I hope everyone had a great Halloween and didn’t splurge on too much candy!

I am 11 weeks and finally feeling like a real person again. Over the past seven days I have been as sick as can be! No workouts for me. It started Sunday with a small amount of shortness of breath during soccer and truly began with fevers on Monday. It was the official flu! I am normally the first in line to get my flu shot especially when I am pregnant and for my family members. However, due to it only being the beginning of the flu season they were out and I hadn’t gotten a chance to get back to the doctor. Boy do I regret my delay!

The flu this year consists of fevers, congestion and cough. While not fun, I wasn’t overly concerned until hearing more details. My initial concern was my fever, it wasn’t significantly high, but continued for 2 days and didn’t want it to affect the baby. After talking with the nurses at my OB’s office I was told I was doing everything right, staying hydrated, resting, Tylenol for the fever and Robitussin for the cough. My frustration came when I was told I needed to be seen if my fever was higher than 100.4. Needless to say an hour after talking with the nurse my fever had spiked to 101.8, but no one would return my call to get in to be seen. My primary care provider was able to see me the next day and I was officially diagnosed with the flu. The problem came when she was unsure how to treat me, also couldn’t get a hold of my OB and was told different messages from two other OB’s. After an hour of phone calls my OB was able to confirm the use of Tamiflu for myself and my whole family to keep us from getting worse.

Morals of this story is #1 Get a flu shot. Many pregnant women end up in the hospital from complications from the flu, putting the health of your baby and yourself at risk. #2 Wash your hands. I believe I picked up this flu bug at the gym, but every public place you go has germs.  To minimize your risk at the gym avoid touching your face when you are working out, use a water bottle that doesn’t require you to touch the spout to open, clean your equipment when you’re done, drink lots of water and make sure you are taking your vitamins to keep your immune system on the up and up.  Finally, #3 make sure to keep on your doctors if you have any concerns at all. This isn’t just about your health, but the health of the little one growing inside you.