- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Messages
- 1,215
I've been suffering from the infamous swine flu this week, am on a course of "tamiflu" atm and mostly bed-ridden... well, sofa-ridden actually surrounded in blankets and watching DVD's non-stop.
So I thought I'd share my tales of illness
Mainly for the entertainment of the insanity and hallucinations (read down!), but also just incase anyone else starts getting ill and wonders what some of the symptoms are like to look out for (fever's the big one). This is also why I've not been around at all this last week and won't be around for at least a few more days either.
Started with a bit of a sore throat last Sunday night, which turned in to a horrible cough and really painful throat Monday... by Tuesday felt like I had a cold (which is all I thought of it) - runny nose, horrible cough.
By Wednesday aching and fever kicked in and I figured it might be a bit nastier than a cold.
Wednesday night/early hours of Thursday morning my temperature must have rocketed, and as I was in my bed I got quite delirius started hearing voices outside my bedroom door - telling me they weren't going to let me out, they were going to kill me, I wasn't going to make it through the night, while they rattled the door handle a little and tapped on the glass panels in the door. I jumped out of bed petrified (no idea it being hallucinations while it's happening), and stood by my window with the bed between me and the door just staring in fright as the voices continued. Being out of my covers and by the window must have cooled me down enough - the voices faded and the moment they did realisation dawns like "Well *DUH*... of course there's nobodoy out there" - but I had real trouble sleeping that night (restless sleep with horrible repeating dreams). [I live alone btw so the voices while they were happening were pretty scary]
That and my temperature plummeting and skyrocketing made me call the NHS advice line on Thursday morning, got put on to the "swine flu" line, and after talking to them for a few minutes got given a code to allow me to get access to some tamiflu, which my Mum picked up for me and brought over (keeping a distance as she handed it over along with a gingerbread man she bought me to make me feel better).
Thursday and Friday are the worst days I've ever had "illness" wise - wobbling between boiling hot and sweating and having to go stand by my patio doors wide open to try and cool down, to being so cold it actually hurt, teeth chattering like maracas, and wrapping myself up in a pile of blankets on my sofa with my fire on full blast. Combined with just about every gland in my body swelling up (right down to top of my thighs/around the groin area!), armpits being damned painful from glands swelling up, and head pounding. Also been vomiting lots but only since I started taking tamiflu - so that could be a side effect of the tamiflu, rather than the flu itself.
Barely eating much - a slice of toast here or there, a bowl of cereals once. Drinking like a fish - a hot drink or two every single hour Can't seem to get enough fluids!
I've not had any more terrible delirium - but I've had a few weird effects especially yesterday. One point my hands felt like they were gigantic and heavy... another time it was as if my perception of distance and size was screwed - even though everything looked the same, it somehow "felt" like everything I looked at was really really far away, but really really huge. Also had a few moments of madness - making a cup of tea in a glass, realising what I did only after taking the tea in to the living room. Managing to eat my way through half a slice of toast using a spoon before saying to myself "wtf am I doing eating toast with a spoon". Several times while making hot drinks heading to the fridge to get the milk out, and going upstairs instead - reaching the hallway upstairs and being confused about what I was doing. Oh and I kept hearing my house phone ringing (got a distinct little musical tone!), even thought it wasn't.
This morning, after being on the tamiflu for 2 full days, I felt a bit better - got about 5 hours solid sleep last night, and this morning no fever - but the fever's started kicking in again this past 20 minutes or so (going to have to abandon the PC again and head to my sofa-blanket haven once more soon).
I went to a huge horticultural/agricultural farm show ("Penistone show") about 2 days before I started getting any symptoms - as well as lots of animals there (camels, llamas, horse, sheep, goats, cows, and ofc pigs) mmany of which I touched, I think the prime suspect is the fact the place was absolutely ram-packed with people (I think 10,000 people visit it in a single day). I've no doubt that's where I've picked this up. You can start getting symptoms anything from 1 to 5 days after coming in to contact with the germ - think the average is 3-4 days.
Hands down beats any cold flu or sickness I've endured with the sole exception of having blood poisoning when I was 5 years old - that's 21 years ago! I wouldn't wish it on anyone but with winter hitting and Britain getting colder we (as a country) are meant to be expecting a whole lot of people getting it. I hope any of you that do manage to catch it don't suffer this badly, wouldn't wish this on anyone. Except Weeble.
Back to my sickbay!
So I thought I'd share my tales of illness
Mainly for the entertainment of the insanity and hallucinations (read down!), but also just incase anyone else starts getting ill and wonders what some of the symptoms are like to look out for (fever's the big one). This is also why I've not been around at all this last week and won't be around for at least a few more days either.Started with a bit of a sore throat last Sunday night, which turned in to a horrible cough and really painful throat Monday... by Tuesday felt like I had a cold (which is all I thought of it) - runny nose, horrible cough.
By Wednesday aching and fever kicked in and I figured it might be a bit nastier than a cold.
Wednesday night/early hours of Thursday morning my temperature must have rocketed, and as I was in my bed I got quite delirius started hearing voices outside my bedroom door - telling me they weren't going to let me out, they were going to kill me, I wasn't going to make it through the night, while they rattled the door handle a little and tapped on the glass panels in the door. I jumped out of bed petrified (no idea it being hallucinations while it's happening), and stood by my window with the bed between me and the door just staring in fright as the voices continued. Being out of my covers and by the window must have cooled me down enough - the voices faded and the moment they did realisation dawns like "Well *DUH*... of course there's nobodoy out there" - but I had real trouble sleeping that night (restless sleep with horrible repeating dreams). [I live alone btw so the voices while they were happening were pretty scary
]That and my temperature plummeting and skyrocketing made me call the NHS advice line on Thursday morning, got put on to the "swine flu" line, and after talking to them for a few minutes got given a code to allow me to get access to some tamiflu, which my Mum picked up for me and brought over (keeping a distance as she handed it over along with a gingerbread man she bought me to make me feel better
).Thursday and Friday are the worst days I've ever had "illness" wise - wobbling between boiling hot and sweating and having to go stand by my patio doors wide open to try and cool down, to being so cold it actually hurt, teeth chattering like maracas, and wrapping myself up in a pile of blankets on my sofa with my fire on full blast. Combined with just about every gland in my body swelling up (right down to top of my thighs/around the groin area!), armpits being damned painful from glands swelling up, and head pounding. Also been vomiting lots but only since I started taking tamiflu - so that could be a side effect of the tamiflu, rather than the flu itself.
Barely eating much - a slice of toast here or there, a bowl of cereals once. Drinking like a fish - a hot drink or two every single hour
Can't seem to get enough fluids!I've not had any more terrible delirium - but I've had a few weird effects especially yesterday. One point my hands felt like they were gigantic and heavy... another time it was as if my perception of distance and size was screwed - even though everything looked the same, it somehow "felt" like everything I looked at was really really far away, but really really huge. Also had a few moments of madness - making a cup of tea in a glass, realising what I did only after taking the tea in to the living room. Managing to eat my way through half a slice of toast using a spoon before saying to myself "wtf am I doing eating toast with a spoon". Several times while making hot drinks heading to the fridge to get the milk out, and going upstairs instead - reaching the hallway upstairs and being confused about what I was doing. Oh and I kept hearing my house phone ringing (got a distinct little musical tone!), even thought it wasn't.
This morning, after being on the tamiflu for 2 full days, I felt a bit better - got about 5 hours solid sleep last night, and this morning no fever - but the fever's started kicking in again this past 20 minutes or so (going to have to abandon the PC again and head to my sofa-blanket haven once more soon).
I went to a huge horticultural/agricultural farm show ("Penistone show") about 2 days before I started getting any symptoms - as well as lots of animals there (camels, llamas, horse, sheep, goats, cows, and ofc pigs
) mmany of which I touched, I think the prime suspect is the fact the place was absolutely ram-packed with people (I think 10,000 people visit it in a single day). I've no doubt that's where I've picked this up. You can start getting symptoms anything from 1 to 5 days after coming in to contact with the germ - think the average is 3-4 days.Hands down beats any cold flu or sickness I've endured with the sole exception of having blood poisoning when I was 5 years old - that's 21 years ago! I wouldn't wish it on anyone but with winter hitting and Britain getting colder we (as a country) are meant to be expecting a whole lot of people getting it. I hope any of you that do manage to catch it don't suffer this badly, wouldn't wish this on anyone. Except Weeble.
Back to my sickbay!
