Hello, everyone! Its been so long since I've been on the board and I'm just trying to catch up a bit with what everyone has been up to.... I took a little "siesta" from posting for awhile while I focused on getting my new home-based business up and running. So, that has kept me very busy.
Anyway, just getting over (or in the middle of??) a terrible horrible cold/flu. It started as stuffy nose and scratchy throat a week or so ago and then turned into a fever of 102 a day or so later. I called the clinic about a day and a half into the fevers and they Rx'd me Tamiflu, which I've been taking. Not sure if its the flu or not, but the fevers worry me.
Anyway, it has now moved into my chest, starting with that hacking "nothing comes up" tickle cough that now makes my whole body feel like swords are being jutted into my sides and back and ribs every time I cough... I know its not good to stifle the cough and when I breath out (even without a huff, which would result in excruciating pain), I can hear that crappy crackling in my lungs.... Its terrible. I took lortab last night and it offered some relief so I could cough, but still hurt enough that I didn't cough like I should have to get this gunk out. The last couple of days I've also woken up in a literal POOL of my own sweat. So bad that I have to change clothes. This morning, I woke up in it shivering and moved to the other side of the bed and put fresh (dry) clothes on and within another 2 hours woke up in a fresh pool of sweat with teeth chattering. Urgh.
So, I have a couple of questions.... My docs are 500 miles one-way and I really want to try to "kick" this cold/flu on my own before going in. I know right now hospitals are FULL of cold and flu viruses so a clinic isn't the safest place for me right now either IMO. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
1. Do ya'll have night sweats like this even if you only have a fever of like 1 or 2 degrees? I do wake up sometimes other mornings (even before this cold) in a pool of sweat, but switched to a lighter blanket and that had subsided considerably.
2. Is this just a "natural" way of my body trying to heal? I know a fever is usually a "good" thing cause your body is trying to heal itself, so should I take the pools of water I'm laying in as just my body doing its thing to help me cure this cold/flu? I also notice that once I'm up and out of bed and into dry clothing the chills are usually gone and I don't even rush to take tylenol cause I don't feel feverish (I'm usually only running 1-2 degrees high at that point). I also notice when I go to bed at night, I take my temp and its only 1-2 degrees high. Not enough to warrant pools of sweat IMO. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
3. What do you do when you have such terrible pain when you cough after having that hacking "cold cough" and yet you need to get the gunk out? I'm terrified to cough right now cause it just hurts so badly I almost cry. I've tried heat and ibuprofren and the heat just raises my fever and the ibuprofren 400 mg did nothing for the pain.
Sorry this post got so long. I'm just really scared. I know if this turns into a full fledged infection I will make a trip to the doc's, but right now I'm just trying tons of rest and like 100 oz. of water a day (could all the extra fluid I'm drinking have to do with the sweats?) and hoping that will work.
Any info. or thoughts would be so greatly appreciated.
Take care,
Anyway, just getting over (or in the middle of??) a terrible horrible cold/flu. It started as stuffy nose and scratchy throat a week or so ago and then turned into a fever of 102 a day or so later. I called the clinic about a day and a half into the fevers and they Rx'd me Tamiflu, which I've been taking. Not sure if its the flu or not, but the fevers worry me.
Anyway, it has now moved into my chest, starting with that hacking "nothing comes up" tickle cough that now makes my whole body feel like swords are being jutted into my sides and back and ribs every time I cough... I know its not good to stifle the cough and when I breath out (even without a huff, which would result in excruciating pain), I can hear that crappy crackling in my lungs.... Its terrible. I took lortab last night and it offered some relief so I could cough, but still hurt enough that I didn't cough like I should have to get this gunk out. The last couple of days I've also woken up in a literal POOL of my own sweat. So bad that I have to change clothes. This morning, I woke up in it shivering and moved to the other side of the bed and put fresh (dry) clothes on and within another 2 hours woke up in a fresh pool of sweat with teeth chattering. Urgh.
So, I have a couple of questions.... My docs are 500 miles one-way and I really want to try to "kick" this cold/flu on my own before going in. I know right now hospitals are FULL of cold and flu viruses so a clinic isn't the safest place for me right now either IMO. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
1. Do ya'll have night sweats like this even if you only have a fever of like 1 or 2 degrees? I do wake up sometimes other mornings (even before this cold) in a pool of sweat, but switched to a lighter blanket and that had subsided considerably.
2. Is this just a "natural" way of my body trying to heal? I know a fever is usually a "good" thing cause your body is trying to heal itself, so should I take the pools of water I'm laying in as just my body doing its thing to help me cure this cold/flu? I also notice that once I'm up and out of bed and into dry clothing the chills are usually gone and I don't even rush to take tylenol cause I don't feel feverish (I'm usually only running 1-2 degrees high at that point). I also notice when I go to bed at night, I take my temp and its only 1-2 degrees high. Not enough to warrant pools of sweat IMO. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
3. What do you do when you have such terrible pain when you cough after having that hacking "cold cough" and yet you need to get the gunk out? I'm terrified to cough right now cause it just hurts so badly I almost cry. I've tried heat and ibuprofren and the heat just raises my fever and the ibuprofren 400 mg did nothing for the pain.
Sorry this post got so long. I'm just really scared. I know if this turns into a full fledged infection I will make a trip to the doc's, but right now I'm just trying tons of rest and like 100 oz. of water a day (could all the extra fluid I'm drinking have to do with the sweats?) and hoping that will work.
Any info. or thoughts would be so greatly appreciated.
Take care,