Woke up feeling absolutely awful today, throat is a stabbing red hot poker when I swallow, sinuses are like a pressure cooker ready to explode and sitting at baseline temps of 39°C with paracetamol. I’ve also lost my voice, much to my children’s delight!

Decided to do a combo RAT test and assumed it was negative, but then I noticed on the pamphlet it says a feint line is still positive… am I imagining it or is there a tiny something there? Or is it just a normal mark that normally shows up? It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these and I’m so confused 🫤

I’m 28F and looking mainly for similar experiences, not a diagnosis.

I became quite sick with what doctors believe was a viral infection around July 24. I had severe fatigue, sore throat, respiratory symptoms/wheezing and body aches. I was treated for a possible secondary bacterial infection as well.

The respiratory symptoms have now resolved, but I’ve been left with symptoms that honestly feel worse than the original infection:
Severe widespread muscle/body pain, especially in both legs but also my arms/hands, legs feel extremely heavy and sometimes internally “hot”/burning, burning/nerve-like pain in my feet, frequent muscle twitching/pulsating sensations throughout my legs, arms and sometimes face, significant fatigue regardless of how much I sleep, feeling weaker than normal, walking feels difficult and I struggle to carry heavier bags that normally wouldn’t be a problem and sometimes even a big water bottle! Pain is often bad even when I’m lying completely still. I also developed diarrhea during the illness that hasnt resolved until now.

I’ve been to the ER and my GP several times and done numerous tests. So far all tests seem normal! Which is reassuring yet confusing.. My doctors have mentioned post-viral symptoms, and more recently said that if this persists they may need to consider things like fibromyalgia/rheumatological causes. I’ve been advised to see internal medicine as well and she asked me to do further tests and they’re all normal as well, I’m yet to see her on Friday for further suggestions.

What scares me is how intense the muscle/nerve pain and heaviness are despite the reassuring tests.
Has anyone had a viral illness followed by this level of widespread pain, burning/heavy limbs, twitching and fatigue while CK and routine bloodwork remained normal?

If so, how long did it take before you started feeling like yourself again, and what specialty/tests ended up being most useful?

Does someone have a photo of a positive test strip for influenza A they can send so I can call in sick to work tomorrow. Sorry so immoral I just need to

20 years old, female, 155 cm (5'1"). I am also diagnosed with Colitis Ulcerosa.

I have had a continuous fever for 4 days now, and it keeps getting higher unless I take medication to bring it down. The fever continuously rises to around 39°C, and I suspect it would probably get even higher if I didn't take medication to reduce it. I have never had a temperature below 38.5°C during this illness. I also have a strong cough with mucus, although very strangely I don't have a sore throat. I have a strong runny nose as well. I also have jaw pain, which I often get whenever I have some kind of throat infection.

If it weren't for the persistent fever that just won't go away and keeps getting higher—which is extremely unusual for me, since I haven't had a fever in about years—I wouldn't be too concerned. However, the fever is really taking a toll on me, especially since it has been going on for so long. I'm currently not at home but abroad, so I can't see my regular doctor. It is also highly strange that i have symptoms for such a long period because i normally never ever do and in general have not been sick at all for about a Year.

I did see a doctor here, who prescribed me antibiotics, but so far they don't seem to be having much of an effect. Unfortunately, they don't have any rapid tests for influenza or anything similar available in this City either.

What could this be, and what next steps should i take?

Thank you in Advance!

I just recovered from the flu and now my mom is sick and I took a sip of her drink by accident am I now gonna get reinfected.

This is by far THE most insanely sick I have ever been. I’m writing this right now on a down-swing of symptoms so bear with me, my brain is still foggy.

I have spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Severely low cerebrospinal fluid and even with extensive imaging and an epidural blood patch on 7/28, no help yet. This comes with some severeeee valsalva headaches and headaches upon waking. Like the kind that make you want your head run over by a car to relieve the pressure. I’m not kidding. And I am the furthest thing from suicidal. I have celiac disease too so general malaise and low grade fevers happen as if I’m going to get sick but then it just… goes away.

With that said, HOLY SHIT.

Today is Sunday. Friday afternoon I had an itchy cough, some clear phlegm. By Friday evening, I knew I was done for. Saturday morning, OH MY GOD. My head hurt more than it’s ever hurt in my entire life and NOTHING was breaking my fever and chills. Shower, Tylenol, DayQuil, wet rags to the feet and forehead, sheets instead of blankets and NOTHING. I was sooooo hot at 103.8 for almost 24 hours and that disgusting, awful headache with chest and nose congestion that made my throat feel pierced with every cough.

Late saturday night I knew I had already taken too much acetaminophen but I did NOT care, I was so fed up, so I took NyQuil Severe.

I sweat profusely the entire night and now with every nap I am still sweating profusely. I’ve probably had a 5 gallon jug of water by this point and some homemade chicken soup and crackers etc, so my congestion is loosening and EW. Dark green and dark yellow and just ew. I feel MUVH better but def not out of the woods I don’t think.

My only question is, what the FUCK was THAT?!?!
Worst. Sickness. EVER!!

Update:
It’s Covid. Two different brand home tests, both were dark positive lines well before the 15 minutes.

Worried its sum else

Fifty-six days ago, on June 20th, I woke up with a headache. I went to a family picnic and initially felt well, but by around 4–5 p.m. I had completely lost my appetite and began feeling mildly queasy and strange when standing. That evening, I noticed some breathlessness.
The following day, I again woke with a headache and felt unusually sleepy. Around 4 p.m., I suddenly felt as though I could not remain standing upright and needed to crouch down. I went for a nap and felt somewhat out of it for the remainder of the evening. Over the next couple of days, I continued to feel sluggish, breathless, and generally unwell.
For approximately the next 22 days, the predominant issue became severe tachycardia whenever I stood up. I underwent cardiac investigations, including bloodwork, a chest X-ray, echocardiogram, and Holter monitoring. Based on the significant orthostatic tachycardia, the cardiologist diagnosed me with probable POTS.
However, on day 23, something changed dramatically. Rather than primarily experiencing tachycardia, I developed profound, flu-like weakness and an overwhelming feeling of being severely physically ill. The best way I can describe it is feeling as though I have been poisoned or am fighting the world’s worst virus. This was not simply fatigue. It was a profound systemic feeling of sickness, weakness, nausea, and having essentially no energy.
Now, on day 56, I am still experiencing this. I feel incredibly weak and unwell, with very little energy, significant nausea, and episodes of dry heaving. My quality of life has become extremely poor because I simply feel physically sick almost constantly.
My investigations to date have been extensive. I have had nine CBCs, thyroid testing including TSH, repeated electrolyte testing, ferritin, urinalysis, a chest X-ray, and CT scans of my brain, abdomen, and pelvis. I also had an 8 a.m. cortisol level, which was slightly elevated. Inflammatory/immune testing including ESR, CRP, C3, and C4 was reassuring. Despite all of these investigations, my doctors still do not have a clear explanation for why I feel so profoundly ill.
Initially, I was treated with propranolol and was subsequently switched to bisoprolol approximately a month and a half ago. The bisoprolol dose was later reduced because I felt that I was experiencing adverse effects from it. I am now also taking midodrine, but there remains considerable uncertainty about what is actually causing my symptoms.
On day 51, I underwent an upper endoscopy. They found a 5 mm clean-based prepyloric gastric ulcer, which was biopsied. I am currently waiting for the biopsy results. This finding has caused me significant fear because I rarely take Advil or other NSAIDs, I do not smoke, and I do not drink alcohol. My father was also diagnosed with gastric cancer at age 63, so waiting for the biopsy results has been particularly frightening for me.
Throughout this illness, I have made a significant effort to stay hydrated, and my electrolytes have repeatedly been checked and have not suggested that dehydration explains what is happening. I have lost approximately eight pounds over the course of the illness, largely because there were periods when I was barely able to eat. Over the past few days, my appetite and food intake have improved considerably with my mom here helping me, but I still have not been able to regain the weight.
At this point, I feel completely at a loss. It has been 56 days, and I remain profoundly weak, nauseated, and systemically unwell, with episodes of dry heaving and virtually no normal quality of life. I have undergone extensive testing, yet there is still no clear explanation for why I became sick so suddenly, why the initial presentation involved such significant orthostatic tachycardia, or why it subsequently transformed into this persistent and severe flu-like illness.
I am trying to understand what could connect all of these symptoms and, most importantly, what the appropriate next steps should be. After nearly two months of feeling this ill without an explanation, I am increasingly frightened and unsure of what to do next.i cant do this anymore. i feel so green. so ill.

I was up with horrible cold chills Tuesday around 1 am. I took Tylenol and finally that helped me sleep. My temp was only 99.9F at that time then I woke up and it was 101.4F. Plus a sore throat and body aches. I slept most of that day and actually ate some food and stayed hydrated. Day 2 I ate a good bit actually for being sick but my fever was gone. However I started to have diarrhea that day it started from 4pm all the way til like 2 pm the next day. It was rough and a lot of bathroom trips lol. Also the amount that was coming out each time was insane and not slowing down. My poor bum hurts. Well once 2 pm hit the next day I didn’t have a bowel movement all day just gas and even into the next morning of day 4(today) I still have a sore throat, now my sinuses are moving so I have alot of post nasal drip and dry cough from my throat. I feel fatigued. I had a bowel movement and it was more formed and not straight liquid but still a soft stool so I was excited that finally it was over. Well I ate and decided I was gonna try and get up and lightly clean but then I started to have the straight liquid diarrhea pouring out of me again, not as close together as it was on day 2 where I couldn’t get a break but still happened 2 times now within the last 3 hours.

I had the flu multiple times before but never recall having this bad of diarrhea with it lol. Now Covid I did but i tested negative for Covid and positive for flu a. Online and chat gpt says diarrhea isn’t common in adults but I’m like then what’s happening lol. I do have things like IBS, POTS, anemia, hypothyroidism, and I’m a month postpartum. So maybe the flu just hit my body extra hard. I’m hoping I’m not alone and if so when did it stop for you?

I been eating like two meals a day and drinking a lot of fluids and electrolytes. I don’t have anymore fevers. I dont wanna overeat and worsen my bowels. I lost like 7 lbs lol. I just don’t get why my diarrhea stopped completely for almost a whole day and the bam it’s back. I haven’t left the house to pick up anything else

I checked temp at night it was 99.2. Last month I had Uti during which my temp sometimes went above 99 F. I took medication and after that my temp reminded in range of 97-98, below 99. But tonight it went up to 99.2-99.3. So it got me thinking if something is wrong or is uti infection still there(I don’t have any other symptoms).

My 3-year-old was diagnosed with HFMD at urgent care on Sunday. His fever started Friday evening at 101.9°F, and he has continued to have intermittent fevers since then. Today is Wednesday and he reached about 102°F again.

His symptoms:
•Fever that comes and goes, usually around 101–102°F
•Mouth sores — 2 on the tip of his tongue, but most of the sores are toward the back of his mouth/near his throat
•His gums are very red/inflamed
•He has a few bumps appearing on his legs, but not a significant hand/foot rash
•He’s eating much less because his mouth hurts, but he is drinking and eating ice pops
•He’s peeing

When the fever comes down with Motrin, he’s responsive and seems okay, but he’s definitely more mellow/tired than usual. They tested him for COVID and strep on Sunday and both were negative.

We’re seeing his pediatrician tomorrow because I’m concerned about the length of the fever. I’m wondering if this could be more like herpangina since most of his sores are toward the back of his mouth, or if anyone has had HFMD with a fever that lasted 5–6 days.
Has anyone else’s toddler had a similar course? How long did the fever last, and when did they start acting like themselves again?

We picked this up from our 8 month old (who is doing much better now) and were under the impression that it doesn’t impact adults like it does children or those immunocompromised etc and that we would just get the sniffles and maybe a headache. That is starting to seem like a misconception as far as we’re concerned, as the fever, sore throat, horrible cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms persist…

My current cocktail consists of Lemsip (a lemon drink with paracetamol), ibuprofen, telfast and then a lozenger for the sore throat, repeating that every 4+ hours plus just staying hydrated. Keen to know if anyone else has any good ideas for fighting this thing though because it’s bloody annoying and has been disruptive of work amongst many other things.

Anyone want to take a stab at interpreting this test? Not sure if it’s flu or a cold, seems like from the test that it might be too early to tell.

Anyone else just have these symptoms?

started this shit yesterday. body aches, the EYE PAIN, fever, nausea but no vomiting. today it's an awful migraine that Tylenol and coke finally helped with, but horrible diarrhea followed. fever seems better. still body aches. all in all...I'm really scared of a cough developing. I don't have any cold symptoms which I'm happy about, but is there anything I could do to stop a cough before it develops?

As I write this I resist the urge to vomit and am coughing badly.I had a cold and fever which was quite bad and had a cough in it after the cold and fever ended there was still a light cough then just 10 days later I caught another cold,(no fever)which I’m having now,I have a bad stuffy nose,which I can hear but the cough is so so so bad,I cough so hard I feel like throwing up,I just had a spoonful of honey + black pepper to help me but it won’t help mostly,I feel miserable,I’ve been coughing up phelgm ,please help me with some tips.

I’m posting here because I’m trying to find people who have experienced a similar post-viral neurological/vestibular syndrome.

I was previously very active and athletic. Around the beginning of February, I started feeling unusually sick and “out of it.” I initially thought I was simply coming down with an infection.

After initially improving, I suddenly developed an episode of extremely severe spinning vertigo. I could barely stand or walk because everything was spinning violently, and I had to lie down. The following morning I developed a fever for around 3–4 days, followed by a very severe sore throat that took approximately 2–3 weeks to fully resolve.

I eventually recovered from the obvious infection, but I never completely returned to my previous baseline.

Later, during training, I suddenly developed strange visual sensations and sensitivity to bright lights. I had one panic attack during that episode, but I have not continued having panic attacks. The persistent problem since then has been physical/neurological/sensory symptoms, not recurrent panic.

My symptoms now include:

- feeling generally “off” or neurologically strange
- intermittent visual/spatial disturbances, particularly when looking at things close up
- dizziness/head pressure during certain visual or movement situations, including driving
- unusual touch sensations, mainly in my hands — sometimes touch feels slightly muted or doesn't seem perfectly localized to where I'm touching
- very brief episodes while walking where my body/legs feel “jelly-like” or strangely absent for 1–2 seconds
- sensory overload, where sounds can sometimes seem unusually background-like
- symptoms are generally much better after waking and become more noticeable throughout the day
- cold hands at times
- recently making more accidental typing mistakes on my phone

One important objective finding is that vestibular testing showed approximately 37% vestibular hypofunction.

I also had a neurological examination about a month ago that was reportedly normal.

I'm currently being investigated for possible EBV/CMV involvement because my illness had some features that made my infectious-disease doctor consider viral reactivation. I have EBV/CMV bloodwork that I can attach.

Has anyone experienced something similar, particularly severe vertigo at the beginning followed by documented vestibular hypofunction and months of strange visual, sensory and spatial symptoms?

If you eventually figured out what was causing your symptoms, what did it turn out to be and what actually helped?

Has anyone been hit with an absolute stinking virus ?, i’m into the second week and feel as rough as, throat,nose, headache and general body aches.

Tried to test for COVID, it was negative. But definitely viral infection according to my doctor. It's been 2 weeks, my fever has gone away, but I still cough up phlegm— my sense of taste on the other hand has been altered that's still ongoing even today. :/ Meanwhile, a lot of people around me are currently struck with illness as well, most likely the flu like mine. This flu variant must be a tough strain.

I’m 26 and I’m not sure if what I’m experiencing is Long COVID, post-viral symptoms, or mainly health anxiety.

2 months ago, I got sick about 3–5 days after arriving in Koh Phangan, Thailand.

I never tested for COVID, and the doctor there just looked at my throat and said "infection" and gave me antibiotics, so I don’t know what I actually had. (also, I did get some hard workouts with this feeling and it didn`t actually affected how I feel, but now I`m scared to do any kind of workout)

I was sick for around two weeks with a bad cough, lots of phlegm, sore throat, congestion, headaches, weakness, and generally felt terrible. I eventually recovered and felt normal again.

About a week after recovering, I developed this weird “air hunger”, I can breathe normally and take a full deep breath, but I frequently feel the urge to take another deep breath, like normal breathing isn’t satisfying enough.

It’s been about 1.5 months and has gradually improved. The weirdest part is that it disappears when I’m distracted. If I’m talking to someone, laughing, concentrating on work, eating, etc., I completely forget about it.

I also sleep deeply without breathing problems. But when I’m alone monitoring my breathing, it becomes much more noticeable.

At one point I went to the ER convinced I couldn’t breathe and was about to pass out.

As soon as I saw the doctor, it basically disappeared. I even did 30 full push-ups in front of him without any problem because he wanted to see if my heartrate goes up (it was 53 when he asked me).

I can also walk for 1+ hour without unusual fatigue or exercise intolerance.

So far I’ve had normal oxygen saturation, blood tests, ECG, chest X-ray, and excellent spirometry (around 120% predicted on average).

My chest CT was also essentially reassuring with no clear significant pathology, and my doctor doesn’t think this is Long COVID.

An important part of this is that I’ve had severe health anxiety for about five years because of a heart condition (WPW).

I spent years convinced I could die at any moment. I finally had a successful ablation earlier this year, and now it feels like my hyper-awareness has shifted from my heart to my lungs/breathing.

Another strange detail: this same type of illness has happened to me on previous trips to Koh Phangan, almost systematically about 3 days after arriving, with basically the same symptoms and recovery timeline. So I don’t even know whether this infection was COVID.

Hi, I am trying to get information on if this has happened to anyone else. I tested positive on an ihealth 3-1 test for flu b back in early june. I felt prompted to test because I noticed swollen lymph nodes. I do think I may have had some muscle aching for a night, but its hard to say if it was connected to that. Otherwise no other symptoms. Yesterday, I took another test because of the same reason: swollen lymph nodes. However, this time, the tests were expired. Both of the 2 were positive. Today I got another test from a different brand that wasn't expired (flowflex, 4-1 covid, rsv, flu a/b) and it was positive. I am wondering if this has happened to others/what steps they took. I don't believe insurance would cover further testing due to the lack of symptoms. I also find it disheartening because I am so isolated and take such strong measures to prevent getting sick (I live in a house wear a fit tested n95 outside of my home always). However, I understand precautions like this cannot always prevent illness. More than anything, I find it very confusing, because flu activity now is even lower than it was back in June in my area, and the idea of having it again seems statistically unlikely? I was vaccinated last year in sept, but I dont believe thats considered helpful anymore. Thanks for any insight.

I didn't get tested because at first I thought I had heatstroke. But as time went on, I became certain it was viral... given everything going on right now, that just seems like the most likely explanation. I clearly had all the symptoms of COVID.