Wellness

[Moonchilde]

I must say I'm not happy about the reaction I get to the 65+ shots. Ugh. I thought maybe the first one was a fluke, so agreed to this year's 65+ just to see what it would do.

Arm sore for 4 days (not really a biggie), but also very large red area (4 inches) that was also HOT for 3-4 days. I took a photo to show the doctor next year. Local reaction, yes, but nasty. I've never, ever had any sort of reaction to a regular flu shot. My reaction to the 65+ shot is close to a bad tetanus shot reaction.

[VaBelle35]

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@Sweet_Serenity wrote:
This morning , Eye Doctor. Last month, Eyes experienced allergic reactions. Between seasonal rag weed; who knows what else? Thought I was going through some sort of infection? Eyelids flakey i.e. redness swollen. No! Simply allergies. Wow!! Is all I can say.😥

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I had this last year.  I was having an allergic reaction to the preservatives in my allergy eye drops.  And then all of the subsequent eye drops they were giving me to fix the issue.  I made the mistake of not going to the eye doctor first.  Hard lesson learned.

[VaBelle35]

I don't get the flu shot but I've never gotten the flu that goes around each year.  I have had 3 serious viral infections over my lifetime, but the flu shot would not have prevented those.

After getting tired of having sinus infection after sinus infection, I became that crazy handwasher 3 years ago and also switched to a Paleo diet 2 years ago and have not had a sinus infection since.

[Vivian]

My husband and I both had sore arms after the flu shot recommended for people 65+. The soreness only lasted for a day or two and we had no other side effects. Years ago I had the flu and almost died. That harrowing experience is motivation enough to get the shot. To those who don't get flu shots, I hope you never go through what I did. 

[wonderfulworld]

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@wonderfulworld wrote:

Here in Michigan I know two people (30 and 40) who have already had the flu in the last 10 days. Fever or 102 and body aches. One got prescription Tamiflu and it was gone pretty fast. The other is still sick.

Seems very early to me? What are you hearing?

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Turned out I was w

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@wonderfulworld wrote:

Here in Michigan I know two people (30 and 40) who have already had the flu in the last 10 days. Fever or 102 and body aches. One got prescription Tamiflu and it was gone pretty fast. The other is still sick.

Seems very early to me? What are you hearing?

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rong...the one case of flu came back as Hand, Foot and Mouth virus.

[shoesnbags]

I've been eligible for the stronger shot for two years, but continued to get the regular shot until this year.  (I get the standard dose shot every year with no side effects, so figured why mess with a good thing.)  So this year I decided to go with the stronger 65+ shot yesterday.  It's been about 24 hours and the main thing I noticed is that my arm got sore within an hour after the shot and stayed that way for about 24 hours.  Now it's feeling less sore, but still not normal.  Also, I felt kind of droopy and tired last night and this morning, but that's improving too.  I suspect that by tomorrow I'll be totally back to normal. Not too bad if it gives me better protection this winter.

ETA Forgot to say that there was no charge, since I'm on Medicare as my primary insurer.

[Calcgirl]

Thank you.  I am 68 and desire a healthier lifestyle.

[shoesnbags]

I was thinking about "healthy lifestyle" and resistance to infections just yesterday.  I know people who definitely do NOT live a healthy lifestyle, but they never seem to catch a cold or the flu.  My 95 year old FIL is a good example.  He has always just eaten whatever he wants, done whatever he wants and came from a generation that just didn't think about a healthy lifestyle.  At 95, he's still plugging along, doing as well as people 20 years younger.  But his siblings all lived very long lives, too.  I think that heredity has a lot to do with disease resistance.  It's important to do what you can to make the most of whatever genetic make-up you've inherited.  In my case, I'll take whatever extra protection the flu shot can give me.

[stellabystarlight]

I am 65 and have always gotten the flu vaccine.  I got my shot on Saturday, and had a very bad reaction  - first time.  I am not sure which version I received at Walgreen's, but when I got home, I was very tired - slept for about 2 hours.  Then later that night I had chills, and a fever, and also vomited.  I called Walgreen's and they said I might have had a bug in my system to begin with.  Perhaps!  I am OK now, but it was definitely a strong dose!

[Hooty]

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@qualitygal wrote:

This year I got the one recommended for those of us over 65. Reaction the first night, couldn't sleep on that arm, second night I could. Today it's fine. It was sore the first day, later on in the day, the second, it didn't hurt as much. I don't think with the regular shots for the flu I had before that it hurt the same. Just for those who might wonder, that was my experience. The arm area did get splotchy red for a bit.

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@qualitygal, I get the same shot (67 here) and the nurse that gives me the shot tells me that it will make my arm sore for a couple of days, I got my shot yesterday, arm was a little sore and red, but that's it!