Upon arrival, I was greeted with a mask and told (as politely as possible) to sit in the corner. Apparently they're giving the masks to anyone who has a sore throat or cough, but there is nothing like having one thrust at you and told to sit in a corner to make you feel like you alone are responsible for any and all cooties being transported in the waiting room.
At this point, I know I only have bronchitis, but I decide to humor them, despite being the ONLY person in the entire waiting room.
That changed quickly.
Within 10 minutes, the waiting room was full of people, mostly elderly women who were quite thankful for the mask once they heard my cough. So, if it made the days of a few folks, I can deal with that. You're welcome.
After 45 minutes (oh, the joys of being "worked in"), I get taken back. Good news...I'm down another pound...haha. My blood pressure is WONDERFUL and I have no temp. My pulse ox is still 100%. And I proceed to list my symptoms: coughing. Yep, seriously, that's it. I'm just coughing. Oh, and I kinda feel like there's an elephant on my chest. I have bronchitis. I know the symptoms.
And BOOM! I get an 8 inch swab shoved up both nostrils. My nose immediately starts bleeding. Super. I've been assaulted for a flu test....ridiculous since I only have bronchitis.
I proceed to wait for another 35 minutes before the doc comes in and says," I'm sorry for the wait. Your cough sounds awful. Oh, and you have the flu."
Wait, WHAT?!!??
ASYMPTOMATIC and I have influenza A.
No body aches, no fever, no sore throat, no nasal congestion, no drainage, I'm not really sleepy, and my cough is bronchitis.
True enough, I ALSO have bronchitis, but I definitely have the flu.
It's day 2, so we caught it early and Tamiflu will help, she says.
Less than 4 hours later, I'm at home and miserable. The symptoms waited to kick in.
Freezing down to the bones one minute and hot and sweaty the next. Fever of 101.2. Sore throat. Nasal congestion. Tired but can't rest. Neck pain.
SUPER!
Just my luck...it's a long weekend.
The better news is my house is clean and my proposal is in review, so I have time to just chill this weekend...but I'd prefer to do it without sweating onto a popsicle or taking hot showers just to get my innards warm.
This year, the flu is going around big time...whether you've had the shot or not, with and without symptoms, and compounded with other problems....like BRONCHITIS.
If you even THINK you may have been exposed, I'd recommend getting tested. It's relatively painless...okay, that's a lie...they will JAB a swab up your nose and make it bleed...but you'll recover and know fairly quickly whether or not you need to spend the next few days drugged up and guzzling liquids.
On that note, I'm gonna drink my hot tea....
Cheers to good health!
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