Went to see my GP a couple of weeks ago for the results of a dexa scan. I'd declined the Alendronic acid and he insisted on the scan. Anyway my T score was fine, but while there, my GP opened his fridge and took out a flu jab.
"Everybody got injected with the wrong strain last year and I actually got flu just before Christmas. what's the point ?" I asked him.
"You've got underlying medical conditions and I strongly advise it" "OK" I replied.
Six hours later I found myself sat in the middle of a field struggling to breath or stand hanging onto the leashes of two unhappy golden retrievers who had had their walk interrupted. I phoned my wife who turned up with the car and took us home.
The next day was mostly spent in bed as I didn't feel any better. the following day I had to have a routine INR blood test as I take warfarin (coumadin) an hour later I had a phone call from the nurse asking me "What on earth have you been doing ?" as my INR had gone from 2.4 to 4.2.
My wife who is a senior health professional doesn't have the flu jab. Like myself, she has PMR and attributes its onset to shortly having the jab two years ago.
I think I'll pass next year.
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Andymurph
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Think you have been unlucky to have that sort of reaction. Hope you’re okay now. It is slight different again this year and is recommended for those with an autoimmune disease.
"Everybody got injected with the wrong strain last year"
That isn't strictly true - they didn't include the one that was probably the most likely because it was identified too late but it was still about 40% effective. The flu jab doesn't necessarily prevent you getting flu but it does give your body a head start if you do catch one of the flus it covers.
The one year my husband didn't get his flu jab (he had bronchitis when he went to the doctor and forgot to go back) he caught flu, spent nearly 3 weeks in bed and took 6 months to recover from the pneumonia that developed as a result (to be fair he does have lung problems). He hasn't risked it since. When I had flu, just the once when still relatively young and fit, I spent a week in bed, I couldn't get down the stairs, and it took a good 3 weeks before I was anything like able to do things normally.
Reducing the risk by just under a half seems a good approach to me. And it never affected my INR. But I DID have a problem with my INR swinging around which came totally out of the blue - so it may be coincidence. Not saying it is - just it may be.
Actually you're wrong, the problem with the fluzone vaccine was one of logistics. the guesses that are made in selecting the strains are usually very "Well-informed" guesses. The problem is that for distribution purposes these "guesses" have to be made well in advance of impending flu seasons. The problem last year was that the most common A strain H3N2 mutated in the lee time between production and distribution thus rendering it useless.
Gosh! What an alarming story. Has anyone offered you an explanation?
I have had it two years running, simply because I have a compromised immune system. I have had no ill effects. I do find stories like yours perfectly credible and very concerning. I worry about inoculations/ vaccinations being a factor in autoimmune diseases too. My husband developed Eczema after being a guinea pig, testing the flu jab as a student.
Hi Jane, I was in the surgery yesterday for another blood test. I spoke to the practice nurse about my adverse reaction to the vaccine and asked if anyone else had experienced anything similar. She informed me that she had only heard of four or five cases at our surgery but they were all confined to the over 65 vaccine (I'm 64 !)
In fairness I have have had the jab for the past 5 years with nothing worse than a sore arm. What made me sceptical was the particularly unpleasant flu I had last December that made me very ill. Despite having had a "Flu" jab.
You may be sensitive or even allergic to one of the additives. There may be versions available for people with such sensitivities so ask next time. At the very least stay in the doctor's office for at least fifteen minutes after the shot. I didn't realize this was actually recommended for all vaccinations, not just the ones they give to people being desensitized to allergies. When I had a flu shot a few years ago (the first of only two I've ever had) I was told I had to wait, and why - some people feel faint - and darn it, didn't I come over all funny and have to wait a lot longer. But I had the most awful bruising, visible right away, so she must have pierced a vein when I got the injection.
Hello, Something to think about re last December flu event. Had you not taken the vaccine, it is possible you could have been much worse off. The vaccine helped stimulate antibodies, which gave you a head start when you did catch the virus.
My preferred flu-jab schedule is to get the jab as soon as the vaccine comes available...giving me maximum time to build immunity....
havent had influenza, or even severe viral "cold" for years, using my schedule....
Just sayin...
Thank you for posting this! I have NEVER had the flu jab, but this year I've been asked by GP and Pharmacist if I have had it yet. I heard the same thing, "You've got underlying medical condition, blah, blah, blah..." After reading your post, I think I'll take my chances.
It does cut the likelihood by half though Melissa. Full blown flu is not to be sneezed at. 😏. I think I still will have it, but plan a lovely guilt free duvet day with Paracetamol that works.
Yes, each year I’m betwixt and between... this year I am especially ambivalent! I just don't know what to do... I hear the horror stories on both sides. 😷
I had the flu once - at the ripe old age of maybe 32. Got bronchitis. Got pneumonia. Spent 6 weeks housebound and wasn't myself for 6 months. Up till then, never got the shot. After the childhood diseases (for which we didn't have vaccines yet), I never got sick. Maybe a winter cold. One or twice a summer cold.
After getting the flu, I never skipped another shot. Now I hardly even get colds, even the one's my husband brings home from school.
Please get the shot. You have enough problems without getting the flu on top of it. Just think about how much the coughing and the sneezing is going to hurt.
I broke down and had the shot last year. But I didn't trust it. I even avoided my regular check in with the doctor as it was at the height of flu season and why would I sit in a waiting room full of sick people when I felt perfectly well?
I can't go near the surgery during 'jab' season without someone waving a syringe at me!! However I do have COPD as well as PMR so they are probably justified. I've never had any side effects except a 24 hour sore arm.
I try and avoid the chemist even and sit in a corner in the surgery waiting room. I went for a dressing change and a blood test this week though and the new nurse had a load of sweets on her desk. It turned out she had a very bad sore throat and at her most contagious, I was furious I would have cancelled the appointment if I had known beforehand. I am just waiting in trepidation to get what she has. She then tried to take my blood from one arm and failed, she then tried the other arm and failed again. I am going back next week for another go. I despair.
I have had the flu jab before and during my time on steroids for PMR. Never had a problem. My husband is on Warfarin.... he too has never had a problem. May
Some people have more strenuous reactions to the flu vaccine than others. Ususally the most severe reaction is swelling and pain at the shot site, a bit of a fever and the attendant headache/body aches that go away in a day or so.
Last year, some 80,000 Americans died from flu, and some 50,000 suffered long-term, possibly permanent cardio/respiratory disability.
Flu is no joke, even among the young and vigorous it can knock you on your back for weeks.
Perhaps you are sensitive to something in the shot, a preservative perhaps.
I do not have it either Andy,l was very ill three years ago after one.lt is OK for most people although there does seem to be a lot of people around with coughs and colds at the moment and it is only the beginning of October.
Hi Andymurpg, i had a flu jab this year and felt absolutely fine. I believe there are 2 being given, one for under 65s which I had, and the other for over 65s. Last year it did make me feel under the weather for 24 hours but I’ve no idea whether it was different to this years.
If you are on pred you should have been offered the 65 or over one, as it includes people with immune suppressed problems, also pregnant women, carers and a few others.
Yes, I had it a couple of weeks ago. Just afterwards I had a strange upsurge in energy, but I think that was a coincidence! Sadly it didn't last. During my life I have had 5 or 6 bouts of flu which laid me low for weeks, including one that started on my 18th birthday and ended with me having bronchitis, and another that happened when I was a few weeks pregnant and the effects of which left my daughter partially sighted in her right eye. I'm 67 so obviously the latter won't happen again, but I associate flu with horrible long-term consequences. I started having the flu jab about 12 years ago as my employer offered it free every year for all employees and I wouldn't miss it. I've had very slight misgivings for the last couple of years of GCA and PMR, but I'm certain any drawbacks are greatly outweighed by the benefits.
Hi, I have never had the flu jab and never will even the the surgery asks me. My late 97 yr aunty never in her life also would have it, both of us never suffered with colds or flu ! We heard of so many people feeling ill afterwards !! You do what is right for yourself
When the dates were announced for the flu jab, I chose the last date, November.I have a really awful chest infection now, and wish I had taken the Sept date. When I enter the surgery, on a Sat am, the nurses are all lined up in the corridor, and once you've checked in, it's jab and go. When they see me, they call me as I am on Warfarin. I am also asthmatic, Copd, GCA and Addison's Disease. I have always had the jab. Inconceivable to think if I dont!
A vaccine containing Formaldehyde, Aluminium, chickens' egg protein, antibiotics, and preservatives in addition to the viruses? I spend my life trying not ingest (apart from the egg white) or apply these substances to my skin - why would I wish to be injected with them? A resounding no thank you from me!!
I take high doses of Vit C in the form of ascorbic acid every day and despite being sneezed at and coughed on by my (one to one students) during various bug epidemics at my school - I have not succumbed once in the last 20 months or so. A link between Alzheimers and aluminium has long been established - has anyone done a study to investigate whether the insistence on vaccinating the more mature members of society against flu has some bearing on the increased incidence of Alzheimers? Somehow I doubt it - too much money would be lost by the pharmaceutical companies.
That said - each to their own - people just have to decide what they think will be best for them.
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