my daughter cant seem to shake off swine flu

[pinkstarlight]

my normally fit and healthy 18 year old was swabbed for 15 days ago for swine flu which came back as positve.she became very ill suddenly her legs just went from under her while walking down the street,her temperture rocketed and every bone in her body hurt,hacking cough and stomach upset etc so she was given tami flu.

15 days later shes still unwell the fever passed around day 4 and after day 6 she seened to pick up a little bit but a couple of days later she seemed to go downhill again. headaches,stomach ache,cough has come back plus raging cold.

her temperture is normal but over the last few days each day she wakes along side with the raging cold,headaches

with some new sypmtom from ear ache, losing her voice,doubled over with stomach ache and finally not being able to open her eyes because they are full of gunk which has fused her eyes together.

the feedback im getting is the doctors do not seemed concerned because the fever has passed,she doesnt have a temperture and she hasnt got breathing problems and im being told she is at the tail end of swine flu.

how come my daughter is still suffering 15 days later when everyone else seemes to get over it in a week.shes either to exhausted to get up or shes up for about 4 hours a day but is still unable to move,what little she does walk its as if shes drunk and shes staggering everywhere.in the 15 days she has lost over a stone in weight,she looks very unwell and is now starting to get very emotional and low.how much longer can this go on for

Sorry to hear this. Sounds horrible. Can you phone seldoc/NHS direct to discuss?

just wanted to add her b/f also had swineflu and he had a number of complications at the start and he spent 4 days in hospital.yet after 8 days he was back to normal.

i have phoned back nhs and although sympathetic they say shes over the worse and on the mend and to keep an eye on her breathing and temperture. but it doesnt seem that way to me.

I am not a doctor, but she may have a secondary infection (quite likely with serious flu like swine flu) requiring anti-biotics. So probably needs to be seen by doctor. Might need anti-biotic eyedrops (dd had them and cleared up eye infection in two days, then take them extra two days to prevent recurrence, also, hightly infectious, so make sure you wash hands well and don't share towels/bedding). She may also have chest infection (especially if she feels like coughing up phlegm, even is she does not manage to do so). My dh had confirmed swine flu in Summer 09 and took him 8 weeks before he felt relatively normal again but he was still easily tired even then. Also, if you have had real flu you can indeed become depressed, don't know why, but there are several medical articles which mention this. I would make sure that she is seen by a doctor, not just phone conversation. Also, make sure doctor listens PROPERLY to her chest. Unfortunately many young doctors don't know how to do this and even do it through your top, this is not possible because of the noise distortion of the fabric. Listening properly to a chest is an art, and takes time, and can not be done quickly and definitely not through clothing. Doctors who do this are only pretending to do so to reassure you, kind of placebo effect. I know sad state of affairs, that is why I always try to go private with dd because I have come across so many poor GPs on NHS, but these things are just too important. So, please, if necessary make a nuisance of yourself, you are doing it to help your dd! Also, there is some real evidence that things like chicken soup help recovery, not just an old wife's tale, would she eat that? Hope she feels a little better soon.

thats what i thought but i have been told no and that shes just at the tail end of swine flu and shes been very ill blah blah and its going to take time to recover.she has no tempetture and various symptoms are coming and going, shes well into her 3rd week and is just generally unwell with no energy.

Your poor dd, Pinkstarlight

Sadly, it can definitely take weeks to recover properly from a bad bout of 'flu. Depression and feeling low also very common at this point, I think. Lots of reassurance that this WILL pass, along with the usual nutritious/easily digested food/drink advice, and back to GP if you suspect a secondary infection/if her temp goes up again.

A raging cold when you've just had flu is also possible, and very unpleasant - really sounds awful, and also really sounds pretty normal. Her b/f probably had a milder dose of the flu in the first place, and everyone is different - recover at different rates. Hope this is the dark before the dawn.

I have only ever had normal flu and I was ill with that for a good month... 3 weeks were dreadful and the 4th fairly bad... I hope she feels better soon

thanks everyone its now 21 days later and shes finally as she says 85% better and she had her first good nights sleep in 3 weeks.shes thin,tired and still has a slight cough and very rundown but finally we can see shes on the mend.

Sounds exactly like my 16yr old DD who's just recovering after 3 weeks of swine flu, she's also lost a lot of weight, gets very tired easy, has a cough still and is still taking prescription painkillers for rib/side/shoulder pain.