Sick and afraid of preterm labor

nbgmom

i have an awful cold. I have been coughing so hard I'm throwing up, I've busted the blood vessels in my face, and I am going through poise pads like its my job. I'm concerned at some point that from all the force, I'm going to end up breaking my water and not know it because I'm already soaking through pads from coughing/puking and peeing. Also, after my really foreful coughing fits, I've started finding mucus, which concerns me a bit as I haven't really had much in the way of discharge at all with this pregnancy. As ridiculous as it sounds, has anyone heard of or experienced going into preterm labor from excessive coughing?

gemini2005

No, but call your OB!  There may be something you can take to relieve some of your symptoms.  Hope you feel better soon!  

Jenly17

I dont think you can put yourself into labor from coughing. If that were the case, I think it would be public knowledge. However if you're that concerned, I'd give your OB a ring. 

barbieq101

I just got over a very similar upper respiratory infection and was so worried about the same! My midwife said it was very unlikely something like that would happen. She also said it was ok to take robitussin for some relef. I wasn't totally comfortable with that, so I just stuck to hot water and honey, but it is worth asking your ob. You will be ok! 

ayeshaohara

Definitely call your OB! Get something to help with the cough if you can, that just sounds painful! Hope you feel better soon!!!

seasalt123

Call your OB because that sounds like an awful cold. 

I had a bad cold a couple of weeks ago with terrible coughing as well. I'm at risk for preterm labor and have a partial placental abruption. I was certain I was going to tear something loose or induce myself. My OB assured me that would not happen. 

So please put thoughts of preterm labor out of your head but please do talk to your doctor to seek some relief. Lozenges, hot lemon water with lots of honey (LOTS), breathe right strips, Vicks vapo run and inhaler are what I got from the pharmacy. Maybe your OB has some other more powerful suggestions. 

hellogoodbye2

Sorry you're feeling so crappy :-(

As far as the mucus goes, I lost my mucus plug a week ago and no preterm labor for me. Increase discharge is totally normal in the 3rd tri....it gets pretty ridiculous. 

lalala2004

Call the doctor! You don't have to stay sick because you're pregnant, and if you're so worried, why in the world would you not call the doctor when you're this sick?

I will never understand why people consult the Internet instead of a doctor in cases like this....

nbgmom

lalala2004 said:

Call the doctor! You don't have to stay sick because you're pregnant, and if you're so worried, why in the world would you not call the doctor when you're this sick?

I will never understand why people consult the Internet instead of a doctor in cases like this....

Thank you for your judgement. I hardly felt it was severe enough at 4 in the morning to call my dr and wake them up. It's a cold. I have a list of "safe" meds to take and all that is on it for the cough is cough drops. I consulted the Internet because I was awake and it was handy, and I (correctly) assumed that some people had been through similar experiences. I called my dr at 9am when they opened, and the receptionist told me to take some cough drops and feel better soon. I got much more useful information from the Internet strangers.

missnc77

I'm dealing with an awful cough and cold as well. I'd kill to drink the NyQuil in the cabinet right now. Hang in there! 

KelleAlward

Don't worry about the mucus plug. This pregnancy and my first I lose bits of it pretty regularly, but the first time around I didn't go into labor until 40+4. Hope you feel better

nerdymama15

I think every doctor is different with their safe lists.  For example, on my safe meds list there is sudafed, mucinex, benadryl, robotussin.  Sorry If I misspelled those. 

finnybooboo

I agree that just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you need to suffer. Call your doc and get recommendations on what to take to help relieve the symptoms! Or go to your primary care doc to make sure you don't have some type of infection that might be helped with a swift kick of antibiotics. In my first tri I suffered with a sinus infection way to long because I was scared to take the medicine. After several days of my face feeling like it was going to fall off, I finally took them and within a day started feeling 10000 times better. Feel better!!

seasalt123

nerdymama15 said:

I think every doctor is different with their safe lists.  For example, on my safe meds list there is sudafed, mucinex, benadryl, robotussin.  Sorry If I misspelled those. 

You are totally right @nerdymama15. My nurses from antepartum home care had given me a list of meds offhand and told me the pharmacist would give me the comprehensive list. The pharmacist I went to said 'only Tylenol' (and I'm not talking Tylenol cold and flu) and had to consult a computer to get that answer. When I inquired about breathe right strips and inhalers I also got 'I can't find anything in the system about those, so no'. 

I then spoke to the nurses again who confirmed which medications I could take. But some of those I see listed above weren't included. So I really think it does vary from Doctor to doctor.

I also found by asking 'is this medication ok?' you get access to more options than if you just ask for them to give you a list. Internet research is awesome, and can be very helpful.  

JessicaB0627

seasalt123 said:

nerdymama15 said:

I think every doctor is different with their safe lists.  For example, on my safe meds list there is sudafed, mucinex, benadryl, robotussin.  Sorry If I misspelled those. 

You are totally right @nerdymama15. My nurses from antepartum home care had given me a list of meds offhand and told me the pharmacist would give me the comprehensive list. The pharmacist I went to said 'only Tylenol' (and I'm not talking Tylenol cold and flu) and had to consult a computer to get that answer. When I inquired about breathe right strips and inhalers I also got 'I can't find anything in the system about those, so no'. 

I then spoke to the nurses again who confirmed which medications I could take. But some of those I see listed above weren't included. So I really think it does vary from Doctor to doctor.

I also found by asking 'is this medication ok?' you get access to more options than if you just ask for them to give you a list. Internet research is awesome, and can be very helpful.  

From my experience the pharmacists I talked to said they weren't allowed to suggest or ok any medication other than Tylenol and maybe a couple other things. I'm assuming because doctors vary so much on their 'safe lists'. My doctor has ok'd Tylenol (not Tylenol PM or cold and flu), Benadryl, and my albuterol inhaler if my asthma acts up, and that's it. 

@nbgmom I suffered in silence with a horrible sinus infection for a couple weeks before I ended up going to an urgent care. They gave me antibiotics and I felt much better within 2 days. Hopefully you find some relief soon! 

lalala2004

nbgmom said:

lalala2004 said:

Call the doctor! You don't have to stay sick because you're pregnant, and if you're so worried, why in the world would you not call the doctor when you're this sick?

I will never understand why people consult the Internet instead of a doctor in cases like this....

Thank you for your judgement. I hardly felt it was severe enough at 4 in the morning to call my dr and wake them up. It's a cold. I have a list of "safe" meds to take and all that is on it for the cough is cough drops. I consulted the Internet because I was awake and it was handy, and I (correctly) assumed that some people had been through similar experiences. I called my dr at 9am when they opened, and the receptionist told me to take some cough drops and feel better soon. I got much more useful information from the Internet strangers.

Welp, there was nothing in your OP about having any intentions of calling the doctor. You were asking about preterm labor, so that leads me to believe you found it to be pretty dadgum severe. I'll try to do a better job of reading your mind in the future.

seasalt123

@jessicab0627 that makes a lot of sense as what the pharmacist said contradicted what the nurses and my doctor said. I wish I had known that before setting out on that shopping mission. 

JessicaB0627

seasalt123 said:

@jessicab0627 that makes a lot of sense as what the pharmacist said contradicted what the nurses and my doctor said. I wish I had known that before setting out on that shopping mission. 

Yeah, I thought I was being smart asking the pharmacist only to be disappointed that she couldn't give me any answers! I also tried asking a pharmacist about an OTC medicine for DD last year and she wasn't able to answer that either and told me I had to talk to her pediatrician. I know they have the knowledge to answer those questions! 

Pascal86

Yeah my mom's a doctor but nothing to do with OB/prenatal stuff. When I asked her about medications when I was having pretty bad diarrhea, she was able to access her hospital's resources that give information about this stuff, but it was all super conservative - said best not to take things like Immodium and PeptoBismol when pregnant - unless the benefits really outweigh the risk. When I talked to my OB, she said that these things are actually fine (didn't actually recommend them, had other suggestions which I now forget since that's over with...), but yeah - non-specialists are generally going to be really conservative in saying you can take anything, as they should be.

LemmyRN

nbgmom said:
I called my dr at 9am when they opened, and the receptionist told me to take some cough drops and feel better soon. I got much more useful information from the Internet strangers.

@nbgmom
The receptionist blew you off. I've experienced this before where you really like the Drs and NPs at a practice, but the receptionist/ office staff are terrible and make it nearly impossible to get access to the Doc outside of the "routine appointments". I changed Doctors because of it; best move I ever made. 

You should call again, get the receptionists name as soon as they answer ("who am I speaking with?... Hello Sue, I'm calling because ..."). The receptionists usually have no advanced education and shouldn't be giving ANY medical advice. That way if she tries to blow you off again or pretends to be a Dr., repeat her name and be assertive, insisting that you speak with the Doctor. If you end up leaving a message for the Doctor then fine, but let her know she will be held accountable if the MD does not receive the message. 

seasalt123

@lemmyrn yes this is so, so true. My original midwife had the most amazing receptionist of all time. She would bend over backwards to help. 

I've since had to go under an OB and, while the OB is lovely and amazing, her receptionist is a disgruntled, lazy and defensive person who constantly provides misinformation and messes up my appointments. I wish doctors would put more effort into getting great admin staff as it truly can make or break a relationship. 

ayeshaohara

Going to weigh in as a pharmacist here because I think this is such an important topic
and tough too. Now that I'm pregnant it makes it even more "grey" so to speak. Just to comment on a couple of things people have said, firstly I think it's awesome that you're acknowledging the knowledge that your pharmacists have on these topics (makes me so happy to hear) and secondly I'm sorry that some of you haven't gotten the answers that you've wanted or could have gotten. Some of it comes down to comfort level of the individual...it's scary recommending something that "might" be safe but we don't have enough evidence to say for sure. Most medications falls into this category because it's unethical to trial on pregnant women. 

When doctors say it's safe in a lot of cases it's because they've used it in their patients without any harm, this is what we call anecdotal evidence. In a lot of cases it's usually ok but not always. Eg I would never use sudafed (pseudoephedrine) in a pregnant woman as someone's doc suggested was safe to do so. 

Its also important to note that some drugs are safe in some trimesters but harmful in others for example ibuprofen is considered safe until the third trimester when it should not be used in any case. 

Now being pregnant myself I've realised it's a really scary issue for a lot of women. when I'm asked for advice for what's safe, I read the evidence and supply the info accordingly. If it's likely safe, I usually say, it's up to you, how badly do you need it, if it was me I would/wouldn't take it. That seems to be helpful to most women in my experience.

in reference to the pharmacist who deferred to the OB, it's usually not necessary but perhaps they didn't want to take the responsibility for the decision should something go wrong. I don't agree with it but I do understand how it happens!! 

I hope that kinda helps a bit!! Remember you're never wrong to ask more questions. And I'm sorry if this offends any nurses or midwives on the boards, but they are never the people to ask for medication advice from...pharmacists are your drug experts!! I've heard too much bad info come from them before and it scares me a little. 

lalala2004

@ayeshaohara would you be willing to do a bit of an "Ask Me Anything" thread on this subject? I have totally taken sudafed because it was on my
doctor's OK list and I had never heard of ibuprofen not being as safe in third Tri!

JessicaB0627

@ayeshaohara I was wondering if you'd pop in to this thread. I have so much respect for the knowledge you all have on drugs that I would rather talk to a pharmacist about what to take than my doctor, but I know it doesn't always work that way! 

@lalala2004 I think I heard from someone that sudafed used to be considered safe during pregnancy, but sometime in recent years they've started not recommending it. That might be backwards though? It seems like a lot of doctors still put it on their safe lists from what I've seen on TB. 

nerdymama15

seasalt123 said:

nerdymama15 said:

I think every doctor is different with their safe lists.  For example, on my safe meds list there is sudafed, mucinex, benadryl, robotussin.  Sorry If I misspelled those. 

You are totally right @nerdymama15. My nurses from antepartum home care had given me a list of meds offhand and told me the pharmacist would give me the comprehensive list. The pharmacist I went to said 'only Tylenol' (and I'm not talking Tylenol cold and flu) and had to consult a computer to get that answer. When I inquired about breathe right strips and inhalers I also got 'I can't find anything in the system about those, so no'. 

I then spoke to the nurses again who confirmed which medications I could take. But some of those I see listed above weren't included. So I really think it does vary from Doctor to doctor.

I also found by asking 'is this medication ok?' you get access to more options than if you just ask for them to give you a list. Internet research is awesome, and can be very helpful.  

Breathe right strips are NOT a medication.  Just wanted to let you know.  They are just a little adhesive strip (similar to a bandaid almost) that you put in place across your nose and it pulls your nasal passages open to help you breathe better. 

doozer1345

I've finally gotten over this virus/cold thing where I was coughing and throwing up, couldn't breathe etc and cough drops made me nauseous. I used a humidifier and vicks rub. If this chick at 28 weeks didn't go into preterm labor I don't see how you could with a cold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CpbrO_oVI

seasalt123

nerdymama15 said:

seasalt123 said:

nerdymama15 said:

I think every doctor is different with their safe lists.  For example, on my safe meds list there is sudafed, mucinex, benadryl, robotussin.  Sorry If I misspelled those. 

You are totally right @nerdymama15. My nurses from antepartum home care had given me a list of meds offhand and told me the pharmacist would give me the comprehensive list. The pharmacist I went to said 'only Tylenol' (and I'm not talking Tylenol cold and flu) and had to consult a computer to get that answer. When I inquired about breathe right strips and inhalers I also got 'I can't find anything in the system about those, so no'. 

I then spoke to the nurses again who confirmed which medications I could take. But some of those I see listed above weren't included. So I really think it does vary from Doctor to doctor.

I also found by asking 'is this medication ok?' you get access to more options than if you just ask for them to give you a list. Internet research is awesome, and can be very helpful.  

Breathe right strips are NOT a medication.  Just wanted to let you know.  They are just a little adhesive strip (similar to a bandaid almost) that you put in place across your nose and it pulls your nasal passages open to help you breathe better. 

Yes I know what they are. They are awesome. They are stocked behind the counter at my pharmacy so I asked. I actually still use them now to deal with pregnancy induced congestion.  

seasalt123

@ayeshaohara wow thanks for the super informative post. That makes so much sense. I didn't know about Ibuprofen being fine for the first two trimesters either! 

nbgmom

Thanks everybody for all the suggestions and personal experiences. I ended up calling the dr again last night because my temperature started creeping up, and I realized that the vomiting was becoming less related to the coughing, as it has been all week, and more related to eating. Somehow my cold seems to have turned into a stomach bug of sorts. I left work early last night, and if I can't keep anything down this morning I will call out again for tonight. I hate using my PTO now, when I need it so desperately in a few weeks when baby is here, but I can't function like that and I certainly can't take care of patients coughing and peeing and puking on myself. I have a regular scheduled appointment tomorrow afternoon and I am going to ask the dr just to check me to be extra sure. Being sick in pregnancy is the pits. 

ayeshaohara

@lalala2004 yes totally more than happy to. I'll start up a thread. I had considered this last night. Obviously it'll have to come with a disclaimer because I don't have anyone's medical history or medication history but I am happy to help as best I can! 

 @jessicaB0627 thank you that's very sweet