Flu

[Bio and adopt]

PANDAS son woke up this morning with fever, and body aches. If we find it is the flu are the PANDAS doctors recommending using antivirals like Tamiflu? My son has been fairly symptom free for 6 months and so far today we are not seeing any issues. He had IVIG and Plasmpheresis about a year ago.

[Hopeny]

It works but it can cause psych symptoms so you need to monitor. My dd took it pre pandas and had no problems. I took it when I was pregnant for direct exposure to swine flu, I can't recall any issues

[MomWithOCDSon]

Does your child by any chance take n-acetylcystein (NAC)? They're finding that it helps protect against and reduce the ferocity/duration of the flu.

 

NAC Fights the Flu

 

Experientially, we think our DS has benefitted from his NAC supplementation in this regard. Several of his classmates and a beloved teacher came down with a nasty flu right before winter break. His teacher was out for several days, and even when he came back, he was ragged and having a tough time. DS, meanwhile, came down with a cold-like virus which entailed one day of fever, and then he bounced back and was A-OK. He avoided the stomach component of the bug altogether, and the congestion cleared within 3 days.

 

Just a thought.

 

Hope he's better soon!

[Missmom]

My ds12 got flu and I also had concerns but neurologist said it would be ok. I gave him Tamiflu without any incidences. He did not even flair from the flu. Just watch for any neuro side effects and discontinue if you see anything.

[LNN]

My son had a negative reaction to tamiflu 3 yrs ago when H1N1 first hit the scene. After 1 dose, he developed clonus movements and described vertigo and was a little delirious. We discontinued and these issues resolved w/in 24 hrs.

 

My daughter tested negative for the flu last week but it sure looked like she had it - 101 fever for 2-3 days, congestion, unable to get off the couch for 5 days, not wanting to eat or drink. Tested her at the pedi - negative for flu - or at least for whatever strains their test looked for. To help her sleep one night, I gave her OTC children's cold medicine every 4 hrs as directed. She too developed clonus movements, got super spacy. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Got a rush appt with a neurologist the next day, who looked at the video I took, and felt it was probably an adverse reaction to the cold meds - anticholinergic toxicity that lowers dopamine too much and causes movement issues. It resolved w/in 24 hrs, tho DD remained moody/depressed/anxious over the weekend. (She was happy and calm this morning).

 

So maybe I just have hyper-sensitive kids. But the moral of the story is that if you see a negative reaction, if you stop the tamiflu, the symptoms should resolve. But do keep a close eye. There have been reports of serious behavioral reactions. Guess you need to weigh pros and cons depending on how seriously the flu is impacting your son right now.