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Terabith
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Or how do you decide when to visit the doctor?

Over Christmas, we spent time with an assortment of relatives we don’t see often. Some of them became ill while we were there.  Tried to avoid when we could graciously, but couldn’t always.  Plus, everyone I know on Facebook in my community is sick.  It seems to be going around. 

New Year’s Eve, I started feeling achy and tired, but I had driven twelve hours and mountains mess with sinuses, and I hadn’t slept well.  By the following morning I felt awful.  Nasty headache, sore throat, body aches, skin and hair and teeth hurting, chills, low grade fever, exhaustion.  Husband also had a headache.  Daughter felt crummy and wanted to go to bed (very unusual).   Everyone else has perked up, but I still feel bad, and I start student teaching ina week.  Is it overkill for me to go in, even though it’s probably a virus?

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Barring really extreme symptoms I wouldn't be thinking much about going in so soon, and I'm at higher risk of serious infections due to two immune suppressing medications I'm on. With viral stuff I tend to try to give it a week before going to a doctor. I'm more afraid of whatever other ick I might pick up there than I am of what I've already got going on. But that's my comfort level. You have to do what you feel comfortable with. There's no right or wrong time frame.

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I’ve gargled with salt water, taken several naps, and taken both ibuprofen and Tylenol. What concerns me is that I’m actually feeling worse rather than better.  Day four of fever.  If it weren’t for upcoming important events and the fact I am feeling worse rather than better,? I wouldn’t bother going in. But those two things make me uneasy, especially the feeling worse.  

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I used to have a fabulous book where you looked up symptoms, and each page had a flowchart that you either answered questions with, or it led you to another page for more questions - kind of like Choose Your Own Disease. 😄

I have a deal with dh that I will go in with any of the following symptoms:
-lack of breath
-chest noises (we keep a stethoscope in the house)
-high fever for prolonged periods
-rattled cough

If it's a low grade fever I don't worry - that's the body doing its job.  It can take 3 weeks for me to fully get over a virus.  I just let it run its course for the first week and drink packaged fruit smoothies to help my body still get the vitamins and minerals it needs without irritating my throat.
 

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1 hour ago, Terabith said:

I’ve gargled with salt water, taken several naps, and taken both ibuprofen and Tylenol. What concerns me is that I’m actually feeling worse rather than better.  Day four of fever.  If it weren’t for upcoming important events and the fact I am feeling worse rather than better,? I wouldn’t bother going in. But those two things make me uneasy, especially the feeling worse.  

If you're feeling uneasy, you should go in.  That's your gut signalling you.

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We never really go to the doctor when it's clear we've just picked up the bug that's going around. It's not like they can do a lot to change the progress of your recovery. If it's clearly become a sinus/chest or similar infection then I would go but else I just stay at home and away from other people and manage it the best I can.  3 or 4 days isn't really very long to be sick and recover if it's a nasty bug. I always take absolutely ages to get over those kind of viruses when my family gets them mildly and gets through them in about 3 days so I'd totally be happy to go about 2-3 weeks before doing anything about it. I'm still nursing a bad cold from before Christmas, it's finally on it's way out and I felt horrendous all last week. Maybe I don't see the doctor enough though. I've got a few health issues I've put off taking to the doctor for years. 

Can you phone the doctor and see if it's worth coming in for?

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Are you prone to sinus infections or bronchitis?  If so, I’d go in.

Also, re the sinus thing, I can usually tell if I have a sinus infection by bending over—if my forehead suddenly feels like it’s going to explode when I do that, I always have a sinus infection or one is coming on.  I hit it hard with real Sudafed, and if I don’t feel better in one day I go to the doctor.  

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Carol in Ca has a good point if you are prone to sinusitis.   (last time I went in for it-  as I'm prone - my dr. brushed me off.  three months later I was on antibiotics for a kidney infection (I think the untreated sinus infection made me more vulnerable to that.) - my sinuses were draining like mad.)

 

another thing that helps me (baring a bacterial infection) - liposomal vitamin c and echinacea - every. single. hour.

 

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I’m going to the doc tomorrow after five days of the same symptoms. My husband went a few days ago & antibiotics have cleared him up. This isn’t a run of the mill cold for us. My husband travels a lot and we don’t really know where he picked it up - at a client site or on an airplane. I’ve not slept well in days, though. Ugh. 

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6 hours ago, Terabith said:

I’ve gargled with salt water, taken several naps, and taken both ibuprofen and Tylenol. What concerns me is that I’m actually feeling worse rather than better.  Day four of fever.  If it weren’t for upcoming important events and the fact I am feeling worse rather than better,? I wouldn’t bother going in. But those two things make me uneasy, especially the feeling worse.  

Getting worse rather than better to me means go in. 

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I would go in if I suspected pneumonia, but it's too early I think for it to have progressed to pneumonia. I'm back in schools and after catching all of the kindergarten viruses last year, my new strategy this year is that if I feel anything coming on I'm taking Sambucol. In a limited number of personal trials, I think it wards off illness and/or helps me get over it faster. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd take a teaspoon every day. I get it from Amazon--cheaper than our local sources.

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I went in.  It was a saga.  Going for a second opinion.  She says I look (and feel) like I have the flu but I don’t code my pain high enough. And my mouth is full of blisters like in hand foot and mouth which are excruciating.  And I have a rash on my chest.  And I feel really, really bad.  I’m trying to tell all the things but she misses the sores.  Afterwards I call and she gets me some magic mouthwash which rocks. And I keep having political dreams.  Going for a second opinion with a friend who is adr because I couldn’t stop crying, since I just feel so rotten.  

But magic mouthwash helped.  All these politicial dreams.  Instructions said take the meds go to bed, stay there for next two doses, that you need sleep, probably should have slept more

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Wait, didn’t you just post a few days ago about your cat having a mouth full of sores? And now you have sores in your mouth, too?Apologies if I’m remembering wrong. If that was you, you should tell your doctor about it, just in case you caught something from your cat (not sure if that is even possible, but I would definitely mention it).

Edited by Selkie
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Yeah.  Negative for strep and flu, though I have every flu symptom (plus mouth sores and rash on chest.

Friend called in magic mouthwash, which helped a lot, and scheduled me to see her colleague today, which was fine.  Super nice.  He said the sores were very ulcerated.  Called them herpangina.  He also noticed a rash on my chest I’ve had for awhile but have been brushing off as cat or new lotion.  He is concerned scarlet fever.  So we have antibiotics for rash, cough medicine for the cough going along with the fever and headache and body aches, mouthwash for the ulcers, and told me it was really urgent that I rested for a week.   That I was going to feel awful that long anyway and not to push.  And honestly the the thought of something maybe easing discomforts I’ve dealt with for a long time and then sleeping just makes me feel so relieved I almost cried.  

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Amen to that.  The mouth ulcers are apparently variation on hand foot mouth, but usually only babies and little kids get it.  And dr wasn't sure about scarlet fever.  He also threw out terms like "diptheria," which since it's not 1892 and I'm vaccinated, I'm pretty confident is not an issue.  But I'm sick and miserable, but at least there are meds that make drinking and sleeping easier, so I guess I won't complain too much.  Currently trying to decide if three showers a day to try to stem chills is too many showers.  

13 minutes ago, NewIma said:

What?!?!?! Mouth ulcers?!?!?! Scarlet fever?!?!? I am so sorry. You seem to have the absolute worst illness luck. 

 

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26 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Amen to that.  The mouth ulcers are apparently variation on hand foot mouth, but usually only babies and little kids get it.  And dr wasn't sure about scarlet fever.  He also threw out terms like "diptheria," which since it's not 1892 and I'm vaccinated, I'm pretty confident is not an issue.  But I'm sick and miserable, but at least there are meds that make drinking and sleeping easier, so I guess I won't complain too much.  Currently trying to decide if three showers a day to try to stem chills is too many showers.  

 

Hope you feel better soon!  If you don't have an electric blanket, could you purchase one?  That'll probably help with the chills.   Zinc supplements are good for mouth ulcers.  Maybe it  would hold true for your variation.  Just wanted to throw it out there in case it it might help and bring you some relief.   I had scarlet fever as a young child and still remember feeling miserable. 

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