Anybody else got the flu?

[Miesian Corners]

For the first time in 17 years, I have the flu. Classic symptoms: chills, runny nose, headache, fever--ugh! Just got back from the doctor's office with a presciption for Tamiflu. Any other UPers laid up with this crape? Anybody ever taken Tamiflu? Does it work? I'm about to miss (per the MD's instructions) a full week of class and work. Really can't afford to be sick. Any advice?

[Charlotteman]

Take your yearly flu shot!

Flu isn't some bengin inconvenience. Flu can lead to dehydration which can lead to pneumonia. This is serious stuff. Nothing to be taken lightly. There's really no reason to miss yearly flu shots; they are relatively cheap and worth every penny.

Good luck in beating that nasty flu, and I hope ya feel better soon.

[Miesian Corners]

^That's the real kicker (I guess an important part I should have mentioned), I DID get a flu shot; got it back in October. Just goes to show they're not fool proof. Maybe they should start making body condoms.

[suburban george3]

Take your yearly flu shot!

Flu isn't some bengin inconvenience. Flu can lead to dehydration which can lead to pneumonia. This is serious stuff. Nothing to be taken lightly. There's really no reason to miss yearly flu shots; they are relatively cheap and worth every penny.

Good luck in beating that nasty flu, and I hope ya feel better soon.

[Raintree21]

Yep, the flu shot works most of the time, but definitely not all of the time.

Charlotte has seen the flu bug hit full force the last few weeks. Once you get it, really all you can do is fight the symptoms and try and stay hydrated. I've heard that things like tamiflu only work if you take it during the first few days of contracting the flu. Pretty much you just have to wait it out, stay rested, and again, stay well hydrated.

I've been lucky so far, especially working in healthcare to have not gotten the flu yet (knock on wood) but I did get the flu shot. I do feel like I have had a weird feeling in the back of my throat for the last week that I hope doesn't turn into something worse like strep or something though.

[erdogs]

About 5 people at work have it that I work side by side with. Luckily for me I haven't been really sick for the last 5-6 years, knock on wood. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but when I do start to feel sick I don't take anything for it. The symptoms are usually just minor and in a few days I'm over it. I'm beginning to think I have gained resistance from flue and cold by not going to medicine to stop it. However if I do get really sick again I wont hesitate to take something. My last bad cold was back in 98, again knock on wood.

[wolverine]

I've never had the flu before.

That's pretty insane because I've been in college for awhile now. I also work a retail job within a small convenience stores in the school's architecture building. These students stay up very late, and eat bad food. Many are sick right now and they hand me their money.

I guess I have good resistance.

I'll admit to faking the flu to get out of handing an assignment in on time, but on college campuses that excuse must get dropped thousands of times per day. Oh well, better than admitting you didn't do it.

[Miesian Corners]

^Glad that worked for you. One of my professor's said in an email to me yesterday that she hoped I felt better and reminded me I had a paper due by 11:59 last night. What a beotch. I got the paper in, but it sucked. Did I mention that she has no soul? I think the term is "succubus".

Here it is day two and I actually feel worse. To pour salt in a wound, daytime television is beyond bad. How can I have 300 channels with nothing worthwhile to watch? How many times a day can "That's so Raven" be broadcast? Are we a nation of such consumer whores that seven channels need to be devoted to selling worthless crap? Does CNN really need to run five different tickers across the bottom of the screen? So many questions. One thing I have decided to day is that when you catch yourself watching a Lifetime Biography about Jenny Jones, it's time to take sleeping pills.

[JDC]

I've never had the flu. And now that I've put it in writing, I'm sure I'll get it soon.

[suburban george3]

^Glad that worked for you. One of my professor's said in an email to me yesterday that she hoped I felt better and reminded me I had a paper due by 11:59 last night. What a beotch. I got the paper in, but it sucked. Did I mention that she has no soul? I think the term is "succubus".

Here it is day two and I actually feel worse. To pour salt in a wound, daytime television is beyond bad. How can I have 300 channels with nothing worthwhile to watch? How many times a day can "That's so Raven" be broadcast? Are we a nation of such consumer whores that seven channels need to be devoted to selling worthless crap? Does CNN really need to run five different tickers across the bottom of the screen? So many questions. One thing I have decided to day is that when you catch yourself watching a Lifetime Biography about Jenny Jones, it's time to take sleeping pills.

[ironchapman]

I had the flu when I was five years old. I was unfortunate enough to have it right around Christmas of that year, so my holidays were miserable.

Since then, it seems like every year everyone I know but me gets it. My Mom and Dad got it a few years ago, but I managed to escape unscathed. My friends also seem to get it every year (it's one of those traveling "bugs" after all), but I don't seem to be affected by it. I must be one of the lucky ones now.

[Captain Worley]

Not the flu, but I'm finally getting over a cold I've had for almost a month.

I had the flu vaccination twice and caught the flu both thimes, so I quit getting the vaccine.

I did hear that the vaccine wasn't for two of the three strainss going around this year.

[Raintree21]

Yup. They pretty much just pick a strain that they think will be the one and hope it works. I believe they base it on whatever the big one that hits the southern hemisphere during their winter/spring is.

[andyfried]

I'm just getting over the worst head cold I've ever had.

[krazeeboi]

This cold season is the first time ever that I've gotten sick twice. I thought it was the flu the second time around, and it could have been; I did have the whole chills and fever thing going on, but kind of off and on. What worked for me was a homeopathic remedy sold in most tores called Oscillococcinum (sounds like a strain of bacteria I know). It was recommended to me by a pharmacist at Rite-Aid, and it really did work. Hope you feel better, MC.

[Miesian Corners]

Thanks for the well wishes. This evil bug won't seem to let go. Working on day five now. Fever is pretty much gone, but I still feel like crap. I spoke with the doctor yesterday and he wants me to stay in for another two days due to the fact (he says) I'm still contagious. He said that far fewer people would get sick if people like me would simply stay home until they're well. (He says) even though I might feel good enough to sit through class, I'm still shedding live viruses and would just end up getting others ill.

Shedding live viruses. God, that sounds disgusting.

[Raintree21]

And stay out of the ER's too people! The hospitals are overflowing and don't room for those who are truly sick cause so many think they need to be seen cause they have the flu. Unless you're truly on death's door, elderly, or at high risk, there's no reason for it.

In other news, the CDC announced yesterday that this year's vaccine has turned out to only protect against 40% of the cases compared to the usual 70-90%.

[dimebag1980]

*knock on wood* I've never had it and nor has my wife... but if she's not better by Monday I'm sending her to the doc. She might have come down with it...

From here on out we will get the shot. We never have before because... well... we never had it and didn't see it as a threat. It's a real threat.

[michaelskis]

I had something this week that is continuing to linger. It was not a good valentines day because the wife was sick too.

[FromCityToRural]

I've had flu twice: once a stomach flu at 16, the other time was a 24 hour flu last month. Both sucked, though the 24 hour was way easier on me. I've had a lot of little sicknesses while I lived in California, including Scarlet Fever and a minimum of 3 colds/year, but the flu last month was the first time I've gotten sick in the nearly 3 years I've lived here in Texas. Apparently flu is really bad in this neck of the woods this year, they've had a string of school closings in the region because of it.

[voyager12]

I had the flu on Saturday. Felt horrible and did not get out of bed all day. By Sunday I was feeling much better. That's usually my cycle when I get sick, I knock flu and colds out after one day of misery. Still suffering congestion but it's getting better every day. Pots and Pots of hot tea works great for me. I take Theraflu in the beginning to knock me out cold so I can deep sleep but overdoing that is not good.