German measles exposure - arghhh!

[BrightonMama]

Right, I'm seriously bricking it. I'm 20 weeks pg and have discovered I had close contact with a child who has since come down with a confirmed case of german measles.
Thought I'd phone the docs to check my rubella status, and it turns out there was a problem with my blood sample - they hadn't taken enough to test it properly.
It doesn't mean I'm NOT immune though, just that they don't know either way. A doctor's going to phone me back this pm, but doubt there's much they can do now if I'm not immune, would be too late.
I'm a total hypochondriac anyway, and reading about all the GM symptoms now has been convinced I can feel my glands swelling etc
Anyone had any experience of this that can talk me down and tell me everything's going to be fine??? I've been googling like mad, seems like the risks are worse in first 12 weeks, and not too bad after 20.

did you have your rubella jab when younger? If so it's most likely you are immune.

I panicked about this a while ago when dd had a very rubella looking rash on her (was about 6 weeks pg at the time) so I know where you are coming from, but do try and keep it in perspective. As you say even if you do get it, at 20 weeks it might not be too bad anyway.

Criminy! No advice to offer I'm afraid, but good luck. Do you not remember whether you've had a rubella jab? Do you know the child (who presumably hadn't had its MMR) was definitely at the contagious stage when you were close to it?

Thanks so much for your quick replies, very much appreciated!
I definitely HAVE had the jab - remember standing in line when I was about 12! And I've been pg before with DS1 so hopefully would have been screened for rubella then - nothing was said at the time, but you thought they would have mentioned it if I wasn't? Although the vaccine doesn't last forever, and had it more than 20 years ago.
I saw the child (well, baby really - no, hasn't had his MMR) 3 days before he was diagnosed, so probably at the most infectious time.

Yes I think they would have told you last time if you were not immune then, so you could have the jab again.
Have you had another blood test taken now so they can test you again? When will you get the definite results?

Cool, thanks Privet. Still waiting for doc to call me back. I'm guessing they'll do a blood test to see if I'm immune or even if I've got it.
But even if they test you in early weeks of pg and find your immunity is low, there's nothing you can do about it - the vaccine is as bad for the babe as the disease itself. So they'd just tell you to avoid GM, so I wouldn't be any better off.

Ah right, maybe the first time I was tested was when I had coil removed before ttc so could have had the jab again if needed.
Fingers crossed for you!
Ask them if they think you would be ok at 20 weeks too - get as much reassurance as you can from the doc!
Why do these things always seem to happen on a friday so you're stuck over the weekend..?

If you were not immune when you had your DS1you should have been offered the jab after that pregnancy. And if you were immune then very very likely you are immune now. Try not to worry...

Thanks all for being so helpful. I've stopped panicking now. The doctor finally phoned me back and was very reassuring. She said that GM was very unlikely to cause problems at 20 weeks. Plus she said that it was very unlikely my immunity would have run out if I definitely had the rubella jab, which I had. Also, as MumNWLondon says, if I wasn't immune it would have been flagged up in the last pregnancy. So feel much better and all my psychosymatic symptoms have mysteriously vanished! So fingers crossed it will all be OK!
x