OT~ Sick and worried

So, I seem to have caught some nasty little bug. Congestion, runny nose, sore throat that hurts more when I swallow, headache, sore neck/shoulders, fever, ringing ears, slightly inflamed looking tonsils, chills, little to no appetite, watery output....the whole 9 yards. I don't know what it is....but it sucks!

I am worried because in the past few years, the two times I've gotten pretty sick with a cold/flu kinda thing...some bigger health problem was triggered. First time it was Pancreatitis. This baffled all my docs because I had NO risk factors for Panreatitis. They ended up finding "some" sludge in my gallbladder, and figured that was the only thing that MIGHT be causing it....so out came the gallbladder. All along I suspected Auto Immune induced Pancreatits, which all docs agreed was possible, but too hard to accurately test for. Nice!!

A few months after the gallbladder removal, I was diagnosed with UC. Got into remission fairly easily...until I got a bad cold. That cold triggered the flare that nearly killed me and DID kill my colon. It was removed almost 4 moths after the cold hit. GI is quite sure getting the cold got my immune system all fired up, and triggered the flare.

Since all of this, I'm always worried about getting sick in the back of my mind. Now....I feel like I am VERY sick, and can't help wondering what will happen next?! I guess this is more of a rant post....though I'd happily take any similar experience stories, or advice on how to shake this mess I've contracted!

Keep your fluids up! It's common to think "something else is going to happen" because for everyone else on this board, well, something else did happen at one point! That doesn't mean it will happen. Things will be fine.

There's been a very nasty cold/flu going around in California. It's taken me about 5 weeks to get over a cold and even longer to get over a plugged up ear.

here on the East Coast, it's the same thing- nasty cold, chest congestion, stuffy head, finally requiring antibiotics to clear the chest thing up... and still, 3 weeks after it started, I'm still coughing, blowing my nose, & stuffed up! And tired! My work has been like a ghost town the past month or so, between the cold, the flu, & a nasty stomach virus going around... it's pretty gross! My best advice is rest, lots of it! I must've been sleeping about 12 hours a day for a good 2 weeks. Fluids, maybe see a doctor if your chest becomes too mucky... or if the fever doesn't break, or goes too high! Try to relax, mentally... easier said than done, I know.

I'm happy to hear that your feeling better today. It's been a hard flu season everywhere. Take it easy, even at work, and drink alot. Don't overdue it, even if you feel better today. It is common to feel that with your past, that something triggers another. Been there myself. But try to change your thoughts and you will get through this.

Doesn't seem to be anything going round where I am. I've had tonsillitis since Sunday night. Sounds pretty feeble when put like that, but it's easily the illest I've been since surgery: fevers, chills, a sore throat from the bowels of hell, disturbed guts and nausea.

Not that any of it made me lose my appetite; if anything, I fell on my dinner like a starved wildebeest on Monday.

@UCWhat? - Yeah, I've had more watery output. I've had a lot of bloating, abdominal discomfort, and nausea. I think, though, that may be down to a partial obstruction (obviously not a total one, 'cos then I'd know all about it), 'cos I've had some really loud gurgles too.

And for whatever it's worth, perhaps your cold hastened the flare-up which lead to surgery, but I think it would have happened anyway. No cold would trigger that severe a flare-up in mild disease or, in other words, the tendency for you to flare severely was always there.

@NCOT~ Sorry to hear you've been feeling badly too. Hopefully you'll start improving very soon. And you are probably right about my sever flare....I'm sure it would've come eventually no matter what. At least I got it out of the way and am moving on with my life now!

@Pluot~ Yeah, I'm starting to think there has to be some GI element to my illness. Even though my appetite has been down, I've been trying to eat as close to normally as possible, maybe just a little less than usual. The only thing that made my output close to normal was some oatmeal, which would usually thicken it up a lot....and most of the rest of time, including overnight, I get bags full of pretty much water. Makes me extra worried about a night time leak and the serious mess that would cause!!

I also feel like I've taken a step backwards today....my throat is quite sore, VERY much so when I swallow, my voice sounds awful and I have a bit of a headache. UGH! I hate being sick.

As a bonus, I really need to get some stuff done before work AND I can't find my cellphone. Fun day for me :)

Good point, Pluot. I have never in my life used Imodium, but it's starting to seem like now might be as good a time as any. If I have time to pick some up today, maybe I'll try it for the first time before bed....see if it can help slow down the bags of water I'm outputting over night. And unless I feel and sound a lot better tomorrow, I think it might be time to see my doctor....yippie!

Imodium IS an anti-diarrheal...

So....now I'm on Amoxicillin for 10 days....I have had C Diff in the past. Needless to say....this worries me :( And of course...being sick has flared up the extraintestinal UC symptoms I still get....woo hoo.

Say a prayer for me!

Oh UCwhat? sorry to hear you're not feeling so great - I had bronchitis in January, then sinusitis in February and it's all yucky. I took azithromycin (children's liquid form) for the bronchitis and it helped a lot. For the sinuses I didn't want to take antibiotics again, so I tried oil of oregano (the ingestion prep, not the one for inhalation only) and it really really helped! Just a few drops in a big glass of water once a day and within two days I felt much better.

I get watery output when sick as well, I think the GI tract secretes much more mucus as does the respiratory system when stressed. Also, when we have respiratory stress/infection we end up swallowing a lot of our germ containing mucus, so the same bugs can enter the GI tract easily.

Hot tea with honey and lemon, echinacea drops, oil of oregano are all (anecdotally) helpers for me :)

I hope you get some relief soon.