Uuuugh!

[Tunnelcat]

Dammit. The Norovirus has been going around OSU for a couple of weeks, and now it's spread outside campus, to my husband and I. He got it first a day ago, now I'm showing symptoms. He is miserable and I can tell it's going to be murder for me. We probably picked it up at some grocery store the students frequent. Somebody didn't wash their hands after they went to the bathroom. A person can be contagious for up to a week after they get better too. Gack! Gastroenteritis ain't pleasant. My husband is sicker than a dog today, now me next.

[Spidey]

Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.

Sorry to hear...

[sigma]

Swallow 10 tablets of activated charcoal and don't eat anything for 24 hours, only drink water. Will be better.

[Alter-Fox]

Naaah, I think that only works if you're Russian, Australian or a polar bear.

I've heard how bad this is... doesn't last very long though. Get better.

[Tunnelcat]

Dear mother of God, I wouldn't wish this pestilence on my worst enemy. IT IS BAD. At least the vomiting was only on the first night. But the diarrhea has been murder. Charcoal won't do any good sigma. The body has to fight the virus and the body tries to get rid of it the only way possible, by purging the system for 2 to 3 days. It looks like more days than that if my husband is any indicator. Both my husband and I have lost 4 to 5 pounds of water weight. I'm still dumping water 2 days after coming down with symptoms. My husband got it on last Wednesday and I on Friday, so he gave it to me and I'm thinking he got it at the grocery store, where a lot of students frequent. He was finally able to eat solid food today, but he still had a small bout of diarrhea this morning, but there is hope because he can eat. Me, I don't dare eat anything solid. I'm still a fire hose once I drink anything and eating solids would make it torture. My electrolytes have plummeted and my muscles are starting to cramp, so I've start gulping down Pedialyte out of desperation. Fortunately, I'd bought some before I got sick. It still goes through after about an hour, but hopefully it's staying in there long enough to absorb some of the electrolytes. I'm getting tired of laying in bed though. At least I have a little strength to post, but my reserves are very low. I'm wiped out. I'm getting too old for these gut reamings.

[sigma]

In fact, when I had severe poisoning street fast food with dizziness, chills and frequent vomiting, I called an ambulance, because to say that I was very bad, to not say anything. A doctor at once told me to eat activated charcoal, drink plenty of water with soda and took me to the hospital for infectious diseases. Despite the fact that I had frequent diarrhea, 2 days later I was is much better, and I could even eat. A week later, I was discharged from the hospital.
Although most likely a viral intestinal infection it is not quite the same as poisoning, but I would in any case be called an ambulance to recover faster.

[Jeff250]

This was a bad thread to choose to read while eating lunch.

[Tunnelcat]

In fact, when I had severe poisoning street fast food with dizziness, chills and frequent vomiting, I called an ambulance, because to say that I was very bad, to not say anything. A doctor at once told me to eat activated charcoal, drink plenty of water with soda and took me to the hospital for infectious diseases. Despite the fact that I had frequent diarrhea, 2 days later I was is much better, and I could even eat. A week later, I was discharged from the hospital.
Although most likely a viral intestinal infection it is not quite the same as poisoning, but I would in any case be called an ambulance to recover faster.

Not food poisoning, definitely. We both ate the same food, so we should have gotten sick at the same time. I was a day later. I've also dealt with food poisoning in the past. It doesn't last this long either. This thing matches the Norovirus in every symptom and it IS now a confirmed presence in this town. There's also no way I'm checking myself into the hospital. It would cost me at least $3000 just to walk in and out the door. Since this bug is a virus, all a hospital could do is stick an IV in me and give my wallet a big biopsy, all for the privilege of staying in an uncomfortable hospital bed.

Oh, and Grendal, don't go the Fred Meyer. That's where I think we picked this bug up. Ditto with Winco. Both stores are student magnets.

Sorry Jeff250. All I can say is never get this bug, EVER!

[Krom]

This or something just like it swept through this household in a nice chain reaction over the last couple weeks. Started with my sisters kids on a Wednesday, my sister got it Friday, my dad got it Saturday morning, my mom got it Saturday late in the night, sisters husband got it Sunday, I got it Monday night.

I lucked out and got away with just a mildly upset stomach for a couple days, made it fine on just light meals and plenty of fluids.

[sigma]

Hmm. I never paid attention before, that there is a significant difference between medical care in Russia and in the USA. In Russia everything is clear - for the vast majority of citizens in the vast majority of cases medical care is provided free of charge (if interesting).
In the US, all a bit confusing at first glance, but I see that you have a health care public programs for most senior citizens and a federal social insurance program for seniors, which seems to be financed by the state and should be free.

[Jeff250]

Sorry Jeff250. All I can say is never get this bug, EVER!

I got something like it a couple years ago. Mine was fortunately only waste down, but the person who I caught it from wasn't so lucky. The end result was the same though, being chained to a toilet and not being able to keep food in for longer than 30 minutes.

[woodchip]

First off TC, always wash your hand after shopping. Our stores supply antiseptic moist pads to wipe the cart handle down with...yours don't?
Second try taking 15 drops a day of tincture of Elderberry on a daily basis. It has been scientifically found to be as effective as Tamoflu. When you get the flu double up on the dosage. I take it daily and started using it for a persistant gagging cough that my doctor would not give me anything for. Since taking it my cough is gone and the couple of times I had the flu, it was relatively mild. The nice thing is you can make your own tincture if you have Elderberrys growing near you. any questions let me know.

[Tunnelcat]

Thanks everyone. I still feel like hell 3 days after contracting this. I can't really eat because it goes through too quick. But at least it's taking longer now to go through. I went through my Merck Manual on Norwalk, which is an older name for Norovirus. Apparently, the younger the victim, the more likely they'll have vomiting being the biggest complaint. The older you get, it starts becoming a predominantly diarrhea issue. That's what happened to the both of us. The first night, one bout of vomiting for an hour or so. Everything after that has been from the other end, for days. It's also given me tachycardia, another Norovirus symptom, which makes it hard to go to sleep. Even the back of my throat hurts to eat food and it's not from the small amount of vomiting I've done either.

Krom, when my sister and I were kids, we went on a ski trip in Washington State. One person came down with the usual nasty gastroenteritis symptoms. By then, we were screwed. Over the next 2 days, it burned through the entire group of us, including some friends who were staying in the same condo. The condo soon became a bio-hazard level 4 zone, waiting for more victims. The only lucky person was my dad, who came 3 days later than we did. Lucky him.

woody, thanks for the suggestions. The Elderberry sounds interesting. I'm getting desperate. However, we are very scrupulous hand washers. But how do you sanitize those items brought in from the store, which is were the virus was probably laying in wait AND if you can remember a day or so later what items you purchased on that day. Then you've got all the light switches, facet handles, door handles or even your car's controls. Once this thing gets into an enclosed space, you're going to get it, period. Remember, the symptoms show up from 1 to 2 days after exposure, so the potential to pick it back up after washing is very high. You're a walking Typhoid Mary for a day or 2 before you show symptoms. Plus, you can shed virus for up to 2 weeks after you get better, so you're a walking Typhoid Mary again and not realize it. The sanitizers that will kill Norovirus have to be either bleach or 90% alcohol to do the job. I can't envision doing that to all my recent purchases, the entire inside of the house and the inside of my car. I can come into the house and immediately wash hands, but if some store product still has the virus on the surface, and I pick it up again, it's game over and that's what I think happened. It's hopeless with this little booger. It's hardy. My best bet would have been to stay the hell away from the 2 student magnet stores in the first place. Hmmm, I did buy the Star Wars DVD that day. It must be Kylo Ren's fault.

[Alter-Fox]

You feeling any better today?

[Tunnelcat]

Hell yes! Finally. Thanks Alter-Fox. I never want to go through that ever again. You wouldn't want to either.

[sigma]

Phew! A load has been taken off my mind. All's well that ends well )

[Tunnelcat]

Thanks. Let's just say that 10 days ago, I felt so bad, death started to look like a viable option.

[sigma]

I hope now you have immunity to this yuck, and it will never happen again.

[Tunnelcat]

I do have immunity to the current version going around here, but the norovirus is like a cold virus, it mutates constantly. So in the future, the body will no longer recognize it as a threat and it will make you get sick all over again if you accidentally pick up the newer altered virus. I'm going to lock myself in the house from now on.

[sigma]

Lightning never strikes twice in the same place

[Tunnelcat]

Thankfully, since my house is still a bio-hazard zone for anyone who's never had this thing. The norovirus apparently can live for up to a month on most surfaces.

[Ferno]

yeah I think I came down with something like this, just this week. wasn't feeling all that great at work and then mid-afternoon, I literally ran out from the shop, right to bed after talking with the boss for a few seconds. I could tell by the look on his face that I was in pretty bad shape -- he looked like he saw a ghost. A few hours later, I was in the bathroom staring at my lunch.

Talk about feeling like murder. I still feel a bit nauseous.

[Tunnelcat]

Get this cootie when you're older and it will mostly be torture from the other end, and it will last days longer. I hope you recover faster than I did. Gah!