What you describe does not sound like flu to me.
When I catch a cold, which can sometimes last for 2-3 weeks, I dope myself up on Nyquil at night and the kind of cold medicine they doon’t let you buy too much of for daytime. The pseudo ephedrine stuff. I know people make meth with it, but it works great for cold symptoms.
Actual flu, however is a different beast. I have only had flu once in my life at that was when I was 16.
I was at the video store renting movies when all of a sudden I did not feel so good. I had just enough time to make it home before I was not able to get out of bed for 3 days straight, and then it was gone.
It basically consisted of a high fever, severe muscle aches, and no energy to even eat or stay conscious for longer than a few minutes at a time. it was awful, extremely potent, and nothing like a cold at all.
Luckily I have never experienced sickness like that again in my life.
I had a bad case of the flu back in the 80's, which kept me down for two weeks. I would feel better during the day, but be down in the dumps each morning.
Just two weeks ago, I came down with what must have been flu for the first time since then, although it wasn't quite as bad. It did come on very suddenly, and in fact it was a single moment when I sneezed, ( not unusual for me, ) but I knew at that moment that I was sick. I was spiking a fever up to 102+, but Advil helped. For three days, I slept and was awake, for a few hours at a time, without regard to the time of day. I recovered very well, but as is typical of the flu, it seemed to linger. I thought I was over it but I would be sleepy all day, and like that.
I haven't ever had a flu shot, but I did let the doctor talk me into a pneumonia vaccine just recently, ( since I'm old, you know, ) so I blame that ... 1/2 :-)
The original formula of Nyquil worked but this new stuff doesn’t do a thing.