Just a bit of lighthearted contemplation for a quiet moment.
Had my 2nd jab early yesterday morning and as with the first one, lucky enough to have woken this morning with nothing worse than a mildly aching arm.
My much younger son & dil had their 1st vaccination yesterday morning too, and by teatime were both in bed feeling grotty!
I have no idea why or where..... but at some point in the past, I'm conscious of being told that some kind of 'activity or exercise after having a vaccination helps dampen any potential adverse effects......Something to do with 'movement/moderate exertion' helping the body absorb/metabolise/distribute the vaccine more effectively and thus reducing the chances of a reaction.
After both my vaccinations I went for a good 40min gentle walk and I've suffered no unpleasant after effects after either. (An antibody test after the first jab even showed 'easily detectable levels of antibodies'.) My young, fit, super-healthy 'family' however, went straight home, onto the couch and almost 'waited' for any reaction to occur!
So!...... there's either a modicum of truth in this theory or...... I'm completely bonkers and talking absolute gobbledygook!!😄
My common sense suggests I've most likely just been one of the lucky ones for whom no reaction was going to occur anyway, but it's always nice to think that just maybe, I was able to knock any potential reaction right out of the window with an intervention! ..... Definitely a 'control thing!! 😄
Sometimes it feels like I have so little control over so many aspects of my PMR so any small 'positive' is a huge triumph.
Anyway....we all know how good exercise of any kind is for us (as long as it's within our own individual capabilities) so maybe I might put this theory to my son and dil in time for their 2nd vaccination. .....I wonder if they'll enjoy a half hour sprint through the fields of the Cotswolds where they live!!! 😄😄😄
Hoping everyone post-vaccinations are ok or recovering from any adverse reactions and wishing you all a pleasant Sunday.❤
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Kendrew
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Good morning, Kendrew. Your theory is sensible and the 'control' aspect sound. I can't remember what I did after my jabs! The sun is shining at the moment so I'll be off for my walk shortly before the rain arrives as forecast. The weather we can't control 😏.
Brill news re getting 2nd jab and even with little or no reaction. No idea on the technology of your theory but it sounds good and even better it worked!!! ( even if it didn't it sounds good). Always good to, at least feel, you've managed to get one up on the younger generation as well. As far as being bonkers, and talking gobbledygook, really not sure how to spell that word, I think it probably applies to me most of the time. Enough of my prattling I have a festival to organise.
Yey, tiz getting to that stage, pacing myself might be the hard bit, but I'll do my best miss!!! Mousey stuff won't be the best for my wrists either (CTS?)
Interesting theory. I spoil it somewhat by heading for my sofa and being ok. Almost welcoming the prospect of something with a predictable cause and effect. My husband was quite poorly and is far more active than I am these days. I agree wholeheartedly about the control aspect of these diseases being a big challenge.
Haha! That's ok. Theories are there to be proven and disproven (is that the word??).....even when they're completely mad!😄😄As for control....I've never been one to relinquish it with good grace!
Interesting theory. As there is no parallel you who went straight home and did nothing we'll never know but I have certainly noticed lots of people expecting to feel unwell after their covid jabs and feel that it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. One of my colleagues told me last Friday that she wouldn't be in on Monday as she was having her second job on Saturday so wouldn't be well enough! This, despite having no more serious reaction to the first jab than a vaguely sore arm.
I'm looking forward to my second jab but it's not until 15th June. Despite Friday's announcement that the over-50s and the clinically vulnerable would be prioritised so that there was 8 weeks, rather than 12, between their injections there doesn't seem to be a mechanism for rebooking sooner.
I hope that you continue to feel well. Have a good day.
Walking didn't work for me, as I had the same 40 mins slow walk back from the cottage hospital each time, and had quite different reactions. But I do think relaxation could make a difference, as I was very tensed up before and after the first vaccine which I think may have worsened the aftermath.
My experience bears out the idea that the more relaxed your arm, the less the subsequent arm pain. I had my first jab in February and, dressed in overcoat, scarf, winter jumper, etc, I was suddenly ushered into a room where a lady was already drawing liquid out of a vial, with other ppl doing the admin. So the pressure of removing all these layers to bare an arm, as she and needle hovered before me, added to the tension that had already built up. Arm pain.
Second jab: I was sartorially prepared and, perhaps bc it was all 2nd Pfizer vaccines, it was differently organised, with one person double-checking my ID, asking unhurriedly about my reactions to the first jab and then administering the second. Zero pain afterwards.
Sample of one, but I think you're on the right track; walking obviously wasn't sufficiently wind-downy that first time.
I was never aware of any particular arm pain. Only of pain all over and the impossible to deny need to increase my pred dose a couple of days after the shot. I had a headache the day afterwards but at the time put it down to weather. Later learned Pfizer headache not uncommon. Hubby who is not on any meds just had the usual stiff feeling in the arm and said he didn't have any other reaction. Interestingly, when he had Shingrix vaccine a few years ago he was wiped out for a day after first one, and for slightly over 48 hours after the second!
I suppose if you had pain all over, it might have masked a slight stiffness in the arm. That, and a headache, seem to be the commonest reactions. Didn't even have those after my second vaccine: just slept wonderfully! Have been fatigued subsequently but who knows why, with our condition?
I'm always fatigued these days. I've pretty much given up ever feeling different. Maybe once my former activities can resume I'll start waking up again!
You've spoken for me too, there, pretty much. Plus a lot of my activities were musical, and a few hours in a folk club, say, in some poky attic or basement is not worth risking atm.
Hey Lady,I am glad to learn you sailed through both jabs without any issues. My experience was exactly the same, even though I didn’t do a thing afterwards. Strange how my hubby, who has no physical issues, complained for days about having a sore arm, fatigue, and dizziness. Me thinks he was “expecting” a reaction and he got one.
On top of PMR, I was recently diagnosed with both osteoarthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Yet, having all these autoimmune issues, I had NO problems with the vaccination. Wild, eh?
More or less the same in our household, except it was All of the men eg Son/ son in laws, but not my husband ! I read somewhere that the older you get the less side affects ! Either that or us women are a tougher race , haha😂
Hi Kendrew, it’s a relief to have both jabs over and done with. I had AZ , first was absolutely fine , second one left me with a headache for a couple of days plus the chills. I’m also at the start of changing from pred to hydrocortisone so not sure if that had something to do with it. I loved my walking before this change but now am feeling totally exhausted. Taking a new path on this journey !
I had to look up what I did after my Pfizer shot a few weeks ago. My plan had been to browse in the big bookstore next door to the vaccination clinic. But I felt so shaky I only went in and looked for a specific book I wanted (not available in PB yet so didn't buy) and then drove home. Certainly I wasn't in any fit state for a 40 minute walk. Second shot should be interesting. It's automatically booked for same time of day as the first, 2 pm. I might try to eat lunch closer to the time of the vaccine, or have snack on hand for soon afterwards.
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