Has anyone had Norovirus?

[SpudsandGravy]

Hi all,

I'm hoping somebody who has had this can tell me what it feels like. I don't think I've ever felt more ill in my entire life than I have today. I woke up with tummy cramps and it developed into puking hourly (I've no idea how there can still be stuff coming up), terrible tummy cramps (feels like I imagine it would feel if somebody was waving a knife around in my bowels) and awful headache. I can't keep anything down, but trying to take small sips of cold water. I hope it's Norovirus because at least that would explain it!

Does that sound right? If so, how long do the bad symptoms last, please?

Paracetamol can really help with the pain.

Thanks Ihate. I'll try that, but afraid I'll just puke them up.

I've had noro twice and the stomach cramps haven't been that painful and I didn't really have a headache.

You need to be careful not to dismiss other things that it could potentially be if your pain gets worse. If you are in agony with stomach pain I think I'd call 111. You may need appendicitis ruling out.

Do you have anything to replenish electrolytes, like Dioralyte (sp?)? If you are throwing up hourly you might loose electrolytes and risk becoming dehydrated. I think you can mix your own replacement involving some salt and maybe sugar. I onde gad something like that and thought I'd pass out, it did pass in less than 12 hours and I did take tiny but frequent sips of a rehydration drink.

Hope you feel better soon.

I've had it, it was awful.

I pushed through the vomiting stage by drinking hot lemonade.

Sprite in microwave for 30'ish seconds. Sounds bizarre but really helped the sickness.

Also paracetamol for the pain and lots of rest.

for you

I have had noro a few times, once a few months after giving birth, from a dodgy oyster, and I remember thinking the cramps were worse than labour. But it did only last about 12 hours and the cramps were not like that the whole time, so don’t let that information stop you from ruling out other things if necessary.

Understandably, perhaps, once the horribleness had passed, I couldn't get my appetite back. Complan helped.

I have MS and live in fear of it every winter because the two times I had it it absolutely floored me and I struggled to recover.

Hope you feel better soon

I’ve had it three times, so I certainly commiserate you poor thing ☹️
I sipped ice cold cola and tiny pieces of ginger biscuits as well as having a hot water bottle for the cramps. I took soluble aspirin when I could eventually tolerate fluids a bit.
Ice packs for the headaches helped.
It certainly knocks the stuffing out of you.

Thanks very much everybody It's reassuring to hear that this is more or less par for the course, and that it will eventually stop!

Can't be my appendix, as I've no longer got one, and I should have explained that the terrible cramps are not constant - they come in waves, and what I described was the peak of the wave.

I'll get hold of some Coke and Sprite tomorrow - thank you for the suggestions. Anything to help with the sickness! I've just take two Paracetamol and am hoping I can keep them down.

Thank you again. It's just me and the cat here, and you've helped me feel better

Oh man I feel for you. I’ve had noro about 5 times in total and each time it comes out both ends 🤢🤢. Try and get some flat lemonade or coke down you or if you can some lucozade . I get the bad cramps when I have it to the point I can barely walk.

I had it just after I had my son. I was ill for two weeks straight. The first 3 days, i slept on the bathroom floor, i was literally unable to move away from the toilet.

Sorry for the TMI but I got to the point where all that was coming out was like water. Urgh. God, just the memory of it. I thought I was dying at one point. lol I had Doctors out, talk of being put in hospital, couldn't nurse my DS so milk dried up. I lost 32lbs in that time (some of that obviously a bit of baby weight.) It was the best/worst diet ever.

I had a sickness bug after river swimming one time (tend to stick to sea swimming now!).

I was sick so many times and I was in so much pain I honestly can't imagine anything worse.

I lived on my own at the time and called the Samaritans in the end to have someone to talk to through it. I lay on the bathroom floor all night but didn't sleep.

Retrospectively I should have rung someone and got them over but my tired and pained brain didn't think of that.

Squash with salt and sugar in (preferably low sodium salt as that will do potassium too) or rehydration sachets are a good idea if possible.

DP and I had it once at the same time, it was dreadful. Very glad we had two toilets!! Lasted about 5 days from Boxing Day. First time I have ever stood on the scales on New Year’s Day and had a pleasant surprise though! Get well soon.

My stomach felt like I needed to unzip it if that makes sense. Constant vomiting and tmi I once didn’t make it to the toilet for the other end! Lasted a full week took two or three to feel completely better and trigged and autoimmune disease that I still have. So pretty awful!

I remember lying on the bathroom floor praying for death to come quickly.

If someone can get to a pharmacy, get them to pick up some “buccastem”. It’s an anti emetic that you place between your lip and gum and it dissolves. They will only give it to you if you say your GP has suggested it for migraines, but this is what the doctor told me to take to stop the vomiting when I had it.

Hope you feel better soon

Oh, poor you - it's rotten. I've had it once, a load of us got it at work but had different symptoms. I had it unilaterally - lower end only! I certainly felt powerfully nauseous but when you're as afraid of vomiting as I am you develop an insane ability to resist it.

Apart from having coronavirus recently, which felt just as bad frankly but at a lower intensity for longer, I've never felt so ill in my life. When I eventually stopped shitting out the lining of my large intestine (7 hours), I ached all over and just felt dreadful. Lay there in quarantine sweating and feeling so ill I couldn't even watch TV or read a book, it abruptly lifted exactly 24 hrs after it started.

I had very little stomach pain though, oddly. Others from the group that were ill had a mixture of vomiting, diarrhoea, flu symptoms, and stomach cramps. Eventually we started passing it on to our partners, it was a horrible spell.

I really hope you feel better soon.

Yep bad bad bad. I’ve had it twice and once was when I was 4 months pregnant. Ended up on a drip in hospital :-(

I had it once when I was 16/17.

I puked every 30mins for 8 hours. It was hell. I slept next to toilet.

I finally stopped went to bed abs slept for ages and ages. Don't recall cramps though- was a while ago but it's very vivid memory for some reason. !

I got it, it lasted about 36 hours, I had an overwhelming feeling of nausea constantly and literally repeatedly projectile vomited

I recall waking up into the night and saying to my husband, I feel really sick, I then ran to the loo and started projective vomiting, he came in after me, I was literally in my knickers and nothing else, and he sat on the edge of the bath watching me and said, “oh you’re really ill blunt”

Eh yeah. For me it was repeated projectile vomiting and a feeling of overwhelming nausea just before each puking event. And then it passed.

Myself and Ds had it, was awful. All I craved was apple pie (just the filling). Apparently stewed apples have the perfect levels of water, sugar and potassium. The craving was intense!