an unusual cold [solved]

Jasconius

Since Friday I've been having what I think is a cold but I have never had a cold quite like this before... usually you think of a runny nose and a headache.

On Friday it started out with just general nausia and fatigue... by the end of the night I was getting bad pains in concentrated areas such as my right knee, and I was literally shivering. Took a hot bath, pain/shivering went away.

Spent most of the night night in odd state of parallel consciousness, I was awake, but I was having thoughts that didn't make sense, like I was trying to write a programming conditional statement for something like my blankets, I don't know. This has happened to me before when I get the shivers (I am actually very sensitive to the cold anyway so the shivers did not trigger any red flags with me).

Woke up in a fine layer of my own sweat but mentally I felt fine. No cough, no runny nose, just a light intermittent headache and a very light soar throat.

For the rest of the weekend up until right now I have been in a state of fatigue, most of my body hurts (everything from my hips up basically, including my neck). I don't feel particularly nauseated but I can't eat like I normally do. I had to go to the store this morning to buy some cereal and milk because it's the only thing I could contemplate keeping down. The sleeping has been better but pretty much the same, up every 2 hours and completely unable to make coherent thoughts.


Is this just a weird ass cold or do I need to go to a walk-in clinic?

muninn

I had something similar to what you describe before. It lasted for over week and a half, at which point I was so exhausted I decied to go to my doctor. He gave me some antibiotics, and 3 days later I was much better.

Midshipman

Ever experienced the flu before? That sounds like what you have going on.

Wikipedia wrote:

Symptoms
Symptoms of influenza can start quite suddenly one to two days after infection. Usually the first symptoms are chills or a chilly sensation, but fever is also common early in the infection, with body temperatures as high as 39 °C (approximately 103 °F). Many people are so ill that they are confined to bed for several days, with aches and pains throughout their bodies, which are worse in their backs and legs.[1] Symptoms of influenza may include:

Body aches, especially joints and throat
Coughing and sneezing
Extreme coldness and fever
Fatigue
Headache
Irritated watering eyes
Nasal congestion
Reddened eyes, skin (especially face), mouth, throat and nose
Abdominal pain (in children with influenza [52]

It can be difficult to distinguish between the common cold and influenza in the early stages of these infections,[2] but usually the symptoms of the flu are more severe than their common cold equivalents.

I've got it right now myself. Sometimes I get strange dreams or alternated consciousness during the height of a feverish nap as well.

RUNN1NGMAN

What's your temp? Fatigue, body aches, chills, loss of appetite sound a lot like flu to me.

http://www.flufacts.com/symptoms/default.aspx

Jasconius

It could be that. I haven't had the flu since I was in middle school and I don't remember it all to well. But the weather took a very sharp turn towards the damp/cold on Friday so that fits.

The prob is I have high deductible insurance so unless it's an actual emergency I don't want to go to a clinic just for them to tell me to buy some dayquil and wait it out and take my $100 dollars.


I loaded up on fruit, orange juice, and dayquil this morning.

Joy.

*edit* I don't have a thermometer but I am cold and sweating at the same time every night so I am guessing it's higher than average.

Casual

Yeah I'm just over a flu that was pretty much exactly the same as what you've just said. A week later I'm back to normal but I still have a really irritating cough. Take some paracetamol, lie in bed, drink plenty of fluids and sit it out. I was over the worst of it in 4 days.

Terrendos

If I had money I'd put it on the flu. I'm not a doctor, though. The main worry with most of these kinds of illnesses is fever. Monitor your temperature closely, and get to a hospital if it gets over 104-105 F, after which you can start getting brain damage.

Really, if it gets over 101-102 you should have a friend come and monitor you.

Movitz

You have the flu, drink a lot and sleep. If you're not better in 4-5 days see a doctor.

EDIT: About weird dreams. One time when I had the flu I was still living with my parents. I had a dream where I needed to smooth out all the rough surfaces in the world by rolling a large rock boulder over them. My dad woke up from some weird sounds and found me walking around in the kitchen. I was staggering aimlessly and pantomiming a pushing motion in front of me. High fever definitely fucks you up.

Jasconius

Yeah, lol. Luckily I have not been getting them as bad as I have before.

With me it's always about programming which is the worst thing to have dreams about ever.

Why am I trying to make a case statement about oranges.

Terrendos

I'll see your weird programming dream and raise you a weird engineering dream.

I recall one off the top of my head where I was attempting to derive through calculus an equation to understand why one of my dogs was fat and lazy and the other was skinny and hyper when they both eat about the same amount of food. Or maybe the one where I was trying to wire a doghouse? Or determine the flow speed around a boat empyrically by hanging off the edge of the railing and dipping a flowmeter into the water?