2nd Trimester

You probably WON'T have a high fever with h1n1

A public service announcement from your h1n1 expert here in the hospital Stick out tongue

I just saw an infection dr (that makes 5 drs on my case.  I feel so popular).  When I originally went to the dr on Sunday I was just coughing.  I called back with slight chills and body aches (not major), worse breathing, slight fever (99).  No sore throat, no stuffy head (initially), no stomach issues.  They said it couldn't be the flu without a high fever and wouldn't give me tamiflu. 

The infection dr. specifically said that most pregnant women are not experiencing high fevers with h1n1.  So don't use that as an indicator, and don't let your dr either, as they can obviously be wrong.

Just figured I'd spread the word.  The more you know, and all that...

(Isn't that like a WBS catch phrase or something?  Or there's the oldy but goody - "And knowing is half the battle."  Yes, I had an older brother.  Watched a lot of GI Joe growing up :-)

Re: You probably WON'T have a high fever with h1n1

  • That's interesting. My MW said that normally they say to call at 101, but with swine flu they are saying to call at 100. This completely freaks me out. I have random bad m/s days and I'm scared I'm going to get the flu and think it's just a bad m/s day. If I don't have a fever, how the heck do I know the difference??

  • Thank you for letting us know. 
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  • imageJulyFiveBride:

    That's interesting. My MW said that normally they say to call at 101, but with swine flu they are saying to call at 100. This completely freaks me out. I have random bad m/s days and I'm scared I'm going to get the flu and think it's just a bad m/s day. If I don't have a fever, how the heck do I know the difference??

    Don't worry - you'll know.  I think h1n1 always has other symptoms than just stomach stuff.  If you have other symptoms, especially dry, hacking cough, then worry.  That was actually my first symptom and I think the main concern with h1n1 - it goes into your chest, and the infection dr said pregnant women are naturally more susceptible to pneumonia.

  • That scares me, so if you dont have a fever, and dont get all the symtoms right away, how are you supposed to know when you come down with it??

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  • I would have to second that, because I have not had one high temp at all throughout this entire thing.
  • Vomiting is NOT a typical symptom of seasonal flu OR h1n1 flu. The symptoms are typically as follows:

    • fever (although not everyone presents with high fever as OP states)
    • cough
    • sore throat
    • runny or stuffy nose
    • body aches
    • headache
    • chills
    • fatigue
    • sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

    You shouldn't have any trouble distinguishing seasonal or h1n1 flu from morning sickness unless your m/s consists of respiratory symptoms!

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  • I read an article a few weeks back that said that about 1/3 of all cases down in Mexico did not have a high fever.  I'd google it.  You'd be surprised what you'll find.  Hope you feel better!
  • I'm pissed because I'm 99.999% sure I have H1N1...dry hacking cough, body aches, fatigue, plus I had the vomiting/diahrea/chills earlier this week. I've been to the ER twice, and they refuse to test for it. And I can't deal with this cough anymore. Last night when I was there they said it's probably a virus but it could be the beginning of pneumonia but they won't do a chest x-ray because I'm pregnant. If this cough doesn't ease up by tomorrow I'm going to another doctor.
  • Yeah, I would say the number one thing to really be aware of are the respiratory symptoms.  Even if it isn't h1n1, if you're having respiratory symptoms you should head to the dr!

    Otherwise the chills, aches, and general feeling like crap will clue you in :-)  I would say if you feel awful go to the dr, and if you have even a few of the h1n1 symptoms ask them to do bloodwork or the flu test (which is truly horrible, as I know I've said before, but at least it lets you know if you have the flu, even though it won't tell you what type for sure).

  • imageBashert628:
    I'm pissed because I'm 99.999% sure I have H1N1...dry hacking cough, body aches, fatigue, plus I had the vomiting/diahrea/chills earlier this week. I've been to the ER twice, and they refuse to test for it. And I can't deal with this cough anymore. Last night when I was there they said it's probably a virus but it could be the beginning of pneumonia but they won't do a chest x-ray because I'm pregnant. If this cough doesn't ease up by tomorrow I'm going to another doctor.

    Have you been to ER at a hospital or a separate walk in place?  If it's a separate walk in place I would totally go tothe regular ER.  If your ER stinks that much that you've been there twice and they haven't done anything for you I would check and see if there's another hospital nearby you can go to.  Sounds like they're totally dropping the ball.  Did they at least give you tamiflu?  If not, you definitely need to go back!  I'm worried for you!  Hope you get better and get a dr who will actually help you!  There's NOTHING more frustrating than drs not listening to you or taking you seriously!

  • imageJulyFiveBride:

    That's interesting. My MW said that normally they say to call at 101, but with swine flu they are saying to call at 100. This completely freaks me out. I have random bad m/s days and I'm scared I'm going to get the flu and think it's just a bad m/s day. If I don't have a fever, how the heck do I know the difference??

    Just a note... the H1N1 flu is NOT a vomiting flu at all (well for most people it isn't... I didn't have any with mine!) If you go to the CDC's website it gives you the symptoms of the flu... 

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  • I'm thankful you posted this.  I was sick a few weeks back with what I thought was a really bad sinus infection.  But it was a lot worse than what I normally get.  I ached all over and just felt like crap in general.  My temperature spiked at 99 (I was keeping an eye on it since I thought it could be the flu).  I asked my school nurse if you could have it without the 100+ fever and she said no.  So I never went to the doctor.  It wasn't until last week when I happened across the Illinois H1N1 webpage that I read that you do not have to have a fever. 
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  • imageShannon11/3:

    imageBashert628:
    I'm pissed because I'm 99.999% sure I have H1N1...dry hacking cough, body aches, fatigue, plus I had the vomiting/diahrea/chills earlier this week. I've been to the ER twice, and they refuse to test for it. And I can't deal with this cough anymore. Last night when I was there they said it's probably a virus but it could be the beginning of pneumonia but they won't do a chest x-ray because I'm pregnant. If this cough doesn't ease up by tomorrow I'm going to another doctor.

    Have you been to ER at a hospital or a separate walk in place?  If it's a separate walk in place I would totally go tothe regular ER.  If your ER stinks that much that you've been there twice and they haven't done anything for you I would check and see if there's another hospital nearby you can go to.  Sounds like they're totally dropping the ball.  Did they at least give you tamiflu?  If not, you definitely need to go back!  I'm worried for you!  Hope you get better and get a dr who will actually help you!  There's NOTHING more frustrating than drs not listening to you or taking you seriously!

    It's the regular ER - in fact its the ER at the hospital I'm delivering at! And all they've done is given me fluids and said to stay on bed rest for a few days. If this doesn't ease up by tomorrow I'm hitting up a new GP. I asked my OBGYN what to do, he said call my GP...asked my GP what to do, they said ask my OB. My GP wouldn't even see me...so I'm done with him. I had a low grade fever (99) yesterday, but that went away. All I know is that I feel like poo and no one will listen.

  • The media has hyped the entire h1n1 thing up a tremendous amount. It's very true that pregnant women are more susceptible to develop harsh conditions from this like pneumonia however even if your doctor prescribes tamiflu it's expensive and it really only takes away symptoms for a day when it really lasts about 5-7 days. Most doctors are not testing for h1n1 because they are out of tests. Some good advice to help avoid getting swine flu or any flu in general is to gargle with either warm salt water or you can use listerine to help avoid the transfer of the virus. You should also use a Qtip dipped in either solution and swipe your nostrils because the virus is transfered through eyes,nose, and mouth. Just keeping your hands of your face is a good prevententive. If you do feel like you have the flu or swine flu. You should drink as many warm fluids as possible because warm fluids also help to kill the virus and wash it to your stomach where it will die. Hope this helps...oh and try to worry so much about it because worrying and stress weakens the immune system.
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