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  • Identify my disease(s)!

    Ok, so here's what happened. None of us got a flu shot this year. Logan already had some kind of illness at his scheduled appointment so they couldn't give him the live virus vaccine, and then we got busy with Thanksgiving. I know, no excuse.

    Over Cristmas, I had what was probably a sinus infection, but by the time the 26th rolled around and the doctor was open again, it was getting much better. That freaked me out - my teeth hurt and I blew bloody snot out of my left sinus. Ick!

    Well, fast forward to last week. Logan spent 3 days home from school with a low-grade temp. Never high, never much over 100-101. No pain, no nausea. He was a little run-down, but with a quick shot of children's Tylenol he'd be happy again for 4 hours, perky and running around. This persisted for several days and then cleared up. We took him to the pediatrician and they determined it was harmless and viral, did a ton of bloodwork and pronounced him "a bit sick" but ok.

    Then, a couple days after he cleared up, he got sick again - this time a traditional flu. 2 days of (higher) fever, some nausea (he threw up once in the night) chills/sweats, aches/pains.

    Last week, our temporary houseguest got ill for a couple days - flu. Probably around the same time as Logan.

    So, fast forward to this past Monday. Two days ago (holiday). I felt ok when I got up. By midmorning, I felt terrible. Laid down to take a nap, shivering uncontrollably. Then the shivering broke and I sweated uncontrollably. I got achy. Oops, the flu!

    Took dayquil, felt much better. Ate dinner. By 8PM, was achy and shivery. By 9PM was shivering uncontrollably. Got into bed, shivering like crazy. Fell asleep with Julie huddled to me for warmth. By 1AM I was awake again, drenched in sweat. Tossed and turned the whole rest of the night.

    Julie left yesterday (she comes back tomorrow dinnertime) for New Jersey (for work). She reports feeling TERRIBLE. I went to work yesterday, was a bit tired for our 9AM meeting. By 11AM I had a stabbing headache and was cold. By noon I was shivering uncontrollably again. Drove home (barely made it), crawled into bed, shivered until I fell asleep. Woke up an hour later sweating. *sigh*

    Was not TOO bad last night until later on (I had started taking Advil for the fever by now). Went to bed around 10:30PM. Woke up at 2:30 SWIMMING in my own sweat. Had to move to the other side of the bed, it was soaked. Never really did get back to sleep. Had a bit of ... bowel mischief. Got up around 5:30 finally, went about my day. Today was "better". Only one bout of shivering, not uncontrolled, not so tired I slept. Have continued to take Advil.

    Since Monday my temperature has been around 99.0 with Advil, and 101.5 without. It went as high as 102.1, hasn't dropped to normal though.

    So why am I concerned? Well, my sinuses are clogged again. My throat is raw. I blow my nose and it's clear, but when I snork inward, the stuff that gets sucked in (which I spit out) is bloody. ICK. And tastes nasty. And my throat feels SOOOO dry all the time. And I can't seem to get more than 2-3 total hours of sleep, when right now that's the thing I need the MOST!

    Yes, I'm taking Zinc/C/etc. - a blend called Wellness with all kinds of good stuff - faithfully. Also Ibuprofen (Advil) for the fever. Not so much decongestants, I'm not THAT stuffed up although my sinuses do hurt.

    --------------

    I'm going to try to get to the doctor's walk-in office hours tomorrow morning. Since we moved, I have a new Primary Care. No doctor in the area will make an appointment without giving me a physical first (one week wait for physical appointments), thus the reason I didn't go before Christmas for the sinus infection. The emergency room is a sucky option ($100 copay, long wait time)...

    --------------

    So what do you think I have? My first impression is the flu. Maybe my sinuses were clearing up but the flu has aggravated the pre-existing condition? I just don't know, other than that I feel like I've been hit by a truck.
    The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

    I'm the least you could do
    If only life were as easy as you
    I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
    If only life were as easy as you
    I would still get screwed

  • #2
    Really, just go to see the doctor ASAP, he'll know (says somebody with partially similiar thing, who haven't done that yet...hmmm). Bloody thing generally should always ring an alarm, I think...

    Comment


    • #3
      1. go to Dr.

      2. check the operation of your humidifier. If you don't have one, GET ONE!
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Dr Mordrid View Post
        1. go to Dr.

        2. check the operation of your humidifier. If you don't have one, GET ONE!

        Yeah I think that the cold-vapor humidifier (water bucket with fan, essentially) is not doing a good enough job. I mean it spits the entire contents of the 0.75-gallon reservoir into the air by morning, but I think a warm-mist might be more in order. Our old warm-mist got icky, and I was concerned that it was spitting out mold or something so I tossed it.

        I miss the "set the humidity level and we'll make it so" we used to have. I hear the ultraviolet ones are good too...
        The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

        I'm the least you could do
        If only life were as easy as you
        I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
        If only life were as easy as you
        I would still get screwed

        Comment


        • #5
          Aquarium?

          Comment


          • #6
            Ok actually I found an older one. It boils the water with a little element. Those are safe, yeah? I mean it's BOILING the water, it can't really spew disease into the air... can it?
            The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

            I'm the least you could do
            If only life were as easy as you
            I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
            If only life were as easy as you
            I would still get screwed

            Comment


            • #7
              Always go see a doctor first, as soon as you can and that is a total BS if they have to give you a physical first! Fight them, it’s not your fault that the flu or whatever you may have couldn’t wait until you get the physical done.

              Anyway, it sounds normal for this year viral infection.....and I’m not joking.

              First, the time to get over any viral infection is like double now.

              Myself, I do suffer fro frequent sinus infections every year, but this year is nothing like it used to be.

              Cured one with a dose of antibiotics and had a couple relapses of it, almost instantly, one after another. Go to sleep in the evening with no symptoms and wake up in the morning stuffed worse then thanksgiving turkey! Couldn’t even blow it out, and when it came out, it was almost in a SOLID state! Yellowish-bloody ball.

              And what makes it worse, for some reason, couple of times into the infection I started to get something like a tooth/gum infection, somehow related to it. Don’t know how or why, did ask my doctor & dentist about it, they don’t have a clue.

              But I can almost bet on it, if I just want to wait it out, 5~6 days later I’ll have the tooth/gum infection brewing.


              At work, there were a couple of people going thru a double and triple dose of antibiotics before their sinus infection did clear up…. .


              Good luck to you all.
              Diplomacy, it's a way of saying “nice doggie”, until you find a rock!

              Comment


              • #8
                P.S.

                As for the ultraviolet light, I do have one in my furnace, also I have the one from The Sharper Image just for the kid’s bedroom, (we have 3) but the one in a bedroom dries up the air too much and is noisy. The furnace one works pretty good, but it will never create a bacteria free environment. It will help to clear the “sick air” and prevent spreading up to a point, it will not hold the child hand if they drink from the same cup if they’re sick….. .
                Diplomacy, it's a way of saying “nice doggie”, until you find a rock!

                Comment


                • #9
                  I have to be careful about humidifier choices because of my asthma, so take this as info drawn from experience.

                  Yes, boiling water humidifiers can spread bugs. The batch of water sitting in the reservoir may not boil long enough to kill all the organisms present (10+ min) before both are launched into the air stream.

                  Bacterial and mold spores can be even tougher. Bacteria accidentally launched to the Moon with Surveyor 12 in 1967 were still viable when its camera was returned to Earth by Apollo 12's crew in 1969 - 2 years on the freakin' Moon

                  We settled on a flow through humidifier because they don't use a water reservoir, which can promote bacteria/mold growth and set up the conditions that promote "humidifier fever" (EPA article).

                  Keeping the humidistat set to 45%-50% works good for me, but as important as the right kind of humidifier and the setting is maintaining it as directed. NO substitute for that.

                  Also read this on Glenn Haege's site....

                  NATURAL GAS FORCED AIR CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEMS

                  Jim Williams favors the flow through, powered humidifier made by companies like Bryant, (800) 428-4326; Skuttle, (800) 848-9786; Research Products Aprilaire, (608) 257-8801; and Honeywell, (800) 345-6770.

                  In flow through humidifiers, a broad trickle of water flows over an evaporative pad. Unused water drains out of the system. The two biggest benefits are far greater efficiency than drum style humidifiers and continuous flushing. Bryant's Deluxe Fan-Powered Humidifiers delivers up to 25 gallons of moisture a day. Aprilaire's Model 760 A has an evaporative capacity of .75 gallons an hour or 18 gallons a day.

                  A minor drawback is that eight to fifteen dollars of water are wasted every year through drainage. I gladly pay this slight premium for increased health and comfort.

                  Jim Williams estimates that replacing an old humidifier with the flow through kind would cost between $325 and $500. Age of your furnace should not be a consideration because a flow through humidifier can be transferred from furnace to furnace.

                  Mike Shorkey, of Detroit Safety Furnace, favorite humidifier is the Humid-a-Mist Pulse Humidifier. This humidifier is an improvement upon the atomizing humidifier that sprays a fine mist into the hot air supply.

                  Usually I am not in favor of this type of humidifier because a clogged misting nozzle can cause rusting.

                  Shorkey says the Humid-a-Mist solves this problem with a water filter that prevents clogging. In addition, the Humid-a-Mist is 100% effective, no water is wasted and no drain needed. You can by-pass the heating system, permitting humidification with room temperature air.

                  The Humid-a-Mist is recommended for all forced air systems that do not have zoned heat. The installed cost should be in the $375 to $400 range.
                  Glenn Haege tells it like it is, which is why his home improvement show has a wide audience in Detroit..
                  Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 17 January 2007, 21:17.
                  Dr. Mordrid
                  ----------------------------
                  An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                  I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Dr Mordrid View Post
                    We settled on a flow through humidifier because they don't use a water reservoir, which can promote bacteria/mold growth and set up the conditions that promote

                    Yup, got the flow through humidifier too.

                    My father has light astma too.


                    .
                    Diplomacy, it's a way of saying “nice doggie”, until you find a rock!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My wife watched a report on the national news, don't know which one, that says getting a flu shot would have been worthless this year. Scientists suspect that the strain of flu that's going around is brand spanking new.

                      My entire family had this bug last week. Nasty sucker. Congestion, cold, fever, aching all over, unable to sleep, runny nose... I don't recommend getting it.
                      “Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out”
                      –The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I got tired of the cronic sinus infections and bought a Grossan Hydropulse back in August after 2 courses of antibiotics did nothing to help relieve my infection

                        http://www.alerg.com/page/A/PROD/SST...FSNQYwod4kG1KQ

                        I use the Breathe-ease or non-iodized salt in it.
                        http://www.alerg.com/Merchant2/merch...t_Code=SST2020

                        Cheapest place for the Breathe-ease is Amazon.com. They have a 2 pack for 24.95

                        http://www.amazon.com/TWO-PACK-Breat...?ie=UTF8&s=hpc


                        The Hydropulse "blows" out stuff that decongestants and neti pot type rinses can't touch.
                        The first day I had mine I used it 4 times and was totally amazed at what it flushed out of my sinuses.
                        "Never interfere with the enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          (OT: Why air humidifiers? Very few people have them here, I certainly don't and my parents never did, and I don't know why we should.)

                          Get well soon, Gurm! (Insert rant about crappy american health system here)
                          There's an Opera in my macbook.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by az View Post
                            (OT: Why air humidifiers? Very few people have them here, I certainly don't and my parents never did, and I don't know why we should.)

                            Get well soon, Gurm! (Insert rant about crappy american health system here)

                            Our heating systems over here dry out the air something terrible, making the place a festering pile of static electricity and dry mouths/noses/throats during the winter.
                            The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                            I'm the least you could do
                            If only life were as easy as you
                            I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                            If only life were as easy as you
                            I would still get screwed

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Ok, see there are two things at work against me with the doctor.

                              The first is that I never needed a doctor under LAST year's health plan. Skipped the annual physical (I know, naughty me), and just never got that sick. So now we're on ANOTHER new health plan. Blue Cross PPO. Decent plan, but now I have to find a doctor. Unless I want to drive an hour to the doctor that already knows me... I'm considered a "new patient". They want "new patients" to get a physical first - this is not just for the sake of the physical, but because when they schedule you a "sick person" visit it's a 15-minute increment and they want/need to already have the paperwork done, whereas when they schedule you a physical it's a longer visit (30 minutes of a DR/PA's time) and they're filling out the paperwork all over again ANYWAY.

                              So I can understand that. But I find it irksome that they're like "well we won't schedule you an appointment if you're a new patient - you can come to walk-in". Walk-in is full of old people coughing and dying and moaning about their goiters. *sigh*
                              The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                              I'm the least you could do
                              If only life were as easy as you
                              I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                              If only life were as easy as you
                              I would still get screwed

                              Comment

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