Please tell me i'm going to feel better by Monday

[MrsCrabb]

I've had a really nasty virus. Went down suddenly on Christmas Day and barely left the bed/sofa for 8 days. Started to feel better by about day 10 and went back to work yesterday.

It was a disaster. I feel OK until I try to actually do anything. I just could not get my brain into gear, even the simplest questions had me mumbling incoherent answers and I couldn't apply myself to even easy routine tasks. I cried My boss sent me home and told me not to even try going back until Monday.

I feel like a fraud, I'm not ill any more beyond a bit of a cough and runny nose, but I am still dazed and confused. What's going on and when will I feel better?

Hopeful bump?

Sorry you have felt rough.

I think you have to accept that viruses can take a while to go- it's been 3 weeks but can take longer.

I had something similar a few months back and felt wiped out for 6 weeks at least. Pottering around at home was ok but the minute I started anything like screen work for work, I got pains behind my eyes and felt exhausted.

Just rest up and meanwhile eat healthily and get as much sleep as you can.

I've got it too if what you have is very up and down mild flu. I think I'm about a week ahead of you - the bad news is I still feel awful, I'm better than I was a week ago, but this is going to be a bit of a long road. It might be best if you don't put a date on when you expect to be better, but just try and accept that you're ill, it's an unpleasant virus and it's going to take a while to clear up.

You're really not a fraud. I know that my lungs are perfectly clear and don't have any infection, but I'm so knackered I keep finding it really tiring to breathe, so there's nothing more than a tiny, tiny bit of a runny nose and cough, but there's loads of just feeling ill.

Will you be able to have a resting weekend?

That's exactly it stars. I think I feel better, do a bit and get set back a couple of days.

It's scary. Physically I'm well enough to be at work but mentally

....I'm clearly not. Can't take any more time off though and don't think I'd present as "ill" if I asked doc for a certificate.

Could you work reduced hours? If you don't rest, you will take longer to recover.

It's a bit grim, isn't it? I think the only thing to do is rest, then when you feel better, rest some more. Feeling a little bit better and trying to get back to normal speed will drag you back down again. I think we've been so poorly that when we feel marginally better we think we're actually better as we're comparing it with 'ill' - if that makes any sense at all.

I think you would present as too ill to work. You're clearly describing a mild flu-like winter virus and you need to rest if you're going to recover.

What Polly said.