H1N1 Swine Flu Experiences – Personal Post
Posted by Holly in Blunt Honesty
Personal Post about the last week and a half – Josh and I both got Swine Flu and here I am sharing our experiences.
Passed Out
It started on or around Friday, November 6th. My son Josh (4 1/2 yrs old) went with me to my doctor’s appointment at the VA Hospital in Milwaukee, then that evening as I was making dinner I noticed he passed out on the couch, while sitting up. I had just told him to clean up his toys, and thought he would rather sleep his way out of it! Little did I know, he was actually extremely sick. So two hours later, I decided to wake him up and when I did, his head was burning up with a fever. That night, his temperature went up higher than 104 degrees, and I stayed up almost the whole night trying to cool him off with wash cloths and giving him medicine. He told me his head hurt severely, as well as his stomach. He also had a dry cough that sounded pretty rough.
His temperature began to worry me, as the next day I would give him medicine and the fever barely went down from 104 to 103. So, I called the doctor and they got Josh in right away that morning. It was strange as we entered to meet with the doctor, as he was wearing a mask and I had never seen this before. He examined Josh and then took a nose swab to test him for H1N1 Swine Flu. I have heard that a lot of doctor’s will not test your child, even if you request them to do so, but this doctor had no problem with it. He then gave us a prescription for Tamiflu and told me it was my choice if I wanted to give it to Josh. We would not hear the results of the H1N1 Test for several days. So, we went to the pharmacy and picked up the medicine, which cost me around $60 – as they were out and had to mix it themselves.
Tamiflu & Side Effects
So, after reading reviews online about Tamiflu (some of which were horrible), I decided to give him his first dose. I read about possible side effects, especially for children, and gave him the first dose and monitored him closely. But thankfully Josh had absolutely none. I think it really helped him, as a couple of days later his fever was gone. Although his fever was gone, he still had a cough and was feeling really drained from being sick. On Tuesday Josh accidentally coughed in my face, and that evening I felt a strange scratchiness in my throat, and that’s where it began for me. That evening I developed a bad cough and severe chest pain. Each time I coughed, I felt burning and pain in my chest and it started to feel a little difficult to breath – a little labored. I had never felt that before in my life, and it made me a concerned.
The next morning I called the VA to speak with a triage nurse, so that I could come in and see a doctor about my chest pain and problems with breathing. The nurse politely told me I could not come in, because if I have the possibility of having Swine Flu, they want me to treat myself at home. She said the chest problems are totally normal. I asked her if I could be prescribed Tamiflu, but she would not. I hung up, and after much contemplation, I decided to drive to the VA Emergency Room, as at least I could get help that way. By then, Josh was feeling a lot better, just having some fatigue and a cough.
Breathing Problems
So as I stepped outside into the cold air, my throat slightly closed up. I could still breath, but as I turned the car on and got ready to back out of the driveway, I began coughing and could not stop, could not breath and felt like I was choking. After the coughing fit finally stopped, I panicked as it was very scary and I had never experienced anything like that before. I do not have asthma. So I decided to go to the local emergency room, as I was terrified to drive one hour to the Milwaukee VA Emergency Room. They tested the oxygen levels and had a respiratory therapist give me an albuterol inhaler. She tested me before using it and afterwards, and said it made a huge difference. It basically opens up and expands the lungs, in case of an emergency, and is usually used on people with asthma attacks. They said I had an upper respiratory infection.
It turns out, the local hospital contacted the VA for me, and charged the VA for my emergency healthcare. Otherwise I would have paid out of pocket for it. Shortly after leaving there, and using the inhaler a few times, the pain in my lungs and chest stopped. I developed a fever of around 102 and that lasted a couple of days, on and off. Josh’s doctor called me and told me Josh’s H1N1 Test was confirmed Positive. He heard my horrible voice and asked me if I was sick, then saw in his computer that I had been in their emergency room. He then asked me if I wanted to be prescribed Tamiflu, and I said YES, as the VA would not help me with that. He sent it off to Walgreens and I picked it up later that day!
After Effects of Swine Flu
The cough and sore throat is still not better, and Josh and I both have it. But, we haven’t had a fever in several days, and overall feel slightly back to normal. But this H1N1 Swine Flu is really powerful – I have never had something which attacked my body so severely. Josh and I are both still really fatigued and I still feel sick to my stomach with nauseau quite often, especially if I miss a meal, even though I have very little appetite. The other thing is, we both slept for 16 hours the other day – which is something I’ve never done in my life – that’s almost an entire day! Besides that, my cough is still very bad and I can’t seem to get rid of it. I’m taking lots of vitamins – E, C, D, B – every letter of the alphabet! And one good thing is that being sick made me completely stop drinking coffee and soda. Maybe I’m more in tune with my body, or I am actually listening to what my body needs now, not what I mentally crave – but that’s a good side effect.
Personal Thoughts
Prior to having Swine Flu, I decided against having the Flu Shot and against getting the Swine Flu Vaccine (if even available). After experiencing this,I am much more open to the idea of getting a flu shot and getting that H1N1 Vaccine, if you have the chance to – which many people do not. This virus is very strong, and it’s scary to me how it can take a totally healthy person and really do some damage to you in a matter of hours. The onset of the symptoms are fast and furious and I am very happy that Josh recovered so quickly. Although some children younger than him have weaker immune systems, I think he bounced back very fast. My advice is to be extra careful with washing your hands, wear gloves, do whatever you need to do to get rid of the germs you get while out. Take care everyone!
Have any of you guys who are reading been sick with the flu or what you think might be H1N1 Swine Flu? What have your experiences been? Please feel free to share and ask any questions – I will try to help from my personal experiences.
32 Responses to “H1N1 Swine Flu Experiences – Personal Post”
Leave a Reply
Katy Berezny
16. Nov, 2009
Hi Holly!
Goodness! This is horrible. I am glad that all is well with you and Josh! You should have said something, we would have had prayer for you all at church.
I am against the flu shots. My kids have all been sick this fall already with vomiting and coughing. Actually, right before we vacationed to Cincinnati around the first of October, the school called me in to pick my oldest son up. He had been feverish all night but not throwing up, so I sent him to school.
I picked him up and just began praying. The night before I had placed a prayer cloth anointed with olive oil under his pillow and prayed over him. His fever broke within a few hours.
Needless to say, he was better before we left for our little trip. The school nurse wanted me to take him to the doctors to see if he had the H1N1 and I refused. I told her that he will be okay, because I know my God.
He was perfectly fine the whole trip and never got sick after that.
Sorry about the VA experience. I have 2 uncles who are vets and I feel that they are not properly treated most of the time. For all that they have done for our country! It’s terrible how they are treated. Happy belated Veterans day! I am glad you and Josh are well again!
God Bless
Katy
Holly
16. Nov, 2009
Thanks for sharing that Katy. I understand where you are coming from. I am glad your son is ok now too. It can be really scary, but you seem to be very calm about the situation and about his healing. That is awesome! Thanks for the comment and I am glad your son is fine and Josh too!
Bill Vlasak
16. Nov, 2009
My 2 oldest daughters had all those symptoms and fortunately did not pass them on to others in full strength.My second youngest also had milder symptoms but she has a really good immune system,rarely gets sick,and recovered quickly.Their old man,me was fortunate not to catch anything especially after having had pneumonia a few years back .I thought I was dying by the time I drove back from Chicago to Woodstock,Ontario.Once someone has had pneumonia they are more susceptible to similar viruses.You do not have to worry about that because your immune system has won and H1N1 should never bother you again.Thank God for that.Very happy that you are getting better and able to post again.Forum members were wondering when they didn’t hear from you. Paul and his wife are just recovering also so Tim stepped in and made some posts along with Kevin. Donn,Eric,Garry,Reed and Maria have been carrying many of the threads in your absence and we all would love to hear from you when you feel up to it.
Get healthy first.
Holly
16. Nov, 2009
Hi Bill! Thanks for sharing this. I am glad you are doing alright – and happy your two oldest daughters are as well. I was concerned for Josh because he too has had pneumonia before, and I thought he was more susceptible to getting that again. But he is super healthy I think because he seems completely back to normal – other than a little extra fatigue here and there. I had no idea Paul and his wife were sick too – that is horrible! I will definitely be back on the forum and try to get back into my swing of things with posting here too. Prior to leaving Las Vegas I was posting almost daily! I miss it! Josh is back in school two days a week and so I will have some extra time to catch up and write more. I hope to chat with you on the forum Bill – great to hear from you again!
Victor Sampson
16. Nov, 2009
Hi Holly, I hope you and Josh have a full recovery soon. I have not had the flu, but recently went to an emergency room for a gall bladder attack. The VA would not cover the expense because they said I could have gone to the VA ER. It was not much further but I was in too much pain to give directions to my sister who was driving me. Anyway, I’m glad that at least they covered your own ER visit.
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Hi Victor – I hope your gall bladder attack is now ok. That’s horrible the VA wouldn’t cover you for that – I think they should. You may want to dispute that, but I am sure it could be a long process. I’m glad you are ok.
Jacinta Dean
17. Nov, 2009
Hi Holly,
I am so sorry to hear of your experience. This Swine flu is not a nice thing. Here in Australia the vaccine is available and it has been recommended that just about everyone get it, especially if we are carers for children.
We have been advised to get the vaccine before the end of our summer as they are expecting the northern hemisphere to have a bad reaction to the flu again. Our country only has 21,000,000 and we had nearly 20,000 get it over last winter and quite a few died.
I think the most frightening thing is when our children are sick.
i do hope you are feeling better soon.
Kind Regards
Jacinta
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Hi Jacinta, it is great to hear from you. It’s real interesting to hear about how things work there in Australia and great that you have the option to get the vaccine. I think we have a lot of shortages here in the states. Luckily my brother’s children are young enough to get the vaccine – as they are two (he has triplets and a four year old) because if they were to get sick, I cannot imagine how hard it would be on them and on their mother. I”m glad I was not sick the same time as Josh and glad my problems did not last long. It’s hard to care for someone when you can’t get out of bed! And I agree – it is really scary when our kids are sick.
melvin
17. Nov, 2009
Geez…I am glad you and Josh are fine now. We had a few cases of death past few months but glad that we havent heard any negative news till todate.
The singapore government is taking all measures to curb community spreading….its not compulsory to take flu shots but its always advisable if you think you have a week immune system.
Currently now, the priority is given to children and elderly….
Take good care holly..I will pray for you and josh and family…
Melvin Tan
Singapore
Dan Mitchell
17. Nov, 2009
Holly,
Prayers from Thailand!
Dan
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Khup Khun Kahh! Thank you Dan! Sorry this is way off topic, but just wondering if you still see that homeless guy (stephen) who I wrote about ages ago. Is he still out there?
Dave in Larryville
17. Nov, 2009
Wow… I was scared just reading that. I’ve felt like I was coming down with flu a couple of times, but started dosing Oscillococcinum, a French flu remedy, right away, and grapefruit seed extract if my throat is scratchy. So far so good (fingers crossed).
It’s been spreading in Lawrence KS for weeks, and hit KU (University of Kansas) hard.
Been 12 years since I’ve had the full on flu… had mild flu like stuff a few times since then.
All hell is breaking loose in the Ukraine right now, and with what’s going around, I’ll admit, I don’t like being in enclosed spaces with high concentration of people, if I can help it.
Reading about you and Josh is very scary. I sure hope you guys keep getting lots of rest, and stay on top of the situation with your lungs… that is very important. That’s where folks are getting into trouble, is with the respiratory part of this.
The vaccination part of this is a tough call, especially when you have kids. There is Squalene in the vaccine they are passing out… as an “attenuator” for the immune system. Very nasty stuff, and shouldn’t be in a vaccine, or anything else that’s injected in tissue. Immunology is still an experimental science.
If there’s an upside to this Holly, you guys are now loaded up with the antibodies for this strain of flu, and should be immune after you get over this. Just hurry and get over this.
You guys will be in my prayers…
Dave
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Hey Dave! You’re right – on the positive side of things, we are immune to this strain of H1N1 hopefully now. And about Ukraine, I did not hear about that. I don’t always stay on top of the news though. I was thinking about other countries and their situation with the H1N1 – and wondering about places like Saudi Arabia (where they women are generally covered and have their faces covered up). I wonder if they are less susceptible to getting it. Anyway, I hope you stay healthy and don’t get this. I think it’s a good idea to keep a lot of cough medicines, tylenol, etc. on hand though in case you get sick.I didn’t have all that, and had to go to the pharmacy to get it (which was really bad because we were already ill).
Dimitri
17. Nov, 2009
Hi Holly, geez what a horrible experience. Hopefully you will feel better soon and your body recover from the assault. I am always shocked to hear of people having flu like that. My personal approach to flu is to trust my body can deal with it. Fever is the only real defense it has to “starve” the virus from multiplying. I’ve read a lot of controversial stuff about H1N1 and I am seriously wondering what’s next on the cards.
Personally I am not a friend of flu shots for two reason. Apart from possible contamination, any vaccine for today’s virus lags behind new virus developments. I rather support my body to actively deal with it than partake in some global experiment.
Josh’s Fever could also have come down anyway, without Tamyflu – but that’s of course impossible to prove or disprove after the event… which is this absolutely stupid conundrum we are in as parents (I have a 4 year old) – room for a lot of discussion here…
Secondly, I think our bodies have enough to deal with these days as it is. Putting more stuff in that we don’t know enough about in order to “prevent” something we don’t know if we will get seems riskier to me than dealing with something when it actually happens. Its the same sales pitch as selling insurance for everything. Fear of “what if…”
Of course it is the scariest thing in the world when our kids are sick. Gosh, when you have only one especially, they are your total focus. Man, every time my BB gets hurt, I cringe.
I am really happy to read you are on the up again, both of you. Phew.
Maybe you find these interesting though to add to the information load:
http://www.brojon.org/frontpage/the_tamiflu_myth.html
a real interesting article about the biological mechanism that allows a virus to multiply and spread.
and then this one: Expert Pediatrician Exposes Vaccine Myths – Leading physician offers compelling, scientific justification to challenge the status quo on childhood vaccinations.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/228628.aspx
Mercola has a lot to say about flu, nutrition etc.
I know you will learn real positive stuff for yourself out of this experience. I found your site back when you were still living in Asia – and here you are still with us
talk about a survivor!
Lots of love and best wishes to you and all your readers,
Dimitri
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Thanks for the resources Dimitri. I will definitely read them. Before having this H1N1, I really felt the same way as you about the fact that the body should be able to ward off any natural illnesses. But it makes me wonder (I do not want to get into any political debate here) but about the H1N1 virus and where it actually came from. I did some research on this before, and it seems like some people think it could have been manufactured in a lab, for whatever reason on purpose or accident, etc. So to fight off a crazy strain of the flu like this, it seems that a lot of people’s immune systems aren’t handling it well. It really hits them hard. So personally, I am not against the flu shot anymore – it’s scary how fatal this can be. Hopefully most people don’t have complications and breathing issues, etc. and can handle it and recover quickly. I think being healthy definitely can help improve the situation! Anyway, I will read those resources -thanks for the kind comment! Take care.
Dan
17. Nov, 2009
Holly,
I haven’t seen him (stephen?) in almost a year…last time I remember seeing him was back around the same time you left the land of smiles…
On an unrelated topic, I met another internet marketer (Greg from wpmage.com) who says he knew you back when you lived in Pai.
Take care,
Dan
Holly
17. Nov, 2009
Thanks for letting me know Dan. I was wondering if he was alive and ok – he seemed like he was in rough shape before. And about Greg “Neyma” – did you actually meet him? He was one of the first people I met and spoke with years ago after I left Iraq and moved to Pai. He’s a great person and marketer. I am checking out his new product now – seems exciting!
Davin-The Viral Sanctuary
18. Nov, 2009
Wow, you know it sure is amazing how small the world can be sometimes.
Just a day or two ago, when I was inside of the Warrior forum lining up a few things for Kevin and Paul, Greg was one of the first people who contacted me.
He later reached me on Skype, and I noticed that it said he was from Chang Mai. So I asked him if he knew you Holly…and sure enough! He also explained how he used to know you in Pai. He wasn’t sure if you’d know him by Greg, but, he said you would remember him from the name Neyma.
Then today I see your post and you guys are mentioning him on here. That’s very interesting…
Anyhow, he asked me to forward you his new email Holly, and I forgot until now, but, I’ll get that over to you.
Also, I just finished installing his WPMage just tonight. It seems like a very cool product…quite excited about it myself. I’m just sort of learning it…but, I haven’t seen anything quite like it before.
Great to hear you are doing better with all of the flu stuff to Holly…hope you can stay healthy!
Dan
18. Nov, 2009
Holly,
Just met him over email so far…seems like a good guy.
Dan
Irish Tom
19. Nov, 2009
Hi Holly, Great to see you back in the land of the living..You guys had a real bad time and I am so pleased you are recovering..That was an excellent and informative email and I am sure it will be of value to others. The H1N1 is not to be messed about with, The damn treatment is like gold dust and that is unfortunate. Cheryl only got her shot on the day after we got back from WA. Health workers were supposed to get their shots first, but they were not available and the health workers were in the faces of the patients every day.
One thing pisses me off is the ignorance of people in public who cough and splutter in public without covering their mouths. I have yelled at my fair share of them and they look at you wondering what is the problem..Idiots!!!
When we got up to WA our Grandkids had just recovered from the flu and we were lucky to miss it, but I made sure I had my Irish Jameson Whiskey for the “hot toddies” to ward off the bugs, and it worked.
We are luckier than a lot of the European countries and at least the normal flu shot is available.
Keep yourselves safe and don’t take any risks.
When you get some frost and snow it should help to kill off the virus.
Keep your standby meds at home and plenty of liquids and rest.
God Bless you both and talk soon.
Tom
Dimitri (again :-)
19. Nov, 2009
Thanks for your reply Holly,
I do align with your train of thought about h1n1 maybe being hard to handle by people’s immune systems. Also with wanting to avoid a politicking style of fingerpointing etc… cheers.
I’d like to offer this: if h1n1 were fabricated in a lab of sorts, why would it be a good idea to fight it with something that’s ALSO been fabricated in a lab?
Seems to me a bit like transferring the war of the labs inside our bodies (j-o-k-e
But…
Would it not rather make sense so teach people how to strengthen their naturally built-in god-given immune systems rather than keep taking the “pills” the labs bring us?
I do appreciate that health is such a personal issue so close to my heart and probably everybody’s especially when health is lost, either temporarily or more severely.
And… but… although I think everybody should be empowered to make their own decisions (and I deeply respect that particular human “right”)
I also notice that choices are based on our *ability* to think about anything.
“Information” is totally worthless bulk if we cannot filter out useful stuff from the noise. Today we are absolutely drowning in bulk information. All one has to do is google anything to see how many hits you get for h1n1:
pasted from google: Results 1 – 10 of about 70,500,000 for h1n1. (0.21 seconds) – - – that’s 70 *million* hits!
who reads past the first 3?
Unless we ask *ourselves* the questions all we are doing is consume information and then run the risk to just give up deciding because some authority tells us to make a decision this way or that way…
There is a school of thought that you cannot heal with poison. Now that makes good sense.
So, to me personally, it makes sense to learn to make the body stronger rather than to use some potentially poisonous external agent to “prevent” a disease that I might get or not.
I personally haven’t had even a cold last winter (I live on the southern hemisphere)
In my view, lab made stuff probably prevents the body from using its own intelligence to handle the situation.
here is more resource, sorry I don’t mean to bother anyone here, just to share some places I found with educative information that makes good sense.
http://www.doctoryourself.com
With respect Holly, and gratitude for your presence on the internet,
Dimitri
Holly
19. Nov, 2009
Thanks for your constructive input and resources again Dimitri! I like this: “if h1n1 were fabricated in a lab of sorts, why would it be a good idea to fight it with something that’s ALSO been fabricated in a lab?” It is funny. Some of these illnesses and strains are so overpowering on the body – it’s hard to handle. But regarding the vaccines – I wrote what I did right after being extremely sick and I’m still not on either side about that. I completely understand your thoughts on how the body should be capable of warding off natural infections and diseases, etc. and that is what I’ve felt for a while, and I also have not had the flu shots in years (only in the army) and Josh hasn’t either. We both have been fine up until the H1N1 hit us. I do appreciate all your resources about natural healing and vitamins – that I will read. Since I was ill, I bought every type of vitamin sold in the stores and have been healthier than normal. It’s hard to fight off these things when we are so used to putting unhealthy stuff in our bodies. I watched this show and someone said he only ate raw foods – he said “Eat live food and live or eat dead food and die.” lol..it was extreme but true if you want to be really healthy. It is NOT easy though! Anyway, love your comments Dimitri – they get me thinking! Thank you!
Dimitri
21. Nov, 2009
Holly, thanks, this feels like a useful conversation
I think there could definitely be a special place about health related content/issues/discussions on your website. Don’t you think?
Anyway, just because something may appear challenging doesn’t mean it is not worthwhile. I do think that we westeners are far too used to the sort of “quick fix” pill approach. Loads of people take multiple medications like a cocktail every meal, probably costing them a fortune. (or at least someone is paying for it)
We seem to believe more into the modern pill approach than into the ability of our natural defense systems, which incidentally kept the human species alive since the stone age, to handle things when a health challenge arises.
Shouldn’t we learn more about how to make us strong and able to handle health challenges?
Education is a key actor.
Here is another interesting epidemic: The Plague is still around!
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v05n05.shtml
…and…
According to Robert DuPont, a former White House drug czar and former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The biggest and fastest-growing part of America’s drug problem is prescription drug abuse. The statistics are unmistakable.”
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/21/Whats-the-Real-Pandemic-in-US-Hint-It-Is-NOT-the-Swine-Flu.aspx
Although I absolutely respect any person’s choice about how to handle things in their lives, I do believe that many of us will rather choose a shortcut or quick-fix to a problem than choose the road less traveled when it comes to the crunch.
This discussion could go on forever… In the end it comes down to the choices we make and the consequences we get.
Thanks you again Holly for all that heart work you are doing here.
Bless,
Dimitri
Heather
19. Nov, 2009
Thanks Holly for sharing your experience with us. I am really sick today and having problems quickly…short of breath and chest pains, cough, general fatigue, etc. I had my husband set up my albuteral inhaler for me as I have had bronchitus in the past. But I am having a hard time catching my breath.
I am really scared. I am going to do my albuteral treatment and then go to bed and prob take a trip to the ER in the morning.
I am so glad that you and your little guy are feeling OK now.
At least you know it is over and you can move on with things now without so much fear…
Ok, well, I really need to go do that now cuz i cant take a good breath….
Holly
04. Jan, 2010
Hi Heather – I am so sorry I missed this comment months ago. I am glad you had that inhaler – as that is what they gave me and it helped so much. I hope you receive a notification of this comment – and I hope you are doing much better now. How are you now?
surendra jain
04. Jan, 2010
Thanks for sharing experiences. highly helpful. My grand son had swine flue. Splitting headache, high fever, stuffed nose, bad coughing with cracking sound, weakness.Was on antibiotics for almost 7 weeks. Still slight coughing and slight nose blocked. No medication presently. Missed school all this time. We are concerned whether to let join school, post X-mas/new year. Pl share ideas on diet etc and lifestyle post swine flue attack to improve immune sytem and normal health. An email will be helpful. Thanks for support
Holly
04. Jan, 2010
Hi Surendra, thanks for also sharing your experiences. I ended feeling very weak after being sick, and having almost no appetite, which is very odd for me. I read online what others had done to improve their health quickly during and after – and I ended up buying a lot of vitamins. Not sure if your son is able to take these, or if he is too young …but I now take Echinacea, Vit. C and Zinc help the immune system. I hope that helps. I hope your grandson recovers back to normal soon.
Dianne
23. Jan, 2010
Hi Holly – glad to hear you’re getting well. I think the more will all learn in regards to caring for our immune system the better. Some us use the medical system, some don’t, but what’s important is that we have a plan! I like Dr. Mercola’s articles also, especially the one about using baking soda to keep the PH correct in the body. Over the past year I have done a lot of reading about iodine levels in the body, and that is an interesting study, as proper iodine levels support immune function. To your health! (that’s for anyone reading…)
Victoria
03. Apr, 2010
Thanks for your article. I am just now recovering from the Swine flu. It started last Monday with body aches and a dry cough and within hours I had a raging high fever…..the whole week was a nightmare. I missed almost a full week of work (I went one day unknowing what I had). Long story short, I was bed ridden for days, slept at least 16 hours a day and regardless of what I did, I could NOT break my fever of 102.4. It was horrible. After seeing the doctor early in the week, she told me I have a viral upper respiratory infection and take some cough syrup and motrin. Well, after 2 days of doing just that, my fever intensified as did my coughing. My chest hurt and I had a hard time breathing when I went into my coughing fits. I called the doctor back on Friday (spoke to a different doctor since the one I saw was off) and she asked me if I wanted an antibiotic or Tamiflu. After researching my symptoms, I told her that I felt strongly that this was the swine/h1n1 flu so she gave me Tamiflu. Today is day 2 on it and the fever has not been back since yesterday!!!!!! This is a miracle from how sick I was!!! I did experience the stomach upsetness from Tamiflu but that should subside after 2 days of being on the medication. I am praying that I am truly on the mend and will only get better……this is a VERY serious flu and I pray NO ONE gets it. I truly felt like I was going to die if this fever didn’t break, I contemplated going to the ER yesterday since my fever was breaking and I had been ingesting a ton of Motrin. SCARY! Anyway, I am happy to report that I have been fever free today and now have a lingering cough (that is actually breaking up and not so dry) and also some nasal congestion that just started. I will NEVER take my health for granted again!!! This just makes me realize how vulnerable we are to disease. UGH. BE WELL!! and thanks for sharing your story.
Holly
03. Apr, 2010
Hi Victoria. Your story sounds so similar to mine -and I am so happy that you are getting better. I agree about the Tamiflu – and I also felt I would possibly die if things continued as they were for me. I had severe problems breathing, pain in the chest with each cough, and a horrible cough that lasted about a month after the swine flu went away. So if your cough is bad for a while, just try not to worry – as long as you are without a fever you will be ok I think. My voice was so bad, I could hardly talk for almost a full month – the cough irritated my throat so severely I tried everything to soothe it – even gargling cayanne pepper water every few hours (which worked temporarily by the way!). I know people aren’t talking about the flu as much now, but please everyone be so careful. It is so easy to get it – and the onset of the symptoms for me were very fast and brutal. Take care and post again in a few days with an update Victoria – glad you are doing better! Take care!
Holly
28. Sep, 2010
PS- as an update – I later found out that we were living in a house that had a faulty water heater and not only did we have H1N1 at that time, but we were suffering the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. Thinking back, the reason the H1N1 flu hit us so hard was because it was compounded with the already compromised respiratory system – already had troubles breathing from living in the carbon monoxide, unknowingly at that time.
Holly
12. Mar, 2011
By the way – I have since NEVER received the flu shot for Josh or myself! I guess I forgot about the misery we went through until reading this again.