Do you think I HAD the swine Flu (poll)

I know this is a crazy poll but I want your thoughts now that DS has a kid in his class with it and I am scared I will now get it.  In June it totally seemed like I had the swine flu- I had chills, body aches and a fever that was around 101 and this lasted for about 1 week.  The drs were sure I had the swine flu- the only thing I did not have were stomach issues which they say come along with it.  However my tests came back negative.  They have said though that there are false negatives in the testing process.  I can't imagine it would be anything else as there is no regular flu that goes around in June.  But also nobody caught it from me, which is also weird for any kind of flu.  Do you think I had the swine flu in June?  Thanks!

 i only said no bc i had it but i did get a positive test and so did my dd and the tummy troubles that came along with it were the biggest issue i had. I lived on the porcelain thrown (SP?) worse than when i was pregnant tmi i know lol but all of your other symptoms seem right so its possible

I think the neg. test (although not 100%) is a good indication you did not have it.  Also, from what I've read, the fever is generally higher...

arabeth:

I can't imagine it would be anything else as there is no regular flu that goes around in June. 

You know, that's what I would normally think too- but last June 4 out of the 5 in my family got very sick with a flu-like illness.  My DH even spent 1 1/2 days in the hospital.  We were achy, vomiting, and miserable.  So I think it's possible you just had a regular flu back then.

arabeth:

I can't imagine it would be anything else as there is no regular flu that goes around in June. 

You can get the regular flu any time of the year.. it's just more -common- to get in during the winter months when more people have it, and are spreading it around.

decemberbaby:

You can get the regular flu any time of the year.. it's just more -common- to get in during the winter months when more people have it, and are spreading it around.

One thing I did not mention is that I DID HAVE the regular flu shot the Nov before- maybe it wore off by then??

Both seasonal influenza A and B were running around here in June, in addition to swine flu, so I think it's quite possible you could've had any of the above.

Dd had swine flu in June and while she had a really, really high fever and was obviously in pain, she never had a cough or any stomach problems. She vomited once on the first day, right after I gave her some Tylenol, but that was it. She had the high fever for a week. The rest of us got really sick a few days later with similar symptoms, plus we were all throwing up, but it passed quickly-within 24 hours the worst was over. The rest of us just assumed that it was swine flu but weren't tested since it went so fast, so I'm not sure.

I wish there was a test available that could tell you if you'd already been exposed.

arabeth:

decemberbaby:

You can get the regular flu any time of the year.. it's just more -common- to get in during the winter months when more people have it, and are spreading it around.

One thing I did not mention is that I DID HAVE the regular flu shot the Nov before- maybe it wore off by then??

Perhaps.. I don't know how long they are supposed to "last".   But I do know lots of people who have had the flu shot, and still gotten the flu. I've gotten it twice in one year.. totally sucked. 

My DD1 had stomach cramps the first day with it, but everyone else in my family didn't. They did not vomit or have "the runs" with this type a flu. It mainly was a real high fever, horrible cough, runny nose, body aches, congestion and it lasted at least a week per person. My DD1 test(which the ER doctor did not do it correctly) came back negative but my niece and DS(which his doctor did give him a prescription for the Tamiflu) did test positive for type a flu. I believe it affects people differently.

I think there is a good chance you had it, especially if the doctors felt that you did. The nasal test is only 30-70% accurate. So that doesn't say too much. A lot of people are not having the stomach involvement, moreso than having it. And it seems like more kids have the GI involvement than the adults. 98% of the flu out there is the H1N1 flu and not the other seasonal flu - in this area anyway. My advice to my patients though is to still get the vaccine since it won't hurt even if you did have the H1N1.

RingosDrum:

My advice to my patients though is to still get the vaccine since it won't hurt even if you did have the H1N1.

Can I ask are you a general practice Dr?? The reason I ask is because my kids have the flu right now and my peditrician told me that they should not get the vaccine now. Everyone seems to be giving different advice and I'm going ponkers trying to figure out what the right thing to do is.

Thanks everyone for your votes and comments!! I am going to just hope that I did have it and hope that the vaccination is available here before I ever have a chance to disprove this theory....

fourblessings4me:

I think the neg. test (although not 100%) is a good indication you did not have it.  Also, from what I've read, the fever is generally higher...

CarolynWantsPink:

RingosDrum:

My advice to my patients though is to still get the vaccine since it won't hurt even if you did have the H1N1.

 

Can I ask are you a general practice Dr?? The reason I ask is because my kids have the flu right now and my peditrician told me that they should not get the vaccine now. Everyone seems to be giving different advice and I'm going ponkers trying to figure out what the right thing to do is.

No, I am actually a pediatric nurse. I answer questions and give advice over the phone at the clinic. By us they are still recommending to get the vaccine even if they are suspected to have the H1N1. The swabs in the clinics are not very accurate and even when they do come back positive the only way to know for sure is to then send that same sample to a state lab or specialty lab to confirm that it is actually H1N1. I think your kids should still get the vaccine, but higher risk kids or kids who have not have the flu yet at all should get it first. Even if they did have the H1N1 it won't hurt to get the vaccine, but beef up the immune system a tad more.

I tested post. for H1N1.  I never had any stomache problems.  All my kids have also been sick. No stomache problems with them either.  DS2 did vomite after I have him tylenal but he throws up if he thinks a piece of peperoni was touching his cheese pizza.  Not sure if you had it or not and if your Dr.s not sure maybe u should get the shot.IDK.???