Foo - How can you tell when you've got the flu?

Because I think I may have it.

Like last week, I just felt like I had no appetite. I still feel like I have no appetite- I have to force myself to eat one meal a day. Then yesterday, I just felt a little off- not good, not bad, just off. Then I started feeling like my throat was a little scratchy. Then today, it took me 2 hours to get up this morning, and my throat felt a little worse. I had to go teach my cycling class, and when I got back, I started to feel a little more crappy. Right now, I have what feels a little like a lower backache, my throat feels a little sore, my lymph nodes on my neck feel a little tender, my head is starting to hurt, and dammit if I don't have cold sores coming on my lip!

Ok, I was forewarned to get the dang flu shot, but I didn't- but all I can do is say better me than some old person or some young kid that can't handle getting sick as well as me.

So, is this the flu, and what should I do? I'm eating Halls cough drops like nobody's business, I'm drinking orange juice and water like a vampire sucking blood, and I'm trying to get rest. I have to teach two classes tomorrow morning, and there's no getting out of it, then I have a Wednesday class that I don't think I'll be able to sub. There won't be any rest for me until Wednesday at about 2pm. I don't plan on taking any aspirin or anything along those lines- I popped enough of those for aches and pains over the last few years, so I weaned myself off depending on them for pain. Maybe Tylenol?

Shoot, I got BCBS. Why am I avoiding a doctor? I need to make that insurance work for me!

Am I gonna be ok? Will I live? Am I gonna make it to Thursday? How long does this bug last anyway? I don't have time for this mess!

Oh, am I gonna throw up? I just got these really expensive suede comfortor/shams/pillow set, and I swear, I would rather swollow my own vomit than upchuck all over my beautifully made bed.... hmmmmm... maybe I'll sleep on the couch for the next few days. It's a sofa bed.

Being sick sucks.

Koffee

Hi,
sorry to hear you are sick. You know the drill, lots of fluids, NSAIDS, rest, and chicken soup. I drink a ton of herbal tea.
There is a new one from Choice Organic Teas called Northwest Blackberry that I like a lot. What you want in a cough drop is something to suck on. I like Cream Savers No sugar caramel/chocolate.
Hope you feel better soon.

I don't think it's the flu Koffee. I think the back pain / crappy feeling is a cold that's going around. Did you have any pain in or around your shoulders? I'm going on ten days of the symptons you describe and finally feel like it's waning today.

BTW, I didn't throw up. I cycled and ran my usual routine, albiet at a lower intensity than normal, and usually felt better for it.

I feel a little pain behind the shoulders and in the back of the neck. I really do hope this is a cold. I'd hoped I would catch the flu after I got a new primary care physician (cause I just got this kick ass BCBS insurance) and went in for a checkup so I can get seen for the flu symptoms as well as get my yearly physical.
:( I can handle the cold- the flu though... I may cry.

I'm forcing myself to continue on the orange juice. I wanted to eat a little more than the soup, but I just couldn't get the enthusiasm to eat one more bite- I wish they had IVs you could buy at the store and just attach to your arm when you weren't eating so you can still get your nutrients or something. It worries me that I'm not eating a lot- I have the tendancy to skip eating meals, then when I have my yearly blood work, my protein count is up and they're telling me to eat more. I'm sure by not eating, I'm just making myself more suceptible.

I'm starting to feel a tiny bit of a headache coming on too. It helps to have the lights out.

:(

Koffee

Anytime I feel body aches it is something more than a simple cold. Colds to me are simply nasal congestion and maybe chest congestion with coughing and sneezing...body aches is when I get worried...

someone told me to drink red wine
i didn't realize he meant only one glass full :)
three weeks of sneeze... sneeze... oh i feel dizzy, no thank you i am not hungry, wish i could drink a lake, why didn't the alarm go off- oh hehe i slept til 1 pm, stumbles, sneeze.... sneeze...
why is only one nostril leaking? why am i so tired.. sneeze sneeze... why the hell do i keep sneezing?
eventually i reckoned that i best drink the water i craved, drop some tylenol and see if i can sleep through one night without waking 4-5 times.

the bottle of wine helped with the sleep... but i am still weak, have to work, no one to take my place and i hope all the customers who sneezed on me.. get sick!
jk... sort of.

get thee to a dr. if it is the flu- it could turn into pneumonia- like mine did.
get better and stock up on chicken soup... it is all i can eat at the moment.. and is sure to be out of stock soon... as flu vaccines diminish.

Hi Ellen, haven't heard much from you lately, sorry you're unwell. Hope you feel better soon.

Koffee, seriously, get yourself to a doctor. It's all well and good to get advice from a forum such as this one, and while it may well be good advice, most of the people here aren't professionals in this field. When I had food-poisoning earlier this year and couldn't eat, I found dry toast with a little vegemite to be about all I could keep down. Either way, get yourself to a doc and get well quickly.

Getting to a doctor is good advice. The flu shouldn't make you throwup. The flu is a cold gone into high gear. It can cause pneumonia. It will take a full week to start even feeling better. With the shortage of vaccine this year and the mutating strains it could be a rough season.

Well, Chris... it's the vegemite that you probably had the problem with. That's some nasty stuff, dood. :D

Yeah, I may just get to a doctor. I just didn't want to helter skelter pick a primary physician without checking him or her out first. I don't want to jump from doctor to doctor- I want to feel comfortable with one person, that's all.

Sorry to hear you're sick, Juci. Was that red wine you said I should be drinking? I don't have any of that, but I do have some old Grandad's whiskey, and the old wives tale says one cup of ole' grandad's mixed in with a touch of honey and lemonade, then heat 30 seconds in the microwave, then jump under the blankets and rub yourself down with Vic's salve and sweat it out. I'm always better within 24 hours when I do that. Think I'll try that too while I'm at it.

I've got a cycling class then a kickboxing class tomorrow, then I'll head on out and get the rest of the ingredients and make a doctor's appointment for Wednesday and at least get some kind of antibiotic-type medicine that can fight the spread of the flu virus (if that's what I've got).

Koffee

get thee to a dr. if it is the flu- it could turn into pneumonia- like mine did.

I neglected to go to the doctor when I got sick....got "well", then got sick again, got "well", then sick again.....over and over for months. It turned into an awful case of pneumonia that almost killed me. I was told that if I had not checked in when I had, I would have not lasted another day. I was in the hospital for 11 days and was weak and fragile for weeks after I got out.

My advice is see a doctor!

Hey Koffee-
Now is no time to take free advice...unless it is mine!
:D
I woke up Sunday at 3am only to drive the porcelain bus around my abthroom a few times. And again. And again. And again.
When all was said and done, it was 1230pm Sunday, Ginger Ales and Saltines finally shaking hands with the stomach.
I have always had a strong constitution (plus I was a pin cushion for Uncle Sam - any veteran will know what I mean) so I lucked out on this one according to the Doc. But I am not in the clear...still weak, feverish, and lackluster appetite (I had lettuce and red bell peppers for dinner after yogurt and pbnjs for lunch...I SNUCK 1 OREO TOO!).
So go to your Doctor already. And stop wasting time here. This is a seaon of familyhood (sounds good, eh?). And you need to be as close to 100% as possible.

Hmmm.. familyhood, huh? This is the PERFECT out I've been looking for to avoid our annual disfunctional Christmas get-together. There's no way I could face the wolves less than 100% anyway. :D

I just got off the BCBS website and pulled down the name of 6 doctors I'll call first thing in the morning and see if any of them can take me tomorrow when I get off teaching my classes.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Koffee

Chances are you have the flu, as you know it is spreading fast this year and it is going to be a nasty season. Drink plenty of fluids, including and some form of oral re-hydration solution like fruit juices and avoid all alcohol. Eat simple foods if you can, like rice, oats etc and stay away from anything greasy. Take the next few days off from work, be considerate and avoid spreading the virus to others. Many tropical diseases, as well as others, will have similar symptoms to the flu, but if you have been in North America for the last month or so, it is most likely the flu. Stay in bed, keep a bucket close by and find a good novel to read and let it pass. If you suspect it is something else and you have non-flu like symptoms then find a doctor. However, like other who have posted, I am not a GP and my advice is only from personal experience.
Anyway, get well soon.
Regards,
Gordon

koffee,

Please be careful with this one, its really nasty.
One of the guys here at work wasn't feeling too well,
went home took temp and was running 105, which for
an adult isn't a good thing (heck not good for kids either)
Go to the doctor, blow off teaching if you have to it will
only make things worse, you can't sweat out infuenza.

165-48:17 Driving the porcelain bus? Usually I'm talking
on the great white telephone to god. . .

hope ya'll are feeling better,
Marty

Good luck Koffee. The Old Grand Dad should help break a fevor, but be carefull of too much it will do more harm than good. I once tried a bowl of hot soup folowed by a glass of scotch (I think) followed by a nap. Got up and felt fine. But I don't know if it always works.

Joe

Get well soon, girlfriend!

Check your temperature. If it's high, take Ibprofen (sp). Last year when I got the flu I got up to 102.7 F. Took me about two weeks b4 I was 100%.

When I got the flu a couple of years ago, I didn't feel a little sore, a little crappy. I felt like I got run over by a truck, only there was no truck in sight. It came on very suddenly as well. In the morning I was fine. In the afternoon, I started to cough and feel like death warmed over. By that night I had a fever of 103 and had to leave the camping trip I'd gone on with my Girl Scout troop. By the next night, it hurt just to breathe and my husband was dragging me into the emergency room because my fever was 104.5F. I didn't want to go because that meant moving.

There's lots of viruses that can cause sore throat, aching, fever, etc. but if you ever get the flu, believe me, you'll know it, without a doubt. BTW- the kind of "flu" people talk about where you throw up, get the runs- the "intestinal flu"- is almost always actually a mild to moderate case of food poisoning.

Hillary (who never wants to be that sick again)

When I got the flu a couple of years ago, I didn't feel a little sore, a little crappy. I felt like I got run over by a truck, only there was no truck in sight. It came on very suddenly as well.
I'm no expert, but when I got sick in Australia once (nothing against Australia, I guess it just happens sometimes when you travel,) it hit me suddenly. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing cold, even though it was very warm; must have been 103 or 104 fever. It was a fierce attack, nothing like a cold.

My uneducated guess: when you get the flu, there's no mistaking it.

The last time I got the flu it was also "run over by a truck." I truly thought I'd die. The only other time i felt physically worse than that was when I woke up after major surgery. Flu is debilitating, colds usually aren't.

One thing I also notice about the flu is that it can just hit you like BAM! One minute you're fine, and then all of a sudden you start shivering and practically collapse.

Now i get the shot, who needs that misery?

SOmetimes, though, I've known women who thought they had a flu and it turns out they're pregnant.

Is it true that on average 36000 people a year in the states die from it, or am I reading this wrong?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/19/sprj.flu03.epidemic/index.html

How can you tell when you have the flu?

Look at MsVicki, and if you look and feel like her, you have the flu!

:(

(Dammit, I KNEW this would happen....I haven't done my Christmas shopping, waited till the last minute...and I get sick! At least I am off work for two weeks!)

Is it true that on average 36000 people a year in the states die from it, or am I reading this wrong?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/19/sprj.flu03.epidemic/index.html


true, in 1918, 500,000 died from it.

Hope you are feeling better koffee.

Hi,
when the flu jumped to humans, we had no defense. It killed something like 10 percent of the world's population. They say it killed more people than WW1; which had just happened. My grandfather felt himself coming down with it; and got roaring drunk. He woke up several days later in the morgue. They had given him up for dead, and placed him in a room with hundreds of bodies.

true, in 1918, 500,000 died from it.

Hope you are feeling better koffee.

Thanks CB. I'm feeling much better, but I got sick off the antibiotics, so I had to stop taking it. I just hope that I don't end up getting it again. Just to be on the safe side, if someone says they're sick, I just avoid them like crazy.

I still feel like my aerobic levels are like zero percent. I went out to my annual Christmas party and they played merenge and salsa, and I couldn't last more than 1 1/2 songs before going back to my seat!

Koffee