Swine Flu...

14 years ago

I noticed this forum has been pretty slow lately. I'm hoping others haven't gotten the swine flu.

A few weeks ago, I had a problem with a pinched nerve in my neck that made my fingers numb so it was hard to work on the computer. Prior to that I bought a lot of wonderful things at thrift stores. I never did get around to taking pictures of them to post here. Now my doctor thinks I have the swine flu so I really haven't felt like doing anything. I have been sick since Saturday. Today is the first time I feel like I'm not going to literally die.

My doctor asked if I wanted it confirmed whether I have the swine flu or not. He warned me that my insurance might not pay for the test. Since the treatment would be no different, I said no.

Say a little prayer that my Bob doesn't catch this. He did get his flu shot and the doctor prescribed some medication that should counteract the swine flu. I just don't want him to suffer like I have.

I don't know if the fibromyalgia makes a difference or not but I have had severe stabbing pains in my head. They were unbearable. I heavily medicated myself to get through it. Knock on wood, the pains aren't nearly as bad tonight. To make matters worse, this flu immediately turned to bronchitis and it sure is hard to cough when you have a horrible headache.

I hope everyone else is doing okay!

Very long distant hugs,

Kathy

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Comments (12)

Purplemoon
14 years ago
Oh Kathy, I am SO very sorry to hear how sick you've been.
Please be ultra careful the bronchitis doesn't go into pneumonia! That is so dangerous. I've been told that Fibro not only weakens the immune system, healing takes longer with everything. I sure hope you get well SOON, and that Bob doesn't catch this.
(Jason had the swine flu two weeks ago but no one else caught it. Yet anyway I got my regular flu shot, and this year got a pneumonia shot as well. No swine flu vaccine available here yet, but I was also going to get that.)

Please take very good care of yourself.

{{gwi:127949}}
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sunnyca_gw
14 years ago
Sorry to hear you've been sick!! Usually the swine flu effects the lungs & kids end up on ventilators takes more than a month for them to recover. That's some hospital bill. I'm just not going out much, using hand cleaner all the time. Most of our grocery stores have wet wipes by the door where you get the cart. I think about 1/3 of people use them. Also said in an e-mail I got that if you put salt in warm water & dip a Q-tip in it & run it around inside your nose, use other end of it for 2nd nostril & throw Qtip out. then gargle with rest of salt water. They claim that it takes awhile to take hold & does that only in nose & throat. Do that procedure every 12 hrs. Also said to sip hot drinks during day to help get any germs out of throat.Plus hand washing. I'm also cleaning the doorknobs, steering wheel, car door handles, phone, & washing my keys in soapy water. My right lung is only 1/3 there so I sure don't want this. I had a terrific flu so i should be immune, in 1961 1st week of school, new dorm, I sure broke it in. Took over 1 nice big toilet stall & didn't move except to upchuck in toilet.The girls brought me my pillow & a sheet & icewater & soup which just came back up. I don't think I passed it on to anyone else as I stayed in the stall & they brought stuff in disposable containers & a trashbasket with a liner which I remember taking out & putting out in bin outside when I finally got out of there. That was worst 7 days of my life because I was conscience, With meningitis I was out so didn't care!!Hugs & Prayers for both of you! Jan
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Sammy, you know this is not personal. But swine is such a horribly ugly word. The term is H1N1. I had to take my daughter to ER this week as all the urgent cares were closed. They diagnosed her with H1N1. This diagnosis because this is not the typical flu season they said. Starts off with very bad cough, chills, aches. They gave her tamiflu. Also some other tests but did take chest xray. Thurs. I start the same symptoms and take some of her Tamiflu. Fri. I go to dr. Dr. tells me I have bronchitis. She has report from my daughter's xray too, saying it looks like bronchitis. She gives me antibiotics and cough syrup. Came home and called Hosp. to find out their response to the results of daughter's xray. They tell me it looks viral. Daughter goes to same doc as me later Fri. afternoon. Dr. now has full report from hospital saying flu. Now wonder if I had gone after daughter's report would the doc have given me tamiflu to prevent? Who knows. Sat. I go to urgent care for flu test. Flu test negative but gives me Relenza, a drug that has been off the market but is good for type A and B flu. Also gives me more antibiotics and Tessalon perle, coughing pill. I am taking the first antibiotic because I don't want to get pnuemonia. You must stay on top of your own healthcare. Healthcare workers are only human. Terry, you should be worried. Whatever we've had, it kicks your but. But it doesn't last very long. Doctors should tell everyone to cough into their arms at elbow and wash hands! Everyone stay well, it's so early for so much flu. Carla
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I did get one of the 70's swine flu shots . Almost killed me . I was on my back deathly ill for days . A lot was learned in the science community through that disaster and corrected . I have gotten a regular flu shot every year since the 80's . The shots really work ! People near me have gotten the flu and been knocked out for three weeks while I either never got sick or felt a little low for a few hours . Which would you rather experience ? A flu that can kill or staying healthy ? Modern flu shots do NOT make you sick .
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I'm with you, Spade. So far only two in the US have died and both had underlying health problems and probably would've died from ANY kind of flu. So let's don't panic yet. This is not to say I don't have respect for the possibility of a pandemic one day. My grandfather was one of the many who died of the Spanish flu in 1918. I just don't think that's what we're seeing right now. On the one hand, the news media needs to make us aware that this is a possibility, so that we aren't blind-sighted. On the other hand, they don't need to scare us half to death, either. There must be a happy medium there somewhere. They need to quit crying "wolf" before everyone stops paying attention. One news report yesterday mentioned a "pandemic" in 1966 and 1978, and I'm going, "WHA....?" I was just out of high school in 66 and in 78 I was a young mother. Had there been a pandemic I think I would've remembered. I do remember in 78 they made available swine flu vaccine, which I elected not to have my family participate in because I felt it had been thrown together with not enough time for testing. I was really glad that I made that decision. But no one I knew got sick. In 1918, anyone who didn't die of the Spanish flu knew someone that did. Now THAT'S a pandemic. According to the news media, there are quite a few things that will kill us pretty quickly and we ought to be on the lookout for them and see a doctor right away. There's that flesh-eating bacteria and MRSA's. There's some kind of virus that'll drop you on the second day and all you think you have is a cold. Here's my take on the thing. The minute we're born, our days are numbered. Certainly it's good to be prudent, but don't let it get out of hand. It looks to me like the whole thing is fizzling out for the time being. Our chances of stepping out into the street and being hit by a beer truck are probably better than getting the H1 whatever, at least for now.
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Cats are attracted to the milk smell of a baby's breath. They are unable to suckle anything, even when nursing from their mother. They express the milk by kneading the mother's teets and lap it up with their tongues. Some cats mark, some don't. I had a neutered male whom I caught marking, but he was the only one of five cats who did it, and I suspect because I waited until he was more mature to neuter him, and also because he was an inside/outside barn cat who was accustomed to marking over feral cats outside and also who felt he had to establish dominance with the inside hoard on occasion. Cats have pecking orders, and territories, and well-adjusted inside cats work it out amicably until a new cat invades their personal space. Much like humans. Some diseases harboured by cats, like toxoplasmosis, can be dangerous in home situations under certain circumstances, like for pregnant women. That's why they should not handle litter pans if possible. Exotic birds garnered from the wild certainly did/do have the potential to spread some diseases humans can catch. Since laws have been instituted banning it for many species, it's not as big a problem as it used to be. But, some birds have life spans longer than humans, so there are many wild born exotic birds still in households as pets. Yes, animals can pass some diseases back and forth with humans, but like the article suggests, humans can infect them too. But with proper maintenance of pets, and a little knowledge before the fact and good hygiene, it isn't usually an issue. I suspect, since humans are such good germ pools for each other, we come into contact, daily, with more potentially dangerous germs just shopping, going to school and day care and shaking hands.
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luna_llena_feliz
Original Author
14 years ago
I feel like I am among the land of the living right now. Not sure what is in the Tamiflu medication but it apparently must be doing something ... well that, percocets and cough syrup with codeine. This is what happens when I don't get a flu shot. I could have gotten one at Walgreens but had a doctor's appointment and thought I'd wait. When I went to the doctor, they were out of the shots and would call me when they came in. I never did get one in time.

One thing I have a real problem with are the people who get sick yet go to work. Where I work we don't get sick pay. If we are sick we either take a vacation day (or what they have come to call "paid time off" at work) or don't get paid at all. Apparently people don't want to use up their vacation and don't want to go without pay so they come to work and spread the flu around. I always wonder how many similar people work at restaurants and stores and spread this deadly illness around because they don't want to go without pay.

They were kind of pissed that I was going to be off all week (and I'm taking this without pay because I have no vacation left) even with a doctor's excuse. Maybe they would rather get the flu instead.

Geez, Jan, you poor thing! Forget that horrible bout with the flu, you were lucky to have survived meningitis! You must be one strong cookie!
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Marlene Kindred
14 years ago
So sorry to hear that you've been so sick Luna! I'm glad you're feeling better too! Take it easy and I will be thinking of you and of Bob....
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jeannespines
14 years ago
Ehgads, luna! Hang in there! Tis the season "not" to spread good cheer! Good thoughts & prayers coming your way! Glad you are on the upside now! Jeanne S.
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luna_llena_feliz
Original Author
14 years ago
So far *knock on wood*, Bob seems to have missed catching this flu. Now my bronchitis is being obstinent and won't let me cough up the phlegm. I suppose another call to the doctor's office is in order this morning. I sound like something out of a horror movie when I breathe.

One thing about this illness ... I think I know why people thought someone was possessed by many demons. With my bronchial tubes filled, I can wheeze and sound like a legion of demons screaming from my throat. Pretty fitting for the Halloween season. lol
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concretenprimroses
14 years ago
Hi Luna I's so glad you have started to feel a little better. Glad you've kept your sense of humor too! Take care of yourself!
Dh went to get a flu shot like he always does and the line was hours long so he left. I haven't had the flu for years. About 10 years ago I had a job that required it and the nurses in the office did it. That was great cuz I have an irrational fear of needles and one of them would hold my hand while the other did the shot, lol. did that 3 years in a row and I've not had the flu since. (knock on wood!)
kathy
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nanagrandma
14 years ago
Oh My dear Lord,
I thought they want to know who has the swine flu,
and your insurance won't pay for it
unbelievable
maybe the Center for Disease Control has a hot line
as to where you can get the test.
Since I had the sinus cancer the doctors at Mayo have me use the Tipi Pot
which I do religiously
and when I feel like my sinus are going to clog up
I immediately wash my nostrils out with the tipi pot (actually it is a plastic bottle you mix the salt mixture in)
it costs about $10 for bottle and some packets of salt mixture)
I thought that those of us with immune diseases like fibromyalgia and diabetes should take extra precaution along with babies.
Well my dear Luna Lena Feliz/Happy Full Moon/Moon full of happiness I am praying for you to get better.
God Bless
Sylvia
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luna_llena_feliz
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks ladies for the well wishes! I'm done with the flu medication. Now I'm taking Mucilex and percocets. Hopefully I will feel good enough to return to work on Monday ... something I'm not looking forward to.
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nonacook
14 years ago
Glad you are beginning to feel better, Luna.
I don't blame you for dreading to go back to work!
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backyardmom
14 years ago
Sorry to hear about this flu hitting everyone.Luna our fibromyalia will always act up when we're sick,since it is an auto immune deficency. I also went to the dr to get the shot and they were out and they don't know if they're getting anymore in.So I hope when I go into the hospital this Friday for my surgery on my parahtyroid tumor that they give me one before I leave.I have been staying close to home.With all my health problems, I don't need a flu of any kind Feel better Luna
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tennesseetrash
14 years ago
Luna, the flu is in our area now too. My 1 yr old GS is at doctor right now to see why he's so sick. Waiting on them to call at the moment. Hope you are soon feeling better, and that Bob doesn't get it too!

When I was at the dr last week for my monthly visit, I was going to get a flu shot, but they said that most insurance won't pay if you get it the same day you're being seen by the doctor. How ridiculous! I haven't had the time to drive back across town to get it, and may regret it now.

We need to stay on our politicians to make insurance coorporations be more reasonable & accountable with our citizens' healthcare needs. Some bad decisions constantly being made by them, all in the name of profit. What about human suffering and medical needs? Prevention? An ounce of time saves 9? etc. Sheesh ..... I don't see how some of the insurance "deciders" can look themselves in the mirror!

For example, back in the 1980s I was an insurance clerk in a Family Practice office. They denied a little girls diseased tonsils being removed, because she had tonsillitis previously. Duh? Why the heck else would you take them out, because they were never a problem in the past? Lawsy .... it just makes me shake my head in disbelief, and it made me go back into printing, and forget about doing medical insurance for a living! ~tenderlee
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