i.love.lucy Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 DD was diagnosed on Friday with H1N1 and got a script for Tamiflu. Said med needed to be compounded by the pharm and so cost an arm and a leg = $88. DS was not sick at the time but was given Tamiflu as a preventative for $57. This is in addition to my $40 co-pay. :glare: DD was not actually tested for flu because it would have cost significantly more with my insurance, but we did test for strep (she has a predisposal to it and gets it quite often). DD is actually doing quite well. She had the fevers, and still has stuffy/drainy head, but no cough. She's tired, but overall seems to be mending well. Last night at 2am DS woke up with 102 fever. He's the one I've been worried about all this time because he was a preemie, is still quite small, and has asthma. He's been on Tamiflu since last Friday!:001_huh: So what is the point of the expensive Tamiflu? Isn't it an anti-viral that is supposed to be providing him with some protection? Grrrrrrrrrrr. Actually, I'm not really posting that as a question, because I know the answer is that it's not fool proof, or there are reasons we probably never should have even gotten it in the first place, etc. I'm just now a tired and scared mommy for my little guy. Will you pray for him? He's 5 and only 36lbs. DD, DH and I will all be fine, but I am now really, really worried about him and how this will play out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 our experience last year with Tamiflu was great. My son was VERY sick and they gave it to him but said it may be too late to help. it was. But they gave me a script for my dd IF she started the same symptoms. She did the next day, gave her the Tamiflu and she only felt bad but never went through all the illness like my son did. it was Great Stuff!!! but yes, you have to get it going early to alleviate symptoms. My understanding is that is all it does....alleviate symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 My understanding is that Tamiflu will merely shorten the duration and intensity of the flu...not necessarily protect against it. My dd was prescribed it a few week ago....but had to stop taking it due to an allergic reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Tamiflu worked very well for me. All my kids and DH had H1N1 and I was the last to get it - since I knew they were all sick, I was able to get with my OB and start on Tamiflu about 18 hours after my symptoms started. By the 3rd pill I was completely recovered. I think that the timing of Tamiflu is crucial and it doesn't necessarily work that well for everyone....sorry your little one is sick! My kids recovered in anywhere from 2 days (my strongest healthiest guy) to 7 days (my asthma prone 3yo). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I am so sorry that you are going through this scary time Amy. I will pray for your son. :grouphug: I also want to suggest that you get some natural remedies going for him. Raw Garlic, high doses of C and D, and green tea are pretty painless to implement. I gave my kids Tre from GNLD. It has Pomegranite, Acai Berry, and Green Tea concentrates; really powerful stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Conley Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 (edited) Despite all our preventive medicine, our 13 YO daughter is down with the flu. She started Tami flu on about hour 12. We're starting day two now. We let her sleep in, and she woke up at 8:30. She's been dosed with Ibuprofen as well as Tami flu. She has a productive cough. She's got a roll of mild fruit flavored cough drops. We will probably add an expectorant to the medications. This morning's breakfast was a fruit smoothie made from strawberries, yogurt and raw sugar. She was pretty steady with the watered down fruit juice and chicken soup yesterday. I'm not too worried about her. She's a healthy kid. So what was the point to the vaccines, the Tami flu, the extra sleep and the frantic hand sanitizing? After all, my kid's still sick! From what I can see, she's not half as miserable as most patients. I've seen far worse cases. I've survived far worse cases.:tongue_smilie: The point to all of our care is this: because we did our best to stay well, we're not as sick as we might have been, and our doctor has been super cooperative. (Doctors like patients who do their part.) We'll pray for your children. I know you've tried to keep them well, and I know you're doing your best to get them well. It may not be obvious, but the Tami flu probably is helping a little. Every little bit counts. Edited November 3, 2009 by Elizabeth Conley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Conley Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Tami flu slows the replication rate of the virus. This gives your body a "fighting chance". The earlier you start, the better it works. It doesn't help everyone, and there's no knowing why that is at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Thanks for the kind words and hugs. It really does help! He's still sleeping, so I don't know if he has other symptoms yet. I just called the doctor and they said they might have to increase his dose depending on his symptoms. Very good point that because we have tried so hard to keep them well, they are not as sick as they could have been. That's possibly the case with my dd. Oh, and thanks for the natural remedies to implement. DS is already on 800iu of D (given in the form of poly-vi-sol) because he was tested as low a while ago. He's also on a med to increase his appetite so he will eat more (which is working wonders!) Thanks again for the prayers and hugs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Thanks for the kind words and hugs. It really does help! He's still sleeping, so I don't know if he has other symptoms yet. I just called the doctor and they said they might have to increase his dose depending on his symptoms. Very good point that because we have tried so hard to keep them well, they are not as sick as they could have been. That's possibly the case with my dd. Oh, and thanks for the natural remedies to implement. DS is already on 800iu of D (given in the form of poly-vi-sol) because he was tested as low a while ago. He's also on a med to increase his appetite so he will eat more (which is working wonders!) Thanks again for the prayers and hugs! I am sorry you are going through this. I worry about this too. I worry about my whole family for one reason or another. My 6 year old was NOT a preemie, but he weighs 44 pounds and is very small too, so I understand some of the worry. It looks like the tamiflu, as a preventative, did not work for him. However, hopfully it will give him a much lighter case. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Poor guy! I hope he feels better soon. I just had a few comments: - 1) The old EffectMeasure blog is archived & has an entry on how tamiflu works (& does it?) http://effectmeasure.blogspot.com/2005/03/how-oseltamivir-tamiflu-works-and-does.html Excellent info. 2) There are oseltamivir cases of A/H1N1 cropping up. Not many but they're there. Not saying your son has a resistant case - odds are against it but it's important to know that. 3) The reason it had to be compounded is because there's a shortage of pediatric tamiflu. "On Oct. 1, the secretary ordered the release of 300,000 courses of liquid Tamiflu for children to be shipped out to states from the strategic national stockpile. Because the demand for the medicine has continued to exceed the supply, the remainder of the stockpile—234,000 additional doses—will be shipped in coming days. Frieden said that when that is sent, the federal stockpile of liquid Tamiflu will be depleted. “We have ordered additional courses of [pediatric liquid Tamiflu], and we’re looking forward to delivery early next year if they stay on schedule,†Frieden said. Meanwhile, he added, more chain pharmacies are encouraged to practice compounding the medicine—converting the capsule forms of it into liquid doses. He said the government is open “to all possible considerations for†a generic form of the medicine if it were FDA approved." Fortunately it appears the stocks of the adult version are still sufficient. But it's only through pandemic preparedness and planning (while also preventing spread through social distancing and vaccination) that a nation can stock up enough meds for a big outbreak. Otherwise, we run out. Especially when it's global & everybody wants to buy it.... Well, we're seeing the same thing with the vax. I think shortages of meds & supplies are something that we have a hard time grappling with - we're too used to just having everything available. The 'just in time' economy we have now though means there are no large warehouses of things & that's why in times of disaster (or major illness outbreaks which cause disruption of staffing levels for transport, stores etc) stores run empty of all sorts of things. anyway - back to the OP - best wishes for your son's speedy recovery :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 (edited) DS is already on 800iu of D (given in the form of poly-vi-sol) because he was tested as low a while ago. He's also on a med to increase his appetite so he will eat more (which is working wonders!) Thanks again for the prayers and hugs! I am glad to hear about his appetite. I know how that can be. My DS weighs about the same and the pharmacist said to up his D to 2000 when he is sick. Here is a post with a bunch of natural remedies. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1188408&postcount=8 Edited November 3, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I hope he gets better soon. Out of curiosity why is he on a med to increase his appetite? My ds is also 5 and also weighs 36lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Spam reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 3 years ago my kids got the flu. They didn't get out of bed for more than a week. They didn't eat for 5 days. They literally sweated with fever for all of those 5 days. I nursed them around the clock with teaspoons of water, gatorade. They were so ill they could not even desire a popsicle. My son's fever climbed to 104 and I had to drag him into the bathroom to take a tepid bath, which did work otherwise obviously we would have gone to the hospital. They vomited up food when I tried to feed them and they had so much snot and congestion and coughing (after they awoke from the fever) that they vomited literal BOWLS of snot, nothing but thick snot just pouring out of them. I think 70% of the time when people say "I have the flu" they really just have a severe cold with a fever because they are back to life within 4-5 days. My kids weren't themselves again for weeks! Well, I started to come down with it, and I was very concerned about who would take care of me in this way. I began to feel very achy and sneeze and my doctor immediatley claled in Tamiflu. I took it as directed and never got truly sick. I was just very achy and tired. But at least I could care for my still recovering children and didn't require that kind of care. H1N1 is very dangerous and I highly recommend that you take the Tamiflu. Blessings on your little one. Stock up now on all you need in case the other kids or your dh get sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 You can be back to normal with a flu in 4-5 days. It just depends on the strain, the severity, and how your body reacts. But, this thread was resurrected by a spammer and was originally from *2009!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I took Tamiflu years ago when my now 7 year old son was a baby. Within a day, I started feeling very strange, like I was getting mentally loopy. I had this shadow of doom over me that I couldn't explain. I started suspecting the Tamifu, and quickly found all kinds of information about Tamiflu psychosis and psychiatric side effects. I stopped immediately and I've never taken it since or given it to my kids and we've weathered the flu just fine. Swine flu and all. One of my sons was at a Boy Scout Camp in 2011 that was quarantined because of an outbreak of Swine Flu. He came down with it shortly after coming home. It lasted about 5 days, but he was just fine. We have never had any complications or secondary infections from the flu virus around here. I would never venture to say that Tamiflu is not appropriate for usage. I just tend to warn people to be on the lookout for psychiatric side effects that do plague some folks who use it. I happened to be one of them, and it was scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabet1 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 there is none. Studies show it reduces symptoms by about 12 hrs. And it does nothing more than tylenol and anti-nausea. It is also banned in several countries due to children dying while on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.