# Cough/Cold at 19 wks pg that won't go away!



## silver6 (May 25, 2005)

Hi folks (special hi to Maz!),
  
  Have posted over on Peer Support too, just in case an ladies have tips. I'm 19 weeks pregnant with donor eggs after a lot of early losses. I'm  obviously delighted to have gotten this far and really want to enjoy my  pregnancy.
  
  However, about 4 weeks ago, I started with a tickly cough and feeling a  bit rubbish, thought it would pass, but 2 weeks later was still coughing  and bringing up yellow/green phlegm (sorry TMI!). The GP gave me some  pg-safe antibiotics to last a week. I finished them this Monday and the  cough is now less tickly, but still there and still phlegmy. On top of  that, my nose started to get blocked and snotty last week and now I  can't breathe through it at all - and it's making it hard to eat, drink,  swallow, take any kind of exercise and my mouth gets incredibly dry  from breathing through it all the time.
  
  Was back at the GP yesterday (different one, unfortunately) who listened  to my lungs and said the were clear so no more antibiotics and told me  all I could take was paracetemol and steam (with menthol crystals). Had  already tried that, and saline up the nose but nothing has worked.
  
  Does anyone have any tips on ways to clear the nose, any medications  that are pg safe (my "what to expect when you're expecting" says most  nasal sprays are ok for occasional use but GP said no!)? Also, some  reassurance that this is not going to last the rest of my pg - it feels  like it's never going to go away and is seriously getting in the way of  the rest of my life!

To add to the stress, I was diagnosed with sleep anpoea about a month ago (this predates the pg) and went in the other night to be fitted with CPAP mask and machine, but was unable to use it because of cough and blocked nose (despite full-face mask). Am terribly worried about how the sleep apnoea will affect my baby (apparently I stop breathing up to 30 times an hour!). If I could just get clear of this bug (I hope it's a bug and not some nasty pg side-effects!), I could give the mask a good shot.
  
  Cheers,
  Silver (Jan)


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## mazv (Jul 31, 2006)

Hiya Jan 

Sorry not been back on to reply (life with me a bit nuts just now   )

Hope you got some help on peer support too on this. Are you feeling any better yet or still got symptoms? In terms of treatment then I'd agree with GP that paracetamol and steam with menthol/olbas inhalation is the bets thing to help ease it. If the lungs are clear then no need for antibiotics 

Hate to break this to you but snotty/congested nasal passages can also be a side effect of pregnancy   Because circulating blood volume expands then swelling in tissues can occur (hence the common sausage fingers and cankles of late pregnancy) Hoping it is just a cold and it will improve for you   

Sorry can't help with the questions about the sleep issues, hopefully clinic would be able to address these concerns though? If you did need medication though to help control symptoms of congestion then there are things you can use safely in pregnancy if needs be (book is correct, GP possibly being overly cautious and not wanting to jump in and prescribe if they are thinking it will clear up on its own)

Absolutely loving seeing your ticker creep up week by week  Lots of     to you and bubs

Maz x


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## silver6 (May 25, 2005)

Thank you Maz - yes still having symptoms - coughing and snotty and now on antibiotics again. Have had some helpful replies, but mainly saying steam and time - neither of which are helping so far!! If the antibios don't work, the GP has promised to reconsider the nasal spray thing - is there anything in particular you recommend? I think I saw a thread about steroid nasal sprays in pregnancy?
Sorry life is tricky at the moment - I hope it's the usual stresses of being mum to a wee one and nothing more serious   . My first day with my new class today - eek!
Love
Jan xx
--modified to add---
Have spoken to sleep doctor, ob/gyn and gp today and now have Beconase and am allowed to have very occasional use of vicks sinex (was a bit worried about this from pg and blood pressure point of view - pharmacist very dubious about giving it to me, but sleep doctor felt that minimal use would be ok). I've also been given a prescription for another 5 days of Cefalexin, in case I'm not significantly better by Monday when the current run ends. They're then going to try me on a nasal prong mask for the CPAP which should be less claustrophobic. Here's hoping! In the meantime, everyone has been very reassuring about the possible effects on the baby - general concensus seems to be that I may lack oxygen but it will probably get what it needs - I sincerely hope so!


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