OT: The Flu

[Lettucexxxx]

It hit this past Sunday. As I type, the fever has stopped but the feeling like I'm being buried alive, is ever present. As my luck would have it, what feels like an inner ear infection, has indeed arrived to the party. I'm about to ban saw the 17ing pressure out of my ears. I haven't tasted anything in over a week. No. Alcohol. ALL. Week. Being ten pounds lighter, without shitting, just doesn't feel right. Where did the 10 pounds go? All I have been doing is laying here.

Who else is having fun fun fun?

 

[HD6]

I feel about 19.83% more human today. Wednesday I would have welcomed death's sweet embrace.

 

[RocketDawg]

Did you guys get the flu shot?

 

[Lettucexxxx]

When did you first start feeling it? I mean, I had the flu back in 2007/8 but it wasn't anything like this shrewd, evil, darkness.

The beast chewed through 4 days of Duraflu like it was nothing. I just added a Zmax pack and Mucinex D to the group today ........and just when the party gets going, I'll throw in the liquid Aleve. My head does not feel attached to my shoulders all the time. Its there but floating around like an anchored down hot air balloon...........With like 200 ft of slack in the rope.

 

[Lettucexxxx]

sadly, no

I do like every other year it seems. but it caught me this time

 

[bulldogcountry1]

Half my family has it or has had it the past week or so. I've dodged the bullet so far, but I have about 5 episodes a day where I feel like it's coming on me. Must be all mental from hearing about it so much. I've been shooting emergen-C daily.

ETA- I just got a tickle I'm my throat...

 

[Lettucexxxx]

The beast originated deeeep down. The first sign for me was a cough..not just a normal cough.....the mother of the Crypt Keepers, cough. That cough that has no back end to it. You just happen to run out of oxygen and your body shuts the cough down.........cause if it was up to the cough, it would just go on forever.

im pissed. All I want to do is sit by a fire and drink whiskey.

 

[preacher_dawg]

Sounds scary, and I am about to have to move my family back to Mississippi.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

Did you guys get the flu shot?

Early reports are that this year’s flu shot largely ineffective. The strain mutated from what the vaccine was designed to fight. Heard somewhere only about 10% effective.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Sorry dude. I've been lucky with the flu and haven't had it in a while. This is a good thing for me because I don't deal with fever very well. If it gets near 102, I cannot function at all. The best way I can describe it is like someone has given me a double shot of the pre-surgery stuff, except I don't go to sleep and I cannot go to sleep.

Back in May, I had a serious post-surgery infection in my foot. The wife knew my fever was high before she took my temp just because of the way I was acting. Somehow, she and my sons rolled me into the truck and into emergency at the hospital. Damned near lost my leg from the knee down.

As a side note, if you think you are going to be admitted for infection on a septic level, be prepared for your arms and hands to take a beating from the double IV and blood draws.

 

[engie]

It's kicking everyone's asses right now. Seems to be a little more severe than usual also...

 

[Shamoan]

With even an ineffective shot, you feel bad, but without it, you feel like death. Always better to get the shot. A word to the wise. That's two years in a row the wrong 4 strains were part of the 16-17 and 17-18 quadravalent vax.

 

[Shamoan]

I started a prophylactic tamiflu (this week) along with the quad shot 6 weeks ago and have been feeling great despite being close to two (over 3 days) that have tested positive for flu. That's the way to go if you can swing it.

 

[archdog]

My cough started Sunday night at 10:30. Monday cough was still there. Tuesday I was running a 100 fever. Wednesday 102 started tamaflu. Feel great now though. Note I slept all day Tuesday-Friday morning though. Business partner wasn't thrilled I missed all of our Christmas stuff though.

 

[HD6]

I woke up last Friday with a scratchy throat and a little cough and it just got progressively worse.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Desoto County is very saturated with the flu. There was one school up here with a class of 24 students and around 20 had the flu at one time. Teachers walking around Hernando elementary with masks on last week.

 

[fang]

Never taken a flu shot and never had the flu. Friend was the same way but decided to get the shot a couple of years ago and sounded and felt like absolute crap, coughing, raspy voice and snot for about 4 months - from getting the shot.

Didn’t make me want to start.

Isn’t it just a ‘best guess’ As to what strain might come around for the season??

 

[Dawg1976]

I didn't get the flu, but got a good chest cold or bronchitis last Sunday. Had a low grade fever for a couple of days but back to normal now. I had some Mucinex d left over from a summer cold and took that which seemed to help. And have been drinking cough syrup. Still have a little congestion and don't feel great......but better.

I know plenty who have the flu tho. Lot's going around. For the record, I did get the flu shot and always have. Can't remember the last time I had a full blown case of the flu.

 

[RocketDawg]

Mucinex-D is great stuff. My doc said it didn't dry out the sinuses, etc., like other meds do but makes gunk easier to get rid of. And he's right. And it makes you feel better.

I'm not sure I've ever had the flu. I get the shot religiously every year. In fact, it's been many years since I've had much more than a sniffle. I used to get sinus infections regularly but I think it was our house (Chinese sheetrock or whatever most likely).

 

[WilCoDawg]

Is it ever the right strain? It feels like every year they say the same thing about it not being the right one and only 4.82% effective.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Good multivitamins help a lot too. I never really took vitamins until my kids got old enough that they started taking them. My kids never get sick [knocks on wood] and other than yearly checkups we have been to the doctor maybe three times since they were a year old (they're 5). Since I've started taking mine at the same time as them I don't get headcolds and just sick in general nearly as much.

 

[gymdawg.sixpack]

Family Christmas party last Sat in brandon. About 25 of us there. About half came down with flu this week. And almost every other have something else respiratory. Of my immediate me and my 2 and 5 yr olds got lucky with colds. But wife who is due with baby 3 got hit hard. Luckily God spared her within 48hrs of 104 fever. Shes up and about today.....now maybe she'll make me a sandwich.

 

[kired]

So far everyone I know with the flu did not get the shot this year.

 

[Grevlin]

Garlic supplements and elderberry extract are natural remedies backed by conventional research; studies have shown elderberry lessens symptoms and the duration of the flu. I'm taking both currently as a preventative. Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is available at most drugstores as Sambucol. Can get cheaper extracts online such as Vitacost. Also, keeping mucus membranes from drying out helps. Nasty critters attach better to dry noses, so saline spray or gel is a good idea. And don't touch eyes or nose without washing your hands first.

 

[Junction John]

QUESTION for experts: I woke up with a cough - is it too late to get a shot?

 

[Grevlin]

QUESTION for experts: I woke up with a cough - is it too late to get a shot?

Why would you get a shot that's the wrong strain?

 

[Lettucexxxx]

Happy to report that the Mucinex D and zpack have not only lifted the balloon off my head, I've gained back an appetite and feel like I might could even smash some box later!

Hope everyone gets to feeling better.

Lettuce all raise our cough syrup and toast to a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Years!

Cheers

 

[RocketDawg]

Supposedly an antibiotic doesn't have any effect on the flu. If you (also) had a URI it would though, and I think that's often the case.

 

[Lettucexxxx]

It was the case here. It took 4 days to figure it out. Hence why the duraflu wasn't working. I finally found the correct combo. Sinus infection.. A parlay, if you will.

 

[SaintsDoc]

last sentence is important

 

[Junction John]

Can you tell me it's for sure the wrong strain? Hell, just from this thread it looks like opinions are 50/50 split.

 

[Raiderdawg.sixpack]

This is correct

Supposedly an antibiotic doesn't have any effect on the flu. If you (also) had a URI it would though, and I think that's often the case.

Antiobiotics are used for bacterial infections. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses, so they are ineffective against influenza virus. However, a lot of infections people call "flu" are actually caused by bacteria, so antibiotics make people feel better. They can have a placebo effect in some cases. Or if he had a polymicrobial infection (influenza and bacterial), you are right the antibiotics should help.

 

[Raiderdawg.sixpack]

It was not exactly the wrong strain

Can you tell me it's for sure the wrong strain? Hell, just from this thread it looks like opinions are 50/50 split.

In layman terms, the vaccine was designed to protect against 3 predicted vaccines (a type A H1N1, a type A H3N2, and a type B). The reason the vaccine is not as effective this year is that there are a few other strains that ended up being more prevelant in the U.S. than expected, and because of vaccine strains appear to be egg-adapted. Basically, growing the vaccine strains in eggs causes slight changes in the vaccine strain compared to the strain being passed person to person. If these changes are significant enough, the body productive immunity will not be as good when exposed to the virus. We are trying different ways to grow the vaccine instead of using eggs (i.e. cell culture), but it's a work in progress.

Hopeful the universal vaccines in clinical trials are successful so the flu vaccine is more line the MMR as opposed to an annual educated guess.

 

[RocketDawg]

I kinda think ZPacks should be non-prescription. When you're sick, with a sinus infection or whatever, sometimes it takes a coupla days to see your doc. By that time, you're sicker and it takes longer to get over it. I like to keep a ZPack squirreled away for just those occasions.

 

[Grevlin]

So far everyone I know with the flu did not get the shot this year.

Workplace in Brandon had 12 of 19 with the flu a few weeks ago. Everyone had gotten the shot appx a month before getting ill.

 

[dawgoneyall]

Every one get the damn shot...next year. Hell go ahead and get it this year.

At the worse it may make your immune system give you a little discomfort but BS on it giving you the flu...hell it doesn't and don't come back with any BS crap about how it did you.

Out next PSA will be about having sex with someone with AIDS....

 

[dawgoneyall]

I kinda think ZPacks should be non-prescription. When you're sick, with a sinus infection or whatever, sometimes it takes a coupla days to see your doc. By that time, you're sicker and it takes longer to get over it. I like to keep a ZPack squirreled away for just those occasions.

No.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

This message board has unofficially become the ladies garden club. J/k the OT have always been the more informative threads on the internet. Merry Xmas degenerates!!

 

[GTAdawg]

Got my wife at the Dr’s office now getting flu tested. She’s had fever and coughing for 24 hours. Flu / sickness has run all through our employees at work. It’s been a major problem. Up until now I’ve been lucky but now I’ve picked up a cough and a little light headed. Never had the flu before fortunately. Hopefully I can keep the streak alive.

no neither of us have ever had flu shots.

 

[Lettucexxxx]

Does not sound good.
Ive lost 11 pounds since last Sunday