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Original poster

Does this sound like 'proper' flu?

22 replies

NotSummerYet · 28/01/2023 01:52

Last Friday evening I suddenly started feeling very unwell with a high temperature, aching, stomach pains, dizziness, headache etc. I couldn't sleep all night as I felt so ill then I slept for 24 hours straight. I didn't eat for 48 hours and could barely get out of bed for a wee.

I felt a very tiny amount better the next day but nowhere near well enough to get up. I have been in bed pretty much all week. I took Monday-Thursday off work then attempted to do a bit of work in bed today but woke up with my head in my laptop.

I would say overall I'm feeling quite a lot better than I was, but still have a temperature, am very achy and shivery and have to take paracetamol and ibuprofen to stop this. I'm just so tired.

DH is a bit fed up and thinks I should be better by now but I'm laying in bed now still shivering and just not feeling well. He's getting annoyed with me being in bed constantly.

Does this sound like it might be flu? I've had plenty of viruses before but normally after 2 or 3 days all symptoms have gone.

Is there anything a GP can prescribe or is it a case of just waiting it out?

OP posts:

echt · 28/01/2023 06:54

Have you tested for COVID?

www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/

MrsDoyle351 · 28/01/2023 07:00

yep - sounds like flu or covid

Your 'D'H doesn't sound very nice

And it is a case of waiting it out unless you develop a bacterial infection - ie chest infection or sinusitis. Keep taking lots of fluids/paracetemol and little bits to eat that you can.

HitTheRoadJackAndDontYouComeBack · 28/01/2023 07:02

Yes it does - the sudden onset is a key indicator here.

Also test for Covid as PP have said.

Wishing you better soon

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Horsemad · 28/01/2023 09:24

Def sounds like 'flu or Covid. Rest & painkillers & plenty of fluids.

Hope you feel better soon.

KangarooKenny · 28/01/2023 09:35

Have you got a cough ?

Original poster

NotSummerYet · 28/01/2023 11:11

Sorry I should have said, I did multiple covid tests, all negative

OP posts:

CrotchetyQuaver · 28/01/2023 11:33

Well yes it does. I think/hope I'm now out the other side of something flu like that started Christmas night and has gone on and on since then. But it was clever in that I'd feel a bit better some days, so get up and crack on then be back to square one the next day. I ended up with awful sinus pain which just wouldn't go away - coughing/nose blowing didn't clear anything and as it was week 4 by then, I decided to do an e consult and hopefully score some antibiotics in the hope they might help. I'm still liable to feel frozen and fall asleep in my chair in the evening, but I feel so much more like normal than I did.
I'm sorry your DH is so unsupportive.

GoodVibesHere · 28/01/2023 12:11

Well it's not your fault you're unwell, whether it's 'proper' flu or not. I don't think it needs to be labelled as flu in order for it to make you ill for a long time. I had similar, I was ill for two weeks. I've had flu jab and covid jab. So I guess mine was a virus, but doesn't really matter what it was, the basic fact is that I was unwell for a full two weeks.

Original poster

NotSummerYet · 28/01/2023 12:13

DH always gets so cross if I'm ill, I end up feeling guilty and upset. He says I've wasted the week by sleeping but I couldn't do anything else

OP posts:

HappyHolidai · 28/01/2023 12:19

He really does sound horrible! Hope you feel better soon.

JingsMahBucket · 28/01/2023 12:23

Don’t fell guilty @NotSummerYet, you’re genuinely sick. Do you have other family or friends who can help you and bring you supplies instead of your husband?

YukoandHiro · 28/01/2023 12:27

Yes it does sound like you have flu OP. You think you just need sleep and you'll be fine the next day but it goes on for ages (2-3 weeks) and you feel weak for a while after that.

How does your DH expect you to behave when he's ill? How is your relationship otherwise? Does he pull his weight in household labour etc?

Sounds like he's having to do a few things for himself and moaning about it. I would have a very stern talk with him about his treatment of you when unwell.

What would happen if you were seriously unwell for a long time, eg cancer treatment? A warning: a lot of men leave women at this point

limitedperiodonly · 28/01/2023 16:17

It doesn't really matter what it is, you are clearly not well. In my completely non-professional opinion it sounds like you are on the mend after having a really nasty bug. You can ring 111 for advice but IME they'll say there's a nasty bug going round, get plenty of fluids, take paracetamol and rest.

I'm not diminishing it. Luckily it hasn't happened to me often but sometimes I have been completely wiped out. It's shocking how weak you can feel.

Your husband is a twat but only you know whether he is abusive. Sometimes people are just twats about illness until it comes to their own. Sometimes it's ignorance or sometimes it's fear. Ignore him as much as you can and get well soon.

Ancientdecs · 28/01/2023 16:28

It sounds exactly like flu to me.
Might be him next.

KittyCatChat · 28/01/2023 16:52

I was in bed asleep for near on 3 weeks with the flu. It was awful. I went to the GP after 4 days and got told off for not going sooner. Can't remember if I was prescribed anything.

Your DP is an arsehole.

Original poster

NotSummerYet · 29/01/2023 21:41

Just to update; DH is now feeling ill and, yep, is in bed sleeping!

Can't wait to lecture him on how he's wasting his week!

OP posts:

tothelefttotheleft · 29/01/2023 21:47

Do you have a cough op?

Original poster

NotSummerYet · 29/01/2023 21:48

No, I don't have a cough. I did multiple covid tests throughout last week and all negative.

I'm actually feeling so much better this weekend. It's a relief! Still very tired though

OP posts:

JingsMahBucket · 30/01/2023 07:23

@NotSummerYet I'd leave him to suffer now. You just know he’ll be a much worse patient than you.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 30/01/2023 08:52

Well, no care for him then with that attitude.

In August book a flu jab for September. You don’t bounce back from flu like you do a cold.

YukoandHiro · 30/01/2023 09:37

Yes, zero help for DH now he's ill. Only do as much (or little) as he did for you.

RockyOfTheRovers · 30/01/2023 09:50

Yep, sounds like flu. We had what I presume was flu recently. Sudden onset, high fevers, wide range of symptoms. It wiped us out. My normally fit and healthy 12 year old was ill for 9 days. My dodgy lungs took a month to get back to normal.
It’s not a fun experience. Hope you’re fully recovered soon.

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