I would appreciate your guidance on the importance of which kind of shingles vaccine to have, i.e. live or not? I am on medication for GCA, 5.5mg Prednisolone, plus Levothyroxine, Bisoprolol, Amlodipine, Rosuvastatin, Ursodeoxycholic Acid, Famotidine, Losartan.
With many thanks.
Not the live version - you need the Shingrix one.
There’s a raft of info here -
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
Thank you very much DL, I will read the information.
Hi. You must have the non-live Shingrix vaccine as you are immunosupressed. You will receive two jabs at least eight weeks apart. I had mine with no side effects apart from a little soreness in the injection site for around 24hours.
gov.uk/government/publicati...
Excellent to hear. Shingrix it is. Thank you.
Theoretically you are safe to have the live one being on a low dose of pred and they will almost certainly try to push it. Practically though I would refuse the live one and insist on the Shingrix one. You have GCA and are on pred - you have a compromised immune system anyway and one of the listed adverse effects of Zostavax, the live vaccine, is PMR.
Thank you, I shall go armed with your very welcome advice.
Hi there , Best advice would be from your GP they know you better than anyone except yourself of course . I’ve had shingles 2-3 times now and since COVID and the vaccines for that as well as others , reactions are different each time. The non live one would probably be best ,I have PMR and am reluctant to have either , I’m also on Pred 10mg daily , but again speak with your GP.
Regards Misseyj55
Thank you for your kind reply, detailing your experiences. I have been so grateful for the responses I got and have decided to hold out for Shingrix.
All the best.
Shingrix is apparently much more effective than Zostavax, and more long lasting, especially in the elderly! Pleased to see Poshcards's info that Shingrix is soon to be the only one offered in UK.
Yes, thanks for your reply; what good news!
I was informed by my nurse who gave me my shingrix jab, that as from August or September this year, everybody will get the non live Shingrix, no more live vaccines for shingles after that x
Thanks for your reply. The practice nurse today was unaware that Shingrix would become universal in September but she was happy to arrange my appointment for it in two weeks anyway.
Shingrix! Is what I have been told. Nothing else. I was nearly charged £300 but the lolvely nurse told me to go to the GP ... if you can find one ... for free!
I had to cancel my first Shingrex jab due to starting chemotherapy. Laterly being diagnosed with PMR, I am worried about how severe side-effects might be after vaccination; particularly regarding muscle pain as my PMR symptoms present in my arms, shoulders, neck. Would appreciate hearing of others experiences having had Shingrex.
If you want answers to your question you need to post it as a new thread - people rarely go back to an old thread, they have to have actively followed it to be notified so only I, DL and the author of the thread will definitely see it.
Oh, thanks for advising me. I'm quite new to this.
Yes and you are on the best website for helpful and kind advice from experienced people. Certainly when I put my query out regarding which shingles vaccine to have, dead or alive, the answers came in 100% for Shingrix the dead one.
I’m sure if you have further questions and put them in a new post, you will receive a lot of support. All the best.
Yes, it is nice to have contact with others in a similar position for guidance or reassurance. I have been reading the comments from others about Shingrex which being a non-live vaccine was recommended to me by the practice nurse previously. Generally, the side-effects do not seem to have been any worse than what one might experience from other types. I was anxious about having Covid vaccinations but been fine so far - had my 5th at end of May.
Hello jic, so far my practical experience with Shingrix is that I had the first part of the vaccine last Saturday (thankfully no discernible side effects). I will be contacted in a month to have part two of the vaccine. I have GCA and take 5.5mg Prednisolone amongst other things.
Hope this helps and I send very best wishes to you.
Goodevening Katiecatweazel - just to let you know that I called my Health Centre this morning and, by 2pm had the first Shingrex administered. Booked provisionally for the 2nd in about 10 weeks' time. Since, so far, only a slight redness around the injection site but nothing else. Hopefully, your 2nd jab will prove as unsymptomatic as the first. Best Wishes.
Very good. Thanks for letting me know jsc, I hope all goes well for you.
Thank you for sharing your experience so far from Shingrex. I'm hoping to have it fairly soon, to ensure I manage to have the second jab before my next oncology appointment although have been concerned about it with now having PMR too. Best of luck with the next one. Hope it goes well too.
Shingles vaccine to have or not to have
PMR and Zostavax vaccine for Shingles
