View Full Version : Flu.. Doc or no?



Karried
10-19-2009, 12:01 PM
Not sure we are all passing around here. I have been out for about 8 days with nausea, headache, fever (103) and chills & horrible muscle aches. I've had no stuffiness, respitory or otherwise.

My son (age 12 today) has been battling a minor version of what I had for approx 3 weeks. One day he feels fine then the next day, same symptons I had but not nearly as severe. Lower fever, etc. Cycle, one day fine, next day throwing up. He has missed so much school!

Question? I've called a bunch of Dr Offices to see what they say ... should I bring him in to be told, take him home, put him to bed, plenty of fluids blah, blah or Yes, he has the flu, it's viral and here's a prescription for $100 Tamiflu which may or may not work since he has had it for so long already? Are there any other Flu meds that can be generic?

Of course, we have no health insurance that covers any of this until we meet a huge deductible and I don' t have a problem taking him if I thought it would help.. but I don't want to just drop close to $500 to have them tell me to come home and put him back to bed! More than half of the kids at school have some version of this same bug.

Any ideas?

betts
10-19-2009, 03:36 PM
If you've had symptoms for more than 48 hours, Tamiflu isn't likely to work. We're not even testing people for flu if they've got classic symptoms (which you do, Karrie). We're not prescribing Tamiflu for anyone unless they're under two or have a significant chronic illness. The biggest risk from the flu is the development of a bacterial infection as you're recovering, especially pneumonia. So, the people who need to spend the money to see their doctor are people who knew or were pretty sure they had the flu, were sick for 4 to 6 days and were starting to recover and then develop high fever, shaking chills, cough, chest pain, trouble breathing, abdominal pain and/or anorexia (not hungry). Or, obviously anyone having trouble breathing or keeping down fluids at any point in the illness.

Karried
10-19-2009, 05:49 PM
Thank you so much betts!

So, if that should happen, what do they treat bacterial infections with, just regular antibiotics?

betts
10-19-2009, 07:43 PM
Yes, usually, depending upon how sick the person is. It can be very serious, or fairly simple to treat, and everything in between, but as always, most people are O.K.

kevinpate
10-19-2009, 07:48 PM
fluids, rest and hot toddys ...doesn't anyone use the old standbys anymore?

After all, those are fairly good ideas even when you're feeling fit as a fiddle.

PennyQuilts
10-20-2009, 09:09 AM
Hunker down and sleep it off. Plenty of fluids. You and Junior are going to have the best immune system on the planet. As long as it doesn't get too high, let the fever do its job. It will keep Junior quiet and kill off whatever is causing trouble. If it gets worse, then go in and damn the money.

Karried
10-20-2009, 09:59 AM
Yes, that's what I did for myself. My fever got to 103.3 when I took it but it may have gotten higher. I tried to control it but also let my body do it's thing until I couldn't take it any more ... I have a good immune system and I was sick as a dog for about 7 days and then wallah, I was fine. Weird.

But, I'm scared about my son as it has been dragging on and on. He's a skinny little thing to begin with and it's breaking my heart to see him sick.

The strange thing is one day he is fine, the next, not. When I was sick, it hit me hard and I couldn't even dream of getting out of bed. He is up and down and playing one day and then the next morning, nausea and headache.

I've heard so many different conflicting things to do.... but nearly all of his friends who are sick have gone it to the Dr and they send them home, fluids, rest, nothing we can do... blah, blah, blah. I'm giving it one more day and then I guess I'll take him in to rule out anything else. heavy sigh.. this sucks.

kmf563
10-20-2009, 10:47 AM
poor little fella. :(

The thing I have found with Z is that he THINKS he feels fine the next day. He has a great ability to bounce back. And since he feels better...he thinks he feels fine. Then he over does everything and makes himself sick all over again. If I can get him to stay in bed when he thinks he feels fine, he usually gets over it quicker. Even if your guy thinks he feels better, make him sleep and drink lots of liquids. Avoid heavy foods and make him read instead of running around the house playing video games. :)

PennyQuilts
10-20-2009, 01:27 PM
I wonder if he has an underlying infection like an ear infection or something not directly related to the flu. Good luck, mom. It is so hard to see the kids feel bad.

metro
10-21-2009, 07:40 AM
They were saying on the national news this morning about kids feeling miraculously better one day after a few days of being sick, and then actually getting much worse due to some bacteria or virus and that it could lead to some serious illnesses. I believe it was on GMA this morning if you want to try and find a clip online and watch it, it was either that or Nightline last night on ABC. I can't remember as I was still half asleep. If it was my kid, I wouldn't gamble on their health, but that's just me. If you're worried about the cost due to your high deductable, take them to a pay up front clinic and not your normal doctor. Most of those emergency care places charge like $25 or $50 bucks w/ no insurance, much better than the $500 you stated.

PennyQuilts
10-28-2009, 02:37 AM
Karried, how is your son feeling? Better, I hope.