Anyone else gotten sick recently?

[Dr_Evil]

I haven't heard of what you are talking about but my wife did get something just like the flu when it wasn't flu season yet awhile back. The reason why I mentioned it is something else.
I believe a doctor should give someone with a sickness like the flu a couple days worth of vicodin for the terrible ache they get. If you have ever had the flu it's pretty aweful and for most people a great deal of the ache can be relieved with a few under the counter pills. Just don't see why you should have to suffer so much but I've never heard of a doctor prescribing for it.
I didn't mention that to talk about potential abuse or anything like that as that topic is a rabbit hole. All I mean is a few pills. I may have a different point of view on this subject as I suffer from chronic pain that the doctors cannot find a fix for. Any medication that my wife takes is her own. What I have to take to try and alleviate some of the pain is 24hr/day nasty stuff that I wouldn't want anyone to be on. At least I can still make myself get out of bed and move around for awhile.
She is currently suffering from a never ending headache that we can't figure out how to fix yet. MRI just came back normal. Doctor said a shot she gave her of tordol and pills she took for 5 days would likely cure it but all they did was upset her stomach. Now trying some essential oil to see if that works.
By the way, most headaches can be relieved by buying a little bottle of peppermint oil that lots of grocery stores carry such as Walmart in the pharmacy area. I think they charge about $6 for a .5ml bottle and all you do is rub a couple drops on your forehead. I always carry my little bottle with me. It obviously smells/tastes like really strong peppermint because that's what it is so it's not offensive. Highly recommend anyone who has frequent ones to give it a shot. One tiny bottle seems to last forever because it is so strong.

I only had the flu once and that was when my age was in the single digits. That sucked. I remember passing out on the bathroom floor after puking throughout the night. I never had the flu vaccine until I joined the military and don't plan on getting it once I get out.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Never had puking as a symptom of the flu.

It's interesting that you mention vaccinations. Obviously this is entirely anecdotal, but the last time I have had a bad flu was 2012, shortly after getting vaccinated. I felt kind of tired/lethargic for 2-3 days after being vaccinated, and developed full blown symptoms a week later, almost to the day. Suspect the vaccine actually weakened my immune system enough to where I got sick with another strain that wasn't accounted for by the vaccine.

I'm very definitely pro vaccine in general, but do think that other practices, and a generally strong immune system matter more (good ventilation, washing hands) when it comes to common things like the flu, especially when they mutate so much. The flu vaccine, at best, will provide protection for 75% or so of the virus variants. If you're in an environment that leads you to interact with a lot of people, that's not gonna be enough.

Personally... lesson learned, next time I do chose to get a flu vaccine, I'll do it on a friday at least so I'm home after.

 

[diachi]

Never had puking as a symptom of the flu.

It's interesting that you mention vaccinations. Obviously this is entirely anecdotal, but the last time I have had a bad flu was 2012, shortly after getting vaccinated. I felt kind of tired/lethargic for 2-3 days after being vaccinated, and developed full blown symptoms a week later, almost to the day. Suspect the vaccine actually weakened my immune system enough to where I got sick with another strain that wasn't accounted for by the vaccine.

I'm very definitely pro vaccine in general, but do think that other practices, and a generally strong immune system matter more (good ventilation, washing hands) when it comes to common things like the flu, especially when they mutate so much. The flu vaccine, at best, will provide protection for 75% or so of the virus variants. If you're in an environment that leads you to interact with a lot of people, that's not gonna be enough.

Personally... lesson learned, next time I do chose to get a flu vaccine, I'll do it on a friday at least so I'm home after.

My feeling towards flu vaccines is that they should be for the young and elderly or other people who have a medical issue that would put them at risk. If you are healthy and have a good immune system you've A) got a lower chance of catching the flu B) you'll have no problem surviving it, even if you are miserable for a few days. In which case, skip the vaccine.

 

[Trendkilla254]

Whoa! My mom died of septic shock.

I'm sorry to hear that dude. I went in because I had taken too many Psuedoephedrine and Mucinex-DM and my heart was racing. I wasn't aware I shouldn't have mixed them. This caused my heart rate to go up and my blood pressure to increase. I also have had anxiety in the past and of course being scared I was having a heart attack made everything worse. I didn't even realize I had an ear infection until I was in the ER for about 4 hours and then my ear hurt so bad I thought one of those worms from Star Trek was in my head.

It's pretty darn scary when they ask you if you have a Will and Medical Power of Attorney and all the such. I literally asked if I was going to die. The response I got was not re-assuring. Luckily they knocked it out really fast, I was declared Septic at about 10pm and by 2pm the next day they felt confident that everything was fine.

It took forever for me to get them to take severe uncontrolled hypertension off my medical record. It simply wasn't accurate. They agree to that now, I no longer take Psuedofed as it seems to really mess me up.

 

[Benm]

Flu vaccines are only useful to protect a limited number of strains, and the risk of contracting another despite the vaccine is quite high. Here in europe flu vaccines are only given to those most at risk - elderly people and for example those with an immune disease. It only offers protection to about 75% of seasonal colds on average.

In that sense you should not compare a flu shot to a vaccination against something like heptatitis. Those vaccines are really good and offer, for now, >99% protection for decades if completed.

And where vaccines making you feel ill, don't worry about it mosty. They are after all made to trigger an immune rersponse that may in some cases trigger mild fevers as well as flu like symptoms. If you feel your life is in danger surely respond to that, but otherwise it can be a perfectly natural response to vaccination.

 

[ElectricPlasma]

I feel extremely lucky with everything going around, I haven't got sick for about a couple years

Everyone I know has gotten sick this winter, from family to friends, even people I keep connections with in the USA have all got very sick. I'm not exaggerating when I say 'everyone', I don't know anyone who hasn't got sick this winter... I'm preparing for when I get the virus, but so far I haven't had any symptoms at all in fact; I don't usually handle winters very well as I'm sensitive to the cold (very dry and flaky skin, easy numbness, frostbite when I was a child) but I seem to be doing much better this year around, even with the virus going around.

Anyone know why/what virus is going around? It's not uncommon for people to get sick during winter but it's a lot worse this year.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

And where vaccines making you feel ill, don't worry about it mosty. They are after all made to trigger an immune rersponse that may in some cases trigger mild fevers as well as flu like symptoms.

Exactly... in an otherwise healthy, not at risk individual, a flu vaccine has the potential to do more harm than good.

 

[Benm]

I doubt it would harm you in any way if you got it, but using flu vaccines on healthy people seems to be a waste of money. I know some companies actually give them away to employees that are not in risk groups to prevent sick leave, which seems a bit shady to me as a european.

Personally i don't get flu vaccination as i think i'm not at increased risk for complications (male, healthy, 30s).

I'm not against vaccination in general though, and for example did my twinrix series (to prevent hepatitis A and B) when i started to travel to asia. Upon the third and final shot of that series i got some mild cold like symptoms, but that is to be expected. I don't think it as done me any permanent harm, and the discomfort for a few days was worth it to me.

If you consider vaccination you sould consider the options. There are risks in taking them, and risks in not doing so. For me the risk of contracting hepatitis A was large enough to get vaccinated, but that may vary greatly on where you go and what you plan to do there.

For that reason i did not take the cholera vaccine, as it is only about 50% effective to begin with, and the chances of contracting cholera are about 1 in a million for each month you spend in southeast asia.

 

[micheal rosen]

Anyone know why/what virus is going around? It's not uncommon for people to get sick during winter but it's a lot worse this year.

that's exactly what the thread was about, but it kinda degraded into basically anything illness related XD

also, in case anyone was concerned, here's an update on my ears: both of my eardrums ruptured, however the holes are small and they will heal up just fine, but holy shit! two ruptured eardrums! from ear infections, from this crazy virus!!! this is exactly why i want to get more info on this virus.

 

[GSS]

that's exactly what the thread was about, but it kinda degraded into basically anything illness related XD

also, in case anyone was concerned, here's an update on my ears: both of my eardrums ruptured, however the holes are small and they will heal up just fine, but holy shit! two ruptured eardrums! from ear infections, from this crazy virus!!! this is exactly why i want to get more info on this virus.

Feel for you, 2 pains that can bring a grown man down ear aches an tooth pain AGH!! Yes it will heal in time but not even being able to hear right just ices it. Are your ears discharging that brown fluid that dries and crusts up?...by the way this happend over 10 years ago so I have no info on why or what.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

I know some companies actually give them away to employees that are not in risk groups to prevent sick leave, which seems a bit shady to me as a european.

Actually, after ACA (Obamacare) many health insurance plans here cover the flu vaccine for no added charge, or very nominal fee. It has been free to me for the past 4 years, and like you, I'm definitely not at risk.

 

[Benm]

that's exactly what the thread was about, but it kinda degraded into basically anything illness related XD

also, in case anyone was concerned, here's an update on my ears: both of my eardrums ruptured, however the holes are small and they will heal up just fine, but holy shit! two ruptured eardrums! from ear infections, from this crazy virus!!! this is exactly why i want to get more info on this virus.

Whoah, that's actually pretty bad and unusual. Fortunately eardrums will heal over time, but this seems like a pretty nasty infection.

The problem is that you probably will never know what exact virus caused it. I understand you want to know, but it is very hard to determine. If it is a know virus that can be done by looking at antibodies, if it is not it would take sequencing the viral genome from samples of mucus, blood etc. Symptoms don't really provide useful information on the exact strain as the effects on different people often vary so much little sense can be made of it.

I hope you recover soon though, and your hearing will be back to normal within a couple of months.

As far as flu vaccines go i still don't take them though, i feel they aren't worth it. In most cases the vaccine will make you feel a bit ill for a few days, while most infections aren't far wrose symptom wise. Obviously there is the odd chance that an infection will far worse than the vaccines side effects, but there is also a fair chance that the vaccine would not offer any protection against that strain.

 

[micheal rosen]

Feel for you, 2 pains that can bring a grown man down ear aches an tooth pain AGH!! Yes it will heal in time but not even being able to hear right just ices it. Are your ears discharging that brown fluid that dries and crusts up?...by the way this happend over 10 years ago so I have no info on why or what.

Surprisingly, the pain was bad but it wasn't horrible (it only hurt when the infections were starting, after that only small, random sharp pains, but nothing as bad as the first day for both of them). I guess i just have a very high pain tolerance. But yeah, the holes are so small that they'll heal up quickly, and they for some reason didn't let much fluid through, im assuming its because my eustachian tubes opened up and the holes allowed air into the ears, making it easier for the fluid to drain that way rather than out the tiny holes.

Whoah, that's actually pretty bad and unusual. Fortunately eardrums will heal over time, but this seems like a pretty nasty infection.

The problem is that you probably will never know what exact virus caused it. I understand you want to know, but it is very hard to determine. If it is a know virus that can be done by looking at antibodies, if it is not it would take sequencing the viral genome from samples of mucus, blood etc. Symptoms don't really provide useful information on the exact strain as the effects on different people often vary so much little sense can be made of it.

I hope you recover soon though, and your hearing will be back to normal within a couple of months.

As far as flu vaccines go i still don't take them though, i feel they aren't worth it. In most cases the vaccine will make you feel a bit ill for a few days, while most infections aren't far wrose symptom wise. Obviously there is the odd chance that an infection will far worse than the vaccines side effects, but there is also a fair chance that the vaccine would not offer any protection against that strain.

I agree, hopefully enough attention will be drawn to it, but i doubt it. As you said, its too hard to tell by symptoms what the virus was. My hearing should be back to normal quite quickly, and is already close to normal. The holes in my eardrums are tiny, and one has already had a scab over it for a few days, so i think it'll be healed by next week. The hole in the other eardrum is so small that the nurse said she could barely see it, so it should heal up quickly. its very odd that after a full 8 days of antibiotics that my eardrum would still rupture, however the other ear ruptured about 4-5 days into antibiotics, plus it was worse from the start.

 

[Benm]

Good to hear the prognosis on your hearing recovery is fairly short term!

As to worrying about what exact virus caused this, don't.

Many cold like virusses can cause a myriad of symptoms in various people. The one you got lead to relatively serious symptoms for you, but could be mostly harmless to most. Conversely something that gives you little trouble at all could infect me with very serious conditions.

Common virusses are just like that - they will be a bit unconforable to some and serious to some others, with little to no way to tell how that pans out over the entire population.

 

[OVNI]

I'm sorry to hear that dude. I went in because I had taken too many Psuedoephedrine and Mucinex-DM and my heart was racing. I wasn't aware I shouldn't have mixed them.

Thanks. I regularly take Mucinex-D because Pseudoephedrine is the only antihistamine that works on me. I've never taken the -DM but will have to look what it has so I can avoid mixing them. My doctor says its side effects are like epinephrine which can also make the heart race. Here in CA there are daily and monthly limits of how much Pseudoephedrine you can buy. Fortunately it's enough for my needs but I ran up against the limit when I tried to stock up once and was refused.

Funny you mentioned anxiety. A little over a year ago, I developed a pretty chronic cough that just wouldn't go away and was progressively getting worse. It got so bad one night my wife said it sounded like I was going to "cough up a lung" and to go see a doctor. My doctor had me try 5 different antihistamines over about a month and I ended up feeling extremely anxious all the time. Neither my doctor nor I made the connection so she sent me to see a psychologist. The psychologist zeroed in on the connection in the first session, asked me to either stop taking any or stick to just one brand/kind for at least a month. Anxiety completely went away.

Back to the coughing, it got so bad I ended up fracturing a rib. I was :wtf: but my orthopedist said it's not that uncommon. Unfortunately, the only thing that can be done to better promote healing is to wear a rib brace and take it easy. A prescription of Tussionex (chlorpheniramine and hydrocodone) finally cured the chronic cough. Without the hydrocodone, it's just Chlortrimeton which is available OTC.

 

[micheal rosen]

Good to hear the prognosis on your hearing recovery is fairly short term!

As to worrying about what exact virus caused this, don't.

Many cold like virusses can cause a myriad of symptoms in various people. The one you got lead to relatively serious symptoms for you, but could be mostly harmless to most. Conversely something that gives you little trouble at all could infect me with very serious conditions.

Common virusses are just like that - they will be a bit unconforable to some and serious to some others, with little to no way to tell how that pans out over the entire population.

Yeah in VERY glad that my hearing will be back to normal soon, i sing in a choir and its hard to stay on pitch when you cant hear anyone else. This is amplified by the fact that i sing bass 2 (the lowest voice part) and many other singers cannot get much volume in their lower range (me and 1 other bass being the exception to this in our choir) so i can hardly hear people with the same pert even when i'm not hearing impaired XD

but yeah, i see what you mean about symptoms varying, but this seems to cause a severe pain when swallowing and its a good indicator symptom, since everyone who i know that has gotten really sick has had the same thing, hence why i think it might be something new, and worth checking out.