Got the flu - first time in 40+ years

[Amethyst]

I caught Influenza A (tested) from someone else who had it. Have spent a miserable week. What's concerning is that I had the flu several times in my teens and 20's, but never since, even though I've spent plenty of time in crowded public conditions. Since Flu A is the commonest type, I'm sure I had it all those years ago, and should still be immune.

What's up? Is age causing me to lose my natural immunity?

 

[MarieIG]

Uggg sorry. I lot of people are coming down with the flu this season - after a hiatus from the flu for the last few years.

Last time I had it was in 2017 - stemming from an office holiday party. My boss gave me the business about taking the day off, and then promptly got sick. Of course when he caught it: it was serious.

 

[Gumby]

I hope you feel better soon, Amethyst.

We had my 87 year old mother-in-law stay with us between Thanksgiving and Christmas. While she was here, she got the flu (even though she was vaccinated), which at one point necessitated a five hour visit to the emergency room. The young wife and I never caught it. We had been vaccinated in October.

 

[JoeWras]

Since Flu A is the commonest type, I'm sure I had it all those years ago, and should still be immune.

No.

The current "A" is a variant of 2009 H1N1 and I had it when it emerged in 2009. First flu to kick me on my butt since 1985.

If you had it 40 years ago, it was a different subtype and you are not immune.

 

[disneysteve]

Having had the flu many years ago is irrelevant. You don't get lasting immunity from being infected, or from the vaccine for that matter. That's why annual flu shots are so vitally important. That and the fact that the strains that are circulating differ from year to year.


You often hear about the efficacy of the flu shot in a particular year being high or low. That's because they have to predict which strains will be prevalent and put those in the vaccine. Some years their prediction is much better than other years.



Hope you're feeling better.

 

[Dash man]

I feel your pain. We departed on a cruise Dec 31 and I’ve been sick since Jan 1. I didn’t enjoy my cruise much, but the rest of my family did and didn’t get sick. I think my granddaughter probably gave me this going away gift. We depart on another cruise Feb 18 and no grandkids here in Florida.

 

[Dreamer]

Two of my grandkids tested positive for Type A flu. Their dad felt "off" one night and went to bed extremely early and felt fine the next day. My DD and their brother did not get it. This was in the week before Christmas, so we FaceTimed with them while they opened up their gifts from us.

All of the grandkids were at our house the night before they started feeling sick, so I kept waiting for either myself or my DD to get it, but we did not.

All 5 of them and the 2 of us had our flu shots.

Hope that you get better quickly.

 

[W2R]

I caught Influenza A (tested) from someone else who had it. Have spent a miserable week. What's concerning is that I had the flu several times in my teens and 20's, but never since, even though I've spent plenty of time in crowded public conditions. Since Flu A is the commonest type, I'm sure I had it all those years ago, and should still be immune.

What's up? Is age causing me to lose my natural immunity?

So sorry to hear that you are going through this, Amethyst! As far as your immunity question, Disneysteve's post is correct AFAIK.

Like you, I haven't had the flu since I was in my 20's, in grad school. But, IIRC it was absolutely awful. Take good care of yourself, and I hope you can shake it off quickly!

 

[Car-Guy]

Bummer..... I had the flu once when I was ~20 and then again in my late 40's. I've been taking the annual flu shot since then and have not got it again (20+ more years)


Hope you feel better soon.

 

[mf15]

Hong Kong Flu 1968,boy was I sick,104 plus temp.
Over the past 50 plus years, about 2-3 cases of flu.
Oldmike

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I started getting flu shots when I was 30. My dr insisted since I worked in social services aka the welfare office.
Public health started giving them to us at some point-
The year I was 45 for some reason public health didn’t get enough vaccine for all employees so I decided I could just zip down to Kaiser, my healthcare provider at the time. Except Kaiser was 40 minutes away and I procrastinated. And yep, I got the flu. I was laid out for a solid week. Man I was sick. I have not put off getting the flu shot since then.
I did get the flu when I was 60, about 4 years ago. Sick but not nearly as sick as when I did not have the shot and now I was 15 years older. That flu shot seemed to really make a difference.
I finally convinced my 2 adult children to get the flu shot in 2020 after years of nagging them. One of them teaches elementary school- talk about exposure!

I hope all who are sick feel better soon.

 

[JoeWras]

There was no vaccine for the 2009 H1N1 until very late 2009 or early 2010. I got the flu it just before they rolled the vax out. I forgot what it was like to get a strong flu and be unprotected. Nasty .

 

[KB]

Hong Kong Flu 1968,boy was I sick,104 plus temp.

I also had the Hong Kong Flu in 1968. i was sick for about a week. One day a terrible headache, another day was body aches, another day was stomach sick, high fever too. I fainted a couple of times trying to get up to use the restroom.

I was still in high school and my parents would hear a thud and find me passed out in the hall. Worst sickness ever.

As soon as flu shots were available to me, I started getting them hoping to prevent something like that from happening again.

 

[dmpi]

One thing I'm amazed about the flu is how quickly the symptoms can overcome you. I caught a bad one in 2002. One moment I was perfectly OK and two hours later I was totally wiped out. It's not like a common cold.

 

[Amethyst]

Thanks, everybody, for your kind comments and anecdotes. I am on the mend, but with fatigue and bronchitis. Also, complete and total loss of sense of smell, even though my nasal passages seem clear now. You could put a full cat box in front of me and I wouldn't even know it.

I had a few minutes' chat with the doctor at urgent care - have gotten to know him a bit, as my late husband and I had gone to that UC for years. I think he is a former military medic. Anyway, in response to my questions, he opined that (so far) COVID shots do not seem very effective at preventing COVID, while the flu shot, while its effectiveness varies from year to year, is worth getting. This doctor sees hundreds of patients a year; these are just his opinions. We didn't have time to get into scientific basis, etc., although I sensed he would've liked to discuss it. Sometimes I think it must get boring for a physician, who is after all a scientist, never to get to talk science except at medical conferences or whatever.

He prescribed amoxicillin just in case I get a follow-on bacterial infection in sinus or chest, but counseled against taking it unless symptoms warrant (increased fever, pain etc).

 

[donheff]

Thanks, everybody, for your kind comments and anecdotes. I am on the mend, but with fatigue and bronchitis. Also, complete and total loss of sense of smell, even though my nasal passages seem clear now. You could put a full cat box in front of me and I wouldn't even know it.

I had a few minutes' chat with the doctor at urgent care - have gotten to know him a bit, as my late husband and I had gone to that UC for years. I think he is a former military medic. Anyway, in response to my questions, he opined that (so far) COVID shots do not seem very effective at preventing COVID, while the flu shot, while its effectiveness varies from year to year, is worth getting. This doctor sees hundreds of patients a year; these are just his opinions. We didn't have time to get into scientific basis, etc., although I sensed he would've liked to discuss it. Sometimes I think it must get boring for a physician, who is after all a scientist, never to get to talk science except at medical conferences or whatever.

He prescribed amoxicillin just in case I get a follow-on bacterial infection in sinus or chest, but counseled against taking it unless symptoms warrant (increased fever, pain etc).

Did you get the flu vaccine this year? I have heard that it is pretty effective this year. And I also read that this year's flu is very contagious. I'm knocking on wood since I haven't caught flu for several decades. I always get the vaccine although I understand that the efficacies varies since the annual virus is a moving target and they have to create the vaccine before they have definitive information on the strain that will be most common in the event.

 

[Amethyst]

No, I didn't get the flu shot this year. In fact I've almost never taken the shot but maybe I'll start.

Did you get the flu vaccine this year? I have heard that it is pretty effective this year. And I also read that this year's flu is very contagious. I'm knocking on wood since I haven't caught flu for several decades. I always get the vaccine although I understand that the efficacies varies since the annual virus is a moving target and they have to create the vaccine before they have definitive information on the strain that will be most common in the event.

 

[pacergal]

Annual flu vaccine is a good idea. I have taken them for as long as I can remember, never had the flu. Only had a bad reaction once (as did a majority of folks with the old "swine flu" vaccine).
DH never used to get the vaccine, until he got influenza one year! He was ill for 2 weeks.
Has rolled up his sleeve and gladly taken the shot ever since!

Annual vaccine is necessary, as the composite is different, based on best guess which strain will be circling.

Take care.

 

[VanWinkle]

I caught Influenza A (tested) from someone else who had it. Have spent a miserable week. What's concerning is that I had the flu several times in my teens and 20's, but never since, even though I've spent plenty of time in crowded public conditions. Since Flu A is the commonest type, I'm sure I had it all those years ago, and should still be immune.

What's up? Is age causing me to lose my natural immunity?

It is also the first time you were your age in your life. My doctor uses that all the time. I'll say I've never had to rest after exercising in my life, and he says you've never been 68 before either. Chalk it up to living long.

 

[Mark1]

No, I didn't get the flu shot this year. In fact I've almost never taken the shot but maybe I'll start.

Thanks for sharing. I too was curious since I got a flu shot and had heard the vaccine match and circulating strain was good this year (actually the match is decent most years considering what the vaccine experts are up against). I had a bad case of the flu back in late 1990s and have gotten the shot every year since.

 

[Koolau]

Annual flu vaccine is a good idea. I have taken them for as long as I can remember, never had the flu. Only had a bad reaction once (as did a majority of folks with the old "swine flu" vaccine).
DH never used to get the vaccine, until he got influenza one year! He was ill for 2 weeks.
Has rolled up his sleeve and gladly taken the shot ever since!

Annual vaccine is necessary, as the composite is different, based on best guess which strain will be circling.

Take care.

Agree. Anecdotal, but I've always taken the shot and never gotten flu. Supposedly, getting the vax also protects if you do get the flu. Supposedly a milder infection. Worth a jab IMHO though YMMV.

 

[disneysteve]

One thing I'm amazed about the flu is how quickly the symptoms can overcome you.

That's a hallmark of influenza. We even use it diagnostically. When a patient comes in and says symptoms hit them suddenly and they felt awful right away, it's probably flu. When they say they had a runny nose first for a day and then a scratchy throat and then developed a cough over the course of 2-3 days, it's not the flu.

 

[disneysteve]

Supposedly, getting the vax also protects if you do get the flu. Supposedly a milder infection. Worth a jab IMHO though YMMV.

This is true of most vaccines including flu, COVID, shingles, etc. No vaccine is 100% effective but being vaccinated still gives you some degree of protection. If you do contract the illness, you generally have a milder case.

 

[braumeister]

This is true of most vaccines including flu, COVID, shingles, etc. No vaccine is 100% effective but being vaccinated still gives you some degree of protection. If you do contract the illness, you generally have a milder case.

Well put.
The way I look at it, we've been dealing with the flu pandemic for over a century, so there has been plenty of time to develop a completely effective vaccine. The fact that nothing of the sort has been invented tells me that we will also have Covid with us for the foreseeable future.

We do what we can to avoid, prevent, treat, and recover, but there is far more about biology that is a mystery than the relatively small amount we currently know.

 

[Dash man]

I don’t know what I have, but I’m in the hospital after a long day, been tested for Covid, flu, pneumonia and it’s none of those. Some kind of bronchial infection aggravating my asthma. I feel pretty terrible and can’t wait for this to gone.