A.R. asks from Indianapolis, IN on May 30, 2007
Chronic Coughing During Pregnancy
I am 15 weeks pregnant with my second child and have an extreme cough that starts mid-day and progressively worsens over the evening - to the point it often makes me vomit at night. I have talked to my OB - who simply said that your body produces more secretions during pregnancy, along with constricted blood vessels - not much to do about it. I am miserable and tired of vomiting from a coughing fit. I have never smoked, I drink plenty of water, and am open for any suggestions. Or at least to find someone else who has had the same thing.
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R.M. answers from Lexington on June 05, 2007
I have gone through this with each of my pregnancies, it is annoying but nothing much can be done about it. My DH says we don't need a pregnancy test just watch for me to cough uncontrollably for a few weeks and we know we are pregnant! Read up on Pregnancy Rhineitis, this may be what you are suffering with, most pregnancy sites have lots of helpful suggestions for relieving this, I use babycenter.com Hope you find some relief!
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M.M. answers from Louisville on May 31, 2007
I would go to my family Dr. and ask he/she what i could do.
J.C. answers from Fort Wayne on June 01, 2007
Hi! It's safe to take robotussin during pregnancy. You have to get plain robotussin though, no letters in the name. It may help to control it.
K.G. answers from Fort Wayne on May 31, 2007
My sister-in-law just went through this. Hers was so bad she was having Braxton Hicks that wouldn't stop, and ended up in the hospital. She is only about 16 weeks along. They put her on cough medicine with codeine, because it is safer to take the medicine than go into labor right now. I think she also has been taking Robitussin when she has to be awake and functioning. Because it is affecting you so much, I would ask your OB if you could try an OTC cough syrup. If he doesn't like that idea, you might just try to keep a cough drop or hard candy close by all the time to see if that will stave off the coughing fit.
A.D. answers from Charleston on June 04, 2007
I had the same thing when I was pregnant with my son who's now 3. Started out of the blue and lasted (not quite to the point of throwing up) until I delivered. They actually put me on antibiotics at first to make sure there was no infections-I was NOT happy about that. I was told to use a humidifier in my room when I slept and to take Robitussin, I think just the cough suppressant one, at night so I (and my DH) could get some sleep. It seemed to help and actually seemed to make the day coughing not as horrid too. Good Luck!
A. D.
K.M. answers from Louisville on May 31, 2007
I know there have been respiratory viruses going around lately. I had one that made me so congested and cough really bad. I have also had very bad allergies--this has been the worst season in like 11 years for seasonal spring my allergist said. I haven't been able to take my usual Allegra for allergies, so I am on just Claritin. It helps some. You might want to see your general physician just to rule out a virus that has lead to an infection. It's true that you do have more secretions when pregnant, but if you get sick (or allergies) on top of that, it makes it much worse.
K.M. answers from Indianapolis on May 31, 2007
I'm 18 weeks and in the middle of this right now. I, too, think it is just a raging bad allergy season. Mine will settle down significantly if I take 1 tsp of Benadryl. Maybe your OB will let you do that?
R.M. answers from Lexington on June 05, 2007
I have gone through this with each of my pregnancies, it is annoying but nothing much can be done about it. My DH says we don't need a pregnancy test just watch for me to cough uncontrollably for a few weeks and we know we are pregnant! Read up on Pregnancy Rhineitis, this may be what you are suffering with, most pregnancy sites have lots of helpful suggestions for relieving this, I use babycenter.com Hope you find some relief!
K.B. answers from Indianapolis on May 31, 2007
Interesting.. I just went to the Dr about this yesterday.
I am 33 weeks along and the coughing was keeping me up all night, plus I have a 10 month old and was feeling like my last few wks of sleep were being ruined.
My Dr said tht I do not have a bacteria or virus from what they could tell and insisted they are allergies.
She said the constant secretions from the nose into the throat make it irritated therefore, causing this cough attacks.
They also told me Robitussin and tylenol allergies BUT not in the 1st trimester. At 15 weeks, I'd wait a few more weeks to take those since they can apparently cause defects or problems with the formation in the first months...
Sorry you're so misserable but at least its nice to hear others have the same problem so it explains my own symptoms....
I also suspected allergies cos no one else in my home have gotten remotely sick and they simply don't suffer from allergies..
A.
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