Swine Flu Symptoms:

Fever - began as mild, currently none
Headache - yes, since Sunday
Dry Cough - yes, since last night
Sore Throat - yes, since Sunday
Nasal Congestion - mild
Body aches - Yes, since Sunday
Fatigue - Yes, since Sunday

To give you some background, I haven't been sick this entire season, which is rare for me. I work on a college campus where a significant portion of the student body has been sick with something for the past eight months. Cold, flu, whatever. Since I came down with this ailment so quickly, I thought it would be better to check it out and know than not know at all.

To my surprise, upon visiting the doctor's office, they would not test me! Despite having almost all of the symptoms with varying severity, they won't test me unless my situation deteriorates.

To their subjectivity, any fever was negligible (even though I pointed out a that it has been fluctuating). Apparently, I wasn't describing my body aches accurately enough to convey that I was/am in pain. Apparently a 7 on a scale of 10 (my estimate) regarding the severity of my sore throat didn't warrant further investigation.

However, someone's keeping track of everyone who THINKS they might have the swine flu. I called the pandemic hotline for my state and after telling me to go to the clinic, they asked for my income, my race, my age, and my household income.

I sit here now trying to figure out what this all means. Sure, I could have the regular flu (Influenza B). I could have a common cold. I could have a bronchial infection. What peeves me now even more than before is the hype that this has all received. I deliberately do not watch television, and limit my mainstream news outlets to one or two sources.

I wonder about the hundreds of thousands of folks who've gone to the clinic or the E.R. simply to be turned away without testing, or as in my case, turned away with ANTIBIOTICS which can't even fight Influenza A. If the government and by default the news media wanted us to take this whole thing seriously, why aren't the clinics and hospitals doing the same?

I asked the doctor why the CDC isn't being more careful about how they 'market' this swine flu, and he sort of shook his head and laughed. What I took from it was that the CDC issues a blanket statement including symptoms and then leaves the influx of patients to doctors so they can weed out the healthy from the sick. But how different is my case than someone else where it has been confirmed that the individual has it? Not very, says the good doctor, but he's 99.9% sure that I don't have it. Could I have it? Yes, he says.

Anyone with similar stories? Have you recovered? Have you gotten worse? Anything I should be paying attention to at this point in time?

Originally posted by Elepheagle
or as in my case, turned away with ANTIBIOTICS

Count yourself lucky. Although that won't help with the flu, it'll help with secondary infection (depending on the antibiotic).

Getting antibiotics from our doctors is like trying to pull teeth.

We can be sitting there with pneumonia and the docs will still withhold it.

Probably the fact of your coherence was enough of a test for the good Dr. Since you are clearly lucid and able to comport yourself thoughtfully, you must be fine. A dose of antibiotics should make you feel like you've received adequate attention.

I suppose you'd have to be hauled in unconscious and burning up with a fever over 106 before they will say to themselves, gee maybe we should take this one seriously.

You should have refused the antibiotics. That's a great way to kill off your best defense...your own symbiotic germs.

Germs are good.

Although I was never tested or diagnosed, I believe that this "virus" may have been circulating around California as early as mid-March.

It hit my whole family like a wildfire in mid/late March. All overlapping, First, my children, then me, and later my husband (who by the way does a lot of airplane travel for business).

We have never taken flu shots, nor have any of us suffered from the flu (except b/w my husband and myself as children). Sure we catch an occasional cold or have minor seasonal allergies.

But here's how this "virus"--if it's the same virus--presented itself:
1) IMMEDIATE ONSET OF SEVERE symptoms
2) High Fever 102+ temp
3) Extreme headache
4) Extreme fatigue and body aches...a couple of us couldn't get out of bed for a week
5) Dizziness and confusion--thus, another reason why I didn't feel safe enough to drive to Dr....several times I considered calling an ambulance
6) Head congestion-as if it would literally explode, coughing, and loss of voice

I felt like I was on my death bed, but was worrying about and taking care of the children as well...sometimes crawling around to assist. This is by far the nastiest illness I've ever encountered. It made natural childbirth seem like a heckuva dreamy vacation!

I wouldn't wish this on anyone and I hope we all stay well in the upcoming weeks and months.

Elpheagle, giving you the antibiotics may be a way to indicate that they believe that you would test positive, and are just trying to protect you against secondary infections like pneumonia since more than 24-48 hrs. have passed...wish you a speedy recovery and be on the lookout if symptoms don't improve.

~sj

[edit on 6-5-2009 by sonjah1]

[edit on 6-5-2009 by sonjah1]

My sister in law works at a Dr.s office in Ga. she had 2 patients last thurday that own a gas station and come in contact with who knows how many people from who knows where on a dialy basis. They were husband and wife, they had all the signs and symptoms but they could NOT test them for swine flu. The CDC told them that there were no cases here in Ga yet and so the DR could by his choice send blood samples (or whatever kind they need, she didn't tell me) to the CDC on the DRs dime. it wold have to be next day mailed on ice or something like that.

One of the managers at my work just came back from Mexico last Thursday. Yesterday at lunch he was complaining about feeling bad and this morning he said he was throwing up every 20 minutes and was on his way to the hospital.

Needless to say we made a disinfection crew and started going nuts with window cleaner and brake clean. (I work at a GM dealership)

We were all freaking out and a guy from the dealership next door called and said since he had went out with Ken drinking after work, the CDC called him to come in for testing.

About 2 hours later, which felt like 15, Ken's wife called and said his appendix had ruptured and he was going into surgery.

Turns out the guy who had been contacted by the CDC was playing a cruel joke at our expense and was fired!

Just a little swine flu story for those who are bored.

swine flu is not as bad as everyone think it is. you gotta remember....you just went to the hospital to get checked out. anyone else watch house

in a clinic
raise your hand if you have a runny nose, aching stomach and or throat. dry eyes and throat.

go home, you have a cold.

------------------
thing is, you think they are dismissing you, like you are special. fact is...your the 4035th person theyve seen with a mild cold wanting $$$$ costly testing in the past month.

To give a little update; condition hasn't really improved or worsened. However...

A co-worker of mine became sick with the exact same symptoms on the exact same timeline as me. He went to the clinic yesterday as well, as I did, and they tested him for swine flu, also gave him antibiotics for a chest infection.

Results pending.

Same here with sickness starting way back last fall in the school systems. Same symptons as the swine flu. It took me two doctors to finally get my son medication for his throat and the pneumonia that set in just a few days after the onset of it.

By the time the second doctor looked at him 1 day after the first doctor my son was on the verge of being hospitalized. The second doctor couldn't believe the first doctor sent him home with just and inhaler and medicine for congestion and nothing for his throat.

It took 2 rounds of antibotics to get rid of the pneumonia and strep. The other symptoms they said only bed rest would help. He was out of school for almost 1 month.

I think its been around for a while and they just didn't know what they were dealing with. They second doctor decided my son had pneumonia, mono, strep, ear infection, I forget at this moment what the 5th thing was. But that doctor told me they were having at least 9 cases of a day coming from the school district like my sons. Which is a big number considering I live in a rural area.

Originally posted by sonjah1

5) Dizziness and confusion--thus, another reason why I didn't feel safe enough to drive to Dr....several times I considered calling an ambulance
6) Head congestion-as if it would literally explode, coughing, and loss of voice


[edit on 6-5-2009 by sonjah1]

[edit on 6-5-2009 by sonjah1]

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you just call a cab?

There is another flu going around the mid west but not swine. Only reason I know this is because some of the kids I work with got sick, slight fever, vomiting, headache and were also sleeping quite a bit more than normal the worst one puked 3 times in one hour but all of them better within 3 days.

I'm guessing also everyone and their brother is going in the second they feel sick just due to all the publicity lately and I'm sure the Docs are getting worn out and tired of this. But that being said I would find out who a respected Dr. in your area is and go to him if you can get in. As where I'm at a good majority work just to pick up a pay check and the 2 that actually seem to care about their patients have a 2-4 week wait period just to get in to see them.

I am so glad I found this forum and thank you to Elephaeagle and others for sharing their stories.

I am currently in "home isolation" for swine flu and have 2 days to go. I can't be 100% sure that's what I have, as they are not testing here unless you have "serious" illness, and what I have been told to do is isolate for 7 days, and only go to Doctors if it gets serious, and to call first and alert them etc.

The reason I think it is swine flu, is because I already had 2 flus this season, the most recent in February, and because after speaking with the Health Line here re my symptoms, they tell me I am in the "yellow zone" and to self isolate etc.

My symptoms....

Started out waking up Saturday feeling like I had a mild cold. Within about an hour it felt like I was getting a charley horse in my side, but within about 15-30 minutes of that, it began to feel like someone lit my stomach on fire....at the same time, my back started to hurt. As the days went on I was feeling weak, tired, dizzy, experiencing bad body aches and leg pains, dry cough, very bad throat (probably infected), and my stomach is still spasming 5 days later.

I did not get a fever, quite the opposite. When it started, I thought I had a fever, but when I took my temp I discovered it had plummetted and was at 95.9 (I've never had that happen before)...I've been battling to bring it back up for days now and today is the first day it's getting close to normal. My leg and body pains are still getting worse, and my tummy is just as bad, if not worse, than it was on Saturday. My cough gets worse by the day, but my chest still feels relatively clear compared to a normal flu, but the body aches and pains are worse than I usually get with the regular flu and I've never had my stomach this bad with a regular flu before.

I believe the numbers they are giving us re this virus mean little now, other than perhaps identifying where it is located, but does not reflect in any way at all on how many people have this. I suspect for every 1 diagnosed, there are at least a couple hundred and perhaps many more who haven't been tested but have it.

I hope all the posters here that are sick get better quick and I hope that the rest of you don't get it!