Why do I KEEP getting the flu

[Highlander4]

Does anyone know why all of a sudden I would be getting lots of coughs and colds, and struggling to get better from them?

it feels like I’ve been hammered with them over the last year, and it’s been worse in the last few months in particular. I had a terrible bout of what I think was the flu and was flattened for a week, then ok for a few days then came down with pretty much the same thing and was flattened again for another 2 weeks, and again got better for a few days and I’ve spend the last 3 weeks with a terrible cold that just won’t shift. Anytime the symptoms start to get better for a day or so, it just seems to start right back up again. Blocked nose, really awful exhaustion, crackly ears, noisy chest and just feeling all round shit.

I never used to be like this and I’m miserable with it. I’m in my 20s and I’ve always had a great immune system and had every injection recommended to me. I’ve not moved house or environment recently or had any life changes. I’m generally healthy and play a lot of sports, I’ve a pacemaker for heart issues but never had any symptoms like this and my heart is fine now.

if anyone knows why I seem to be catching every bug and struggling to shift it off, or has any advice, I’d be so grateful! Absolutely fed up with feeling so miserable!

I was ill for three months with colds and chest infections. I was so exhausted, and not getting better. Turned out I was severely deficient in vitamin D. Got given a high dose for 7 weeks by my doctor.

I don’t know what it is, but I could have written this word for word! It’s really getting at me, every time I think I’m over it, back it comes.

Only difference is that I’m not in my Twenties anymore… 🙃

i saw the GP today for something unrelated, but he took bloods for a full panel, maybe something will show, and if so, I will report here.

Get better soon!

(Edited to add: mine is going on since the start of September.)

You need to see your GP and have bloods done. There’s a wide range of things that could explain this - from fairly benign to more serious.

If you never really had this previously then unfortunately it’s just your time to catch all and sundry. And whilst your immune system is low from previous it’s easy to pick up another.

Most people go through a period of catching all viruses going, it builds their immune system and when you’re out of it you’re unlikely to be sick for a long time.

It usually happens in childhood though and then just the odd ‘new’ cold here and there in adulthood. Maybe you didn’t get sick much whilst young?

OP, how good is your diet? Vit D? Iron? Vitamin C?

GP appt for bloods? Or if that's difficult, try taking a daily multivitamin, plus doubling the fruit & veg in your diet.

Are you under severe stress? When was the last time you had a holiday or even just a weekend off to catch up on sleep and take it easy.

I've had this and it turned out I was vit d deficient - since taking high dose supplements I've been fine. I would speak to your GP and get blood work..

As you haven't tested, you don't know if you've had 'flu.

Going by the exhaustion you're describing, could it be you've developed a chronic sinus infection? I first started getting those in my late 20s, and dripping sinuses can contribute to coughs as well. I'd be looking for a referral to an ear and throat specialist.

You could ask for a blood tests from you GP.

Otherwise, If the first illness was COVID it is known to suppress the immune system somewhat for up to 6 months afterwards

Cold and flu are two different things - it’s very unlikely you’re catching the flu repeatedly.

I'd get your vitamin D levels checked. It's important for immune system function and it is depleted by viral illness, so if you keep getting ill, it's probably low. Optimal levels are 200nmol/L or 90 ng/mL. The Nutrient Teams Protocol is a helpful one for supplementing vit D and its cofactors.

I'd also check your zinc levels. You can do this at home with Lamberts Zincatest which is a simple taste test.

Taking a vitamin C supplement might help as well - a typical amount would be 1g (1000mg) a day.

Yes agree with this. Go and see the GP and explain you feel you have flu type symptoms for several months and get bloods done.

My son is going through the same thing he went back to college and boom started all over again his bloods are fine I told him to stop licking people because we are all baffled he washes his hands still when he comes home (covid habit) and actually keeps himself to himself there is no reason for him to be getting heavy cold after heavy cold

GPs don’t test vitamin D any more. Which is daft.

run a Medichecks test privately if you can - look at vitamin D and ferritin as a minimum.

There’s a flu/ Covid: something like them going around this year that is hammering people for long periods- I work in a supermarket and management were pulled in over absences and a lot of people as back in because they couldn’t continue staying out but they look awful. Loads of customers saying they’ve had it rough too. I’d echo looking at vitamin d and diet but it just seems particularly bad this year (and a lot of people say that yearly but actually this seems to be true this year)

Are you the parent of a young child? If so it's like living with a walking petri dish, they run round all day incubating germs then breath them into your face or lick your eyeballs or whatever other nonsense they get up to. It's just virus after virus.

do you have toddlers?
at uni?
take a lot of public transport?
fresher's flu type thing after moving?

Another one saying vitamin D ... you'll need a high dose to get you to a level then you need to take it every day. You might have to fight yoir corner with the Dr as the 'normal' range is very wide. But honestly transformed my life.

Have you been abroad OP?

Extremely unlikely you keep getting the flu. Most likely colds.

Not been abroad, no young kids, I’m not stressed at all and my diet is actually really good. literally nothing has changed in my life from normal. I usually get a virus/flu/cold once a year or so, obviously I do get them like everyone else but I just don’t get them frequently and when I do get them I recover quickly. This last year, and particularly the last few months, has been awful for it

i had some bloods checked about 3 months ago for something else and it was all fine at that point but that won’t have been a vit D check. I’ll look into that privately and get some vit d supplements from Holland and Barrett or somewhere like that. Hopefully that helps because I honestly cannot take having a blocked nose and sore throat for much longer! ☹️

And yeah I know there’s a difference between the cold and flu, and I know you don’t know it’s flu without testing. if you read my OP clearly, that’s why I put ‘what I believe to be the flu’ I didn’t say for sure it was

maybe it is just a cold and not flu, tbh the semantics doesn’t really matter too much to my overall question about why I’m suddenly catching all these viruses and why I can’t seem to shake them off.

But whatever I’ve been getting, it’s felt a lot worse than a normal cold and as well as the usual sore throat, blocked nose etc I’ve had horrendous ear ache, vomiting at times and nausea. I’ve had other symptoms than seem to be more flu rather than cold but it could definitely just be a nasty cold.

The point is, I never normally get hammered with them and when I do I bounce back quickly but now I can’t seem to stop catching whatever these viruses are and I can’t seem to recover fully either ☹️

That’s interesting about the comments about how there’s something particularly nasty going about this year, maybe that’s what I’ve been catching. It’s absolutely horrible!

Have you had your flu jab? It won’t necessarily stop you from catching flu but will generally make the symptoms much milder.

Yeah I get it every year x