FEBRUARY HEARTS Due in February 2015 , open group all welcome!

[MiniBump]

Boo hoo! I've got shingles

 

[smawfl]

Oh no minibump, that's awful. I've heard it's quite painful? Hope you're ok!

 

[MiniBump]

Thanks smawfl! If I'm sitting still it's fine but when I'm walking around my clothes rub on the blistered areas and it hurts and burns. The blisters are on my lower back and groin so it's difficult to avoid!

When my skin first started burning, I thought I'd got neuralgia perhaps from the baby sitting on a nerve but then came the blisters. I've also had a cold so I'm not sure whether I've got it from being run down or because I've come into contact with chicken pox because there's a lot of it about at the moment. Hope it passes soon because I know it can last for weeks

 

[RaspberryK]

Oh no shingles sucks xx

 

[bumblebeexo]

Hope it clears up soon Mini!

 

[Shey]

Wow that really sucks. Sounds painful. Hope you get better minibump!

 

[xxshellsxx]

Oh minibump that awful, my mum has it at the moment hers are finally starting to dry and scab up now though so hopefully that's her done with it. So painful!! It must be doing the rounds at the moment in the midlands your not to far from me. Hope your soon on the mend!

Raspberry so sorry to hear things have turned complicated for you! Glad they noticed early enough and can hopefully do something for you x

My ticker says 115 days to go... but in reality it is 95 days to go... double figures

 

[Feronia]

MiniBump, so sorry to hear about the shingles! Things that suck when you're not pregnant are like 100x worse when you are. I hope it clears up soon for you!

Raspberry, I'm glad your DH can help you out for a bit, but too bad your in laws are leaving. Do you have to be on partial bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy? I know how hard it is to do that with a young child!

I think BH are pretty obvious when you do have them. You can feel your entire uterus tighten into a ball and it feels rock hard. I got them a lot when I was dehydrated or when DD nursed, and also after sex.

 

[MiniBump]

Thanks all! So far I feel ok other than the burning/pain. Not sure whether it's going to get worse!

I seem to get BH if I lay in a funny position or if my bladder's full, you definitely know when you're having one! x

 

[MrsPoodle]

Minibump that sounds horrible!

I put in my request for maternity leave yesterday... I've got loads of holiday to use, so finishing December 12th, which also means I can take next year's holiday before I go back, so after KIT days etc, I won't be back until December 2015, woot woot!

 

[SurpriseBub]

So sorry about the shingles, minibump. It sounds very painful! Is there any treatment? Or do you just have to wait for it to pass? Hope either way you are feeling better soon.

I have had some cramps feelings, that I read might be mini Braxton hicks (it can take a while for them to become stronger the first go around). I hope not to have any big ones until after 24 weeks... I am sure I will freak out, even if I know they might be coming!

Your leave sounds wonderful, mrspoodle! Nice you will have some time off before baby comes too

 

[xxshellsxx]

I put my MAT B form in last week and need to sit down with my manager and come up with a date for maternity leave (we're waiting til after my OB appointment on 3rd november which i think will set my actual induction/section date)! I was hoping to go til around the 17th december and use 2 weeks annual leave for christmas (which i would usually do anyway) so mat leave would start 2nd jan... however i'm really starting to struggle to do daily stuff now that involve bending and walking up stairs (my office is on the 2nd floor - they will move me downstairs but i really don't want that :/ ). Think i'm going to have consider using all my annual leave (i still have approx 5 weeks left) before going on ML - i wanted to keep it for my return plus my full years AL i'll get during my time off to ease my time back.

decision.. decisions...

 

[MiniBump]

So sorry about the shingles, minibump. It sounds very painful! Is there any treatment? Or do you just have to wait for it to pass? Hope either way you are feeling better soon.

I think there are treatments you can have but they're not recommended in pregnancy so I just have to wait it out which is a bit of an unknown, could be weeks, could be months! Got my 20 week scan tomorrow, hope they'll still do it!

I'll try to get a photo of one of my BHs, it's freaky! x

 

[MellyH]

How scary MiniBump. Is shingles as alarming during pregnancy as chicken pox? When my FIL had chicken pox my OB wouldn't let me have contact with him, because of the risks of birth defects if I got chicken pox.

 

[MiniBump]

Thankfully, no, Melly! There's no risk to baby with shingles. I did think I'd been exposed to chicken pox a few weeks ago so checked to make sure I'd had it as a child and was immune. I'm not sure if that exposure is where I got shingles but, if it is, it's a good job I am immune! x

 

[MiniBump]

On further reading, you don't catch shingles, it's just a dormant virus (following chickenpox) that gets reactivated when you're run down. I can give somebody chickenpox if they haven't had it (only if they touch the fluid from the blisters though - nice!) but I can't pass on shingles.

 

[xxshellsxx]

If it can't be caught why was my mum told by the dr to stay away from me? If it can't be caught i'll be popping round to see her tomorrow

 

[cckarting]

a dr in our clinic got shingles, and his pregnant nurse was transferred to a different dr, and he doesn't have any contact with us pregnant girls, he doesn't even like to be in the same room as us, so i'm guessing that is can be caught by us as the dr is very cautious around us and doesn't even want to be in the same room?

 

[Captain]

I hope you get well soon MiniBump!

So early morning run to the airport this morning. Hubby is flying back to Calgary for a follow up appointment on his knee with the surgeon and will be back tonight.

Last week his knee was doing great and we were pretty sure he would be sent back to work soon after this appointment today. BUT, this week it's swollen up pretty bad and it's getting more painful for him by the day. I don't like seeing him in pain but I'm secretly soooo happy because there's no way the surgeon is going to let him go back to work the way it is right now

 

[MiniBump]

This is from the NHS Choices website...

Is shingles contagious?

It is not possible to catch shingles from someone else with the condition, or from someone with chickenpox.
However, it is possible for someone who has never had chickenpox to catch it from someone with shingles, as the shingles blisters contains the live virus.
In the UK, chickenpox is so common during childhood that 9 out of 10 adults have already had it and will not be at risk from someone with shingles.

Catching chickenpox

The blisters that develop as a result of shingles contain virus particles. If you have not had chickenpox before, you can catch it from direct contact with the fluid from the blisters of someone who has shingles, or from something that has the fluid on it, such as bed sheets or a towel.
If you have shingles, you are contagious until the last blister has scabbed over. This will usually occur after about 10 to 14 days.

Preventing the virus spreading

If you have the shingles rash, do not share towels or flannels, go swimming, or play contact sports. This will help prevent the virus being passed on to someone who has not had chickenpox.
You should also avoid work or school if your rash is weeping (oozing fluid) and cannot be covered.

Chickenpox can be particularly dangerous for certain groups of people. If you have shingles, avoid:

women who are pregnant and have not had chickenpox before as they could catch it from you, which may harm their unborn baby
people who have a weak immune system, such as someone with HIV or AIDS
babies less than one month old, unless it is your own baby, in which case your baby should have antibodies (proteins that fight infection) to protect them from the virus

Once your blisters have dried and scabbed over, you are no longer contagious and will not need to avoid anyone.

As long as you've had chickenpox you should be fine!