Who here has been diagnosed (yes, diagnosed, not just “I felt sick for a couple hours in early September and my cousin’s neighbor in Indiana had swine flu so I’m sure that’s what it is”) with H1N1 so far this season?
I have, accompanied by 2 other people at my work. We all had almost identical symptoms day by day, it was the sickest I’ve been in a long time. Bedridden for most of a week, didn’t get much of a fever though. Some coughing and allergy symptoms, took my Tamiflu and got better.
I was regularly taking a big handful of drugs all day long, Allegra, a couple pseudoephedrine, a couple ibuprofen, Tamiflu, etc…
All is well now though, this was in mid-September. I still have an occasional lingering cough.
This may not qualify because I had sense enough never to get officially diagnosed but I had to go to the emergency room for something completely unrelated at the height of the scare and I was admitted to a bed next door to where they were housing all the swine flu victims. I didn’t like the way I saw them being treated and did not ever want to be officially quarantined like that. After I got home, I came down with flu-like symptoms myself and was basically paralyzed in a stupor on the couch for 4 days. I didn’t eat anything whatsoever and it took me over an hour to build up the strength to get some water or use the bathroom and I usually had to do an “army crawl” to make it those 30 feet. It was certainly some type of flu. I get annoyed when people think that the flu is simply a very bad cold because it is not not. It is very serious.
My neighbor is an ICU nurse, and she said our symptoms were right for H1N1. Called our doctor, and he said that the only flu they’ve been seeing that early was H1N1 and that they weren’t even bothering testing or reporting any more. Probably as much to keep us home as anything else.
For two days, our only source of calories was Gatorade and the starch and gelatin in the Tamiflu capsules. On the fourth day or so, we looked at each other at the same time - about 8 PM - and asked if maybe we should try to eat something.
OK, so it was not officially diagnosed…but like the OP, I came down with a flu on a Friday morning so quickly and violently debilitating I can think of no other flu like it in my lifetime.
Luckily, I am older than most of those who get worse cases, but all I can tell you is that for one day, I thought I was going to die. I could barely walk the four feet to the bathroom and had to hold myself against the wall, could do nothing but lay flat in bed and called in sick at work for the first time in five years. Luckily, the next day I actually felt MUCH better, but as it was then a weekend, I pretty much stayed within a 20 foot distance of bed/bathroom and couch. I don’t think I ate three bites of food all weekend. By Monday, I was back to about 90% normal and went to work.
I think I am safe in saying whatever it was, it was the worst case of flu I have ever had - and BTW, I get flu shots every year, but it didn’t help in this case.
If you only suffer symptoms for less than three days, is it influenza at all? There are some illnesses that mirror some of the symptoms, but a quick recovery, especially without drug treatments involved, suggest to me it’s not actual flu.
Not me, but my son. Last Tuesday night he suddenly got a really high fever and a bad cough. We took him in the next morning. A nasal swab test and he tested positive for Influenza A. The Dr. said they used to have to send any positives to the CDC but have been told not to any more. They said the only strain of the A virus going around right now is H1N1. We got him on Tamiflu early and he got better in a couple of days. About the time he got better his brother spiked a fever so we called the Dr. who said not to bother bringing him in… he was prescribed Tamiflu also and again was fine in a couple of days. The Dr. did say that without treatment with the H1N1 virus it will take at least 5 full days to run its course.
Now there’s an understatement. We were laid out for eight or nine days, and that was with starting Tamiflu within a few hours of thinking “This is hitting me differently and far harder than a normal head cold.”
The distinctive chain of events was feeling a little “coldish” one day, fine the next, then on the day after that, I woke up feeling normal, then within about 45 minutes’ time, began to feel like complete crap and started sweating.
About all I remember was that Tamiflu is hard to find - the pharmacy had to call several other stores in the area to cobble together enough to treat two people. It’s also nonformulary on my health insurance, but even at $50 for each of us, it was worth the price if it shortened the misery by even one day.
Another one not “officially” diagnosed. I was on a flight up to Houston from my home here on the U.S./Mexico border in May. A few days after coming home, I became sick as a dawg. High fever, chills, weakness, etc. I did have Tamiflu. I was acutely ill for about 2 weeks, and truly wasn’t afebrile for 3 weeks. The main reason I’m not positive as to what flu it was is that I’ve read there is a GI component to H1N1. My problems were mainly from the fever. One positive note–I quit smoking during the flu and have been smoke-free for almost 5 months! The area where I live has had the highest amount of deaths from H1N1 in the country.
Well…my doctor’s office is no longer taking cultures, as they are assuming any flu in the area is H1N1. I was told, as other Dopers have said, it’s the only flu circulating right now, and there are confirmed cases in my community. I’m wondering if there will be fewer people diagnosed for this reason.
They are treating me now assuming I have H1N1. This…thing has hit me hard, as other Dopers have described it. It started with a painful burning in my chest and raw throat (like I’d be screaming) on day one, progressed low grade fever (hovering near 100, usually 99.5ish) and painful cough on day two, and then completely glued me to the sofa on day three. The description of how much strength it takes just to get to the bathroom is dead on. I do not want to move. My limbs felt like lead, and I swear they almost tingle in weakness. I also was up half the night coughing. Boo.
Since I’m preggers, I was started on Tamiflu on day two. I thought I might manage to go back to work today, ha ha. I lasted 10min in my classroom (late start today, so I was there an hour before the kids) before getting swallowed by fever and feeling my heart race every time I walked more than five steps. So, I Purelled myself and my desk, got sub plans ready, and came home before the kiddos arrived. I do feel better than yesterday in that I can move without feeling like my arms and legs are going to fall off, but I’m still cooked.
My doc said if I’m feeling better and the fever diminishes, I can go back to work tomorrow. I do hope so. Being home is BORING, but I’d hate to infect my kiddos, and I’d hate to make myself sicker by pushing myself too soon.
Was out for a week solid with the flu last month. Mentioned it to my FP dad, and he told me to go see my PP. They both agreed that it sounded like H1N1. PP tested me but admitted that it wasn’t really worth it to test and sent me home with a Tamiflu scrip that I was to fill if I spiked a fever. I was sick enough that I fell asleep in her office while waiting for the test returns.
Coughing to no end, low grade fever, achiness, chills, emotionally fragile.
I stayed in bed or on the couch with gallons of liquids and blankies. Didn’t really feel 100% until said week had passed – and I really don’t get knocked down that hard very often.
I suspect very very few of you have been officially ‘diagnosed’ with H1N1 since there is no reliable, rapid, cheap diagnostic test. Your blood must be sent to a state lab for testing and in most areas of the country those tests are only being done on admitted patients and healthcare workers.
That being said, in my ER, if you come in with flu-like symptoms, you have H1N1 as far as I’m concerned. But since the current CDC recommended treatment for otherwise healthy patients is TLC they all go home anyway.
Speaking of which, please don’t go to the ER for flu-like symptoms unless you really think you’re in need of emergent medical attention; we’re really starting to get overwhelmed at this point.
Forgot to add in my post, I was officially diagnosed. Had the horrible nose swab (twice), sample was sent to the Health Department, etc. I’ve talked to them a couple of times to answer questions about symptoms, etc., and they say they’re going to call me again after my baby is born in January.
Might be because of my location…not as many cases of H1N1 here in Oklahoma as there are in some other parts of the country.