Worst flu ever!

[GerriMc]

Can I ask you good people for some advice?

I haven’t had an actual flu for years but now in spite of getting the flu and pneumonia jabs, I’ve come down with the worst flu I’ve ever had. I was minding my young granddaughter who was really under the weather and now I seem to have caught the virus.

I’ve been on two mg Pred per day for a couple of months and doing well. Now I have aches and pains every where. Would it be a good idea to go up to 5 mgs and taper down 1 per day back to 2?

Very grateful for your opinions! Gerri.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Possibly - you are in the shadow zone of adrenal function and it is possible that you don't have the reserves required for an infection. In fact you can go up to 5mg for up to a week and drop straight back to 2mg when you feel up to it. It would be a good idea to check with your doctor too though.

[GerriMc in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks so much. I’ll ring him tomorrow. I can’t even lie in bed, my hips are so sore.

[Hidden in reply to GerriMc]

Plenty of fluids and otc pain killers. Get well soon.

[alangg]

I've just been through the same - 5 days in bed with a streaming cold which was the worst ever. I'm on 1mg pred at the moment. Is it because pred suppresses the immune system making us more vulnerable?

[GerriMc in reply to alangg]

Yes I think so. There is an awful dose doing the rounds here and I think it’s not covered by the flu vaccine. I’m on MTX as well so I can’t really be mainlining OTC pain killers either. ☹️

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to alangg]

Some people would agree - I think it depends, I've had fewer colds since bein on pred.

[S4ndy]

I caught an infection in the summer which knocked me sideways. It went to my chest and I developed pleurisy. I had to have 2 courses of antibiotics and had to go up to a high dose of Pred for 5 days to shake it off.

My advice to you is if it looks as though its not improving after a week it may be prudent to see your GP.

For pain over the counter painkillers should work on the pain. I took both paracetamol and ibuprofen as I really hurt especially my poor ribs!

Wish you better soon xxx

[GerriMc in reply to S4ndy]

Thanks, I will! How awful to get pleurisy. I had both the flu and pneumonia jabs and thought I’d be fine this year. I can only take paracetamol as I’m also on MTX and I’ve always found it less than effective! Hope you’re doing well now.

[GerriMc]

Ok, I took 5 mgs pred on Sunday and four today (Monday). The pain is gone but I had the most horrible cold night sweats last night. I woke up drenched and freezing and had to change my PJs twice. Never experienced anything like that before.

[S4ndy]

Sounds like you have a temperature. Paracetamol will help that if taken regularly. Hope you feel better very soon x

[GerriMc in reply to S4ndy]

Thanks again S4ndy. Last night was much better. X