It could have been a different strain, though most vaccines now protect against multiple common strains. If so it was a rare one. It could have been some other virtual or bacterial infection. It's very hard to tell from symptoms alone.

I still think it will take another week to feel normal.

that was identified locally by doctors and scientists as a really wicked cold virus. I caught it and had the worst sinus infection I've ever had in my life. Then it settled in my lungs and gave me bronchitis. ugh. I was out for a few weeks. But it wasn't the flu according to my doctor. The last time I had the flu my fever was so bad my bed was soaking wet every night (like I had to wash/dry it every day). This 'cold' I had only gave me a mild fever and chills. Also, the overwhelmingly predominant strain this year is H1N1 and that's covered in this year's flu shot. I just got my flu shot on New Year's day because of the lung issues I had after my 'cold' and I wanted to wait until I was better. It takes 10-14 days for it to work.

So maybe your illness was that nasty cold virus. Or it's possible that it was the flu and it would've been much worse without the shot. Hard to know.

I came down with it on XMas eve too. Sickest I've been in years. Only now getting back to almost normal.

I recall it being a most unpleasant experience, which I never wanted to repeat. Hope You are on the mend!

I haven't caught a flu in over 25 years.. If I start becoming more prone to getting them I may consider it..

In less than an hour I went from having a sore throat to actually sliding off my chair onto the floor burning up with fever. I was sick the entire month of January and can't even recall the first 3 or 4 days of it. At some point during those first few days my temp. went up to 104. If I wasn't so delirious from that high a fever I would have been scared shitless. I seriously thought I was going to die from it but I was so sick I honestly didn't care. I didn't start really feeling myself again until the beginning or March or so. I could function by the beginning of February but was constantly exhausted and still hacking up clam balls.

I've never been so sick in my life. This year and every year after I'm getting a flu shot no matter how broke I might be. I'm NOT going to go through that evil illness again, and I'm terrified if I do I won't make it the next time.

I hope you weren't as sick as I was last year though you're saying you lost track of the days hits home with me how I was... I just plain lost 3 or 4 days with only a very few short vague memories during that time, like I do remember that at some point I had gotten myself downstairs to let the dog out, and though I knew it had to be freezing outside with the ground being frozen solid and the thermometer telling me it was somewhere in the teens I definitely recall standing outside in nothing but my jammies and I think bare feet thinking how lovely and balmy it felt being outside.

Odd that you got it with having a flu shot but maybe it hadn't been long enough from when you got the shot or maybe it was some odd strain it didn't cover.

Holiday season sure is a bad time to be so sick, but anytime is a bad time to be that sick really. It just seems that much worse if it happens during the holidays.

I'm sorry to hear it. Nobody wants to be sick but the holidays are the worst times. Hope you are back to yer ole self soon!