Can flu make you feel this bad

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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?

Flu is horrific.
Even my hair hurt.
Bed bound for 10days.
Hubby had to feed me
Day 6 he was on the verge of calling an ambulance
I had to wee into a thick towel I was that weak.
It's awful

I had flu a couple of times in my 20s and 30s. Covid was a walk in the park compared with flu.
As an HCP we were offered flu jabs via work so after the last dose of flu 25 yrs ago I have the flu jab every year. I have had mild infections from time to time when I’ve likely been exposed to flu virus but the immune system rapidly kicks in and it’s over before it’s really started.
So yes the flu jab does work on the whole. Even if they don’t get the strains correct you tend to have a bit of cross over immunity to fall back on.

I had it over Christmas 2010, before I’d ever really thought about getting the flu jab. It was so bad I’ve gone out of my way every single year since to get the jab (I’ve never been on the list of people entitled to it). Had what I would describe as flu one more time since, 3 weeks or so after getting jabbed, and it was nowhere near as bad.

Flu is awful. I thought I'd often had 'a touch of flu' in my life..boy was I wrong...I was middle 60s and moving in bed was impossible due to how much it hurt to move. I dosed up on co codamol and slept for a week didn't move out of bed. Fortunately I didn't realise how dangerous it could be at the time. Since then I have my flu shot.

I had the flu 9 years ago which quickly developed into pneumonia and left me in hospital for 3 weeks. Keep an eye on your breathing if they suspect chest infection as well.and go to a&e if it gets really bad

The actual flu really is that bad. I’ve only had it a couple of times and dread getting it again.

Yes but if you’re up and about with cold symptoms and say you’ve got flu then you’re likely talking bollocks aren’t you? Because how would you know it was flu? They’re the people pps are getting annoyed by, not people who’ve been tested in a study and not had symptoms.

It sounds this way to me, too. Four years ago, I had flu, which knocked me out completely. Then I just didn't recover; I had a persistent temperature and developed breathing problems. One round of antibiotics didn’t cure it. I went to A&E on the advice of the GP surgery and was nearly hospitalised. They diagnosed me with pneumonia.

In the end, I was sent home, with 2 separate antibiotics, which together finally brought me through it.

So yes, I would suspect that you have both flu and a chest infection, you should definitely consult your GP. It sounds like you need to be put on antibiotics.

I do hope you get well soon, I remember only too well how miserable the experience was.

Just to add, I really recommend the flu jab. That time I’ve just spoken about was the one time in the last 10 years or so that I didn’t have it! (I booked it and had to cancel due to a cold and forgot to rebook.)

The jab costs about £10 if you don’t qualify to have it on the NHS. I recently discovered that I qualified as a carer to my DD1 (14), so it’s worth checking to see if you actually do qualify.

I don't think flu season has properly started yet. Positivity rates only 1.8%, Covid rates are higher (and few hospitals are testing for Covid so rates are probably higher in real life).

I'd test for COVID (swab throat and nose) and be aware that many people aren't testing positive for days.

There's also RSV and hPMV around.

Whatever it is, please mask if you go out to avoid infecting others, ventilate your home and try and isolate if you don't live alone.

I have had flu and I've had Covid. Flu was much,much worse than Covid. I was really ill for a week, barely got out of bed except to use the toilet,and felt pretty rough for another week. It must have taken me another 6 weeks to feel completely well again. Now I have a flu jab every year without fail,and thankfully have not had flu since.

It can be this bad and it can also lead to other problems which need medical treatment. As you're already on antibiotics and as the weekend is coming up and you aren't improving I would ring your GP for further advice. If it's pneumonia or pleurisy you should be seen by a HCP.

Get well soon OP, the brown sputum sounds concerning so keep in touch with your HCP.

I had flu once aged 37, never even occurred to me to get a flu jab prior. Have had one every year since, as soon as it’s out and bookable. it was absolutely awful, I’ll never forget how ill I felt.

The signs and symptoms of pneumonia may include:

1. Cough, which may produce greenish, yellow or even bloody mucus.
2. Fever, sweating and shaking chills.
3. Shortness of breath.
4. Rapid, shallow breathing.
5. Sharp or stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough.
6. Loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue.

I had double pneumonia and sepsis which developed from flu OP, with the dark brown (bloody?) mucus that you're coughing up and the stabbing pains you're describing, I think you may need to be checked out. Call 111 especially if you are alone, the guy on the end of my phone call to them literally saved my life, he immediately sent paramedics and an ambulance. I was blue lighted to hospital, and it was touch and go for several hours. Please don't delay if you feel that the above symptoms seem to fit. Also, please try not to stop yourself coughing even if it hurts, as that mucus needs to come up, I saw a program on it recently and they recommend taking a really deep breaths in to open up the chest and let the air deep into your lungs, if it makes you cough so much the better, as the longer the bacteria sit in your lungs the more ill it can make you. I really hope you feel better soon.

Yup, sounds like the first time your had flu.

Suprising isnt it! 😆

I've had flu once, and the GP did a house call so I knew I wasn't very well

The medication I take weekly gives me flu symptoms so I get the joys of it for 24hrs every single week. Mine are bone pain, can't stand the duvet touching me, sweating and shivering, nausea, feel faint and a temp of 40c

I’m old enough to get free flu jabs now but I used to pay to get one each year as once you have had full on flu you don’t want to have that again if you can help it. I had the “real” flu with gastric symptoms as well when I was 30 I was a single mum and my mum had to come and take my toddler back to her house for 3 days as there was no way I could look after him. I couldn’t walk from my bedroom to the bathroom just down the hall so I took my duvet and just lay on the bathroom floor for the worst 36 hours or so I was in a bad way.

Sounds like a chest infection on top of flu. And yes, it makes you feel like shit.
Treat the symptoms: take the antibiotics right on time and as prescribed ( eg before or after food or with food)
Drink lots of clear fluids —- avoid dairy.
If you’re able and safe to have a hot bath, lie in a hot bath, wring out flannels in hot water and lay them on your chest. As soon as you are dry rub copious amounts of Vick on your chest.
Two hot water bottles —- one against your back, one on your chest. ( when you’re back in bed, not in the bath!)
If you have an expectorant cough medicine put a dose of that into a hot drink ( water, lemon and honey is best)
All the above helped with a case of whooping cough.

Hope you feel better soon.

Yeah I had it then too , I was 19 and I was crying to my mum to call the doctor as I had never felt so bad . My head was hurting so bad with it I was crying .

Oh and I always always have flu jag , I don't even have to pay for it anymore .

Twenty years ago I had a bad episode of flu, that means I still have limited taste and smell.

Yes flu can be that bad I had it when I was about 25 and felt like death which is why I get a flu shot every fall since then. And now COVID shot too. Give me all the shots.

More like £20 now!

I paid £15 this year. It might be slightly cheaper in a big place like Boots, but not much cheaper.

Of course it can. It's flu.

That's how you know that someone who's out and about saying they've got flu, hasn't.