My Asthmatic Son has the Flu and Im Scared to take Tamiflu

[sydneymom]

Ive been doing pretty well HA wise. Therapy is helping. However last night my son woke me up at three am with a fever. He hadnt been feeling well for days but nothing major just cold symptoms. I took him to the doctor this morning thinking he had caught his brothers cold or had strep throat. Turns out he has the flu type b.

This causes me tremendous anxiety. Because he is asthmatic his whole life has been about keeping him from getting him the flu. We all get the flu shot, and when his younger brother had the flu two years ago the entire family took tamiflu to keep him from getting it. He is on tamiflu now but I am terrified he will have complications because of his asthma and be hospitalized or worse.

Also, this time my pediatrician said I dont have to treat my other two sons with tamiflu as they have no underlying conditions. I was ok with that. However, he said to ask my doctor about myself since I am the caregiveer and my son slept with me last night. I do know that in 2010 I took tamiflu and did not get the flu while taking care of my son, and I hadnt even had the flu shot. However, I do remember that the first two days of taking it I was incredibly nauseous, congested and had weird hallucinations in my sleep. Like I kept waking up hearing someone yelling and would ask my husband who was yelling.

I checked my old posts from that time on here to comfort myself, and prove to myself that after the first two of ten days I was fine on tamiflu. Then I read that I was also short of breath. Now I dont know what to do. If I dont take it and get the flu, I will end up taking it anyway. But there is a good chance I will not catch it at all. I do sleep in the small room with my son at night and he coughs alot though.

Im afraid the tamiflu will give me a panic attack or a bad sleep or that I will hallucinate and go crazy or something. I know back in 2010 I was tauting the drug as a miracle since none of the rest of us got the flu.

Im suspicious of medications in the first place. Ive already had a bit of a sore throat and a headache for a few day. For all I know I have a very mild version of the flu right now, though unlikely.

I cant mention this to my husband. He has had his fill of me and doesnt want to hear it. Says take it or dont take it. He knows what will happen. If I take it I will worry. If I dont I wll worry. Help.

[oregoncoastlady]

Well...you have a dilemma. I get it because I am medicine phobic as well. Here's the thing, flu shots don't guaranty you will not get the flu. They only cover certain strains. I don't know much about tamiflu. From what I have read, its effectiveness is uncertain. Regardless, if it was me, I would probably not take it. I would wash my hands often, use the antibacterial wipes at the grocery store to wipe down the cart handle, etc., etc..  But, you said you took it in 2010 and didn't have problems? That being the case, why do you think you would have problems now? I understand that as moms  we want to do everything in our power to help our children, but if taking the medicine will make you so panicky that you won't be able to function well, then it doesn't seem like a good idea.

Try to calm down. Chances are, your son will get through this flu just fine.