Flu vaccine

[Pippapot]

Despite all the discussion and contraversy re autumn vaccinations I decided to take the plunge. Covid booster last Thursday, no problem.Flu vaccination yesterday, awful reaction. Fever and flu like symptoms overnight, expected. But the pain in my arm, extending down to fingers, pain in shoulder, pain in neck, and chest pain not expected.

Anyone else had this problem with their booster? Not sure if I should be worried?

[Mirror368]

I would definitely check with your doctor. By the way, my primary and my hematologist told me to get vaccines two weeks apart.

Hope younfeel better soon.

[katiewalsh]

I wonder if they hit a nerve when you got a shot. I’ve had friends have this happen. They used ice every day. For one it went away, for the other it lasted a long time. Hopefully your doctor can answer your questions. Good luck. Katie

[AndyT]

Worth getting it checked out. I had my Covid and flu jabs on the same day with no significant side effects from either.

[mark382]

Had flu vaccination a week ago. Mild shivers and flu like symptoms. But I had pain in my arm, up my neck to my face and all down one side of my ribs. I was also extremely tired for a few days. All symptoms disappeared after about 4 days. Had covid jab on Saturday. Sore and raised red area at point of injection, but nothing like flu jab. As it happens it was the same doc who did both. He asked what I was like after flu jab. Told him and he smiled and nodded his head and said yeah. Got the impression this was expected.

[ainslie]

Some say having the jabs 2 weeks apart lowers risks of sides perhaps

[Pippapot]

Thank you all for your replies. The GP thinks that they hit a nerve when giving the injection. I still have shoulder and finger pain, hoping no permanent damage done!

[ERei]

Wow! I thought I was the only one! Last Sept I had my covid booster vaccine in my left arm. A few days later I had central chest pain which progressed to also include left shoulder, arm, & eventually left wrist pain. I had a cardiac workup as well as pulm workup - nothing was found. It lasted about a month. Then in Dec the pain restarted. I was put on steroid pills and it eventually went away. It is highly unlikely that I will get the covid booster again due to that reaction.

[ritaandscooter1]

Have had terrible reactions with the flu shot. Have had the initial covid shots and booster with very little reactions. Will never ever get the flu shot again. The last one was about 10 years ago and both my legs below the knee began swelling up. My feet then swelled up and it was as if the reaction exited my toes! Went to the ER and they could find nothing wrong. The only thing I had done different was get the flu shot. Now I don't get any vaccinations. Surprisingly I'm rarely ever sick and when I am it's very mild. It appears from all the on-line posts about adverse reactions from the flu shot that all of us with MPN's should think twice about getting this. Kerry

[Tilly_Rose]

I have ET JAK 2 I take Hydroxy and I had both jabs together and I was fine don’t know if this helps good luck 😉

[EPguy]

Like you last Nov I had Covid shot followed a week later by the flu shot. You can read my posts, end result has been a debilitating case of Sjogren's, an often nasty un-treatable and irreversible systemic autoimmune disease.

There is not much info on shot spacing, but it seems that they should be either same day or at least 2+ weeks apart. Otherwise it can overstimulate the immune response. For those on IFN this is esp notable as IFN alone can very rarely cause immune dysfunction, this being amplified by vaccines in rare instances.

Was your pain immediate or delayed? If delayed it is less likely they hit a nerve since you would have known as the needle went in. More likely a neurological reaction. If it is not getting better it is worth attention, try for a consult with a neurologist. The neuro Dr will check your sensations, strength, reactions, range of motion and possibly EMG (a nerve damage study) Good news is neuro vax reactions most often self heal, although it can be months to do so.

I got a pain in my knee joint just after the shot, same body side as the shot. I never had any knee pain before. Also a strange whole body sensation. Then Brachial Neuritis, severe pain in the shoulder up my neck and numb tingly fingers. It improved over a couple months but then brief paralysis events and evolution into the Sjogren's. In my case the IFN primed me for this reaction, you're not on IFN which is a good start.

In the US there are procedures to be compensated for vaccine injuries. This keeps it out of the regular legal system. Neuro injuries are the most common type for this; if they last 6 months it's a standard case. Maybe UK has something similar?

[Pippapot in reply to EPguy]

Thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear you've been through it. I will see how things go, if no improvement I will definitely be taking your advice and getting seen by a neuro.