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Thanks to those who responded.   It seems that Tamiflu has caused more 
people adverse reactions when it is taken as a preventative.  Here is the 
summary...

I know several other celiacs who have taken Tamiflu as a preventative.  They
had no reactions to it.  It is hard to know what causes what, especially
when you are sick.


Tamiflu has been confirmed as gf earlier on this list.  I know from giving it to 
my DD this month that the side effects of tamiflu can cause nausea and 
vomitting.

Tamiflu is GF>>> maybe she has an allergy to eggs...that would make sense.


A coworker of mine's two elementary age children received a flu shot at school 
last week, and the next day both presented symptoms of flu (high fever, 
congestion, etc.). They are not Celiacs. Regardless of CD, it would seem this 
shot is making (at least some) people sick.


It is my understanding that tamiflu only stops the flu from multiplying and 
growing. It does not prevent or cure. Udies bread is what we ate when taking 
the meds, it seemed to help with settling the stomache. Sounds to me like she 
is having normal reaction to the new strain of flu H1N1, good luck.


Digestive upset is a commonly reported symptom of novel H1N1.  In all 
likelihood, most physicians will tell you that she was experiencing mild flu 
symptoms, not a reaction to tamiflu.


I don't know specifically about tamiflu, but have had reactions to antibiotics 
that severely messed up my digestive tract before.  I use a high quality, high 
count probiotic like Culturelle and also an antidiarrheal, such as immodium AD.  
Also, I have to avoid all fats &  rich or hard to digest foods during my 
recovery, so I basically go to the B.R.A.T. diet.  Bananas, rice, applesauce 
and dry GF toast,with water & weak tea.  then when I recover, I "slowly" 
resume my previous diet.    Hope your friend recovers soon.  She's got to be 
very miserable.
 

Same here. I felt like someone had gone through my intestines with a weed 
eater. This season we’re taking vitamin D3 instead of the flu shot and, if we 
get flu symptoms, will take megadoses of D3 before Tamiflu.
Here’s an article on D3 you may want to pass along:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html
I've never taken Tamiflu, but I was exposed to H1N1 over the weekend and 
my doctor recommended I take Tamiflu since I'm 8 months pregnant.  I 
decided to do some research prior to taking it, and the info I found scared me 
enough that I chose not to take it.  Some people have some very bad 
reactions to it apparently, and these reactions seem to occur more when 
people are taking it as a preventative measure rather than because they 
actually have the flu.  The number one reaction is stomach upset, but many 
other people reported reactions such as muscle aches and pychotic thoughts.  
There's been enough reports that the FDA made the manufacturer of the drug 
add a statement to its literature a few years ago saying that aftermarket 
reports had indicated these additional reactions but that systematic 
collection/analysis of these reports has not been conducted.  Some of the 
people reporting negative effects said they lasted into a month past the time 
they discontinued the drug.

In any case, I do know the drug is gluten-free, so this is not the issue.  From 
what I read, it has a significant amount of sorbitol in it, which causes me 
personally a lot of stomach discomfort/upset and apparently people who are 
prone to reflux etc have this issue too.  Also, people who have a hard time 
digesting fructose.  So my assumption was that is probably the culprit for 
most people's stomach issues with it.  I would think the issues would 
disappear once removing the problem source; however, I also know that it 
took a few months of me being gluten-free before I stopped having stomach 
issues.  Maybe the same is true with this drug.



 I have taken it and I know other celiacs that have taken it with no adverse 
affects.  I am on a lot of medication due to my disabilities and I usually get 
reactions from these types of medication conflicting with my 9 others – 
usually diarrhea however nothing this time and  the flu went away like a 
breeze.  That is what the others I talked to said too as I was hesitant taking 
it in the first place.  My specialist who does not have CD, both him and his 
wife took it and both were able to keep on working.  I even called him first 
before taking it as he is the person who deals with my medication and I 
wanted to make sure it was okay with the medication regiment that I am on.  
Sometimes not everything is CD related and just how the body handles the 
medication chemically.  I have had  reactions to medications that others have 
had no problems with and once ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks to come 
off it fast and get on another one, so you never know.  And that medication 
was GF…
 Vancouver, BC

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