The title says it all! Between the flu (mine and DD) and the snow and now an ear infection for myself, I have not been able to ride and had to miss going to the Charlotte Dujardin clinic to audit this weekend. I did not feel my companions nor any others wanted to share in my misery and sickness. Any one else miserable right now? Just whining for company and support. Hopefully the antibiotics for the ear infection will start helping soon.
Just started to feel human again, after catching the flu three weeks ago.
You feel good part of a day, think it is over and then again you hit a low and feel like you can’t get going.
A couple days ago I felt more or less normal, finally!
Nice of you to stay away from others, you don’t want to be their grinch.
Don’t despair, this too shall pass, really, it will.
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Thank you Bluey! I am glad you are feeling better. I hope this doesn’t take 3 weeks to resolve.
OP, I’m sorry you, and anyone else is experiencing this. I was sick for weeks, starting at Christmas. Today I finally feel like I’m over being sick, still have cough and Bronchitis.I have slept more this month so far than ever in my life I think. If the horses could dial 911 they would have, several times, I was so late getting up. Breakfast was at 6 or 7 instead of 4 or 5. They were not sympathetic! Of course doing chores in the horrible cold probably didn’t speed my recovery any.
Many local Hospitals cancelled Elective Surgeries and some went on Divert due to high flu admissions. My Hospital has had many pneumonia and respiratory failure admits as flu sequela.
Hopefully we are over the hump thank God!
I ended up in the ER one night, could not breathe.
They told me it took 4 to 6 weeks to be over and some were overdoing it and coming back to the ER sick again around the third week.
I would take it easy until you are completely sure you are ok.
This year flu and other stuff is very bad! I normally don’t get sick other than maybe a cold, but this year had a few days of flu symptoms and then bronchitis. I’m at the two week point tomorrow and am finally feeling like a normal person. I’m planning to take it easy for a few days and not exert myself too hard.
My experience was much the same as others have described in that some days were better than others, then I thought I was getting better after having a single good day, then I went back to feeling bad. I’ve now had 3 somewhat healthy days in a row so I’m hoping that means this is mostly over.
I came down with flu/sinus infection on January 2. Took a full week off from work, and when I wasn’t coughing up a lung, slept. My thorax hurt for 3 days from coughing. I went back to work after a week but didn’t ride or even go to the barn except to drop off supplements. I would go to bed at 8pm. Today I’m feeling relatively normal. Take care of yourself. This can really knock you for a loop.
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If I remember correctly they normally include 3 strains of flu in the vaccines. They pick the 3 that are more likely to occur that year. “They” being the WHO. My understanding is that this year that one of the 3 strains they used was initially correct but that strain mutated so that the vaccine doesn’t really cover the mutation well or at all.
Since a vaccine is a biologic and most are egg based it takes months to grow and produce a flu vaccine. It is also my understanding that vaccines are not a money maker for the pharma companies. It is also a risk that they can’t produce all 3 strains each year. Growing 3 strains can be difficult. There was one year that there were 3 companies that were making the flu vaccine. Only 1 (Wyeth) of the 3 could get all 3 strains to grow so there was a huge shortage of the vaccine. The other 2 companies couldn’t sell the vaccine that they put a lot of time and money into it so it was a loss for them. I don’t see how it would be cost effective to combine all of the strains of the flu in one vaccine and that isn’t even addressing when one of those strains mutates after production starts.
Interesting useless information alert: my old farrier was Amish. When Wyeth used to be one of the companies that produced the flu vaccine he used to be one of the farmers that would supply the eggs. The eggs needed to be fertilized. He had about 10,000 chickens. The day I was there they had culled the 400-500 roosters since they were done with the flu eggs for the year. He said it took his wife over 2 hours to feed the chickens each morning. She would walk down the aisles in the building with a huge hopper on tracks and pour it out as she went and it still took 2+ hours.
I have been avoiding public places as much as I can. So sorry for those suffering the bad strain this year.
If you are a blood donor, please consider donating six to eight weeks after you recover and feel healthy. I am one of many with a wonky immune system, and need the antibodies that healthy people make in response to their flu episode. Your donation may not go through the manufacturing process in time for this year, but it will still be protective for the next year.
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alec, the problem is that the strains are more like breeds. Within each breed or strain, there are differences (mare, stallion, gelding, bay, grey, 14.2, 17.3…). You get the idea. For influenza, these smaller changes have major effects on the antibodies that are generated. So if you vaccinate against flu A, it won’t necessarily work against H3N2 and H5N1 and…, which are all flu As. and if you vaccinate against this year’s H3N2 you won’t necessarily have good antibodies against next year’s strain, which may be a different “color” or “gender” or “temperament.” The language used (strain) is misleading. Should be something that indicates that a strain is H3N2, but this year’s substrain makes the vaccine not as effective. Both are H3N2 but they are different enough that antibodies to one do not cross reactive with the other.
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CBC radio had an interesting segment on the flu. They explain why you should get the shot even if it doesn’t target the prevalent strain. I have copied a link to the website. You can click on the segment and read the transcript.
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Spoke with my primary care Doc yesterday. We have confirmed cases of Influenza B in Denver—he had a patient yesterday who tested positive for influenza B, and knew of two more cases in the hospital his practice is associated with. He expects to see a second wave of influenza.
He and his colleagues think we still have 6+ weeks to go this flu season.
Stay healthy, my friends!
Here the TV is saying the first wave was flu type A, that is what I had, as per swab readings.
There is an A sub type that has been showing up more the past three weeks.
They were warning people that already had the flu not to become complacient and catch that one also.
The past two or so days, they are starting to see more type B, so again they are warning it is not over.
They keep telling everyone sick to stay home, everyone to wash hands as much as possible and to stay out of groups of people, worried about Superbowl parties spreading the flu for another wave of it.
Also for everyone not vaccinated to go ahead, it does help not to get quite so sick.
Not sure how much people can do in our lives to stay completely away from others?
Ohhhh, I had not even thought about Super Bowl gatherings! :no:
Usually at this time of year, the health headlines are covering outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships. Now I’m watching evening news and see reports of people dying within two days of symptom onset. Healthy, young people who are not in the usual risk categories. Ironic that it is 100 years since the 1918 flu pandemic.
@Bluey, @peedin and others: do you feel fully recovered, and for how long did you feel sick?
@b, that transcript is interesting, especially the benefits of being vaccinated each year and effects of cell-mediated immunity over time.
I came down January 2, was running a fever of 102, nauseated and could not keep anything down,
I was hoping it was just a bad cold.
Next day, I only had 100.88 and was feeling better, thought I had dodged the flu bullet, yeah for the vaccine.
That evening, started having trouble breathing, by 10 pm knew I was in trouble, called a neighbor, that said she better get me to the ER, I sounded terrible.
There my blood gasses were very low and dropping, so they gave me breathing treatments, x-rayed and swabbed, which came back flu A.
Dr said if I had waited until next day, I would have been in full pneumonia and way too sick to walk in there, this flu was hitting some people that fast and hard.
Dr also warned to take it easy, it was taking patients 4 to 6 weeks to get over this flu.
Some were coming back to the ER at two-three weeks with serious relapses.
I was just too short of air and got very tired very fast for two weeks, then felt better one day, worse the next.
After three weeks felt ok, just still some days a full headachy head and stuffed ears, which is still there, but better every day.
Hope that is the information you wanted, is what others that had the flu have told me was for them.
Dr said those that had the vaccine are generally spared the worst of it, the body aches and diarrhea especially.
That was true for me.
With the new strains, I don’t know what those do to you, how sick you become.
Holy cats! I can only imagine if you had NOT had the vaccine, Bluey.
Thanks for the details, your experience may help others recognize how quickly things can develop into a true emergency.
I rode today for the first time following the flu. I wasn’t ready yet but did it anyway because I am having hip surgery and won’t be able to ride until this summer sometime.
We had a birthday party for my husband with about 60 people here. About 30 came down with the flu within minutes of each other.
Stay healthy everyone!!! I am feeling better, done with antibiotics for ear infection, but still moving slowly. It seems like I had a mild case compared to others.
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@Laurierace Not sure I am reading this correctly. You had a gathering, and about half the people who were there all became sick with flu? AT the gathering, or later (as I suppose)? Were you able to identify “patient zero”, or do you think it was just a quirk of timing that so many got sick at the same time? I can easily see that happening with a food borne illness, but that’s pretty scary for influenza. Remarkable, really. I hope that the others are on the road to recovery along with you, and no complications.
I also hope your surgery and rehab/recovery will be uneventful, and won’t be delayed. I read that some hospitals are opting to put elective surgeries on hold for a bit, because they are running out of beds for patients with flu-like illness/verified flu.
@Puddin Pie , glad you are on the mend. Did you get the flu shot? Do you think that helped limit the severity? Even a “less severe” case of the flu is horrible.
I’ve been thinking I will check in with family, friends and neighbors and see how everyone is managing…in case someone is down with flu. I’m limited in what I can do and cannot be exposed to anyone who is sick, but I can bop to the grocery store or drive thru pharmacy if that can help.
