Wow! You're really putting yourself through the wringer....

Zinc is an immune system booster...try cold eeze. It may help. Otherwise your stuck with whatever the doc suggests. Other things like chloraseptic that have anesthetics in it will help you survive. But you can't take it too often or it will upset your stomach....

Could your sore throat and fatigue be related to allergies in spite of lacking other symptoms? Perhaps allergy meds and saltwater rinses might be worth trying?

I picked up a nasty bug on one of our four return flights from the Galapagos a few weeks ago and it took a good two weeks to recover, maybe a little more. Though I got a sore throat toward the end I'm not 100% certain it was related to the original illness.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a great birthday celebration in Bermuda!

This post was edited by funnygirl on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 8:26

Funny, that's funny, you were in the Galapagos around the same time we were? We were just on Isabela Island, the week of June 8.

Oh yes, I have had the ruptured eardrum -- in fact, it was on my first airplane trip ever, for spring break in college, and oddly enough, it was coming back from Bermuda. I had problems for years flying so if I ever have even the HINT of a cold, I take a decongestant, nasal spray before takeoff and landing, and drink lots of water during landing. Does the trick for me. My DS inherited the same problem.

I have cold-eez...going to take some now.

A little congestion plus eight take offs and landings can really mess with your ears and throat. Your throat problems could be drainage or it could be another virus because of your compromised immune system.

I also second the suggestion to invest in some earplanes. I have perpetual allergies and use them every time I fly. Plane landings used to cause painful pressure in my ears but with the earplanes I barely notice the pressure change. They are easy to find in most chain stores.

I am sorry you aren't feeling well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Earplanes

No advice here after the last medical thread went south . . . BUT I'll make a suggestion and I have a question. Did they by chance test you for mono? Fatigue is a big symptom in mono. Regardless, I'm not sure there is anything that is going to make you feel better that fast. When we get some of these illnesses as an adult, I think it is just harder and lasts longer than when we were younger! When my sis had mono, they put her on B vitamins - the formula with all B vitamins and vitamin C. The B vitamins will help your immune system, but it takes a while. I'm just wondering with all you've had going on lately and being ill on top of that, if your immune system has taken a hit.

Try to get some rest on the trip and if you are put on antibiotics or other meds, you may need to avoid the frosty drinks.

Hopefully you will be feeling better and can enjoy the trip. Have a great time!

You don't want to hear this but even if they don't put you on meds you should avoid or severely limit the alcohol. At a minimum, you're still recuperating from an illness AND a very active trip and you're rundown.

Rest as much as you can (lounge chairs by the pool are prefect for this), drink plenty of non-alcohol fluids especially water, eat healthly foods, and try gargling with warm, salty water a few times a day.

Imagine lounging there by the pool or ocean, relaxing, feeling a lovely breeze, sipping flavored water, having food brought to you, feeling the warmth of the sun on you...ahhhh.

I don't get sick very often, but if I feel even a tiny bit under the weather, I drink lots of OJ and I go to sleep.

Sleep as much as you possibly can between now and tomorrow.

I say get off GW and go lay down. Use eyeshades, tell the whole house to be quiet. If you can't sleep, use the nyquil sleeping aid. I find that conks me out with no side affects.

If you aren't packed, pack now so you don't have the anxiety keeping you awake.

Good luck.

No concrete advice to offer, but Mucinex seems to work well. I think you just want to keep things draining and as suggested salt water gargling for your throat.

I hope you have a great trip and feel well enough to enjoy it!

Netti pot while at home.

Then get to Bermuda, set yourself on the beach and breathe the salt air.

ML

I really feel for you, but please be careful. I have always been a healthy person but am always busy, overcommitted, too little sleep etc. I usually "get away" with it. However, right before my 50th several years ago, I got pneumonia and ended up getting so sick that I had to go to the ER on my 50th birthday! I was in the hospital for 3 days and was very sick, long recovery. It was a wake up call for me. Your sore throat may be something other than a relapse of the pneumonia and, likely, being in Bermuda will likely be restorative in some ways, but take it easy while you are there!! The mono test is a good idea. I hope you recover quickly and have a wonderful trip!

The other thread didn't go south, it was the harping & not reading up on the illness before opinions were made.

Sue, I can't help with the sore throat but I'd definitely find out the cause before you leave.

As far as the pneumonia goes, you have to sit still in order for it not to come back and get worse. Being sedentary is what helps heal the lungs. I learned this the hard way.

If you go on your trip you have to sit as much as possible and let others wait on you. Yeah, that sounds good to me!

You can go to CVS and get their brand of vitamin called CVS Daily Energy. Take one in the morning and it boosts your energy for the day. My dr. told me to do this and it works. It's a daily vitamin with all your required mdr plus amino acids.
You'll be fine as there's a dr. on board if you need an rx but I urge you to try this method. Below is an article on recovering from pneumonia. It can take weeks and weeks.

Here is a link that might be useful: recovery

I rarely post, but as a health care professional, I must pop in and ask if you had any bloodwork done. Your symptoms could be any number of things, but they could also be signs of mono. If the strep test comes back negative, and you still feel lousy (is it a sore throat, or swollen glands?), perhaps after your trip you should check it out. Sorry for the lousy timing.

Just to give you a heads up:
Depending upon which antibiotic is used, it may restrict some of your vacation activities. I don't know what they will prescribe, but of the antibiotics I sometimes prescribe:

imidazoles (Metronidazole, Flagyl) - you will not be able to drink alcohol *at *all during the course of administration + 3 days. It causes a severe disulfuram reaction which makes you throw up almost immediately . A similar agent is used to help alcoholics stay clean.

tetracyclines - markedly increase photosensitivity. Your eyes will be more sensitive to the sun, and you will sunburn easily.

With any antibiotics it is recommended that if you are on oral contraceptives that you use an alternate method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Contraceptives are converted from an inactive form to the active form by the normal gut bacteria (which are altered by antibiotics).

And with many antibiotics there will be dietary restrictions.

hhireno is right: no alcohol. IIRC from health classes, alcohol suppresses the cilia in your lungs so that it's harder to remove mucous. Anyway, here's this to back up the No Alcohol rule: Nat'l. Inst. of Health Synopsis of a Paper on Alcoholism & Respiratory Disease Not that you'll be drinking like an alcoholic, but recreational drinking won't be doing you any good either when your lungs are compromised & your immune system is out of whack.

Oh sue, I'm so sorry for you! Of all the times to get sick and run down... Three years ago I'd trained for 6 months to ride in a week-long bike ride across Iowa, but got a respiratory illness three weeks before the ride. I kept trying to train and rest, train and rest to stay in shape for the ride and get well too, but it didn't work. Couldn't heal without total rest. I ended up cancelling the trip, losing a chunk of money and throwing the demanding preparation time down the drain. It took a good two months to get back to normal health. I can relate to what you're going through!

No real advice except to say that I got pneumonia as a freshman in college, and it took me a full year to fully recover my energy level (and I was 19 years old)! I had to fly home when I had it, and my eardrum burst! I cried the whole flight. Earplanes did not exist back then, but I use them religiously now since my ear has never quite been the same. I hope you can get lots of rest on your vacation, take a decongestant before flying, and feel better soon!

Thanks everyone. Yaya, I was just out near a CVS so I picked up some of that Daily Energy. Hope it helps! (Your reference to a dr. on board sounds like you may think I'm going on a cruise?...I'm not. But I'm sure there's a doctor somewhere on the island!)

I will say that the sore throat is a bit better this afternoon. Maybe thanks to the 12 hours of sleep I got last night!

If I still feel lousy when I get home, I will definitely go back to the dr. next Tues. (we get home late Mon.) and ask about bloodwork. I had mono 22 years ago when my oldest kid was a baby. Not fun!

I plan to spend as much time as possible on a beach chair for the next 4 days. And, fortunately, my real birthday isn't for 3 months so I'd better be healthy by then!

Oops, I posted before I saw all the recent responses.

Just a sore throat, no swollen glands, fortunately.

Also fortunately I really don't have any more coughing.

And at the moment, I don't have antibiotics so I don't have to worry about the various interactions.

Tex...a year to fully recover! yikes!!

I was anemic a few years ago and my whole summer was affected until I was several weeks into taking iron. I couldn't exercise at all. I hope this summer isn't like that!

Just got test results. No strep.

I agree with tina and jb about being tested for mono. Two years ago I got a sore throat that hung on. I had no cold, fever or swollen glands, just the sore throat and some fatigue. I chalked up the fatigue to the fact that it was a few days after we returned from our DD's destination wedding in Ireland, so we'd been running around a lot the prior two weeks.

My doctor said it was probably not mono as I was 57 and she said she rarely gets anyone over 30 with mono. It was mono after all, but I didn't need any treatment. She ordered me to get extra rest and not do anything strenuous as one's spleen is very vulnerable with mono because it is often larger than normal as the virus runs its course.

For ear pressure problems, I got this advice from a flight attendant:
Ask the flight attendant to bring you two Styrofoam coffee cups stuffed with very hot wet paper towels at the bottom of each cup. You put the cups over your ears 30 minutes before descent begins. You can't carry on a conversation and you feel kind of dumb but it works.

Sue.....sounds like you're doing a little better.....hooray.....enjoy your trip!

Texanjana, me too! I was 19, and I was literally never quite the same again.

I suggest stress complex vitamins. They are B complex, C, and zinc. They turn your orange a bit bright, but aside from that have no side effects. I use the Nature Made brand.

Also suggest getting some Align for digestive care. It is a capsule that doesn't need refrigeration, so easy to carry on an airplane. The antibiotics will have killed off the flora in your gi tract. Don't need and gut issues on vacation.

Last suggestion is to not just sit down, but recline with your feet up. There is something about leaning back, and having your feet propped up that makes even sitting still more restful. Easier to pump the blood around. On the plane you can usually wiggle your feet up under the seat in front and prop on your carry all. At home, read or watch TV in bed propped on a pillow.

Definitely worry about photosensitivity if you have been on antibiotics too.

And smile and relax and have fun.

I'm sure it will help sueb, I swear by those.

Hope you are feeling better, have a great time!

You must have great stamina! I don't get sick often, once a year if I 'm lucky, but when I do, I don't have the energy to exert one extra ounce of energy, possibly only to use the bathroom. A lot of rest AND sleep, is always the best thing you can do to get back to being yourself. I'm just not one to push myself to the edge for fear of ending up with something worse and risking further health issues. Do take care of yourself and take an immune booster of some sort, if you haven 't yet.

I don't generally get sick often, either, but I'm used to "pushing through" whatever I've got because I have 3 kids, a PT job, 3 dogs...and a DH who works long (and inflexible) hours. I have now felt not-right for a month now, though, so on Monday I'm heading back to the doctor and asking to be tested for mono. I actually slept 13 hours last night, but I'm still dragging. Fortunately we are at our beach house in the pouring rain, so I'm just sitting around reading all day and watching the rain from the porch. DH commented to me earlier today "you never rest!" Well, duh. Since I arrived here 3 days ago with my youngest DD, I've emptied and "power washed" the porch, assembled 3 pieces of furniture, gone shopping, carried heavy night stands from garage to 2nd floor bedroom, and bought a headboard at a consignment shop with the intention to sand and repaint it before we leave on Sunday.

Okay, maybe the headboard can wait.

I don't know how to rest but I'm practicing today!