Found out our insurance covers the new shingles shot so while I was at the docs office getting my prescription for BP meds (first time user, Woo-Hoo!), I told him to hook me up with a shot. What they don't tell you is that the vaccine is a two shot process and the second shot is 2-3 months after the first one.

So, I get the shot and the NP says I have to sit and wait 15 minutes because some people have fainted right after the shot. 15 minutes go by, life is good so I move on. Later in the night I start to feel an achenes in my body and so I read the side affect and muscle aches was there so, okay.

Friday morning I wake up and I feel like I was hit bay a Mack truck. felt like every muscle and joint in my body was aching and had a headace to boot. Did my best to get ready for work but ended up staying home and went back to bed. Got up at 10:00 and it was worse. So, I took some Motrin and went back to bed for another half hour. Felt a little better but not much.

Through the day I got to experience more aches and pains, shivering, fever and even it hurt to pee. My temperature was fluctuating from normal to 101 degrees. It really felt like flu like symptoms.

Last night wasn't much better as I was up every 90 minutes having to go to the bathroom.

Finally, about 9:30 this morning I was starting to feel better.

So, if you get the shot, be prepared. The vaccine information statement says 1 in 6 people get side effects from the vaccine and its more common in the younger recipients. Being 52, I guess I qualify as a younger recipient.

Cant wait to do this again in three months.

I have been waiting for my doctors office to get the shot in stock, the local pharmacy has it but insurance will not cover the shot unless given at the doctors office

Sorry to hear about your side effects, hopefully I am one of the 5 that does not get bad side effects.

Got my first shot about a month ago.
Sore arm.
I was told to come back in six months.
Will follow this post.

My bride had it last Monday. She complained of not feeling well and said her arm hurt like hell for the first two days after the shot. She didn't have much enthusiasm for taking the second shot until I reminded her of her mother's experience with shingles.

I had a tetanus vaccine a few weeks ago that did the same thing to me as the OP. It was brutal. Violent shakes, chills, aches. I thought I had the flu. Went back to the Doc the next day and was told it was the vaccine. I’ve *never* had a reaction like that before.

The side effects of the shot are better than getting a case of shingles. I’m getting the new vaccine when it is available!

I had side effects from the new shingles shot as well. Fever, achiness and my arm hurt like a sumbitch. I've had shingles before. I'll take the vaccine over that, any time.

I also had the same severe side effects the day after. Nonetheless, it's better than getting shingles. I'll follow up with the second shot.

For what it's worth, my doctor didn't have the vaccine so I ended up getting it at a supermarket pharmacy. By asking my doctor to phone in a prescription my drug plan covered it 100%. Without the prescription I could have still gotten the shot, but I would have had to pay over $150 out of pocket.

I didn't do the shot and Shingles I got. From reading the side effects I'm glad I didn't. The whole thing lasted about a month itching, burning, and muscle aches but all in all not that bad. My threat hold of pain is pretty high compared to most. I was told by the doctor that those who get them/it are 99% sure not to get them again. So life goes on. Chris

quote:

I didn't do the shot and Shingles I got. From reading the side effects I'm glad I didn't. The whole thing lasted about a month itching, burning, and muscle aches but all in all not that bad. My threat hold of pain is pretty high compared to most. I was told by the doctor that those who get them/it are 99% sure not to get them again. So life goes on. Chris

Getting Shingles does not confer immunity. People have had Shingles on multiple occasions.

had the first shingles shot last week. No side effects. Nada, zero. zilch. nichts.

I got the first of two Shingrix shingles shots a few weeks ago. Minor arm pain, but a headache kept me from getting much sleep that night. The following day I had the strangest effect: a light touch on certain parts of my face or head would trigger an intense (but very short) headache. Weird. Mostly gone by the following day.

Still worth it, I think. My neighbor suffered intense pain from shingles for a couple of weeks.

No shot for me.

This information is good to know, thanks. When school is out for the summer next month I have my 6 month exam to make sure the BP meds I take are working well. I was going to ask for the new Shingles shot, didn't know about the side affects or that it was a 2 shot vaccine. My younger brother has had shingles twice and said it was no picnic. With the side affects, I can afford to be out of commission for a day or two with no work for the summer.

I had the shingles when I was 24. Do not look forward to going through that again, so I really do hope that the vaccines work well.

This new vaccine is supposed to be "95% effective". The manufacturer says it's a very good product.

Do you have a history of arthritis? I have Psoriatic Arthritis, an autoimmune condition. I had terrible arthritic symptoms after receiving the flu vaccine, which was most likely an adverse reaction to the adjuvants.

The adjuvants in some vaccines can trigger nasty symptoms. The adjuvants are designed to increase the response to vaccines by inducing inflammation at the injection site, which recruits immune cells to present the vaccine components to the immune system for maximum response. The adjuvants can also have variable side effects in different vaccine recipients.

It is also common for people to suffer symptoms similar to the disease for which the vaccine designed to protect. These symptoms are usually much less than those experienced by contracting the actual disease.

You should discuss what you experienced with your doctor and ask him to provide contact with the manufacturer or convey the side effect on your behalf. Most medical manufacturers appreciate follow up, especially about adverse effects experienced from their products.

This is my experience from working in the Vaccine and Biologics field.

Best regards,

Mike (Molecular Biologist / Immunologist)

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Anchor:
I didn't do the shot and Shingles I got. From reading the side effects I'm glad I didn't. The whole thing lasted about a month itching, burning, and muscle aches but all in all not that bad. My threat hold of pain is pretty high compared to most. I was told by the doctor that those who get them/it are 99% sure not to get them again. So life goes on. Chris

I had shingles back before the shot existed, and while it was annoying, it wasn't that bad. It sounds like both the shingles and the shot differ for everyone.

MIL got shingles and had pain from it the rest of her life, and as an earlier post commented, it can come back multiple times. Even after the leisions healed. It can be a bad deal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arfmel,

Wife and I got the first of two shots about a month ago and, as others have said, some noticeable arm pain within a day or so that lasted almost a week for wife, a few days for me. She also got chills.

OTOH, shingles can be relatively mild or absolutely horrible so the minor discomfort is worth it to us to all but avoid the actual virus.