Have you had your flu shot?

**sandra** · 10-23-2007, 05:02 AM

I'm off work today and taking my little 91 year old mother-in-law to get our flu shots. I've been getting them consistently for 10 or more years and cannot remember the last time I even had a cold.

**Blueberry** · 10-23-2007, 05:04 AM

I've stopped taking them. I get flu like symptoms for 2 days from the shot, and last year I had the flu anyway

So...I'm taking my chances...

**IFjane** · 10-23-2007, 05:05 AM

I'm a shot weenie but I feel the need to get one this year. Don't know why - I've played the odds every year prior to this and have been lucky.

**GLC1968** · 10-23-2007, 05:11 AM

I've never gotten one and probably won't bother again this year. There are so many people at much greater risk than me, that I don't see the point.

**KnottedYet** · 10-23-2007, 05:15 AM

Flu shots made both my mother and brother very sick, so they don't get them any more. I've never had one.

I've had the flu. Not fun at all. If I wasn't afraid my body would react like theirs did, I'd get the shot.

**LBTC** · 10-23-2007, 05:28 AM

I'll be avoiding the flu shot again this year. A few years ago, a co-worker's wife had a neurological response to the flu shot. They were wondering about MS, stroke, and other paralysing conditions.

Since I don't work with the elderly or immune suppressed, I'd rather not take that chance. Besides, should I get the flu <knock wood, I hope not to> my naturopath will have remedies to help me through it fast.

We each follow our own path though. I hope it works flawlessly for you and your mom!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

**Skierchickie** · 10-23-2007, 05:34 AM

I never used to get the shot (I figure, if my body never has to fight the regular germs off, then it won't be able to handle the big stuff when it comes along). My SIL thought that was pretty irresponsible (she runs a day care center). Anyway, my reasoning was that if I get exposed to something, hey, I'm a carrier anyway, even if I don't catch it myself. I shouldn't take it from those who need it.

Well, I asked my doctor, and she said there was some study done in nursing homes where they determined that vaccinating the employees had a greater effect in reducing the flu outbreaks than vaccinating the actual patients did. I suppose - they are the ones out and about in the community.

So now I get one (more to protect my 70 year old Mom, and 92 year old MIL). After waiting to see if there will be a shortage that year. Haven't done it yet this year.

So today I'm home sick, with the worst cold (or something) I've had in years. Have barely slept the past 3 nights, from all the choking and coughing.

**Tater** · 10-23-2007, 06:11 AM

I refuse to get the flu shot. We had them foisted upon us in the military and they made me sick as a dog. Other than a case of the sniffles once or twice a year, I don't typically get sick...unless I had the shot. If they help the very young or elderly, then they can have mine, 'cause I won't be using it!

**kelownagirl** · 10-23-2007, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by sandra

I'm off work today and taking my little 91 year old mother-in-law to get our flu shots. I've been getting them consistently for 10 or more years and cannot remember the last time I even had a cold.

Let me be the first to say "yes" - I get mine next week. I work with kids and come into contact with lots of sickies. I've had the flu and I don't want it ever again. (And y'all know we're not talking about gastrointestinal stuff don't you? - the flu is a respiratory illness with high fever and aching body.)
And I know you all have your reasons not to get the shot and don't work in the same situation as me but I get a bit cranky at the people at my work who don't get the shot, then get the flu, come to work with it for a couple of days and pass it around to the others who didn't get the shot, not to mention the kids in my class...

And fwiw, all the studies show that you can't get sick from the flu shot - it's a dead virus so it can't make you sick. If you do get sick around the same time, it's generally a bug you already had that anyway. I felt ill for a couple days after my first shot and thought it might be from that, but for the next 3 years, I've had no symptoms afterward.

OK - I'm ready for it - you can blast me now for my opinionated viewpoint.

I have to get my allergy shot AND my fly shot on the same day next week. Two sore arms...

**OakLeaf** · 10-23-2007, 06:24 AM

I get them, but with a lot of trepidation. It's really short-sighted, IMHO, trading short-term security for long-term major risk.

Generally if I don't get the shot, I get the flu, and when I get the flu, I'm literally in bed for a week.

So I get a shot most years. And instead of the flu, I get the toxic adjuvants and preservatives in the shot, and a greatly increased risk of getting Alzheimer's in the future.

**OakLeaf** · 10-23-2007, 06:37 AM

Originally Posted by kelownagirl

you can't get sick from the flu shot - it's a dead virus so it can't make you sick. If you do get sick around the same time, it's generally a bug you already had that anyway.

That's technically correct, but a little misleading. Most of the symptoms you get from a virus are caused by the immune response. The KV vaccines still provoke an immune response - that's the whole idea. Someone who's extra sensitive, or conversely someone who isn't enough in tune with their body to distinguish a ramped-up immune system from actually being infected with something, could get that run-down feeling and conclude the vaccine made them sick, and in some ways of looking at it, they'd be right.

Even in your example, if someone had been exposed to an unrelated virus before they got their flu shot, and then their immune system got taxed by the shot, they could easily have a worse outcome with the initial virus than they would've had they not had the flu shot.

I'm with you in that I hate it when people assume these wild causal relationships, but OTOH the medical community is often way too quick to dismiss people's observations of their own bodies.

**Blueberry** · 10-23-2007, 06:37 AM

We've never figured out why I react - but my reaction has happened for 8-9 years, and I really don't think I just happened to be getting sick when I took the shot that many years in a row... I get a 101-102 fever, massive body aches and a stuffed up head for 2-3 days following the shot. Maybe I just happened to be getting a mild form of the flu or another similar illness for those 8-9 years on the exact date I got the shot. I highly doubt it. So, I'm not fighting it anymore.

I really wish I didn't react, and could take it. However, I can't.

**ATL Laura** · 10-23-2007, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

We've never figured out why I react - but my reaction has happened for 8-9 years, and I really don't think I just happened to be getting sick when I took the shot that many years in a row... I get a 101-102 fever, massive body aches and a stuffed up head for 2-3 days following the shot.

Are you allergic to eggs? The vaccine is produced from virus that is grown in eggs, so you may be having a reaction to the egg by products.

**TsPoet** · 10-23-2007, 08:12 AM

IMHO a healthy person who doesn't work in a hospital, with kids, or with the elderly, probably shouldn't bother to get a shot. If you are over ~55, have an illness, or under ~12, you should get a flu shot.
As someone else pointed out, it has a lot to do with personal preference and availability of the shots. I have not heard about a shortage this year. In past years, when there have been shortages, then I think they should have refused to give them to people in the above category.
I get one every year, I’m 41 and one of the healthiest people I know, except for the pesky type 1 diabetes I've had since the age of 12.
I don't react to the shots at all. If I reacted the way some on this list do, I still wouldn't get the shot. The flu is a bummer, but I don't think it's going to kill me.
I also get them free through work. I know the employees would have a fit if they weren't offered, but since the working population is mostly young, mostly healthy, I've always wondered way they give them out to everyone. I also saw that the Target near me is offering them for $7 this year, so cost isn't too much of an issue.

**Xrayted** · 10-23-2007, 08:24 AM

FWIW...

I got off the bus at my hospital today and the nursing students were there giving the shot, so I took 5 minutes and got it. My immune system has always been strong and I've never been one to get sick often. I'm around immune compromised people everyday, such as cancer pts going through chemo. I don't want to spread anything that I can avoid simply by getting a shot and as a healthcare provider, I personally feel it would be irresponsible of me to forego it. I can literally have 40+ pts on any given day. I also don't want to drag anything home with me. (there are things much worse than the flu that I'm around, I don't feel the need to push it.)

I can see why some people don't want to get it. I'm ok with that. I've gotten it and they won't be passing it on to me, so whatever. As for those who have gotten it and then still got the flu... the flu vaccine is good for one strain of the flu. It's the one they figure will do the most damage physically and financially. It's not good for the other strains. I do tend to have a minor reaction such as a stuffy nose or achy joints for about 24 hours. I can live with that. And so can my pts and my loved ones.

Take care and have a wonderful day.

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