Last night my daughter tried to kill me. No, this is not a joke and yes, you do need to read the full story.
My evening started by coming home from work to find Emma with a fever of 103.1 and complaining of a runny nose. I gave her Tylenol, sent the boys to my moms house next door and took her to see her Pedi. Four hours later, they gave her another dose of tylenol and we left with a prescriptions for Tamiflu and Ibuprofen after they diagnosed her for the flu by symptoms. Prescriptions were filled, medicine was administered in my vehicle in the CVS parking lot (She still had a fever of 103 so I felt like she couldn't wait the 4 hours for her next dose) and we drove home. Within thirty minutes of her falling asleep, she woke up. This is where my nightmare begins.
My daughter woke up but she wasn't herself. She woke up breaking things and came into my bedroom saying she was going to kill me. After ten minutes of wrestling with her, trying reason with her and wake her up from what I assumed was her sleep walking, her mood snapped and she began to cry stating, "Please, mommy, I'm so sorry. I love you but I can't wake up. The noise in head won't let me." I hugged her and told her I loved her, gave her ibuprofen because her fever was still 103 and woke up my boys and told them to get dressed so they could go stay with my aunt for the night.
Our first stop was Knapp. Yes, Crappy Knappy, because even though it sucks it's still the closest hospital to home and this was clearly an emergency. She was found with a fever of 102.2 and was given her fifth dose of fever medication in 6 hours. Twenty minutes later the ER Dr tells me "why'd you bring her here if you've already started the Tamiflu. It doesn't go away overnight, you know.". He did not address the concern of what I thought was a fever induced sleepwalking/tremer but instead after me questioning his medical opinion three times, said he would have her evaluated for pyshc if that would make me happy or I could go home and have her take Tamiflu like a regular person. I told them to charge up insurance, told the Dr he was a prime example of why Knapp has such a bad image, signed my paperwork and left to the next hospital, DHR. mermaid prom party outfits in black
Within five minutes of arriving at the DHR ER, the Pediatrician was paged and arrived at her bedside. I was quickly informed that a fever not relieved by more than a days dose of tylenol and Ibuprofen in a one dose time frame was not only cause for alarm but a sign of fear when taken with Tamiflu. The Doctor informed me not only was my daughter having an allergic reaction to Tamiflu but she was also exhibiting side effects of the medication (anxiety, hallucinations, unusual behavior, breathing problems, and loss of contact with reality are all serious side effects of Tamiflu). They monitored her overnight, brought her fever down and returned her to her lucid self, in which she states she has no recollection of her craziness and can only apologize.
So now we're home, fighting the flu the old fashioned way with Tylenol and chicken noodle soup, and as I sit here looking at her, I'm wondering how many other parents have been through this and have been turned away and told their child was fine and to continue taking the same meds that could possibly kill them.
Before I left DHR, the Pediatrician gave me a simple Google search print out of multiple children with the same experience as her from the past month, patted me on the back and said "you're not crazy and neither is she. Tamiflu just doesn't always work well with children and not all Drs are aware of those studies.".
I love my daughter more than I love myself and as a mother, I feel the need to urge other parents to take caution when administering Tamiflu to their child. Watch your children, don't give them their first dose overnight, take the day off from work, go above and beyond and be a helicopter parent, just make sure your child is okay and remember to tell them you love them ?