Flu antivirals

[JudyMarieC]

With the flu surging here in the US, I'm trying to be prepared and plan ahead. Has anyone ever taken an antiviral and did it negatively affect your afib?

[FraserB]

I would check first any interactions of the specific antiviral and your own medications with either pharmacist or doctor.

[JudyMarieC in reply to FraserB]

You are right about that. Actually, I went to drugs.com and checked the interactions of 4 antivirals with my meds. I'm on digoxin which seems to interact with a lot of meds but luckily I didn't find any interactions. Also, my pharmacy is good about catching any meds that I shouldn't take.

[JezzaJezza]

have you had the flu vaccine for this year strain? That would be your starting point.

The flu this year is Influenza A and it is an absolute RIPPER if you catch it. I’ve seen friends floored with it for 2 solid weeks.

Jezza

[JudyMarieC in reply to JezzaJezza]

Yes, I've had the flu vaccine. I get it every year. And yes, this year's flu is terrible. My daughter and grandson were out of work/school for over a week. My daughter went to urgent care and was transported by ambulance to the emergency room due to low blood pressure and low heart rate. She was thoroughly checked out and sent home but she's been very sick with it. Neither she nor my grandson had the flu vaccine.

[JezzaJezza in reply to JudyMarieC]

Sorry to hear that with your daughter. I think after several years of mild flu variants, a lot of folks forget how awful it can be.

[DawnTX in reply to JezzaJezza]

I actually tested negative for the flu, but whatever I had it was as you would say a ripper. I think besides the flu out there. I was also tested for Covid. I was on including a steroid. Nothing helped the dry cough would not let up even in my sleep. I have had all kinds of things before never have I felt this sick it started in November. Finally, I thought it was gone originally it felt more like a cold, but three days later I woke up feeling sicker than ever have felt before and it continued until just about two weeks ago. On top of the cough I was constantly nauseous and or sick. It hit me everywhere in my body and I do mean everywhere. Even to try to drink water, which I love was pretty impossible it got to the point my skin was getting dry and flaky. I had a headache, etc. I had all the signs of severe dehydration. My cousin and a friend wanted me to go to the hospital for an IV I go. I have a medication for nausea and also forced myself to drink sports drinks, not the type with caffeine, etc. this one is for dehydration. I could finally feel the difference when I started getting hydrated, but it has taken a very long time to get over whatever this is. Right now, they are calling flu moderate where I am. I think they do these things because people just are not going to the doctor or hospital and ride it out. Plus the fact I tested negative, so it won’t get reported anyway.

my doctor is smart. He will come out to the car and test you, etc. trying to keep the healthy ones away from us. He’s been doing this since Covid. I always thought one of the easiest ways to get sick is in the doctor office.

I also had the strangest Symptoms such as a constantly runny nose, I felt like a and I had a severe headache just one spot along with the dry cough and worse than any flu I ever had. As I said, I think they’re going to discover something new or they already know about it and not telling anyone. real differences is bacterial or viral. Everything they put me on was for my symptoms, including the allergy pills. I’m guessing it was viral, which is why they did not work. I been sick too long for them to give me the antiviral meds. You’re pretty much have to catch it right away

being sick whether it’s a cold or a headache or whatever no doubt is just another trigger for a fib and flutter

[JudyMarieC in reply to DawnTX]

Sounds like you had an awful time with the flu. My daughter also had nausea, body aches and felt like her head was going to explode - the headache was so severe. I hope you're feeling better now.

[DawnTX in reply to JudyMarieC]

Judy Marie. It wasn’t the flu and it wasn’t Covid. I tested negative. No idea what it was but a couple of months of it was not fun. I hope your family is all doing well. headache was almost like a migraine, but the pain was in one spot and with the constant dry cough. It only made my head hurt more.🙀

[Auriculaire in reply to DawnTX]

Most people who say they have the flu do not actually have an influenza infection . They have an ILI - an influenza like infection. This is a respiratory infection caused by another virus which gives symptoms worse than an average cold. So if you were tested and no influenza virus was present you had an ILI. These can be caused by the range of corona viruses that infect humans or by RSV . They can make you feel equally ill.

[DawnTX in reply to Auriculaire]

Thank you for the information. It was definitely respiratory and I figured it had to be a virus because the antibiotic, steroids, etc. did not do anything. The steady dry cough was probably the worst part of it. my cousin has in the house and he could hear me through floor of up there. Believe it or not trying to help me he picked up Tylenol for severe cough and it worked. It didn’t make it go away, but it would give me a few hours of sleep without coughing. I have had Covid, pneumonia, pericarditis you name it, and I don’t believe I have ever felt as bad as I did with this.

thank you again😊

[Drone01]

Fewer people in the UK take antivirals because they need to be prescribed after infection rather than kept handy. It’s not too late to have the adjuvanted quadrivalent shot if you haven’t had it already. No evidence of significant adverse reactions to the flu vaccine.

[JudyMarieC in reply to Drone01]

I do get the flu vaccine every year. I'm sure my doctor would not prescribe an antiviral to have on hand but I would hope he'd prescribe it if I should come down with the flu.

[DawnTX in reply to JudyMarieC]

it would be nice if you could keep it in the house. I always get sick on Friday when he closes or sometime over the weekend and supposed to take that stuff right away or it does no good. I have only missed the shot twice before and every time I got the flu so to the all I can say is I believe

hopefully you don’t come down with it. I barely leave the house, but I had mentioned my cousin casino that has bus loads of people daily as a small but usually filled to the 1200 they would have more if they had more but that’s capacity for he has asthma so he catches things easy. Also I liked it when they had to wear a mask lol

[BJ24]

The antiviral medication called Tamiflu works very well to help shorten the time of experiencing a bout with the flu. It has to be taken within 48 hours of when a person experiences the symptoms. Worked well for me even though I took it on the 3rd day. I had a flu vaccine months ago but still got the flu. The flu is nothing to play with. People can die from the flu and I think the numbers here in the U.S. are 13,000 deaths this season.