Hi - my covid booster is booked for Wednesday and very nervous. I have had all other boosters offered.(Including Flu) . And had covid twice. On the last occassion, Covid knocked me into arrhythmia for a few hours ( that was June 2023) I am 58, female with no other health concerns but PAF and Migraine with aura. Am I better off risking a reaction to the jab or taking my chances. My EP says get it done.............now considering whether Pfizer or Moderna is preferable. Any advice would be gratefully received
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Janeybur
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I have never had covid, but have taken all but one vaccination, all Pfizer. I never have had any issues with it personally, not even a sore arm. I did get double pneumonia the year before covid stated, which is what threw me into afib. Now, two ablations later, I am off all my medication, heart is beating normally for two years, and I feel great. I don't want to take any chances. Personally, nearly everybody I know has had covid over and over, some with very nasty long lasting damage. I don't know anybody who actually had a bad reaction from the vaccine. It seems like few people are interested in getting the vaccines any more, at least in the USA. We are also still masking in enclosed spaces including stores, public transportation and planes, and avoiding close gatherings with others who don't care about it any more.
They are indicating Covid if on the ride again. The problem is vertigo s few times can lead to long Covid which is a real problem as it may never go away.I already carry a N95 mask with me and always put it on when near others in enclosed areas, as Covid is airborne.
Especially during air flights...the one time a got a mild case of Covid.
Also, keeping up with boosters is recommended, unless you are allergic.
There is a recent discussion on this that you might want to look into. My cardiologist gave me a deferral after my second jab. Too much concern over adverse affects.
My Cardiologist /Electrophysiologist has voiced his concerns and has requested I cease any COVID vaccinations. I have had 2 jabs and 2 boosters but that was before I was diagnosed with AFIB and recently heart failure. Seasons Greeting from Melbourne, Australia 🙂
Thank you. My EP said go ahead and I have waited until now due to my concerns. But let's grasp the nettle. Pleased to see the Aussie cricket team doing well, and Merry Christmas! X
Thank you for the information as I also have heart failure and haven't had the Covid vaccine this year as wasn't well after last year's one. I've also had Covid a couple of times and was less ill with that than the vaccine
Me too. Very ill for 9 months after last covid vaccine and not one doctor helped me. On your own. So I choose not to have the next vaccine as there was no medical help discussion information. Fingers crossed but last year was a solitary hell
Are you 6 months from your last COVID dagnosis? You need to wait that time.
I would get some Amozil from Dr or other. I take 1 before and 1 after. It will prevent any inflamation around your heart.
I do.
Think it as prevention.
My next one due in January 2025. I have never had COVID. I do not have a FLU JAB.
Did you have both jabs together? Don't.
cheri JOY. 75. (NZ)
We have Pfizer here. Better. The Moderna is requested by some. I think the latter uses a bit of the virus COVID.
I was told the Hep B in UK was synthetic made but I had a hour reaction, became feverish, had sore head and later a blood test showed I had a diagnosis of Hep B. Sore head carried on for 2 weeks. Out the other side I had antigenes which in time changed to antibodies. I have 1000 plus immunity.
My blood donor sample was tested. I did have a low immunity against Hep B.
So I do not believe it was a synthetic infusion jab.
I was just as nervous, but I felt the fear and did it any way. No problems what so ever . That was 4 weeks ago. My friend turned hers down . She caught covid a week later ( only place she had been was GPsurgery) she has been so ill and tested positive for 9 days . Go for it x
Just repeating the reply I made to Frootbat yesterday in case it's any help.
I went into persistent AF for a second time 6 days after my 2nd Pfizer booster in Sept last year. A cardioversion put me back into rhythm in March, and so far it's lasted. Looking up research studies, one said that AF was an unusual side effect, but it was a bit more common after the 2nd Pfizer. I think I was also dehydrated when it started - that may have been why AF came back instead of it being the vaccine to blame.
As I've got an operation coming up in the New Year, I decided to risk another booster to hopefully give me a bit more protection from catching Covid, or at least making it milder if I do catch it in hospital. I was able to have the Moderna one this time, and made sure to drink plenty beforehand and for the week after too, and this time I stayed in rhythm!
The other possible trigger for both my episodes was ultra-processed foods. The day before both attacks I had unusually eaten quite a bit of UPF - usually I eat natural unprocessed food, but I have to be gluten free, and had eaten some commercial foods - gf bread and gf sausage rolls, with chemical ingredients. (And I've just spotted a study that found UPF to be associated with an increased risk of AF.)
There are so many triggers for AF that it can be difficult to be sure which one causes epsiodes! And of course Covid itself can trigger AF. I suppose we each have to weigh up the pros and cons for us personally. Good luck with whatever decision you make.
Hello and thank you. I, too, try to avoid UPF's and will today begin taking more water on board in preparation. I do know that dehydration is bad for everyone's heart and it is such a common failing. Not the greatest pleasure drinking cold water in this weather, but yours is a welcome reminder to do just that 😉
Covid boosters should given 6 mthly. And 6 mths after an attack of actual Covid.
Drink plenty before and after. I have 1/2 banana prior and after!
I will have 9th Pfizer in January. Never had Covid. Off to Tasmania Australia March 2075. Back from JAPAN 1.1/2 mths lots of coughing by others on the. plane.
I would follow the advice of your EP and get it done. I've had both at the same time. Much better to put up with any discomfort or a bout of Afib than risk the alternative in my opinion.
I have had permanent , though asymptomatic, AF for the last 7-8 years. I've had every jab offered. I had a covid jab in September. As with all the other covid jabs I have had no noticeable ill effects, not even a sore arm. I have never caught covid. As well as AF I have been asthmatic for 48 years. I have noticed that since having covid jabs, I have had many fewer asthma exacerbations.
I had Astra Zeneca first, then Pfizer next year without problems. Third year I had Moderna and 80 hours later my pulse rate was at 145 vs my normal of 65. Took over a month to get my at rest pulse below 100bpm. And I have had intermittent A Fib ever since, which I never had before. Have had two annual Pfizer Covid jabs since without problems. I always have the Covid and flu annual jabs together, one in each arm. Still on Bisoprolol 2.5mg daily, but now often drops my bpm to 53. If skip Bisoprolol for a day, bpm rises to 75-80. Best wishes for Happy Holidays.
I lurk here to read and learn but don't post. However, I need to say something on this subject. A good friend of mine died of Covid earlier this year. She went on a cruise, picked up the virus and was dead a couple of days after her return. My mother also died of Covid in 2022. I had Covid the same year and it set off my AF. It's a serious and dangerous illness. Even so I was anxious about the vaccine. But I decided it was be sensible to try to protect myself so I had Pfizer 10 days ago, which gave me a sore, slightly swollen arm for a couple of days. No AF so far. But don't underestimate the danger of catching Covid. Nothing is risk free, but I decided the vaccine was the much lower risk.
Thank you so much for replying and i am truly sorry to hear of your friend and mother. I have had covid twice - both after my AF diagnosis. Had all the boosters recommended but having now been told i have SVT ( non- sustained) and Atrial Flutter symptoms and taking meds it has 'upped the anti' on nervousness regarding my health. The heart MR i had in the summer did not show any damage to my heart just a dilated left atria and mild mitral regurgitation which my EP advised were of no consequence. I think i will have the booster and ensure it is Pfizer as i think the risks seem less with that
I understand your fears. I'm the same and I'm always scared when I go for a vaccine. And I'm on the list for an ablation, which is an even more terrifying thought! I hate AF. But in the end, I think we must be guided by our doctors. Take some paracetamol when you've had it done. Merry Christmas!
Oh my goodness, so very sorry to hear of your losses. Heartbreaking. Like you, I bet the vaccines. Have known people who have died also, others with long covid, and yet others with permanent loss of taste and smell.
Pre my SVT diagnosis I wasn’t called for the spring covid booster……and caught covid and the current strain is DREADFUL. I’m 56 and now either diagnosed with SVT, eligible for Covid and Flu vaccinations and had them all in October with no reaction. I’ve also had the Shingrix shingles vaccine X 2 because I caught shingles for the 2nd time last Christmas (22 years apart) and that is horrible!!
We are all different when it comes to strokes and AF. Our granddaughter had a bad reaction to a COVID vaccine. I was classified during the COVID outbreaks as clinically extremely vulnerable - pulmonary toxicity from dronedarone and amiodarone - so I have had an assortment of vaccines. I could add that it hasn't affected my AF, but then again, It's permanent.
We need to make are own choices. When I had pulmonary toxicity, I had 50% chance of surviving, but refused to be sedated and put on mechanical ventilation. Fortunately, I survived, and the prognosis of life in a wheelchair on supplementary oxygen didn't happen.
Trust your doctor is my view. He or she knows why you should have the extra protection it offers. No one here can know the same and can give only personal anecdotes that are from medically different contexts.
Sadly, there seems no way to find out medically or scientifically whether the extra protection offered by a further booster is useful except in those whose immune systems are reduced through illness or whatever. There is plenty of evidence online, however, for its safety and no health service would knowingly be offering something that would knowingly cause harm. If it can set off an arrhythmia, then your doctor will have weighed this up before giving you their advice. If it does, then this can easily be controlled and shouldn't cause long-term harm.
you can’t rely in any reply in this thread to help you make the right decision for you, even this reply.
You are You, no one else. It will be luck to a great degree.
Why not just try and answer the following question in your mind.
Why would a young person ( trust me 58 is very young) risk taking something that is very likely to put them into AF based on past experience, when actually it’s not even a vaccine, it won’t guarantee that you don’t get COVID.
Some considerations, is your AF low HR or high HR? Have you ever had covid? how bad was it? although the current strain may be more virulent according to replies above.
It’s a minefield, try not to step on one.
For what it’s worth, I had my last jab in 2021 and no more because my reaction to the first two was awful. I caught COVid in late 2021 but I haven’t caught it since. I’ve been very rough a few times which isn’t surprising because I go out dancing quite a lot now with close contact with multiple a partners.
I remember seeing a video in the early days of the pandemic where two American doctors were vilified for saying the lockdown was weakening the human condition by restricting contact and not building up herd immunity.
My belief now is that having had Covid and mixing in the community in the months and years since then has strengthened my resistance and I’m not going to risk being ill for months on end from another booster.
I would trust your EP! Covid is way worse for you, than side effects from the Booster. Weird I have never had to make an appointment here in Germany, I simply go to the office and tell them I want one. Had mine three weeks ago. Aside from feeling a bit under the next day, I was fine. Here the shot they give you is the Pfizer one. I have had six, including this one, and had Covid back in 2021, and trust me that was awful, don't want it again!
I've chosen to not have a booster after the last one put me i hospital for 4 days with arrhythmia. The doctors were 99% sure the booster had caused it. However I rarely leave the house so my risk is much lower
I personally would go with advice from an EP. I've had no problems, but tbh, I'm not sure basing your decision on anecdotal advice on here is very scientific, it's a very small sample.
I’ve had every Moderna jab since they came out. No reaction other than sore arm and feeling crummy. Lots of rest, fluids and paracetamol will get you through.
If you've had Covid already, aren't you immune? And if the Covid vaccinations worked, shouldn't the vaccination you've already had be effective and you would not need another one?
What I have read is that the serious in juries from the C-jab are already way above that occurring with previous vaccines and more issues still coming to light. Secondly, a high percentage of medical staff despite being in the front line, are electing not to have it. Also many vaccinated are still catching Covid.
I won't be having any jabs until the real data emerges. I expect that will take a couple of years at least!
I had the Spikevax JN1 booster recently. Felt fine then few days later had an af episode. (First one in 18 months) Then a few days later another af episode. Took extra Flecainide which stopped them within 3 hours. Husband had the Spikevax booster April 2023 and 6 days later developed swollen inflamed hands. Diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis. Consultant Rhumatologist said, when I questioned whether Covid jab was the cause, that she had seen cases of flare ups after the covid jab in patients who already had inflammatory arthritis and cases of new onset arthritis after the jab. We still both feel its better to be protected by the vaccine than risk catching Covid
This so depends on the person and medical history. I have two autoimmune diseases and had a very bad reaction to the first two Covid vaccines when Covid first hit. It caused very severe neuropathy in my feet that has never gone away. And I had other issues as well. My hands and I couldn’t even hold a cup.My GP of 35 years says I should not have any others and I haven’t. I only had Covid once and am very careful, always masking on flights and in bathrooms and if a store is crowded, I’ll put on the mask even if people stare at me. I personally would not take another one of them.
From my integrative doctors who are MDs, they believe that our vitamin D3 level is a very important to fight against getting Covid. Western doctors say that the D3 is fine at 30 or above, integrative doctors say from 50 to 80 is better. just giving this information that I have learned all the best to everyone.
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