How Do I Know If Cold Or Flu? Pots Puts A Twist On It

[sue1234]

i'm just wondering how I would know if I have the flu or just a bad cold? As you all know, POTS can put a spin on things. I have always said that having POTS feels somewhat like having the flu everyday, but at a milder degree.

Now, I have the stuffy nose, cough, feel achy, but NO fever. I'm not sure if I can actually get a fever since POTS hit me years ago. Any way to know? I'm thinking if I would know it was the flu, I could go to the doctor tomorrow for some Tamiflu. Otherwise, I'll just let the cold run its course.

[JenniferInOhio]

From what I hear, flu symptoms appear pretty quickly and the primary symptom that makes it so awful is the severe achiness. If you're mildly achey, I'd say it was just a cold. Most people say they feel like dying.

[looneymom]

The acheiness is usually unbearable but if unsure a trip to the doctor might be worth the effort.

Rachel

[castronovo112587]

They can swab you for the flu pretty quickly.

[yogini]

Flu can be mild, but I agree that if were anything more than mild, you'd just know. I'd be most worried about / stomach symptoms, as you can get dehydrated.

[AshleyPooh]

I recently got sick ( on christmas eve). I had a virus that was much more than a cold, but i'm not sure if it was the flu or just a flu like virus. I didn't have fever either, but I felt very achey. The main things that distinguish a cold from a flu are

1) fatigue: In a cold, it's mild and annoying. In the flu, you are pretty sure you are gonna be bedridden for days.

2) fever: in a cold, a fever never usually reaches a high level. in a flu, if you get a fever( not everyone gets one, like i didn't), then the fever tends to be moderate to severe

In my case, for about 2 days I hardly got out of bed. Being up for even a few hours made me insanely miserable, plus my sinuses were going so crazy my face was all puffy and horrible

thank goodness i'm feeling a lot better now, just dealing with leftover Bronchitis

Also I will warn you: be very careful of cold medications! I got so bad off i started taking daytime cold meds to function... and yeah it has stimulants in it so beware if you find yourself more run down and out of breath than normal. And don't ever take anything like that at night! Good old Benadryl will help you sleep and celar up a bit of stuff

[sue1234]

Thanks everyone for their responses!

I think I am like Ashley...this is more than a cold, but not positive it's the flu since I don't have a fever. In my distant past, I remember when I would get a cold and it would be annoying, but I still went about my day as usual. With this, I feel like a sloth sitting around my living room. IF I was a functioning person, I would not be able to go to work or shop, etc. I think, therefore, that it is the flu. But I am not going to go to the doctor, as it is too late for Tamiflu, and I don't want the steroid shot.

I already cannot take any cold meds, as they make my heart beat out of my control and cause a 4-hour panic attack. So, Benadryl has been my only med to try and battle the nasal congestion(and it's not really working). So hope I don't get bronchitis! Right now, if I get a 15 second coughing spell, my heart is pounding quickly, and it takes a minute or so to settle down. I don't think I could handle non-stop coughing.