I have swine flu... :(

We all had it last month.  But that was back when they were still testing so we got to have those icky swabs shoved down our throats and up noses and blood tests for the adults as well.

The good news is that you will most likely be just fine for your wedding!

My mom and dad had to take Tamiflu last year because they have COPD (Mom) and heart disease/hypertension (Dad) and Dad got flu.  They both experienced side effects that weren't pleasant.

I hope you get better soon! 

Will the TamiFlu stuff knock out regular flu too?

TamilFlu will only work on Type B influenza, for all other Type A influenza (except Swine Flu H1N1) it is ineffective. For some reason, TamiFlu works on Swine Flu even though it is a Type A influenza.

(I just listened to a pediatrics podcast where this was explained.)

feel better soon
huggy

My friend was diagnosed yesterday. He says he's feeling incredibly weak but it's probably not going to lead anywhere horrible. Still, whenever I think about it I panic. I hope you'll get well really soon!

A work colleague has it and my sister-in-law recently had it. Guess it's not just a news story of it happening to "other people" anymore.

Sorry you are ill, Jayen, I hope you feel better soon. Try not to stress about your job and just focus on your health. Whatever will be, will be! But as they say, if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. So rest up. (((HUGS))) (I can do that over the computer without much personal risk!  )

It's true, it's not just a news story anymore, as it's become such an epidemic that almost everyone knows someone or is in fact having it themselves.

Case in point, yesterday I just got got confirmation (or at least as much confirmation as you can have after the fact, and going by strictly a verbal symptom diagnosis, which is what they're doing over the phone anyway) that what I've just recovered from was swine flu.

I was in hell and very ill for three weeks, almost dragging out to four; it's not fun. But it's just a heavy flu like any other; I know we've heard of all these deaths of the already-compromised but so many have caught it and gotten through it, there's no need for undue panic if you are basically healthy -- it is something you get through and get over just like a regular flu. Still nasty though.

Is it mostly a respiratory flu? The newspapers are vague on symptoms.

My DH has an intestinal mung of some kind, but no other illness. Poor bastiche hasn't had a real meal since Wednesday.

Is it mostly a respiratory flu? The newspapers are vague on symptoms.

My DH has an intestinal mung of some kind, but no other illness. Poor bastiche hasn't had a real meal since Wednesday.

Yes it seems to be mostly respiratory rather than predominantly intestinal, although there apparently can be stomach upsets too -- here is the NHS symptom page:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

I still have the cough even now illness is long gone; for me the fever, cough and cold, deep body aches and devastating loss of strength -- both myself and my boyfriend were so weak for a week or two there, that walking just six minutes to the store (yes, unfortunately in our ignorance of what we really had, we went out in the world.....) slayed us with exhaustion.

I just received a text that my friend suffered from a collapsed lung.

Could you all please keep Emily in your thoughts and send her some good vibes? We're really getting worried over here.

Yes it seems to be mostly respiratory rather than predominantly intestinal, although there apparently can be stomach upsets too -- here is the NHS symptom page:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

I still have the cough even now illness is long gone; for me the fever, cough and cold, deep body aches and devastating loss of strength -- both myself and my boyfriend were so weak for a week or two there, that walking just six minutes to the store (yes, unfortunately in our ignorance of what we really had, we went out in the world.....) slayed us with exhaustion.

What were your first symptoms?  I work in a school where diseases are rife. You can imagine the fear with the staff....

And my son has started coughing but I refuse to panic (unlike other half...)

It's all over the periphery of my office. A colleague's son has apparently had it (bit of a pain that they're not testing anymore - hard to know exactly what you've got) but a very mild case of it. It started with a fever and a VERY bad sore throat. Now another colleague's husband - again with the fever. And one colleague actually has it herself but it's not someone that my team ever has any physical contact with, so we're batting it off so far.... In a way I'd like DH and I to just get it and get it over with as it sounds as though it's getting pretty unavoidable and I'd hate to feel that we couldn't go to the US for Thanksgiving because of it!

My MIL lives in sheltered accommodation and when we went to visit her yesterday (as we do every week) she starts telling me about one of her neighbors who had been ill and that she took some baking over to her to cheer her up and when I asked if her neighbor was going to be OK, she said 'oh yes, ducky, she only has a the swine flu'...WHA??? I asked her when did this happen and she said Monday!?!?! and she STILL LET US COME OVER AND BRING OUR 14 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER AND DIDNT TELL MY HUSBAND WHEN HE RANG HER ON WEDNESDAY!!!

Now this morning I have burning eyes, flushed cheeks, sore throat and a runny nose and DD is coughing and has a stuffy nose as well. I could just kill that woman...but that belongs in another thread.

I'm on day 4 with this and am starting to feel human again.  It came on suddenly on Friday with a really high fever (103) a throat that felt like barbed wire was caught in it and my head felt like it was in a vice grip. Saturday was the same but with a cough.  Yesterday I was feeling a bit better and today I still have the fever and sore throat.  The headache only comes back when my fever goes up. 

The surgery advised I should be able to go back to work on Wednesday.  They said that it seems it's been lasting 3/4 days and then advising a couple days after that so as not to be contagious.  I was offered tamiflu but given I've been through the worst of it it seemed pointless now.

Well I'm now going back to sleep!

For those of you who are down with this, feel better.

I am not sure if we've had this or not.  If we did, it was very early in the spread to the UK.  We didn't get tested because we didn't think that it was possibly swine flu.  It was the same symptoms.  I can count on my hands the number of times I've had a sore throat since I had my tonsils out as a child, and this was one of them.

Then again, I used to have an amazing immune system.  I never got sick but once every three or four years, but when I did, it was pretty severe (bronchitis, pneumonia).  Since I've moved here, I come down with something every few months.  It's not just the change of countries.  I've never had this issue before when I've moved to a new place, even on a different continent.  Adjustment issues to things like water, yes.  Major immune system compromise, no.

Then again, I used to have an amazing immune system.  I never got sick but once every three or four years, but when I did, it was pretty severe (bronchitis, pneumonia).  Since I've moved here, I come down with something every few months.  It's not just the change of countries.  I've never had this issue before when I've moved to a new place, even on a different continent.  Adjustment issues to things like water, yes.  Major immune system compromise, no.

Me too!  I am sure my husband and his family think I am a liar, but I was never sick at home.  I would get the start of a sore throat, or a stuffy nose, but I would fight it off and be fine.  Here I am sick all the time and I feel horrible about it.  I know some of it is due to taking the bus to work, but still.  Ugh!

A co-worker has swine flu and I helped her carry boxes all day.  Oh well.