Texas mom dies from flu after skipping on meds deemed too costly

[txradioguy]

A Texas mother-of-two died Sunday from flu complications after reportedly deciding that the $116 medication to treat the virus was too costly.

Heather Holland, a second grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School in Weatherford, Texas, died following complications of flu, leaving behind her husband Frank Holland and two children, a daughter, 10, and a son, 7.

She reportedly started to feel sick a week ago and was going to pick up flu medication. Her husband said she decided not to purchase the medication because she thought the $116 price tag was too high, according to The Weatherford Democrat.

“She wouldn't go get medicine because she's a mama. Mama's are tough. She just kept going. She had a job; she had kids," Holland's pastor, Clark Bosher, told Fox 2. "I think any mom does that. I don't think she is being irresponsible. I don't think she thought she was that sick. It happened so quick."

The husband picked up the drugs himself on Thursday after finding out she skipped on them, but it was too late and she ended up in the intensive care unit at a hospital on Friday.

“Friday night, things escalated and she ended up in the ICU,” he told the outlet. "The doctors got the blood cultures back and they had to put her on dialysis early Saturday.”

She died Sunday morning. “I have to be strong for the kids but it’s still surreal, it hasn’t all set in,” Frank Holland said. “We’ve been together a long time, over half my life. She’s my best friend, my soulmate, my everything.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/02/12/texas-mom-dies-from-flu-after-skipping-on-meds-deemed-too-costly-report.html

[Neverdul]

The anit-viral Tamiflu is only effective if taken in the 1st 24-48 hours after flu symptoms start.

[Neverdul]

Flu virus has killed THOUSANDS in just ONE week with the death toll set to rise and Tamiflu shortages being reported across the country

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5379261/Shortage-Tamiflu-flu-kills-4-000-Americans-week.html

[driftdiver]

Sounds like she just plain didn't take care of herself.  Got run down and refused to properly care for the illness.   Thats what killed her, not the lack of tamiflu.

Sleep and lots of liquids are very effective if you listen to your body.

[jmyrlefuller]

But tell us more about "man flu..." 

[edpc]

Sounds like she just plain didn't take care of herself.  Got run down and refused to properly care for the illness.   Thats what killed her, not the lack of tamiflu.

Sleep and lots of liquids are very effective if you listen to your body.

The fever and malaise will take your appetite and ability to do things away from you.  Once dehydration sets in, your temp will skyrocket and your organs will start shutting down.  You really need to force yourself or the ill person in your care to do things, even if they don’t want to.

[Restored]

If she has medical insurance, which she should as a government employee, the Tamiflu should have only been about $35

[Sanguine]

If she has medical insurance, which she should as a government employee, the Tamiflu should have only been about $35

Depends on which plans her school district chose.

[WingNot]

I didn't read the whole piece but did they get around to blaming the evil drug company for pricing the drugs so high?

[Applewood]

Sad -- and maybe I'm reading this story wrong -- but it sounds to me like she made poor choices.  The article doesn't really say her family couldn't afford the meds -- just that the wife thought they were too expensive.  There is a difference.  I know people who can afford things, but they don't want to spend the  money on them. 

Not taking meds as directed can prove fatal, and this story proves that.  I'm sorry for the husband and young children this woman left behind.

[Victoria33]

@txradioguy

The price of drugs:

Over a month ago, the skin on both my hands, started drying out, the skin was flakey, that skin came off leaving raw flesh on my hands and using my hands was extremly painful due to the raw skin exposed.

I tried to find a dermatologist in the area to go to, and I called them and the nearest appointment they all had was two months away. Finally found one that could take me in a month, so I dealt with the hand pain until then and it was getting worse by the day.

Went to this dermatologist, and she said it was Eczema or Psoriasis, and Eczema was easier to treat than Psoriasis.  She gave me a prescription for a steroid cream.  The price for that one smallish tube of cream was $280; my insurance made it $77 for that one smallish tube of cream.  I said to Bob, many people could not afford that even for $77 - it would be that tube of cream or buy groceries for some people, especially for seniors, of which I am one.  I have the money to buy it, but many would not.  That price of $280 is ridiculous, unbelievable.

Doc wanted to see me in two weeks, which was last Thursday. The cream cured the problem in two weeks and I could use my hands without pain from raw skin.  She told me to get a certain over the counter cream to use all the time.  I have started using that but yesterday, I could see a place where the skin was beginning to peal again, so used the high priced cream to stop that.  I am beginning to think I will have to use that high priced cream from now on, when the skin starts to peel again.  It is not cured.

The over the counter cream she suggested is Cerave Moisturizing Cream.  16 oz jar is $12.19.  There is also a lotion of this product, which she said many used the cream in the winter and the lotion in the summer.  I bought two of the jars and two of the lotion.  I have to be able to use my hands.

Can you believe $280 for a tube of steriod cream?

[edpc]

I didn't read the whole piece but did they get around to blaming the evil drug company for pricing the drugs so high?

Pelosi will blame Bush.  After all, every good tinfoiler knows Tamiflu is really just one big Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney money grab conspiracy.   

Tamiflu, Rumsfeld and Cheney

On November 1, 2005 President George W. Bush went to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland to hold a high profile press conference, to announce a 381-page plan, officially called the Pandemic Influenza Strategic Plan

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2009/4/27/725102/-

[WingNot]

Pelosi will blame Bush.  After all, every good tinfoiler knows Tamiflu is really just one big Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney money grab conspiracy.   

<sub>Tamiflu, Rumsfeld and Cheney

On November 1, 2005 President George W. Bush went to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland to hold a high profile press conference, to announce a 381-page plan, officially called the Pandemic Influenza Strategic Plan</sub>

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2009/4/27/725102/-

oh my.. The daily Kos!  DOn't you feel dirty after visiting that  den of iniquity.

[Hoodat]

If government wasn't waist deep into our insurance market, drugs would be more competitively priced.

[edpc]

oh my.. The daily Kos!  DOn't you feel dirty after visiting that  den of iniquity.

Yeah, but sometimes the best immunity from disease is direct exposure.

[WingNot]

Yeah, but sometimes the best immunity from disease is direct exposure.

Some people , not me of course but some people, say we need to  watch you 'cause you're a thoroughly dangerous man.
And you may not know it but they also say  you're a spy, an undercover agent for the DU and  been sent down here to infiltrate TBR.

[jpsb]

@txradioguy

Can you believe $280 for a tube of steriod cream?

See if you can find it overseas via the internet. There is likely a producer in India, they will tell
you you need a script witch you have but even if you didn't just pay for it and wait. After a couple
of weeks it will ship.

[Restored]

Or Canada.

Colcrys went from $15 for 60 to $6 a pill when a manufacturer disappeared and there became only 1 manufacturer.

A Canadian pharmacy charges $.50 a pill for it.

[edpc]

Some people , not me of course but some people, say we need to  watch you 'cause you're a thoroughly dangerous man.
And you may not know it but they also say  you're a spy, an undercover agent for the DU and  been sent down here to infiltrate TBR.

Yeah.....I know.   

The times I run across things from KOS, Mother Jones, The Nation , etc....is while I do searches on a topic.  I'll read stuff from various sources from far right paranoids, left wing kooks, and everything in between.  It's like the spoiled milk carton sniffing urge.  The perspectives help in discussions when things come up.  Sometimes, I'll recognize a name associated with a previous story and know right away where they stand and if it's garbage. 

[Gefn]

@Victoria33

My mother is on a medication that is $800 for 6 months that she gets via Costco. She thinks it's ridiculous but she's grateful she can afford it. Again, how many seniors can? And that is after all the seniors discounts.

 I'm glad you are doing better. I use Vaseline and white gloves in the winter once a week when I sleep, and the same for my feet, with white socks. Makes everything soft. Worked fine for grandma and great grandmother, only I use the stuff with added cocoa butter because it smells nicer

[edpc]

See if you can find it overseas via the internet. There is likely a producer in India, they will tell
you you need a script witch you have but even if you didn't just pay for it and wait. After a couple
of weeks it will ship.

There are items that can be found through reputable foreign manufacturing, but buyer beware.  If it's coming from a known 3rd world nation, understand their standards and quality control might not be anywhere near ours.  For a dosage of 15mg, you might get one pill at 1mg and another at 29mg, but they average to 15mg.  That's an exaggerated example, I know, but just understand that different standards are in play.

[RoosGirl]

@txradioguy

The price of drugs:

Over a month ago, the skin on both my hands, started drying out, the skin was flakey, that skin came off leaving raw flesh on my hands and using my hands was extremly painful due to the raw skin exposed.

I tried to find a dermatologist in the area to go to, and I called them and the nearest appointment they all had was two months away. Finally found one that could take me in a month, so I dealt with the hand pain until then and it was getting worse by the day.

Went to this dermatologist, and she said it was Eczema or Psoriasis, and Eczema was easier to treat than Psoriasis.  She gave me a prescription for a steroid cream.  The price for that one smallish tube of cream was $280; my insurance made it $77 for that one smallish tube of cream.  I said to Bob, many people could not afford that even for $77 - it would be that tube of cream or buy groceries for some people, especially for seniors, of which I am one.  I have the money to buy it, but many would not.  That price of $280 is ridiculous, unbelievable.

Doc wanted to see me in two weeks, which was last Thursday. The cream cured the problem in two weeks and I could use my hands without pain from raw skin.  She told me to get a certain over the counter cream to use all the time.  I have started using that but yesterday, I could see a place where the skin was beginning to peal again, so used the high priced cream to stop that.  I am beginning to think I will have to use that high priced cream from now on, when the skin starts to peel again.  It is not cured.

The over the counter cream she suggested is Cerave Moisturizing Cream.  16 oz jar is $12.19.  There is also a lotion of this product, which she said many used the cream in the winter and the lotion in the summer.  I bought two of the jars and two of the lotion.  I have to be able to use my hands.

Can you believe $280 for a tube of steriod cream?

@Victoria33
If you haven't already, stop using hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial hand soap.  Try switching to a liquid castile soap to wash your hands with.  It is very thin so you will want a foaming soap pump to dispense it.

[Gefn]

They tell you to be careful buying vitamins because vitamins made in China are made with polluted water

[Neverdul]

Sounds like she just plain didn't take care of herself.  Got run down and refused to properly care for the illness.   Thats what killed her, not the lack of tamiflu.

Sleep and lots of liquids are very effective if you listen to your body.

Not bad advice but even with rest and liquids, the influenza can kill. I think as has been the case with many who have died this flu season, she didn't get the flu shot, which is pretty cheep and even sometimes free through employers. But as I said, Tamiflu is only effective if you take it the first 24-48 hours after getting flu symptoms.

The concerning thing is how many young and otherwise healthy people have died from this flu. It may not be quite the Spanish Flu, at least not yet but it is concerning.

[roamer_1]

@txradioguy

Over a month ago, the skin on both my hands, started drying out, the skin was flakey, that skin came off leaving raw flesh on my hands and using my hands was extremly painful due to the raw skin exposed.

[...]

The over the counter cream she suggested is Cerave Moisturizing Cream.  16 oz jar is $12.19.  There is also a lotion of this product, which she said many used the cream in the winter and the lotion in the summer.  I bought two of the jars and two of the lotion.  I have to be able to use my hands.

Can you believe $280 for a tube of steriod cream?