Bad reaction to flu shot

[emily_in_nc]

Okay, so I had my flu shot yesterday. I rarely get the flu, but I wanted to protect myself from my co-workers who come to work no matter how sick they are all winter. :(

About five hours after the shot, I started feeling funny. My arm was a little sore, but this was much worse. By 8 pm (6 hours post shot), I had the shivers, chattering teeth, body aches, and a headache. Took my temp and it was 100.5 (I normally run in the 97s, so that's higher for me than for some folks). Took 4 ibuprofen and laid in bed all evening under the covers watching TV. No energy to be on the computer or even to read during commercials!

Got up at 7 am and into the shower, could barely stand up from the body aches. Logged into my work account and emailed my boss that I'd be taking the day off. Got back into bed and slept until 9 am. Achy and headachy in the morning, temp. 99.9 at noon. Took two more ibuprofen, a nap, and finally started feeling human again this afternoon around 3pm.

Anyway....hope no one else has a reaction like mine! I had the flu shot two years ago and only remember a sore arm, nothing like this.

I think this will be my last flu shot....it's just not worth having a "mini-flu" in order to avoid what I probably won't even get! I know you can't get the flu from the vaccine, but I am apparently pretty sensitive to it anyway, despite not being allergic to eggs, thimerisol (sp), etc....

Emily

[traveller_62]

Getting a sore arm following a flu shot is pretty common. I just got mine today and my arm is definitely sore. Mild body aches and a low-grade fever are not unheard of either. But, wow, your reaction does sound at the extremes of what is normal! You can develop allergies to eggs and stuff over time so you might want to get tested to see if you have emergent sensitivities.

I hope you don't give up the flu shots entirely (unless you are really allergic to eggs or thimerisol) because it is the shots are really quite effective against what can be a deadly viral infection. I was amazed at the number of normally healthy people in my town (who are also much younger than I am) who got seriously ill with the flu last year and required hospitalization.

[emily_in_nc]

The CDC site does confirm that reactions like mine, while not very common, do occur:

"The flu shot: The viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that could occur are

* Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
* Fever (low grade)
* Aches

If these problems occur, they begin soon after the shot and usually last 1 to 2 days." -- from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

I'm not going to bother getting tested for an egg allergy. Been eating 'em for years with no problems. Fortunately I feel a lot better now. :)

Emily

[Blueberry]

Emily-

Sorry to hear you're feeling poorly:(

This is a similar reaction to mine. I *always* feel like that for about 2-3 days. I've given up on the shot too. However, I have been tempted to try flu mist on the off chance it's something in the vaccine that might not be in the nasal version...

CA

[withm]

If it's any consololation same thing happened to me. Got the shot at noon. Was ok, but of course arm was sore - always is after flu shot. But around 2am I could not sleep, was shivering in my bed, too cold to get up and get another blanket - but hey, I have a freakin down comforter on the bed, why am I so cold? Finally I got up to find a fleece sweater to put on and realized - duh - flu shot. Took 4 advil and went back to bed. Next morning all was well except for the "hangover" of being "sick" in the night. Did not bother to take my temperature mostly cause I really didn't want to know. Went to work the next day, but it did take a couple days to feel normal again. I've gotten the shots pretty religiously for many years, but this is the first bad reaction I've had. Still, it has to be better than getting the flu and being sick for 2 months which is what happens if I get a bad upper respiratory infection. Hope you feel better soon.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the condolences! I found this online just now. Interesting....I'd noticed that my eyes were red, and I've coughed a couple of times (but no wheezing):

http://www.healthandage.com/Home/!gc=36!l=7!gid7=655;jsessionid=B060DE386DF895247062843D626A020E

I haven't had the flu in many years, despite only getting the shot one other year; that's why I hesitate to get the shot again. 24 hours of feeling like crap vs. the slight possibility of 2 weeks of feeling like crap but most likely not getting sick at all. Tough call.

Emily

[Pax]

I've had three flu shots in my life, ages 8/18/39...I was sick as a dog every single time. High fever, joint pain, nausea, chills... Never again!

[Kitsune06]

I'm seriously considering getting a flu shot just because a) I'm going to be going to school on public transportation b) X got hers, and even if she doesn't come down with the flu (seeing patients all day?) she could accidentally pass it on to me. =( I'm willing to deal with a day of 'sick' to bypass the month of seal-bark coughing and bullfrog voice.

[r900]

Hi Emily, Glad to hear you're feeling better. I had the flu twice last year.Please don't stop getting the vaccine. I was so damn sick. I really don't remember much of the month of February other than fever and hacking. Recovery took soo long.I would gladly give up two days versus six weeks of being in a funk. Plus, you don't have any energy to bike. it's like starting all over. I think I'll get my shot about the first week of December this year.

[margo49]

Had one several years ago and a week later spent 3 days feeling like something the proverbial cat had proverbially dragged in.
Thought to get one this year. Felt like h-ll earlier this evening (a week after the shot) and now I am awake (not quite 2 am) after terrible dreams and feeling not much better.
Ah well, better this than the Real Thing...I s'pose

[spokewench]

My hubby had exactly the same reaction on saturday morning after he had a flu shot on Friday. He is a medical worker.

spoke

[Pax]

Just got home from allergy tests...I'm allergic to eggs among other things. No wonder flu shots made me sick.

[Eden]

Just had my first flu shot ever, but I'm going to work in a children's hospital so I think it was probably a good idea, for me and for them. I don't generally have any bad reactions to vaccines, but if I do I'll let you know.
It was a dead virus vaccine - there was even a notice on the web site that if you'd had a live virus vaccination they could ask you to not come to work for a period of time!

[emily_in_nc]

Just had my first flu shot ever, but I'm going to work in a children's hospital so I think it was probably a good idea, for me and for them. I don't generally have any bad reactions to vaccines, but if I do I'll let you know.
It was a dead virus vaccine - there was even a notice on the web site that if you'd had a live virus vaccination they could ask you to not come to work for a period of time!

Oh, mine was killed virus too -- I didn't even know there were any other kind! Hope you don't have any side effects. Most people don't (other than a sore arm). Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. Turns out my mom has bad reactions to them too (and is also not allergic to any of the ingredients that she is aware of). She stopped getting them years ago when she retired from teaching.

Emily

[margo49]

Yeah mine had "INACTIVATED" written in big letters like that on it. Sheesh, I would hate to see the activated one

(sorry about the "Sheesh"" It must be from the Andy Griffiths YouTube that Zen linked on TD/Australia)

[OakLeaf]

If I'm not mistaken, all the shots are killed virus. The nasal spray is modified live virus.

[margo49]

Well mine was playing possum!
Call it a "reaction" , you Nobel Prize-winning, white-coated *&^%'s... but
I am SICK, I tell you.

[Eden]

This is how it was explained to me yesterday, that if you get sick one of several things may have occured.
you can be allergic to some component of the vaccine (eggs - the preservative)
you may have already been exposed to the flu without knowing it - generally symptoms don't appear for 24 hours or so after you've been exposed
you may contract another strain - the flu vaccine usually only protects against 3 of the most common ones
you may contract one of many "flu like" illnesses
but you can't possibly get the flu from a flu shot, since there is no live virus in it (looks like Oakleaf is totally correct - the nasal spray is what has the live attenuated virus in it).

I'm feeling lucky, I feel perfectly fine. I can't recall ever having a bad reaction to a vaccination before ever though. I might have to do the hepatitis series though...

[margo49]

All seem remarkably plausible explanations
Thank you, Eden
Btw, what is with the eggs?

[Eden]

The virus is cultured inside chicken eggs

the nurse also told me that a good number of people can carry the flu without getting symptoms - so you can spread it without being sick! I decided though I've never had the flu, that working with sick kids it would be a good idea, both for them and for me to do it this year.

[Tuckervill]

I like to think our medical/scientific community does its dead level best to verify these things, and that this is all accurate information.

However, I am reminded of how many things change in science and medicine and I still don't see a good reason for me, personally, to get a flu shot, although there are plenty of good reasons for others to. I'm reminded of ulcers, which conventional wisdom said were always caused by stress--until that one guy drank glass full of Helicobactor pylori himself because no one would believe him that ulcers could be caused by a bacteria. He was right.

I have two sons with relatively rare and poorly understood neurological disorders (Tourette Syndrome and Raynaud's phenomenon). No one can prove these were a result of vaccines...and no one can prove that they weren't. That's why I draw a line and rarely cross it.

Karen


This is how it was explained to me yesterday, that if you get sick one of several things may have occured.
you can be allergic to some component of the vaccine (eggs - the preservative)
you may have already been exposed to the flu without knowing it - generally symptoms don't appear for 24 hours or so after you've been exposed
you may contract another strain - the flu vaccine usually only protects against 3 of the most common ones
you may contract one of many "flu like" illnesses
but you can't possibly get the flu from a flu shot, since there is no live virus in it (looks like Oakleaf is totally correct - the nasal spray is what has the live attenuated virus in it).

I'm feeling lucky, I feel perfectly fine. I can't recall ever having a bad reaction to a vaccination before ever though. I might have to do the hepatitis series though...

[OakLeaf]

Well mine was playing possum!
Call it a "reaction" , you Nobel Prize-winning, white-coated *&^%'s... but
I am SICK, I tell you.

Easy, girlfriend. Read over my other posts, in this thread and the last one. I don't doubt you're sick and I'm not one of the ones telling you your shot didn't cause it. KV can make you very sick. But your immune reaction has more to do with your system than it does with whether the vaccine was KV or MLV.

[Bklynmom]

I was definitely a bit dizzy and chilled the day after my shot - DH too. That said, I never got sick last winter with more than a nasal cold. it's worth it and it doesn't even hurt that much!

[KnottedYet]

Vaccines are beautiful.

Homeopathic medicine at its very best.

However, some of us may know in a profoundly deep way how our bodies react to things. If we feel a particular vaccine is very very wrong for us, perhaps we should steer clear of the vaccine and ALSO (and this is the important part) monitor ourselves for signs of catching the cootie we didn't get vaccinated against. If I think I've caught the flu, it is my DUTY to isolate myself from others so I don't spread it. I can choose to risk the flu, but it's wrong and immoral for me to risk spreading it.

I wanted to participate in the HIV vaccine, and waited and hoped for years to be able to volunteer. I'm not the candidate they need. I deeply believe in the power and efficacy of vaccines. But I will not get a flu vaccine. The flu vaccine has ravaged my family. I feel my personal risk is greater if I get the shot than if I go without. But I will isolate myself if I think I've caught influenza.

[margo49]

Easy, girlfriend.

I think I have returned to myself.
I was distraught
I get that way often, not just when I am sick, but I do recover

I think what Knotted said was very clever too.
I will print that post and put it above my kitchen sink bench.