When do you get your flu vaccine?

[TooPatient]

I've been told different things by different people in the last week.

A doctor said it doesn't matter much so long as it is around September/October and is done before you get sick.

A medical assistant said that it takes two weeks for them to become effective and should be gotten around mid October as flu season really starts around the end of October. He also said they only last about 6 months so we really could get them twice a year if we wanted.

The pharmacist (who has been a pharmacist for decades) said if you are prone to getting it you should be in getting one in the start of September as soon as they are available.


So....
When do you get your flu vaccine?
One per year or two?
Why?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Never had a flu shot. The last time I caught the flu was over 25 yrs ago...

 

[diamondringlover]

We all get one in usually October or early November.

 

[stracci2000]

I have never had one, and don't ever want one. I havent had the flu since I was a little kid.
A friend's son became paralyzed for 9 months from the waist down after receiving a flu shot.
A co-workers sister is permanently in a wheelchair because of nerve damage from the flu shot.
This is called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, supposedly rare. How rare is it when 2 people in my very small circle social circle have been afflicted?
The 2 pharmacists that I know won't get one, although they give them everday.

 

[zoebartlett]

I rarely get the flu shot, usually just once every few years. I'm not prone to getting the flu which is why I usually skip it. I've heard it's best to get it in the fall but I think any time would be okay.

 

[JewelFreak]

I hadn't had the flu since I was a kid -- until last month. I was scared, I had such a severe case. Trotted off & got a shot a few days ago, 1st time.

The vaccination lasts about a year, the pharmacist told me -- so now is a good time, or next month. You definitely don't need to get 2 per year -- but you can have one after, say, 10 months if it's more convenient, without harm.

My brother's MIL died of flu, and she was not an old lady. Always healthy, she began feeling icky while gardening in her back yard. Went inside to lie down for a few minutes. An hour later her husband called an ambulance. She died an hour after reaching the hospital. 3 or 4 hours from gardening in the sun to dead. That was unusually fast -- the docs said they'd never seen such a high blood concentration of virus; it just overwhelmed her system. But after the bout I dealt with, I ain't risking anything similar!!

--- Laurie

 

[missy]

When I was working we would get it usually in August or beginning of September as they gave it to us at work. This year I am going to go to a pharmacy nearby and get it in the next few weeks I think. I will wait till my follow up appointment with the surgeon to make sure it is OK. It does take 2 weeks to take effect so I prefer getting it earlier vs later for that very reason. My dh gets it at work and they don't give the vaccine till mid or late November if memory serves me correctly so I am going to see if he wants to get it with me this year.

The flu is miserable and I encourage all PSers to get it by November.

Laurie, I am so sorry about your brother's MIL. How tragic.

 

[Niel]

I've only gotten one twice. Each time was from the doctors' office. They had me get one because I was preggers.

 

[pandabee]

Pharmacist here. One per year is enough for adults. They do take a few weeks for your body to build up full immunity with the flu shot strains so now is the best time to get it so you're fully protected through the whole flu season.

 

[dk168]

Usually towards the end of October/early November, offered by my employer for free.

The first and last time I had it as back in 2011, it was shortly before I was due to fly out to HK for a visit, and I got a cold while I was in HK. Coincident, perhaps. However, I am not in the "at risk" group, therefore I am not going to have it.

DK

 

[packrat]

We get the flu mist every year, usually about this time. Which reminds me, I need to make appts!

ETA I think it's funny the amount of people who are death on not vaccinating your kids but meh on not vaccinating for flu. Herd immunity isn't selective, I'm pretty sure. Like it doesn't count for flu?

 

[TooPatient]

Thanks for all the replies! It is interesting to see such a wide range of times. DH got his while at the dr for a blood pressure re-check so it is just "A" and me who are left to figure out.

Thanks also to those who said they don't get them!
I have only gotten one a few times and each time happened on a year I ended up with the flu a month or two after. That combined with the "low risks" that I also know a few people who have had has always left me a bit hesitant for the flu vaccine (all others I've had and stay on top of).

Last year was bad for us. Actually, the last couple of years were pretty bad. I am in school full time and the college has NO sympathy. Many of the instructors won't allow exam (or lab) make ups at all -- even if you have a dr note detailing severe illness. I've brought home lots of illness with me and it has gotten worse the last couple of years. It seems that everything that goes through gets me and then I give it to DH ("A" has, thankfully, been spared) and we are both out for weeks at a time.
Last year's flu hit me hard (fevers for a couple of weeks, hallucinations, etc) and turned into bronchitis. DH went from being fine (slightly sick) to incoherent in a matter of hours and I had to haul him to the dr in a hurry. Turned out his had gone into his lungs as pneumonia. He was given overnight to have the fever gone after starting heavy medications or they were going to hospitalize.

So.... We reconsider the flu shot and try to not do that again!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have read articles that say the flu shot is very questionable in effectiveness. So this is not one I am sure about getting, although I did for a few years before I read more about them. In any case, be sure you get one without thimerisol which is mercury based. Single dose vials do not have it. My dad died of Alzheimers and I am not purposely introducing extra mercury into my body when I can help it.

 

[TooPatient]

I have read articles that say the flu shot is very questionable in effectiveness. So this is not one I am sure about getting, although I did for a few years before I read more about them. In any case, be sure you get one without thimerisol which is mercury based. Single dose vials do not have it. My dad died of Alzheimers and I am not purposely introducing extra mercury into my body when I can help it.

Great advice!

I didn't realize there was mercury in any of them until the dr's office sent an information sheet about the vaccine they had used. Now I check for it because we get enough chemical gunk in our bodies without knowingly adding more!


I've read lots of articles from varying sources (including statistics released by the health tracking groups) and it looks like it may or may not have much impact at all on whether you get it or not. That doesn't seem like an obvious advantage worth the potential risk. That said, with how sick we've been getting, it may be the right thing for us this year. Still not entirely sure!

 

[baby monster]

I get mine free at work so whenever they send the email, that's when I get it. DS started pre-k earlier this month so I expect lots of illnesses this year and will get the shot.

 

[pandabee]

Flu vaccines are not excluded from herd immunity. The questionable effectiveness probably arises from the fact that the flu shot only protects against the 3 most common strains of flu virus (some shots provide protection against 4 strains) so if you are exposed to a strain that wasn't included in the flu shot, then obviously there's no extra protection against it. If you get sick or flu-like symptoms shortly after getting the flu shot, it could be due to either the regular flu going around or from a less common strain - your body hasn't developed a full immune response so you are still vulnerable to getting the flu.

The amount of mercury in the multiple dose vials is very minimal per shot. If you normally eat fish, then you are already exposed to minute amounts of mercury.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I was told the height of the flu season doesn't arrive till Feb, so I try to wait until the end of Oct. or middle. I want its effect to last thru the winter. I have never had the flu, but I had a bad case of food poisoning, that I'm told, is much like the flu. Yipes, I don't want that. It was awful.

Annette

 

[momhappy]

If I didn't have a cold, I'd have one already. We usually get them end of September or beginning of October. My kids had theirs last week. Despite the fact that flu shots are not a guarantee that we won't contract a flu virus, I'm satisfied that the immunizations are beneficial.

 

[movie zombie]

haven't had the flu since December 1999 and it was 10 years prior to that when I had it so I don't bother with the flu shots.

besides, they can't tell me what is in it and i'm highly allergic to some chemicals that are usually in vaccines.........

 

[Rhea]

I don't get one. I'm not among the at risk groups.

 

[maccers]

I get a shot every year. I'm not in the 'at-risk' group but I know many people who have compromised immunity and I want to protect them as well.

You can still get the flu despite having the vaccine however it can help reduce the severity of symptoms.

 

[makemepretty]

I've never gotten the flu vaccine. My son gets sinus infections every year when he catches a bad cold so I've already taken him to get his flu shot. I don't know if it helps but it seems the years I've held off, he's gotten sicker. This year I took him early to see if it would help.

 

[VRBeauty]

I get it as soon as my insurer makes it available. They're vaccinating the hospital staff now, so it should be available to us regular folk in the next week or two. I used to get it when it was offered at work, but I have to search it out now.

 

[Calliecake]

I've gotten the shot in late October or early November the past few years. My husband and I had a bad case a few years ago. I do not want to go thru that ever again. I have no idea if it actually works or if I've just been lucky.

My husband spends lots of time on airplanes. I'm always worried that he will catch the flu and give it to me. He got his shot two weeks ago.

 

[ame]

I've been told different things by different people in the last week.

A doctor said it doesn't matter much so long as it is around September/October and is done before you get sick.

A medical assistant said that it takes two weeks for them to become effective and should be gotten around mid October as flu season really starts around the end of October. He also said they only last about 6 months so we really could get them twice a year if we wanted.

The pharmacist (who has been a pharmacist for decades) said if you are prone to getting it you should be in getting one in the start of September as soon as they are available.


So....
When do you get your flu vaccine?
One per year or two?
Why?

I usually do Sept or Oct if I can. I am planning to get it after my brother's wedding in two weeks because I bruise after them every year.

I've had some hellacious bouts of it in the years I didn't get shots.

 

[momhappy]

I don't get one. I'm not among the at risk groups.

I don't think that the typical "at risk" groups (like children, elderly, etc.) even apply any more (at least for the past couple of flu seasons). A study by Duke University found that the average age of hospitalization for flu during Nov. 2013 and Jan. 2014 was 28.5, which is certainly not what most would consider a high risk group.

 

[kathley]

Usually about mid-October. Without it, I end up in the ER with a severe, hellacious case every single time.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Just for the record, I also avoid fish that are known to be high in mercury content, not just mercury in vaccines. Alzheimers is horrific, and if I can do simple things to possibly help improve my prospects, I do!

 

[kathley]

Just for the record, I also avoid fish that are known to be high in mercury content, not just mercury in vaccines. Alzheimers is horrific, and if I can do simple things to possibly help improve my prospects, I do!

My father passed away a few months ago from cancer and also had advanced-stage Alzheimers. His diet was guarded (stayed away from mercury, cherished organic, no red meat, fats, etc), well before he ever had any symptoms to no avail...

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Usually in August or as soon as they're out.