A Brief PSA

I'm normally pretty faithful about getting a flu shot. This year I kept forgetting to go get one. Then, last Friday I came down with it hard.

I'm prone to chest congestion that's probably allergy related so that's what I thought it was at first, but by the end of the day Friday there was no doubt I was actually sick.

My symptoms, right down to itchy ear canals, matched Corinna's so closely I figured I'd caught what she had. Her doc had given her two Z-packs, take one and if you're not better take the second course. She was better, so I started the extra Z-pack of hers on Saturday.

I didn't get better. I got worse. I literally can't believe how many hours I've slept, upwards of 18 to 20 hours a day. Sweats, chills, and a cough that seems to want to rip my diaphragm. Spacey, almost hallucination states. I think in the five days I've eaten a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches, a bowl of cereal, a half dozen string cheeses and a couple of chocolate bars. Other than that, the only thing I've been able to get down to boost my blood sugar is hot tea with a bit of sugar added to it, soda and cough drops. Pretty sure I'm losing weight, but it doesn't feel like the right way.

Monday I went to my GP, who's nurse painful stuck a stick up my nose and 15 minutes later I was told I had Type B flu. I didn't even know there was a test for that, but the doc wrote for generic Tamiflu and sent me on my way. In hindsight, I was in no shape to drive, and when I got back Corinna expressed surprise because she figured the way I looked when I left the house, it was better than 50/50 the doc would want me admitted to the hospital.

So I've called in sick to work two days in a row, a record streak for me if you don't count open heart surgery, and I'd say I'm getting better but there's no guarantee I go to work Wednesday. Not if I'm still having sweats and chills all night again, I don't want to inflict this one on my coworkers for a start.

But back to that flu shot I didn't get: the doc said usually people who get the flu in spite of the shot get Type A, so the fact that I have Type B means I probably could have avoided this whole hot mess by just popping in to a Walgreens at some point and having them stick me.