I finally got a flu shot yesterday. I was in Rite Aid & made an impulse decision. I'm going to

[catbyte]

Arizona on December 1 then Maui on March 3 so I thought it would be a good idea. I've been remiss the last couple of years, but then again I wasn't doing any traveling. I think I've gotten used to these Lansing germs because I haven't gotten sick in a couple of years, lol.

I'm wondering if the pharmacist actually gave me the shot, though. I didn't feel anything when he gave me the shot and my arm isn't stiff or sore after 24 hours. Maybe he just faked it.

[flyingfysh]

1. these days vaccinations use very thin needles

So it is not surprising if you didn't feel it.Whether you get a reaction afterwards depends on you. Some people get them, some don't.

[catbyte]

2. I don't know if they've changed the way they make vaccines or if my system has changed, but

for years I'd get sick with flu-like symptoms that lasted almost a week a few days after getting the shot. I didn't get that reaction the last few times I've received the vaccine. Whichever is the case, it's a relief. I felt like crap afterwards.

[Aristus]

21. That's an inflammatory reaction that indicates the formation of influenza antibodies.

And it's the antibodies that fight infection if you are exposed to the influenza virus. It's often mistaken for the flu itself, causing the widely-believed but mistaken idea that the flu vaccine gives you the flu.

Only about 20% of vaccinated patients get a symptomatic inflammatory reaction.

Thank you for getting your flu vaccine. It makes life easier for we medical providers, who sometimes have to go eighteen rounds with patients who have a head full of misinformation about vaccines.

[sheshe2]

32. I am one of the 20%.

My second only flu shot.

I had a bad reaction with the high dose. I could not move my arm without pain for three days. Up the whole night with night sweats and then shivering cold. I vomited twice. Ha. Thought I had the flu.

[Aristus]

39. The flu doesn't cause vomiting.

Influenza is respiratory in nature. It has nothing to do with the gastrointestinal system. People often use the term stomach flu. There is no such thing. You probably had viral gastritis.

[sheshe2]

41. Thanks, Aristus.

[Aristus]

42. Ma'am...

[Fla Dem]

3. Did the same thing. Impulse decision when in CVS.

Agree, not at all painful. My cat’s claws when she nicks me hurt more than the shot. Also no reaction. But thankfully I never have had a reaction.

[catbyte]

6. No kidding. This is the first time I've ever gotten a flu shot that wasn't uncomfortable

the next day. I can't say they were ever painful, but my upper arm always felt stiff the next day and for a few days afterward. It must've been a tiny needle.

[Rorey]

4. When I got my last one it didn't hurt at first

I got it at Walgreen's. A day or two later my arm started hurting, and it got increasingly worse over the course of MONTHS. I contacted some organization about adverse effects and was told that perhaps she put the shot in the bursa, in which case it would not only hurt like hell, it also would likely not be effective.

That was a couple of years ago. I'm just too busy for the possible pain at this time, so I'm not likely to get one this year.

[catbyte]

5. Ouch! That sounds not only possible but dangerous. I don't blame you for being gun shy about

getting another one.

[Rorey]

10. I will just get any future ones from my own doctor's office

The pain did eventually go away, but I do remember complaining a lot.

[Rorey]

11. I just remembered

I remember that I read that the person who administers the shot should also sit down to do it, and the fact that I was sitting and she was standing may have been why she missed where it was supposed to go.

[Skittles]

7. it's always a good idea, catbyte

good for you and the community

[catbyte]

9. I know. I felt bad the last couple of years not getting one. I was always diligent about getting one

when my husband was alive but kind of slacked off after he died. I was always very conscientious about getting one because my husband had Type I DM and the flu could've killed him. Also, the university I worked at offered free flu shots at the office so it was convenient. I got lazy after I retired. I'm no spring chicken anymore, so I'll make sure I get one every year from now on. I should probably get a pneumonia shot, too, although I've never really had anything settle in my chest. I think the last time was when I was 12 and had walking pneumonia. Every cold/flu virus seems to settle in my sinuses. But there's always a first time.

[Skittles]

12. I'm working on getting the Shingles shot

don't want to get that

[catbyte]

14. Oh good lord, no! Run, don't walk to get the series. I'm one of the very select, few people on the

planet who has had multiple bouts of shingles, about 14 since 1994. Every bout but one has been down my right sciatic nerve so I have permanent nerve damage now and chronic pain from Post-Herpetic Neuralgia. My doctors can't figure out why. My immune system is normal but shingles seem to run in my family. My grandmother had multiple bouts, so did my dad. My aunt had multiple bouts and 2 of my 3 first cousins have had more than one bout. My cousin who lives about 10 miles from me is recovering from her 4th bout, but I take the cake. Whoop-de-doo. I'm on a daily anti-viral which seems to have helped. I haven't had a bout of them for about 6 months. They're hell on earth. I asked my doctor about a shingles vaccine but he said it would be useless because the vaccine tricks your body into thinking it already had shingles and that doesn't seem to matter in my case.

I couldn't be a multiple Lotto winner, it had to be shingles.

[Skittles]

15. oh dear!

I did not realize shingles could be genetic but I know some of my family members have had it so I'm getting those shots for sure! My sympathy to you!

[Cirque du So-What]

19. Got my 2nd dose a couple weeks ago

First one hurt for several days afterward, next one hurt for only a couple of days. Anyhow, it beats coming down with shingles.

[Nay]

20. Yes, the first shot hurts worse and for longer -- the second is a breeze. Skittles, you DO NOT

want to get shingles . . .

[Cirque du So-What]

22. Dare I add...

Shingles will KICK YOUR ASS! Yes indeed.

[Skittles]

24. from the descriptions I have read

no I do not

[RobinA]

43. Mine Was

the opposite. The first was nothing and the second I was under the weather for about 2 days.

[sheshe2]

34. They are out of it.

I have been on a waiting list since June. They told me sometime next year. The last one I had was 6 years ago now. Should be every five, yet there is a shortage.

[NJCher]

25. yes, do get the pneumonia one

I have a friend who nearly lost his mother to it. She could have avoided it all had she gotten the shot. She was in the hospital for a long time. I watched him go through the whole thing, terrified that he might lose her. He had to take a lot of time off work; being an attorney and under a good deal of pressure, this was very difficult. Worst of all was how terribly sick she was. It was painful to watch.

Get the pneumonia vaccine. Get it!

[RestoreAmerica2020]

28. In addition to flu shot?

[NJCher]

29. yes

and I believe there are two types of pneumonia shots. Your doc will be able to tell you about them.

I recall now that my friend's mother was hospitalized for almost six weeks.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

30. Thanks. Will ask on Monday. I've always waived that and shingles vaccination.

[catbyte]

35. Please, I'm begging you. Get the shingles vaccine. Shingles are excruciating.

It feels like your skin is on fire along with deep nerve pain from whatever nerve ending the virus has attached itself to. All of my bouts but one have been on my right sciatic nerve. And if they hit the trigeminal nerve, there's a risk you could go blind. One of my aunt's bouts of it almost cost her her sight.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

36. I know...had shingles about 5 yrs ago;your right extremely painful!

..I was told that once I've had shingles, like chicken pox ..won't occur again--ill verify with new primary doctor...sure don't want to experience that again..if avoidable. Thanks, I appreciate your concern. Paz

[sarge43]

8. I didn't feel anything either.

They're getting good at this.

[FloridaBlues]

13. I got mine and didn't get much reaction like most years.

I work in healthcare and our corporation strongly advises to get one if not we have to sign why employees didn't get one. Not sure what the penalty is if you call in with the flu and didn't get the vaccine.

[Iggo]

16. Didn't feel a thing.

Next day I felt like I took a knuckle shot from my big sister, but that faded away with the day.

[abqtommy]

17. As a senior citizen, in the last couple weeks I've gotten my flu vaccine (quad), pnuemonia

vaccine, a tetanus booster and all I need now is the shingles vaccine. It's good to have all the protection we can get! Disclaimer: I was vaccinated against polio in 1955 and never got it and it was a big deal back then.

Oh yes, I've been pleasantly surprised at the very fine needles that are used for vaccinations these days.
No more days of sore arms!

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. I got my first one ever last week.

70+ years on the planet and I was finally able to have one.

Yay me.

[Aristus]

23. I'm so proud of you all for getting your flu shot.

Thank you, from a grateful Physician Assistant.

I love you all...

[mr_lebowski]

33. Hey Doc ... I haven't had the flu since I was in my early teens ...

Now, I been so dopesick that it felt like the flu ... more than once, but no actual flu lol ... fact I don't think I've been bedridden with any illness (cept when I got my appendix out) since my late teens, and even then it was like a day ... and I'm 53. And I only go back in forth between where I've lived for 12 years (AZ) and the Bay Area (where I lived most of the rest of my life) ... and I've never had a flu shot ... do I need to suddenly start getting them for some reason?

[Aristus]

40. Yes, it's always better to get the flu shot than not get the flu shot.

If it helps, replace 'flu' with the word 'cancer', and ask again: "Should I get the cancer vaccine for some reason?" It starts to make a little more sense that way.

If there was an immunization against cancer, people would be lined up around the block to get it, and anti-vaxxers wouldn't exist. Influenza doesn't kill nearly as many people as it used to, because of the vaccine. Ironically, because it's not the killer it was a hundred years ago, people think there's no reason to get vaccinated. When it's precisely because of the vaccine that people don't die in the millions anymore. But anywhere from 12,000 to 56,000 people in the U.S. die from the flu every year. If you're not allergic to the immunization, get it. The only contraindication for non-allergic patients is an acute fever, 101-degrees Fahrenheit or 38-degrees Celsius.

[applegrove]

26. My mom was a doctor and she said the odds are 1 to 20 that a little shot like that will

hit a nerve. Travelling on planes can give you the flu really quick as you are breathing the same air as thousands of people. So if you've got 4 flights then a flu shot is a good idea.

[NJCher]

27. I've gotten one for as many years as I can remember

and have never had any effect from it.

I often think of such issues as to whether I should get a flu shot in terms of cost-benefit analysis. What's it cost me? With insurance, nothing. If I didn't have insurance, maybe $30. In terms of time, maybe an hour at most (I went to the quick care center and it took an hour!), and most of the time way less than that. So let's say the most it would cost would be $80 in terms of time and medical fees.

The flu can mess up your life for a good week to 10 days. It can have lingering effects for a month. $80 is nothing in terms of lost earnings, not to mention the misery one goes through. On top of all that , there's the cost of OTC drugs--cold pills, cough drops, nasal sprays. That can easily add up to $20-30. And what about others one lives with? Exposing them to the flu when it can possibly be avoided is inexcusable.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

31. Thanks for reminder, I've put it off long enough...better get to it y pronto!

[NBachers]

37. I got mine about 6 weeks ago. I'm on the waiting list for shingles. I'll ask about pneumonia.

[PJMcK]

38. I got mine a few weeks ago during my annual physical

My PCP gave me the flu shot during Phase 1 of my physical, (snark).

I didn't feel it at all and Dr. Tony jokingly said he didn't give me the medicine but he'll bill my insurance company for it.

All kidding aside, vaccinations work and as a society, we need to have "herd immunity."