Can flu make you feel this bad

[Ihaveaquestionn]

Woke up Sunday am very early feeling sick and achy and haven’t got out of bed since. I’ve had chills, aching muscles similar to contractions (literally just as bad as mine were anyway) and fatigue that cannot be described I.e walking to the toilet involves holding onto walls and having to sit down briefly on the way there. I’m coughing up brown phlegm and have a pain in my chest like knives being stabbed in me.

I suffer terribly from anxiety so have dizziness and fatigue issues anyway, so on top of all these symptoms I am not able to get much rest mentally - I can’t sleep much so am laying tossing and turning day and night. I know this is absolutely not helping things but my anxiety revolves around the dizziness and fear of not functioning properly for my toddler which I obviously can’t right now!

This is day 5 - can it really be this bad?

I've had full-on flu once - the first week was a blur and I wasn't properly better for 3 weeks

Brown phlegm is most likely a chest infection and you'll need antibiotics to get rid of it.

I've only had the flu once. It was over Xmas/New Year for the millennium. I was staying with my sister and BiL who lived 320 miles from me. BiL's Mum arrived already feeling unwell on 22nd December. By Xmas day my BiL was unwell. By 27th both DH and I were really unwell. We wanted to go home but too unwell to drive so trapped there. My sister was looking after everyone. Then my DD got it. I was only well enough to leave on January 5th. DH recovered a bit quicker so drove us home. DD was still unwell. I lost over a stone during the time I was ill. I spent about 5 days after I got home recuperating. Then my poor sister got ill immediately after her DH had gone to work away for a week. She was there on her own and I felt so guilty.

I think I've only had flu once when at university. I could just about get myself to the loo, but otherwise I was helpless in bed for nearly a week. The ceiling had those square tiles and they seemed to be rippling. I lost nearly a stone in weight and wasn't fully fit for about another 3 weeks. I was 20 years old and had no health conditions.

Proper flu is an absolute bugger.

Real flu is indeed awful. I had it last Christmas for the first time in over 20 years and was bedridden for 10 days, couldn't cook, could barely go to the toilet, hardly washed. It's by far the most unwell I've ever been: far worse than COVID.

Exactly that.

It annoys me when people say they have flu when it's clearly a bad cold or say flu is no big deal. They've never really had it. There's a bloody good reason the NHS vaccinates the elderly young and vulnerable each and every year.

Bollocks. Flu can be anything from mild to atrocious, same as covid. Some people don’t have any symptoms.

But yes, flu can be a severe disease.

Has this been adjusted for inflation?

FFS, yet another thread with people banging on about PROPER flu. As pp's have mentioned, flu can have no symptoms. It can have mild symptoms, It can make you feel like you've been run over by a steam roller. It can put you in hospital. Any of these can be flu. It affects different people in different ways.

I shouldn't open these threads. They drive me insane.

Flu symptoms can range from nothing, to a mild cold, to being bedridden or hospitalised.

Not all flu is severe.

Brown phlegm might indicate bleeding and is not usually present (even with an infection). Did you specifically mention it to your GP? If not, you need to.

Yep, if you speak to someone who's had it as an adult, they can't believe how awful it is. Very unlike a cold. It's like the difference between a migraine and a headache if you see what I mean, but more so.

Agree. Actual Flu is awful. I felt like every part of me ached so much that reduced me to tears. Covid did not make me feel so bad (it wasn't nice though).

Yes it can make you feel awful. I felt too awful to eat, drink more than sips, have a shower, or even watch TV for about 6 days a couple of years ago. My chest muscles ached so much it felt like I had puked a muscle when I breathed.

However brown phlegm isn't a symptom of flu, and that plus the chills etc would make me worry about pneumonia. I think you should be seeing a doctor face to face

I had the pleasure of catching swine flu back in the olden days. 5 days of pain, shivering, delirium, and numb limbs. The only break was when the paracetamol briefly kicked in. The seasonal flu last year lasted longer but wasn't as intense. You definitely feel a difference between any type of flu and a cold.

I've had it twice.

It was horrific both times, hallucinations, could barely move my legs, only left bed to go for a wee and that was a struggle. I was out for about 10 days each time with it then it took me another couple of weeks to feel normal-ish.

The first time I had it, I was coughing up brown phlegm and stabbing pains in my back and I had pleurisy.

Might be worth getting checked out. Get well soon x

Out of interest, everyone who's had it badly, were you jabbed? As a fit and healthy youngster I didn't give it much of a thought but since covid am more conscientious of getting vaccinated regularly.

Ah my dad says that as well!

I've had proper flu twice in my life.
Both times I cried and told DH I was going to die.
I wasn't joking. I felt absolutely horrendous.

Yes, flu is a serious illness. I’ve had it once, I’m 55 and I’ve probably had hundreds of colds over the decades but nothing as bad as flu. My 22 yr old DD was blue lighted to A&E with flu last year. At University so I didn’t know until after she recovered.

Hope you recover quickly OP

None of us where vaccinated against the flu, my husband and one child were absolutely floored - DH went on to get pneumonia and was extremely sick for weeks. Then 3 of us had mild cold like symptoms. We all get vaccinated now.

I was jabbed the year I got flu. It must have been a different strain.

Yes,I wasn't quite as bad as when I wasn't jabbed, in bed for a full week instead of 2. I've had it 3x in the last 16 years and I honestly dread getting it again,the rest of the family avoided it. I was also very ill with Covid although I was jabbed.