ebuss

I live in Grand Forks, ND. I'm pretty sure I contracted the virus in Minot, ND, though. My body was definitely confused by it. I could tell right away that it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. If it was swine flu, I think I must've had a moderate to severe case, b/c I keep reading about people who experienced only mild symptoms, like sore throat and stuffy nose. Like they say: everyone responds to it differently. The conjunctivitis was probably the most disturbing part, though. I couldn't believe I had to suffer through that on top of everything else!

In April, I had what seemed like a severe flu accompanied by the most alarming conjunctivitis I've ever experienced. I awoke to eyes so crusted over that I had to rinse them in warm water for a few minutes in order to open them. I also experienced night sweats, loss of appetite, aches and pains, and probably the worst cough I've ever had in my life. My throat was intensely painful, and I was so worried by my condition that I went to the the doctor twice. Weirdly (and I've heard this has been happening in some swine flu cases), I didn't have a fever, so the docs. brushed it all off as a really bad cold. I was told to simply wait it out, even though I knew that this was not just a typical virus. This all happened in early April, so no one knew to test me for swine flu. My baby seemed to catch a milder case of it (I was breastfeeding, so I think my antibodies helped keep it at bay in his case), and all he really experienced was a little conjunctivitis and some malaise. I'm convinced, however, that I had swine flu, because a few weeks later a dozen or so confirmed cases had sprung up in the town I'd visited over Easter. All in all, I was very sick for about a week and suffered from the cough for a few months. I would love to know if I did, indeed, have swine flu so that I wouldn't have to worry about catching it anymore.