stomach flu

[Beata0102]

Hello.

What do you think? I have had stomach flu since yesterday evening. I take cyclosporine along with leflunomide. I called the GP and they didn't help me, they just told me to call the hospital, which I did, but I'm waiting for the nurse to call me back, who probably won't call me back until tomorrow. Do you stop taking all your meds when you have stomach flu?

[KittyJ]

Sorry but I’ve never heard of that, what is stomach flu?

[Beata0102 in reply to KittyJ]

Hello KittyJ. this is a virus that causes very severe vomiting and diarrhea. Flu symptoms plus vomiting and diarrhea few days.

[Boxerlady in reply to KittyJ]

You might know it as gastroenteritis - horrible! Hope that you feel better soon, Beata. Can't answer your question, sorry but suspect you'd have trouble getting anything into your system anyway. Might be worth asking if you're ok to take probiotics once you're on the mend 😉

[Beata0102 in reply to Boxerlady]

Thank you very much for your answer. I will ask

[KittyJ in reply to Boxerlady]

Ah thanks Boxerlady 🙏🏻

[Bedwell]

what is stomach flu? I had acid reflux all yesterday and am still feeling a bit nauseous ! Great grandaughter visiting today…hooray.. . Yesterday just had soups and yoghourt. Homeopath visiting tomorrow. His remedy certainly helped yesterday somewhat . Was due to reduce to 1.25 from 1.5 today but won’t! As for neuropathy!?!?!

Life!!!!

[Beata0102 in reply to Bedwell]

Yes. This is gastroenteritis. It's awful. I haven't been able to eat or drink anything for two days. I'm throwing everything up.

[Rusticgarden]

Do you mean D&V? As flu is respiratory it can't be in the stomach.If gastroenteritis withhold food ,take paracetamol 4 hourly and keep drinking .Hope you feel better soon

[Beata0102 in reply to Rusticgarden]

Yes. This is gastroenteritis. It's awful. I haven't been able to eat or drink anything for two days. I'm throwing everything up. Thank you very much for your answer.

[Rusticgarden in reply to Beata0102]

If it lasts longer or gets worse contact GP as you may need electrolytes replacing,keep sipping water x

[Haz58]

How long have you been on leflunamide? I was put on it. Started on a low dose then as I was still in terrible pain told by a rheumy nurse to double it. I had acute diarrhea for 6 weeks after upping the dose for just a few days I think it was. Had to stop it pretty fast. Also had to stop MTX jabs before I was put on leflunamide as it gave me gastritis. Terrible times. I lost 2 stone in weight in the space of a couple of weeks after the leflunamide. Then I got gallstones because I'd lost weight so fast so they say.

[Beata0102 in reply to Haz58]

Hi Haz58. I have been on Leflunomide 10mg since March. From March I took leflunomide 10mg together with metrotexate 25mg until June. In June the dermatologist changed me to take cyclosporine 200mg together with leflunomide 10mg daily because I started having severe psoriasis again. I had no side effects at all from leflunomide or metrotexate, it was only when I started taking cyclosporine that I started feeling worse.

[Haz58 in reply to Beata0102]

Ok. Best to see what rheumy says. I hope they call you quickly. X

[oldtimer2]

Keep hydrated with large amounts of fluid (rehydration sachets if you can bear them are fine but otherwise make up your own with water, salt and flavouring). Rest.

If you are actively vomiting then no point in taking the medications and anyway probably best to avoid them for 7 days until your gut has settled down. Taking medication which lowers your immune response is probably best avoided while you have an active infection, but you may have a flare - the rheumatologist will try to balance out those two things.

[AgedCrone]

What are the symptoms of stomach flu? Do you mean you have diarrhoea?

[Beata0102 in reply to AgedCrone]

Hi AgedCrone. This is gastroenteritis. Since Sunday I have had terrible diarrhea and for the first two days terrible vomiting.

[AgedCrone]

Oh dear…..maybe you have some sort of food poisoning?

[Boxerlady in reply to AgedCrone]

I've had stomach flu twice and food poisoning once; similar symptoms but the food poisoning passed much quicker and definitely felt "fluey" with the other ones and had a sort of post-viral fatigue too 😔

[AgedCrone in reply to Boxerlady]

Oh I do hope you don’t get anything like it again.

[Boxerlady in reply to AgedCrone]

Me too! Happily all those experiences were over 40 years ago so hopefully not to be repeated. I suspect that they - along with repeated courses of penicillin for tonsillitis and an emergency appendectomy - contributed to me developing IBS. That has thankfully improved in recent years partly due, I think, to the Sulphasalzine I take for RA. Every cloud! 😉

[AgedCrone in reply to Boxerlady]

I developed IBS after catching amoebic dysentery in India….20+ years ago.

Doctors here were all doom & gloom…but after a few years my gut sorted itself out & I had no more problems ……except when I developed RA, every time I changed Dmard some bright spark would say “It’s not licensed if you have got IBS” . I don’t know if it’s the same now, but 20 years ago Doctors here seemed to think you never got rid of IBS.