Worse night ever.

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

I’ve been without heat and hot water for over a week now because housing are unable to repair the problem. I’ve now become very ill. Last night was painful and discomfort like no other. I’m able to breath properly again. I was struggling to breath with body aches all over my body and severe chest pain. I had to look for my Ibuprofen which took the edge of things a little. I woke up at 6PM today and saw my bunnies food and water bowls were empty so I topped them up.

I have nobody to help me so I have to make do with what I have in the house in terms of food, hot drinks and 1 box of Ibuprofen of 11 tablets.

I understand that this is most likely a severe flu that will get better on its own accord and going to the Emergency Room with flu symptoms probably wont help with my recovery as there is nothing the NHS can do for flu plus they are very busy and don’t have enough resources as it is so I could be waiting a very long time.

Has anybody else had flu like this?

What things helped you?

[LBJ10]

Are you sure it isn’t COVID? You’re talking about not being able to breathe and chest pain. Whether it’s the flu or COVID, there are antivirals available. So I don’t think it’s necessarily true to say they can’t do anything. If you are worried, you should be seen by a doctor. If they think medication will help you, then they can prescribe it. Either way, I hope you feel better.

[Bam]

I agree with LBJ, maybe you should see a doctor.  If you have difficulty breathing, there are excellent meds that a doctor can prescribe. I get asthma when I get a bad cold, but I have asthma meds that I can take as needed. It’s horrible to not be able to breathe properly.

I hope you’ll soon feel better!

 

 

[DanaNM]

I agree it sounds like it could be Covid. I hope you can see a doctor!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

Thanks for the advice people its much appreciated.

I’m feeling weak right now and dizzy and my head is pounding. I had a better night last night and was able to get sleep. I can breath easy now and the chest pains have eased off, I just don’t have the energy to go out to see a doctor. If its Covid then that could make things complicated. I need to gather some strength up first. I’m drinking lots of herbals teas and orange squash to keep myself hydrated. I’m trying to eat to keep my strength up but I don’t feel hungry. I’m running out of food but I think I have enough to go for two or three days. I have some bread, a cabbage, herbal teas, a pork pie, a block of cheese and some boiled eggs and a bit of rice. I will call the NHS on there 111 number and see what they say.

[Bam]

Very wise to call the NHS, I think! I’m glad your breathing has improved, but it sounds like you might have a fever?

You should probably try to eat something, to get some strenght.

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

Just an update… I’m feeling a lot better today although I’m still feeling icky. I’ve been fighting through it I’m able to go out now. I haven’t managed to eat much today my belly just hasn’t been up to it. I’m still drinking plenty of fluids. My heating and hot water is back which has been a great help.

I still feel a shortness of breath but it isn’t to bad with a bit of pain in my chest from time to time but I can live with it for now. The main thing is I’ve got my strength back and I can do my daily tasks.

[Bam]

Thank you for the update! I’m so glad you’re feeling better now! Getting heating and hot water back must be such a relief. I hope you’ll soon be all well again!

[Borya02]

Yeah this sounds like an awful situation. With regards to heating and hot water, I have ended up in this situation before due to the place I live. If you have the chance in the future, I would recommend grabbing some leggings, long sleeves, a very warm hat, and gloves. Wearing them inside can really help. What I did with gloves is just cut off the very tips of them so that I could still use my computer, etc. while wearing the gloves. It makes such a huge different to have 1. layers (long sleeve under shirt, and leggings beneath pants) 2. gloves that at least come down to the knuckles 3. hat 4. something for feet like socks. It will feel silly wearing winter clothes inside, but it can make a cold/heatless home bearable. Lack of hot water, there’s not much one can do but just grin and bare it 🙁  I’m glad you are feeling better and that you have that stuff back on.

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

The only down side of wearing lots of cloths indoors or extra clothing at night to keep warm is that I will sweat then in the morning I wake up all damp and then not being able to wash and running out of clean clothing makes it worse, with the kitchen sink being constantly blocked I’m not able to run my washing machine. The cold sweats are the worse. Now I’ve got my hot water and heating back I can have a nice bath and hand wash my cloths. I would have had to go to one of those crisis places for help if I had to go longer without hot water.

[Borya02]

I have the same thing at night with the sweating. I also am without heat at the moment (though luckily it is likely not as cold here) so I’ve been wearing winter clothes indoors. At night I start out so cold but then wake up sweating haha. It is bizarre how this happens.

About washing clothes by hand, I do not know if these are available where you live (if I remember correctly, you are in the UK), but there is something called a “washing wand”. I don’t think it allows me to post links in BB forum, but just google “RV washing wand” or something to that effect. It is this big blue thing, it almost looks like a plunger, and that’s essentially what it is, but it’s specific for washing clothes. It’s nice because rather than having to squat down over a bucket to wash your clothes, you can comfortably stand up and just kind of plunge them up and down to get them clean. And the plunging action is able to get the clothes cleaner than is possible by hand. Of course, this would not be useful if you are washing in a sink, it’s made for more if you are washing them in a bucket or maybe a bathtub (something at ground level).

Finally, you might try finding yourself a good 5 or 10 gallon bucket. Like the generic orange ones that Home Depot sells for $4 or so (those buckets are 5 gallon.) I washed my clothes by hand for years in a 5 gallon bucket that I would sit inside my bathtub. It was always just a tad too small; 10 gallon doesn’t look much larger, but it is a much better size.A decent-sized bucket + plunging mechanism can be a vast improvement over using something like a sink or a bathtub, because you can do more at once so it takes less time (and in a bathtub, it would be very difficult – lots of water covering a large area, and difficult to get near it to do the washing, vs. the water being able to fill up a bucket so that the clothes can soak inside it.)  I did not have the washing wand back then, and I think having one would have made life a lot easier because you can stand up.

One thing I used to do was let the clothes soak in the bucket for about 30 minutes before I started washing and I always found they came out smelling much nicer.

Also remember that clothes need enough space and agitation to actually get clean – if they’re all shoved in a small space they won’t get clean, which is why I finally settled on a 10 gallon bucket. And agitation is the other key (which is why I mentioned the washing wand.) None of this was obvious to me when I started washing clothes by hand which is why I mention it.

I hope you are able to use your washing machine again soon. Washing clothes by hand is very time consuming and can be physically painful on the joints if you have to squat down or bend over to get to the bucket. That’s why I recommended the washing wand, it might help. (But hopefully this situation will be resolved soon, so maybe that is not something needed.) Just remember to take it one step at a time with these problems. Sounds like a mess. But slowly but surely, hack away at each of them. The water, being sick, the heat, clothes washing, it might take a while to get it all sorted but remember it isn’t permanent. and you will get things fixed up

sorry for all this info, it took me so long to figure out some of these tricks for washing clothes by hand so i just thought i would share, and save some of the mess i went through

[Borya02]

it just dawned on me, have you thought of using an electric blanket to sleep at night? They are so warm. No need to wear thick clothes to sleep and then get them sweaty. They are insanely warn in the night. Many if not most also have auto shutoffs so it will turn off automatically after a certain number of hours.

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