Just looking for advice from anyone about this as on reading up about it, it appears one of the side effects can be irregular heart rate....which I don't need as I'm having lots of issues with the old AF.
I've recently been told I have MGUS just to add to the mix and people with this condition should have a different vaccine that's not a 'live' one.
Anybody out there know anything about this?
My gp thought a couple of weeks ago that I may have had a slight stroke as I'm getting pins & needles on my right side including my mouth and tongue...I have mentioned this before. I'm under 'investigation' for this and just unsure whether to have the shingled vaccine on Thursday with all this going on.
Thanks in advance folks and stay well all.
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Personally while you have so much going on health wise you could put the shingles vaccine on hold maybe. Check with your doctor about live vaccines, they are fine for many people but less so for others. You need good medical advice then you can make an informed decision. If your gut is telling you to be careful then maybe give it some time.
Last year I asked my GP about having the shingles vaccine she said ‘given my health issues at the time then wait until you are feeling physically better’. Your choice may be easier once medically fully informed and feeling ok. Best wishes and hope you get some resolution asap for your ongoing investigations.
definitely something to talk to your EP about or even your pharmacist depending on who gives the vaccines. I am very impressed this past year. I have had several things come up and it was the pharmacist that picked up on things first. They are careful giving you vaccines, especially if your body cannot break down a live one. I wanted my flu shot. I was running late this year, but I was already sick with something so they refuse to give it to me. your doctor will weigh the benefits. Best of luck.
I am immune suppressed so was recommended to have the Shingrix vaccine. I had had shingles about 5 years ago but recognised it immediately and got the antivirals which were very effective. I was then recommended 3 years ago to have the Shingrix vaccine - 2 shots over 3 months. I’ve had 4 outbreaks of shingles since, thankfully my GP ensured I have the antivirals in the house. I was then told that I was one of the ‘unlucky’ ones, it seems that the vaccine is none effective in about 30% of people.
I agree that it may not be a priority for you at the moment but be sure that if you are unlucky enough to have a shingles outbreak - get the antivirals immediately! Don’t wait to see a GP - take a photo of the blisters and send to GP as a priority. Unless you start them within the first 48-72 hours of identifying the blisters they are none effective and I know several people with shingles in their eyes which is incredibly painful.
Because of the multiple outbreaks of Herpes + Shingles I am now on prophylactic anti-virals for 6 months.
I remember when my dad had them. He got them right on the side of his waist. He was a big strong man, but it brought tears to his eyes. I have a friend right now suffering with them. He has to wait until they are completely gone before he can get the vaccines. It’s no joke to have them but again I would check with my doctor if he is not the one that gives them to you to make sure he doesn’t have a reason you need to avoid it
You must have had the ‘live’ vaccine back then as Shingrix was released 2017. The OP said they couldn’t take a live vaccine. The Shingrix vaccine contains a protein from the virus which provokes an immune response.
Hi there. All I can say about Shingrix is that I suffered no side effects.
As for pins and needles, you may like to consider whether they might represent the sensory aura of migraine. Some years ago I was misdiagnosed as having suffered a TIA (transitory ischaemic attack). In fact it was the aura of migraine, as finally diagnosed by neurology. I also suffered from visual aura and aphasia, which made the final diagnosis easier. I have never suffered from the headache usually associated with migraine.
My simple logic is that migraine is an electrical disturbance, as is AFib. The triggers may also be similar, eg stress and certain food types.
I’m 56 and diagnosed with SVT and palpitations. Both very well controlled with dronedarone and bisoprolol 2.5.
I had shingles aged 40 (unpleasant)and then second episode age 55 (felt VERY ill) and I decided to get the vaccine. In the UK they do it for free on the NHS if you are over 65 but here in Ireland I had to pay just shy of €500 for it.
Shingrix is NOT a live virus and is given intramuscular and 2 jabs, 2-3 months apart. I only had sore arm after the first jab but after the second jab I had high temperature and uncontrollable shivering, which passed after 24 hours. However there is no way I could stand to have shingles again - I can’t stress how horrible it is and it gets worse as you get older.
You obviously were not offered anti-virals. It amazes me how few people seem to know about them and are offered them as taken in time at first outbreak they are very effective, more than the vaccine in my case!
I did have anti virals but they wouldn’t give them until the rash appeared. I knew 3-4 days prior that it was Shingles from the area, tingling and pain. They work best when taken at first sign of symptoms.
My practice nurse did some research for me as I was nervous about the new form of shingles jab they now offer, in 2 doses. She said she could find nothing specific to triggering AF. Having had a successful ablation for persistent AF I’m super cautious about how I approach vaccines and new medications and I barely touch alcohol. I don’t even drink tea or coffee unless decaffeinated despite the fact research is showing no connection between caffeine and AF! However, I went ahead with both shingle jabs and didn’t experience any problems. As with covid and flu vaccinations (which I insist are given at least 2 weeks apart) I face the fear, do it anyway then feel massively grateful that there’s one less illness on the horizon.
I had part 1 of the vaccine in Nov. Didn’t affect my heart. Just had a v painful hot swollen entry point on my arm for 3 days. Don’t normally suffer with jabs..guess there’s a first time for everything,,,hubby had shingles…v v nasty so rather the bad arm than shingles, part 2 jab in June
For vaccines, I always look for the twin indicators of NNV and NNH. NNV is the Number (of people) Needed to Vaccinate to avoid one case of, in this case, shingles. NNH is number needed to harm, i.e. how many people are vaccinated before one person suffers harm. Search for this article, which is on the US National Library of medicine, which gives these numbers. "Letter 114 Shingrix: A New Vaccine for Shingles"
NNV of 31 indicates a reasonably effective vaccine in relation to the risk of having shingles, but the NNH is 11 to 25, which indicates that harms (I presume these are defined somewhere in the article) are more commom than people who benefit.
Difficult one. My Dad had shingles and it was nasty, (and he had permanent AF), but I think I would go for the antiviral.
Great advice I think these medical metrics should be communicated and used much more widely for all types of Pharma products. I feel the same about RRR - relative risk reduction - vs ARR - absolut risk reduction, most commonly for marketing the RRR is shared as the figures look much better than the actual and more important ARR.
Many thanks for all the comments and I'm going to see if the gp who has instigated these tests can give me some reassurance. I would hate to get shingles and as a photographer the thought of it affecting my eyes is very scary, but I'm very unsure what I should do.
I've had every single vaccine offered with covid, flu and all the vaccines I had as a child, but the last 'top up' covid and flu gave me a horrible reaction. I had them both together on the same arm as previous breast cancer and lymph node removal says not on that arm, so I don't even know which of the 2 caused the reaction. I've never had any reaction before other than the sore arm for a few days, that I can cope with.
I will try and get a word with the gp even a phone consultation and take her advice.
Thanks guys for all the info and all of you, stay well!
I understand now that the shingles vaccine is not like other vaccines and ensures that if you do get shingles it will be very mild! I wish I’d had it the first time it was offered as then I would have been spared having PAF and chronic fatigue when I got the pain before the rash and couldn’t get an appointment at our surgery when an antiviral might have saved me from both! I had been told by a “pain expert” that the discomfort I experienced in my back was the “after effects of shingles”- so when the jab was first offered, I asked if I should have it, didn’t get an answer and so wish I had and would have been able to carry on with my active healthy life which ended in my mid 70s when I got the excruciating pain without the rash and couldn’t get an appointment for nearly two weeks by which time the pain had gone and the rash had appeared and I wasn’t offered an antiviral.
I'm so sorry you had all that. I'm going to contact my gp tomorrow and try and get a phone appointment at least, then I'll decide what to do. Nothings ever straightforward eh?
Thanks! At least I’m still here at nearly 81 and my brain still works ok - losing that would have been far worse! And fortunately, my husband does most of the things I used to do and looks after me reasonably well.
Hi. My husband is in the same boat as you in that he had to turn down the shingles vaccine in 2023 as it was the old "live" one-off vaccine and he takes evolocumab which cannot be given alongside live vaccines. Late last year, he was offered the new "non-live" vaccine which is taken in 2 doses. As he has COPD, his doses were only a couple of months apart and he was very ill following the second dose. The first dose affected him only for a few days to a week in that he felt very tired and headachey but nothing major. Whether it is coincidence or not, we don't know but after the second dose, he felt awful. Constant headaches, worse on standing, major stomach upset and abdominal pain. He felt very light-headed and generally very unwell. We went to the GP who felt it was all connected to the jab and said it could take 10-12 days before he would feel better. A few days later his BP dropped through the floor and the GP sent us to A&E. After 2 hours, we left as he felt so ill and would still have at least another 2 hours before triage. Later that evening, he started getting chest pains and we had to call an ambulance and he was told he had atrial fibrillation which was something new for him. They took him to hospital to get checked but they ignored the AF and were going to send him home without any medication until he pointed it out. They then checked and sent him home on Apixaban. Since then, he has recovered mostly but as far as we know, has had no recurrence of the AF. We very strongly feel all this was because of the shingles vaccine but have no definitive answer. Sorry if this puts you off. That is not my intention as I am due to have my second dose in a couple of months but it may be something to discuss with your GP first
How awful for him. I've had AF since 2013 and had an ablation in March 23 which hasn't worked as I'm getting really bad symptoms again so when I saw that arrythmia is one of the side effects of this vaccine, it kinda freaked me a bit as I have enough of that every day, sometimes all day! I take Apixaban too as well as Amlodipine & Bisoprolol. I will see what my gp advises tomorrow if I can get hold of her.
I had awful side effects from Shingrix, the usual cold and flu which was okay but then followed by nausea and then 9 days of severe diahorrhoea. I have not gone back and had the second as I couldn't cope with the fainting from the in balance of salt and sugar in my bloods. Then I had AF every other day and went to the minor injuries unit and they advised that I had low potassium - caused by the side effects - and low potassium can cause irregular heart beats. I would suggest that you avoid the vaccinne until you feel more stable and if and when you do get it make sure that you have someone around to check on you. Most people don't suffer the severe side effects but some of us do.
Oh no, so sorry this happened but thanks for the comments. Scary indeed but my gp said to discuss my queries with them when I go on Thursday, then I'll decide if I'm having it!
I have to be careful here as many believe in these so called vaccines. I know people in my immeidtae family and a few friends who got shingles AFTER having the Covid vaccines. There are many anecdotal incidents of folks who had shingles in the past, or who are carrying the Herpes Simplex virus who suddenly got a recurrence after the vaccines.
I oersonally would avoid any of the Mrna type and would be a little leary of ones that may exacerbate the afib condition.
I have had NO vacccines, ZERO/NONE since 1980 and someohow I am magically alive.
I take herbs, vitamins and such which so far (knocks on wood) have worked for me and my family. Flu prevention - Get some good quality LIQUID probiotics which needs refrigeration and take 1 tablespoon twice a week and you'll likely never see the flu again.
I trust more to my own immune system, which, for all of us, was polished throughout millions of years and functions on the base of genetic identification of the "intruder", than to someone's "good intention", with guessing what the virus type might be this winter. Last jabbed in 1976, when doing my military service (at 24 yo). At 72, still on no medication at all.
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