Swine flu - the got it/had it thread... please post

[phlossie]

I had a thought - to counter all the panic about swine flu, it would help if those who have it or have had or DCs/DHs have had it could post here about what it's actually like...

My best friend has it: she feels achy and rubbish - basically 'flu with the shits' is how she has described it. That's not to belittle it, she feels pretty lousy. A friend's dp got her the tamiflu and she's on the mend.

She caught it from her sister, and so far has passed it on to no-one.

Anyone else?

Got it, quarantined at home now. I'm not bad at all, can easily manage it with Beechams Flu Plus. Day 1 had a terrible headache, day 2 the fever started (38 degrees so no big deal), on day 3 now and have headache, temp and sore throat. I have felt shockingly tired and achy all over since the weekend.

Doc has given me tamiflu to help recovery as I have a 2 year old and I need to get better to look after him if he gets it. Touch wood, everyone else in the house has felt tired but noone else has any symptoms yet. We're not great on handwashing etc so if one of us has it I'll be amazed if we all don't.

No D&V thankfully.

My issue is that I have no idea whether I really have SF. It could be any kind of virus or bacterial infection.

Good idea - My son had it last week (20 months) had a temp of 39, cough and sore throat, got Tamiflu and was markedly better within 12 hours of the first dose. I'm 34 weeks pregnant and had a day of feeling shattered and achey but nothing else so either didn't get it or got off very lightly.

I've had it and now have pneumonia - am tired in the extreme and am on some v strong AB's which my lovely GP assures me will give me thrush . (and eating humble pie, as was dismissive of anyone claming to be dreadfully ill and still posting on here!)

DS (4, asthma, CP, heart valve defect etc) now has SF got his tamiflu today - no problems at all, perhaps the supply chain is sorted out compared to pervious posts I had read?

dd aged 2 nearly 3 not able to express herself clearly
suddenly hit with a temp of 40.9 after a nap
controlled with paracetemol around the 38.5 mark. Slight cough, bit snotty, very dopey and whiney
had it now for over a week
was sick this morning

still unsure if sf though dr though probably over the phone

My GP told me yesterday thay are treating any cold symptoms accompanied by a temp of over 38 as SF.

I've got it, just feels like a very bad cold but no temp. Doc still says it is swine flu even with no temp. Am 24 weeks pregnant and he wouldn't prescribe tamiflu or Rolenza as I've no temp and it hasn't had enough testing to be deemed safe for unborn foetus.

Got it now, in quarantine. First two days was sicky, horrible headache and stiff neck.

started tamiflu and also started with the violent vomiting.

Felt slightly better yesterday but today I feel crapola. Weak and shaky. Still vomiting and still got the same headache.

I am coping though, not as bad as I expected it to be

My nieces have had it, younger niece (3) recovered in 48 hours and didn't suffer too badly, older niece (6) had it a bit longer, maybe 72 hours in all, was more sick (she's quite a vomity child though) and a took a bit longer to bounce back. Both fully recovered now.

Neither my sister or her dh caught it from their dd's by the way.

Got it. Had short temp of near 38 and horrible nose and headache 3 days ago, but had much worse in my life.
Yesterday was up and about thinking ha ha, this swine flu is all nonsense.

Today have nasty cough which worries me as asthmatic. Havene't taken tamiflu as the side effects sounded as bad as what I have been suffering anyway! May regret that if my chest gets any worse.

5 year old had it - coughed for a week at night, then had a relatively low temperature of around 38.8, tummy ache, sore throat and fatigue for 48 hours. Then fine with cough continuing for about a week. Most she had was a couple of doses of nurofen and some toddies.

8 year old had a day of low-grade fever, diarrhea and sore throat and then it went.

I had diarrhea for 12 hours, low fever of 38, then a cough for 2 weeks, then tonsilitis (antiobiotics) and now a productive cough for a week.

I think these are most likely Swine Flu due to diagnosed cases in children's class at school before they went down with it.

No Tamiflu and have had worse bugs

dd's friend (2) had it: high temps of 39+, heavy cold, temp hard to control but came down within 12 hours of first Tamiflu dose.

dd1's friend(5) had it: high temps, cough started on 2nd day, sore throat runny nose. His little sister has it, very high temps, horrible cough, sore throat (2). Both on Tamiflu, sister threw up with it, boy was fine.

Nephew (5) had ?? it, violent diarrhoea for a few hours, accompanied by stuffy, then runny nose, and high temps which lasted about 3 days, then gradually improved. No Tamiflu.

DD (2.9) has been diagnosed with it - she has had a low grade fever, headaches, been off her food, complaining of sore throat and chest, bit of a runny nose, diarrhoea, clingy & whiney at times.

She's on day five of what I'd call a 'mild' illness (and she's prone to fits/hospitalisations over temp related illnesses) without having had any Tamiflu.

Please can you add whether you were swabbed as positive (before they stopped) as I think it'd be interesting.

Thanks for this thread, it's good to hear peopple's experiences. Knowledge is power!

I have had a cold the past few days, it started with 3 days of mild sore throat that then turned into a snotty nose and sneezes, then 2 days of feeling shit with themp and now on day 8 im feeling fine. A week, no Tamiflu or no DR's just lemsip and rest and i feel normal and if ithelps ease anyones mind i have a weak immune system.

DS has CF and is 4 so is in high risk catagory x2 he has just had a temp and sore throat and is taking Tamiflu but is fine also.

DS (4) and DD (1) may have had it a couple of weeks ago. Based on the criteria being used at the moment, they'd be diagnosed with it over the phone if they had the same symptoms today.

Temperature of 38.6 even after Calpol (didn't measure it before, just thought "BLIMEY, that's hot") (needed ibuprofen as well to bring it down further)
BAD cough (DS broke little capillaries all over one side of his face from coughing so hard)
Sore throat
Runny nose
Throwing up

They were only properly ill for about 3 days, though, so swine flu didn't occur to me at the time and didn't get them swabbed. I do hope it was and we've got it out of the way.

I am convinced my two had it last week. DD 13m never developed a temperature but has had diarrheoa and horrible cough for more than 10 days. DS(3) suddenly developed high temp (>39degrees) and same cough last Thursday night, was bad all day and overnight Friday but much better on Sat morning and has been just a bit under par with a bit of diarrohea since then.

DH and I seem to have had a lucky escape from all this (except a bit of diarrheoa for me) but my Dad came to visit on Sat (from Wales, where few cases), left yesterday and this morning has terrible cough, D&V, high temp, headache - textbook symptoms, sounds awful - which makes me convinced that kids def had it.

DH had cold symptoms last Wednesday, mild fever Friday, cough still hasn't gone away but feels like he has some strength back (had been feeling SO sapped of energy before then!).
DD has a bit of a stuffy nose and that's it (a slight rise in temperature after about 2 days which went overnight with calpol.
I have just had a really stuffy nose since Saturday, mild temperature came and went Sunday night & a sore neck.
DH called doctors on Friday who recommended no tamiflu. The thing that has shocked me most is that neither the doctor or the health line DH has to ring into work when sick advised any time off work . He has had 2 days off sick, but could have just walked straight back into the office today if he had wanted to while still having symptoms! (Has the option to work at home so did anyway but why no stay away advice?)

Titsalinabumsquash (can't write your name without laughing!) glad to hear your CF boy is ok. My SIL (14yo) has CF, so I've been fretting about her.

huge range of symptoms, is soo hard to know what is SF and what isn't. Never entered my head dd could have had it, but reading some of these...its in her class at school; she had diarrhoea for one evening last Monday, looked very pale with dark circles all week, developed nasty chesty-sounding cough around the weekend which is still going, though she finally has some colour back in her cheeks.

I mostly still think it was end-of-term-itis plus a cough, though, she's had no temp.

Could be SF, maybe not, but I think so: DS (2.5) was a bit fragile for a couple of days, then on Saturday had temperature which reached 38.8 at highest, but has gone up and down over a few days. Still (weds) some temperature sometimes.
He's not eating, he's got a barking cough - which has stopped him sleeping well even though he's really tired, had a few spots around his mouth, a few greenish loose nappies. He's also had worrying shortness of breath, though that's better now.

Had a bit of a cryptic visit from the out of hours doc, who essentially said swine flu panic was all a media construct, and then without actually saying he had SF, said he did tick the boxes for Tamiflu - but really that was for very ill people, and DS (at the time riding round on his bike) was not very ill. We didn't have it, but regretted it when he started being very short of breath (it's been very up and down). That's now passed and he's basically now got a cough and a runny nose with a bit of temperature every now and then. Still not eating though.

DS (10yo) woke up on Saturday with a 39-ish temp, cough, sore throat, aches, headache and generally exhausted but (luckily) no D+V.

Out-of-hours doctor said it was probably SF but didn't prescribe Tamiflu as "it would likely make him feel more nauseous". Ibuprofen did the trick with the temp and aches.

By Monday he was still tired and with occasional cough but only a bit hot and well on the mend. Today his temp's been fine, only coughed twice but still not quite got all his energy back. I don't think he's infectious any more so we're going to break quarantine tomorrow as we're all so bored.

DD and myself have (so far!) been fine. But bored.