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My congestion got a lot worse earlier this week. I went to my OB-GYN, and she thinks that it's allergies (which are made worse by pregnancy, at least for me). I've never had an allergy diagnosis, but it seems to fit.
She prescribed a nasal spray, I think it was nasalcrom. The insurance wanted it preauthorized, so the doctor changed it to Flonase, which is what the insurance wants the doctors to try first.
Problem is, it's a Category C drug, and I'm not okay with taking it. I think what they first prescribed was Category B. I'm going to call the OB and ask them if they can give me something else. My symptoms are VERY annoying, but no, the benefit of the medicine does NOT outweigh the risk to my baby!
Very frustrating. My boss thinks that the insurance company would have approved it if the doctor had pointed out that I was pregnant. But we'll see.
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When we stopped using birth control my allergist switched me from flonase to rhinocourt, which is category B. And it worked better for me and the smell wasn't as gross. You could ask if that would be an option.
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It annoys me that when I called my doctor's office to tell them about the pre-authorization requirement that my insurance has that the doctor told the nurse to just switch me to whatever the insurance covered, because it didn't matter, rather than trying to authorize the original prescription.
Well, it matters to me! I haven't even taken a tylenol the entire time I've been pregnant, and I've had several killer migraines. (Not that tylenol would have helped anyway.) The ONLY medicine I've taken has been a few Halls cough drops and 3 cepacol sore throat drops.
So there's no way I'm taking a Category C drug. I'm not even thrilled about Category B's!
I have a call in to the nurse and they're very good about calling me back.
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Category B drugs have no known affect on the fetus. The only reason more of them aren't category A is that they don't have clinical trials proving it. Which makes sense, as who would sign up for a clinical trial while pregnant?
Breathing issues are serious. I took a category C asthma treatment during my whole pregnancy, because it was the only thing that worked and uncontrolled asthma has some of the same risks as smoking while pregnant. If your allergies are just annoying and uncomfortable then go ahead and refuse the drugs. But if they could be affecting how much oxygen is getting to your baby you might want to reconsider that "No way."
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Yay kq for getting a doctor's appointment!! Hopefully your card will come in time.
Kat - I hope you can get a prescription that will work for you. That sounds really frustrating and I can certainly understand your reluctance to take Class B and C medications (though I have to take one of each)!
I got to take a tour of the Birthing Center (at one of the 2 hospitals my doctor delivers at) last night. I had been leaning towards this hospital for several reasons (closer to my house with less chances for horrible traffic congestion, newer hospital, smaller hospital so it is less busy, recently renovated birthing center, good input from a couple friends who had delivered there, and not currently under construction) and we had pretty much decided that as long as we were happy with the tour, we'd go there. I was impressed by the labor and delivery suites, the security procedures, the options available, and the variety of different courses that are offered. Though I'm still scared about the whole childbirth experience, I'm not scared about the hospital. And I now have one less choice to have to make right now, which is a load off my mind.
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Yeah, if I thought there was a risk to the baby, I would reconsider. I wouldn't refuse something really necessary, despite my No Way! It's nothing like asthma. On most days, I sneeze a lot, and at night I get more congested and have to blow my nose several times. On Monday night and Tuesday, it got bad enough that my throat was raw and hurting (post nasal drip, I think) and I generally felt crummy and very congested. That's why I went to the doctor, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't sick with something contagious. Through it all, I'm not having trouble breathing.
I understand that sometimes it really is necessary to take a Category C drug--but I don't think this is one of those cases. I felt like the doctor didn't pay enough attention to making sure I get the safest drug I could.
I'm skittish about all drugs, including Category B, because I don't want to be one of the unlucky ones who takes something they call safe only to have them suddenly say, oops! This is bad for the baby after all. Our bad!
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Have you tried a saline nasal spray or rinse? That might take care of it with no drugs at all.
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Not yet, but the doctor did suggest that I get some saline nasal spray as well as the prescription. I didn't have time to get any this morning, but I am planning on it. I'm happy to hear it might have good results.
She also said I could take a decongestant, like Sudafed, but I don't take decongestants even when I'm not pregnant because of how horrible and dried out they make me feel. In that case, the cure is worse than the disease!
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Hopefully once you explain your concern to the nurse, they will be able to better help you to find both something that works and that you can feel comfortable taking. It would be great if the saline would help enough or if the allergy symptoms go away with time.
I've been lucky that until the last week or so, my allergy symptoms have been virtually non-existent.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I had serious congestion when pregnant with Mini-Bee #1 in combination with this weird plugging and occasional popping in my ears. My midwife said both were due to the increase in blood in my body and I was just swollen (I had a swelled head--who'da thunk it?).
The swelling in my ears was being aggravated by the painfully high volume of the sound system at church (we were attending 4 times a week during that summer) and the congestion by dry air-conditioned air.
Saline drops in my nose really helped clear the passages and unplugged my ears, too! I hadn't realized my hearing was suffering so much until suddenly my ears popped and everything was so much less muffled. We tried asking the church to turn down the speakers, but they looked at us like we were heretics, so we just sat far away from the beastly things. We tried going without A/C to control the dry air problem, but it was very uncomfortable in North Carolina summer heat. Besides, you can't escape it when indoors. Every store, restaurant, or house you visit has it going full-blast.
Of course, my congestion had nothing to do with asthma or any kind of serious condition. If I had been concerned about Mini-Bee getting oxygen, I most likely would have medicated, though usually I'm like you, Katarain, and don't like taking even mild meds.
My advice to all on this thread: drink water!
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My ears don't hurt normally, but they have been itching!! And loud noise bothers me, but that's really not new.
kq, I can't find anything through google about that preservative, but now I'm concerned that I won't find any sans preservative. What do I do? Which do I buy??
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Benzoate or benzoic acid. Sorry, it was in another thread.
Just read the ingredients on each bottle and don't buy one that has benzoate or benzoic acid in the ingredient list. Some brands have it, some do not. I'm pretty sure the Safeway brand nasal saline spray doesn't, because I think that's what I've used while pregnant, but don't take my word for it, check first. If there's none without it at the first store you go to, try another store, but most stores have at least one without it.
Also, you need to use nasal saline spray about once every 15-30 minutes for maximum effectiveness. Don't squirt it into your nose, spray it in the air in front of each nostril, lean forward, and sniff it up. Two to four puffs in each nostril, every 15-30 minutes as needed. At night, use a humidifier.
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Thank you! I am especially thankful for the tips on how to use it. I have never used a nasal spray, and I'm afraid of getting that awful pain in my nose that happens when you "breathe" in water at the pool. Boy do I hate that feeling.
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I've had a little bit of the weird ear popping, but it seems to have resolved itself on its own - I just needed to be patient.
quote:My advice to all on this thread: drink water!
Yes! Drink as much water as you can! I know it sucks to have to pee tons because of all the water and a baby encroaching on your innerds, but - trust me on this - you do not want to get dehydrated. Getting dehydrated while pregnant was the worst experience of my life (maybe that means I've just had a pretty good life, but I choose to think it's because dehydration is horrible) - I literally begged my husband to knock me out. Besides, getting dehydrated makes nausea worse (which is really not fun if you're already nauseated from being pregnant).
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If you want to avoid medications all together try a neti pot. You can find them at natural food stores or online. Wikipedia ArticlePosts: 1015 | Registered: Aug 2004
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A month ago or so there was a big deal in the news here about babies switched in the hospital and discovered after 10 months. Apparently one father was (or rather, his friends were) wondering how two dark-haired parents produced a blonde baby, so he had a paternity test done and determined he wasn't the baby's father. Accused his wife of infidelity, so she had a DNA test as well and lo, the baby isn't hers either! So they called in all the babies born the same day in that hospital and found the switched baby, and now they're going to baby-swap. And probably go to counseling for a while.
THANK YOU WORLD, I NEEDED SOMETHING ELSE TO WORRY ABOUT.
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Do hospitals there not do the plastic bracelet thing?
And if not, why not order one yourself and take it to the hopspital with you? I'm sure the chances are slim of anything happening, but you don't need something else to be worried about.
Or just insist on complete rooming in -- John was never out of his daddy's or my sight the whole time we were in the hospital.
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Well, the doctor's office authorized the original prescription with my insurance company. Turns out it was for Nasacort--which is also a category C.
*sigh* I won't be filling it. I wasn't able to get to the drugstore last night, but hopefully I will tonight, so I can get some saline spray. I'm really okay during the day, but it's hard to get back to sleep when I wake up at 2am with bad congestion.
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They do, dkw, and some even write the kid's name in permanent marker on its chest (!), which is why it was so alarming that the babies were switched - it seemed like it almost had to have been deliberate. The answer they came up with eventually though is that the bracelets were switched when the babies were being bathed; the hospital confirmed that bracelets are removed for baths. I'm thinking rooming in is an excellent idea... Posts: 2762 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Check hospital policies regarding rooming in. I wrote specifically in my birth plan that we were to have complete rooming in, yet my baby was taken from me for almost two hours after birth. The policy at our hospital was to take the baby to the nursery for the initial examination and for bathing.
The problem was that, because my baby wasn't crying or fussing, he got ignored for at least 30 minutes, then was placed in a warming crib with sensors on him to be sure that his temp was "just right" to bathe him. I should have just told them to forget the bath! He was in there for more than an hour, and when I came in and asked to hold him, they told me the warming crib is warmer than I am, so I shouldn't do anything to block the heat from the lamp. The best I could do was hold his little fingers!
Later, after I finally had him with me, I was informed that if they came in to my room and found me asleep (even if the baby was IN THE BED WITH ME!), they would take my baby back to the nursery. I told them they'd better wake me up before trying such a stunt, or things would get ugly. I could not leave my baby with my husband, either, because he didn't have the ID match bracelet.
The only solution for us was to sign out AMA (Against Medical Advice) less than 12 hours after the birth. I was fortunate Mini-Bee #2 and I had no complications, so we had that option. I shudder to think how much longer he would have been sitting in that nursery crib had I not been able to get up and walk down the hall to speak with the nurses.
We NEVER would have chosen a hospital birth had we been able to afford to just hang the insurance company and birth at home. Unfortunately, North Carolina doesn't permit nurse-midwives to attend home births, and lay midwives aren't covered by my insurance. I understand, of course, that home birth isn't an option for many moms for numerous reasons. So...the only thing you can do when you're stuck in the hospital is fight for your rights to be with your child.
I highly recommend finding a doula to be an additional (or primary) labor assistant. She doesn't have to take the place of your partner or coach, but she will be your advocate and make sure your wishes are followed. I found a doula through a program at the YWCA who was still working to get her certification with DONA. She didn't charge me a thing, but by the end of the process, I'd say she was worth thousands in the support she gave our family!
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Wow, DoB, that's awful. Did you ask why they had that policy?
The worst thing that happened was the first night after Lego was born, I did have him go to the nursery. I hadn't planned on doing that, but I'd been up all night in labor the night before, and had been so excited about having a baby that I hadn't slept when he had all day. So I figured I wouldn't be able to sleep with him there, even if he was sleeping and silent, just for that first night. I gave the nurses express orders to bring him to me if he woke up because he'd nursed very little all day.
At 4:00, I woke up and wondered why the heck they hadn't brought him to me yet. I wandered off to the nursery and found him sleeping. His chart said he'd been "fussy" from 2:00 to 3:00! I was so mad that I checked him out right then and there and wheeled him back to my room myself. Of course, then he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep and I was exhausted, but that's life, I guess.
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quote:Originally posted by Lissande: the hospital confirmed that bracelets are removed for baths.
Well that rather defeats the purpose, doesn't it. Bring your own, and make sure it's the kind that doesn't come off unless you cut it off.
Re: rooming in stories -- Wow. I thought our hospital was behind the times, but that takes the cake. At least they knew better than to try to take John out of the room without one of us coming along. That wouldn't have been pretty.
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The only time they took Squoose out of the room without me or Pop was for the hearing test. Pop was there for the bath and the circumcision.
They also had bracelets for me and Pop, so either of us could take him out of the nursery.
When I had Superstation the bracelet we had showed a completely different, but readable number upside down. They were all numbers that could be other numbers upside down. When we had Squoose they had added a letter, so it wasn't just numbers.
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Also, the leg bracelet with the alarm attached constantly fell off our kids' legs. They never stayed.
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It sounds like we have a good hospital. I was quite pleased when, during our orientation, they told us that they bracelet the baby (with 2 bracelets - one wrist and one ankle) and Mom (& Dad) with matching bracelets. They also have some sort of RFID system so that if a baby is taken too close to any of the ward's exits, an alarm sounds and the ward is locked down until all babies are accounted for. They also do rooming-in and encourage the baby to stay in mom's room (circumcision or other procedures would mean moving them to the nursery with Mom or Dad accompanying them if desired, but regular assessments are done in the mom's room) and they pretty much only put them in the nursery when mom requests it. In fact, during the orientation, the nursery was completely empty - all the babies were with their moms.
I'll have to ask and make sure bracelets stay on during baths.
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They did the hearing test in the room in my hospital (and I had to leave because the lady doing it ignored the honkin' old "NO RUBBING ALCOHOL" sign on the door); the only procedures done in the nursery were newborn screening, footprinting, and bath, and one or both of us were welcome to stay with her through those. (Jeff did.)
I did send Bridey to the nursery for a shower and once all night when I had a bad reaction to codeine (authorizing formula that night only.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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The hearing screen can be done at a later date. Both Mini-Bees had theirs done at the 3-week checkup at my midwife's office.
For the record...I mentioned hiring a doula, and generally, if Mom or Dad can't do it, she would be the person who would go with baby to the nursery to make sure he's not sitting around being ignored. I had sent my doula home because we'd been laboring all night and she needed sleep. She and I agreed later that it would have been better if she had stayed until we were settled in a postpartum room (a shifting rooms policy is lame, too, IMHO).
In all fairness, the baby in the nursery while Mom is sleeping rule does make sense from a security standpoint. I just think they ought to give you the option to be awakened. It's not like I expect a lot of sleep in a hospital, anyway. Another good reason for getting out of there ASAP. It's just not at all conducive to breastfeeding or bonding to separate baby from his parents.
Another bothersome note: while I was holding Mini-Bee #2's little fingers and watching that durn temp reading, a nearby baby was wailing for probably 30 minutes before the nursery staff attended him. I could see clearly on his namecard that he was "exclusively breastfeeding," but it took them that long to take him to his mom's room! The name on the card was a Spanish one, and I dearly wanted to offer services as an interpreter if the mom needed an opportunity to express her wishes to the staff. It's possible she never got a chance to tell them, "Bring me my baby as soon as he starts to cry." Spanish-speaking nurses are in high demand around here!
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I haven't been able to drink, as you know, from about 11 at night until 2:30 or later in the afternoon. At 2 this afternoon I couldn't stand the brattiness anymore and, since the smoke has finally cleared enough for me to go outside, took the kids for a walk. It was a bit warm. We went to Vons (which is right next to the library) and got a late lunch (even though the kids had eaten already, I hadn't), and I drank a huge drink, but apparently not enough-- when we got to the library I finally decided I needed to go and my urine was scanty and brown. I let the kids rampage through the board books while I sat down on the window seat and got a few pages of a novel in, but a little later I started having contractions.
I called Jeff, because I didn't want to walk home (more than half a mile, uphill) with no further water (I can't drink the library's drinking fountain water without throwing up, and didn't really see myself walking over and paying for more at Vons), in the heat, while contracting (they were just Braxton-Hicks, but I'm only 12 weeks.) Jeff got permission to come home, picked us up, and I went home, laid down for a few hours with my feet up, and drank about 3 liters of water, and sure enough, the contractions soon stopped.
I'm not really worried (wasn't even at the time-- I knew I was dehydrated, and this has happened both my previous pregnancies, I get cx when I dehydrate and/or overexert myself, especially in hot weather), but I am going to mention it at my dr.s appt. on Monday. I think it will be a very effective argument for "I need a scrip for phenergan, please."
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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DeathofBees, yeah, that doesn't sound like a hospital I'd want to stay in (or deliver in), either.
And both my babies have had jaundice (high probability all mine will-- I have O+ blood and Jeff and the girls have A+.) I would have been really mad arguing with them to let us go when my girls were jaundiced. They would not have been happy.
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John was jaundiced, but they let us go home early anyway. He wasn't bad enough to be under the bili lights, the doctor just said to put him naked in a sunny window as much as possible and make sure he nursed a lot.
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That's how our girls were-- when they tested them. But they always get really worried because the kids are so pale that the jaundice looks a lot worse than it is.
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Oh, I will. My doc is pretty cool about stuff like that, especially with non-first-time moms. He figures I know what I'm talking about, and if I say, "I can't take the morning sickness anymore, here's the complications I'm having because of it, it doesn't seem like it's going away, can I have some medication? Phenergan worked well last time", I'm pretty sure his response will be, "Here's a prescription."
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*bounce* I only have one more day to get through before I get to see my doctor (and probably my baby!)
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I'm just over 26 weeks now, and I had my glucose test on Friday. No gestational diabetes (though I think I've been eating too much Halloween candy because I was just below the cut off to have to come back and do the three hour test :blush: ), and I'm not deficient in iron. Things seem to be progressing well, but I feel HUGE.
Posts: 1635 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I feel huge already! At least by 26 weeks, you're SUPPOSED to be big! I look about 5 months along, and I'm not quite 3. I can't tell you how many "twins" jokes I've gotten. I'm sick of it and eager to prove them wrong!
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Wow, those are some pretty scary hospital stories. I feel really lucky with the hospital in my area, where having the baby room-in the entire time is the norm. I was very happy with the hospital tour, as it put me a little more at ease about everything. Baby should be here anyday, wish me luck!
Posts: 358 | Registered: Apr 2002
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We saw the baby! One baby! Heart beating, spine formed, sleeping and not happy to be disturbed by the ultrasound.
I'm a wee bit further along than I thought, but just a wee bit-- I measured 13 weeks, 4 days. My due date is May 1. Baby's knees were drawn up and was turned facing us so not even a guess at gender. And I have the okay to get my wisdom teeth taken out whenever I want.
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That's cool, KQ. You're due exactly 2 months after me!
I have my BIG ultrasound on Thursday. I'm 22 weeks. I'm hoping the baby will cooperate and let us know boy or girl. I had an ultrasound at 7 weeks, but the baby was just a little blob then. I couldn't see anything! I wonder if that's normal. It just occurred to me that maybe the machine was low-res? Should I have been able to see definition at that point? I hope that's not the case at my next one. I'll have to do a google search for 7 week ultrasound pictures.
ETA: According to the pictures I found, it is normal to just see a blob! GOOD!
Yay kq!! One little baby is a great thing and it's so marvelous to not feel nauseated after a long period of nausea/vomiting.
Kat - Those early ultrasounds sure are funny. I remember showing my husband the 9 week one and pointing out the head and body. His response "If you say so...." This next one will be much more exciting for you. We could identify body parts as they went flying past (she was really wiggly). I should be going in for a last ultrasound here soon (to check placenta placement), which should be really interesting.
Since it's been 2 weeks since I took the 1 hour glucose test and they haven't called me in to do the 3 hour one, I'm assuming I'm not diabetic!! I'm really happy because I had been really worried about it (I have a lot of the risk factors and I know that getting gestational diabetes would pretty much guarantee getting adult onset diabetes later in life), so this is a great load off my mind! Too bad little ninja has discovered how to pinch a nerve in my hip - I don't enjoy it and she seems to really like pushing on it. Oh well - I've also decided I can now start counting down instead of up - 7 weeks to go!
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: Oh, and almost forgot the important part-- I have PHENERGAN!!! w00t!
I guess my doc doesn't prescribe it much, he had to have his nurse look up the dosage.
(Hmmm, just a side note, don't forget that there are multiple methods of administration if you get too urpy to keep down pills. *prim, mouth-shut eyes-sideways look )
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Yeah, that's the first way I took it in the hospital when I wound up there while pregnant with Ems. But they switched me to tablets upon release.
And yeah, the pharmacist asked me, "They want you to take this orally, right?" before he filled the prescription. I gave him a resounding "YES!!!" >_<
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