So I've been awake for- hmm- 53 hours.

[Occulus]

I have had the flu, and can't get ANY sleep. At all. All I can do is toss and turn and sweat and freeze. I took a pain pill for my back, because it was just killing me, and even though it "may cause drowsiness/dizziness", it didn't do a damn thing.

I've been off work for the past two days, and I'm really thinking it might be a good idea to stay home today too. Lucky me- I *think* my fever (of up to 102.6 last night) broke this morning, but it's still hanging on by a degree or two.

I'm tired, but I'm not. I haven't yawned since Wednesday night, when I got only four hours of sleep, to wake up at 8 AM.

I seriously don't think even Valium would work, and that's saying something, because I've never ever even considered taking that- not once. I don't have any anyway, but if I did, I don't know if it would work.

All I can drink is water and juice, I'm chomping Vitamin C drops and cough drops, and the only thing I've eaten in three days is a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Like the commercial says, "somebody help me...."

I don't think I need to see a doctor, though; it's is, after all, "only" the flu and physically, I feel fine now. I'm just suffering from the worst bout of disease-induced insomnia I've ever had.

Oh, and I have to go to work today, to a postal plant, where I'm sure I'll get harassed for taking the time off in the first place (the postal attendance policy enforcement is very draconian and thoughtless at times).

53 hours without sleep, and I feel like I "have to" go to work.

Someone just shoot me so I can be out of my misery...... mumble grumble piss moan cry......

[Delphinus]

1. Oh, poor guy.

:hug:

Are you sure you shouldn't have seen a doctor? If you work for the postal plant, you've probably got insurance. The real flu isn't anything to take lightly.

[Occulus]

4. That's the thing- I don't know if this is the "real" flu.

I wasn't sick to my stomach, and other than a terrible cough for a couple days, the fever, the insomnia, and back pain FROM the coughing, erm....

well...


maybe it WAS the flu. I've also heard that there was a fluLIKE virus floating around for the past several weeks, and it's putting people off work and into bed, but it's not the flu.

Maybe that's what I've been dealing with.

I'm NOT tired, that's the weird part. I need to get sleep, or I'll start hallucinating, but my mind is clear, I'm breathing easily, and I'm not dizzy or lightheaded anymore.

This is the weirdest bug I've ever had. My roommate got it too, but it's affecting him very differently- he went through FIVE ROLLS of toilet paper blowing his nose!

I don't really know what to make of it, honestly...

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Hope you go to the doctor--You have the Flu

REAL flu is respiratory, and complications are pneumonia and more. Having a fever above 101 for more than two days is an indicator that something not good is happening. The flu virus can also makes for extremely uncomfortable joint and muscle pain.

Info:
http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw122044.asp

If you can, go see a doctor ASAP. While you've probably been ill too long for antiviral drugs to work, you may need antibiotics.

All that said...get well soon! :hug:

[Occulus]

24. My fever's down to close to normal now

maybe a degree or two warm. My body runs at 97.6- a degree cool- so with a temp of 99.7 (I just checked it), that just over two degrees. In my experience, that's not too big a deal. Still.....

it ain't a fuzzy ball of fun, that's for SURE!

[Whoa_Nelly]

51. My body temp tends to run low like that, too...however

had the flu back in '98. Sounded just like what you described, and I, too, had trouble sleeping. After the fever went down to a "reasonable" degree of temp, I went back to work. Within a few hours of being back at work, the fever spiked back up to 102. Went to the doc then (hadn't gone before that for this ill time around.) Turns out I had pneumonia as a complication of having had the flu.

Doc gave me a note to stay home for two weeks, rest, take meds. Said if I didn't have response to the drugs within 48 hours, she would be putting me in the hospital. Also said that the time off for recuperation was crusial to not stressing out my body and becoming more ill. It can get pretty serious.

[geomon666]

2. That sounds worse than any flu I've ever had.

And yes you should go to the doctor. You haven't eaten, you haven't slept in days. Your only source of nutrition are vitamin tablets. Yeah go to the doctor please.

[laylah]

3. Well bless your heart!

Have you tried melatonin? I have a sleep disorder so I KNOW what no sleep for extended periods of times means...HELL.

Hopefully you will see this after you have, long last, gotten a well deserved sleep in.

Get well soon!

[Occulus]

6. The problem is,

I punch in at 3:30.

I can't take anything if I'm going to work, and I don't feel like I'm "permitted" to stay home another day.

This SUCKS!

[Rainscents]

8. Melatonin will help you sleep

Good suggestion.

[smomfr]

5. I had dengue (break bone fever) once..........

couldn´t sleep because of the pain.

[Retired AF Dem]

7. 53 hrs?

is that all? Try being in the military on some field excercise in Germany. Let's say it's March, rains all day and snows all night and you are living in a "fighting position". You will be lucky to get 1 hour sleep in two weeks. On a lighter note, 1 shot of nyquill and sevearl shots of Wild Turkey fixes any sickness. (If it doesnt kill you it will cure you)

[Occulus]

11. NyQuil didn't do anything....

I had a hot toddy last night. It was yummy, but it didn't put me out... and it was made with that honey liquor hot toddy mix, too.

Maybe if I go to work I'll get tired enough that I can just come home, collapse into bed, and sleep the sleep of the dead for twelve hours.

That's what I really need.... just sleep. I know if I just get some solid sleep I'll be fine.

[Retired AF Dem]

15. That is why you have to add a few shots of

Wild Turkey 101 :) Trust me it works.

[CountAllVotes]

19. NyQuil isn't the same "NyQuil" anymore

It used to be 40% alcohol ... oh those were the days and yeah, it used to work. See my recipe! :D

:kick:

[CountAllVotes]

9. old Irish remedy

Guaranteed to cure your ills for a bit:

Need a good sized coffee mug:

In it put:


1 solid shot of brandy
the juice of 1/2 of one lemon
2 tablespoons of honey
Fill mug with boiling hot water
Stir
Drink up! :beer:

Repeat until you fall asleep.

Works like a charm! :D

I've done this many times when I've been sick or even felt the flu coming on. Many times I've awakened the next day feeling pretty good. Don't overdue it though. The idea is not to get "drunk" but to take down the pain and allow you to get some rest. :D

[TallahasseeGrannie]

10. Any chance you took

a decongestant or something with epinephrine in it? Thinks like Contac, Theraflu, Sudafed, etc.? Those keep me up for two nights at least. With just one dose.

[Occulus]

17. No, I don't have any of that in my place

I can't handle Theraflu, the taste makes me want to heave it back up. Always has, too, and I'm told by others that that's not uncommon :)

All I've taken is NyQuil, and that usually does the trick.

I would definitely like to stay away from a prescription tranq if I can help it, though, and I I see a doctor, that's exactly what I'll get.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

22. How about trying a benydrill?

That knocks me out. Or a snifter full of brandy, which is more fun.

[Occulus]

27. brandy might work, but I don't know if I should put ANY alcohol in my body

Isn't alcohol a depressant anyway? I mean, I need sleep, but I don't want to further depress my system than it already is.

Oh, and my "glands" aren't swollen, either.

This is a truly strange bug.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

28. Any chance it is ubber allergies?

[Occulus]

32. Not unless both me and my roomate were exposed

to the same allergen at the same time, and we're both affected by it in different ways.

Besides, I've been inside since- hmm- Tuesday night.

I do think the weather has something to do with it, though. We're going from sun to snow and back again here. Daffodils should be coming up soon; instead, the squirrels are collecting acorns.

Odd.

[CountAllVotes]

33. one will NOT hurt you

I'm not telling you to get "drunk". The brandy will likely make you sleepy and the other things in it (honey and 1/2 lemon juice) have curative powers. I do this whenever I start feeling sick. It rarely fails me and I'm not in the best of health myself. This is an old remedy passed down from my Irish family. My father swore by it!

Don't smoke either (if you do). That will only make it get a lot worse and perhaps cause it to turn into bronchitis.

[Warpy]

12. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing that since you're still running

a temp, you're still infective, and that anybody who razzes you for taking a couple of days off will soon find himself as sick as you've been.

In the meantime, just realize you've probably been sleeping a lot, it's just been in unsatisfying catnaps.

[CountAllVotes]

25. I wonder if aspirin has been tried

Reduces fever and pain whereas ibuprofen or tylenol do nothing for a fever. If you don't feel like eating, make SURE you drink something with it to coat your stomach (like a glass of milk).

I'd say take 2 aspirin (if you tolerate if ok) and continue this ever 4 hrs. to reduce that fever and also, try the recipe with the lemon juice in the hot brandy w/honey.

:kick:

[Warpy]

37. Ibuprofen and Tylenol both work on fevers

The COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex and the narcotics do nothing for fevers.

NSAIDs of all types plus Tylenol are very efficient at knocking down fevers.

[tjdee]

61. Tylenol has never done a dang thing for me or my kid, LOL.

I've heard it works for others, but if I have a fever, Ibuprofen is my very best friend. I won't give the kid Tylenol either, because way back in the day I was told to alternate the Ibuprofen and the Tylenol....waiting for those four or so hours to be up, fever still raging... ugh.''

[MissWaverly]

13. You could have Pneumonia or something else nasty

Go to your doctor, or to a local ER.

[EST]

14. Don't drive--too unsafe.

This happens to me a lot, often for more than a week, walking the house, like a ghost, no sleep, frustrated.
The only cure, if there is one, is a quiet, dark room. No music, TV, computer-nothin. If you are into meditation, that can help. Otherwise, counting can lull you enough to achieve a sort of fading of consciousness: not real sleep, but it will help a little.
I have access to sleeping pills, oxycodone, morphine and several other nostrums, none of which will help in these conditions.

It usually ends up with falling asleep for greater and greater periods of time, sometimes using up several days. If you get no relief, call the doc or check into a hospital. Trying to do useful work will endanger you as well as others around you.

[CountAllVotes]

23. earplugs and a warm room help too

and yeah, you need that sleep. When you are asleep your body naturally kicks in and begins the healing process.

Codeine cough syrup helps too.

and I agree, if not better REAL soon, go see a doctor - it could be pneumonia you never know. That can sneak up on you and you don't even know you have it (I should know!). *ack*


:kick:

[Occulus]

26. See, that's the truly strange part:

all the baaaaad symptoms people are talking about here are mostly gone. Slight cough, slight fever, insomnia. At the moment, that's it... I'm not even experiencing the sweaty chills any more.

So, I think I'm fighting it off on my own, and if I could just sleep, I think I'd be all right. It's just that when I close my eyes I can't get comfortable and all I can do is toss and turn (not to mention, I've always had trouble sleeping in the middle of the day, which makes this just suck all the more).

[CountAllVotes]

30. I have that problem too - sleeping during the day

Seems the only time I can do it is if I am REALLY sick. Otherwise I'm wide awake and cannot sleep. I'm one of these people that can go on a 20 hr. long journey via airplane (a red eye flight) and I can't sleep on airplanes either.

So join the insomniac club! It really is hell isn't it? Especially when you are sick and need to sleep to recover.

Try the brandy, lemon juice and honey. If you don't want the alcohol, just try honey and lemon juice with hot water. That might help help stop the coughing as the honey coats the throat and the lemon juice seems to kill whatever it is that has got you.

I hope you are better soon!

:kick:

[applegrove]

16. GO TO SLEEP! Lack of sleep will kill ya before lack of water.

[Occulus]

20. Well, from what I've read about sleep deprivation,

it's not that dangerous... in the short term. I do know that after about three days without sleep, people start dreaming while awake.

Um, I think I'd like to avoid that...

[shadowknows69]

29. after 53 hours you should start having a few nifty hallucinations

did it myself once and had to perform in a musical after that little sleep. I made it through somehow but I was no longer human afterwards.

[EST]

40. SEE A DOCTOR-NOW!

Sorry for shouting. Get someone to take you to the hospital or doctor. At this stage, all the piddling around with various aids is bullshit.
Back in the day of large computers, I, as a tech, often had to work for two or three days with no sleep.
Now, as a result of the meds I have to take to stay alive, it is not unusual to be awake for a week or more, so the mere lack of sleep isn't gonna hurt you. The edge hallucinations can be annoying and quite disconcerting, however.
The real problem is, if this kind of wakefulness is not normal for you, this is a symptom of something else, maybe something extremely serious!
Get the f*ck off the computer and get some medical attention, RIGHT NOW! The mere fact of worrying about it feeds the problem and having a medical practitioner pat you on the attitude and tell you it's all O K may be just the ticket.

The point is, it ain't normal, so be pro-active. If you are a democrat, you've shown yourself to be smarter than average, so prove it. Get checked out.

[knitter4democracy]

44. Amen to that!!!

My hubby would be pissed if one of his patients went that long without seeing him and was that ill. First of all, I'm sure he'd give you a nasal spray to clear up the sinues (it's a fave of his--no sleep issues with it at all), and then he'd deal with the rest. After that, he'd write a note for work to make sure they understood how ill you are.

[Occulus]

47. Let me explain what sort of employer I'm dealing with...

This is an employer who would not excuse me from work to care for my father as he lay dying at home. They left me twisting in the wind- until after he died, only to tell me my FMLA request (nine pages of documentation going back TWELVE years, with the sigs of two doctors, two oncologists, and two specialists) was denied.

This employer does NOT respect the doctor's recommendations. One of my coworkers has received letters (plural) of warning- for going home to care for his epileptic daughter.

There's no point in seeing a doctor to get an excuse from work that will be fought tooth and nail and not honored outright. The end result is a permenantly sick workforce intimidated into keeping themselves ill "for the needs of the service".

[knitter4democracy]

65. Oh my goodness.

That is terrible!! How dare they?! FMLA isn't just for employees--it's for business, too. Healthy, happy workers are better, more productive workers. Just wait until they catch something dangerous from someone who dragged their butt into work when they shouldn't have and end up in the hospital themselves. That's awful.

I cannot imagine how they could deny that. At all. Disgusting.

[MissWaverly]

21. wrong, he needs medical attention and fast

Think of an out of control infection as an all you can eat buffet, except you are the
main course.

[applegrove]

31. Absolutely. Get medical attention. But lack of sleep is not going

to help any. So if they are on meds for the infection - then go to sleep. So your body will have the ability to fight it off. Lack of sleep is only going to make your body fall apart. Two days is too much. You are adding to your problems.

[Occulus]

34. So I shouldn't go to work, then, right?

I know I shouldn't. Heavy mail carts, machinery, tow tugs pulling things around, physical labor.....

Yeah, that seems like a pretty bad idea. Maybe I can do the light duty work today and just sort letters by hand.

Maybe I just won't go, but that would make three days in a row, which qualifies me for FMLA leave.... except that the office which "approves" FMLA is really there only to find reasons to disapprove it.

If I wasn't so afraid of the attendance policy in that place, I would not have a question about goin in or not.

[MissWaverly]

39. don't you have a policy that excuse you with a doctor's note

look, I know it's hard to go to a doctor, but at least you would know what's wrong with
you, if you did go to work and something happened then you could be blamed for negligency.
I know that it's hard to go out when you are sick but it sounds to me like you are getting
no better. If you have a really strict policy, ask if you can trade the sick days for
vacation. I know that's a bummer, but when I was injured at work, I traded some of the
time from sick to vacation to balance the books.

[Occulus]

50. see my post #47

I'm not playing their game anymore.

I think I'll be staying home today, too. I need sleep. And solid food, which I know I can handle now.

[MissWaverly]

35. Yes but the pain pills may be causing his sleeplessness

It may be a side effect of what he is taking, the doc can check the PDR to see if that's
a side effect or switch him to something else after he makes a diagnosis.

[Occulus]

36. Oh, no, I think you misunderstood

I only just took one this morning, for my back and because the label says it might make me drowsy. It took care of the back pain, but I still couldn't sleep.

This morning was the first time I'd taken anything of the sort, though.

[MissWaverly]

41. well, if your fever is going down, rest but keep on top of it

you could have had anything, even food poisoning. Next time you get sick at least look
up the symptoms on webmd or a similar site, if they say go to the doc, then go.

[Occulus]

43. My mom mentioned food poisoning too

but I've had THAT before. It wasn't anything at all like this, and the only thing I ate immediately before getting sick was a frozen pizza.

DiGiornio, no less. Not delivery. DiGiornio.

I guess if I'm feeling well enough to make a joke, I'm recovering nicely. That's what they say, anyway.

This is something others at work have had, which means it's something people who get mail at all will probably end up with as well.

The evil irony is that the postal attendance policy actually encourages sick workers to go to work anyway. They've actually told us "if all you have is the sniffles, you're expected to be here".

Given what we do and where it goes when we're done with it, that seems not only to be a short-sighted but flat dangerous policy. They don't care, because the ELM says thus and so. They expect doctor's documentation, but I have yet to find a doctor who will write you off work for future dates when you might not be sick, or for past dates that they don't know you were sick.

In other words, it's a stacked deck.

[MissWaverly]

46. You can get food poisoning from a dirty bathroom

it spreads around toddlers in day care and in nursing homes, all you have to have is
1 sick person, 1 dirty bathroom, heavily used by other people, or if one of your
workers has a toddler in day care, they could have been infected. Most people don't
know this. I think if I remember correctly, my boss said that why pet turtles
were banned, kids were dying from salmonella (food poisoning) from holding them,
and I think people have gotten salmonella from petting zoos as well.

Please, anybody in the turtle lobby, don't flame me for this, go do
some investigative research.

[Occulus]

49. That I did NOT know.

And it would make perfect sense, given who I work for and their policies regarding sick workers.

Food poisoning manifests itself in many different ways, correct?

[MissWaverly]

52. link to NIH site

facts on food poisoning from there, you can also get food poisoning from improperly stored
mayonaise and salads. It's not just from meat.

60-80 million people in the world get it each year, 6-8 million die from it.

ussually starts 2-6 hours after eating. (But there are different strains of bacteria
that cause it, and you can pick it up in non-traditional ways)

symptoms include Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever & chills, weakness and headache

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001652.htm#Symptoms

[Occulus]

53. There's one sign now I'm told is almost always a good one:

I'm hungry. No, strike that: I'm ravenous. My stomach won't stop growling.

[MissWaverly]

55. Be very careful, if anything else crops up run don't walk to the doc

[Occulus]

56. I'm taking my temp every twenty minutes or so

Oh, believe me, although I am feeling better than I was at this time yesterday, I'm by NO means my old self.

Oh- I AM staying home today. Last time.

[MissWaverly]

54. Symptoms=same, it just find news ways to your door

Now, menu today, you have lost a lot of the friendly bacteria that helps you digest
your food, it has literally gone down the drain. What you want is protein, eggs if
you can take them, maybe soft boiled, think plain foods, no acid, no oj, stay away
from fried food, cheeses, just pears, watermellon, grapes, strawberries, jello, lots
of jello, flat gingerale, rice, broth, angel food cake is good if you can get it becasue
it has a lot of eggs in it and soaks up acid which you have a lot of right now, and
don't plunge into an adventure in eating, the next few weeks till you build up
yourself, think boring.

[Occulus]

57. Oh, thank you.

Bless you.

I'll be doing exactly that :D

[MissWaverly]

59. You are welcome but keep on top of it

especially now with your fever going down, if it comes back, go to the doc. Keep up
the liquids. (I hate to say it but pizza is a classic source for food poisoning).

Take care.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

62. Turtles under 4" were banned.

Apparently, kids are more likely to stick them in their mouth. All reptiles in unkempt conditions will carry salmonella, but it's really easy to avoid getting. Water turtles should be kept in a large filtered tank with frequent water changes, not going from a crowded dirty barrel in Chinatown to a small dirty bowl in the kids room.

Just keep your reptiles in clean conditions and wash your hands after handling them. Supervise small kids really well with them. It's common sense. I have several lizards and a python currently. In the past, I have kept water turtles (including illegal babies, shh...don't tell) and land turtles. Never a problem. I keep them clean, wash my hands and don't stick them in my mouth.

[Sgent]

42. Pills that "can cause drowsiness"

can have the opposite effect in some people.

53 hours is way to long to go with NO sleep, regardless of any other issues. Heavy machinery will be dangerous to you and others.

If it were me, I would take a cab to our local urgent med clinic (basically physician office that caters to walk-ins and is open on weekends & nights) and get something stronger than available OTC. At a minimum, I would take a couple of benydral. I would also avoid alcohol since you need REM sleep, and alcohol induced sleep pretty much precludes that from happening.

[Occulus]

38. MY temp is actually DOWN since I started this thread

99.2 now. Quite close to normal, and part of a downward trend to boot, so I think I'm beating it.

Finally.

Now all I need is sleep.

I'm getting slap-happy, too, so I bet I'll be a lot of fun for the rest of the day :D

Oh, and I just yawned for the first time in days. It actually felt good- almost like a hug.

[knitter4democracy]

45. Call for a scrip.

You need a nasal spray. Please call your doctor.

[Occulus]

48. I'm not congested at all

and I have some Nasonex here, too.

My nasal passages are totally clear.

[Obamarama]

58. Are you hydrating?

You need to be drinking a lot of water while you're fighting this, too. I agree...stay home today. To back yourself up, go out to Borgess Woodbridge, Westside Medical Urgent Care, or whatever urgent care center is near you. The insomnia could be something else underlying. You really need to see a dotor, guy.

[Occulus]

60. Oh, my, yes. Water, water, water.

The insomnia started at the exact same time all the other stuff did. Given that I usually stay up late and sleep in, I knew something was wrong after I woke up from about five hours of sleep and couldn't close my eyes again to save my life.

I'm getting very drowsy now, though, so I think soon I'll be sleeping the sleep of the righteously DEAD.

I'm waffling a bit on seeing a doctor, though, mostly because at this point all I feel like I need is sleep. That, and even with insurance it would cost me $70 (!) to go to the immediate care center at Bronson. That's a new thing, by the way. I never had to pay that much before.

Aside from that, as I said earlier here, I've tried this before- going to a doctor at the end of an illness- and they will not take you off work for an illness they didn't themselves see. So I guess if all I want is a tranquilizer, yeah, I could do that, but it wouldn't do anything for "legitimately" getting me off work.

It's a damn good thing I have a union willing to fight management on these issues. Even though this is, quite clearly, an illness that I should be off work for, I can guarantee that they wouldn't see it that way. I'm just not going to play their game anymore; it's a hassle not worth my time when, as I said, all I need is sleep.

I'm not even congested, my chest doesn't hurt, I'm not dizzy (any more), I'm not sweating or chilled. What doctor, with all that, would say "yeah, you're sick"?

And, to be honest, one of the reasons I haven't seen a doctor is because of the policies at work. They won't honor anything a doctor says, so what's the point if I feel I can deal with it given time and rest?

Oh, I probably should have seen a doctor on the very first day, but it's too late for that now... sorry to seem like such a Negative Nancy, but I'm over a barrel in more ways than one, here....

[knitter4democracy]

66. Please check your in-box.

I can print out your stuff for my hubby, and he's a good doctor. He'll take good care of you.

[knitter4democracy]

68. Okay--just talked with Hubby.

He says you need a lumbar tap to rule out meningitis--most likely viral, but he said that fevers can go down to low grade before you're better. He said with your symptoms that it is pretty likely and wants you to get to the ER.

[knitter4democracy]

69. Scratch that.

I printed out everything you'd said for him, and he said that hunger is really, really rare in meningitis, but he does think you need to be physically examined to rule it out. He said that much of what you wrote does sound like influenza (which sucks enough) but it still could be meningitis, which is bad, too.

I hope you did stay home tonight. You're sick and need to be in bed, and if my hubby had his way, you'd make a trip to the ER just to make sure that it's influenza and not something scarier.

[sakabatou]

63. Time to break out the tryptophan

[mdmc]

64. Peace and low stress

my prayers are with you.

[electron_blue]

67. Stay home, please for your sake and the rest of our sake

Driving with this little sleep is worse than driving drunk. Not to mention that you need to recover, not get pneumonia, and all that.

Get better soon! Seems like a really bad flu.