Interesting - Dr. claims she got H1N1 twice

[hornblower]

http://www.dailymail.com/News/200911041062

 

both times swabbed, both subtyped as H1N1.

[Jennifer in MI]

Hmmmmm. . . .haven't read the article yet. But, I'm wondering if we have had it twice too. We went to the dr in late Sept. We were told at that point that they weren't testing anymore, so we weren't tested. But, based on our symptoms, he would guess h1n1.

 

Fast forward to this week. We're sick again. With the same symptoms, only MUCH much worse. I was told the same thing at the dr's yesterday - probable h1n1. Dh is on his way to the ER with my 13 yo now for labored breathing. I'm hoping they test him officially. I just want to know for sure.

 

Off to read the article . . .

[HappyGrace]

VERY interesting-thanks for posting. Dc have it now, and I was a little relieved, as we did not plan to take the vaccine. I thought we were "safe" now. It will be interesting to see if this is rare, or becomes more common. I wonder if the virus is beginning to mutate? Keep us posted!

[Perry]

I wonder if they dosed up with Tylenol and/or ibuprofen during their illness. A recent study showed that taking Tylenol at the time of vaccination resulted in a decreased immune response. It may hold true for natural infection as well.

 

(Lancet abstract here)

[LND1218]

If that's the case, then the immunization isn't going to work either.

[OHGrandma]

I wonder if they dosed up with Tylenol and/or ibuprofen during their illness. A recent study showed that taking Tylenol at the time of vaccination resulted in a decreased immune response. It may hold true for natural infection as well.

 

(Lancet abstract here)

 

We're not immune immediately from the vaccine, does the same time frame apply when building immunity from having the illness?

[Tutor]

A doctor on the health program on our state's public radio station has mentioned that a couple people that he knows of (one a patient and one a friend, I think) have contracted H1N1 twice.

[Perry]

We're not immune immediately from the vaccine, does the same time frame apply when building immunity from having the illness?

Probably, yes.

[yslek]

Is there a chance she just has a messed-up immune system? I think of my FIL, who has had chicken pox three times (and shingles, too.) He's also had Measles more than once.

[swimmermom3]

Four out of five of our family members have had it or have it. I started the bad cough yesterday so that may change. My dd (17) was the first one to get. Our pediatrician recommended that as soon as she was well and the vaccine was available, that my dd receive it. They simply don't know if you can get it again. About the test, the positives are reliable, the negatives aren't. That is why they are no longer testing. That point has probably been covered before.

 

The flu itself has been manageable. It's the secondary stuff that's a drag. Many of the adults that I know in our area have developed bronchitis. For those of us with asthma, this is problematic. My dh is stuck out of town in his hotel room with H1N1. He can't fly home until his lungs and ears clear. It's been a week and he's still fairly sick.

Edited November 5, 2009 by swimmermom3
spelling

[farmgirlinwv]

My dd got sick about 6 weeks ago w/ a persistant cough, phlegm, fever, malaise; for about a week. She now has the exact same symptoms this week. IDK if it's h1n1 or not, but that's really the only thing going around right now. So, who knows? I just really think they know very little about this illness at this time. Where I work, a very healthy man in his late 40's was hospitalized for a few days w/ it. Dh and I have not gotten it.

[Tree House Academy]

I have a good friend who has had chicken pox 7 times. They are all mild to moderate caases, but the fact is that some people just do not become immune. It is VERY rare, but it does happen. I'd say it is likely this woman is just one such rare case.

 

The biggest oddity I see is that her second case was WORSE than her first case. ???

[Tree House Academy]

If this becomes a trend and immunity is not extablished after one bout with the flu, wouldn't it also stand to reason, then, that if you get the vaccine, you can still get the virus?

 

From all of the Adverse events I was reading last night, the absolute most common one was flu like symptoms including fever and so on. Most of these were within hours to a day of taking the vaccine. Can that really be a coincidence 400 times? we have never gotten the flu from a seasonal flu shot, but we also have not taken the H1N1 shot.

 

Back to the chess game! Seems like we really won't know much until the game is over, huh?

[Mom2GirlsTX]

Both my dds got the H1N1 shot last Friday, only because of both of them having asthma and other underlying health issues. We suspect they both had H1N1 8 weeks ago. Today dd#1 started feeling bad again, similar to first bout, stuffy nose, sore throat, exhaustion, cough but so far no fever which is definitely different. I'm watching her closely as she got very ill the first bout and her lungs are always at diminished capacity even when well.

 

I made sure not to give them Advil or Tylenol before/after the vaccination as I did not want to mess with the immunity factor.

 

Tomorrow will be one week from H1N1 shot, and only the older dd is feeling bad, but she is the one who had it most severe last time. As usual my youngest seems to feel bad for a couple of hours and bounce back.

 

I quess I will wait and see how/what progresses.

[Guest lak20]

My son is 16mos old. At the end of Sept, he was sick and I took him to the doctor - he tested positive for H1N1. He was prescribed Tamiflu and it worked well. We kept him away from other kids for well over a week even though his fever was gone after a few days - just to make sure.

 

NOW, a month and 1/2 later, he comes down with different symptoms than the first time, but still really sick, so I take him to an urgent care b/c it is after hours, and again, he tests positive for H1N1.

 

This is really confusing. The first time he had it, his fever was always low -between 99-101, throwing up, lethargic, achy, miserable, crying a lot. THE 2ND TIME he got it, his fever spiked to 103 right away and even with a combo of motrin/tylenol & popsicles and a lukewarm bath, I had a hard time getting it down to 101.5. Also, he has respiratory symptoms- wheezing, coughing, congestion. But no throwing up and he is trying to run around like he isn't sick at all. I don't know how these could be the same thing...but the tests both came back positive.

[KathyBC]

Probably just displaying my ignorance, but could it be a virus more along the lines of Mono? So it's not that one caught it twice, but that one had it still?

[Joker]

Probably just displaying my ignorance, but could it be a virus more along the lines of Mono? So it's not that one caught it twice, but that one had it still?

 

This is what I've been wondering as well. I read an article earlier in the week about a girl who had it for four months!?! My niece had it about a month ago and still doesn't feel well.

[lovetobehome]

Or, do you wonder about the test being accurate, or are they lumping several strains of flu under the umbrella of H1N1. So many things don't add up with how this whole things has been handled.

[Omma]

Yikes! This does not make me feel good at all. My dd falls into the second round of symptoms the mom of the toddler noted... extremely high fever (105 brought down to 103.4 only with constant fever reducers) and major chest congestion and fast heartrate. She was started on Tamiflu towards the end of the 48-hour window, and has shown marked improvement. Her temp. started out at 103 the following a.m. and was down to 100 in the afternoon, with only one dose of fever meds the whole day! She has just finished day 2 of Tamiflu. I hope and pray that she does not have to go through this again, and that she will have some immunity again H1N1 now. She did have the nose swab test in the doctor's office that showed up positive for influenza. I have heard rumors that there might be 2 different strains of H1N1 now... one is mild and one is much harsher in the symptoms presented... but I would still think that once you have the H1N1, you should have some protection against the other strain, shouldn't you?

 

I guess there is a lot we are still learning about this particular flu.

 

Anyway, I am so sorry about your baby getting so sick, and I pray that they fully recover to full strength and health SOON.

 

Brenda

[mirth]

Is this article noteworthy because the ped and her son seemed to have had non-mild flu symptoms the first time around (i.e. where antibodies should have been produced?). My assumption is that antibody production somehow scales with the severity of the symptoms (immune response).

 

Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said Wednesday he is unaware of any evidence that a person can contract H1N1 twice.

 

"I'm aware of no data or scientific body of research or case reports in the medical or scientific world of an individual acquiring the 2009 H1N1 influenza twice," he said.

 

John Law, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Resources, said the information his agency has is that the likelihood of getting the virus twice is "very, very, very rare."

 

It sure doesn't sound "very, very, very rare" since right here on this thread, I've now read about 2 documentable re-infection cases. What's odd is that the second time arounds sound more severe than the first. I would've guessed the opposite. (In my own mind, I am calling any flu respiratory symptom as something less desirable that general lethargy, pain, and nausea.)

[Tammyla]

So many questions, it seems like the more we know...the more we don't know.

 

I wonder if Tamiflu could also decrease an immune response and the mono virus is also something to consider. I can't imagine not treating a high fever without Tylenol or another fever reducer. It's scary to think people could face this virus more than once.

[SquirrellyMama]

If this becomes a trend and immunity is not extablished after one bout with the flu, wouldn't it also stand to reason, then, that if you get the vaccine, you can still get the virus?

 

This is what I've always assumed anyway. Just because we get a vaccine doesn't mean that we won't get sick anyway. I know it isn't as likely but it is still possible.

[Quad Shot Academy]

My son had probable H1N1 twice. The first time he was very ill: severe stomach issues, fever of 105 on and off for a week, laid around for 1-2 weeks . . . Most of the family got sick. 4-6 weeks later he got a 103 degree fever for a week and felt very ill, laid around for 1 week straight. No one else in the family got sick again, which has never happened in our family. He has a terrible immune system, so I figured it was due to that and I took him back off gluten to try and bolster it. He has not been sick for 1 month, which is starting to break a record. ;)