H1N1 Swine Flu - A Personal Account of Symptoms & Recovery
90H1N1 Swine Flu Symptoms
Talk about the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic is everywhere at the moment. We've all seen a list of possible symptoms of the H1N1 virus, but what is it actually like to have swine flu, what is the incubation period, how long does it take to recover and what is the H1N1 symptom progression? I'm sharing mine and my families' experience of swine flu symptoms and recovery to try and answer these questions for you.
I've been updating this article from the first day I came down with swine flu to try and impart a more personalised view of the experience. (You'll find the updates at the bottom of the article.)The media has provided the hard facts but seems to have ignored the human side of the pandemic, so my aim is to address this imbalance and to give you, the reader, another perspective.
H1N1 Swine Flu - Symptoms Day 1
I'm sitting here with my limbs aching, a very sore throat, a swollen epiglotis, a temperature of 102, chills, extreme sweating, head ache, snotty nose and pain in my joints. I'm feeling weak, drowsy and tired and it hurts to move. I'm not sure I agree with the media's and governments desciption of this virus as a mild illness with mild symptoms - I haven't felt this ill since the last time I had flu in 1995.
I've been asleep on and off all day. Some other symptoms I've noticed are frequent urination (God, it's hard to get up them stairs!), numbness in my fingertips, an inability to lay still, waking frequently in the night and pain in my sinuses.
To be honest it's hard to concentrate and I doubt this piece of writing will be my finest work, but I wanted to share with others what it's actually like to have swine flu and how to diagnose yourself or your children.
Reported Symptoms of H1N1
- High Temperature
- Chills
- Exhaustion
- Lethargy
- Aching Muscles & Joints
- Sweating
- Sore Throat
- Vomiting & Diarrhea
- Runny Nose & Catarrh
- Cough
- Headache
- Lack of Appetite
Swine Flu Incubation Period
It's kind of a weird virus. My youngest daughter has had it first and I've been home from work this week looking after her. About 6 days before she got the virus proper she had a slight temperature for a couple of days.
Looking back I had the same symptom around 6/7 days ago. This must be the actual start of it and it takes that long to get really into your system. Or in other words the incubation period of the virus. No wonder it's spreading so quickly - for the first week you don't even know you've got it.
Once the H1N1 virus has incubated for it's 6 or 7 days it comes on suddenly. I went to bed last night with a slightly sore throat. I woke in the night with all the symptoms I described above. Thank God my husband is off work for two days to look after our little one! Hooray for train strikes!
Update: My husband came down with it 10 days after I did.
Help for those in England
- National Pandemic Flu Service
If you think you have swine flu and live in the UK here is the link of the National Pandemic Flu Service. You can do the online quesionnaire and if it's thought you have the virus you'll be given a unique number and info on where you can get tamiflu.
Swine Flu Information Line
- If you prefer to speak to someone rather than complete the online questionnaire here's the swine flu information line. They will also diagnose you, give you a unique number for your tamiflu prescription and tell you where the nearest collection points are to you.
0800 1513513
Anti Virals - Tamilflu and Relenza
To take them or not to take them - that is the question on my mind right now. For my little one I chose not to get them even though I did the NHS online questionnaire and got a code number to pick up some Tamilflu for her. After reading about the potential side effects of vomiting and diarrhea I decided she just wasn't ill enough to warrant that risk. I think it was the right decision. She's on day 7 now since the worst of the symptoms came on and she's pretty much better.
But for me, I'm still not sure what to do. I know I'm not as healthy as my four year old and I have a tendency to get chest infections after a cold or flu virus. I've heard that's when it can get dangerous - when it gets into your lungs. The problem is there really isn't anyone to talk to about it. The advice is not to go to your GP. NHS direct just send you through to the Swine Flu Pandemic Hotline and they're taught (as far as I know) to just hand out Tamiflu. They aren't trained medical people - it's just a call centre.
So it still leaves me with a decision I haven't got the energy to make!
I'm glad I've got swine flu!
I've been watching the spread of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak since it started in March. To be honest I've been a bit obsessed with it! Why? Well I guess after reading books like Stephen King's The Stand in my youth and watching films like 28 days later it's put a little seed in my mind of how vulnerable we are to a virus attack. My own great, great, grandmother died in the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic at the age of 24, leaving 4 children motherless. It's something that's a part of my family history so I've always known that flu can kill.
Oh gosh, reading back on what I've written here you might think I'm glad I've got swine flu just to be a part of it! That's not the case at all. I'm glad I've got it now and not in the Autumn is the truth of it. If the virus does mutate and become more dangerous in it's second and third waves I will already have a strong immunity and so will my children though there are no guarantees we won't get it again. If the swine flu virus mutates drastically our bodies may not recognise it and then we will get unwell again.
Updates on H1N1 Symptom Progression and Recovery
Before I go lay down and watch rubbish on the TV remember this is only day one for me. I'll come back and update you with any further symptoms I discover and what I decided to do about the anti virals.
Symptoms Day 1 - 31/7/09
I did decide to take anti virals. My husband dutifully called the national pandemic flu number and then arranged to get them form a local hospital. He is known as my "Flu Friend," a term made up by the British government to stop flu infected people going out. So far I haven't felt sick or had any other side effects - hooray!
This is very, very hard to write. Right now, I am sweating profusely and experiencing what I think is the worst symptom of this Flu - continually aching muscles and joints. My hip joints have been constantly aching for hours and it's so hard to get comfy. The paracetamol barely touches it.
Symptoms Day 2 - 1/8/09 a.m.
I'm surprised to say that I think the Tamiflu is definitely helping. I haven't felt quite as bad today - no chills and far less aching, though it's certainly not over yet. I've been in bed all day, so still not able to be up and about doing things. The swollen throat is still there big time even through the painkillers I can still feel it.
Woke up this morning after only 3 hours sleep finding it a bit of a struggle to breathe through my massively swollen throat - a bit scary!
1/8/09 p.m.
It's late evening and while my throat is still pretty swollen and sore it's no where near as bad as this morning. Most of the symptoms have died down - looks like I've had the worst of it :) Fingers crossed that there won't be any secondary infection!
Symptoms Days 3,4 & 5
The main symptom over the last few days has been an excrutiatingly painful sore throat. It feels like I have big lumps of glass in my throat and it hurts to swallow anything. It seemed to get better for a little while and then it came back witha vengeance! It hurt so much that I admit to having a little cry and feeling very sorry for myself!
I have been getting 2 or 3 hours sleep at a time, so my routine is all over the place. I'm up at silly times in the night and sleeping at odd hours of the day. The reason for this is that I'm waking up from the pain in my throat and it's impossible to get back to sleep - I need hot drinks! This is a bit manky but I'm waking up with green/yellow snot encrusted all over my tonsils, tongue and epiglotis (the dangly bit at the back) - it's nasty!
The aches and chills have gone. Still snotty and headachey.
My little one went back to nursery on Tuesday (my day 5, her day 11). She has a peak in temperature on day 9/10 and took her to the doctors but they said that was quite normal as your body fights the last of the virus. She's still got a bit of a runny nose, but all the main symptoms have subsided.
Symptoms Days 6 & 7
Had my first good nights sleep last night in a week - hooray! My throat is still sore but no where near as bad as it was. All the snot seems to be coming out now, so I'm blowing my nose a lot. I'm going to stay off work the rest of this week and hopefully by Monday I'll be fighting fit and ready to go back. At the moment there's no sign of a secondary infection which I am very happy about - normally with flu or a bad cold I get a chest infection afterwards but my chest feels clear. I wonder if that's down to the Tamiflu? That's one of the things they say about it, is that it reduces your chances of gettng a secondary infection.
Symptoms Days 8,9 & 10
Still not feeling brilliant, but I have slightly more energy that I have had. Still snotty - which is bright yellow, mmmmm nice lol :) Still have a bit of sore throat and I'm getting a bit of a chesty cough now. Not sure if I'm going to be up to a full days work on Monday - I may need a few more days to recover. My little one is still very snotty as well and still not quite her normal self.
Husband has come down with Swine Flu
After having swine flu in the house for over 2 weeks we thought my husband had escaped it somehow. Unfortunately he's not that lucky. He was not feeling well yesterday evening and today he's woken up with all the classic symptoms - sweating profusely, aching joints and muscles, sore throat, frequent urination, aching teeth & ears, temperature.
I've just completed the swine flu questionnaire and been given a number so I can collect Tamiflu for him. Only problem is the collection point is 10 miles away and I don't drive!
Update
My husband started taking the tamiflu straight away and he recovered a lot more rapidly than either myself or our daughter. He was off work for a week, though was feeling markedly better by day 4/5. It just shows you how each person's exxperience of H1N1 swine flu will be slightly different, as will their symptoms and recovery time.
H1N1 Swine Flu in the News
- H1N1 Swine Flu Wave Peaking in U.S.?MedicineNet.com20 hours ago
Title: H1N1 Swine Flu Wave Peaking in U.S.? Category: Health News Created: 11/23/2009 10:51:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 11/23/2009 10:51:51 AM
- Pregnant women among 29 swine-flu deaths in Va.Richmond Times-Dispatch12 hours ago
Pregnant women have been among the 29 people in Virginia who have died of H1N1 swine flu, but health officials will not say how many. “We do know there have been some deaths in Virginia of pregnant women,“ Dr. Donald Stern, Richmond City Health District director, said during a news briefing yesterday. “We’ve seen this statewide and nationwide.“
- Confirmed Swine Flu Cases at 526,060 : UN Health Agency (Table)Bloomberg21 hours ago
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The following table lists the cumulative number of laboratory-confirmed human cases of the swine flu strain of influenza formally know as H1N1 as reported to the Geneva-based World Health Organization. Total cases are current as of Nov. 15, 2009.
- Swine flu in Louisiana spreading more slowly, state epidemiologist saysNew Orleans Times-Picayune16 hours ago
Toby Talbot/The Associated Press As of Monday, 126,036 Louisianians have been immunized against the H1N1 virus. After a fast start three months ago, the swine flu outbreak in Louisiana seems to be slowing down, even though new cases continue to be reported, state epidemiologist Raoult Ratard said Monday.
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is it contagious enough to get through your mouse and key-pad and infect the reader? Worried, Kent
I'll tell you what, Susana S, you have a very positive attitude for someone that is sick! I wish you a speedy recovery. "The Stand" is probably my favorite of all Stephen King books. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Great hub. If you live near to a homoeopath they can definitely help, and they will both let you sit in the same room as them AND talk to you (and your little one) AND give you non-side-effect treatment.
Thanks for sharing this important information! Take care, and do whatever you can to be comfortable.
Thanks for your comments guys and girls :) If only I could afford a homeopath!
i got a great amount of information
This is what a lot of people are looking to hear about. Someone who has actually had it. Not just the numbers of deaths and cases reported. Thank you for the facts!!
Hey thank you for the details.. I got itchy throat 2 days ago.. yesterday afternoon i suddenly could not swallow anything, including my own saliva. IT HURTS BIG TIME TO MOVE those muscles that us used to swallow. I even found it difficult to talk without any pain from those throat muscles. Called my GP and they sent me Tamiflu.... 2 hours after i took it. I could swallow and pain was dramatically reduced. No fever for me.. the only symptom i have is "very very very painful to swallow anything including my own saliva" Also i noticed that your saliva gets thick without any color...
Thank you for your information it really helps! My doctor just diagnosed me with it and I am currently going through what your going through. I see that you are so positive and that makes me to be a stronger person
I'm back, my Gp did not have me tested for swine flu since i already responded well to Tamiflu. (swine flu testing in this country is $100, way more expensive than other countries) The reason is, they did not want to waste time in waiting if i would turn out positive. I have Asthma and the GP said, by the time we wait for the test results to come back, it might be a bit to late and my Asthma might be full blown and complicate the "swine".
From the symptoms you narrated above, i am 99.5% sure i got the swine.. (minus the fever)
Today, 10 days after i got the "swine" i'm back with Fever. I was already well for One week today, and i was just so lucky that i got coughed on at work 4 days ago. Dam it!! Now i just caught the regular flu! The symptoms are way different from what i had a week earlier. I got the flu this time but my throat is fine except that my voice was lost somewhere. Being a veteran, i know i'll survive this.
My only concern is if this is a relapse of the Swine...Hope not! Will be going to my Gp tom again.. (how lucky can i get to see him more than twice in one month)
So just a piece of advice to all that got infected with this H1N1.. Stay at home a week after you get well (if you can afford to) since your body is weak and very susceptible to other bacterias. Look at me, i'm back on my bed...
Hi Mark, sorry to hear you're unwell again :( I've had the same problem. I did end up with a secondary infection and was off work for 3 weeks altogether. Since then I've had two other colds and i just can't shake the last one. I've wondered about whether it could be a relapse too, but the symptoms have been so different I just don't know.
The flu has definitely knocked my immune system. I just hope I don't catch anything else right now!
Hope you're feeling better soon :)
Right now, my three year old has the swine. It is not quite as bad as I expected but here in NC you have to be tested then get the Tamiflu. She started taking it yesterday and I can already see a small difference, it is the pnemonia I am worried about. Taking all percautions and I hope you do the same. Hope all of you get to feeling better.
dori
I'm on day 5 of my flu and the fever/sweats are horrible. I can't wait for this to end... I had a similar progression so far: Days 1 & 2 - fever, sore throat, aches, exhaustion; Day 3 - same but less sore throat, now vomiting & diarrhea, lots of congestion and fever with terrible sweats; Days 4 & 5 - sore throat much improved, no more vomiting or diarrhea, still lots of congestion and fever with terrible sweats, more coherent, less exhaustion, disrupted sleep/sleeping in small segments, cough worse
I think i'm well and good to go. Hope there will be no 3rd infection. I'm done with my sick vacations at work...this swine ate my quota for the year.
What i noticed is that after you get the swine, you are prone for all respiratory infections... My throat was so itchy even after i got well from the swine... but it was just an itch and no pain.
@ Tereesa... did you take Tamiflu? Tamiflu really does wonders on your body. 2 hours after you take the 1st dose , you'll feel the improvement. in my case it was a drastic improvement.
@ Susana s ... How are your children and husband doing? By any chance,would you know if we are now immune to this H1N1 since we are done with it?
@ Fortunerep ... How long does it take before the test results are released? If it's just hours its ok to wait for the results. As the doctors were saying, if you have any respiratory disease or condition such ASTHMA, Bronchitis and the like... Tamiflu should be taken right away to avoid flirting with death.
In my humble opinion, swine flu is nothing but an upgraded Flu or should i say FLU ++. It's nothing like SARS but then again like any other sickness, we should not take it lightly.
Good luck to all and hope you feel better soon.
Fortunerep - sorry to hear that your little one has it - I hope she gets better soon :)
Hi Mark, Glad you hear you are recovering well. I agree that you become more prone to infection afterwards. I have a really nasty cough brought on by the last cold virus and it's not going. I hope it shifts soon and I don't need a further course of antibiotics.
As for long term immunity to the swine flu, my understanding is that it depends on whether the virus mutates and how much it mutates. If the virus carries on in the same form or only mutates slightly we will have immunity since our bodies will recognise it. Our bodies have now produced the antibodies needed and so will be able to kill it quickly. If the flu mutates drastically our bodies may not recognise it and so we will get ill again.
We had the flu about two months ago so we are all well in general. My husband got over it extremely quickly and has not caught any further viruses. Me and my daughter keep catching other things so are both a bit run down.
This is day 10 for me, most of the symptoms have subsided. No more fever, chills, or body aches. I am still coughing up phlem,have a bit of a sore throat, headaches and ear aches. I did not take tamiflu, as it said it works best if taken within 48 hours of the symptoms. I went to the doctor within 48 hours, however, he gave me some sort of injection and a bottle of amoxicillian. I saw another doctor the same day, who did prescribe the tamiflu, but me being so smart did not get the prescription. I concluded the first doctor's injection would be enough. I've been taking mucinex dm as well. I pray there is no secondary infection or anything going on. I don't know how long it last, but I heard tamiflu is suppose to shorten the duration of the swine flu, from what I'm reading, these individuals who have taken the tamiflu have had the symptoms just as long as I have. I pray we are all better soon!
OOps! I forgot to mention, one of the doctors said I had an upper respiratory infection as well as the swine flu, that's why he gave me the antibiotics.
Oh snap. I talked to a guy who had the swine flu last week and he is still getting over his cough. Thanks for sharing your story. I bought some masks just in case it gets really bad. Who is going to take the vaccine?
Thanks so much for sharing this. It gives us all an idea of what to expect and a non media hyped explanation of your experience. Great article!
I was the first in my family to get swine flu. Obviously didn't know it was H1N1, but within 2 days of starting symptoms I had pneumonia. 2 weeks later my son (13 yr old with asthma) got it and had the lab confirmed it was H1N1. 2 yr old got it next...then I GOT IT AGAIN!! How is that possible?? Now my son has been over it for 2 weeks and developed a fever, body aches, sore throat AGAIN!! Is that possible that we are just not fully recovered and having a relapse of sorts?? I would say no, but we have been tested and have all been confirmed as having it. I am so confused!
Hi Terri,
I'm not a medical professional so I can't be 100% sure of the answer without doing more research, but my understanding is that you can relapse from flu. My 4 years old was recovering well, then on around day 9 or 10 her temperature quickly rose to about 104. I took her straight to the doctors and was told that this was normal - it's like your body making a final blast to get it removed from the system. The temp came down after a day and then she was back to recovering normally.
I'm not sure if that's the same as you're experiencing - it does sound as though you have had a relapse. My only advice would be, don't try to get back to normal to soon! Rest, rest, rest and rest some more. It does take about 4-6 weeks to recover fully from flu. Evven after the major symptoms have subsided you will feel very tired for some time.
Hope you all get better soon!
Nice Hub!!!! I have been cleaning my mouse and keypad for 3 weeks now. Can never be to careful :)
I am on day ten. I kept a log of how I felt from day one.
I have a theory:
I was feeling badly 2 weeks before I got the score throat and head hurting. I began drinking lots of juice, had cold chills and cold sweats, didn't seem to have fever. I went to the Doctor and he thought I was giving my body hypoglycimic reactions bbecause I was dringing so much carrot juice. I stopped dring the juice and by following Monday I was feeling like a rag and depressed. I didn't miss any work through all of this, but felt really tired and depressed? By Thursday I felt icky big time, but no fever, still went to work. Friday, still no fever, I felt worse. My muscles hurt, my head and my throat..still no fevor. Friday at about 3:00. I knew I had the flu. I went home from work feeling so angry about everything with no real reason. Still I was not sure I had the flu, no fever. I went to the movies, and could stay only 5 min. because there were kids, so I left and went home and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Fever, throat, body pains that began in my shoulder and then by 6 I had sever pain in my lungs and pain so bad I held myself each time I coughed (yea, that began too) If I had known I had the flu I would not have gone to work or the movies..I just felt extreamly irritated*&%!
I waas looking for my insurance nurse, just when my fabulous Doctor called, getting me hooked up with tamiflu right away but the blasted RX lost his call, (wallgreens) my Doctor had to call again. On Sat. I took the meds my son picked up for me. Dropped them at my door with some ginger ail. Thank you Eddie!
Went I took the tamiflu, the pain subsided greatly, by the way I took a pain pill last night, left over from a torn tendon.
I thought I was all better three days into it, but then the next day I got it again, fever coughing and flem..ugh!
I want to go back to work tomorrow, but I feel awfully bad. I feel like I am still sick or got sick again. What seems to be happening is that I am re-infected but not quite as bad. I teach so I fear getting the kids sick, my boss thinks it is a one or two day thing. Help! By the way, I think the school is at fault for not cleaning or sending out liquids for cleaning down desks each day and cleaning the rooms and telling the parents to send them back after the fever leaves them. They should be paying for my time off and my meds.
I think I need to go to bed now, it is Sunday and I missed church. I hope you all are safe and keep well. Thank you for your sane post. To hear the media talk it :aint no big deal.
i just got the swine flu and got the exact same symptoms i feel like dying its so bad!!
Thanks Susana S!! I have to agree with the relapse theory too because that is exactly what happened to us.
Matt-It gets better. Just please keep from trying to suppress that cough because that's how I got pneumonia from it.
Well I have had cold/flu like symptoms going on 3 weeks now! Started off as headcold, constant headache, extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, very weak-any physical activity absolutely wipes you out, nausia on and off but no vomitting, no fever, diarrhea, burning sensation in shoulders across lower neck and down upper arms, hot and cold, wake up frequently throughout the night..after week two cold symptoms moved to chest, experiencing chest tightness, shortness of breath, pings and pains throughout body like you can feel it moving from one area to another, now I have been waking up around 3 a.m. last 2 nights with extremely itchy finger tips on both hands and numbness sensation..now I'm getting worried! I went to hospital 5 days ago, gave symptoms, wore a blue mask (no one wanted to sit by me:( understandably) for 2 hrs. and had to leave as to uncomfortable to stay any longer..tried to call healthlink here in Calgary AB tonight and call centre recording disconnects your call due to an 'emergency', have an appt. with family physician this Fri. but may go to walk in clinic before then. Just goes to show, difficult to get a diagnosis & treatment now, what will it be like once H1N1 progresses? This one is scary, you think it's going away and then it comes back the next day with additional symptoms!
I am on day 18 and thought I was better...but feeling awful again! I have had all the symptoms, extreme fatigue...stomach is feeling off again and just took more gravel to help. I am starting my third week off work...I am so tired of this virus!
Hi, I have been really struggling to find facts about the vaccine and someone told me about a new guide and I downloaded it and found it really helpful and unbiased. And I actually understood it. Has anyone else read it?
The url was swinefluvaccinethefacts.com
I'm worried about my kids having this especially after reading this. This squalene stuff worries me
A
Reminder: individuals and families need to examine their households after viral infections for items that will contribute to re-infection. Recommendations are to discard toothbrushes, eye makeup (especially mascara, liner), makeup, sponges, bar soaps, toothpaste, and anything else that has touched the body (deodorants, bath brushes, etc.)
Using a 10% Clorox solution will help to eliminate bacterial contaminates.
My symptoms at the onset of my case of H1N1 were just like you described--very painful in all the ways you mentioned, high fever, sore throat, etc. I also experienced something I had never felt with the seasonal flu. I can't even remember the last time I had the flu. I just don't remember ever getting it, or at least not this bad. I also never got the flu vaccine until this year. Just days before I came down with H1N1, I had gotten the season flu vaccine for the first time. I am guessing that my immune system was pretty much hammered and unable to fight off this strain; to busy having to make antibodies for the flu vaccine and unable to also make ones for the H1N1. I was told that low levels of vitD may also play a part in recovery, which is most likely my case.
The difference with my case from yours is, Tamiflu did not work at all for me. I felt no difference, or actually, I felt worse--the nausea and dizziness side effects. Since it didn't seem to work for me, it's possible I got the resistant strain. It is also not a part of my imagination, as I work in a lab and am able to test myself, but I am still shedding virus 20 days after initial onset. The doctors I've asked, really don't have answers as they don't know enough.
One more thing I can say is, I can't believe that you had the energy to even go online. I was feeling so awful that I didn't even want to press the buttons on the remote control to turn channels on the TV.
This is day 5 of the Swine for me. I just found your site and it really cheered me up just to confirm my symptoms with someone "real". I got the Tamiflu, as I have asthma, and it seems to be helping. My symptoms mirrored yours, but I am feeling markedly better today.
Hi everyone, this is all good stuff. I was diagnosed with h1n1 5 weeks ago, and I have had SO many complications! The first 2 weeks were the same symptoms everyone else reported. I was quarantined for 7 days in my master bedroom, so my husband wouldn't catch it. It was the sickest I had ever been in my life....I told my friends it was like the regular flu but 100 times worse! So, after 7 days, my quarantine was lifted and my husband was allowed back in our bed after fresh sheets were put on, of course. The virus then morphed into a sinus infection. After the second week, the h1n1 was basically gone but I still had the horrible cough, chest pain, a low grade fever, and diarrhea (diarrhea makes me very weak). This is the fifth week and I'm still having consistent diarrhea, 7-8 times a day, or more sometimes. My dr. Had me see a GI last week but it takeS 7-10 days to get the test results back. Did any of you have persistent diarrhea after h1n1? I know it's such an ugly virus, but I think the diarrhea may be something separate.
I don't know whether I have had h1n1. I belive I have due to the strangeness of the symptoms. When I thought it was done, I had a resurgence of the symptoms for one day with the added symptom of diarrhea - I am on day four of that.
Thanks, Cindy. I've pretty much decided to just not eat anything....it seems to be the best way to control the diarrhea.
Hi Susan and everyone else,
I hope everyone is better. I'm not sure if I have swine flu or regular flu, I have the symptoms minus the fever. My tonsils have a yellow color to them and my tongue is yellow also but I havnt seen anyone talk about that. Well hoPe everyone is fine, and happy holidays.
Thanks for sharing this. I, too, have kept a 'journal' of my H1N1 saga which began last Thursday (11/12). I was reassured to read that my illness is following yours almost identically. It's a little disheartening to know that I'm probably not going to feel well for another 7-10 days. On the other hand, on day 6 with the worst of the sore throat gone, the fatigue factor is tremendous and maybe I need to really pay attention and REST longer then I think I should.
I feel better knowing that there are others out ther who have struggled with this virus for more than a few days! I've searched the web and this is the first site I've come across that proves I'm not alone! I've been home for more than 3 weeks now, and I still don't feel like myself. Mine started fast and after 3 days in bed I thought I should carry on and return to work...big mistake! One week later I went to my Dr's office, where they slapped a mask on me and told me to isolate myself at home. I was in shock at first, but luckily for me, being a public servant I have extended emergency leave. I cannot imagine the stress that people who don't have this coverage are facing, it's stressfull enough being off sick for so long! I got really sick again when my husband got ill, fever, headache, cough etc... I start each week thinking , this is the last week and then I'll be back at work...now by Tuesday I still feel run down and am coughing and wheezing and dizzy. Will check in with my Dr later in the week. I am worried about getting back to work and being exposed to something that will set me back again...is it worth the risk? Or...do I try to go back and take a chance? I work with the public; adults, seniors and children so I'm exposed to everything!
I've had the H1N1 for 4 weeks now and am still not recovered. My first week I came down with all the symptoms you have described, chills/severe body aches, exteme exhaustion, headache, sinus pain but no fever or diarrhea. I went to the emergency room 3 days into it with severe back pain in my lower back(becuase my Dr is an hour away and I couldn't drive myself) and the Dr. told me to go home and take Tylenol - no test, nothing. Within 24 hours I was back in the emergency room this time I had also been experiencing dizzy spells...it turns out I have developed an Upper Respiratory Infection. Dr. put me on antibiotics, prednizone (for my inflamed lungs) and an inhaler. After 10 days I still was not feeling any better (although had a few days where I felt like I was coming around) and flu symptoms had gotten worse - I had a family member drive me to my Dr. in week 3 and he diagnosed it as H1N1 and refused to put me back on antibiotics. He said I had to get plenty of rest and wait it out. Yikes....I begged for Tamiflu and he gave it to me - after taking Tamiflu for 5 days I felt like I was getting better. Two days after the Tamiflu my symptoms came back - I've had severe chills/body aches and diarrehea this week and today no chills/body aches but sinus pain and really bad back pain again....lower and upper back pain. What a nightmare - I've left 2 messages with my family Dr. again this week and they have not yet called me back......your really on your own with this bug and that is very scary!!!!
Hello Cottagegirl and everyone that is suffering from the H1N1 flu. My daughter is 14 and is still suffering from the effects of the H1N1 flu. She got sick Sept. 9th just like most of you have described. You think you are getting beter and the darn thing moves to another area of your body. For the past month she is still suffering from tightness and pain in her lungs. We have had two x-rays and they are negative. Same with standard bloodwork. She has missed so much school. Can't breath, then it escalates and she just can't go to school. No body can seem to say how much longer this will go on. If she doesn't get back to school then she will never get out of 9th grade. Part of our problem now is that some of the doctors think its all in her head. We know differently. This has been such a frustrating experience. I wish you all well and a speedy recovery.
Kim
I'm sorry to hear that people are struggling to fully recover from the flu. In my experience of having flu twice in my life (once the hong kong flu and then the swine flu) it does take at least 4 - 6 weeks to feel "back to normal" and even then you may still feel pretty tired. I was off work three weeks in total and I was seriously lacking in energy when I went back - it was a struggle to say the least and since then I've come down with cold after cold.
All we can do is rest as much as we can - drink plenty of water and get lots of early nights.
I hope everyone is feeling better soon!
Susana x
Julie - it is nice to hear that the medicines you took didn't help you either. I am going through this with my daughter and feel so alone at this point. The doctor's don't want to try anything else or do any more tests. We tried antibiotics for the double ear infection that occured the second week of this 10 week nightmare. IT fixed the infection but took a very long time to drain. The 5 days of prednisone and the inhaler didn't do anything. Now we are being told its mostly in her head. We know its not all in her head. Maybe some at this point - who wouldn't have trouble after being sick for 10 weeks!
Kim
I hope all of you are feeling better soon! This is my 12th day and I still feel like crap. My asthma is just getting worse and worse. I didn't take the tamiflu cause I thought I just had a cold. Had the stuffed up nose really bad sore throat always felt like I kept swallowing the pleghm and couldn't get it to stop.Was coughing up greenish/yellow and then brown so they treated me for pnuemonia just in case. But now I'm still on medication and prednisone for my asthma plus inhalers and it just seems like I'm so out of air all the time. I can't even walk very far with out being out of air.Oh another weird thing that is going on is my teeth hurt and had tingling in my finger tips as well.My daughter is on Day 8 and she didn't get tamiflu either so I hope all this clears up soon without me & her infecting each other all over again.Did anyone else with bad asthma get this and how long did it take for you to recover? May god watch over us all!!!!
Hi Diana - Sorry you and your daughter are sick. Your teeth might hurt due to congestion/problems with y our sinuses. My daughter has been sick for 11 weeks - most of that time due to extreme fatigue and difficulty breathing. She can't exert her lungs or we have problems. She has never been diagnosed with asthma. We have tried an inhaler and 5 days of prednisone - but no improvement. She still has tightness in her chest and sometimes pain. We have seen a million doctors since the beginning of Sept. I hope you and your daughter have a speedy recovery. Atleast you should be able to get some extra rest over Thanksgiving. Just keep resting and drinking lots of fluids.
Kim
Hi everyone, I'm sorry to hear of the bad time so many people are having with this horrible flu. I'm not sure what I've got is swine flu, but have most of the symptoms others mention - high temperature, very sore throat, coughing and flem (ugg!), muscle pain, nausea at times. This is the first time I've had a high temperature with flu; even when I had a horrible flu last year my temp was normal, though I was very ill.
I haven't gone to the doctor because I don't want to take Tamiflu, I already have some nausea and don't want it made worse. I'm in bed at the minute but as I've now retired I don't have any worries about work. It must be really worrying to have this flu last so long when someone has to take time off work. I feel weak and wobbly, but since I don't feel like eating and only drink to prevent dehydration I suppose that's not surprising.
Someone mentioned their throat or tongue being yellow; I've noticed the roof of my mouth has a yellowish look to it - no idea why, but it doesn't usually look like that. I hope I don't go on to take bronchitis, something that I've had after bad colds/flu in the past. This flu is bad enough without complications.
So sorry for those with asthma or other conditions that make all this so much worse - I really hope you start to improve soon. The whole thing is so miserable and worrying, but I'm grateful to all who've written about their experiences as it's good to let other people know they're not alone.
Hi Kim, Sorry to hear your daughter is still so sick. This Flu is the worst thing I have ever experienced. Some days you feel like you are getting better then all of a sudden you're back down again.Kim did you not catch it from your daughter at all? If not you are so lucky! Did she do the tamiflu? I think that my daughter & I being sick it's hard to get it out of the house hopefully we are not just passing it back & forth.Hopefully this bug just wants to die off soon.Did your daughter get tingling in her finger tips? I've had it a couple of times now & my daughter did once.I'll be praying for us all! Everyone get well soon!
This was my exact progression of symptoms--except that for me in turned into pneumonia on Day 4. Thanks for posting this!
Hi Traci, It was about the 4th or 5th day that I had signs of pnuemonia greenish/yellow to brownish color spit up. So they put me on so many differnet antibiotics during that week cause I had a reaction to the avelox and Biaxcin so I am now just finishing the last round of azrithromycin hopefully this will clear it all up cause I felt good on day 10 and then now it seems like a relapse but milder.And as I watch my daughter she's going through symptoms at about the same rate I did but milder as well. So I hope we're no just passing it back & forth between each other. I am so crazy with the sanitizer I hope it kills some of the bugs around here.Are you over it all now or are you still battling through it?
Pete Maida says:
4 months ago
Thank you for taking the time in your condition to give us this information. This is the kind of thing we won't get any where else. From knowing symptoms to how the health service responds; this is good stuff. Get better soon.