Okay, first of all I want everyone to know I'm not writing this only because I thought the title was cute. (It is, isn't it?) My experience with the flu the past week has made me rethink how I deal with my own health care and the prevention of illness, and I thought it was worth sharing. With that out of the way, let's get on to the gross stuff...
My husband was sick the whole week of Christmas, but we went ahead with most of our plans anyway, skipping only the annual New Year's Eve party in Royal Oak. We entertained family and I did most of the work while Brent rested. Christmas night, I was awakened at least three times by the sound of him being sick in the night. That's when I knew we had serious germ on our hands. In the morning, he was gray and pasty and feverish. I took him to the doctor, who diagnosed a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics. We now have good reason to believe that he had the flu. There may or may not have been a sinus infection on top of it. We had plans to go to Battle Creek that night for more Xmas festivities, but we postponed while Brent tried to recuperate.
That night, I felt good enough to walk the dog. An hour later, I went to bed coughing, with a headache and fever. The next morning, Brent was slightly better, and I was quite a bit worse. With great effort, we loaded presents and packed suitcases. I drove half the distance, he drove the other half. The boy was in perfect health. It was obvious by the time I got there that it had been a huge mistake. I didn't stop to greet anyone, I just went straight upstairs to bed.
The festivities went forward without me, and the guests left by six o'clock. I was still in a state of denial, in spite of the high fever. Very much on my mind was the fact that I was going to be the last person on earth to see Return of the King. I lamented that Brent was not well enough to carry me to the car and into the theater so that I could watch it, but was very determined to get out and see it the next day as we wouldn't have a babysitter for a long time after.
The next day, Sunday, we overcame many obstacles to see the movie. We took many medications, broke some speed laws, encountered one sold out show (after ten days!) and finally saw the darn thing. It was good, but probably not worth it. That night I was sicker than I think I've been in twenty years. My fevers didn't respond to meds, and I lay in bed most of the night feeling rather delusional and occasionally crying from the body pains. That's when I realized I was really sick. If someone had offered to take me to the hospital, I'd have accepted gratefully. But they were all sleeping, and I guess I survived. Brent still wasn't feeling well himself at that point.
Our hosts left early the next morning for the hospital for a scheduled surgery. We'd stayed too long already. With great effort, we gathered our things and went home. I vomited a couple of times on the trip, partially splattering the car. My husband was sick enough himself that he didn't much care. We stopped and got a happy meal for Glen and an empty cup for me.
Over the weekend, I saw ads for Tamiflu, but I was out of town, not entirely convinced I had the flu, and had too much inertia to take myself to the er in a strange city to get a medication that didn't even seem like it would do much for me. I really wish I had!
On Monday, after some research, I was convinced I had the flu. It was too late to test either of us for the virus, or to use any of the new antiviral meds like Tamiflu, but I read that the meds can be given prophylactically, so I called my son's pediatrician to run the idea past him. Constantly on my mind were two news stories, one involving a dozen children dead of the flu in Colorado, and closer to home, four local children who died from flu-like illness last year. I was still running fevers and feeling extremely ill, and I wanted to spare my son if at all possible.
The ped dinged my idea of giving prophylactic flu meds to the boy, so I shrugged and went back to being sick. Increased coughing forced me to sleep on the couch, where I could prop myself up in a sitting position. I canceled all plans, party and otherwise, for the week and settled in to wait. As of this writing, I'm still very much ill, and would not be able to to work if I had a job.
On New Year's Eve, the boy started coughing. I knew exactly what was going to happen. We grabbed some quick chinese food at a restaurant, and I could feel his temperature rising while we ate. When he complained of a headache, I knew I had a case. I called the doctor's office and when the doc called back I explained the situation and made another bid for antiviral meds. This time he agreed it was indicated and called all over town to find a pharmacy that had Tamiflu in stock. I gave my son a dose immediately.
That night was very rough. He woke up crying and throwing up several times. His fever was very high and by morning he was refusing all liquids. The last straw for me was when he started hallucinating. I bundled him up and we dragged our collective selves into a very quiet emergency room. To my relief, the boy started feeling better while we were there, and they were able to get some tylenol into him. He got a quick neurological exam to rule out meningitis and we were sent home with instructions to alternate tylenol and ibuprofin and force fluids. He seemed to get better that day, and I wondered if it was the action of the Tamiflu or just the symptomatic treatment. Tamiflu advertises that it can shorten the duration of the flu by 1.3 days. It doesn't sound like much when you're talking about a five or ten day illness, but by day four it sure sounds good. I figured that the boy might be feeling better as early as Monday, based on our experience.
I spent another night on the couch and woke the next morning to the pitter patter of feet. Then the racket of electronic music. Apparently, he got himself up, played, and finally came in to inform my husband that it was time to get up. He had no fever, no symptoms at all, and his meds had worn off hours ago. The Tamiflu worked! In less than 36 hours! It saved him at least FOUR days of misery, and who knows what kind of secondary infection he might have gotten while weakened by flu.
There are still a few uncertain variables. It was never scientifically confirmed that we had the flu. That can only be done by a laboratory test, and there are a lot of "lookalike" colds out there. But given the symptoms we had, the severity, the fact that flu is widespread now in Michigan, and the fact that our son's illness responded to Tamiflu, I believe it's safe to assume that we did indeed have the flu, most likely this year's dominant strain influenze A, H3N3 or "Fujian" as the press calls it. This is not our first flu of 2003. We suffered through a similar, though not as severe illness during April. Our family generally does not take flu shots mostly because we are lazy, wimps, and because we are not in any of the populations warned to do so because of increased risk. After the experience we had this year, we are changing that policy and will always do so. Likewise, I'd encourage everyone else who possibly can get the flu shot to do so. The er pediatrician mentioned that the flu this year and last has been different, that it has killed healthy children, which is not something usually seen with the flu. It is an everpresent possibility that we can have another flu pandemic such as the Spanish flu of 1918/19 and the yearly vaccine is the very best defense. There's no point in saving the vaccine for high risk people since the supply is artificially limited. If they sell out this year, they'll make more doses next year. Additionally, our society faces increasingly the specter of antibiotic resistant bacteria. There are a number of very dangerous secondary infections that can come with the flu, and next time we might not get so lucky with the zithromax.
Finally, I have to say I'm impressed with Tamiflu. I knew it would work, but I didn't know that it could work SO WELL. Of course there's no guarantee that it will do the same for you or your family, but I believe we maximized our odds by starting it early. For adults and teens over 13, the drug is also approved as prophylaxis for people confirmed to be exposed to the flu. This means that there's no reason to tough out flu-like symptoms at home, alone. A treatment is available if it's caught early, so it's better to call your doctor or go to the hospital, even if it's late on a Friday or Saturday night and you're in a strange town. I really wish I had. I hope there's something in here to help others. I know that the UWG has been plagued by colds, flus, infections, and even pneumonia this year, so it's probably an issue close to all our hearts.
Congratulations if you read this far. I wish you good health in 2004!
Ewww. Wow. I'm glad to hear you all are getting better. And I thought I had an annoying Christmas with a back injury that made sitting extremely painful for a few days. (I'm doing much better.)
I remember having the flu when I was about ten. I was in my grandmother's bedroom crying my eyes out and sobbing -- when possible -- between vomitting. There is something particularly distressing about puking one's guts out. I think it's the helpless, almost scary, feeling I get when it becomes hard to breathe. Not to mention that it's just gross, though that doesn't really bother me until afterward; I've got more pressing issues (like trying to breathe) during the act.
I've had two bouts of flu in twenty years, so I've been very lucky. I haven't had a flu shot since the swine flu, and by the time I got one of the two necessary shots, it had all died down and I never received the second shot. But now that so many of my friends have children, I'm wondering if my risk has gone up enough to be worth getting the shot. (I have a bit of a needle phobia.)
Posted by: Lisa | January 03, 2004 at 12:45 AM
Yes depressions weeakn the immune system and create a lot of symptoms. That can happen to everybody being sad or depressed for instance after suffering the death or loss of someone close, financial pressure, unemployment, relationship break ups or health conditions - nothing to be ashamed of. The questions is - how quickly can you get out of it. Tips:1) Enjoy activities or exercising and getting good night sleeps.2) Lift up mood and get motivation by changing eating habits and diet3) Ask for help and support for getting an track and focusedBeing active and good results help you to overcome depression by rewiring our brain, reactivating relationships etc The attached information will help. Good luck Was this answer helpful?
Posted by: Johnson | July 29, 2012 at 10:55 AM
I'm just as concerned about this as you are. My dagthuer is 19 weeks pregnant and her OB has mentioned it. So far he hasn't really discussed it with us because it wasn't available at her last check up. I agree she should definitely get the regular flu shot. But this swine flu shot is something they came up with so fast. I worry about the possible side effects. I worry about it being so fast that it may not be what they are thinking it is. She is only 17 so that is why I say "We", I'm behind decisions. We have decided to research it as much as we can and discuss the pros and cons with her OB at the next appointment. It's scary. The swine flu and the shot. How do we know what is best for the unborn child. I guess we have to do our own research and then discuss it with the OB and have faith and trust in him. I know this doesn't answer your question at all. I just wanted to let you know, you're not alone. Others are struggling with this decision as well. Talk to your OB before deciding and do all the research you can. Good luck and Good Luck and Congrats on your pregnancy.
Posted by: Ionut | July 29, 2012 at 07:15 PM