when to become concerned about dehydration (stomach flu) *update, need more advice plz*

[DeChRi]

I am 22w. I came down with a stomach virus last night and have been throwing up ever since. I have managed to keep down about 6-8oz of fluid since last night at 7pm (now 2:15pm here). However, all water, juice and tea have come up. The only thing that stayed down was part of a random diet coke I found in the closet and sipped on to try and help the wicked headache I have (had to skip morning coffee due to pukage).

I have not thrown up significantly in the last 3 hours. If I get up and move around I instantly feel like I need to vomit. So I am staying in bed.

Any things I should look for?

[umsami]

Watch your urine. Pale yellow/colorless... good. Dark colored/small volume...bad.

Take a sip... wait a few minutes... sip again. See how that goes, rather than trying to drink a few oz. at a time. Gatorade/Pedialyte is always good if you can stomach it. I also saw Pedialyte strips (no liquid!) at my drugstore...so those could help as well.

[tri31]

Our family all got the stomach flu on Tue. I was only sick for 8 hours or so. After that I was able to keep the fluids down. Still frequently nauseous though, but I am feeling much better. Is dark urine a sign of trouble? My midwife said she wanted me to go get checked out if I were sick all night (that night) but I wasn't.

[BlackSheepPDX]

Dark urine in very small amounts, or long periods without peeing (being pregnant, that means more than a couple of hours) are signs of poor hydration. Dry lips, dry mouth, dizziness, headache, excessive fatigue, are all signs you need more fluids. If you can't keep ANYTHING down at this point (you're approaching 24 hours with little to no fluid intake), it's worth getting seen and possibly getting some IV fluids. The dehydration component of a stomach bug can be a vicious cycle, in that dehydration ALSO makes you vomit (lame, but true) and then further prevents you from adequately rehydrating yourself. Sometimes a little fluid boost is needed to get you over the hump and feeling better. And pregnant, I'd be inclined to ask for that help sooner than later. You'll feel SO much better.

[DeChRi]

Thanks All. I couldnt hold a thing until about 4pm. I had a small bowl of cereal that so far has stuck. And a couple bites of cheese. (I know dairy is a nono but its the only thing that makes me not want to puke).

I have been doing tiny sips of water. As long as I stay still I don't puke. DH just went for soup and popsicles and such. Pretty miserable but I am hopping i am over the worst.

[tri31]

Thanks for posting this information. I really needed to focus on rehydrating. I feel allot better today.

[at_the_hip]

frozen items can sometimes stay down better...they quench the thirst but you can easily take a smaller amount. I hope you are feeling much much better. The stomach flu is the worst...I have been there mama.

[DeChRi]

TONS better today. Stomach is a bit iffy, but getting plenty of fluids, soups, popsicles and such down. Rough 24 hours but at least it past fast.

[mumkimum]

Sitting in a bath (esp. when you're having trouble keeping liquids down) can help with dehydration too.

[DeChRi]

Ugh, I have had a re-worsening. I woke up, felt good, had a couple glasses of fluids, some eggs and oatmeal, sat great, got out for errands with fam, had a small lunch. Felt a little yucky after, was really dragging an hour later, slept 3 hours, and since I woke up I have had horrible waves of nausea again, this time with stomach cramps, from low up to my chest, shoulder and neck cramping..and I just feel awful. Is this just residual virus?

[DeChRi]

I sat down for dinner, pretty hungry, go part way through and it was tasting good, then out of no where I had to sprint to the bathroom and up it all came.

No fever. No body aches.

[at_the_hip]

It just sounds like you aren't quite over it yet and your tummy couldn't handle all that digestion...it is tough when you feel so hungry, but I would stick with fluids, applesauce, rice, broth/soup, crackers, jello, popsicles and the like for now. I have had a lot of luck with Emergen-C...I take a packet put in a regular water bottle and just sip. It really helps get the electrolytes back.

With this type of severe tummy virus, mine has always lasted past 24 hours...the stomach weakness...if you haven't had diarrhea then you might end up with that as well before this is over, but hopefully not. IME the stomach cramps were par for the course. Mostly worry about keeping fluids in you...if you can't, it's probably time to think about the ER.

[limette]

My daughter had the puking flu two weeks ago, no symptoms other than puking. Someone posted a link to Dr Sears site, about vomiting and it really helped me out. You could probably google it.

There are stages of dehydration and of puking. Basically you start with sips of liquid every 10 minutes increasing as your time between puking decreases. You really have to ease yourself up to solid foods.

When our highschool did fasting for charity, at the end everyone was famished but you can't just gorge on food because it'll come up after being empty for so long.

[BlackSheepPDX]

The shoulder/neck cramps are concerning to me. Body cramps are related to dehydration. Be really sure you're rehydrating. Frequent small intake. Not "a couple of glasses" at a time, small sips constantly. Rehydration takes much longer than dehydration did.

It does sound like you're being way too adventurous with your return to food. Keep it simple for a day or so. Broth, jello, diluted juice, electrolyte drinks (Recharge, Gatorade) ,BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) and low fat, easily digestible stuff as you progress back to real food.

As PP said, fluids are the most important part of this. You can do fine without much food for a while, but fluids are critical. If you aren't getting fluids down and keeping them down, GO GET AN IV.

[Kailey's mom]

How does your urine look? Are you running a temp? I agree with the PP.. don't worry at all about food.. just pump the liquids. If this goes on for much longer, you might need to go get hydrated at the ER. Don't feel bad about it, this thing happens, and it may be just what you need. take care of yourself and i'm so sorry you are sick.

[welsh]

I had the same thing last week @ 15 wks pg.
I focused on the sips of liquids first; water or pedialyte, no juice. No food. Your stomach is prob inflamed and needs to heal.
Next progressed to broth. Small small spoonfuls to begin with. Water and gatotrade
Even when I hadn't vomited for 12 hrs, I was only eating a small cup of soup and crackers. Still focusing on the fluids.
Also you need to stay home and rest not push yourself to be out running errands.
Get better Mama!

[GuavaGirl]

At this point, I do think you may need an IV. Dehydration isn't something to play around with when pregnant. I believe once you're really dehydrated, it's hard to catch up, without extra help, esp with your vomiting.

Have you called your doctor or midwife?

[Lousli]

I would check in with your care provider. I ended up with a stomach virus that lead to dehydration and contractions 3 minutes apart. There's a long story, but I did end up delivering my daughter 7 weeks early.

If you do need an IV, it isn't that bad at all and you'll be amazed how much better you feel. There are also some medications which are safe for pregnancy to help deal with severe nausea, so you might be able to take something by IV or suppository that would allow you to at least keep some liquids down.

[DeChRi]

Thank you all for your replies. Per many PP's advice, I ended up calling my OB last night. She gave me (shockingly, lol) much of the same advice you all did. I did little bits of fluid all night, which stayed down just fine. I did the same all morning, in larger quantities. I monitored my urine output which was decent and not too yellow. No fever or anything. I touched base with OB again just a bit ago. After discussing in length, she wants me to get my gall bladder checked. (I posted in another thread that I suspected this). Of course I am hoping it is just a finicky virus. But the cramping in those specific areas, couple with this odd constant pain kind of under my ribcage (which I had attributed to normal pregnant squished organ heart burn stuff), and the feeling fine w/ no other symptoms, then WHAM, profuse vomiting, plus a family history.

So fingers crossed that I over-did it post stomach virus. But we are checking gall bladder. In the meantime she has me monitoring fluids in and out and should that not go according to plan, they will rehydrate me there when I go in for the gall bladder check.

THanks again for all of the advice!