Have you gotten your flu shot yet?

[hedgehog]

Yes, some people get an immune system reaction after getting the flu shot - shivery fever and body aches for a day or so. My grandmother did every year with her flu shot. She also saw friends die in 1918-1919, so she got her shot every year.

I've told my kids to stay away from their grandparents until they get their shots. Flu shots don't always take hold in senior immune systems, so their best protection is to vaccinate the people around them, especially young kids.


On edit - if you can't/won't get the shot, check with your health care provider about evidence that Vitamin D helps protect against the flu.

[elocs]

1. A simple "no". n/t

[tridim]

2. No, but I'm not anti.

It's just that I don't get sick very often because I concentrate on improving my immune system naturally.

[HuckleB]

13. FYI ...

How Not to Fight Colds
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/opinion/05ackerman.html

Sure this is about colds, and not the flu, but it is interesting.

[tridim]

16. Interesting.

I understand that my body needs to develop antibodies, and I'm sure I get these bugs in my system from time to time, I just rarely get a full-blown cold or flu. My body does what it needs to do to fight them off.

Ever since I've started irrigating my ears, nose and sinuses, I just don't get sick. Maybe that's the key?

[HuckleB]

17. It could be beneficial.

It could be that you're at the perfect time in your life, when everything is balanced. Enjoy it!

:toast:

[ecstatic]

3. Never had one... probably never will nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Right before I went to visit parents

Ironically I got a bad cold while down there...

No, not the flu, just a bad cold.

[old mark]

5. Early September. I was the second person on the list at my CVS.

I have diabetes and heart disease and do not fuck with the flu at all.

mark

[Jamastiene]

9. Got mine at Rite Aid.

My aunt has been wanting me to get one for ages now. So, this year, I finally did it.

[ZombieHorde]

6. No, flu shots are pretty low on my to do list.

My demographic happens to be pretty low the flu shot list as well, I tried to get one last year, but my demographic was not getting them yet. My wife and kids got flu shots though.

[Jamastiene]

7. Yup. Got it Tuesday.

I've been sore all over for the last couple days and have all the other side effects to prove it.

I'm protected from H1N1 and a couple other nasty super flu bugs somewhat now though.

This is the first time I have ever gotten a flu shot. Does this muscle soreness, hoarseness, and runny nose side effect thing happen every time you get the shot or just the first time?

[hedgehog]

11. WIld ass guess, I have no idea. Some people get an immune system reaction, some don't

Best to double check with your health care people. It's worth asking about taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen for the sore arm.

It's also possible that you caught a cold about the time you got your shot.

[HuckleB]

14. It's cold season.

It's most likely that you ran into a cold virus around the time you received your flu shot.

[Posteritatis]

22. Depends on the person

About half the people I've known who got the shot were like you for a day or two afterwards, varying from their arm being really sore to (in my case) being completely flattened for about two days. The hamthrax shot nailed me especially hard, but as someone with asthma who had a friend in a coma for a month because of H1N1 I figured the tradeoff was worth it.

It's up to your immune system as much as the shot I think - I know some people who've been flattened one year and alright the next, stuff like that.

[Common Sense Party]

8. No, and I don't plan to.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. I never get the flu shot

and I haven't had the flu since the Hong Kong variety in 1968. I think I'm immune now.

[NeedleCast]

12. No, but I rarely get the flu

I can remember having the flu once in the past 20 years. My decision to not get the shot has nothing to do with big pharma.

[hobbit709]

15. I've had 3 flu shots-they worked, I got a major case of the flu each time.

Those are the only times I've had the flu since 1968.

[ThomWV]

18. 63 years old, never had one

don't get me wrong, I know full shocking well how dangerous the Flu can be. I've just never had a flu shot and don't expect I ever will.

[seabeyond]

19. how about a simple no, dont want one. never get the flu. never needed a shot. nt

[PVnRT]

20. Yes, and I await the sudden onset of autism

[derby378]

21. Got mine on Sunday

I have no desire to catch H1N1 again.

[laundry_queen]

23. I plan to

I got one as a teen and then didn't get one again until last year. The year before last I had a flu that messed up my lungs and I had to go to the ER because my inhaler -I have mild asthma - was not working and I couldn't breathe (or stop coughing). Ever since then my lungs are 'touchy'. Since I'm no longer a stay at home mom, I have to make sure I don't get sick. I can't afford to miss any school. My kids will be getting it too. Last year, I was in a high risk category for the H1N1 so I got it right away, but my daughter couldn't get the vaccine yet (no risk factors) and caught H1N1. She was horribly ill for a long time. My parents caught it too and were very sick. I didn't catch it even though I had just received my shot a few days before. When the vaccine became available to everyone, my other kids got it. So this year, we're all going in. Now just to find out where to get it! I can't find it around here anywhere. I called the public health unit and asked and was told to 'keep an eye out in the media'. Seriously? Man, I miss living in B.C.

[hedgehog]

24. Check your local grocery stores and drug stores.

[mnhtnbb]

25. Hubby got his yesterday. He attends clinics, encounters people a lot

during his normal working hours.

I don't get one because I work at home. I just don't have that much exposure. Even last fall, when
we were out of town a couple of times (air travel), I was able to stay healthy.

[sinkingfeeling]

26. No, never had one and never will.

[TorchTheWitch]

27. not yet

The place where I'm going to have it done isn't doing them for a few more days. They're doing them all next week either by appointment or walk-in.

Couldn't vote in the poll since no answer covered the scenario of not having it done yet but planning on it and aware that it's that time for flu shots again.

[Johonny]

28. work doesn't offer them until end of month so no