Vaccination Situation

[Independent Gal]

What the heck is wrong with me?!?! So, with all my gallavanting around the world, I''ve had pretty much every shot known to man with never a problem.

But this year, when I got my flu shot, I got sick. Sicksicksick. They say ''mild flu like symptoms'' but they weren''t what I would describe as mild. I was SICK! For like, two days.

Then yesterday I got a bumper jab for yellow fever and one for tetanus. And I''m freaking SICK again!!! I had a language class this evening, and what began as aches as I was leaving for class, has now become full blown fever, aches, and bleuuuuuh. AND I forgot all my verbs. When the teach said ''What''s wrong with you, Indy?'' all I could mutter was "I think it''s yellow fever." Let''s just say the dude beside me moved over a seat.

Anyway, I am now going to crawl under the covers.

But if any of you medical types can weigh in.... Is this all in my head or something? Or maybe I should call the doc? I mean, the yellow fever is a live vaccine, right? But, no. Seriously. I never get sick, so why do I keep getting floored by these shots?

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 11/29/2007 9:35:35 PM
Author:Independent Gal
''What''s wrong with you, Indy?'' all I could mutter was ''I think it''s yellow fever.'' Let''s just say the dude beside me moved over a seat.

Anyway, I am now going to crawl under the covers.

But if any of you medical types can weigh in.... Is this all in my head or something? Or maybe I should call the doc? I mean, the yellow fever is a live vaccine, right? But, no. Seriously. I never get sick, so why do I keep getting floored by these shots?

Hi Independant Gal ... You made me laugh! I''m sure the guy beside you did move over ... a lot!

Not a medical person, however, I do know that many vaccinations are created using attenuated or live but very weak virus. This virus, in its weakened state allows your body to kill it and, by doing so, develop immunity ... or some such thing. Likely, because you have all this attenuated virus floating around in you, you are getting sick, however, your body is probably developing antibodies or immunity and calling all the troops to fight this invader. I''m sure, given that you take care of yourself, and get some rest you should be okay. If you still feel like this

and it is getting progressively worse tomorrow, you will likely want to stop in at the doctor''s office b/c the flu is bad enough ... I can imagine that Yellow Fever is nothing to mess with

Take care ... Feel better!

 

[surfgirl]

I believe both can be live vaccines, if you''ve gotten the TTD - was it oral and a shot? It''s not you, both can make you feel achy, like you''ve got bad flu. It should wear off by tomorrow.

 

[monarch64]

IG, sorry to hear you got really sick from your flu shot! I''m always afraid of that which is why I rarely get one. I don''t think I''ve gotten any shots since my last year of college, even. Which reminds me, do you get a tetanus booster every 10 years? Because if that is so, I''m 2 years overdue for one.

 

[surfgirl]

mon, you should have a yellow W.H.O. booklet given to you when you get immunizations...if you have that, it should have all the time frames for when to get each imm. updated. For tetanus boosters, it's every 10 years.

IG, you feeling better now? Just massage the lump at the injection site to move that mojo around...

 

[monarch64]

Surfgirl, I have no such thing as a yellow W.H.O. booklet, unfortunately, never seen one, never filed one, never threw one away, I swear. Is there a website that relates to this immunization thing specifically so I can check that way? I haven't even had a regular doc for years since we've changed insurance and PPO's several times... thanks for the clarification on the tetanus booster, I will try to get in ASAP for that.

ETA: IG, are you ok? Please check back into your thread here so we know you're not in the hospital with yellow fever!

 

[chicagohills]

Hope you feel better. The same thing happened to my poor aunt about 3 weeks ago. She said that she felt worse after the flu shot than if she had gotten the flu the old fashioned way. Don''t forget to drink plenty of liquids.

 

[Independent Gal]

Yup, feeling better I think! Or at least I will be once I get some coffee. Thanks for the concern guys.

Great tip, Surfgirl, about the Tetanus shot (I think it has diptheria and pertusis in it too). That must be what caused it. Bleuh!

And Monarch, yes tetanus booster is every 7-10 years, and they say that if you can''t remember your last one, you should get a booster, since a booster can''t hurt you if it''s a year or so early anyway. I mean, unless you count suddenly being overwhelmed by pseudo-flu-y-ness in the middle of your language class as ''hurting you''.

On the upside, and a propos of the ''tv in the bedroom'' thread, FI came home, made me tea, snuggled into bed with me and put an episode of ''Planet Earth'' on his laptop, and I fell asleep snuggled up with him with penguins dancing in my head. Or maybe that was just the fever.

 

[lyra]

If it was a DPT vaccine, yes, you would definitely feel sick. I just got my flu shot yesterday, and for the first time ever I got pretty sick from it. My blood sugar spiked too, which doesn''t usually happen. However, I feel fine today and blood sugar is back to normal. Just some soreness at injection site. Better a little sickness now than a whole lot later if you actually contract the diseases and viruses!

 

[asscherisme]

I hope you feel better. I wonder what is up this year with the flu vaccine. I got sick as well from it. Felt awful for a few days and ran a fever. I regretted getting it.

 

[surfgirl]

The deal with the flu shot is that it only protects against one type of flu and there are many different strains globally. I know the one time I got one, I got the worst flu in years that season, which is how I learned about the shot only protecting one type of flu. Plus, since I travel a lot, I probably got an Asian strain, which wouldn''t be covered by the shots here. Weird, I know.

Monnie, ask your doc if they have the yellow WHO immunization cards and if so, you can get one and have your doc update it based on your files. You should carry it with you when you''re traveling to developing countries but dont really need it with you otherwise. Just a good thing to have. If your doc doesn''t have one, ask your doc or the local univ. med center where the nearest "traveler''s clinic" or "immunization clinic" is and go there. They should have the yellow WHO booklets too. They''re passport sized and fold out and have places to list all your shots.

 

[mrssalvo]

the flu shot actually contains a dead virus so you can't get the flu from it. most likey you caught some other bug that's out there now. don't know about the other vaccine's that do contain small amounts of a live virus, i would imagine you'd feel a little yucky after those. both my girls are home and running fevers, headaches, tummy aches etc. it's no fun...hope you feel better soon.

 

[sumbride]

I ALWAYS have a bad reaction to vaccinations... every single time! So I refuse to get the flu shot because it basically guarantees I''ll have to spend 3 days in bed with a fever whereas if I don''t get the shot, it''s only a CHANCE I''ll get the flu (which DOES take MORE than 3 days to recover from...) By any chance are you allergic to eggs? My mom got sick from the flu shot and that was why... they culture it in eggs or something like that.

Tetanus booster also made me sick and the MMR shot made my entire left side hurt for 4 days. I''m just SENSITIVE I guess. (Of course, I know about the MMR thing because my mom lost all my vaccination records so I had to have it again before college or they wouldn''t let me in.)

If you aren''t current on your tetanus booster, they''ll give you one if you hurt yourself and go to the ER. I guess not all wounds that could give you tetanus require an ER visit, but hey, for me it''s true. I got one a few years ago when I had to get stitches after an encounter with a rotary pizza cutter. Yes, really.

 

[Independent Gal]

Hiya Summer,

Nope, not allergic to eggs. Good call though. The doc did ask me about that. But I guess if others get sick from the tetanus shot, that''s probably what it was.

It''s a good idea to be up to date on things like tetanus before you go somewhere weird and wild, where good medical treatment might not be readily available, and especially if you''re going somewhere jungly, where even GETTING to medical treatment of any kind could take some time. So, that''s why I got the booster.

I''m still feeling a little bleuh, but am functional and at work! So, not that bad.

 

[lyra]

My husband got dengue fever in Tahiti once. I think it was kind of karmic justice for him getting to be there and me having to be at home.

He was sick for quite a long time, and the doctor was kind of surprised at the actual diagnosis at the time.

It is the DP of the DPT shot that makes you feel sick for days.

I am actually glad that more people are getting the flu shot nowadays. Since we started getting them about 5-6 years ago, none of us has actually come down with the flu. Plus it helps out the hospitals and higher risk populations.