This and that...

[Marijo1951]

I had my third covid jab yesterday deliverered by a very personable young doctor who had me wishing for a moment that I was 25. He was quite chatty and amongst other things told me that the distinction between ''3rd jab'' and ''booster'' is a load of malarkey and has just confused people. He also mentioned that he used to do biopsies for GCA. I said I envied people who got ultrasound instead, but he said the gold standard for accuracy, and for reducing false negatives as far as possible, is ultrasound followed by a biopsy.

[123-go]

"...malarkey"- what did he mean by that? It's true that initially there was a lot of confusion but that has cleared now.I am under the impression that temporal ultrasound scans are more reliable than biopsies; they are also non-invasive.

Nice to have a doctor who is chatty but were you influenced by the stars in your eyes 😀?

[Marijo1951 in reply to 123-go]

''Malarkey'' was my word. I think he just thought it was an unnecessary complication. Certainly my daughter who works with adults with learning disabilities, and has had to arrange vaccinations for many people, has found the distinction unhelpful to say the least.

As for ''stars in my eyes'', it was just a momentary frisson...

[123-go in reply to Marijo1951]

Just pulling your leg, Marijo 🙂. It must have been nice to see a chatty doctor.

[Constance13 in reply to Marijo1951]

😂😂

[Gaycreasey in reply to 123-go]

Confusion certainly is the word. I received a letter from the Department of Health and a message telling me that because I was considered to be vulnerable I would need a 3rd vaccination. My husband had no such message and was wondering about a booster vaccination for himself. It has been difficult with people telling me there’s no such thing as a 3rd vaccination and they are all just boosters. I decided to ask a nurse when I was at the GP surgery for a blood test and she told me they were all the same thing. She had not heard of the 3rd vaccination. I had great difficulty getting through on the telephone number I had been given but on the 11th try the message changed from ‘try again later’ to ‘please hold on and someone will be with you’. The upshot was an appointment today for a booster for my husband and a 3rd vaccination for me. Thank goodness for that! Currently sitting by a beautiful log fire feeling snug as a bug.

[123-go in reply to Gaycreasey]

Pleased to know that's all sorted out now. Snug as a bug is good 🤗.

[Marijo1951 in reply to Gaycreasey]

Well done for the perseverance.

I had a letter from the NHS telling me that I needed a third dose, not a booster, but if I had already received a booster, I could treat it as my third dose and ignore the letter. It said I should get in touch with my hospital consultant or GP team. However my hospital department weren't interested in helping to arrange vaccinations and my GP team were blithely ignorant of the difference and believed they were the same thing. When they later texted me to make an appointment for a booster, I did so, and I'm treating it as my third dose.

[Rosbud]

A DR , thought they were an extinct species!

[HappyDiamonds]

Must be something in the air Marijo, I had an emergency doctor visit 2 weeks ago and told my friend that if I had been 50 years younger I would have given him my number 😀

[Hidden in reply to HappyDiamonds]

It’s the medication, it’s working at last 😉

[Marijo1951]

I had a weekend in hospital as I had a ''funny turn'' when I first went on 60 mg of pred. The doctor on duty was Australian, gorgeous and beautifully dressed. One of the nurses told the younger patients that they all fancied him too, but sadly he was gay and spoken for..

[pal-o-mine]

Why does it seem that the better looking ones are so often that way inclined. Oh well. I worked with a young man who had eye-lashes to die for. I (quite rudely, I now think - I was much younger then) asked him if he was wearing mascara to which he replied "no". I later found out he was gay but I still don't know if he was wearing mascara!

[Kendrew]

I think it's important to say that the vaccine given is usually the same one whether it's the 3rd primary vaccination or the booster vaccination. People who are considered clinically vulnerable are offered a 3rd primary vaccination which can be given 8wks after their 2nd vaccination. They are then also offered a 4th vaccination (booster) six months later. This is believed to boost their immune response further. People not considered clinically vulnerable will only be offered a 3rd vaccination (booster) six months after their second vaccination. Hope that helps clear up the confusion.

More information in FAQ'S.

[Liby57 in reply to Kendrew]

I wasn’t aware there to be a 4th vaccine. I had my first vaccine in Feb and 2nd end of April. I had my flu vaccine end of Sept. I received notification 2 weeks ago that as I was considered clinically vulnerable I should now book an appointment for the Covid booster vaccine. I had the booster on Thurs last week, no mention of a 4th vaccine.

[Constance13]

Now now Marino - down girl! 25 indeed. 🤪🤪

[SheffieldJane]

My Ultrasound scan for GCA/ LVV was regarded as definitive by my Rheumatologist. A biopsy as well sounds like overkill. I have not heard this before but as ever I am prepared to be corrected, but would need to see evidence. Maybe when a diagnosis is in doubt?

[Marijo1951 in reply to SheffieldJane]

I was surprised as I understood that ultrasound evidence was fine on its own, but he said it can be misleading.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Marijo1951]

No more so than the TAB - if it is negative it doesn't mean you don't have GCA or LVV. It only means they didn't find what they were looking for and there are several reasons for that.

[Marijo1951 in reply to PMRpro]

I think he meant that ultrasound can be used to narrow down the area affected, but you need a biopsy to make sure. Maybe he just enjoyed doing the biopsies and was hoping to get back to them.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Marijo1951]

Since most of the arteries that can be affected can't be accessed by either TAB or u/s that doesn't really apply either. The arteries looked at are the ones they can get at because they are fairly near the surface and in either case may or may not be affected, Only PET-CT imaging can give a more detailed picture of which arteries are involved.

[Marijo1951 in reply to PMRpro]

I'm just grateful because my biopsy showed as clearly as possible that I had the condition, a big chunky cell right in the middle of it. I know for many it's much more hit and miss than that.

[AliDeJ]

Yes, I was told by the doctor who did my "booster" that it was no different from jabs one and two.

[Rugger in reply to AliDeJ]

The contents of the syringe are no different, but it's the paperwork and recording the fact that it was a 3rd Primary vaccination, entitling us to a booster in 6 months' time. Also, the 3rd Primary can be given 8 weeks after the 2nd, but a booster can only be given 6 months after a 2nd.

[Predsharer]

I had my 3rd vaccination yesterday at a walk in centre. It had been six months since my last one, but I explained my situation re PMR and the fact that I was taking immunosuppressants and the nurse understood straight away. She wrote ‘third dose’ on my card and on the computer ( instead of ‘booster’) and said that my booster would be in six months.

[keeptalking]

Predsharer. I agree my 3rd primary had to be recorded as a 3rd primary/booster and was told to return for my actual booster in 6 months. They also said to make sure my GP added that to my notes. But my GP had already told me that if I didn’t receive notification in 6months start to chase it.

[Marijo1951]

Obviously the situation is different in different areas. Here nobody seems to be properly aware of the differential, including the doctors!

[Bcol]

Had my third one on Saturday - surgery said it's my Third Primary One, the paperwork said it was a booster - I've asked them to change it. Had the Pfizer one this time and no untoward effects as yet. 😀

[Marijo1951 in reply to Bcol]

I'm glad to learn you've had no side effects. I felt terrible yesterday, nauseous and flu-like and had a temperature of 38.4. I gave myself a covid test just to be sure I wasn't actually coming down with the bug and fortunately it was negative. I'm feeling fine today and my arm has stopped hurting so much. Mine was the Pfeizer jab too. I had Astra Zeneca for the first two.

As for whether it's my last one or the third of four, I'm not sure I've the stamina to argue the point. As I said the doctor himself who gave me the jab was evidently unaware of the significance and my daughter has had endless troubles trying to sort it out on behalf of her vulnerable service users.

[Bcol in reply to Marijo1951]

Sorry to hear you have been poorly. I seem to one of the lucky ones with no reactions at all to the Covid or Flu injections.