Depressed :(

This past weekend I began running a temp which averaged about 102.7 and hit as
high as 103.8 a few times. I had terrible, violent shakes and chills. Called
my OB as I suspected my tear might be infected. Knew it wasn't mastitis as my
breasts were not painful.
Doctor and I went through all the symptoms I did NOT have- coughing, aches,
sore throat, congestion etc. She asked if I had pain when I had bowel movements
as she thought I might have an abcess. No pain here. She ordered a prescription
for augmentin to be taken with alternating doses of Motrin and Tylenol. I
asked her if I could continue to breastfeed my two week old son and she said
yes. She "encouraged" it. I even called my pediatrician who said by all means
continue breastfeeding. No prob with the augmentin or the over the counter
stuff. Also no problem with me being contagious. Of course all my relatives
thought this was crazy but considering none of them are MD's I chose to listen
to my actual doctors.

Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby but not
be near him for about a week. She also terrified my husband and I by mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and have to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

I'm so angry both doctors encouraged me to be around my baby these last few
days banking on the fact that it was a bacterial infection without ruling out
anything viral.

Any experience with any of this stuff?

Thanks,
Lisa

This sounds like crazy advice to me.

1) Chances are that if baby is going to catch what you have, the damage has
already been done.

2) I would think your milk would have your germs in it anyway, so if it's okay
for him to have your milk it's okay for him to be near you.

3) You make antibodies to your own illnesses in the milk so he probably would
get only a mild case anyway.

I'll be interested to see what others say, but I wouldn't agree to stay away
from my baby, personally.

Leslie

"Zucca4" wrote in message
...


Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was
that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby but
not
be near him for about a week. She also terrified my husband and I by
mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and
have to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

I'm so angry both doctors encouraged me to be around my baby these last
few
days banking on the fact that it was a bacterial infection without ruling
out
anything viral.

Any experience with any of this stuff?

Thanks,
Lisa


Good lord. I have no experience so take this for what it's worth. Go be
with your baby. If you are going to get your baby sick, it's been done,
you've already shed plenty of virus on him. So he'll be sick and absolutely
traumatized by the loss of mother and breast? Good lord. Obstetricians are
total idiots.

I also don't understand why you'd need to traumatize the baby further by
looking for meningitis when a fever would have an explanation -- the baby
caught your illness.

Also remember he won't "be put" anywhere you don't put him.

I do know you have to be very careful with tiny babies and fevers because
they can go downhill quickly. However in such a case I would be very
careful to balance the harm hospitalization can cause with the risk I was
trying to prevent.

But what do I know I'm not a doctor i.e. I'm don't believe I'm god and/or
about to be sued any minute.

-- Dagny

"Zucca4" wrote in message
...

This past weekend I began running a temp which averaged about 102.7 and
hit as
high as 103.8 a few times. I had terrible, violent shakes and chills.
Called
my OB as I suspected my tear might be infected. Knew it wasn't mastitis as
my
breasts were not painful.
Doctor and I went through all the symptoms I did NOT have- coughing,
aches,
sore throat, congestion etc. She asked if I had pain when I had bowel
movements
as she thought I might have an abcess. No pain here. She ordered a
prescription
for augmentin to be taken with alternating doses of Motrin and Tylenol. I
asked her if I could continue to breastfeed my two week old son and she
said
yes. She "encouraged" it. I even called my pediatrician who said by all
means
continue breastfeeding. No prob with the augmentin or the over the counter
stuff. Also no problem with me being contagious. Of course all my
relatives
thought this was crazy but considering none of them are MD's I chose to
listen
to my actual doctors.

Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was
that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby but
not
be near him for about a week. She also terrified my husband and I by
mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and
have to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

I'm so angry both doctors encouraged me to be around my baby these last
few
days banking on the fact that it was a bacterial infection without ruling
out
anything viral.

I wish you luck. My baby was 5 weeks 5 days and ended up in the hospital
having the spinal tape etc because of her fever, she'd gotten the flu from
my 19 year old stepson. FWIW, If u are in the house with the baby and it is
viral, the baby will probably get it. My stepson is rarely in the house,
usually stays downstairs while the baby is always upstairs, doesnt have any
contact with her and she till got the flu though no one else was ill.

Hi -

Did I read this right? Your OB (who doesn't deal with babies beyond the
delivery day) is the ONLY doctor who said to stay away from your baby?
Why would you NOT listen to the other two doctors? What does your
ped. have to say?

The general advice I've heard goes as follows:

Once you develop symptoms, you've already been contagious for at least a
few hours, possibly as long as 10 days, with whatever-it-is. So your
baby has already been exposed.

As soon as you get whatever-it-is, your body starts making antibodies to
it. (That's how you ultimately get well.) Those same antibodies are
excreted into your breastmilk, and when your baby nurses your baby gets
some of those antibodies, too. So nursing actually can HELP your baby.

So, as long as you can safely nurse without overdoing your OWN body's
activities (ie, energy spent nursing is energy that can't get spend
fighting the virus), and as long as you don't get dehydrated, keep
nursing. If your own body starts to get overwhelmed, then stop nursing
.... but for YOUR sake, not for the baby's.

Keep a close watch on your baby. Fevers CAN be serious, so if your baby
starts to get sick you want to contact your ped. promptly.

Find out whether you should continue the course of antibiotics. There's
no guarantee that what you've got is viral, or that you can't develop a
secondary infection. But this is something your doctor should discuss
with you based on your individual illness, not the newsgroup!

Get well soon!
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

wrote:

She also terrified my husband and I by mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and have
to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

That is unfortunately standard treatment of otherwise unexplained fevers in
very small babies. Nothing to do with whether it's viral or bacterial. In fact
they would be putting him on IV antibiotics specifically because it might be a
bacterial infection that there hadn't been time to culture yet.

If they DID have an explanation for the baby's fever (which he hasn't got yet,
anyway, probably won't), and it wasn't a dangerous illness, they wouldn't
necessarily put him through the whole ruling-out-sepsis routine. But the
pediatrician is the one to deal with that. Your OB was just giving you a
heads-up on one POSSIBILITY, not a certainty at all.

My twins went through this kind of hospitalization at five weeks, and while it
was sure no fun at the time, it was not hideous either, once we were through
the round of tests and pretty sure there was not actually anything wrong. We
weren't in the NICU or anything, just an ordinary ward. Babies that little lie
around a lot anyway, it isn't nearly as hard on them to be hospitalized as it
would be for older babies.

--Helen

If you have a virus, chances are the baby has already been exposed. If so,
the BEST POSSIBLE THING YOU CAN DO is breastfeed, and pass along the
antibodies you have already created. Wash your hands a lot and try to rest,
and keep a sharp eye on the baby's symptoms, watching for any danger signs
(you already know these, clearly).

We went through a stomach virus in our house that hit DH and me like a ton
of bricks. DS got it, but not nearly as bad and continued to nurse all the
way through.

My heart goes out to you!

-Shannon
"Zucca4" wrote in message
...

This past weekend I began running a temp which averaged about 102.7 and
hit as
high as 103.8 a few times. I had terrible, violent shakes and chills.
Called
my OB as I suspected my tear might be infected. Knew it wasn't mastitis as
my
breasts were not painful.
Doctor and I went through all the symptoms I did NOT have- coughing,
aches,
sore throat, congestion etc. She asked if I had pain when I had bowel
movements
as she thought I might have an abcess. No pain here. She ordered a
prescription
for augmentin to be taken with alternating doses of Motrin and Tylenol. I
asked her if I could continue to breastfeed my two week old son and she
said
yes. She "encouraged" it. I even called my pediatrician who said by all
means
continue breastfeeding. No prob with the augmentin or the over the counter
stuff. Also no problem with me being contagious. Of course all my
relatives
thought this was crazy but considering none of them are MD's I chose to
listen
to my actual doctors.

Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was
that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby but
not
be near him for about a week. She also terrified my husband and I by
mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and
have to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

I'm so angry both doctors encouraged me to be around my baby these last
few
days banking on the fact that it was a bacterial infection without ruling
out
anything viral.

Any experience with any of this stuff?

Thanks,
Lisa

I agree with Leslie. I think telling you to pump and not nurse directly
because you have fever is crazy, too.

Larry

Leslie writes:
: This sounds like crazy advice to me.

: 1) Chances are that if baby is going to catch what you have, the damage has
: already been done.

: 2) I would think your milk would have your germs in it anyway, so if it's okay
: for him to have your milk it's okay for him to be near you.

: 3) You make antibodies to your own illnesses in the milk so he probably would
: get only a mild case anyway.

: I'll be interested to see what others say, but I wouldn't agree to stay away
: from my baby, personally.

: Leslie

"Zucca4" wrote in message
...

Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam
with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was
that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby
but
not
be near him for about a week. Thanks,
Lisa


Yep, plenty of experience. Having 2 older kids who go and catch themselves
viral infections often during the school year one in particular having a
nasty viral cough this week....

NURSE the baby. Don't fall into the hooey about not being around the baby
for a week. If it is a viral infection it is in your milk, antiboties are
also being made and passed through your milk to fight it and chances are
extremely good that you have already exposed the baby and he is either going
to get it or is immune to it already.

Watch the baby for symptoms and go see the ped if you have any concerns.

Jen
*who has BTDT and stopped worrying years ago...but it DID take years to stop
worrying LOL*

I know that here it's general practice for a newborn to have a spinal tap
with a high fever, regardless of the suspected cause...


"Dagny" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Zucca4" wrote in message
...


Today I went to the OB. After an HOUR rectal, vaginal,and breast exam
with
cultures and a cauterization of my bottom she said her gut feeling was
that I
had a VIRAL infection of some sort and that i should pump for the baby
but
not
be near him for about a week. She also terrified my husband and I by
mentioning
that if Baby Michael came down with a fever he's be put in the NICU and
have to
get a spinal tap etc to tule out meningitis.

I'm so angry both doctors encouraged me to be around my baby these last
few
days banking on the fact that it was a bacterial infection without
ruling
out
anything viral.

Any experience with any of this stuff?

Thanks,
Lisa


Good lord. I have no experience so take this for what it's worth. Go be
with your baby. If you are going to get your baby sick, it's been done,
you've already shed plenty of virus on him. So he'll be sick and
absolutely
traumatized by the loss of mother and breast? Good lord. Obstetricians
are
total idiots.

I also don't understand why you'd need to traumatize the baby further by
looking for meningitis when a fever would have an explanation -- the baby
caught your illness.

Also remember he won't "be put" anywhere you don't put him.

I do know you have to be very careful with tiny babies and fevers because
they can go downhill quickly. However in such a case I would be very
careful to balance the harm hospitalization can cause with the risk I was
trying to prevent.

But what do I know I'm not a doctor i.e. I'm don't believe I'm god and/or
about to be sued any minute.

-- Dagny