Print this page
Email a friend
Was this information helpful?
100% said yes!
(2 votes)What do you think? Click "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to vote!
If you have more to say, post a comment below!
Q. How effective is Tamiflu against this H1N1 influenza bug? Are there any risks to taking this drug preventively?
I am thinking of asking my doctor for a prescription since I will soon have to take a couple of airplane trips. I do not want to come down with the flu because the person next to me is coughing in my face.
A. It highly unlikely that your doctor would be willing to write a prescription for Tamiflu for a healthy person. That's because public health authorities are discouraging widespread use except for people at high risk of complications. That would be young children, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions and the elderly. People who need hospitalization or those who develop pneumonia from the flu should also get antiviral medicine.
That said, Tamiflu remains quite effective for preventing as well as treating the type of flu circulating this year. It has not developed resistance to the drug. Side effects include nausea and vomiting. The Japanese have reported psychological side effects (depression, delirium and suicidal thoughts), primarily in adolescents.
I contracted a terrible flu in Dec. 1999. For 2 weeks my husband and I suffered. Our fevers would break and then come back over and over. I felt like I needed root canals on all my upper teeth and the enamel on my front teeth became pitted. I was 53 and had never had a sinus infection in my life so didn't realize that I had one even though there was a thick green discharge constantly.
We laid there awake for 2 weeks, even sleeping pills didn't work. Finally on New Years Eve my husband went to Immediate Care where he was given Tamiflu. He returned home and told me to hurry before they closed because the doctor told him that I wouldn't get well without it and the next day they would be closed for New Years Day 2000. I went and got the Tamiflu and soon after I was writhing with abdominal pain and had to be rushed to the hospital.
I was x-rayed. They mentioned my Gall Bladder but I had had it removed the year before. I was violently vomiting. Soon I was given a shot to stop the vomiting. Then, I was given a shot that knocked me out. I was released the next day and billed almost $2500. There were commercials for Tamiflu on TV throughout the day but down in the left hand corner of the screen it mentioned a long list of side effects and I had most of them. Would I ever take Tamiflu again? NEVER!!
I had the flu a couple of weeks ago. My youngest (3 yr.old) had come down with it so naturally I caught it too! Since I am pregnant, my Doctor presribed Tamaflu. I looked up the risks and it was either take a chance with the Tamaflu or take a chance with the fever. My son's fever lasted for 4 days at 102.7- I couldn't risk that for my baby- so I took the tamaflu. My fever lasted a couple of hours for 2 days and never got over 100. I read up on-line that Tamaflu could make you sick to your stomach- so I took it with some food and water- it seemed to do the trick for me, I had no reaction to it.
I was over the worst of the flu symptoms within 2 days, my son was sick for a week! So some people will have an adverse reaction to it- like any medication- but it's worth weighing your options before you dismiss it without consideration.
~C.