctors yet but I’m around 5 weeks maybe a little more. Throwing up every other day, every time I wake up I feel so unwell and feel like I need to throw up. Caught the flu from somebody at work and I feel like I am bed bound, forcing myself to get out of bed honestly never felt so unwell.