I need your assistance, Healing Well

Long time, no see...but I need you now. I know a lot of you are mothers and some of you are even nurses. I'm not going to ask for medical advice in a strict sense, though.

I'm 35 years old. In college I had mono, in high school I had viral meningitis, and during junior high school I had some kind of illness that wasn't a real big deal but I remember having antibiotics and cough syrup. And those are the only times I can remember having a contagious illness. So I have no experience with being sick. Virtually none, anyway, so I don't know what to do.

I have a pretty bad cough. Sometimes I cough so hard that I feel like I could black out. It's been going on for a few days. The lower part of my throat is raw and sore from it. There has been blood, but only a tiny amount and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the throat and not the lungs. The stuff that I cough up is brownish, but I am a smoker and even when there's nothing wrong with me and I cough stuff up, it's the same color.

Mild fever. My body temperature is usually around 97.5 degrees. I know this because of having health anxiety in the past. Any time I'd feel weird I'd go to that thermometer. Well, it's been sitting in the 99's for the most part. At one point yesterday it was a little over 100. Anyway most doctors wouldn't consider anything under 100 a fever, but since I know for sure that I run a degree or so lower, I say it's a mild fever. I feel feverish, anyway. So like I said it's been in the 99's and pretty steady, too. Last night it responded well to ibuprofen but I haven't taken any more of that stuff because I've always heard you're supposed to let a fever help kill the infection.

Fatigue -- I have fatigue. Don't feel like doing ANYTHING, and haven't for a couple days. I am at my mother's house (I'll get to that) and she wanted me to go get her a burger yesterday. That short trip alone wore me out. And I spent most of the day today in bed, something I never do.

Nausea -- I freak out whenever I get sick to my stomach, which is usually something that happens to me when I have panic/anxiety. But with this illness I've had nausea off and on. Mild, usually. Not a big deal but it's part of it.

Appetite - None. Yesterday I ate a small piece of chicken and some saltines. Today all I've had is saltines.

Lastly, my head. This has just started during the last three or four hours...I've started to have a stuffed up nose that will get runny at times. It feels like allergies, which I do have so I don't know if it's related to the rest of this crap or not. The stuff that's coming out of my head (sneezing, nose) is clear.

I know this is already way too long but please bear with me....

Last Thursday (Feb 16) my mom calls me. She's sick. My mom has emphysema so if she gets sick it can be a big deal. I'm the only child so I come over here and make sure she has stuff to eat and drink and is taking her meds. On Friday she continued to get worse so that night I took her to the ER. Pneumonia in her left lung. She had some breathing treatments, a steroid shot, and was prescribed some antibiotics that I picked up on the way home. They didn't want to keep her because they thought she could catch something worse in the hospital. The doctor said she'd feel better in a couple days. She didn't, though, and I haven't even been home since all this started. Today was the first day she's felt decent and she actually went to work for a few hours today. So I was waiting on her hand and foot the whole time and she has horrible habits in terms of coughing. She won't cover her mouth and several times she coughed all over me at point blank range.

So I got this from her, and I'm still at her house when all I want to do is go home. But I don't have the energy to make the drive. Oh and I obviously didn't work last week or today and will not work tomorrow either, so this is becoming a mess. But I'm not worried about that right now.

What I need to know is what to do. Does this sound like the flu? I'm not sure I've ever had the flu, so I don't know. Is it bronchitis? If so, since I can breathe and my fever's not real high should I go to the doctor? The cough is a little better today. A little. But my temperature is still a bit high and overall I just feel like crap. I remember mono being a whole, whole lot worse than this. It's the only thing I have to compare it to, really.

So I'm nervous and quite anxious about this because I don't know when to go to the doctor, basically. I have read a few websites and most of them say pretty much to let it go. Others say I should go to the doctor. Meh...all I know is I don't want to be sick for days and days. I certainly don't want to get worse. I think I'm getting better but I don't know. I've lost my perspective and thus my judgment.

Thank You.

Good Morning debaser,

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well.  I know from the past that health anxiety has been an issue for you so let me see if I can help.  Trust me, we all worry about ourselves when we feel sick so your in good company.

The 2011-2012 flu season is here. Symptoms may range from a fever for a couple of days to being unable to get out of bed for a week. . Researchers expect the same or very similar strains of influenza that caused illness last year to make us sick again this year, so the flu vaccine will be the same as it was last year. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get it though. It may be a little late in the season but this is something you may want to ask your Dr. about. 

Exhaustion/Fatigue, Body Aches, Headache, Cough and Congestion are the symptoms most people are reporting with the flu.  Symptoms typically hang on for about a week, but can last longer.

If you think you have pneumonia then you should call your clinic and talk to the triage nurse re your sx and if the nurse feels you needed to be seen.

The symptoms of some bacterial pneumonias, such as pneumococcal pneumonia, develop very quickly and typically include:

• A single episode of shaking chills followed by fever
• Chest pain on the side of the infected lung. Severe abdominal pain sometimes occurs in people with pneumonia in the lower lobes of the lung
• Cough, which may be dry at first, but eventually produces phlegm (sputum)
• Nausea, vomiting, and muscle aches
• Rapid breathing and heartbeat
• Shortness of breath

My husband had bilateral bacterial pneumonia in Sept and the sx were quite impressive and scary.  He spent 3 days in the hospital.  The chest pain and shortness of breath were the sx that alerted me to take him to the ER.  We hade been to the clinic on Monday and the Dr. blew us off. By Wednesday he was  seriously sick.  As he has an autoimmune disease and was on Methotrexate he was a prime candidate for this infection.  Needless to say,  my hubby is lucky to have a wife that can advocate well for him and he will never be seen by this particular clinic Dr. again.

The other thing to keep in mind is that fact that you have been a caregiver for your Mom lately and this is a strain on your system so picking up a bug would not be unusual.  Let your body guide you and rest if that is what it is telling you.  Drink lots of fluids.  My favorite choice, when I am feeling punk, is glacéau smart water.

 

I hope this helps you and please do keep talking to us whenever you feel the need.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

 

 

It sounds like you are getting better. If your fever continues to stay down, then I would say you are going to be fine. A couple more days of rest, fluids and getting your strength back should do it.

S.C.

You know what else would help you to feel better? Playing Daily Trivia! (Awww, come on...you know I had to try;))

Yeah, trivia. It used to take me between 30 and 45 seconds to play those games, so even if it went really well that's not much enjoyment. But for some reason it bothers me that I can't correct the wrong answers or the ones in which there is a more correct answer. I don't know why it bothered me so much. I had a friend play for a month or two last year I think and she quit for the same reason. No offense to anyone here...it's just the website.

I don't know whether I'm feeling better or not. I'm not coughing as much, but these headcold symptoms that started late last night are pretty intense. Feel feverish but I haven't taken my temperature since I first got up. And when I got up I was hungry so I ate, and promptly got kind of nauseated from it. On one hand I have more energy but my body is still weak. It really does sound like flu to me, and I'm wondering if CDC missed the mark on the vaccine this year. They don't have enough data to tell yet. Texas is reporting "widespread" flu activity, though. Then again, flu is supposed to hit you all at once and I got sick over a couple of days. And my fever has never been high, though I have read that some people don't have fever with flu. That was news to me.

I'll wait to see what tomorrow brings.

In the meantime, any anxiety advice for sick people? My anxiety has been a problem today. My normal brain routines aren't working, I guess because my brain is a little off. There's nothing going on in my brain, really. No racing thoughts or any of the usual stuff. It's just a general anxious feeling that's very, very persistent. I don't think it's health anxiety...I have health anxiety when I think I'm getting sick. Now that I am sick I'm just sort of resigned to it. I'm just really jittery and ill at ease.

Thanks again. You guys have always been so kind.

edit...this is just a test to see if the internet over here went out or not.

Post Edited (debaser) : 2/28/2012 3:24:10 PM (GMT-7)

Yeah to all of that.

I'm more worried about my mother than I am myself. I did go home to take the trash out and clean out the refrigerator, but I had to come back here as she is still sick and skipped out of work today. Between going home and going to the store to get food, I am wiped completely out. In some ways I feel better, but in other ways I'm worse. It's just an evolving sort of thing. The only constant is this cough, which has gotten better. Other than that the first symptoms I had are gone and new ones have taken their place. But I've been sicker than this. I'll live.

I have a feeling I will come out of it tomorrow. It's just a feeling and I don't know where it's coming from, but I remember when I was a kid and sick I usually knew when my last bad day was.

Thanks