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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask about flu symptoms..

71 replies

DefinitelyFlu · 31/12/2017 21:40

I'll preface my post by explaining that yes, I actually have flu, not a cold, and yes, I do indeed know the difference.

I have had this flu for 5 days now. Today I woke up with the Sahara Desert in my mouth, despite drinking loads of water over the past few days...and a disgusting taste, similar to the metallic one I had in pregnancy, which I have never had any other time...but I am 100% not pregnant. Anyone else with flu have this symptom? My tongue hurts a bit too. The taste is making me more miserable than the other residual flu symptoms but nothing is making it go away! Any advice?

OP posts:
Original poster
DefinitelyFlu · 01/01/2018 09:18

Thisagain nothing wrong with my tonsils. Had sore throat from coughing for two days but no other pain/swelling back there. No problems swallowing (other than mouth being so dry).

OP posts:
thegamblersmrs · 01/01/2018 10:03

@DefinitelyFlu my DP had flue over Christmas and the one thing he described was the metallic taste. He was pretty disgusted with it, as he'd never experienced that before and it made him feel very sick.
I am pregnant and frequently have the metallic taste, I wonder if he'll now be more sympathetic to me when I'm moaning about it? 😂🙃

thegamblersmrs · 01/01/2018 10:03

*flu

Bridechilla · 01/01/2018 10:06

Tova has your partner been to the doctors, please be careful as my mums 'flu' was diagnosed as pneumonia and she ended up hospitalised for a week

Fortheloveofdog · 01/01/2018 14:37

Have you got thick ‘sticky’ phlegm coming up? H3N2 is causing chaos for us ☹️😷

PinkyBlunder · 01/01/2018 14:57

Ugh the sticky phlegm! The colour and consistency reminded me of that silly putty stuff you got in an egg when you were a kid Grin I’ve only just stopped secreting that from every orifice nearly 4 weeks later

mirime · 01/01/2018 15:07

@Fairylea DH has Addison's and we've both had flu over Christmas, at one point he was talking about going to A&E/letting me inject him with steroids, luckily it didn't come to that.

We both spent most of last week in bed and neither of us remembers much of Christmas Day. DS had a good day though and didn't catch anything off us.

Fairylea · 01/01/2018 15:58

Mirime FlowersFlowers it’s awful isn’t it .

I rang 111 yesterday because I was so worried about myself and kept burning through my steroids so quickly and they wanted to send an ambulance! I declined as I said I could keep them down, I just took 5 of them and drove myself to a and e instead (where they gave me new drugs etc). Just want it to go away!

BetterWithCake · 01/01/2018 18:43

Just wondered if any of you who’ve had flu had this years flu jab?

Fairylea · 01/01/2018 19:00

I had the flu jab.

BamburyFuriou3 · 01/01/2018 19:08

I had the flu jab 3 weeks before getting flu.

abundantlyclear · 01/01/2018 19:09

I have had this flu...I'm on day 12. Although I'm much improved, I'm still exhausted with a terrible cough and sinus headache/ pain and nausea. No amount of co-codamol and ibuprofen will relieve the headache. My poor children came down with it today and I'm so worried about how poorly they'll get Sad

BamburyFuriou3 · 01/01/2018 19:10

My kids hadn't had their flu nasal sprays at that point and just got the sniffles Hmm. I am very run down though - get very little sleep due to children being crap sleepers and tag teaming me, and having an anorexia relapse...

BamburyFuriou3 · 01/01/2018 19:11

Hope everyone gets some rest and gets well soon Flowers

Curious2468 · 01/01/2018 19:21

A family member died from flu this week and he was posting on social media the day before. It is totally possible to have flu but manage to post stuff, especially with mobile phones etc from the comfort of your bed.

mirime · 01/01/2018 19:25

@Fairylea pretty crap. GP will only give DH one month's supply of steroids at a time as well, and you'll know how fast you can get through them with something like flu. Combined with a less than sympathetic employer as well....

NC4now · 01/01/2018 19:50

DH has the metal taste and I’ve got sticky phlegm. We’re a right pair.

BamburyFuriou3 · 01/01/2018 19:58

Oh Curious, so sorry for your loss Flowers

Its easy to forget how serious flu can be. We almost lost DH 2 years ago from sepsis due to a simple ear infection from a cold. And yes he was updating FB from his high dependency bed.

treeofhearts · 01/01/2018 20:00

It's probably sinus drainage or an impending chest infection.

Frenchlady14 · 01/01/2018 20:02

Me too Sad. I picked this up a week before Christmas - had it all over Christmas and am still suffering. I had to go to the emergency doctor here in France as I couldn't believe I could have such a bad headache (worst ever) and the only relief (not paracetamol or ibuprofen which didn't even touch it) was to actually hold handfuls of my hair and keep my head still. She confirmed 'La Grippe' and told me to stay in bed and keep washing my hands. I've been through the temperature, aches sore throat and sticky cough, but the worst was the copper penny taste (yuk) and constant nausea. I'm coming to the end of week three and still have to rest halfway to the loo. I think it must be really serious if you are already ill or very young or very old. Hope all of you that have got it feel better soon.

Fairylea · 01/01/2018 20:06

@mirime that’s dreadful, your poor dh. My gp is pretty good at just giving me tons of steroids (after they misdiagnosed me for a year- but that’s another story!) because you do need lots of them spare for stuff like this! How stressful for you both. No one really understands how awful having something like this is with Addison’s as well.

I hope everyone feeling ill on this thread feels better soon, it’s so rotten.

So sorry for your loss Curious. People don’t realise how serious flu can be. Flowers

Original poster
DefinitelyFlu · 01/01/2018 20:08

Never had any flu jab. I always get the big flu going around but recover relatively quickly (apart from Sydney flu)...however one of my friends gets a full blown flu-like illness every single time she has the jab, and she's severely asthmatic so keeps being told to have the jab.

OP posts:
Original poster
DefinitelyFlu · 01/01/2018 20:15

Frenchlady14, sounds exactly the same as what I have. The headaches were very intense and constant for the first couple of days. They have now evolved into ice pick headaches for me...but at least I get a bit of downtime. Still feeling nauseous, dizzy, coughing, congested and with minging taste on day 6. I'm dreading this dragging on for weeks!

OP posts:
BetterWithCake · 01/01/2018 20:19

So is the consensus that the flu jab is ineffective?

Fairylea · 01/01/2018 20:22

I’m not sure what I think about the flu jab. I felt awful for three days after I had it and I still got flu anyway (3 weeks of the fucker, actually as today has gone on I feel I’m turning a corner but we’ll see) but maybe it would have been even worse without the jab? Confused!