Sick and Miserable. Help?

[Forthwith]

I usually have a pretty good immune system, but Wednesday morning I woke up with a sore throat and aching all over. The aching is gone, but my throat just hurts more and more. I went to a doctor who said it isn't anything like strep, but it hurts so much I can only get 2-3 hours of sleep at a time, and swallowing is agonizing and I think I'm just going to curl into a ball and start crying and never stop.

The pharmacists I talked to said I can only have tylenol and halls cough drops, nothing with echinacea. I've been trying to soothe my throat with frozen grapes, and using honey for cough syrup but that doesn't even help long enough to get to sleep. I just... if I could just sleep I know I could get better. I know it.

And I'm scared that my body will say "screw this!" and miscarry if I get too worn down, but I don't think there's anything I can do to stop that from happening.

[speculaa]

Can you stomach vitamin c chewables? I've been dosing on those lately to ward off my sore throat. I've had to forgo my precious echinacea too Gargle warm salty water, I swear by it.

[dmariev]

DDC crash.

Hey mamas.
In the beginning of my pregnancy I got sick, mainly a nasty sore throat. At the time I also had m/s, so I was eating ginger chews. I was suprised to findd that it also helped my throat. Of course you cant chew one while you are sleeping, so if you feel you really need to catch up on sleep, I have been informed that it is safe to take chidrens benadryl in the first trimester. I took it a few times, and it really helped me sleep and fight off being sick.
I also drank strong (decaf) peppermint tea.
I hope you feel better soon!!!

[ursusarctos]

Awww it sucks to be sick! I am just recovering from being sick too! What is it with BFPs that makes you sick, huh?
What I did was tons of hot herbal tea (peppermint, chamomile, rooibos for example) with honey. The warmth was the only thing that soothed my throat. Also chicken soup helped (though any warm brothy soup would be good if you're veggie). If you can stomach raw garlic and your DP doesn't care then that's great for respiratory stuff and your immune system overall.
I did do echinacea tincture according to the dose on the bottle, and I'm not worried about it. I have never read anywhere that you should avoid echinacea in pregnancy and the only semi-caution I read was because "they" haven't done any studies on echinacea in pregnancy. So it isn't scientifically established to be safe or unsafe, but because there's no official knowledge about it on the books many doctors probably prefer to err on the side of caution. I have heard of midwives giving the ok to echinacea in pregnancy, and herbals that I have consulted do not warn against it. Just my 2 cents.

[Forthwith]

Thank you, everyone! When my wife wakes up and the store opens I'll send her up for some of these things.

[oakparkveggie]

There is a tea called Throat Coat that is wonderful. Hope you feel better soon!

[mama2myloves]

I just got over being sick, too, and I never get sick! I don't have any great advice - just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry you feel like crap.

Hope you feel better soon!

[jilly]

When I was teaching and pregnant and had a sore throat I found tea made with lemon slices and honey was helpful, too. You could keep a thermal mug of warm tea by your bed to sip when you wake up.

[SunShineSally]

Originally Posted by oakparkveggie

There is a tea called Throat Coat that is wonderful. Hope you feel better soon!

I was going to say that they have one with Honey : that is the one I get and it is amazing works better than a throat drop or spray!

[ValarieR]

Originally Posted by ursusarctos

Awww it sucks to be sick! I am just recovering from being sick too! What is it with BFPs that makes you sick, huh?

Actually, our bodies lower out immune system a bit right after conception, so our bodies won't fight the blastocyst as if it were an invader... just another reason our bodies rock, and we get sick in early pregnancy

Hope you feel better momma- lots of rest and pampering!!!

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by ValarieR

Actually, our bodies lower out immune system a bit right after conception, so our bodies won't fight the blastocyst as if it were an invader... just another reason our bodies rock, and we get sick in early pregnancy

Oh wow, really? I didn't know that was actually true! I knew that our immune systems were depressed to some extent in pregnancy but didn't know it was as acute and instantaneous as that. How amazing!

[Forthwith]

Thanks for the good wishes! I finally managed to get a good sleep last night, so I'm feeling much saner! I've also (Warning:TMI) finally started coughing up phlegm, which I think is a good sign.

Thanks again to you all for the good wishes and illness-fighting tips. I really appreciate it!