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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,839
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?

[ Edited ]

I did not have a hepatitis shot. However,  our Dr mentioned something (and I forgot what exactly she said but it was about the outbreak and I think she asked if we ever did drugs, and if we had other partners in the past so many years, which of course we have not!). Then she said she  was still going to check me and DH for hepatitis (last year). We both do not have it. 

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,630
Registered: ‎12-12-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?

My husband & I had both Hep A & B shots. It’s a series over a span of a few months. Our doctor recommended it when we were traveling outside the country.

Time is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. It isn’t how long you live that matters; it is how well you are prepared to die. ~~Colonel Robert B. Thieme, Jr.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?


@tsavorite wrote:

@sfnative wrote:

@mousiegirl wrote:

When the advertisements were coming out for people to be tested, DH said another way for the pharmaceutical companies to make money, because then there will be shots, etc.

 

I had my yearly blood panel last year, and afterward the doctor mentioned it and said I would be tested the next time, though I told her it wasn't necessary.  when I viewed my lab results, I had been tested, without my permission, do not think a test should be ordered without the patient's knowledge.  She never mentioned a shot, and I would not get one.


@mousiegirl

 

 

 

 

Please do get the B series of injections.  We live in a nasty world.


@sfnative  I asked my doctor to test me for hep at my annual....all the commericials about boomers and such needing testing.  I do not have any of them Hep A, B or C ....but he didn't mention getting vaccation for B.  I do have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and EBV which reactivated about 1 1/2yrs ago making ill for about 1yr.  So I am concerned about vaccations to be honest...but I don't want to get Hep B either!

 

Is it safe for us with autoimmune diseases??


@tsavorite

 

First off want to tell you that the advertising we're all seeing is geared toward boomers, because we were most likely to have participated in "risky behavior" back in the day - not that that doesn't occur now, but the drug companies through their ad agencies have pin-pointed boomers.  I had a lively discussion with my Internist about this.  She's a retired Air Force phyician and told me not to be concerned or even think twice about being tested because I used to work for the Navy and had to have the Hep B series due to my job with the Navy.  Additionally, I donated blood just about every time there was a Command call for donations, as I'm O-neg.  My doc told me that in the military, they test for everything, so I've already been tested for just about every disease there is.  (Every time you donate blood in the millitary, they first take 4-7 viles of blood for testing and research, then draw your donation.)

 

Honestly, I believe the reason your physician did not mention vaccination is indeed your auto-immune status.  As you well know, there are numerous complicating matters regarding AI diseases/disorders.  However, if this still weighs on your mind, you can always ask at your next visit.  However, it would appear that your current status, in addition to the fact that your current practices pretty much eliminate you from contracting any of the three, which only leaves present outside influences, which your doc must deem negligible.

 

Best advice is that if you're going to go out to eat, choose a known restaurant, ice cream parlor, or deli with at least a good reputation and high kitchen rating.  If you live in a state which rates restaurants with letters, make sure you frequent only those with an "A" rating.

 

Don't know if I've helped any...

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,994
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?

Nope.   No flu shot, no pneumonia shot, no shingles shot and no hep shot.  I'm soon to be 72.   I may be taking chances but I'm not getting any of those shots.   There may be other shots but I'm not getting them either.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,529
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?

To answer the original question: NO. I did not engage in risky (sex,drugs) behaviors in the "hippie" days.  I see no need for this shot.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,592
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?


@maximillian wrote:

To answer the original question: NO. I did not engage in risky (sex,drugs) behaviors in the "hippie" days.  I see no need for this shot.


Apparently, you did not read the many  responses as to the different ways we can contract this disease 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,970
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Have you had a hepatitis shot?


@sfnative wrote:

@tsavorite wrote:

@sfnative wrote:

@mousiegirl wrote:

When the advertisements were coming out for people to be tested, DH said another way for the pharmaceutical companies to make money, because then there will be shots, etc.

 

I had my yearly blood panel last year, and afterward the doctor mentioned it and said I would be tested the next time, though I told her it wasn't necessary.  when I viewed my lab results, I had been tested, without my permission, do not think a test should be ordered without the patient's knowledge.  She never mentioned a shot, and I would not get one.


@mousiegirl

 

 

 

 

Please do get the B series of injections.  We live in a nasty world.


@sfnative  I asked my doctor to test me for hep at my annual....all the commericials about boomers and such needing testing.  I do not have any of them Hep A, B or C ....but he didn't mention getting vaccation for B.  I do have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and EBV which reactivated about 1 1/2yrs ago making ill for about 1yr.  So I am concerned about vaccations to be honest...but I don't want to get Hep B either!

 

Is it safe for us with autoimmune diseases??


@tsavorite

 

First off want to tell you that the advertising we're all seeing is geared toward boomers, because we were most likely to have participated in "risky behavior" back in the day - not that that doesn't occur now, but the drug companies through their ad agencies have pin-pointed boomers.  I had a lively discussion with my Internist about this.  She's a retired Air Force phyician and told me not to be concerned or even think twice about being tested because I used to work for the Navy and had to have the Hep B series due to my job with the Navy.  Additionally, I donated blood just about every time there was a Command call for donations, as I'm O-neg.  My doc told me that in the military, they test for everything, so I've already been tested for just about every disease there is.  (Every time you donate blood in the millitary, they first take 4-7 viles of blood for testing and research, then draw your donation.)

 

Honestly, I believe the reason your physician did not mention vaccination is indeed your auto-immune status.  As you well know, there are numerous complicating matters regarding AI diseases/disorders.  However, if this still weighs on your mind, you can always ask at your next visit.  However, it would appear that your current status, in addition to the fact that your current practices pretty much eliminate you from contracting any of the three, which only leaves present outside influences, which your doc must deem negligible.

 

Best advice is that if you're going to go out to eat, choose a known restaurant, ice cream parlor, or deli with at least a good reputation and high kitchen rating.  If you live in a state which rates restaurants with letters, make sure you frequent only those with an "A" rating.

 

Don't know if I've helped any...


______________________________________________________

 

@sfnative, please don't mislead baby boomers to believe that the major concern regarding risk for Hep C is primarily if they participated in risky behaviors, because that just isn't the case.  It may play a small role in the risk to baby boomers, but there are multiple reasons baby boomers are at increased risk. 

 

  I alluded to some of them in a previous post.  But in addition to the ones I mentioned, during that period of time, sterilization procedures were not what they were now, so those that had surgery during that time may be at risk.  We also used the immunization "gun" for vaccines during that time, we performed more organ transplants than ever before without knowing about hep C to test or screen for it, & the list goes on.

 

The challenging problem with hep C is that the individual can be asymptomatic for decades & also expose others such as family members, roommates, etc.   A large number of baby boomers contracted hep C that never participated in risky behaviors and unknowingly exposed members of their families.  

 

Bottom line is that if someone is concerned they should talk with their health care provider, much like you did.  It is also confusing because people in this thread are all talking about hep A, hep B, & hep C with most not really knowing the difference between the three.  @tsavorite's question was about Hep B, but your answer addresses Hep C, which might be confusing for many.   Baby boomers have not been determined to be at increased risk for Hep B.   We knew about Hep B "back in the day" & tested for it then.  Hep C is a whole 'nother story.

 

Here is a link to an article that has several answers about the increased risk in case anyone is interested:

 

https://www.sharecare.com/health/hepatitis-c/why-baby-boomers-hepatitis-c

 

Just want to make sure that people that do have concerns don't get all confused & have correct information to assess whether they want to talk with their healthcare provider or not.  At the end of the day, it is an individual decision...but needs to be made using correct & reliable information. 

 

 


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