Posted on 08/28/2009 4:33:37 PM PDT by teenyelliott
Just got back from the doctor, and my 13 year old tested positive for swine flu.
THE GOVERNMENT has issued orders to all doctors to no longer treat patients with Tamiflu unless they are bad enough to be admitted to the hospital. They don't want to run out.
Thankfully, my doc gave it to her anyway, so I am hoping I don't have to worry about her getting that bad.
So, I will be giving periodic first hand accounts of the progression of this thing so that FReepers can hear it first hand, rather than relying on the media to tell you how it is.
Her throat started feeling scratchy on Wednesday evening, but she was fine. By 12:30 today, she had a fever of 102.8. She just took her first dose of Tamiflu, which by the way cost 120.00, and that was after our discount. They won't be making any money off of this, will they??!!!!!!
While I might seem lighthearted about this, I am worried. I have two younger children, and my own health problems as well. Being spooked by the media hasn't helped.
If you don't mind, any of you so inclined please say a little prayer for my girls.
We are all now quarantined.
I thought so too, so I don't get why the Docs and teachers are being told not to report new cases. The only thing I can figure is that if no individual cases are reported, and the CDC only reports on deaths as gathered from hospital information, then we have no true numbers as to rate of infection vs death. The docs are not even required to submit positive test results to the schools, the state or to the CDC. I would think obviously that that fact will distort the information used to determine not only how widespread this gets, but also how dangerous it is.
Prayers up for your girl and all of you.
Spoke with her doctor and principal this morning, and both agree that she can go back to school tomorrow.
No one else got sick, so this really turned out to be a non-event. She was FAR less sick, and for a much shorter duration, than with a cold, let alone the regular flu.
Thanks to all of you for your support!!!!!
Good thing is that you don’t have to stress out about whether or not to give her the vaccine. No vaccine!!
How’s the flu thing going?
“Thankfully, my doc gave it to her anyway,....”
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Franken idiot! Report him immediately. It is not about running out. It is about creating Tamiflu-resistant flu!!!
God help us.
Thanks for asking.
Gee, no thanks.
This guy has been our doc for 13 years, and is a good doctor.
When The Government says not to do something, and a person I trust says, Yes, do it, I'll choose the person I trust over government every time.
Swine flu confusion or not (do this, don't do that, opinion and direction change every week), I am not going to "flag" a friend who doesn't comply with the marching orders of the overlords.
Good Lord, woman. This is about science and medicine. Not “marching orders” from the government.
I don’t care if you report him, what I do want you to understand that prescribing antivirals to people willy nilly is bad medical practice. Do you not understand that by doing what he did — especially if he also gives it to people as a prophylactic — that in exponentially increases the potential of creating a virus that is RESISTANT to antivirals?
In case you do not understand, that means we could end up with a strain of flu from which there is NO medicinal protection. AND YOUR TRUSTED DOCTOR IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE POTENTIAL OF THAT HAPPENING.
AND SO ARE YOU.
Willy nilly? There's a window of effectiveness for prescribing them, that if missed, renders the whole thing moot.
Teenyelliott did not say that he was giving it to patients prophylactically, she said her daughter had flu symptoms. You're getting all bent out of shape about something that you think the doctor MIGHT be doing.
All he did was ignore the advice of the GOVERNMENT and use his best judgment, which is what I would hope MY doctor would do, because some government official who makes policy somewhere is not going to have to live with the consequences of waiting too long, until the window of opportunity is missed and the Tamiflu is a waste of money..
If you wait to see how sick someone is going to get before prescribing them, it's too late, you miss that window. By your reasoning, nobody would be getting it. Why even have it in the first place if it isn't going to be used?
There is the concern that young people are more at risk for a bad case of swine flu and her 13 year old is pretty close to that age range.
The use of any medicine to combat any disease results in the risk of whatever-resistant disease, but concern about that is no reason to not use the medicine while we have it and while it works. All it takes is on right situation for something to become drug resistant and that could theoretically happen on the first dose.
Taking it for just any common cold, as antibiotics were used indiscriminately for colds, is what the danger is. Not using it for a virus that has the potential for serious consequences that the swine flu does for someone close to or in the high risk age range.
“Teenyelliott did not say that he was giving it to patients prophylactically, “
I stopped reading there. I didn’t say she said that. If you can’t follow the conversation I’m certainly not going to waste my time reading your posts.
I dont care if you report him, what I do want you to understand that prescribing antivirals to people willy nilly is bad medical practice. Do you not understand that by doing what he did especially if he also gives it to people as a prophylactic that in exponentially increases the potential of creating a virus that is RESISTANT to antivirals?
I can follow the conversation just fine. Choose your words better if you don't want to be misunderstood.
Otherwise, consider yourself busted, which is why you didn't read any further.
Busted for what? Not reading stupid posts?
Apparently you cannot see the big fat IF in the sentence. Saying “if” he did it is NOT saying he DID do it...which is what you said that I said.
Words have meaning. Try improving your comprehension. And thanks for confirming my decision not to read any further.
Yes, even though I am a silly woman, I do understand the science behind it.
She tested positive, she had a fever of close to 103, he listened to her lungs and decided she was bad enough to be treated.
As a mother, I decided to listen to her doctor and treat her for something that was making her very ill.
If you find yourself in the same situation, by all means tell your kid to suck it up for the greater good.
Disagree all you want, but there is no reason to be hateful. Choosing to post on a thread regarding a mother worrying about her sick kid simply to tell me that by treating my sick child I am contributing to others having "no medicinal protection" is not helpful.
Should we just never treat it at all, then? If we do, we might make it resistant. If we don't, people might die.
Using those scenarios, which path would you choose for your loved one?
“Yes, even though I am a silly woman,”
I did not connect your silliness to your gender. Don’t try to make me out to be some kind of sexist. If you have some phobia about your gender, that’s your problem, not mine.
“She tested positive,...”
Please tell me how your doctor knew that? It takes several days to a week to get the results of a lab test that identify the STRAIN. If he gave her tamiflu after onset he was wasting the drug.
“As a mother, I decided to listen to her doctor and treat her for something that was making her very ill.”
Good for you. In my initial comment I did not say you were wrong. I said your doc was wrong.
“If you find yourself in the same situation, by all means tell your kid to suck it up for the greater good.”
If I’m in the same situation I will go with what the top doctors in the world say I should do, not some idiot who may be creating a new strain of antiviral resistant flu that could kill millions of people because I know better. Again, I do not fault you for that.
“I do not understand why more people cannot carry on a civil conversation.”
I don’t either. Remember, it was you who accused me falsely and my comments were directed to your doctor not you. Now, go look in the mirror and ask that question.
“Disagree all you want,”
I will.
” but there is no reason to be hateful.”
I wasn’t. I simply defend myself after being attacked.
“Choosing to post on a thread regarding a mother worrying about her sick kid simply to tell me that by treating my sick child I am contributing to others having “no medicinal protection” is not helpful.”
I did not do that to you. It was to your doctor. If you actually listen to what I was saying I think you would find it TO be helpful.
“Should we just never treat it at all, then? If we do, we might make it resistant. If we don’t, people might die.”
With H1N1 most healthy people will not die. That aside, the answer is that many considerations go into making recommendations as to whether to use antivirals or not. If you really care to learn, go to the CDC website and look at the guidance for professionals...as your doctor should have. Each virus is different and the have different recommendations.
“Using those scenarios, which path would you choose for your loved one?”
If I did not know better, I would do what you did. If I knew better, I would find another doctor. The finer point being, there are a good number of other treatments and meds that could have been used. I am not suggesting that doing nothing is an appropriate action.
Still a POS, I see.
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