Please, I need some advice quickly...

My sister was just sick with the flu and her Dr prescribed Tamiflu, which she took and felt much better within a couple days.

I would say that he should take it right away. Tamiflu lessens the symptoms of all flu and if it is given early enogh your huband will suffer very a mild case of the flu verses a bad one...IMO

Meewee

I cant believe they are prescribing Tamiflu for the normal flu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very sure CDC warned about using Tamiflu !!!!! because they dint want the BF to become immune to it !!!!! WOW !!!!!!!so they are really F!$%*&$* it too ! Even in the Oprah show they talked about this other 2 antibiotics ,  that have become 92% ineffective against any flu .

If we all stay drunk, wouldn't alcohol in the blood kill the virus?

Edited by Corn

Well, I sure hope we're not contributing to a resistant strain of H3N2, but my husband went ahead and took the first dose.  It was prescribed at 75mg 2X per day, just like for bird flu.  The Doc told my husband that the AMA was advising against allowing people to stockpile it - "which is why I'm advising the opposite" he said.  He also said that it was "miraculous" and that symptoms would be gone almost immediately. 

Whoever it was (maybe Albert?) who said walk-in clinics were the way to go, was certainly correct.  The instruction sheet inside said that anyone else in the household who could be exposed to the flu should preemptively take it (which sounds like a great way to encourage lots of people to take it "just in case" and then discontinue early when they end up feeling fine - sheesh).  Still, this will be my justification for getting it prescribed for the rest of the family for a real emergency.  

THe boring medical advice about alcohol is that it can depress the immune system, and that you shouldnt drink alcohol whilst ill as it can make dehydration etc worse. But for me this should be balanced with factors such as stress, mental health, and the posibility that it may do some good to some peoples bodies. The usual balancing act, do downsides outwiegh any benefits?

I wondered what, if any, effect caffiene has on influenza as well, I gave up Tea some months ago (for other reasons), who knows if that will be an advantage if I get bird flu or a drawback!

Maybe they are giving out Tamiflu more now because I think that just the other week, USA health authorities advised the medical prevention to stop giving out Amantadine as a flu antivirus de to a report that a really high %age of this years normal influenza circulating in the USA is Amantadine resistant.

I think we probably have stricter control of drugs here n the UK, I get the idea some of your drop im medical centers are quicker to give out medication, but then again anti-biotics are sometimes given out like candy here, a lot must boil down to the attitude of each doctor.

I have been HOPING that I will get the flu this season, just so that I can stockpile my Tamiflu prescription (instead of taking it).

For that matter, if anyone else has Tamiflu and doesn't want to take it for the reasons stated above, I will be happy to take it off your hands!!

just a quick question to all those who are concerned about their tamiflu stockpile...

How will you know when you in fact have bird flu in time to take the drug..or are you gonna take it for any seasonal flu which you may suspect is really bird flu? But the real question i am asking is ...how will you know its bird flu that you have without a test? I think you may need some quick test kits first..lol

Now my answer...>Unless you have a quick bird flu test kit handy... By the time you get your test result won't it be kinda late to take tamiflu? You could already be on the road to death if it is bird flu, don't you think? Now i know what your thinking....(don't be so negative) well i am realistic ....death happened when no diagnosis was made on time and tamiflu was not available to someone I loved ...but death did occur faster than seasonal flu (it caused a cytokine storm)-and I am guessing because we don't know the strain but we do know it didn't have time to cause bacterial secondary infection...so this tamiflu thing sounds great , until it is used so much that when it's really needed it no longer works  OR when there ends up being no time left due to not knowing what strain you have and by then its too late. heck for some they don't even know they have a virus let alone what they are sick with.Most do not self diagnose themselves accurately. So unless we're talking about a self medication  knee jerk reaction here...to each his own, I say..but this is not realistic to me now--- knowing what i know from first hand experience. There is no easy solution here if it becomes pandemic, that i also know. your comments are welcomed but please go easy.thanks

Edited by seesthelight