Is there anyone out there besides me that has a problem telling the difference between the flu and a bad flareup? I have bed in the bed sick with the worst pain... for the last few days. I am pretty sure it is a flareup, but there is always that doubt inside saying "maybe its the flu". Especially when it is going around. So how do We know?
Any words of wisdom to help me out here. If I have the flu, don't want to go around anyone and share it.
On another thought... might like to share these flareups with some people, just give them a little taste of what we feel. Maybe some would be more compassionate... .
Sorry you're feeling rough. I know what you mean by feeling like it's flu during a flare.
Well......with my "nurses hat" on, full blown flu is generally accompanied by a fever of 38 degrees centigrade or above, alongside the usual sore throat, runny nose, abdo pains and headaches. But I think the key is the fever, so it might be an idea to check your temperature. Normal is 36 - 37.3 degrees, but as I say 38 or over is signs of a fever and therefore signs of an infection.
I am sorry you are feeling so poor. I totally understand relate to what you're going through. There are many times when I feel as if I have the flu, I get achy hot and then cold, have to keep blowing my nose and suffer from extreme fatigue. A few days later though and I am able to climb out of bed again. In my case, it is usually my fibro flaring very badly. I agree with Lucy, please check your temp. I find that my fibro can make me feel a lot warmer than I really am (feverish) but usually if I check the thermometer I am about normal temp. I think that is part of the joy of an auto immune disease.
No matter what please get plenty of rest and put you're needs first.
Thanks for you answers, helped me out a lot. I'm pretty sure it is flares. It seems like Dec and Jan are the worst for me for some reason. Probably the cold weather.
I think you're right about the over doing it. I had a somewhat better day yesterday, then plunged back into the pain again today. It has been a week now. I know my family is probably sick of hearing how horrible I feel.
My husband is the pastor of a church, and one of my jobs is the music director. I have been missing a lot and real bad about it. I know most everyone is very compassionate about this and understand, I just feel bad that I can't perform my obligations. I may have to give it up eventually, but enjoy doing it when I'm feeling decent. I think the stress of this isn't helping my situation.