SV hitting hard......

[416shopaholic26]

This is my first post here, so I appreciate anyones feedback. I feel so anxious and am in major need of some support from people who understand this dibilitating fear. So here's the scenario; My husband went away for the weekend and wouldn't you know it; BOTH my children got sick with a SV the afternoon he left (thursday). I was dealing with the two of them sick within hours of each other and I don't know how I kept it together. My daugher is 4, and my son is 20 months. They seem to have bounced back nicely but now my Mother In Law fell ill in the middle of the night!! She slept over last night because I had to work at 6 this morning and she was going to look after them today. Needless to say, I am not at work. She was only with them before they were sick (Thursday morning) and last night, but I think she shared some food with them on Thursday so she must have picked it up that way (She had not been exposed to the *V. Long story short; Now I am a complete wreck. I feel like I am just sitting here and waiting to get sick, which is absolute torture. I should mention, I am also 20 weeks pregnant with twins. The idea of getting sick is eating me up inside. It's my worst nightmare come to life. I am washing my hands like a maniac, doing laundry and bleaching the toilets etc, but I am still terrified. I can barely eat (which is awful when you're pregnant) I have also had "looser" than normal stools since thursday, and on and off stomach cramps, so I just keep waiting to "get it" I have been suffering from emet pretty well as long as I can remember, but it has gotten much worse since my daughter was born 4 years ago. She started school this year and this is her 3rd sv since September; it seems never-ending. Everytime Jan/ Feb rolls around each year, I am a nervous wreck. Last Febuary everyone in the house got Noro and is was like being in hell. I could not eat a thing for days because I was "waiting to get it" then too. It seemed to have paid off though because I only got the "heaves" once and only had *D after that and everyone else was really ill. I am praying that I will only get *D this time if I get it. When can I consider myself "in the clear"? I need to be eating for the babies and I cannot bear to put more than a bit of applesauce or dry toast in me for fear that it will come back to haunt me later. I feel so completely alone. I am so sick of this fear ruining my life. I have turned into a compulsive hand-washer and I live in fear everyday; especially this time of year. Am I doing the right thing by eating less (only toast, etc) to starve-off a potential virus? Will it lessen my symptoms if I do get sick? I don't care if I get *D, but I will do almost anything to avoid *V. Please help!

[sdfl]

I can feel your fear and pain quite well dear one. When I was but 24 weeks pregnant with my son, I became homeless. My ex, my daughter and I had to live in this shelter in the middle of September where everyone was sick with it at least once or twice! I was always washing my hands constantly, but my ex and my daughter got hit hard with this virus, and when you have to share bathrooms with everyone else; well I am certain you can imagine. For a whole week after I ate little more than a few portions of pretzel and yogurt. and I drank water and Gatorade. I only got diarrhea, but that could have been from starving myself and not getting any sleep due to panic. Keep up with the hand washing and try healthy foods like yogurt that put good bacteria into your intestines, as well as lots of fruits. Also drink grape juice, I have heard it is a intestinal virus deterrent. I could be wrong, but it is still healthy for your heart and bowels!
Best of luck for you and your little ones, you are never alone momma.

[triciamassey]

Hi! I was just wondering if what you said about your daughter having three s*v* since September was true...I thought maybe i was reading it wrong at first..Do you mean she had THREE bugs in FIVE months?? Wow that seems like alot! Did she get any s*v* before she started school or did she just start getting them when she entered school? Sorry if i sound silly but this is a major fear of mine because i also have a four year old that will be going to school this year and it TERRIFIES me to think that he will possibly get sick that much..Ugh

[416shopaholic26]

SDFL, your post and personal situation made me cry. Thank you so much for your compassion and advice. I can't tell you what a relief it is to know that there are other people who can empathize with this awful condition. There are not many people I can talk to about this that can actually relate. I will definitely try the grape juice. I have been drinking gatorade today and last night as well. TRICIAMASSEY, It's true she has had three since September. She has also had many, many colds as well. It was my biggest fear with her starting school and it has been brutal. These stomach bugs just are crazy, I knew she would get sick eventually, but this has been outrageous. She got one in October, December and now this one!!!! That being said, I do know a few moms who's kids are NEVER sick. A neighbour's child goes to the same school as my daughter and he has only been sick twice this year, and it was only with colds. It all depends on the child I suppose. She was never in daycare either which just prolongs the inevitable (or so I have been told) I would take a cold everyday of my life if I could avoid a single SV. I truly find them that awful. I wish you the best of luck in your LO starting school. Definitely give him a good multivitamin everday and make sure he sleeps a lot. One thing I do as well is scrub my daughters hands the minute she comes home from school and she also changes her clothes. Thank you again for your replies. I am still crossing my fingers that it will only get better from here. I am so tired of this controlling every aspect of my life. I am so scared that my kids will grow up with this fear, I think that's what gets me through when they are sick and I have to care for them. When my son V* the other night, he was crying and shaking and he just looked at me TERRIFIED. I felt just awful for him and tried not to show my fear, but it's just so hard!

[sage]

Hi and welcome to the site. You should find lots of help and support here. Make sure you read the "Information and Research" section as well. Many of your questions will be answered there - about noroviruses, treatment, where to get help, etc.

Briefly, if you've bleached your house then the only way you can get it now is by being in contact with one of the children's stool, getting it on your hands, not washing them and then putting your finger in your mouth (or eating a sandwich/burger). Also, if your children don't wash their hands after using the bathroom they can re-contaminate the surfaces of your home and you could pick it up on your hands. Since people are contagious before they show symptoms, your m-i-l probably picked it up from them that way.

Hopefully this helps. If it does and it calms you down some, remember that it is a stop-gap measure. You really need to address the anxiety, for the sake of all your children let alone your own sanity. Emetophobia is more and more being understood by the medical/psychotherapeutic community and it is highly treatable. You don't have to have your whole life ruined by it. Treatment is often expensive, and if that is prohibitive for you I have a self-help section on my website "resources" page - the link is below.

All the best to you and those babies!
Sage

[ButterfliesInHerEyes]

I completely understand wanting to starve yourself but if you don't get the nutrition you need, you actually lower your immune system which means you're more likely to get sick. Also, you can still vomit with nothing in your stomach - dry heaving is worse than actually vomtiing because there's no relief. So really, on the very slight chance that you do get a bug, you're better off with something in your stomach to vomit.

I know this is not what you want to hear. But the best way to keep yourself from getting sick - any kind of sick - is to keep yourself as healthy as possible to begin with. A relaxed, well-rested, well-nourished body has a lot more to fight with than an exhausted anxious weak one.

[hairyfairy]

Hi, welcome to the site. 3 svs in 5 months is pretty unusual, even for a child starting school. I was wondering if there could be a problem with her immune system. I once had 4 colds one after another,& I was so worried about it that I got a blood test for my immune system at my gp`s surgery. It turned out to be normal, & I was glad that I had it done, because the result was reassuring as I was imagining all sorts of things.

[crystalmom]

Welcome to the site, and congrats of the twins! Right there, you are a brave woman, lol! Four kids under 5....you are much stronger than you think!

First, I doubt you will become infected, since you said that you all got it, but hubby didn't, so chances are high that it is the same virus and you will be immune to it. You must eat. Bananas are a good choice, calm on the tummy, but healthy. I would also recommend the water thing. Water, water, water. I figured out in the beginning of my first pregnancy that it is better to v* water or something, than nothing at all. Two babies will "suck you dry" quickly, so really try to keep up with that. If you are uncomfortable eating a 3 course meal, stick to the BRAT diet. At least you will be getting something to give those two babies. And yourself!

Stay strong, and this too, shall pass....March and spring are around the corner!

[crystalmom]

Holy crow...that was posted a while ago...lol! Sorry about that!

[Julia31]

I totally understand where you're coming from. Since Christmas we've been hit with 3 things. A cold, SV and strep. All three for me involved nausea. I feel like I'm being tested on some level or something LOL A lot of it I think has to do with washing hands and not opening windows. They don't monitor hand washing in my childs school and I know that given the choice my kids won't do it at all! Being that I'm the one in the house all day long I'm stuck in the house where the germs are flying around so I try to open windows a lot cold or not. It's just that kind of year where lots is going around. Starving yourself is not a good idea either I've done that and I got so weak and tired I wasn't able to function very well. For the period where I may get sick I take some ginger before bed just in case.