[victoria24]

ive spent over a week now struggling to feel well and have got to the point where i have no energy. i couldnt really say what was wrong with me but its like flu but without the temp or shivers. anyone else experienced this energy sapping leviathan?

[Mamee & Co]

We are not even in NZ but since the start of October we have ahd one sort of sub clincial virus after the other...slight sore throat, slight sniffle, slight cough, feeling tired, bad tempered kids etc....but it has never really come to anything. You shrug it off for a few days and then it seems to come back. Neither DH nor I can remember feeling like this since the kids were tiny.

Hope that you feel better soon...I have started on the vitamin tablets...they might not do anything but there may be a placebo effect!

[napiers]

I know I'm in the UK but as well as swine flu/flu there seem to be a lot of people under the weather around our school. We've put the tiredness and the 'under the weather but can't really say there's anything specific wrong' symptoms down to people (mostly children) fighting, but not succumbing to, flu/swine flu so being abit 'off colour' but not ill.

[KerryS]

There's a lot of glandular fever about - may be worth getting a blood test to rule it out.

[Arwen]

ive spent over a week now struggling to feel well and have got to the point where i have no energy. i couldnt really say what was wrong with me but its like flu but without the temp or shivers. anyone else experienced this energy sapping leviathan?

A ha!! Sounds like the legendary 'man flu' virus to me!!:laugh:laugh

Has the wife asked you to wash up, cut the grass or hang the washing out by chance????;)

[tea drinker]

could be your lack of resistance to NZ bugs?
or your epic journey adrenalin has worn out and you're back to being a mere mortal?

keep your fluids up (not alcohol ;)) rest and look after yourself

[Sam B]

I have had my illest year ever, one bug after another, never ending hacking cough that keeps me awake at night, we've all had swine flu, cold after cold and now, yes, I feel really really tired. I've started working in a school ( for disabled children) and I've never been sneezed on so often in my life, but I thought I may have some immunity by this age ... but no. 2009, the year of the virus.

[Jolie]

In Sept-Oct this year I struggled with a virus which turned into a nasty bronchitis and ear infection, and made me feel like crap for more than a month. Last year exactly the same thing happened to me, at exactly the same time. I've been in NZ well over 3 years now, so you would think that I have been exposed to -- and gotten over -- many of the native strains at this point.

My doctor says that at that time every year, she sees lots of people who come down with a virus that takes weeks for them to truly shake off. I don't know if it's related to Spring, with more pollen, spores, and mildew or what -- but spending at least 10% of the year feeling tired and crappy all the time certainly is frustrating.

[victoria24]

I'm going to the docs today to pay my 40 bucks to find out what I have. will keep you posted..

[Parsley]

I'm going to the docs today to pay my 40 bucks to find out what I have. will keep you posted..

I guess you'll find you have 40 less bucks :D. Hope you find out (seriously). Maybe you're pining for the fiords.........


(I'll go now)

[Duncan74]

I had a post viral thing that sounds very simmilar, listless, a long run of minor colds and coughs, hot and cold flushes, etc. Lasted about 12 weeks, which was 4 more than my usual limit before i went ot the docs. By coincidence then the doc herself had the same thing. Feel fine now though.

Note that jsut because I was a bit ill, and then fully recovered doesn't mean that you should assume that you've the same minor illness as someone at the opposite side of the earth. Investments can go up as well as down. Don't advise on immigration. Always eat your veg, but never yellow snow. Yep, that's all the caveats done.

[victoria24]

i have a "virus". interestingly, i have been prescribed some anti bios, codeine and otravine! amazing level of care here in NZ. in the UK, I would have been sent home in a "stop wasting our time" fashion with no meds.
It seems they take a very preventative approach here as I would have thought at a push, I'd need 2 out of the 3 prescriptions.
Also been signed off work until monday pending how i feel then as it can take 5 days for the tablets to start making a difference. Pretty bored and fed up i am.

[Duncan74]

Ooh, if you're looking for something to do to keep you occupied then can you fly to the UK and decorate for me?

Or if you're stuck in NZ, and not allowed to travel internationally, then just find a rental house, car, job for my wife, bank account, etc ready for April.

Cheers matey.

(in the UK then you'd not get that level of prescrition as unless you've underlying medical issuees then you don't need that many meds, and the more they are used the less effective they are if you really did need them. At least that's the line they tell me / us).

[Parsley]

... and I'm not sure what antibiotics will do for your virus. Unless the virus has a bacterial infection (poor wee virus).

/comedy mode off

Hope whatever you've got clears up soon - it's horrible feeling crappy. Do something nice and low-key in your days off. Watch those DVDs you never get round to watching or something.

P:)

[Ana&Steve]

(not in NZ)
I had laryngitis, then a sinus infection, and now I have what you're describing. I think I slept 40 of the last 48 hours. For the laryngitis they said gargle salt water and try not to talk (yea right), sinus got antibiotics, and now tamaflu for the flu. Likely not swine as the symptoms don't seem to match, but drs here are prescribing tamaflu for all flus to be proactive. Hope you feel well soon!

[tea drinker]

time to wash and polish your bike?

[Shones]

Massive doses of Vitamin C always seem to help a bit (three 1,000mg capsules?)
And you could always sit through The Forsyte Saga on You Tube (all 13 hours or so of it):D

[victoria24]

back and firing on all cylinders now.. apparently the virus may have got into my liver hence the lethargy :o
its good to be back :nice1

[Arwen]

Welcome back to the land of the living Mr V. Good to hear you're feeling better. :clap

Looks like it wasn't 'man flu' after all, although the symptoms did sound similar!!! :laugh Lucky I'm not a doctor ay!!!!:exit

[Jolie]

Massive doses of Vitamin C always seem to help a bit (three 1,000mg capsules?)

3,000mg of Vitamin C daily is WAY overkill (and very expensive here, given the high price of nutritional "supplements"). Your body will not absorb nearly that much, and it simply flushes out the excess every day – so you will be flushing a lot of money down the toilet. And under some circumstances excessively high doses of Vitamin C can have negative side effects.

From the AnyVitamins.com (http://www.anyvitamins.com/vitamin-c-ascorbicacid-info.htm) information page:
more recent studies suggest that an intake between 200 - 500 mg per day may be the most beneficial for healthy people.

The recommend dosage for pregnant or lactating women is 75-95 mg per day.

Since ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, toxic levels are not built up or stored in the body, and any excess is lost mostly through urine. If extremely large amounts are taken gastrointestinal problems may appear, but will normalize when the intake is cut or reduced. To determine a level where a person might experience discomfort is difficult, since some people can easily stomach up to 25,000 mg per day, while others start having a problem at 600 or 1,000 mg.


I am a bit surprised to hear about antibiotics being prescribed when it's not clear that it's anything more than a virus. Doctors here have been well-educated about the dangers posed by over-prescribing antibiotics when they will not help – and superbugs are already a problem at some of the hospitals here.

I don't recommend taking antibiotics unless your doctor is sure that it's necessary. I was prescribed them frequently for illnesses when I was young and now I am impervious to the effects of the lowest-level antibiotics, which is a serious worry; it is more likely that I will become resistant to higher-level antibiotics in the future, and if that happens and then you get a superbug, you're pretty much toast.

[victoria24]

errr.. not being a doctor myself, i tend to go with the advice of the doctor...

[Duncan74]

Doesn't high vit C intake block your bodies ability to absorb zinc? Or is it Iron? On holiday at the moment, so I've not got my 'book', but I'm a big subscriber to the 'balance', and only to take supplements when there's a specific need identified.

Glad that you're mended though.

[Mamee & Co]

Glad to hear that youa re feeling better Mr V! I have managed to get yet another cold type virus, not bad, jsut enough to be slightly under par. Wish I knew where they were coming from this year.

[tea drinker]

Vit C aids absorbtion of iron but don't know about quantities etc.

Glad to hear you're back and raring to go Mr V. Am sure that Mrs V is pleased too :exit

Seriously - take it steady and build back up to your usual pace :)

[Falcon_XR6]

A word of warning....

My 9 year old son started with a "bit of a cold" around the last week October / 1st week November.
I kept him off school the 2nd week of November as the cough got worse. 11th November in the day he started coughing and reached a stage where he couldn't breathe for a moment, this was very, very scary for all concerned and he was waking up coughing in the night. Went to the doctors on the 12th who said it was a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics, every night since he has had at least 1 coughing spasm resulting in gasping for breath and can't breathe. Sunday 15th Nov 0130hrs in the morning (of 16th Nov) he was so bad I rang the Health help line (same as the NHS Help line in the UK) and they had no idea apart from call an ambulance or see a doctor within 24hrs. Took him back to the docs on Monday morning and the Doctor still said it was a nasal infection and gave him 2 nasal sprays one of them was a steroid! Neither made any difference and at midnight I called the help line again. They thought it may be an allergy (there was no way this was an allergy).
Long story short... by now he was retching and sometimes chucking up at the end of these horrendous coughing fits (and the odd thing was, in between these fits he appeared OK). My wife and I eventually narrowed the symptoms down to Whooping Cough. So be aware that it is around at present, it is a horrible and very scary illness that the Doctors and medical profession nearly always misdiagnose or refuse to believe the coughing fits are as bad as you say they are. We had 4 trips to the doctors, 2 phone calls to the Medical help line, With copious notes on events, 1 call to the hospital and I also spoke to a Paramedic about the symptoms and not one of them even mentioned Whooping Cough, it is much more common out in the field than the medical profession believe, it has not been vaccinated into obscurity, and there is NOTHING that can be done to relieve the symptoms nothing at all, it is an awful, debilitating illness and very, very stressful.
He is still very bad with it at present and we have hardly had any sleep at all for 2 weeks and the prospect is at the very least another week of this followed by a very slow recovery but it could go on for another 4 to 8 weeks.
If you even suspect someone may have Whooping Cough check through this site at once, it can be stopped with antibiotics if caught very early.
http://www.whoopingcough.net/

Oh, forgot to add, we are still waiting for Lab results that were taken a week ago, so they will be no use now that we know he has got it.

[benandclare]

So sorry to hear about your son. Clare who is a nurse spotted what was wrong with him from your first few lines as I rad them out.

Has your son been vaccinated ,out of interest, with the DPT vaccine?

[Falcon_XR6]

Not sure what DTP is but he was initially vaccinated, but I think he has missed at least 1 of the boosters.
I feel so sorry for him and feel totally helpless to do anything to help him while he is having these spasms.
In between the bouts you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with him if you saw him, well I suppose now he is having quite a lot of phlegm being coughed up in the day over the last 2 days... is that a good sign or a bad sign?
He has just gone to bed and had his usual first 10 minutes in bed coughing fit ending with throwing up and being unable to breathe.
It is a totally horrendous illness, the bacteria that caused it left his body before the Whooping even started so why are the symptoms not treatable? As far as I am aware the only thing you can do is let it take its course.
I was small when I had it and don't remember anything about it which I am convinced is the best way.

[JandM]

Phlegm... if it's in there, it's got to come out, and a cough is the only way it can.

I had whooping cough when I was just two, which was way before vaccines against it existed, and had a VERY bad time. (I'm here thanks to fantastic nursing from parents and grandparents, I think Some of my early memories are flashes from that time.) The whooping can go on for months after the fever etc. - the 'illness' part of it - is over. I know that's not what you'd hope to hear, but it might be reassuring in a way to know that it's not just for your boy.

the bacteria that caused it left his body before the Whooping even started I don't think this is necessarily the case - you may want to check again, but I BELIEVE there are bacteria in his saliva and sputum still. Has the doctor given antibiotics to you and other members of the household? - as many do, to help avoid the spread of infection from direct contact and air-borne water droplets after the coughing fits.

[Falcon_XR6]

Back to your original question...
ive spent over a week now struggling to feel well and have got to the point where i have no energy. i couldnt really say what was wrong with me but its like flu but without the temp or shivers. anyone else experienced this energy sapping leviathan?

Yes, I have got that too, had it for nearly three weeks now, just what I need allong with 2 weeks sleep deprivation, for looking after a sick 10 year old with Whooping Cough... whoopie... lucky me...

[Falcon_XR6]

I don't think this is necessarily the case - you may want to check again, but I BELIEVE there are bacteria in his saliva and sputum still. Has the doctor given antibiotics to you and other members of the household? - as many do, to help avoid the spread of infection from direct contact and air-borne water droplets after the coughing fits.

Not true, by the time it is diagnosed through Whooping Cough symptoms the bacteria has gone, it spreads through the initial cold like symptoms.
I have spent the best part of a week researching this illness and conversing with medical people who have made it their goal to get a good knowledge base of it.

That's why they don't prescribe antibiotics after the Whooping starts, there is no point as there is nothing for them to work on as this is some 2 to 3 weeks after the first sign of a cold at which point the bacteria has then been in the body for 4 to 7 days and it only stays for around 14 to 18 days. So it does the damage then moves on before you show signs of Whooping cough. In a very small percentage of cases the victim may stay infectious for slighty longer but by the time the first Whoop arrives there is no bacterial infection.

The doctors will not prescribe antibiotics without proof of infection and as I had it as a child the antibodies are already in my blood stream so a blood test is no use and a nasal swab takes well over a week to be analysed by which time you are beyond the point of no return and the antibiotics can do nothing to stop the infection.

It really is a seriously nasty illness caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis.

There is a lot of conflicting "expert advice and oppinion" out there on the subject and sifting through the chaff takes a lot of time and effort.

[Falcon_XR6]

Victoria24,
I have just noticed your location, where abouts at Waikanae Beach?
We are on Fieldway.

[JandM]

Well, wishing you (the whole family) all the best for getting him through to a good recovery eventually, and deepest sympathies to your lad, as I can remember the feeling of that cough.

[Falcon_XR6]

Thanks for that, much appreciated.
It's going to be a long process but at least we know what we are dealing with so we are now able to act accordingly. The most worrying thing I read is that over 95% of the time it goes undetected because it gets misdiagnosed as just a sinus/nasal problem or "just a heavy cold" and children especially are just sent back to school with "a bit of a left over cough" when they should be convalescing which is a very important part of getting over it correctly so as you don’t end up trying to fight it off for a year or so. I really don't think my son will be back at school for at least 3 to 5 weeks and he has been off for 3 weeks up to now and he loves school and has never had more than a few days off since he started at the age of 5.