"If you had the flu you wouldn't be sat in front of me now"

[Plumty]

I have been VERY under the weather for three weeks now. Went to the GP surgery as I suspect I now have a chest infection (I do). I asked about this Super Flu and was told “if you had the flu you would be in bed and not in front of me”.

Am I right in thinking this is just nonsense? I am extremely depleted. It takes me 3x as long to walk. I HAD to go in so pushed myself.

I’ve had Covid twice and both times I mustered strength to walk my dog. 7 mins at most once a day (the dog is normally a handful but totally mellowed out as he knew I was ill).

Whatever I have now is 5x worse than my experiences with Covid.

I just think the GP was really dismissive for saying that. I’m on my knees but we all push ourselves when absolutely necessary

Everyone is different. And everyone has a tolerance level. I live with a certain amount of pain and lots of medical problems. But I called an ambulance for what turned out to be hurt burn. Never before ( and I have given birth ) have I had such pain. The reason they sent the ambulance was because I couldn’t breathe and we have bad hearts in our family. I thought and they thought I was having bf a heart attack but I wasn’t. I just had heart burn. People
scoff at me now. But oh my
goodness I couldn’t even stand up straight to even answer the door to the ambulance men.

Given you can have the flu and be completely asymptomatic, this GP was talking out of his arse. Condescending too, so his bedside manner needs some work. All in all, I can understand why you feel annoyed and it sounds like Dr Know It All could do with a training refresher.

I have had proper flu twice and could not even lift my head off the pillow.

Sorry OP I do sympathise with what you’re feeling like and I acknowledge that it just about split you in half to get to the GP’s but he/she is sadly right. It’s not just a case of you wouldn’t feel well enough to do X or Y it’s a case of You physically would not be able to get dressed, you’d be delirious and so dizzy that even getting to the toilet would be a dangerous mission that you’d be unlikely to do without vomiting at least 1/2 times.

I’ve had full on, diagnosed flu and I couldn’t even see my hands in front of me! I collapsed on the way to the toilet as my legs couldn’t hold me up. I genuinely, 100% almost died, had to be blue-lighted to hospital (and that was regular Flu. I dread to think what Super Flu would be like). So yeah sorry, your GP was bang on!

I've seen tv doctors say the same so it's a widely held belief.

I would have replied that I am not sat in front of them for 'flu, I am here because I think I have a chest infection.

Yes. Please tell me how I am supposed to get prescribed medication for a chest infection without either having a visit / going in for an appointment?

Have you had the flu jab?

I hear this so often and it's not true at all. I managed to work full time with glandular fever as a teenager, was looking after the kids, dogs and horses with swine flu and same with covid. Sometimes you have no choice. Sometimes you just have a different experience of the illness. I'm not saying any of those illnesses were a breeze and I felt fucking terrible, but people can and do get out of bed with flu. My friends wife currently has the "superflu" (hospital diagnosed as their toddler has it as well) and isn't bed bound although feels awful.
It doesn't mean you are pathetic if you get so ill you can't get out of bed, and it also doesn't mean you are showing off or a martyr if you can. It's just how your body copes.
I got told by a midwife I "couldn't possibly be" about to give birth immediately as I rushed into the hospital. Gave birth minutes later. Also got told there was "no way" I'd broken my ankle that I walked in on. Smashed.

Cause they said “hope you feel better”. Thats a kind thing to say on the internet to a stranger

I'm sorry you were so unwell but not everyone gets the flu that badly.

Otherwise everyone who had it would be hospitalized.

You’re hardly out clubbing but at the GP surgery.

It's true though, and is true of many viral illnesses. When DH had COVID for the first time he was spending 22 hours a day in bed while I felt mildly under the weather and DS had a very high temp and was obviously ill for one evening and then bounced back like nothing was wrong by the morning.

You can also push yourself if you need to, I had flu over Christmas once, I was up and unwrapping presents with DS, helping him build Lego etc. Spent the next three days in bed with an alarm set for every six hours when I'd eat, drink, take paracetamol then go back to sleep.

But you thought super flu? No antibiotics for flu OP! So what were you hoping to get prescribed?

This a million times over. GP correct. If you had fly you’d barely be able to lift your head off the pillow.

FLU

Chest infection. It’s in the first post

So you didn’t think you had super flu until you were in front of the GP?

My mum had the flu, she has to have a home visit and it turned into pleurisy and pneumonia.

You would not have been there with the flu. Fatigue etc., yes. But the flu? No.

But it isn’t correct. It’s a myth and a GP should know better.

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/yahoo-life-why-does-the-flu-make-some-people-sick-but-not-others

Wrong.

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/yahoo-life-why-does-the-flu-make-some-people-sick-but-not-others

Those who weren’t pretty much bed bound but still think they had the flu..,, how do you know you had the flu?

If you’re able to get out of bed one would imagine you don’t need to be at the GP for flu!

I’ve had something for weeks (have entertained the idea it could be flu as I was in bed for most of it). In the last few days I have felt wheezing in my chest and have become extremely breathless. So went into the gp as I suspected I needed medication. Which I was given.

Satisfied?

So it’s not for the flu. Likely a post viral cough, or chest infection.

Why did she test for flu if she felt absolutely fine aside from 2 days of a raised temperature?