Getting through work when you feel like CRAP!

[Mrs. Tigger]

Hi Ladies

This is a bit of a rant. But I'd like to talk with someone else in the same situation.

I'm 7w0d today according to LMP, but 5w6d according to my dates. I'll have a dating scan Monday.

Anyway, since about 4w3d or so (according to my dates), I've just felt like absolute crap. I feel like I've got a horrible hangover or the flu or something and it won't go away. The main two problems are that I am constantly so exhausted (all I want to do is sleep!) and I am nauseous throughout the entire day. I haven't thrown up yet, but I've been close a few times and I generally am just nauseous through the whole day and have very little appetite.

I know that these symptoms are signs of what is hopefully a healthy pregnancy. But my concern is how do I deal with it in work? I am a software developer and I work in an office all day. I know this is lucky compared to people who work physically demanding jobs, but unfortunately it makes it so easy to get distracted. I feel like my productivity is suffering and it worries me a lot. I just sit at my desk all day feeling like crap, thinking about how I feel terrible unable to concentrate. My short-term attention span is shot; I can't seem to stay focused on anything for an extended period of time, as I get distracted with my yawning, nausea, etc.

So, I can't be the only one in this situation. How do you ladies cope?

 

[broodymrs]

I was like this for a good 3 weeks. Last pregnancy I was like it for about 3 months! Last time I ended up going off sick but this time I told my boss early on and asked for some support. I was able to work the odd day from home and had someone else on the team who could do bits of my work if I was struggling. I just constantly kept eating too as that helped with sickness

 

[TattyHead]

Definitely in the same boat..I'm struggling to get through each day at work! I do a mini fist bump to myself at the end of every day as a celebration!!

New found respect to mum's everywhere I can tell you!!

 

[skris4]

Does your employer offer remote working options? After struggling for the past two weeks (throwing up several times at work), almost fainting at work etc, I finally got permission to work remotely 3 days a week for an entire month with the promise of delivering detailed daily reports to my manager. Can you come to an agreement like that with your immediate boss?

 

[Rymel12]

I had this very same battle. I work in an office as a therapist so working from home isn't really an option most of the time. I would reccomend (if you aren't trying this already) Sea Bands and Emetrol as those really helped with nausea. If you have a boss who is supportive I would reccomend telling them to see your options. Unfortunately during my worst weeks my boss was out of town so there was really no one to answer to so I was feeling isolated and without support or options. I am finally at the end of first tri and things have normalized, but I can definitely relate. Hang in there!

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Peppermint striped candies, ginger beer, sea bands, emetrol
The pregnancy with ds1 I worked alone in an office with the occasional worker coming in to clock in/out or return keys. I was supposed to answer emails and the phone so I would push my way through that and then take 15-20 min naps on the floor
Eat what snacks you can stomach regularly. My nutritionist said the nausea is really from being hungry so if you avoid being hungry you will feel better, though that is hard.
Pregnancy with ds2 I worked at Walmart (yack) unloading trucks, ended up quitting.

 

[Laylagirl]

I actually was just taken off work... It's been difficult and my job requires federal guidelines and compliance to be followed..to have one violation can't cost the company thousands of dollars and also my job. My dr took me out because for the last two weeks I have not been able to do my job to full capacity... She starting with 4 weeks first to see how it goes... I imagine financially we will struggle, but I'm hoping for the best. I just hope my employer doesn't fire me. They are very strict..

 

[amc90]

My OB prescribed me dicglesis and it's definitely helped with the nausea. I had to tell my boss since they had me working consecutive 12 hr shifts and my body can't handle that anymore. I work as a nurse and some of the pts are bed bound, so can't really do what I used to do.

 

[alyssa.s]

I've been dealing with this but I work at a school age care facility and since we are so busy I rarely do much sitting! My mom ordered me a box of preggie pops which are little candies that help with nausea. I also subscribed to a Graze box which is a box of 8 little snacks for 11.99 a week. I take the box to work with me and eat throughout the day. For some reason this helps me because they have sweet and salty snacks that are soooo good and actually make me want to eat. Also telling some close coworkers really helped as they've been doting on me and really helping me out.

 

[Mrs. Tigger]

Hi Ladies!

Thanks for the answers and support! I'm doing better, as I figured out that it's not eating that makes me more nauseous, so I eat a snack every 2-3 hours instead of wait for big meals, and it seems better. The tiredness is a bit better as long as I'm getting plenty of sleep.

I do have a pretty free work environment, so I think I will try to take advantage of working from home when I can. I plan to reveal at work after I have my nuchal test at 12w5d; if I really need to, I could tell my managers before, but I'll try to avoid it just to keep everyone from making a fuss.

 

[PhoenixCT]

Hey another software developer! Cool. I think the hardest part of morning sickness and development is that I need all my brain cells and focus to do my job and problem solve at a pretty deep level (I am specifically a Hadoop dev, Java my primary programming language), and it's hard when I feel like I'm being disemboweled by cramps and want to hurl.

So far herbal tea and lollipops are all I got that helps. Hang in there.