i have the flu. sickest ive ever been in my life. doc said she wouldnt give me a z pack because im already on pred (8 mg). im taking tamiflu and pills to stop coughing. should i increase pred by 5 mg for a few days? thanks.
I WOUlD ASK YOUR DoCTOR; I DO NOT knoIW IF PRED IntERACTS WITH TAMIFlU. TAMIFLU IS a
VERY HELPFUL antiviral.
Possibly - if only to cope with the stress of the infection.
the urgent care doc said no because im already on pref for pmr and have a compromised immune system. but ive never been this sick, day 3.
What PMRpro says, but you are already at 8 mg, so I don’t know you’d want to go up too much. More pred is not going to help you fight off infections… Personally I’d only go up for the stress factor if I were feeling PMR symptoms, or if I were into adrenal insufficiency territory.
Get lots of sleep, drink plenty of fluids. Antibiotics will only help if you develop a secondary bacterial infection (I assume that’s what a z pack is? Never heard of it before).
z pack is short term pred that docs use for everything nowadays.
i ache everywhere and im too weak to get up much. pmr vs flu, cant tell. first day i three up so much they told husband to call ambulance but it settled down eventually.
how would i know if adrenal insuffiency?
Z-pak (azithromycin) is an antibiotic…it is not a “short term pred” and it does not help “cure” the flu.
It is likely being used to help prevent a secondary infection since you are immunocompromised.
yes youre right. pred head and flu. im thinking of a short term pred pack where you start off with 20 and taper down over a few days. docs used to give it all the time, in fact, my husband just finished one.
That’s called a Medrol Dose Pack
As I read it the first time I nearly said that then assumed I was wrong and it meant the Medrol pack. We don’t have either of them in Europe.
Confusion probably - but if the vomiting continues you will need injections.
no longer vomiting, thank goodness. eating a little, moving around a little. pmr stiffness and soreness from being so inactive.
hi Twopies…
I’ve not been on forum much lately, but when I saw your name and your concern, I had to jump in.
So sorry you’re sick…I’ve been fighting flu-like symptoms myself for wks. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what is pred related(I’m at 5.5 once again)…and what’s not!
being that we’ve all got compromised immune systems, it’s quite concerning when besides all the normal “stuff”, we’ve now got this Caronavirus invading us.
As you can see, I don’t have the answer…I just needed to touch base.
Once again, I’m STRUGGLING with the notion of taking an extra 5mg right now as I can Barely lift my shoulders to even brush my hair!
I hope you start feeling better soon…I’ll be thinking of you. Take care Twopies❤