Crap - I think I have H1N1...

[Dennis Donovan]

I've been sick since yesterday morning and have had a consistent fever of over 101. It seems to be moving into my lungs (which might be an issue because of my asthma). According to the website http://www.symptoms-h1n1.com/ I have all the symptoms:
* Fever – particularly a fever of over 100 degrees
* Sore throat
* Cough
* Chills and fatigue
* Body aches
* Headache
* Occasionally, vomiting and diarrhea
...well, except for the last one (thankfully).

Ugh...:(

[Lisa0825]

1. Ugh... I hope you kick it quickly! nt

[knowbody0]

2. apparently, if you do not show signs of improvement

by day 3, or if you are unable to catch a breath, you should seek medical attention.

take care, and good luck.

[Ex Lurker]

45. I had something last week

caught it on Sunday, it was relatively mild until Thursday, and then for a couple of days I felt as bad as I've ever felt. I had to take hot showers to stop the shivering, couldn't sleep for the coughing, etc. Feeling a lot better now, but I still have no energy and a painfully sore throat. I guess it was the flu, but I really don't know. High ins. deductible, so I toughed it out.

[grasswire]

3. yep

Can you get Tamiflu? I just read in my local paper about a 25-year-old man who died of complications this week. Take good care of yourself. Get help. Don't wait.

[Dennis Donovan]

8. I thought Tamiflu was a vaccine - I just looked it up and it's also a treatment...

As much as I loathe to make Rumsfeld richer.;-) I wasn't going to go to the dr (I was going to let it run its course) but maybe I'll go if there's an actual treatment available. Thanks for the heads-up!:thumbsup:

[Indenturedebtor]

9. Yes - it costs 80 bucks without insurance

But it works. This is serious business so you should probably get some if you think you have H1N1

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. go tomorrow

[pnwmom]

22. My doctor prefers people not go to the office with flu symptoms --

she wants people to call her first. In most cases, she can prescribe whatever's needed over the phone, without subjecting other patients to exposure.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Agreed, call tomorrow

[DainBramaged]

29. My doctor went...........

yup, you've got it, go home and ride it out............and I did for 5 days. Not pretty..........

[Electric Monk]

32. I think I had it back in August. Rough 4 days, but in hindsight, I'm kinda glad it's over.

Now I don't worry about catching it again or vaccine issues or any of that stuff.

It's a flu. It felt like a flu. Some people die from flu every year, but the large majority don't. This is another flu.


Don't panic.

[grasswire]

39. if the virus mutates, people can catch it again.

Just sayin'. That's what the experts say.

[Electric Monk]

40. That's the same with any virus though, right?

and there are brazillians of virii out there...

so, panic?

[pnwmom]

21. You might not have to go in. Your doctor might be willing to prescribe it over the phone.

My doctor said to call in if I got flu symptoms and she would prescribe it.

It's especially important for people with asthma. Good luck!

[Ms. Toad]

53. It isn't ALSO a treatment - it is ONLY a treatment.

Tamiflu is not a vacccine - it is an antiviral medication (like an antibiotic, only for viruses).

If you have been exposed, and you are in a high risk group, your doctor may want to put you on Tamiflu in order to prevent you from reaching a viral load stage at which you show symptoms (or to minimize the symptoms if it is unable to prevent it entirely), but using it that way still doesn't make it a vaccine.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. do you have the pain behind the eyes?

it really knocks you off your feet that you can hardly get out of bed for days. The vomiting lasted about a day?

Get better soon!

[Dennis Donovan]

11. I've had what is akin to a major sinus headache that even Tylenol won't touch...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

59. steam inhalation

my son used steam inhalation (boiling water in bowl and towel over head) as he had a bad chest infection with it.

[Rhiannon12866]

61. I've had that, too, and Tylenol didn't do anything for me, either.

Saw the doctor on Monday and he put me on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. But I read up on it and it said that Tylenol won't work, that Ibuprofen (Advil) is necessary to reduce the inflammation. x(

[parasim]

5. Maybe you should check with a doctor.

Just sayin'...

[Divine Discontent]

6. good vibes/God bless you - I hope you recover quickly - don't wait if you get any worse or it

doesn't go away, I would go tomorrow to the doc.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Have you seen a doctor?!

You can't fool around with these things, especially if you have lung issues. It can move to pneumonia very fast. And I know what I'm talking about, lost a group leader last week. :scared: :hug:

[Dennis Donovan]

10. No - I was going to let it run its course...

I know you're familiar with my health issues, especially my asthma. Believe it or not, I have the AC blasting and I'm still sweating.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Yes, I am, and that's why I'm scared.

You tend to let these things go, remember that well, but you can't take a chance with this. The person I know was out-and-about the day before, hadn't seen a doctor despite knowing he was sick, couldn't breathe, and collapsed on his own front porch. He was 53. Please don't put this off... :scared: :hug:

[emsimon33]

69. No, turn off the AC! The fever helps your body kill the virus

Stay warm, drink hot liquids, put a heating pad on your chest, gargle with salt water....take care of yourself a dear friend of my brother's, a man in his late 40s died last week of H1N1 because he also had lung problems.

[Warpy]

12. If you find yourself having any trouble breathing at all

get your tail into an ER for a Tamiflu prescription.

Even with asthma, the odds are with you. You just want to make sure they stay that way.

Good luck, kiddo. The flu sucks no matter what initials it goes by.

[mucifer]

13. I hope you feel better soon. BTW if it makes you feel better a ton of people have

it and don't know they have it and get better.

I got the vaccine because I'm a nurse for severely ill kids.

[johnaries]

16. If you have asthma, don't fuck around! GO to the ER, NOW!

Normally, for regular flu I would just say stay home, cover up and "sweat it out" while drinking plenty of fluids to replace the ones you sweat out. But from everything I've read H1N1 is particularly hard on the respiratory system and if you have existing respiratory problems it can get very, very serious.

There is a time to be brave, and a time to take no chances - this is a time to take no chances. GO!

[ChicagoSuz219]

18. You took the words right out of my mouth! GO... GO NOW!!! nt

[Dennis Donovan]

19. What, and stop posting on DU?

:silly:
As shitty as I feel, I guess I still have my sense of humor...

[Electric Monk]

23. The two pre-existing conditions that can make it really serious are diabetes and asthma/respiratory

With diabetes the problem is your blood sugar levels can go all out of whack due to diarrhea and vomiting, and the other problem is it can make already existing breathing issues worse.

I wouldn't say run to the ER just because you've had asthma in the past, but be ready to go (maybe ask a close friend/neighbor to be ready to drive you) if you start having difficulty breathing.

Above all though, don't panic.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Oh THANKS

why I am trying to get the frigging vaccine...

but he should not play with it.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

46. Monk is right about the complications.

[Individualist]

72. There are more than two conditions that can make it really serious

People who have medical conditions including:

* Asthma
* Neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions .
* Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis)
* Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
* Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
* Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
* Kidney disorders
* Liver disorders
* Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
* Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or cancer, or those on chronic steroids)
* People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/highrisk.htm

[ChicagoSuz219]

51. That's good... hope you don't die laughing... ;-)

Seriously... go check it out... I don't want to catch it!

[pnwmom]

24. He could call his doctor (most have a way of taking phone calls off hours)

and avoid a trip to the emergency room. If the doctor is willing to prescribe Tamiflu over the phone -- and if there's an all-night pharmacy.

[johnaries]

38. I'm not a doctor, but from what I've read Tamiflu won't help.

The flu is not the problem, but how it attacks his already compromised respiratory system. His asthma is the problem. H1N1 only makes it worse.

[pnwmom]

42. The CDC recommends Tamiflu (or another anti-viral) for those at high risk of complications.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/antiviral.htm

SNIP


When should health care providers start treatment with antiviral drugs?
Once the decision to administer antiviral treatment is made, treatment with zanamivir or oseltamivir should be initiated as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. Evidence for benefits from antiviral treatment in studies of seasonal influenza is strongest when treatment is started within 48 hours of illness onset. However, some studies of oseltamivir treatment of hospitalized patients with seasonal influenza have indicated benefit, including reductions in mortality or duration of hospitalization even for patients whose treatment was started more than 48 hours after illness onset.

When treatment is indicated, health care providers generally should not wait for laboratory confirmation of influenza to begin treatment with antiviral drugs because laboratory testing can delay treatment and because a negative rapid test for influenza does not rule out influenza. The sensitivity of rapid influenza diagnostic tests can range from 10-70% for 2009 H1N1 virus.

What can health care providers do to reduce delays in antiviral treatment?
Clinicians can take several actions to reduce delays in antiviral treatment initiation. These include:

Informing people at higher risk for influenza complications of the signs and symptoms of influenza and the need for them to get treated early.
Ensuring quick access to telephone consultation and clinical evaluation for these patients as well as patients who report severe illness.
Considering empiric treatment of patients at higher risk for influenza complications based on telephone contact if hospitalization is not indicated and if this will substantially reduce delay before treatment is initiated.

SNIP

[Ms. Toad]

55. Tamiflu can help keep the viral load down

so the symptoms are not so severe. If effects of H1N1 have already reached the lungs, it is probably too late - if it is in the early stages Tamiflu can lessen the symptoms enough so it may not reach the lungs.

[winyanstaz]

17. The best of luck to you...

I was reading the symptoms and I have had plenty of regular flu that was just like that.
Hopefully you just have a seasonal flu..my best thoughts to you and may you feel better soon.

[grasswire]

20. CDC says there is no seasonal flu right now.

CDC says if you have flu symptoms, you have H1N1.

Don't spread misinformation, please. No one with flu symptoms at this time has seasonal flu, per CDC.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. You and them facts

:-)

I know...

[DainBramaged]

30. Gee my doctor said the same thing, WAY too early for regular flu...

I guess in another 50 years I'll be immune when it comes around again..............

[winyanstaz]

31. I sure dont want to spread any misinformation....

however I am surprised there is no regular flu reported as several of my family and friends all have come down with the flu but it seems like any other flu that has been out there. They had a flu,...lasted a few days and is gone...
I also find it hard to believe the seasonal flu just dissappeared???? How in the world did that happen and has that ever happened before in the history of flu?

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Yes it is easy to explain

the dominant flu strain is H1N1 and it is quite simple... most of us have no immunity.

Now to be absolutely sure we would have to test every damn case, but hell we don't do that during regular years, why start now? (and it is expensive too) so this telling you that the regular flu cases have been suppressed by this thing is done through fairly sophisticated statistical models.

Oh and many cases are pretty mild by the way.

[winyanstaz]

43. oh ok...so umm lets see if I got this right now...?

Its too early for seasonal flu..it wont get here for another umm...13 days and umm...23 minutes :)
And even though they have not tested the cases..the models say that the regular flu has been suppressed by this other flu and so all the flu out there are are just this new dangerious one?

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Mostly right I am sure there are few cases here and there

with the regular flu... but the numbers are so low that CDC is defaulting to all cases being H1N1.

These are also the statistical models that told people in Mexico when this started... WTF is going on? Flu cases collapse by April. that is what happens every year... well not this year. Trust me I turned to my BIL, as we were in Mexico City and I just finished readying a real strange article in the paper. and told him... this is damn weird. The Health Department noticed that not only were they not crashing, but were spreading like oh the proverbial wild fire.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

47. They have tested a representative sample.

[Ms. Toad]

56. From the CDC:

Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far continue to be 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These viruses remain similar to the virus chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir with rare exception. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

Of the 3924 samples which tested positive for the flu during the week of Nov 107, 95.5% were Type A; .5% were type B. Of the Type A subtyped, 100% of what was or could be subtyped was H1N1 (26% of the total either was not subtyped, or an attempt was made that was not successful; 0% was actually subtyped as anything other than H1N1) http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

In other words, they aren't testing everything - but of what they are testing "almost all" are H1N1. Not models, the actual tests they are running on That is based on data for the week of November 1-7.

[grasswire]

37. it's too early for seasonal flu, CDC says

It will start showing up in December.

[harun]

60. Isn't that just because they want to be cautious and don't want to test

everyone who gets the flu right now specifically for H1N1?

To clarify, not because they don't want to but don't have the resources to test everyone and there really isn't any point to testing everyone for H1N1 because there wouldn't be anything different done about it anyway.

[Hannah Bell]

62. no, they say "almost all" of the samples they took that they were able to type were h1n1.

not "none".

[Rhiannon12866]

63. I had flu last month and my doctor said it was "regular" flu...

I had all of the symptoms except had no fever and no digestive issues. But it turned into a sinus infection that he gave me an antibiotic for just yesterday. :-(

[emsimon33]

71. That's not what I have read.

I do an online health-related newsletter for Arizona health groups--hospitals, community-based organizations, etc. What has been reported there is that many with flu symptoms have seasonal flu and not H1N1.

[mamaleah]

28. If you have asthma and you have a respiratory illness, you need to go to the ER. NOW. Not later.

NOW.

Do not take chances with your health.

[pnwmom]

35. Or at least call your Doc so s/he can prescribe Tamiflu over the phone. I agree,

though -- if you're have difficulty breathing, that's a reason to go to the ER.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Swamp Rat]

34. I lived through it.

I hope you get well soon. :hug:

When I had it a few months ago, I was in a remote part of the ("third") world with no friends or family or doctors or medicine to help me... all I had was a little water and some Ricola cough drops that I normally eat like candy. Thought I was a goner when it progressed to the pneumonia stage, had a couple of seizures, and found myself on the cold, hard ground... can't begin to describe how bad I felt in those moments, but a couple of days later I was better. The whole thing lasted about a week, and I was a bit weak for a few days after that, but then it was over. O8)

Then I got dysentery 2 weeks later, and then again a month later. x(

[Rhiannon12866]

41. OMG, what a terrible experience!

Yikes! So glad to know that you made it back, all three times! :wow:

Rhiannon :hi: :pals:

[Raine]

48. I had it

most of the summer, it came and went a couple of times. I finally kicked it for good (I think). Take care of yourself and I wish you all the best for a speedy recovery! :hi:

[Egnever]

49. Whole family had it

all 4 of us including my 5 year old diabetic son and our 4 month old baby. For us it was very mild except that we all got it. Normally only I get the flu, yay me!

we were each in bed a day and then had a mild cough for about a week. I didn't think for a second it was swine flu as it had been so hyped. Only reason we know it was H1N1 is when the baby got sick we took him to the doctor who tested for it. Rest of us we never bothered going in for it was that mild.

People do die from it so you should definitely pay attention to your symptoms. However people die from the regular flu as well. I think the main reason this thing is so dangerous is cause everyone that comes in contact with it gets it, The thing went through my sons school like wildfire. Every single person in his class came down with it.

Course now we all have antibodies for it so we don't need to worry about it ever again :)

[winyanstaz]

50. I just ran into this although I think it was out there a few weeks ago.....

appairantly...DynCorp owns the patent to this new flu vaccine..and also has a major center near where it broke out in Mexico...
Doesn't ol Rumsfield own a lot of stock in that company and wasn't he on the board of directors at least at one time???

http://justgetthere.us/blog/archives/Diseased-African-Monkeys-Used-to-Make-Swine-Flu-Vaccines;-Private-Military-Contractor-Holds-Key-Patents.html

I am just wondering why our government would give the patent to a military company?

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. You are confusing DynCorp for Smith Farms

which is indeed close to La Gloria Veracruz, and indeed where Patient Zero was diagnosed, and where indeed the locals reported some disease before patient zero.

By the way, CDC KNOWS that the first cases in North America were in the US... and here is more... the strain actually escaped in CHINA... why people over 60 are NOT in the priority list.

By the way Dyncorp has zero to do with the vaccine which is being produced the same way the ANNUAL shot is produced.

Jesus age... how much debunking...

Oh and Tamiflu is not a vaccine, but an ANTIVIRAL med, a new generation of medicines.

[NNN0LHI]

52. My 6 year old grandson was diagnosed with it last week

He was good as new yesterday when I spoke to him.

Don

[DesertRat]

54. My 21 year old daughter had it last week

It only lasted a few days and the worst part for her was the heavy cough. The dr. gave her cough medicine with codeine which really helped her to get rest. She doesn't have any other health problems, so she recovered pretty easily.

Since you have asthma, you should see a doctor. Take good care. :hug:

[1awake]

57. ugh is right...

I'm just finishing up my fight with H1N1. One of my son's brought it home from school and within two days.. my entire family had it. Tamiflu will help a great deal if you get it in the first few days. If not, Keep a careful eye on your fever and watch your lungs. I took two different medicines.. one was Musinex (sp?) and the other was a cough medicine with Codeine (some states allow you to sign for it over the counter). I also used a Nebulizer on all of us twice a day.

And the most important thing... it's not usually the H1N1 that Kills you. It's what can come after. Alot of cases result in a severe case of Pneumonia so once you feel better.. continue to work on your lungs. Oh, I also found out it remains contagious AFTER your fever has broken so don't assume because you have no fever, you can't spread it.

Best of luck.

~LK~

[bdamomma]

58. go to a doctor or ER if symptoms persist.

just sayin.

[dysfunctional press]

65. i have diminished lung function due to an autoimmune condition, so i was in the priority group...

i got the h1n1 shot a few weeks ago at a free vaccination our county health dept. held at three high schools around the county.
there were supposed to be four more days of them- always on mondays, but the demand was so great at the firs one, that they had to cancel the rest.
i was lucky- i got there an hour early, and i was only about 60-70th in line. by the time i got my shot and got out, the line was blocks long, with thousands of people. there were even news helicopters in the air.

best of luck to you.

[Dennis Donovan]

66. Thanks to all for the sage advice...

I spoke to my Dr and am on Tamiflu x( now. Still feeling quite shitty, but hopefully on the mend.:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. Good for you

[Horse with no Name]

68. Good luck to you. Hope you feel better soon!

I had it--felt like dying, ended up in the hospital and when I got out, I still felt horrible.
I was on steroids and antibiotics for over a month. I have only started feeling better in the past few days.
That was with taking Tamiflu in the first 48 hours...I shudder to think how bad I would have felt if I didn't!

[havocmom]

70. Take care & get better

To be fair, there are a whole lotta bugs with the same list of symptoms. :shrug: