No, you're not going nuts, and you haven't had flu. You may have had a very bad cold, or possibly more than one, or one that eased slightly then came back. I have had more colds this year than I can care to count. I live in an isolated area, so I gain little immunity, while my kids go to school, pick up slight colds, then give them to me, but worse. While they hardly sniffle, I get ill, but have to carry on.
You HAVE NOT HAD FLU. Whatever anyone else says, unless they have had it themselves. The ONLY similarity is that it sterts the same, with sniffles, coughs and a slight fver. REAL FLU goes much further. With real flu, everything hurts, you can't move, eat or control your temperature. You can be freezing cold, covered in 3 duvets, and still sweat. You can't even move enough without pain to go to the toilet. You can only do that with help, whether you go there or the toilet comes to you, and that depends on your care and how often someone is there. Whilst you can't eat, for some reason you still need to empty your bowels, and more often than when you are healthy, even tho' you haven't eaten in days. Symptoms can be similar to Meningitis. It is agony to move your head, and light and sound hurt. You may spend part of the time completely unconcious to the world around, but suffer monsrous nightmares whilst in this state, andyou will not wake from them as in normal sleep. And No-one can wake you. I was a 25 yr old owner of a pet shop and Dog Groomer, who also ran a livery yard at the time I had FLU.I was a very fit person, having been a body-builder, competitive swimmer and sprinter and rider/groom from my early teens, and I was unable to even feed my own dog, or let him out for a wee. I couldn't take myself for a wee. The day you get FLU, you will know it. Everything else that feels like it is a very bad cold.
The feelings you are having can be eased by:-
Take an antihistamine and see if your symptoms ease. If they do, there is an allergy to be traced.
Open windows in your house to allow fresh air in, especially if you have not been out for a few days.
Wet towels and put them on every radiator in the house to increase humidity. It will soothe mucous membranes whether cold or allergy. Menthol may help then, if you put a tissue within each towel so that it's benefits are diluted by water vapour. A drop or 2 of lavender oil on each wet towel, particularly before bedtime may calm and soothe not only your mind, but your body with it, reducing any coughing fits.
Apparently, Echinacea and/or vitamin C help to fight colds, although it is better to take them before you get the cold, they are reputed to help you fight it.
Neither a cold nor Flu can be cured with medicine from the doctor. But you can be vaccinated for flu each year. Flu can kill the healthiest people. Colds very rarely kill anyone, and cannot be vacc'd against.
Treatment is similar for both. Fresh air, paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen for fever and/or pain, and perhaps decogestants. These work better for colds than flu. If you can convince your Doctor to vaccinate you for flu each year, then do so. If you dostill happen to get it, it will not be so severe. I get my jab as I am the only possible carer for my boys, having no living family availlable to help if I was to become so ill again.
I hope I have been of some use to you. I do not mean to belittle your symptoms, but true flu is seen rarely these days,and colds can linger long and be very debilitating, but can be eased a little, and apparently, even prevented to some degree, but I need to take the tablets more regularly before I would swear to that!
Since I am such a slow typist, and lost the last message I tried to send, more have been posted. It sounds as tho' you are very down, and perhaps alone? Exhaustion, and depression, along with trying to fit too much in will make any illness worse. When did you last have a break? Trying to get this in now before you go to your critters.
You post after to let me know how you are?
Ruth
