[Karen W. (OP)]

Well I am sick as a dog!

Have:

1. killer headache

2. fever off and on with the chills..shivering
cold, then hot, and shivering, then hot ranging from 94.6 to 101.6

3. Coughing up a lung with really nothing
being produced when I am able to get any up,
they are solid hard lumps green sludge...(sorry)


4. Having sharp stabbing pains in my Jaw and tops
of shoulders.

5. My ears are killing me way down inside..
and they itch and feel ticklly?

6. The My eyes are burning like fire as well my
throat but lighter in the throat...

7. My chest is hurting like crazy as are the top area
of my rib cage... I think from coughing?

8.The roof of my mouth is itching like crazy too.

9. I am also wheezing real bad.. my chest is sore....

My inhalers did not seem to help Yet so far, am not sure what to do?

So I am wondering how one gets both flu and cold symptoms
at the same time..?

I felt so so, yesterday and suddenly
all out sick today!


Why are my ears itching and tickling way way down inside...
and why is the roof of my mouth itching like mad!

PS..My blood pressure seems really high also and is not coming down.. staying at about 175/106 with a 65 pulse give or take a point or two every hour or so...

excessive urination also...

[Bored chemist]

Go and see a doctor (or better yet, get one to come and see you).

I's not my field but I think you  seem to have picked up just about all the possible symptoms of a respiratory tract infection at once.

I don't think there's anything to stop you getting more than one cold or variety of flu at the same time.

[Karen W. (OP)]

I tell you I went swimming today and now still feel like way crappier then before..am calling the doctor... and or going to the hospital.. Thanks bored...
I don't get the tickly itchy thing though.....

[rosy]

The itchy ears/mouth thing sounds a bit like what I get sometimes from taking lemsip (over the counter cold remedy available in the UK, not sure about the US, made containing phenylephrine hydrochloride as a decongestant and paracetamol- I forget what that's called in the US but I think it has another name), which I think is possibly to do with the decongestant drying out my ear tubes (what are they called? I've forgotten... eustacian (sp?) tubes? or are they something else?), but I'm not sure. There could easily be other causes too...

Hope you feel better soon, anyway.

[Karen W. (OP)]

Well I am not taking any other meds except my regular 16.. as I was worried about adverse effects with cold meds and my normal meds.. so have taken nothing else but sure wish I had something to blast at this thing...
I called in and was able to get an emergency appointment for 10:00 A.M. tomorrow morning.. I am having a real hard time getting proper air ... I hope tonight goes faster then last night, I was miserable!Tonight my lungs are hurting really bad when I cough.. The nurse said to try to use my lungs more to cough..Hee hee hee.. it hurts too bad.... makes me cringe and wrap my arms across my rib cage and support that area to try to ease the pain...
Thanks Rosy I will let you know what they say tomorrow...

You know.. the inside of my nose is itching also.. having to rub it and give it the old allergy rub.. you know vigorous shaking rub,, that looks like your trying to eliminate your nose from your face or at least re-mold it like a piece of clay!!! LOL..

[Karen W. (OP)]

Let's have a poll: cold, flu or pneumonia? I lean toward the flu.

A high fever (102ºF to 104ºF) is a common and predictable symptom of the flu. It's uncommon to run a fever from a cold.

It's common get a bad headache when you have the flu. If you have a severe headache, unless it's a sinus headache, it's probably not because of a cold. A mild or moderate headache could be related to either cold or flu - or neither.

Colds don't normally cause severe aches and pains. The flu usually causes severe aches and pains - steady, dull pains, sharp, jabbing pains, and more. If you have mild aches and pains, they could be from the cold or from the flu - or neither.

It's common to have a cough with a cold, but not common for it to be severe. The flu normally comes with a cough that can become severe. The cold commonly comes with a cough, but it is usually mild to moderate in comparison with a flu cough. A flu may cause a mild or moderate cough, but it's more likely to be severe.

I have had the pneumonia already took almost a year to clear that up.. so I hope its not back again.... was hoping for a longer break then just a few months...
Thanks for your informative information...LOL..terrible sentence sorry couldn't help it!

My cough is definitely on the severe side.. not mild or even moderate... and painful to boot!
Boy it is confusing with so many similarities between thats why I wondered could one have both at the same time?

[Karen W. (OP)]

I have the swine flue and an upper
Bacterial Respiratory infection and I failed my breathing test....You know the blow into the tube to check air volume from lungs..She said it was really low.
Oxygen level is down to 95... so is low also... Starting tamiflu/oseltamivir phosphate, Prednisone...and antibiotic called Azithromycin Tablets, and increased my pain killer with fever
reducer.../vicodon to 4 a day.... I guess now I stay here and take my meds, fluids, and rest....then wait it out!

[Karen W. (OP)]

Thank you all for the information.. I am glad I went into the doctor..They actually brought me in the back way to avoid contact with others..

[Karen W. (OP)]

I think doctors don't always make the best choices.  Vicodin is basically tylenol and hydrocodone (a semi-synthetic opioid) together. 

The opioid has several side effects that you may want to monitor.  There's the typical CNS effects (euphoria, dizzy, fuzzy, moods, etc) and also dry throat, depressed respiration (a good and bad thing) and, oddly enough, constipation (because opiates depress the peristaltic action of the intestines which continue to remove water from the contents). 

Watch for the end of the prescription because some doctors, overly concerned with addictive ("I need a refill") tendencies, might simply cut you off, leaving you with withdrawal symptoms.  Your brain will have already begun to counter the drug's analgesic effect by cranking up its sensitivity to pain.  When the drug is withdrawn, the sensitivity remains for days and causes you to feel every little ache and pain that you never knew you had and then some.  Funny enough, opiate addicts describe withdrawal as just like having a really bad case of the flu -- even their bones hurt.  So, I recommend trying to wean yourself of the stuff before the prescription runs out.  There's no total relief from pain -- some of it can be, in effect, merely deferred.

HI DAVE ALTHOUGH SHE HAS UPPED DOSAGE I HAVE NOT INCREASED THEM YET AS I FEEL I AM HANDLING FEVER OK IN BETWEEN TWO DOSES. ON THE CHANCE I NEED AN EXTRA DOSE, I WILL TAKE IT... I am dealing with major hip and joint pain from arthritis.. so am still using as prescribed.. I normally swim at least 20 laps a day at the pool which includes an extra two hours of water aerobics ..This has helped me control my pain levels for  many hours of the day as it puts less stress on the joints in the water and thus saves my joints wear and tear of a regular days exercise on my feet and impact on the joints which confines me to a walker on some days... I try as much as possible to use my own power in the house where falling impact would be softer when my hips pop out of joint unaided.. So walker takes pressure off and helps me with left shoulder where the cane compromises my left shoulder injuries which cannot take the direct pressure of the cane on the joint for the right hip... my left shoulder is shot at the rotator cuff and elbow, my right and left hips are both bad but right one is severe and is a right regular source of extremely painful trouble.. thus the walker to also help disperse weight and keep balance and prevent falls.I cannot do distance walking without being so wiped out that everything gives and I pass out...easily when Standing or walking too long. It causes my blood pressure to dive too low and I am out cold.. weather thats trying to walk to the car or in a parking lot... not good.
Anyway.. I am very careful with my pain meds and the increase is only for the duration of the swine flu.. so I think this time next week will be good. I have had no symptoms of addiction and really have doctors who monitor my Tylenol levels with weekly blood draws.. as I did have a time where my liver was building too much Tylenol.. inside it..

Thank you for the list of things to watch they are really good to have and be able to monitor... good information..
I believe she said the prednisone will help the lung areas for breathing etc.. helping cough also... in the case of this flu and asthma condition. She said I have a case of bronchitis effecting everything also..I am aware of all those things and am a member of a chronic pain management class. I am aware and thus  this is why I am very cautious with pain meds..

We are in an epidmic of swine here in the county and and I trust that my doctors have diagnosed me properly. Like you vicodone has always worried me ..I was on Norco for a while. As you know it is strong on the vicodon side and it really took me out so We discontinued it and opted for smaller doses and increased other ways of dealing with the pain.. which have helped immensely. Routine is a great thing and staying on regular doses of my meds makes a big difference in my ability to control and deal with the pain..I am still human and have really bad days as you have read here. Thank you for your wonderful information and it really helps to get a second opinion on when to advance to doctor or hospital.. as I hate going and finding out that there is nothing I couldn't have done at home.. you know..? In this case I was concerned so I came here  and the advice about seeking the doctor was well taken and has been done and I am grateful I listened.. Thank you all again..