Element Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 It's happening. The kids woke up feeling cold, dizzy, and tired. They ate a little and sat around glassy-eyed for a while. They are now both back in their beds, temperatures creeping higher by the half hour. Dd has a little cough. I think the flu has hit. I have heard that Tamiflu, taken in the earliest stages of flu, can help it pass better/faster than it otherwise would have. Is this something I should look into? Our ped office is closed and we would have to to to Urgent Care. I'm a flu newb. We usually only have strep (dh/ds,) pneumonia (dd :() and ear infections (me) around here so I'm not really sure what people do when the flu hits your kids. 5:15 UPDATE copied & pasted from my post below: Well, I didn't want to miss the Tamiflu window so I took them in. Ds tested positive for flu, dd tested negative. The doctor assumed they both had flu and gave them both Tamiflu prescriptions (and Motrin while we were there.) $271 dollars worth of Tamiflu later, the kids came home and took the first doses. Ds took his, ate half a sandwich (yay!) and went back to bed. Dd took hers, ate four bites of a sandwich and vomited up pretty much everything she had eaten in the past month (or so it seemed.) So who knows what she has. The medicine made her very gaggy; it could have just been a reaction to that. I guess I'll try again tonight to get the Tamiflu down her. Thanks again, everyone, for your input earlier. I really appreciate it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookspr Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 My daughter (12) had the flu in early December, even though she had a flu shot in September. She woke up one morning at 6am with a 104.4 fever feeling miserable. After taking some fever reducer and using cool washcloths for a few hours to bring the fever down, we took her straight to the doctor. Turns out she had Influenza A, so they prescribed Tamiflu. Within 12 hours, she was feeling better and within 24 hours, almost as good as new. She had a cough for about 3-4 days after that, but it worked wonders for her. They have to start taking it within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, so don't wait if you think it is the flu. If you have a Minute Clinic type place (in CVS or Walgreens) they should be able to do a flu test. Whenever our ped office is closed there is someone on call that we can go to during regular hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 You might want to do a search, as we've discussed this in the past. I've done Tamiflu before, and compared to previous flu episodes in the same kids, it significantly reduced the duration, the severity, and the aftereffects. Significantly. I would choose to do it again. That said, please read the potential side effects, and weigh them against the side effects of flu, and make your own decision based on your family's specifics. Some of the potential side effects are scary. If you choose Tamiflu, the sooner your child takes it, the more effective it is. While they say within 48 hours (presumably because that was what they used in their effectiveness studies), if you can do it sooner, that is likely to be better. As well as the prescription, you'll have to find a pharmacist who has it in stock. They make a liquid version for younger kids, which may be harder to find. Since experiencing flu with and without Tamiflu, we've gone with annual flu shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Why immediately think its the flu? My family has each come down with a fever over the past month or two. My littlest even has a cough now. Turns out the fever was gone in two days and body aches never arrived. No extreme fatigue either. Unless you know you've been exposed then I wouldn't automatically jump to the flu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Tamiflu worked well for our family, but we have also had excellent results with Oscillococcinum and Sambucol syrup, as long as we started taking them as soon as we got sick. I'm sorry your kids are sick! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Why immediately think its the flu? My family has each come down with a fever over the past month or two. My littlest even has a cough now. Turns out the fever was gone in two days and body aches never arrived. No extreme fatigue either. Unless you know you've been exposed then I wouldn't automatically jump to the flu. Quite right, it might not be flu. However, if it *is* flu, and you *would* treat with Tamiflu, then it's best to get it verified (or ruled out) as soon as possible, so you can start the meds promptly. So either way, being seen may be wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Thank you, everyone, for your input. ChristusG, normally I wouldn't assume "flu" but they were eating snacks and making crafts at a Valentines day party exactly 3 days before becoming sick and I have since found out that there were children with the flu at the party. Justasque, you're right. I don't know why I didn't search this board for Tamiflu before posting. I'm not quite in my right mind right now. I think it's starting to hit me too now. Ugh. Okay, we are about 20 minutes from a Walgreens with a Take-Care clinic. I might take them in there. Thanks, brookspr, I hadn't even thought of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We all did Sambucol syrup and one child did Tamiflu. The child on Tamiflu had one day less of symptoms and I didn't notice a major difference in severity either. For us the cost wasn't worth the benefit (I mean the prescription cost). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We did Tamiflu, no side effects. Our flu was much shorter than everyone around us who had it as well, by several days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 .Justasque, you're right. I don't know why I didn't search this board for Tamiflu before posting. I'm not quite in my right mind right now. I think it's starting to hit me too now. Ugh. No worries - I wasn't taking you to task, just remembered a long thread with lots of posters, so you could get input from more people without waiting until they noticed your post. Hope you and the kiddos feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We did Tamiflu, no side effects. Our flu was much shorter than everyone around us who had it as well, by several days. We didn't have any side effects either, but I'd worried that we might, because I remember reading quite a few negative posts about Tamiflu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We all did Sambucol syrup and one child did Tamiflu. The child on Tamiflu had one day less of symptoms and I didn't notice a major difference in severity either. For us the cost wasn't worth the benefit (I mean the prescription cost). Tamiflu certainly is pricey. I know we paid about $115.00 per prescription. For that price, the pharmacy should have giftwrapped it and included a sentimental little Get Well Soon card. But I thought it was worth the money because it seemed to help. I would have been really annoyed if we'd had side effects from it and had to stop taking it after a few doses, though! I will add that I think the Sambucol and Oscillococcinum were already helping by the time we got the Tamiflu, but so many people seemed to be getting terrible cases of the flu, so I didn't want to take a chance on missing the window for starting the Tamiflu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 You might want to read this article - the research was published in the highly reputable BMJ. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Well, I didn't want to miss the Tamiflu window so I took them in. Ds tested positive for flu, dd tested negative. The doctor assumed they both had flu and gave them both Tamiflu prescriptions (and Motrin while we were there.) $271 dollars worth of Tamiflu later, the kids came home and took the first doses. Ds took his, ate half a sandwich (yay!) and went back to bed. Dd took hers, ate four bites of a sandwich and vomited up pretty much everything she had eaten in the past month (or so it seemed.) So who knows what she has. The medicine made her very gaggy; it could have just been a reaction to that. I guess I'll try again tonight to get the Tamiflu down her. Thanks again, everyone, for your input earlier. I really appreciate it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 In the future look for oscillo. It is homeopathic and has been very effective on the flu this year. Maybe IOU could use it if you get symptoms. My dd and I both used it and our flu was less than three days. My dh had the flu and took tamiflu and was sick three days as well,. Hope they feel better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Dd took hers, ate four bites of a sandwich and vomited up pretty much everything she had eaten in the past month (or so it seemed.) So who knows what she has. The medicine made her very gaggy; it could have just been a reaction to that. I know it usually helped my ds to keep medicine down if I got his fever down as much as possible before he took it. I don't know if that would make a difference with your dd, but I thought I'd mention it, just in case. I know that nausea and vomiting can be a side effect of the Tamiflu, but a lot of kids vomit with the flu anyway, so who knows? I think I read somewhere that even if you have some nausea from the Tamiflu, it often subsides within a few days, so it may be worth trying to continue to take it if your dd doesn't feel too horrible from it. (I could be remembering incorrectly, though!) You might want to add some Oscillococcinum for both kids, in addition to the Tamiflu. Kids love the taste -- it's sort of like tiny little sugary candy pellets, and they take it 3 times a day. Easy, easy, easy. And it really seems to work. I feel so sorry for your poor dd, though -- vomiting is the worst!!! :ack2: I'm glad you got a diagnosis and the Tamiflu. I hope it works well for both of your kids -- and I hope you don't catch what they've got! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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