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Ladies and Gentlemen I give you - the Man Flu diet!

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,388
Location
Suffolk, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
Remember, kids, don't try this at home. Consult a sensible adult then ignore them.

Anyway, I went out for a group cycle ride last Saturday and the weather turned a bit foul towards the end.
On Sunday I was coughing.
By Monday I retired to bed, grumbling, and stayed there most of the time until today, mainly sleeping and grumbling (sometimes both).

I seem to have lost some weight, although checking back I have still been eating two meals a day plus my morning butter+cream+coffee. Given that I've been very inactive (apart from the aforementioned grumbling) I can't put it down to exercise. Apart, again, from the wracking cough which made my ribs ache. A new form of aerobic exercise?

I did run a bit of a fever for a couple of days which makes me wonder if this is the culprit; upping the body's core temperature to try and kill off the germs might well burn more calories.

I have felt constantly tired as well, so something is using up resources doing something.

Not fishing for sympathy, more intrigued at what has caused my weight loss.

I don't think I'll market the diet, though. Fasting (in fact, almost anything) is more fun.

It isn't a popular approach when you infect your partner either.
 
I think you need to drink lots of water and have a little salt..... Then the weight may come back on.
 
The weight loss may be dehydration caused by sweating with a fever?
 
I reckon it's the nasty fever guys running around burning everything they can find in sight. Or the nasty virus guys chasing them and doing the same thing. Throw in some free radicals for good measure (they're always mentioned). @ringi's right - lots of water and a little salt to replenish. How have your bg levels been? I hope you are feeling much better soon - these flu/virus bugs flying about are vicious and seem to hang about causing bodily chaos. But thanks for giving me a laugh with your post!
 
You have to remember that if like me, you very low carb, in ketosis as such.
You have a fever, your blood sugar levels will be higher than you are normally, when you even catch a slight chill, you feel awful.

When I get the flu jab every winter, I have to grin and bear the possibility that I will feel awful for a couple of days or weeks! However if I do get a real bout of flu. It is really bad!
You can call it what you like, but it can be debilitating and be a right pain in the...........!
 
Excuse me sort of hijacking your thread, @LittleGreyCat, but the rib-cracker cough you mention has been plaguing me too. Bought some night-time cough mixture and for once I read the bumf inside the box (I confess, I hardly ever read this). It lists the amount of sucrose (1g) and glucose (3.5g) per 5ml. You're supposed to take four 10ml doses over 24 hrs. So quite a bit but when the cough is freaking out the cat, never mind me, if it works, great. Is this a new thing, listing the sucrose/glucose? Bumf can be useful!
 
Rachox said:
The weight loss may be dehydration caused by sweating with a fever?
Click to expand...

To you and @ringi I am pretty sure that I am not dehydrated because I have been drinking medicinal beer and peeing regularly.

Also, I am quite happy to be losing a little weight; just not so enthusiastic about the method.
 

I have read that the cough mixtures aren't really effective.

http://www.health.com/cold-flu-sinus/does-cough-syrup-work for a quick hit.
The name Cough Syrup could give a clue to the main constituents.

I would suggest that you might try extra hydration and possibly a vapour bath to moisten the lungs and free things off. As a sprog I used to be given a Pyrex bowl with hot water and some Vicks (menthol in Vaseline I think) and a tea towel. Towel over head, head over bowl, inhale steam and Menthol. It seemed to help.

Just having a hot shower helps to ease stuff with the extra humidity. Dry air is a possible factor in the tight, tickly cough.

I'm with you on not upsetting the cat, though.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention - the link above mentions honey and lemon as possibly better than nothing.

My go to remedy before diabetes was a hot drink of honey, lemon, rum and hot water. I haven't tried this recently because I think it will do more harm than good.
 
Sparrow456 said:
View attachment 25283
Click to expand...
Quite.

However on this occasion it seems the bug has hit my Lady Wife a lot harder than it has hit me.
This may be because I had the flu jab this year and so had some resistance to whatever it was.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/ lists most of my symptoms, although I haven't had sickness or diarrhoea (apart from a slight looseness after an M&S curry from emergency rations).

I do note that as a diabetic and over 65 I should have dialled 111 or called the surgery but I was never badly enough to warrant bothering them. The main issue for me was to try and work out if it was a virus (man up) or a bacterial infection (gimme antibiotics NOW!!!).

What I don't know is where the line is drawn between common flu strains (as "guess" inoculated against) and slightly less serious viral infections of the respiratory tract.
 
Thank you for the helpful info, @LittleGreyCat. This stuff (Benylin Night) has a goodie in it to aid sleep - an antihistamine (ok for me) which is why I bought it - and it did sort of work. A bit. My fave night-time remedy before was rather like yours: warm milk, honey, lemon and whisky. I remember the towelled head over steaming bowl! (Menthol crystals in my case - might try that).
 
Man flu, Black Death, its all in a name...

Glad you are feeling better.

Re the weight loss, could be a lot of things. More importantly, did you want it gone, or do you want it back?
 
Brunneria said:
Man flu, Black Death, its all in a name...

Glad you are feeling better.

Re the weight loss, could be a lot of things. More importantly, did you want it gone, or do you want it back?
Click to expand...

Want it GONE!!!

Well, I have a long term ambition to get down to 11 stone 7 lbs.
The best I have achieved to date is 11 stone 10 lbs.
Currently at 12 stone 1 lb having flued away about 3 lbs.
Amazing how much easier it is to deny yourself food treats when in bed grumbling.
 

Respectfully suggest that you might be better off just taking antihistamine tablets for the same effect.
I think the sugar part is just to make it attractive to take, with no other real benefit apart from "keeping your blood sugar up".

Thread drift, but I can remember loads of things being recommended under the "must keep my/your blood sugar up" saying back in the day.
 

Ah yes. Ovaltine. Avoids (cue scary music) night starvation !!!! (cue sinister views of moorland graveyards and crows perched on bare branches)
 
Brunneria said:
Ah yes. Ovaltine. Avoids (cue scary music) night starvation !!!! (cue sinister views of moorland graveyards and crows perched on bare branches)
Click to expand...

Makes me wonder if the crows were the ones suffering from night starvation.
 

Just come back to this because of something I read in Which?

Medicines with the decongestants pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine should not be taken by people with diabetes.

https://www.benylin.co.uk/why-choose-benylin/active-ingredients

shows that some products contain these.

So it looks as though the decongestants are more of an issue than the sugars.
 
Thank you @LittleGreyCat and @Sparrow456 for the info on cough med ingredients. I am wondering whether the stuff accounts for a 4.1mmol rise after what I thought was an ok dinner of roast pork (with a pile of crackling), butternut squash and cauli mash, cabbage and a dessertspoon of apple sauce (containing a very small amount of sugar), although it might have been the latter. Bit of a shock, that increase. The cough med is definitely a gunge loosener (tmi, sorry!) but good point on just having the antihistamines. But as you say, @LittleGreyCat, the decongestants seem to be worse than the sugar content.... Can't win!
 
Whisky and warm water with a dash of lemon.
Cures almost anything with dedicated application.

[Hic]
 
Footnote: over a week into it and I am well on the mend, although I still benefit from an afternoon nap with the cat. Noting that the cat does napping 24 hours a day.

Herself is still struggling, though, but better every day.
 
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