It’s an embarrassment to the profession.
@twoinanddone, hope your daughter recovers quickly.
I’d consider reporting that nurse’s comment to the dr. That is NOT something they should be saying to patients.
I literally have a running list of things I have to report about this hospital. I’ve counted at least 4 major hipaa violations since I got here.
I came here because I would be at u of m until 4 AM. I made a mistake. Lesson learned.
At least they are leaving all of the flu patients in their exam rooms instead of letting them go to the communal “results pending” room.
I’ve been in that UM emergency room. You aren’t wrong…
@romanigypsyeyes ugh. Sorry you had to encounter one of those. Most are not that way. Hang in there.
Some FAQs about the current state of the flu
Here is the CDC’s Influenza Surveillance Network link - https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/overview.htm
CVS only had the quadrivalent vaccine as well
Things have just gone downhill for me since Thursday. Yesterday was very tough. I ran around 102 most of the day, even while on Tylenol/Aleve, my throat feels like someone went over it repeatedly with a metal bbq grill brush, I’ve had body aches, and I’ve coughed so much my entire trunk is so sore. Every time I cough it’s very painful. I think I pulled a muscle or something around my rib cage.
I still don’t know if it’s the flu. It could well be just some other very nasty virus. DH has been doing soup runs for me. These things generally just have to run their course. But this is pretty miserable.
I’m feeling sorry for myself. Stay healthy, people.
@Nrdsb4 --you need to see your Dr. ASAP. Today. Those are worrying signs and the only way to know if you have pneumonia or not is to have someone listen to your lungs with a stethoscope to your back. Please do not just assume this is a normal part of recovery until someone has listened to you, tested your oxygen saturation and told you your lungs sound clear.
Please.
My cough is pretty dry. I have some post nasal drip around my nose/throat, but not a productive cough. I’ve had pneumonia several times, and this doesn’t feel like that at all. When I’ve had pneumonia, I’ve been able to feel the fluid in my lungs. Being an RN can be a dangerous thing, though. We often tend to minimize our own symptoms while taking care of our loved ones. DH has been sick as well, for the past 8 days, so I’ve been all about taking care of him until yesterday. If I get worse today, I may give the doc a call. I just took my temp, and it’s 98.8 (last took aleve 5 hours ago). I’m hoping I’ve gotten over at least that hump. If I spike again, I’ll call the doc.
So @carachel2’s post got me thinking…
My post nasal drip always feels like pepper on my throat and makes me cough til I gag and tears run down my face. My large airways feel kind of ticklish when I take a deep breath. So I got my trusty stethoscope out and listened to my lungs. I couldn’t reach all of the posterior spaces, but I could get low and lateral. No crackles at all anterior or posterior. Lol, I think carachel is a physician, so (s)he’s probably cringing right about now.
But I promise to call the doc if my temp spikes. It’s now 98.4, so I’m hopeful I’ve passed the worst. Obviously, spiking a fever after all is on the upswing is a worrisome development, and I have no desire to put myself at risk.
What is the risk for you of going to the doc at this point? If you were my kid, I’d be insisting. 
Because it’s Saturday, and I’d have to go sit in a clinic somewhere. If this is just a nasty virus, I’d hate to think how it would go if I picked up influenza in a waiting room on the heels of this. I’m afebrile-that’s significant clinically.
Feel better, nrs.
My daughter survived. She was pretty miserable Wed and Thurs, but on Friday she went back to the health center and they confirmed she didn’t have meningitis (for my peace) and that her fever was going down. Today, Saturday, she went to a Habitat for Humanities build - I think she just wanted to be outside.
Feel better, Nrdsb4. Fluids, rest, baby yourself. You’re right not to go to the doctor at this point-- why go to the doctor without the flu and come home with it?
Does wearing a mask when going to medical appointments help protect against the flu virus? BTW, I read on one site that fever does not always accompany the flu. It usually does, but not always. Please take good care of yourself, Nrdsb4.
Masks are most effective when the person who is ill wears it. Sadly, many people who are ill refuse to wear any mask to protect others.
N-95 masks are among the most effective masks BUT only if they are CLEAN, DRY, and properly fitted (most are none of these). Once a mask is soiled (and that happens quickly after the mask is put on), it does NOT provide much protection, if any.
Here’s ONE link:
https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/mask#1
Proper fitting N-95 masks AND frequent handwashing could reduce flu transmission 75%.
Thank you.My comments about fever were not to insist it couldn’t be the flu; rather that I was considering the prospect of a secondary pneumonia and whether or not my symptoms were manageable at home. Also, most of the recommendations I’ve read about this flu outbreak cautioned against clogging up clinics and ERs with low level flu symptoms, miserable though they may be. I have a pulse ox at home, which read consistently in the very high 90s, clear lungs, no SOB, and fevers managed well enough with NSAIDs. My condition just didn’t seem to mandate going into a clinic or ER on the weekend. I felt horrible, make no mistake, but not gravely ill.
As it turns out, I suspect I did have a strain of the flu. My temp would go up and down all day. I’d often start off afebrile in the am, then spike up suddenly later in the morning or afternoon with accompanying body aches and chills. I was afebrile all day yesterday, and woke up today with a temp of 98.2 this morning. The worst thing the past couple of days has been a dry, hacking cough. It feels like a little Keebler elf has been hanging out in my large airways with a little feather, tickling me in order to provoke episodes of horrible, non productive coughing. There really isn’t a medicine for that, and it is exhausting. Still, I’ve taken a med to keep any secretions I do produce thin and easy to expectorate. My lungs remain clear, I’m drinking tons of fluids, and finally got hungry for something other than soup yesterday, so I had a nice burger, no fries. 
If a loved one of mine had just gone through this, I’d now be watching them carefully to see if they suddenly spiked a fever after several days on the upswing. That would be a sign of a possible secondary pneumonia.
D2 has law school finals for the next week. I’m crossing my fingers her school doesn’t have an outbreak since she didn’t get vaccinated.
Whatever this was, it has been no fun and is the sickest I’ve been in a long time. I hope we have seen the peak of this thing and that it fades away quickly into the horizon…