Hello everyone
I had the flu jab in one arm and the pneumonia jab in the other on Saturday. 24 hours of fever on Monday which has now subsided. Feel decidedly under the weather now though. The nurse said I might feel unwell for 2 or 3 days but I thought I'd be better by now. Has it happened to anyone else?
I used to give the flu jab each winter. That type of reaction was quite common and some people took longer than 2 or 3 days, though that was less common.
Hi Skodadet. I have been ill with GCA and PMR ever since I did the same thing as you... both shots the same day in November 2014. I got very ill two days later, please be very careful and see your doctor immediately if you have headache, double vision, jaw pain or sore scalp, do not let them put you off, this can very serious .
I was finally diagnosed correctly after 32days by a neurologist in the ER of our hospital. I mentioned to him that I felt it might have been triggered by having both the shots the same day and that it was after that that I got so ill.
He pretty much let me know that I was crazy and that was a wild cause and effect theory. However because I have had PMR for so long I have found that they are doing research in Italy based on that very same theory, so I may not be just another crazy old lady.
Well, it seems logical to me that anything that triggers the immune system, like a vaccine could be the straw the breaks the camel’s back and tips it into overdrive, same as an infection. It comes down to the individual and it is probably rare when faced with the may millions given. I have seen bad reactions and yes, docs do seem to be protective of vaccines, even when presented with blatant cause and effect. You don’t want to start a bush fire of resistance amongst the population for whom on balance it is a good thing. The newer flu jab is meant to be more effective in the elderly and immunologically sluggish; the target group. It’ll have adjuvants that make it more likely to cause the much needed inflammatory response. For sure there were more complaints of reactions from my regulars, but that was seen as a good thing because they were more likely to seroconvert.
Personally, vaccines have always put me to bed for a week and twice my mandatory (work) Hepatitis B booster gave me months of chronic fatigue after the initial acute reaction, until an enlightened doc said, “no more there’s clearly a problem with you and vaccines”. But, none of those times gave me GCA. It turned out many years later that I have a congenital condition that makes my bone marrow go into overdrive every three weeks, hence the wild reactions. So, two doses of a bone marrow stimulating drug during chemo many years later literally nearly killed me. That, I think was what got the ball slowly rolling for GCA 12 years later (judging by symptoms along the way) along with reactive vasculitis from other drugs at that time. Add in a bucket load of stress over decades and that the final straw needed to weigh very little.
~Wow - the rationale of some medical professionals who think that we wouldn't know our own bodies better than they do?
In similar situation when having tetanus booster which unbeknown to me contained diphtheria/whooping cough coverage early 2015.
Struggled health wise through 2014 not knowing what was wrong with me. PMR finally diagnosed shortly after booster - sounds far fetched, I think not.
Hi
I am going for flu one on Monday but thay advised me to wait two weeks before having pneumonia vaccine .
My fitness class instructor had both last week and ended up in bed for 24 hours feeling rotten .
Said she has never had such a reaction before .
Each vaccine stresses your immune system. One kind of vaccine at the time is enough to cause some reaction. Taking two was a mistake IMO. Just imagine that you had 3 days reaction from each, which would explain longer recovery time. Good luck and next time do one only per visit.
It is believed to be a sign your immune system is doing its job - but I would be unwilling to have both the same day. It does say in the rubrics that it is OK. For someone with a normal immune system maybe...
As Snazzy says, anything can be the trigger that pushes PMR or GCA over the edge - if it hadn't been the flu shot it could well have been the flu if you got it.
Would you know if you have a pneumonia jab every year like the flu jab?
No - one used to get a booster after 5 years but I think the one they use now is for life. Definitely not annually though,
Thanks I had mine last year. One thing to not think about.
I have a friend that had both shots on the same day and she felt terrible for about 3 days. And her immune system is not compromised.
In 2015 I took the flu shot in one arm and the pneumonia in the other. Six days later I was so ill with the beginning of PMR. That being said I wasn’t “right” before that having recovered from a near fatal bowel obstruction 3 years before. I think it might be better to space the time between injections a little.
Update on Flu Jab! 
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Flu jab
