shingles vaccination

[PamJCam]

I’m due for my shingles vaccination next week but I have reservations as I’ve read that it might not be a good idea to have it with an auto immune disease which I believe PMR is🤔 please correct me if I’m wrong! So I’ve very mixed feelings as I know from family and friends that shingles is horrible to say the least…any ideas would be gratefully received.

[SheffieldJane]

The key thing is to avoid a live vaccine. My GP surgery said the one they were offering was fine.

[PamJCam in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thank you!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The usual advice is that you SHOULD get vaccination when your immune system is compromised. As SJ says, you should never have a live vaccine but the new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, which is what is being used now is not live and is fine for us.

[PamJCam in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you, I’ll ask the surgery tomorrow.

[EnyaBlue in reply to PMRpro]

Can you get shingles from being in contact with chicken pox. The NHS website says no whereas the common view is yes. I'm confused. I had chicken pox as a child and understand that the virus stays in the body. Grandchildren now plastered with chicken pox. How does one get shingles if not from chicken pox contact?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to EnyaBlue]

Coming into contact with someone who has CP [and in the infectious period] it can re-activate the dormant virus in your body, and it then affects you as Shingles.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to EnyaBlue]

After CP as a child the virus never leaves the body - it retreats into the nerves and remains dormant close to the spine. It can wake up for a lot of reasons, a dodgy immune system, a lot of stress which upsets the immune system, something else that upsets the immune system, and then it may move down the nerves and appear in the area of skin that nerve supplies.

Being in contact with CP is a bit hit or miss - it MIGHT poke at your immune system and wake the virus up but it might not. In general it is more not than it does. It is very unusual to get CP twice - it can happen with someone with a dodgy immune system. It's unlikely you would trigger shingles just by being with them, without contact with the fluid in the spots or in the very infectious stage BEFORE the spots appear but of course at that stage you don't know.

[EnyaBlue in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks

[Kendrew]

Hi PamJCam,

I had my shingles vaccination last week and was vaccinated with the non- live 'Shingrix'.

I have to have a booster in 6mths and then I'm covered for life.

The actual injection was quite painful as it was being given, but apart from a slightly achey arm the next day, I was completely fine and didn't experience any other side effects.

[PamJCam in reply to Kendrew]

Thank you for that 👍

[Charlie1boy in reply to Kendrew]

Seems our surgery has a different system, as I was called back for the second vaccination after six weeks.

[Kendrew in reply to Charlie1boy]

Hi Charlie1boy,

The info seems to suggest that the 'window' for the second vaccination is from approximately 6wks up to 6mths.

[Charlie1boy in reply to Kendrew]

Perhaps it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

It doesn't really - even if you don't get it done in the 6 month window, you don't start again as you do with some, Just get the second shot. But the longer the interval, the more likely you will forget - and it does work far better with both!

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

👍

[Kendrew in reply to Charlie1boy]

Haha....perhaps not.I'm feeling rather like a pin cushion at the moment though. Flu and shingles sorted and covid jab next week!..... although after a long and failed battle with my GP practice, I'm having to pay privately for a Pfizer vaccination. (Moderna triggered an escalation in my palpitations resulting in the need to see my cardiologist. Its a long story!) I was treated very poorly by a practice manager who was rude, unprofessional, disrespectful, lacking in knowledge, and misrepresented my needs to others. Hence I made an official complaint and an investigation is now in full swing.

Life is complicated enough and something so simple as resourcing an alternative vaccine shouldn't be so challenging!

[Broseley in reply to Kendrew]

The government and NHS are encouraging us to get our flu and covid jabs. I had the text back in September. However there is a shortage in our area and no surgery or pharmacy can get hold of any!

[Kendrew in reply to Broseley]

Hi Broseley,Unfortunately that's not in this instance the reason why sourcing an alternative vaccine has been so difficult.

Some time ago, my cardiologist and I had a conversation about the cause of the escalation of my heart arrhythmia being down to a reaction to the Moderna vaccine (which I'd been given shortly before the symptoms emerged.)

He felt it was highly probable that the vaccine was the 'trigger' and told me he'd treated numerous patients who'd all experienced similar following a Moderna vaccination.

Unfortunately, because there's no official data to support that, he didn't feel it would be appropriate to put that in writing.

My GP won't fill in the necessary document I need, (that will authorise a designated pharmacy to order it in) just on my information alone.

Pfizer is most definitely available though here.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Kendrew]

Been data suggesting it since 2021 and the second jab,

"Patone M. et al. reported an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia at 1–7 days following a second dose of mRNA-1273 (Moderna) [19]"

But it isn't JUST Moderna, it is pfizer too:

"The trend from the COVID-19 Moderna Vaccine Analysis Print is not much different [24]. Ajmera KM et al. analyzed the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data in the USA and reported a suspect incidence of atrial fibirilation: more than 2000 AF post-COVID-19 vaccination [25]. These data brought Ayeesha Kattubadi et al. to investigate the topic, and their pharmacovigilance analysis also confirmed the correlation between the Pfizer COVID vaccine and atrial fibrillation [26].

To ascertain the relationship between vaccination and arrhythmic events, Naruepat Sangpornsuk et al. studied the occurrence of arrhythmia in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices before and after a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and reported that the incidence of arrhythmia was significantly increased after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with a 73% increase in the incidence rate of sopraventricular arrhythmias and a 316% increase in the incidence ratio of ventricular arrhythmias [27]."

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl....

I developed worsening a/fib after the bivalent Pfizer jab but still had the jab the following year with no addition to the effect (the a/fib was well controlled with Flecainide by then). On the other hand - atrial tachycardia was triggered by a bisphosphonate infusion though after about 4 months that had resolved,

And there is this

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/375...

Don't think he tried very hard ...

[Kendrew in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks Pro,I'll definitely present this information to him.

I've had 4 Pfizers and so far I've had no reaction to them, just the Moderna vaccine. Fingers crossed.

Really appreciate your input.

Thankyou

[Charlie1boy in reply to Kendrew]

Goodness me, what a lot of faff for you to deal with. Luckily, I had no problems with the Moderna vaccine.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Charlie1boy]

Me as well…

[Broseley in reply to Charlie1boy]

Same here. I'm going today.

[Koalajane]

if in UK the live version was used up about a year ago and it is now the 2 dose Shingrix vaccine which is not live. My sister and I had ours a year ago and she had the last dose at her surgery if the live vaccine and I had ne Shingrix and asked the nurse if there was any of the Zostavax still around to which she replied no

[PamJCam in reply to Koalajane]

Thank you for your help.

[Pusph]

Hi, I had my first of the two Shingrix vaccinations a few months ago. I was a bit worried but it was absolutely fine. I've got the second one due in Feb 25.

[Dance62]

Hi, I have aortitis (GCA) and had the shingles vaccine back in the spring. I think the one I had was called Shingrax? Anyway, I had 2 doses and was absolutely fine both times. No need to stop meds either - I was on pred and Methotrexate at the time.

Hope it goes well for you.

[ShinglesbeDamned]

get the vaccine - I’m in month 5 of shingles complications, I got the mother load and my left foot still doesn’t work. It’s the worst illness I have ever had by quite some distance so if you can avoid it - do!

[camshall]

Had my shingles booster yesterday, apart from a slightly sore arm I am fine. Really don't want to get shingles on top of pmr.

[Countrykitten]

I had the Shingrix vaccine a couple of years ago without side effects. Shingles is horrible and can leave you in ladting pain which you definitely don't want!

[Bramble2000]

I’ve had it, with 4 auto immune diseases and had no side effects whatsoever. I’d much rather take the vaccine than get shingles!

[Kickemjenny]

well sorry to be the odd one out but I had the jab on the Tuesday and Saturday became bed ridden. There is a ‘black box’ warning and maybe I was just unlucky and the one in so many million. GP useless and thought I’d broken my hip!!! X ray proved them wrong - I knew I hadn’t fallen etc. Still waiting to see neurologist - didn’t have booster!! Took 6 months to become anything like feeling well. Have been on prednisolone for a long long time in varying doses. It’s a lottery methinks.

[2013mayo]

i had my second shingles vaccine almost 12 months later because of illnesses kept getting in the way. I really regret getting it as I had the most painful arm for over a week, it swelled up , it was so sore and red, and I couldn’t move it, I also had a rash all in the arm, it was very painful. I’m over it now though .

[pammy_hyland]

I've just had mine done apparently the one they were giving when they first started was a live vaccine but my practice didn't give me that ...this wasn't a live vaccine and is given on 2 parts my next in May 2025 and its perfectly fine for Autoimmune conditions...xx

[Rubha]

hello there. I had my shingles vaccine several months ago while on 35mg of pred (slow tapering from 50 for GCA and PMR) and had no problems. I had the Shingrax vaccine which is not a live vaccine. Discuss with the nurse but I’m sure yoy’ll get lots of advice on this forum.

[AgedCrone]

Your doctor is the one to ask…..the opinion of people here is just what they choose for themselves.