This was a virus wasn't it? Or is it something else?

[MrsZoidberg]

Last week I woke up with a bit of a dry cough. It was there all morning and I assumed it was my asthma playing up. After lunch I helped the PiLs with something that exposed me to lots of dust and cat hair (trigger for my asthma). Predictably, cough was soon hacking and I was wheezing.

By the evening though, I had absolutely no energy, felt dizzy / faint, little appetite etc. I was diagnosed with the asthma in my early 30s and have not had a very bad flare up, just the odd day, so I didn't know if this was as a result of my asthma or not.

The next day, I had no energy at all, everythng was way too much effort, alternating chills and sweats, mildly raised temp, couldn't eat, just wanted to sleep, aching joints and muscles. Climbing the stairs was truly like climbing Everest and I wanted Oxygen half way up . This exhaustion lasted until Monday (6 days), then just lifted.

I didn't have much sneezing, runny nose etc, so I'm confused. All I have left is a very bad cough, and I still feel quite tired after a little effort.

So was this a bad asthma attack or was it flu as MiL thnks? I remember my Mum had the adage that if you thought there was a £20 note on the doorstep, if you could go get it, it was a cold, and if you couldn't it was flu. I would not have shifted for less than several thousand

Sounds like flu or v bad virus.
You sound post viral now. Take it as easy as you can. My collegue had similar and she was a few weeks getting back to 100%

Sounds like exactly what I had 3 weeks ago. I am just about back to normal now. It was a virus but it turned into a chest infection in the end. I didn't have a cold at all either.

DS1 and 2 had it but DH didn't. I put it down to him having the flu jab. Have you had one?

Oh goodness! I have had this recently, it's dreadful. I still feel awful and could sleep on a chicken's lip as soon as I sit down.
I'm taking vitamin supplements and iron in the hope I soon feel well.
I agree about £20!
Hope you soon feel well Blessings

I remember standing on the patio in my nightie with sweat pouring off me at 11pm.

Omg, this sounds exactly what I'm just getting over. Even started self diagnosing myself over the weekend with diabetes, under active thyroid, enlarged spleen, you name it!!!!

DH not the most sympathetic and could only say 'yeah I'm tired as well' and I'm screaming on the inside ITS NOT THAT SORT OF TIRED!!!

Didn't get the temp but ached so much, could have slept on a motorway and my balance was shocking. Had no appetite, slept for 16 hours on and off sat and sun and just couldn't get out of bed on Monday. I think it's actually been building for a couple of weeks as I've not felt right, really really irritable and felt the energy draining.

Went back to work today as I felt a bit of a fraud but was whacked out by 1pm.

So glad it's not just me and hope everyone feels better soon

Thank you everyone, I feel better that others have had it, but would not wish it on anyone iyswim. Its the ack of cold symptoms that was puzzling me.

Sparkling - yes I can really relate to that! My house always seems warm anyway, so this has been torture. No flu jab this year as I forgot

With the aching I ddin't want to be touched, which DH & DS were ok with but I have 3 dogs who didn't understand why I was croaking "piss off" to them whenever they wanted a cuddle. Even though they have very soft fur, it hurt to touch it.

Lozislovely - Exactly, but what sort of tired is it? How do you describe it - even thinking is just too tiring.

Oh and Brain Fog. Still not over that one.

What I don't understand is how everyone is passing it on. I'm the only one in the family with it so I'm guessing I picked it up in B&Q at the weekend, but if the person who gave it to me was in B&Q then they could not have had any symptoms - otherwise how did they get to B&Q - it would have been far too much effort!

My biggest fear was that I would give it to DS who has CFS, he feels tired at the best of thimes, this would finish him off.

Sorry meant to add, Hope everyone with it feels better soon

I've had this too!!!! I too was self diagnosing under active thyroid, TB, cancer. Exact same start, strange dry cough, then every evening I would start with the shivers, had night sweats (woke up drenched), brain fog and crippling tiredness. In the daytime I could just about cope, but come the evening I was utterly useless. DH v. unsympathetic, accusing me of hypochondriasis etc Think he thought I was just being lazy.........until he got it! I was actually very relieved when he did as I then knew it was a virus. What is it?

It is bizarre how I'm the only one the house that's had it and no-one I know has been affected (so far).

God, trying to describe what the tired felt like - nothing I've ever felt - not even when I had 3 hrs sleep a night with DS1 and 2 (glad those days are over!!)

The brain fog is a strange one, a bit like being drunk without the jolly feeling. My driving was awful at the end of last week. Even managed to scrape a barrier in the car park at work (DH hasn't spotted it yet).

Took DS1 for booster the other day, wish I had asked the nurse now about any viruses going round.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if we see more posts on here soon from others feeling like death warmed up!!

Mrs - hopefully you won't have passed it on, I'll keep my fingers crossed as no-one deserves to feel like this.

themymble - glad I'm not the only one with the unsympathetic DH

My DH was vaguely sympathetic so I'm lucky. But, one night he described how much noise I was making in my sleep from the lung congestion - I waited a moment and said at my sweetest, "but you know this is only going to last a few nights don't you? " He made the right sort of mutterings, until I screamed (croaked) "But I have a bloody lifetime to put up with your f*ing snoring" - guess irritability can also be added as a symptom

Oh I should also add - I have the greatest teenager ever Even though he is ill he still made me drinks, and when I felt able to eat, he made me the best ham salad ever! He also did the post office run for our Ebay business. And he's 15 so at that "Kevin" age.

I had this last week! It was awful. I asked MN to diagnose me and they too diagnosed me with underactive thyroid, diabetes etc. I slept till noon, then went to bed at 7:30pm and couldn't have cared less if there was a £20 note on my doorstep.

We had flu a few Christmases ago, it was dreadful and sounds a bit like that but with much higher temps and very bad cold stuff too.

I could barely move. It wasn't nice.

This week we all had a v high temp thing, with a mild cough and horrid sore throat, but it only lasted a few days one of which I could barely get out of bed at all. Strange. I still have a v sore throat but temps all gone.

Sounds like a very nasty bug. I hope you are proper better soon xx

Have got this at the moment too, so has DD, and DH had it

Thought I had an allergy for a few days then felt very ill with shocking cough and flu like feeling

Lurker here, but felt compelled to write as suffering with this at the moment. So glad I'm not alone!

Started with odd sore throat on Monday, could almost taste blood, then freezing cold, boiling hot, sweating through the night. Bad cough too and throat even worse today. Don't know how I did it but got to GP today and he prescribed antibiotics. Feel like death. DS had cough and fever for 3 days last week too and DH now got something similar. Sweating it out as I type!

Get well all.

We've got this. Dh has rarely been so ill and I have been worried about pneumonia and the strain it could be putting on his heart etc. I think he's ok but I am monitoring carefully. He is completely grey though slowly getting better. I keep getting it back after a couple of days feeling a bit better. I too would only have gone out for the euromillions to give to my dm and our dc.

I feel really awful atm and it has lasted weeks-it seems to get better then wham back it comes.I have asthma too and am always terrified that a virus will settle on my chest as they are so hard to shift.I recommend using your brown inhaler a little more [either an extra puff or an extra time-not both].I changed my inhaler to Q-Var and find it better than the Becotide.
Good Luck

I've doubled up on the brown, I use Qvar too. The asthma always worries me. Loads better today but still coughing and tired. You've panicked me about it coming back

Been feeling like this for the last 6 weeks and its only been the last couple of days I've felt even half way normal - have been blaming everything fron the coil to underactive thyroid AND have been to the docs and had a full range of bloodtests which all come back normal!

Now that I'm feeling better I realise how rotten I was.

Hang in there - this too shall pass......

SIX WEEKS OMG poor you. Glad you're starting to feel better

I think this is what I have at the mo, feel crap. Have asthma and feel wheezy but inhalers aren't really helping, have temp but feel freezing and feel generally floored not helped by dd waking for feeds every 2 hours all night supposed to be dh and i's big night out on Saturday, sods law. I've had my flu jab.

I've had this for three weeks. I had 2x antibiotics then steroids. Then I got a vomiting bug. Then another vomiting bug. I went to my GP again and he told me to make sure I kept pushing myself and particularly not to "lounge around in bed all day". I'm a single parent of a 5yo and a 2yo and I work full time. I nearly punched him.

The only worthwhile thing he said was that he'd been inundated patients describing the exact same illness and was telling everyone to expect recovery to take a good month. I had the same experience of the exhaustion lifting as you describe. I could almost feel it lift off of me one evening.

I had 2 lots of antibiotics too. grim because they gave me the squits. But it took my mind off coughing my lungs up, and the second lot worked.