2013 Flu Season -- Who's had it?

[TGO David]

I normally have a bad-ass immune system.  I mean, I never get sick.  Ever.  This year I opted not to take the flu shot and OMG what a mistake that was.

 

This past Sunday I started feeling kind of achy and tired.  Monday morning I left work about an hour after I got there because I started feeling really bad.  It went downhill from there really fast with Monday being mostly stomach related problems and then Monday night it completely went south with fever, chills and my sinuses felt like they were on fire.  I spent Monday through Thursday laid up in bed.  I really don't remember much about Tuesday or Wednesday as I slept most of those days away.  And by slept I mean I was in bed around the clock, alternating between shivering so bad my back hurt and burning up so hot I couldn't get cool.

 

Late Wednesday my fever finally broke and Thursday was mostly sleeping to recover.  Last night was the first real sleep I've had in four days.  Thankfully I'm pretty much past the bad stuff now and just recovering.

 

So... anyone else had this crap lately?  I think this is seriously the worst flu I can remember ever having.  I won't make the mistake of skipping the flu shot ever again.  Granted it's no silver bullet but the years I've taken the shot if I caught anything it didn't last near this long and wasn't near this severe.

 

Oh, the doc says this was the Type-B flu.  Apparently Type-A is even worse.  I guess it comes with demons that torment you over open pits of fire or something.

 

[Guest sL1k]

I rarely get sick aside from a rogue sinus infection :D and I have never had the flu, never gotten a flu shot either.

I read a study once that part of the population actually gets the flu but no symptoms at all because of how our immune system handles it.

You're a good advertisement for the flu shot it makes me want to get one :D

[UncleJak]

My daughter had it. She was sick for 2 days total.  I was amazed how quickly she recovered.  The got it on a Friday, was sick all day Saturday, and Sunday she was better!

[Oh Shoot]

Always a crap shoot on the flu vaccine. I took it this year for only the third time ever. Didn't get flu, but then again, most winters I don't get it anyway.

 

Some years the vaccine is hardly effective at all as they miss the prediction on the most likely strain that hits, and even on best matched years it seems to be no better than about 70% effective per individual. But then there's the "herd immunity" that lowers the chances of an non-inoculated person getting it by lowering the overall contraction rate, too.

 

I did get a week long off and on bout with the novovirus or something similar though. Never did feel really bad, just couldn't trust being too far from a throne for a week or so.  :)

 

With so much press about it this year, and getting on up there and all, I also got the shingles shot this year, even though it's not clear whether I ever had chicken pox as a kid. The symptoms sound like just my style, another condition that drives you up the wall without being life threatening. Not a huge comfort for the 200 clams spent though, since it's only about 60% effective too.

 

- OS

[mikegideon]

I had it early. It was ugly. I never get flu shots, but may start next year.

[xRUSTYx]

Haven't gotten the flu in atleast 8-10 years.  I passed on it this year as well.

 

I believe the flu season is almost over though.  The season only last like 12-16 weeks, so it should be well on its way out :)

 

Happy to see you are doing better David!

[peejman]

I got a flu shot in the fall and got the flu about 2 weeks later.  That's the first time I've had the flu in 6-8 years and the only time I've gotten it when I'd also gotten the shot.  I assume the shot hadn't had time to take full effect or it was one of those strains that wasn't covered.  I spent 2 days in bed doing exactly the same thing.... shivering so hard my back ached and was exhausted, or sweating like a horse.  I basically lived in our bedroom for about 4 days trying to keep our kids from contracting it.  Thankfully they didn't.  It hit me on a friday night and my fever (101-102) broke late sunday.  I went to the doc on monday and got an antibiotic shot and prescription and immediately started feeling better. 

[Spook]

David - Sorry to hear about your bout. I, too, never get sick but can't figure out how since I travel ALOT on airplanes and it seems there is always someone nearby coughing. I have taken a flu shot for the past several years knowing it is a crap shoot (sorry) as to whether how effective it will be. Im also looking at taking the shingles vaccine since my insurance now does not require a doctor's prescription or for me to be 60.

[zapfbroad]

I've had the flu shot only once but I still got the flu that year. My wife has to have one for work but she still gets sick. I had two upper respiratory infections this winter stretching most of jan I felt like hell. David your symptoms sound identical to when I had h1n1 a few years ago. My wife was hospitalized for 4 days with it at the time but I was in an insurance gap and had to ride it out at home. Lol I've never looked at a zpak so longingly. I was wearing sweats/hoodies under multiple blankets and at times was running 103 fevers. I was down for nearly 7 days. I told people it was like a ninja in the night the way it snuck up and cut me down. I have about 3 days I don't remember real clearly. I got the flu shot the next year & just had a mild cold. Normally I only really get upper resp inf twice a year at the onset of winter & summer.

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