Can't get Tamiflu?

[Anonymous]

My 18 month old has confirmed H1N1 as of this morning. I've called 7 CVS pharmacies and they don't carry it. Apparently the manufacturer stopped making the suspension compounds? Should I be worried about that? I've got a call into the doctor but haven't heard back yet.
Is Tamiflu worth it? The Dr. was reluctant to give it to her, but did since she's so miserable, under 2 and had a fever even while on Motrin.........

[Anonymous]

The Apothecary in Springfield supposedly carries it.

[Anonymous]

OP, talk to your doctor about Tamilfu, we were told the side effects of Tamilfu were just as bad as the flu.

[Anonymous]

Tamiflu worked for us-no side effects that I know of and it brought the fever down quickly where tylenol didn't. But my kid is over 2. I couldn't find it either and finally one place took a capsule version and compounded it into a liquid. Ped said that was ok for our purposes. I called 2 targets, a specialty pharmacy in Chevy Chase, just about every CVS in the county and 2 Giants before I found one CVS that suggsted the above.

[Anonymous]

OP. Just found it at the Apothecary in Kensington. She prescribed it with the advice that the side effects are rough. But since she's so miserable the hope is the Tamiflu will shorten the duration and lessen the severity. She had 104.5 fever last night and I never got her under 100 all day today.
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

for others who may be in this situation:

supposedly walgreens is committed to being able to compund Tamiflu into a suspension.

http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5220

In addition here is some information for compounding it yourself.

http://www.cchdoc.com/PDFs/Bioterrorism/Pediatric%20dosage/English/13%20Tamiflu%20Pediatric%20Doses%202.pdf

The above information came from this website:

http://www.cchdoc.com/Pediatric%20Dosing%20tables.htm

[Anonymous]

Our ped says they only give Tamiflu to children who have a history of wheezing or have a compromised immune system. He said that 1) it did not make much of a difference in the length of flu for most kids (i.e., shorter by hours not days), and 2) the side effects (stomach pain and diarrhea) were just as bad as the flu.

[Anonymous]

I got some at Tshiffley Pharmacy last week.

[Anonymous]

Another update - the pharmacist at the Apothecary couldn't compound it because the script said "suspension". My husband tried to get in touch with the doctor but couldn't, so they called around and found a pharmacy in Brookeville that had it.
Also - my doctor did give this with hesitation. She said if my 2 or 3 year olds get it she wouldn't prescribe it. Only for my current miserable one. Can I stop it if the side effects are too much to deal with? My understanding is that it's not like an antibiotic at all.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was diagnosed with Swine flue on Sunday AM and had 104 fever. After Tamiflu was administured that day and some long hard rest she was down to 99.5 and bouncing off the walls. She loved the tamiflu because it made her feel so much better. I got the prescription at RITE AID and had no problems filling it. She does have Asthma and I dont knwo if a normal health person can obtain it but for her its been heaven sent.Her fever is steady at 99.5 so I am not letting her return to school yet. I think alot of people are nieve and think the kids are over it and sending them back too early. Please considet this if you or your child gets it! The virus will just keep sreading!

[Anonymous]

Not sure about Tamiflu specifically, but in the past when I've had difficult medications that pharmacies don't normally carry, the pharmacist can special order the prescription and it should arrive within 1 day. I've done this at Safeway and really appreciated the pharmacist helping me with it. Not the best solution, but if NO ONE has it, it's better than nothing.

[Anonymous]

surprised pharmacies don't have tamiflu given the hoopla about swine flu? why would they not be prepared?

[Anonymous]

The reason prescriptions for Tamiflu are rare is so that the virus does not become immune to Tamiflu. Physicians
should be saving it for children and adults with chronic conditions which would be especially compromised
by the flu. That being said, I have one of those children.. who has global developmental delays, low muscle
tone and a host of other issues. We got a suspension of Tamiflu at Kensington Pharmacy.

I hope pediatricians do not give this drug out haphazardly so kids who really have serious health issues will
have a chance with Tamiflu.

[Anonymous]

I don't have time to pull the link but the NY Times did a story a few weeks ago about compounding tamiflu (and about the company that makes cherry flavored syrup which many pharmacists will use to mix with the drug). My understanding is there is no reason not to insist on this if your child is sick. I believe another study just came out strongly recommending antivirals because of the way swine flu is causing secondary lung infections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:surprised pharmacies don't have tamiflu given the hoopla about swine flu? why would they not be prepared?

Pharmacies can compound it themselves. It involves the process of grinding up tablets into powder and mising it with syrup.

They don't want to because it takes time to do it, but the insurance companies won't reimburse them for the extra time, basically. They won't reimburse for compounded medicines. There's also the issue that they might not have or might run out of the cherry flavored liquid that they need.

The fact that the script said "suspension" so the pharmacist couldn't do it makes no sense to me. That's what you wanted, OP -- you wanted Tamiflu suspended in a syrup.