Anyone had really mild swine flu?

[Gotte]

I'm a little confused. My 3 yr old daughter had what we thought was swine flu (cough/fever of 40 deg/runny nose/said her throat hurt and stomach hurt). We got Tamiflu, but could control the fever with calpol, so didn;t give it her. She seems fine, if a little subdued, and though her temp is controllable, it does keep coming back, more often than not towards the evening. She is prone to temperatures with viruses, but not really with colds, which she seems to cope with well.

I came down the same time with what I thought might be swine flu. I felt a bit nausious, a bit "wrong". The initial phase was only short, a couple of hours, but I really thought I was coming down with something bad, but then it faded away, and over the next couple of days, I developed what feels like a normal cold, but worse - more tiring, more achey (though no temp), but more of a cold than flu (it even progressed from blocked sinuses to a bad chest, which is the usual way a cold goes for me).

So, I'm confused. I've read a lot that the swine flu can feel like a normal cold, and that there were supposed to be 6 or 7 times the ammount of people with SW than realised it.

Has anyone here mistaken it for a common cold only to find out it was swine flu? If so, did you have the typical cold symptoms, like blocked sinuses? or was it always obvious it was the SW, just much more mild than anticipated?

My youngest wasn't too poorly with it but my eldest had what was like an asthma attack and it knocked me off my feet for over 2 weeks, my youngest was diagnosed with flu and a flu induced wheeze and I was diagnosed as with flu and a secondary infection, it may be that it varies hugely in terms of how bad you get it but we were really poorly x

I reckon we all had it, but would certainly not have called it anything more than a normal cold. Certainly was at ds' school and both kids got high temps for a day or so. I was uncomfortable for a couple of days.

I've had very similar symptoms to you Gotte. I wouldn't really have thought anything of it - except that my dh was in bed with much worse symptoms - sore throat, aching, dreadful tiredness, tight chest, upset tummy but no d&v.

Not sure if it was swine flu or not as my dh usually gets things more mildly than me. My mum and sister have slo had similar symptoms but much worse. It didn't feel like a cold really but not like flu symptoms I have had in the past.

Wish we knew if it was swine flu or not as it would be good to have got it over with.

I'm on day 4 of Tamiflu now. I was really bad for 24 hours - had to sleep all the time and felt like I'd pass out if I stood up - but the previous two days I just had a bad cold (Sore throat, achy ears, runny nose, bit achy etc), and the two days since have been okay - just feel weak. I'm now not sure it was swine flu at all! I'm sure I'll end up getting the bleeding thing in the autumn!

Have to say, my dd had a 'virus' for 3 weeks on and off.

I kept meaniung to take her to the doctors, but it wold go away for 2 days or so then come back. It presented itself as high temp followed by banging headache on some days. Then came sore throat. Then tummy aches. She kept saying oh i feel really bad mummy, and then the next day/2 dayd there'd be nothing. yet she was very tired, very pale and grey under the eyes. At the same time I had headaches and extreme tiredness.

So who knows! I took her to the gp last friday, after a bad night thursday, and was told , 'a virus'.

Thanks for that. I saw your other posts, Yummymummy, and sypmathise. I had pnumonia over the winter, and it was not a very pleasant experience. Also, having a child hospitalised is no fun. Unfortunately, I can vouch for that, also, though not asthma, just the Norovirus - twice.
As for the flu, I'd obviously love it if we'd had it as it should give some immunity at least, come the winter and the potential more deadly return, but I'm just not sure we have, and save paying for tests, I suppose we never will know.
The thing is, I'm used to having colds, and this one feels sufficiently different (I forgot to mention I'd had an upset stomach as well, which I never get with a common cold) to make me wonder, and the same with my daughter. She doesn;t usually get a fever with a cold, and the fact that it seems peristent and has been over 40deg does make me wonder. As I write, I've just given her a dose of Nurofen on top of Calpol, because the Calpol hasn't brought her temp below 38.

I suppose I'm hoping for someone to say - hey, I had exactly the same symptoms as you, and had it diagnosed as SW. A long shot, I know, but there you go...

I have v mild symptoms (well, you know, mild when compared to the in-bed-for-3-days type flu) but I do feel absolutely shit and have just had a bit of a snivel because am not physically up to even quite minor things - I did think I'd be ok to carry on working (I work with dogs, usually collecting them from otherwise empty houses before anyone shouts at me) but had to come home and lie down

my symptoms now are coughing, sneezing, very raspy breathing, sore throat, pretty bad headache between paracetamol doses, persistent aches in all my bendy bits like elbows and knees and hips and a temperature that keeps wobbling between 37 and 38 - yesterday I just had a sore throat, felt a bit achey and had a temperature and headache

the landlady of my local pub has just sent us a load of cooked, hot food and that made me cry too - what a sap! so am adding 'emotional incontinence' to my symptoms

just about to take my 4th dose of tamiflu by the way

for first time am feeling ok about taking it as beginning to feel like I might be actually ill after all

Again, many thanks all for the input.
The worst thing, I suppose, is that I keep going backwards and forwards with it.

My daughter's just fallen asleep about 3 hours before normal, while running a 39 deg temp after both Calpol and Nurofen (that said, the Calpol was three hours ago, and the Nurofen was only about half an hour ago, so that's not necessarily as dramatic as it sounds). This morning, I thought she was over it as she hadn;t had Calpol in 24 hours. I was sure then it wasn't SW. But now she's got that raspy cough whenever her temp goes up, and I have the feeling that it isn;t just a normal cold/virus.

Also, this morning, I felt like I did in the winter when I was getting pnumonia, but now, I don;t feel that bad.

I reckon those with mild symptoms have not had it. Dd was very ill for 3 days with high fever, cough, snot, then i got ill - flu type illness definitely, felt terrible and pounding headache and awful cough - but no temp. We all had suspected SF. I got a private swab done - negative for SF. So I reckon massive over diagnosis going on at minute.

yet it is a defining feature of swine flu, as opposed to other flu, that it is mild in vast majority of people

Really? I thought you had to have a temperature.

yes you do - 38 or higher here I think, 39 and over in some countries

I had very similar symptoms to you over the course of about a week. It then went to my chest (but not badly) and I am now on antibiotics for sinusitis - but the rest has gone.

It felt worse than a cold but not as bad as flu. However I have never had flu - just going on peoples descriptions of not being able to move. I certainly felt ill but carried on with things as I had to with two little children. Pre children I would have spent a few days in bed I think.

My temperature kept going up and down but not really high - but I was constantly taking paracetemol and nurofen for the pain of throat etc so who knows. I then got a hacking cough and my nose was ridiculous!

DH got a cold and no worse (yes really - odd in itself lol)

DD - happy little thing she always is was fine but had awful cough, temp up and down but not too bad, really runny nose, niggling better with calpol etc.

DS - tends to be quite robust. Cough and runny nose 'Mummy I am doing a cough listen'.

Can you get a private test then to see if you have had it or is it just when it is active? I would love to know just so I can cross it off my worry list so to speak (and make room for another neurose

We may have had - DD had temp over 39 and some snottiness and cough, child who sat on same table at school had been positively diagnosed with SF so, over the phone, GP said it probably was SF. She didn't feel poorly though - calpol kept temperature in the 38 range and it was really all gone in a couple of days, apart from some particularly strange snufflings and snortings in the night.

You can get a private test. I seem to remember reading it's a 2 day turnaround, and about £125.