Flu jab yes or no ?

[karenmyring]

I am hypo and have been asked to have a flu jab shall i ?

[Treepie]

I decided not to,not because of being hypo but not convinced of the efficacy of the vaccine and the risks .

[karenmyring]

I have had it one year then not the next and am always hit with a bug that leaves me confined to my bed just not sure i need anything else in my body !

[Barrister]

I have had the flu jab as, not only am I hypo, but I also inject anti-TNF for spondyloarthritis, suppresses my immune system. Clemmie

[shaws Administrator]

Maybe read these and make a decision:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu........

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Marz]

healthimpactnews.com/2015/f...

The above link is in one of the long threads posted by shaws above....

[Jefner]

I have one every year and I have never experienced any problems, apart from last year when I did catch flu because the vaccine was only 3% effective. May I ask why there is a reluctance with hypo people to have one?

[karenmyring]

Thank you

[DonnyJam]

Do hypo's qualify for nhs flu jabs? I was wondering this the other day when I saw a little message about it on my script.

[karenmyring in reply to DonnyJam]

yes you do

[DonnyJam in reply to karenmyring]

Oh that's good. I was thinking about going and paying for it at boots or something. Cheers.

[Spareribs]

There's usually a message on your slip with the monthly prescription.

Karen - entirely up to you.

[Glynisrose]

NO!! Flu jab is CONTRA - indicated for hypo sufferers. Personally I used to have the jab till I realised while my body was trying to make anti -bodies I was getting all sorts of bugs.

[annie-7]

Hi Karen, I had one last year (never again!) I still have a sore spot on my arm, and I had 'flu! So I looked at the information leaflet given to me at the time. Amongst the ingredients was this: * produced in Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells (this is the special cell culture in which the influenza virus is grown)

Link here: ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/do...

I was quite shocked as I always thought it was incubated in chicken embryos, not dog!

I won't be having one this year.

[Ruthi]

I refused it. There is so much evidence against vaccinations, and so little for them.

It would be fine if a flu vaccine contained nothing but the dead, or attenuated virus. But its full of preservatives and other chemicals.

And then there is the very intricate discussion about how much disease vaccinations actually prevent. With the flu jab the generally accepted figure seems to be about 30% of cases are prevented. So knowing my luck I'd probably be in the 70%.

If I were pretty sure that a bout of flu might kill me it would be worth the risk, but I am pretty sure that a bout of flu would make me quite miserable for a while, but that I would survive. All my life all vaccinations have made me ill for a week or so. That means I balance the risk of ill for a week, with possibly iller for a month - but so far I have had flu twice in my 65 years, so not that likely.

[karenmyring in reply to Ruthi]

a very interesting point .I think i will decline the jab

[karenmyring]

thank you everyone

[milkwoman]

I'm hypo and get one every year - no issues. I always get the quavirulent version injected into my upper arm. Since I have lupus I also have had the pneumonia shot (got it last year and it is good for 5 years. I get the pneumovax kind - also called PPSV23 - which protects against 23 strains.) For me, I'd rather be safe than sorry. You have to do what feels right for you.

[BeansMummy]

I've refused to have one. I don't want anything else swanning around in my body affecting everything, when it isn't really in a nice, stable condition in the first place. Doctors haven't exactly looked after me properly up till now, and I just don't I don't trust anything they say any more

[MariLiz]

Having had so many illnesses during the preceding winters I had one last year for the first time. I had a relatively germ free winter last year, so decided to have the flu injection again this year. I have asthma as well as thyroid, fibromyalgia and low B12, so there are additional considerations. Hopefully it will help me again this year. MariLiz