Query re vaccinations

[Islandgirl50]

Hi friends, I have one question , is it wise to have the "flu vaccination" while on steroids, and methotrexate? I know it isn't a live virus used, but would like some advice, I usually have an annual vac due to my lungs( bronchiectasis) ... not sure of the spelling there .

Last time I wrote here, I had hit a brick wall reducing from 8 to 7 mg predict, but on suggestions from here, I went back up to 8 for a while, then down to 7.5, now I am happily down to 7 mg , feel very happy with that , so thank you .

Still tears over the death of my beloved dog, but that's life , still have one little dog to care for, she keeps me goingg and is also needing lots of love to get her thru the grieving , best wishes to all . I must get back to my fig jam bubbling away and decide what to do with all these quinces .......they smell divine ! Very tired now tho , perhaps I shall just sniff them 😜🌺

[Hidden]

Hi Island Girl

I'm on Steroids & Methotrexate, my Rheumatologist & GP both recommended l had the Flu Jab as it isn't a Live Vaccine but for my own reasons I declined, I never had it when l was working in the NHS either but again from personal choice.

Good Luck with you Jam making!

Mrs N x

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi Islandgirl50,

My you are industrious, love the smell of home-made jam!

I had flu jabs all the way through when on Pred no problem whatsoever. Sorry can't help with MTX.

It's your choice of course, but with your other problems I would still take it. PMR is enough to cope with- you don't want other things added in.

[Islandgirl50 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you for your advice .💐

[Islandgirl50 in reply to Islandgirl50]

Oh dear, I am not good at sorting out this I pad thingDorsetLady I press wrong buttons! After saying thank you , I find your story also amazing , I am so sorry you lost your sight in one eye , sending love and best wishes 🌹🌹😘,

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Islandgirl50]

Thank you. Not sure it's always the users fault- these new dangled devices have minds of their own!

Don't really think much about loss of right eye - life goes on pretty much as usual unless I'm doing something close range (lack of definition in 1D) like threading sewing machine needle, reading labels or magazines (woman's mags seem the worst) where the background colour and print colour aren't very well contrasted.

Irony is, hubby and I bought flashy 3D TV about 3 months before lost eye - well that was a waste of money then😉🤔.

Take care

[SheffieldJane]

I had the flu vaccine with no ill effects at all and my GP said it was a good idea because my immune system was compromised.

I'm sorry about the loss of your beloved little dog. I have a painting of my rescue dog Rosie on the wall, she died in 2004. She was a little rogue.

Your jam sounds wonderful. What a lovely occupation.

Well done reducing, I'm struggling a bit at 9 mgs.

Best wishes Jane.

[Islandgirl50 in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thank you Jane, it's so good to get all this advice. ... we never stop loving our beloved pets, and I know the road gets easier , but .....

As far as your struggle with reductions, keep up your chin , the reduction bit is all a bit of a mystery really , just have to ride the waves as they come in I have found , but I find it so exciting to even drop 0.5 ml .I am very optimistic now that I shall beat this dragon, but didn't always feel so .

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It is probably MORE a good idea when on pred+mtx as your immune system is likely to be more suppressed and fighting off flu even harder.

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMR pro , your story amazes me ,you are amazing . God bless x x x

[jacroth1]

I had flu shots for two years while on both prednisone and methotrexate, no problem. My Dr. also insisted on a hepatitis B series of 3 vaccines as well, because of methotrexate. Again, I had no problem.

Apparently, getting hepatitis while on methotrexate is really bad for the liver.

[SnazzyD]

Oh the doggies, don't they hurt when they go? Still sad about all my departed rescued dogs. I've got still one old lady and sometimes I like to think we have a little tag along group with us on our walks, each one with their funny little habits and ways.

Flu vaccine. It's a tricky one when you are trying to consider the individual over the statistics of many. I've given them in flu clinics every year for ten years and then see the people as patients through the year. Nearly everyone is fine. The only time I ever saw lots of people ill for days after vaccination was with the new swine flu vaccine that was rushed out in 2009. As with all vaccines, none are 100% safe and there will always be individuals who react badly either in the short or long term, and there are plenty of anecdotal accounts from people to attribute their illness to vaccines. I have seen these too and cases where the medics have agreed. I never had it myself in the NHS but I'm one of those individuals who don't do well with any vaccine, probably due to a condition that makes my bone marrow have to go into overdrive every three weeks. In short, it depends on who you speak to. I can see both sides.

Occasionally it doesn't hit the right flu because it has mutated on its way around the globe or some other one crops up; that's the nuture of nature. They don't protect you, (though some say they may help) from all the flu like viruses that go round. If you are considering the flu vaccine, then you might want to ask for pneumococcal vaccine too for which you are eligible in the U.K. If you are, over 65 and/or have a chronic health condition, or your consultant says you should.

I did ask a doc how anyone who is immunosuppressed can actually muster a response to the vaccine at all because you need an immune system to react in the first place. He said it's better then nothing.

[SnazzyD in reply to SnazzyD]

Oops, I meant "nature of nature" not "nurture"!

[Islandgirl50 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank you , After reading all this information , I shall go ahead with the vaccination . I did have a pneumonia vac a few months before I was diagnosed with all this , so should be ok with that for a few years... 5 years I think , yes, they are free in Australia also after 65 .🌹

[TooSore]

I had hep vaccine prior to PMR and the pneumonia after. I get the flu shot every year because I work in a germ factory (preschool) and am exposed to things daily. My doctor said not to take any live vaccines such as shingles. So far so good - only a small cold or two and a whopper of a sinus/ear infection last winter since this whole thing started.

[Islandgirl50]

Thank you , no , I wpouldnt even consider having a shingles shot, tho the thought of shingles terrifies me , my dad had a rotten dose of it, so did my dear sister, she said it was more painful than her cancer and treatment .

[BonnyQuine]

Have found these replies interesting. I too have been wondering about the wisdom of having the flu vaccination this year - mainly because my GCA came on just after I'd had last year's flu vaccination, and I'd wondered if it was a trigger. Maybe not? Still pondering . . .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to BonnyQuine]

Flu yes, shingles - an emphatic no!

[Amkoffee]

I always get the flu shot every year. But because so many people said it was dangerous to get it on all my PMR sites I asked my rheumatologist about it. She said I want you to get the flu shot. So obviously I got it and all is well. That is my experience about it.

[Islandgirl50 in reply to Amkoffee]

Thank you 💐

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Very strange time of year to be talking about flu jabs!!!!

And Amkoffee - none of the 3 forums I use say no flu shots. You always get a few people who swear their flu shot was what triggered their PMR or they got flu/a cold from it (no you didn't, you were already incubating it) or it hurt or it didn't work (it reduced the chances, you didn't get the other sort) or something!

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Hi PMRPro, yes, I guess it's sounds odd to you, me making enquiries re flu shots, I should have mentioned that I live in central Victoria, Australia , so of course our seasons are opposite to Englands. We are now in beautiful autumn ...... dreading winter .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Islandgirl50]

Oh no - I realised WHY someone was asking. Though not sure I'd have thought Islandgirl would be in central Victoria! NZ maybe! Where are you?

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Australia , still sunny , but winter is starting to let us know it isn't far away . I am a cold frog,always have been , but seem to feel the cold more these days , not sure if it is just my age, are maybe yet another side effect of the drugs .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Islandgirl50]

No, I meant where in Victoria! How cold does it get? I was in Melbourne some years ago in September and it was absolutely chucking it down and a whole 4C! Was quite relieved to get to a very roasty toasty Uluru.

I found in the early days of PMR I was permanently overheated, OH wanted the heating on, I was sitting in summer clothes in the depths of winter. Then suddenly a few years ago I was cold! No idea what made it change - unless it was the medication for atrial fibrillation.

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Very cold!!!!!! Probably not as cold as England, but...... we have a lot of close to zero in the winter nights, and sometimes doesn't get much over 10 during the day . Ah ha! I also have AF , am on xarelto 20 mg daily . And metoprolol,50 mg ( 25 mg morning, 25 mg night ) I may be able to blame that for my freezing! I hope to be allowed to safely drop the xarelto briefly, as I have been accepted to have my cataract surgery( if. Can drp the xarelto .

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Sorry , I often don't read properly if I am in a rush ! I live in Creswick , just a bit north of Ballarat , ours is a beautiful village ina green valley , great community spirit here , and lots to get involved in.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Islandgirl50]

And I don't live in England - northern Italy, half way up a mountain. I have a/f too - and yes, I suspect the medication has something to do with being chilly! But we get -10C and lower in winter and often have several days where the temp doesn't get above zero, so-called "frost days". But it can be in the 30s in the summer...

Creswick looks lovely - love the Avenue of Honour, love trees!

[Islandgirl50 in reply to PMRpro]

Ps , I should have explained, I was born and bred on Kangaroo Island , South Australia , I My heart will always be home on the Island ..... Gods own garden .hence the name Islandgirl 50 ....... I was born in 1950 😀

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Islandgirl50]

Didn't get that far along the south from Melbourne. I hope to be at a rheumatology meeting in Aus next year - but I don't know where it is to be yet. They promised it wouldn't be Wagga Wagga and I've been to Brisbane and Sydney - was hoping it is Adelaide or Perth but you made me look! Terigal - been there too!

[Amkoffee in reply to PMRpro]

Oh I've heard that one a lot too.