... is when I hope to start feeling better.
So on Thursday, I got my first shingles vaccine and a Tdap booster. I felt fine until Friday afternoon, when I suddenly needed a three-hour nap and still went to bed at 8:00 p.m. By Saturday I was feeling better, doing laundry, folding clothes, making baked ziti, baking muffins, and paying bills like a responsible adult again.
Then came Sunday. At 5:00 a.m., I woke up with one of the worst headaches I’ve ever had plus a fever. I alternated ibuprofen and Tylenol until things started to ease up a bit, and I managed the rest of the day pretty well, as long as I remembered to keep taking ibuprofen every six hours.
According to GlaxoSmithKline, the shingles vaccine can cause pain, redness, swelling, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and an upset stomach. Lucky me, I checked every single box! Still, I’d much rather deal with a few rough days than go through shingles. My mom and sister have both had it, and they were miserable.
So today, I’m determined to start feeling better, maybe with a little help from one last dose of ibuprofen. I’ll have to work up the courage to go back for that second shingles shot (not until December, thankfully), but I will. Otherwise, all this feeling lousy will have been for nothing!
Here’s hoping your Monday is off to a good and healthy start!
Oh, Bonny! Ugh, ugh, ugh! Everyone I know, myself included, has been down for the count on the shingles shots... sigh. But you are so right, the reaction is far better than get ting actual shingles! Here is hoping that your Monday flows easily and that the ibuprofen does all the work!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this. I don't react well to any of the vaccines. I dread my annual flu shot and now with the Covid jab with it, I'm miserable for days.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon.
Oh Bonny! So sorry to read this. I thought the Shingles Vaccine had been "improved" and wasn't causing the reactions it once had. I guess I was wrong. Luckily Fletch and I have already had that vaccine (and we were unusual in that we had no reactions to it). The only shot we have left to get is the flu vaccine and I will be scheduling that for us when I have a day off from watching Iris. Hoping you are feeling much, much better.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you got all the side effects! I have heard from many people that the shingles vaccine is rough, but I suppose it's better than getting shingles. I hope today you feel more like yourself again!
ReplyDeleteI'll give you a little hope. Steve and I both had reactions from the 1st shingles shot. Not much with the second. Hope it works out that way for you too. Like others said...better the shot than actual shingles.
ReplyDeleteWe got the new Covid shots too ....no problem! The rest of them I have already had. By far, Shingles was the most reaction.
omg!! You are going at it full speed ahead. I had the shingles vax a few years ago and did okay. I just did the tdap last year. When I have a follow up with the pulmonologist to go over testing results I'm asking about the rsv one. I had covid and flu last weekend and the covid shot hit me for 12 - 15 hours but not too bad, tylenol made it better.
ReplyDeleteSorry you had such a rough time. My husband had similar symptoms. One more shot and you're done -- it's not yearly, at least. I had my COVID shot two weeks ago -- I thought I was having a reaction, but then it turned out I was just getting the bad cold that's making the rounds. Bother.
ReplyDeleteUgh, a bad cold sounds worse than a limited reaction to the COVID shot. I didn't think about vaccinations very much at all until COVID happened; now I think about all of them a lot. But it' s better to be vaccinated than sick!
DeleteBonny, I hope you are on the mend, sounds like you have been miserable. I am up to date on all my vaccines except Covid and flu due to the fact that I am a true vaccine believer. I downloaded the CDC vaccine chart a few years ago. I got most of them in the last 3 years since I was a bit concerned about my weakening immune system due to age and all these circulating viruses, drug resistant bacteria, and lack of vaccine uptake by the vaccine skeptics. I received both of the Shingles vaccines, and I was surprised that Shingrix didn't have very many side effects for me. You can feel really good to know that recent research has found that Shingrix uptake and Alzheimer's disease have a definite inverse relationship. So not only will you be somewhat protected from shingles, a truly horrible disease, but also somewhat from Alzheimer's. Hope I am not preaching to the choir about this; you may already know.
ReplyDeleteI've been putting off the shingles vaccine and this post isn't making me want to schedule it! I hope you're feeling like our sunny self again very soon!
ReplyDeleteBonny, I hope you are feeling better! I had my 1st shingles vaccine about a month ago with no reaction and hope for the same when I get the 2nd one in November. I'm scheduled for my annual flu & COVID vaccines this week and I always get a red, hot, & sore arm about 24 hours after the flu vaccine, but that is better than getting the flu!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie! I'm feeling much better today. It sounds like you'll be happy. healthy, and protected this fall and winter, and that's a good thing!
DeleteI'm sorry you had such a bad reaction. I had the 2 shingles shots a few years ago and I don't remember any reaction other than probably a sore arm that I seem to get with any shot. Hope you are feeling better and your second one in December isn't as bad.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne. I feel much better today and managed to get my normal activities done. Several people have told me about the studies that show people who have gotten both shingles shots have a 20% less risk of dementia. I think that's a pretty big benefit, so I'm not dreading the December shot so much.
DeleteOh dear. That reaction sounds miserable. I did find the Shingles Vaccines to be challenging but like you I'd rather deal with a few days of feeling lousy to having shingles. I'm headed to the local CVS Wednesday for the Covid vaccine. Like you, I want to get it while it is still available. Who knows what could change tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI had terrible reactions to both doses of my shingles vaccines. I'm sorry you had to deal with that fate . . . But. I would rather have a nasty reaction to the vax than a full case of actual shingles! I've had too many friends suffer through shingles, and I'm glad to have a few miserable days/hours to avoid that.
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