4 ms·

Hopefully this is better than Tamiflu. Years ago I was prescribed Tamiflu and man was it weird. Some of my flu symptoms were greatly reduced, yes, but my brain

Hopefully this is better than Tamiflu. Years ago I was prescribed Tamiflu and man was it weird. Some of my flu symptoms were greatly reduced, yes, but my brain felt like it was always on edge. For people who have done hallucinogens, it was like that edge of being about ready to trip, but never actually seeing visuals. It was not fun. I had trouble sleeping and just wanted the medication to be over with. I looked it up later and discovered it had some interesting brain interactions and side-effects in line with what I experienced. I'm up to date on my shots, but avoid the flu vaccine because ever time I've tried it, it makes my arm hurt (if that's the injection point) for about 3 days. I thought I'd get a tolerance eventually, but never did. It's not as bad as getting the flu, but it's still annoying enough I still avoid it.

refurb 9y ago
Interestingly, this drug was in-licensed by Roche, makers of Tamiflu!
inferiorhuman 9y ago
> It's not as bad as getting the flu Arm soreness is nowhere near as bad as getting the flu, not even the same ballpark. I get my jab annually and in exchange for those few days of soreness I can't remember the last time I had the flu. No idea what the Tamiflu side effects are like, they sound nasty -- unfortunately I've never had opportunity to take it.
- cm2012 9y ago
  As someone who hates needles, I would gladly have the flu 10 times a year than get one shot! But I work from home so I rarely get it or have the chance to be contagious.
  - mcpherrinm 9y ago
    You can get the vaccine as a nasal spray if you really hate needles.
    - amaccuish 9y ago
      Doesn't work as well and is now actively discouraged by current guidelines. The immunity induced is so much lower that it's almost not worth it.
      - yeukhon 9y ago
        To back it up: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/quadrivalent.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/quadrivalent.htm
  - perl4ever 9y ago
    I hadn't ever gotten anything resembling the flu in many years, but then I started spending every day in an open plan office. After being sick with a high fever a couple times, I started getting flu shots.
  - S_A_P 9y ago
    I had the flu a few times as a kid. I didn’t ever think it was that bad. I had the flu 2 years ago and I wasn’t right for a month. As you get older you immune system weakens and 3-5 days of 102-103 fever is enough to make you think you’re dying.
    - bitL 9y ago
      Maybe it was some stronger mutation? I had flu 2 years ago as well and it knocked me down for a month and then took another 5 months to recover fully, i.e. it kicked me back fitness-wise almost half a year. Still having some minor sleep issues since.
    - refurb 9y ago
      Actually it's the opposite. Young adults often have a very strong (too strong?) immune response that can make them very sick.
  - pavel_lishin 9y ago
    I hate needles as well, but I would rather take the injections than have the flu. (And recently I'm even more eager to take the vaccine, since I have a small child, and being knocked out of commission for several days is a very unappealing option.)
  - ryanianian 9y ago
    I personally hate needles as well - BUT every time I get the flu shot I just tell the nurse/pharmacist that I really don't like needles...they know how to work around that.. It's basically a combination of "never see the needle, look the other way, and no I'm not going to tell you exactly when I'm going to do it." Granted my needle-anxiety isn't extreme enough to pass out or go into a panic-attack. Basically: your resistance to getting vaccinated due to hating needles may be easily overcome by telling the person vaccinating you that you hate needles.
  - billforsternz 9y ago
    I suspect you've never had flu or else you'd not contemplate having it 10 times in a year. Many people confuse flu with the common cold. It's actually an order of magnitude or so more unpleasant and much less commonly experienced. Perhaps a once every 10 years or so thing for most people.
  - King-Aaron 9y ago
    A cold 10 times, sure. A proper flu 10 times in a year would probably leave you in an extremely critical situation.
  - bfuller 9y ago
    The flu can leave lasting damage to your heart. You wouldn't live very long having the flu 10 times a year.
- perl4ever 9y ago
  The first time I got the flu shot (after experiencing what seemed to be the flu a couple times, with a high fever) it felt like a "mini-flu" experience for roughly a day. I definitely felt quite ill, but it was over reasonably quickly. In subsequent years, I have had neither a reaction nor the flu after my shot.
- gfosco 9y ago
  I too have anecdotes. Like you, I also can't remember the last time I had the flu, which is why I don't get the flu shot.
- peatmoss 9y ago
  And if you remember to massage the arm at the injection site throughout the day, you’ll vastly reduce the residual soreness. Honestly, I get the flu shot each year not for myself, but for everyone else in society that might otherwise die if herd immunity is low.
cam_l 9y ago
tamiflu was proved to be almost entirely ineffective, and in the case of Australia at least, an expensive scam. https://ama.com.au/ausmed/govt-stands-tamiflu-despite-damning-findings https://ama.com.au/ausmed/govt-stands-tamiflu-despite-damnin...
dgoldstein0 9y ago
I think I've only had tamiflu once, and it was when I had swine flu in 2009. I don't recall side effects, but probably anything it did was so much more mild than the 104F fever I had before I started taking it.
petre 9y ago
Unfortunately the H3 part of current flu vaccines have about 13% efficiency according to this article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-the-problem-child-of-seasonal-flu-rdquo-beware-this-winter-rsquo-s-virus/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-the-problem...

refurb 9y ago

Interestingly, this drug was in-licensed by Roche, makers of Tamiflu!

inferiorhuman 9y ago

> It's not as bad as getting the flu Arm soreness is nowhere near as bad as getting the flu, not even the same ballpark. I get my jab annually and in exchange for those few days of soreness I can't remember the last time I had the flu. No idea what the Tamiflu side effects are like, they sound nasty -- unfortunately I've never had opportunity to take it.

cm2012 9y ago
As someone who hates needles, I would gladly have the flu 10 times a year than get one shot! But I work from home so I rarely get it or have the chance to be contagious.
- mcpherrinm 9y ago
  You can get the vaccine as a nasal spray if you really hate needles.
  - amaccuish 9y ago
    Doesn't work as well and is now actively discouraged by current guidelines. The immunity induced is so much lower that it's almost not worth it.
    - yeukhon 9y ago
      To back it up: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/quadrivalent.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/quadrivalent.htm
- perl4ever 9y ago
  I hadn't ever gotten anything resembling the flu in many years, but then I started spending every day in an open plan office. After being sick with a high fever a couple times, I started getting flu shots.
- S_A_P 9y ago
  I had the flu a few times as a kid. I didn’t ever think it was that bad. I had the flu 2 years ago and I wasn’t right for a month. As you get older you immune system weakens and 3-5 days of 102-103 fever is enough to make you think you’re dying.
  - bitL 9y ago
    Maybe it was some stronger mutation? I had flu 2 years ago as well and it knocked me down for a month and then took another 5 months to recover fully, i.e. it kicked me back fitness-wise almost half a year. Still having some minor sleep issues since.
  - refurb 9y ago
    Actually it's the opposite. Young adults often have a very strong (too strong?) immune response that can make them very sick.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  I hate needles as well, but I would rather take the injections than have the flu. (And recently I'm even more eager to take the vaccine, since I have a small child, and being knocked out of commission for several days is a very unappealing option.)
- ryanianian 9y ago
  I personally hate needles as well - BUT every time I get the flu shot I just tell the nurse/pharmacist that I really don't like needles...they know how to work around that.. It's basically a combination of "never see the needle, look the other way, and no I'm not going to tell you exactly when I'm going to do it." Granted my needle-anxiety isn't extreme enough to pass out or go into a panic-attack. Basically: your resistance to getting vaccinated due to hating needles may be easily overcome by telling the person vaccinating you that you hate needles.
- billforsternz 9y ago
  I suspect you've never had flu or else you'd not contemplate having it 10 times in a year. Many people confuse flu with the common cold. It's actually an order of magnitude or so more unpleasant and much less commonly experienced. Perhaps a once every 10 years or so thing for most people.
- King-Aaron 9y ago
  A cold 10 times, sure. A proper flu 10 times in a year would probably leave you in an extremely critical situation.
- bfuller 9y ago
  The flu can leave lasting damage to your heart. You wouldn't live very long having the flu 10 times a year.
perl4ever 9y ago
The first time I got the flu shot (after experiencing what seemed to be the flu a couple times, with a high fever) it felt like a "mini-flu" experience for roughly a day. I definitely felt quite ill, but it was over reasonably quickly. In subsequent years, I have had neither a reaction nor the flu after my shot.
gfosco 9y ago
I too have anecdotes. Like you, I also can't remember the last time I had the flu, which is why I don't get the flu shot.
peatmoss 9y ago
And if you remember to massage the arm at the injection site throughout the day, you’ll vastly reduce the residual soreness. Honestly, I get the flu shot each year not for myself, but for everyone else in society that might otherwise die if herd immunity is low.

cam_l 9y ago

tamiflu was proved to be almost entirely ineffective, and in the case of Australia at least, an expensive scam. https://ama.com.au/ausmed/govt-stands-tamiflu-despite-damning-findings https://ama.com.au/ausmed/govt-stands-tamiflu-despite-damnin...

dgoldstein0 9y ago

I think I've only had tamiflu once, and it was when I had swine flu in 2009. I don't recall side effects, but probably anything it did was so much more mild than the 104F fever I had before I started taking it.

petre 9y ago

Unfortunately the H3 part of current flu vaccines have about 13% efficiency according to this article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-the-problem-child-of-seasonal-flu-rdquo-beware-this-winter-rsquo-s-virus/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-the-problem...