h1n1 scare

it all started 3 weeks back when yz suddenly came down with a runny nose, cough & fever on a saturday.
as we lost sleep sponging him to battle the raging high fever (highest at 39.4!), i got worried.
hence, brought him to kk 1st thing the next morning.

doc commented that almost 90% of flu cases now are related to h1n1 so they don't bother testing anymore.
they just prescribed normal flu meds as well as tamiflu (!) to him.
hubbi was quite against feeding tamiflu to yz as he was not comfy with it.
for me, i rather not take chances and persuade him to follow doc's instructions.

side effects stated are nausea, diarrhea, headache, viomitting etc.
not all people will get it but for those who do so, the side effects will be gone by 2nd/3rd dosage.
true enough, yz experienced lao sai for the 1st day he started the tamiflu course (lasted 5 days).
and as the tamiflu is extremely bitter for little ones, he viomitted twice over the 5 days course when taking it. :(

doc also commented if the fever does not subsided in 5 days time, we have to bring him back.
i was so down and worried. :(

and to make things worse, i got the flu symptoms on tuesday morning!!
made a trip to GP and got some normal meds.
as i belong to the high risk group, GP mentioned that if fever ever occur on the same/subsequent day, i've to go kk directly.

and......the very next day, my asthma was triggered and i got a low grade fever around 38. :((
went to kk straight with hubbi and they made me do the swab test for h1n1!!
as i am both preggy and has respiratory system problems...
they prescribed me the tamiflu as well and asked me to start the course immediately.
again, hubbi was quite against it and asked if i should start the course after the test results were out.
but me being me, i decided to be safe and dont take chances.

as i've asthma, i need to be on the inhaler puffer every 4 hours to control my breathlessness.
doc said if im still breathless even after administering the inhaler, i should go back to kk immediately.
she didnt say much but i know that will mean im having lung infection which will lead to pneumonia (the leading death cause for h1n1). :(

so a very very worried me went home and started taking tamiflu and puffing the inhaler diligently.
at the same time, making calls to my mum to check on yz's progress.
it was such a stressful period for me.

AND, the results came back the very next morning and it was POSITIVE.
how sway. im like the 1st and only person i know to have this.
and being a worrywart, i started thinking for the worst and getting very upset.
luckily, hubbi was around to give me support and comfort.
and i got some mild side effects from the tamiflu too, namely headache and nausea.

anyway, yz was slowly recovering during this time and this is a weight off my heart.
but as he was not tested and we aint sure if his flu is h1n1, he has to stay at my mum's place for 7 days during the time i was quarantined at home.
:(
i missed him so badly that time.

for myself, the flu symptoms were gone pretty fast by the 3rd day but the asthma just wont go away!
normally, my asthma will be gone in a week time with meds/inhaler but this time round it always back.
i was worried so went back to the GP for another round of consultation after my quarantine period.
maybe the virus attack made my immunity system down, but i have no choice but to continue my inhaler routine till it goes away by itself.

so this is my 3rd week on inhaler and im taking 2 times puff a day. hopefully, by end of this week, i will be totally off it.
sigh.

the whole saga has been a roller-coaster ride for me both physically and emotionally. the good things are yz has since recovered much, i will have immunity against this virus and hubbi (thank god) remained healthy throughout the whole episode.

my mum is really worried about my health as im so much more prone to asthma attacks when im pregnant.
i remembered having a very bad attack during the 2nd tri when i was carrying yz.
so she is advising me against having another one in the future.
im seriously considering it too. sigh.
i guess only the husband is happy with this direction. :P

anyway, im glad that this episode is (about) to be over.
now im just a little tad paranoid with us getting sick.
hubbi says life has to go on just need to be more diligent with hygeiene.
i guess thats true bah...

some random photos over the weekend:

a very happy yz to be going out. he was home-grounded for almost 2 weeks..

me wearing new ear-rings from taipei!

nose getting rounder like AGAIN! uh-oh!