Re: I Got My Flu Shot Today

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

I have gotten all my shingles shots at my doc's office. No problem.

shoesnbags · ‎03-10-2010

@pitdakota wrote:
@suzyQ3 wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@CelticCrafter wrote:
@SXMGirl wrote:
I have never had the flu shot but have been thinking about getting one for the first time. Since I have never had the flu, I really have no idea how sick anyone can get. I just read that if you have aches and other side effects from the shot, that this is how you know that the antibodies are working.
And what if you don't get aches or side effects? Does it mean it's not working?

Not sure I believe that.
_______________________________________________

@CelticCrafter, you can be assured it is true. However, just like there are a range of symptoms of someone with the common cold, there are a range of symptoms for people's immune systems that are revving up to respond to the influenza vaccination.

As part of my role of nursing faculty at a large university, we pared with the School of Medicine and did public health talks about influenza vaccinations in large at risk populations. The way we always explained this is that one you receive the vaccination, the body responds to it as a foreign invader. We always included that running a slight fever, feeling some general malaise is your body's response to the foreign invasion and preparing antibodies to prepare the body in case you did have to "wage battle" when the real virus attempted to enter your body.

There are many things going on with the immune response for vaccination which people might not think about. Even running a fever is caused by the body's response of sending certain types of phagocytic leukocytes which are basically a type of Pac Man white blood cells as part of the immune response.

Here is a medical article that discusses even the pathogenesis of a fever in response to an infection or "invader""

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/552177/

There are many responses taking place to prepare the body to wage a battle if indeed it needs to when exposed to the actual virus, with a wide range of symptoms people might experience while others have no symptoms.

For those posting about having generalized soreness at the injection site, we encouraged exercising your arm by doing arm circles. Soreness at the injection site is related to the tissues at the site responding to the serum that has been injected. Exercising the arm speeds up circulation which helps promote faster absorption and will help with soreness. You can also put a warm compress to the site. Again, the warmth increases circulation which helps with absorption as well as feeling somewhat soothing while the compress is in place.

@pitdakota, are you saying that if you don't get any side effects from the flu shot that it it is not working?

My husband and I both had the senior shot on Monday and have had no side effects at all.

This worries me.
___________________________________________________

Hi @suzyQ3! No, just because you don't experience any symptoms doesn't mean you have not illicited an appropriate immune response to the vaccination. There are a wide range of signs/symptoms in all people for all diseases, illnesses, etc.

For example, some people have a heart attack and never have any symptoms at all. They still had the heart attack even though they never had any type of pain, shortness of air, etc. It isn't the most common presentation for a heart attack, but it sure does happen to quite a few people.

And since shingles has been mentioned here, the vast majority of people that have shingles really suffer. Some go on to have the post herpetic neuralgia that can be associated with shingles. And some have really mild symptoms with shingles. But all had shingles. There is just a wide variation of what people do or don't experience.

Some just experience symptoms from the immune response to the vaccination and others don't have any trouble at all. One of those things that occurs. But it doesn't mean that if you don't experience symptoms that the vaccination didn't work.

They learned this early on with influenza vaccinations when they drew antibody levels. Even people that experienced no symptoms of immune response still developed normal antibody titers. They were basically the same level as people that reported running a low grade temp and a few body aches.

Whew, I'm glad to hear that @pitdakota . You had me worried because I had my senior dose flu shot about 10 days ago and felt just fine afterwards. But I did move my arm around a lot and I took arthritis strength Tylenol just in case. Good to know that I have antibodies regardless.

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

@Sooner wrote:
I have gotten all my shingles shots at my doc's office. No problem.

@Sooner Did your Drug plan cover it ? or most of it ? I"m not on Medicaid, so, would have to pay 312.00 of the 360 it cost.

Catty2 · ‎09-06-2014

I get a flu shot every year and plan to go to CVS either Thursday or Friday.

Pearlee · ‎06-11-2011

A lot of Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D) cover the Shingex shots so check with your drug plan. It would be worth it to me to pay $300+ not to get shingles - that's a no brainer.

Pearlee · ‎06-11-2011

Just read online that Medicare requires the prescription drug plans (Part D) to cover the shingles vaccine, but it is usually a Tier 3 drug ( more expensive tier) under the plan's formulary for which you'll have a heft copayment.

Check GoodRX for a coupon for Shingrex.

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@pitdakota wrote:
@suzyQ3 wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@CelticCrafter wrote:
@SXMGirl wrote:
I have never had the flu shot but have been thinking about getting one for the first time. Since I have never had the flu, I really have no idea how sick anyone can get. I just read that if you have aches and other side effects from the shot, that this is how you know that the antibodies are working.
And what if you don't get aches or side effects? Does it mean it's not working?

Not sure I believe that.
_______________________________________________

@CelticCrafter, you can be assured it is true. However, just like there are a range of symptoms of someone with the common cold, there are a range of symptoms for people's immune systems that are revving up to respond to the influenza vaccination.

As part of my role of nursing faculty at a large university, we pared with the School of Medicine and did public health talks about influenza vaccinations in large at risk populations. The way we always explained this is that one you receive the vaccination, the body responds to it as a foreign invader. We always included that running a slight fever, feeling some general malaise is your body's response to the foreign invasion and preparing antibodies to prepare the body in case you did have to "wage battle" when the real virus attempted to enter your body.

There are many things going on with the immune response for vaccination which people might not think about. Even running a fever is caused by the body's response of sending certain types of phagocytic leukocytes which are basically a type of Pac Man white blood cells as part of the immune response.

Here is a medical article that discusses even the pathogenesis of a fever in response to an infection or "invader""

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/552177/

There are many responses taking place to prepare the body to wage a battle if indeed it needs to when exposed to the actual virus, with a wide range of symptoms people might experience while others have no symptoms.

For those posting about having generalized soreness at the injection site, we encouraged exercising your arm by doing arm circles. Soreness at the injection site is related to the tissues at the site responding to the serum that has been injected. Exercising the arm speeds up circulation which helps promote faster absorption and will help with soreness. You can also put a warm compress to the site. Again, the warmth increases circulation which helps with absorption as well as feeling somewhat soothing while the compress is in place.

@pitdakota, are you saying that if you don't get any side effects from the flu shot that it it is not working?

My husband and I both had the senior shot on Monday and have had no side effects at all.

This worries me.
___________________________________________________

Hi @suzyQ3! No, just because you don't experience any symptoms doesn't mean you have not illicited an appropriate immune response to the vaccination. There are a wide range of signs/symptoms in all people for all diseases, illnesses, etc.

For example, some people have a heart attack and never have any symptoms at all. They still had the heart attack even though they never had any type of pain, shortness of air, etc. It isn't the most common presentation for a heart attack, but it sure does happen to quite a few people.

And since shingles has been mentioned here, the vast majority of people that have shingles really suffer. Some go on to have the post herpetic neuralgia that can be associated with shingles. And some have really mild symptoms with shingles. But all had shingles. There is just a wide variation of what people do or don't experience.

Some just experience symptoms from the immune response to the vaccination and others don't have any trouble at all. One of those things that occurs. But it doesn't mean that if you don't experience symptoms that the vaccination didn't work.

They learned this early on with influenza vaccinations when they drew antibody levels. Even people that experienced no symptoms of immune response still developed normal antibody titers. They were basically the same level as people that reported running a low grade temp and a few body aches.

Thanks, @pitdakota. That's a relief.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

Have all my shingles and pneumonia done already.

But for the first time in over 25 years I have given up on flu. Don't dare with a drugstore or grocery, PCP won't do a visit and specialists don't have it.

I got tired of fretting about it.