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I didn't get around to getting the tamiflu shots.
In the two weeks prior to getting the flu, I had been suffering some sinusitis with nose blocked on one side and yellow discharge when blowing my nose. I had a few sneezing fits. This may or may not have been part of the flu itself. The infection could have reduced my immunity though.
I had a strong exposure to the flu when I had to drive my mother-in-law on a 35Km trip. She was coughing most of the time, so one week later I got the flu as I expected. She is still coughing now BTW.
Friday 20 November (after returning from Nakhon Sawan Immigration)
Headache in afternoon, fever gradually increasing
Saturday 21
Runny nose, headache, strong joint pains, strong fever, chills, diarrhoea, slight sore throat, dry cough, loss of appetite, strong sweating, pain on urination.
Sunday 22
Nose less runny, headache, joint pains, strong fever, chills, diarrhoea, slight sore throat, dry cough becoming more productive, loss of appetite, strong sweating, pain on urination.
Monday 23
Headache, joint pains, strong fever, diarrhoea, productive cough on inhaling, strong wheezing, loss of appetite, strong sweating, pain on urination.
Tuesday 24
Headache, joint pains, strong fever, diarrhoea has stopped, productive cough on inhaling, wheezing, loss of appetite, strong sweating on & off, pain on urination.
Wednesday 25
Headache, joint pains, strong fever, productive cough on deep inhaling, wheezing, loss of appetite, strong sweating, pain on urination.
Thursday 26
Headache, joint pains, strong fever, strong sweating, productive cough on inhaling, wheezing, loss of appetite, sore eyes, pain on urination, no bowel movement (lack of food intake)
Friday 27
Severe burning pain in nose/sinus, paroxysms of heavy sneezing, constant runny nose, strong sweating on & off, watery sore eyes, joint pains, general weakness, fever, joint pain, wheezing chest, pain on urination, no bowel movement.
Saturday 28
Burning sinus pain, watery sore eyes, fever, constant runny nose, stomach pain, general weakness, joint pains, sweating on & off, dry cough occasional productive cough, wheezing sweating, headache, pain on urination, no bowel movement, I was able to eat a little in evening.
Sunday 29
Sinus pain eased, fever eased, still have runny nose, general weakness, joint pains eased, dry cough, occasional productive cough, wheezing reduced. Sweating reduced, head pain (frontal sinus) when coughing, slight sore throat (mildy swollen lymph glands) discomfort on swallowing.
Had a decent breakfast today, eggs toast coffee.
bowels back to normal.
Sunday PM
Still have temp and sweating, productive coughing and wheezing but have a clear head, thus am able to give you this report.
Medications that I used:
Brown Mixture (linctus)
Leopard medical brand with camphorated tincture of opium with liquorice extract this calmed the airway to prevent spontaneous coughing and allowed sleep for an hour or two.
I'd recommend this if you can get it. One week is a long time to suffer and the more sleep you can get, will help to kill some time, if nothing else. I did a lot of sleeping!
Panadol (paracetamol) was needed to reduce the sinus pain but two tablets only lasted an hour at most.
Codral cold tablets (paracetamol, codeine, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) are usually very effective for a runny nose, but didn't have much effect this time.
Clarityne tablets (Loratidine) (non sedative antihistamine) helped the sneezing to stop.
Beconase (beclomethasone diproprionate) a nasal spray for allergy & hay fever. This helped stop the sneezing for a while but did not ease the burning pain in my nose.
Antibiotics – Clarithromycin 500 mg and Metronidazole 400 mg
I did not start these until the end of the week. My stomach was already upset with all other medications. They are useless against virus infections anyway. Their main value is in helping to prevent secondary infections resulting from damaged tissue left by the virus. Damaged lung tissue is open to bacterial infection. This can lead to dangerous pneumonia which is often the main cause of death from the flu.
Multi Vitamin tablets
I took one multi-vitamin tablet each day. Just as a precaution. I was not eating normally so I was not getting normal daily nutrients. With all tablets I took them with plenty of water and sometimes a small biscuit to help reduce the irritant effect on the stomach lining.
I was aware that adequate fluid intake was important to replace that lost by sweating, diarrhoea, expectorant and nasal discharge. So I drank bottled water, often.
Pain on urination- I could have taken an alkalinizer (powder mixed with water) but the pain didn't last long. The urine was more concentrated than normal due to amount of fluid I lost through sweating and nose running.
General Hygiene
I kept a small towel for the runny nose. That was soaked damp in a few hours and had to be changed often. Handkerchiefs lasted no more than 5 minutes before they were wet. It was the same for tissues - they were useless and messy. My sneezes blasted right through them anyway.
Expectorated phlegm
I kept a 500 ml plastic drink bottle with a screw top lid by the bedside.
After coughing up phlegm I spat this into the bottle and replaced the cap.
This saved wasting a mountain of tissues and solved the problem of disposal.
In all, I collected about 300 ml of light yellow phlegm over the week.
It looks very disgusting but I found it a curious visual way of measuring my suffering.
Disposal of the phlegm will be just a matter of emptying the bottle into the toilet and flushing it away.
I'll wash the bottle thoroughly with hot water and detergent before placing the bottle into the recycle bin. These bottles are melted down to make new plastic so any residual viruses would be destroyed in the heating process.
Was this flu different than other flu in the past?
Yes, mainly because with all other flu I have experienced over the years, the really sore throat was absent - so that was a blessing. Sore throats can be one of the worst symptoms to put up with as you know.
I'm hoping the sore throat doesn't come next, it could do ..
I feel as though the worst is over or is it just a lull before the next round?
This flu seemed to quickly zoom in on the lungs.
Other flu doesn't seem to affect the lungs until a later stage.
The extreme burning sinus pain was something new to me as well (and very unpleasant).
To avoid spreading the virus
I tried to reduce the spread of the virus to other family members, I stayed in a separate room and avoided all contact. Coughing or sneezing in company was avoided at all costs.
That didn't stop the MIL from coughing everywhere though ..
I had my computer for company (when I was up to using it), sometimes in the early hours of the morning - it's a good way of killing time, as you know already.
Hope this report is a help to others (cough cough wheeze..)
