David, the first clue to flu would be if you hurt so bad, your eyeballs down to your toes, that you are thinking death cannot come soon enough. Then the second clue would be if you are running a fever. Vomiting and diahrea (sp?) are not flu symtoms, but there are plenty other viruses that cause those symptoms. (I have not always practiced what I preached–I treated my husband’s shingles without taking him to the Dr. Diagnosed him from the computer information and got advise from the pharmacist. Couldn’t do it any other way, because we were leaving for San Diego on vacation. I never took my child to the Dr. to get his mumps diagnosed, when he was young, and I think that was a mistake.) But when my husband and I had the flu, I routed him out of bed and told him we were going to the Dr. He didn’t resist, which is a clue right there, that he was as sick as I was (I had the highest fever). The Dr. gave us something anti-viral and told us to go home, with rest, fluids, and take Aleve. So, I do think you should have gone to the Dr. and gotten anti-viral medication. It would have given you some relief if you indeed had the flu. (I don’t take the flu shots–there are reasons– nobody but you should weigh in on whether or not you should have gotten one.)