Has anyone had the Shingrix shot (to prevent shingles - 2 of them a few months apart)?

[smirkymonkey]

I had the first one back in late October and my arm was a little sore, but no big deal. I had the second one on Monday after work and again my arm was pretty sore on Tuesday, but still nothing I couldn't deal with. I've dealt w/ much worse.

However, today we had an offsite in the afternoon and almost as soon as it wrapped up around 3:30pm, I started to feel like I had been hit with serious flu-like symptoms - total body aches, head pain, chills, weak, the usual. It is supposed to be one of the side effects of the vaccine, especially after the 2nd shot, but I am wondering if there would be a delay of two days? If it's just the vaccine, that means it will go away in a day or two.

If it's not the vaccine, it's probably the flu. I really hope it's not the flu (I also got a flu shot back in the fall) because I had a bad-ass cold the entire month of December and I really can't deal with being sick again.

Just wondering what your experience was if you have had this vaccine. Thanks in advance!

[COLGATE4]

1. My wife and I both got the Shingrix, 2 months apart

#1 gave me a quite sore arm for about 4 days. Nothing too difficult. Wife had less pain.
#2 Hardly felt it. Wife same.

Sounds like you may have had the bad luck to catch the flu. I doubt it was the Shingrix. Good luck. Hope you feel better soon!

[Mme. Defarge]

4. Slight soreness around injection both times.

[smirkymonkey]

17. Thanks COLGATE4!

Hopefully this will be gone by the morning.

[yellowdogintexas]

59. my husband felt really punk for a couple of days

after he got his.

[avebury]

2. I had that shot but one month apart (Inthink)

with no problems. But I also had the previous version a few months earlier with no problem. I almost always react to the first time I have a shot.

[smirkymonkey]

18. I never react to the flu shot, so I didn't think it would be a big deal.

Hoping I will feel better after a good night's sleep. Thank you!

[louis-t]

3. I was due to go in for hernia surgery last February.

I had to visit my pcp for approval. He said "Hey, do you want the shingles vaccine while you're here?" I said "Naw, I'm good." 4 months after the surgery, I got shingles. It only lasted 2 weeks, but was pretty miserable. Pain and itching. I'm not sure which is worse, the vaccine or the disease.

[Mme. Defarge]

6. The disease. The bad news is that

having the disease does not immunize you from recurrences. My advice is to get the vaccine.

[smirkymonkey]

16. I have heard shingles is a nightmare.

I was willing to take my chances w/ the vaccine. Sorry to hear you had such a terrible experience.

[louis-t]

29. Could have been worse.

Sometimes and attack can last for months or years.

[mitch96]

36. That's what happened to my friend. It's been almost two years and she is still dealing with it

To top it off she got the shots... She can't catch a break... If it's out there she catches/gets it.
m

[elleng]

5. Good luck!

Had no such experience, had the 2 shots MORE than a 'few months' apart, and only side-effect was sore arms for a couple nights after the shots.

[smirkymonkey]

12. Thank you!

Flu-like symptoms are one of the side effects, but I guess I will just see how this plays out.

[stage left]

7. I had both shots

Nothing but a sore arm for a couple of days after. However I can't convince my husband to get them.

[smirkymonkey]

19. The shot itself wasn't painful at all, but from what I have heard about shingles, any side

effects of the vaccine are still better than getting shingles! Hope you can talk him into it for his sake!

[stage left]

45. Thanks

I hope I can, too.

[Ohiogal]

8. Yes, I had both

Both times I had a sore arm and I felt “off” the rest of the day. I think I slept a couple hours in the afternoon both times, but the next day I felt fine.

I sure hope your symptoms are from the shot and not the flu, SM! It sucks being sick all winter...

[smirkymonkey]

14. Thanks Ohiogal!

Hopefully after a good nights sleep, I will feel better in the morning.

[Ohiogal]

30. Most everyone I talk to

Had no worse effects from the shingles shot than a sore arm. My hubby and my sister both had nearly zero symptoms. I am always the oddball who gets tired and achy from everything, even from a flu shot. Sometimes I wonder if my immune system is compromised a bit from my history of breast cancer.... oh well, a few days of feeling yucky is still a better deal than getting the flu or shingles.

I lost my insurance in between the first and the second shot, and had to pay $150.00 for the second one, yuck!

Wishing you all the best!

[jpak]

9. Yup - but it gave me the Shingles!

NO

IT

DID

NOT

[pdxflyboy]

10. I had the shots...

The first one gave me a sore arm for 3 weeks.

The second one gave me a sore arm for 2 weeks. It's still better than having the Shingles.

[smirkymonkey]

20. Agreed!

[yonder]

11. Both shots, July and November of last year

Arm was sore both times and got a bit flu like for a day or so after the first. The second time though, the flu symptoms lasted for two or three days and were much worse - I thought I had a coincident case of the flu.

but

I'm glad it is out of the way as I understand shingles is not much fun. I would/will do it again if necessary.

[smirkymonkey]

15. Yes, from what I understand, pretty much everything is better than getting shingles!

I think some people are misunderstanding my post. (not you) But sounds like some people think I am "anti-vax", which isn't the case at all. I am just wondering how people reacted. It is much more common to react w/ flu-like symptoms after getting the Shingrix shot than it is after the flu shot. My doctor even warned me and I thought I was home free until late this afternoon.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. yes, just some soreness, no real issues at all.

[smirkymonkey]

21. Thanks NRL!

I'm usually not sensitive. I am hoping it's just a reaction to the shot and not the actual flu. I really don't want to spend the next week or more feeling like hell.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

22. I got them both for free from the VA, a couple of months apart.

I had no reaction to either injection.

I had already had shingles in my mid-20s, and would do anything to prevent it from occurring again. It was like a bad case of poison ivy times 100.

[smirkymonkey]

23. So sorry you had to go through that!

I have heard it was horribly painful and itchy. This is nothing to bear if I can avoid that fate. This newer vaccine is 95% effective, so I think it's pretty worth it. Thank you for your input!

[matt819]

24. Got the first

Been out of stock since mid- summer. Can you say third world country?

Only reaction was pain around the injection site.

[smirkymonkey]

31. Apparently there is a huge backlog.

They can't keep up with the demand. Kind of scary if we ever have any kind of deadly epidemic that can be treated by pharmaceuticals. How will they decide who gets treatment and who doesn't?

[femmedem]

25. I haven't had the Shingrix shot, but I'm thinking maybe you should get theraflu or sambucol

tomorrow if you're not better. I don't know how effective Sambucol is--some small studies like this one show it to shorten the duration of flu and cold symptoms if taken early--but at least it's $20 or less and available over the counter. Maybe take Sambucol this evening and go see a doctor for theraflu if you're not feeling better tomorrow?

But I hope it's just a reaction to the shot. Even if it is, it's so much better than shingles.

[smirkymonkey]

32. I have been taking New Chapter Black Elderberry Force, but it's at work. It's supposed to

be one of the best brands out there, but I never went back to work before coming home today. I will definitely continue taking it tomorrow if I am well enough to go in. We also have a health center at work so I can go see a doctor or a nurse practitioner at work and if they think it's serious they will get me in to see someone, whether it is my regular physician or someone else. Right now I am just taking Advil and using Biofreeze for the muscle pain.

I don't have any cold symptoms so none of the other medications I have would be helpful. Thank you for your advice! Hopefully it won't last very long!

[femmedem]

46. You're welcome, and I hope you're feeling better today! n/t

[Lars39]

26. Do you have a cough?

I dragged my husband in to Urgent Care yesterday thinking he had the flu. He has a virus that is very similar to the flu at first, except for the cough, which is part of a symptom of the flu.
That virus hit him fast and deep...he was fine before going to the grocery, and not 2 hrs later he was in bed and totally out of it.
I’ve had both Shingrix shots. The first one gave me a very bad reaction. The second was a piece of cake.
Hope you feel better soon!

[smirkymonkey]

33. No, no cough or other respiratory symptoms. However I had them for the entire month of

December, but no flu symptoms. The strange thing about this is that it hit me like a brick wall. I was fine all day and it felt like within minutes I was almost incapacitated. All I could do was go home and get in bed. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. It was very sudden.

Thank you for sharing yours and your husband's experience. It's helpful to know how different people react. I hope your husband feels better soon!

[Frustratedlady]

27. I didn't have a reaction to the original shot, but did with the second.

My bones ached and I was tired for a couple days. I never have a reaction like that.

Twenty years ago, I had the shingles and ended up on all fours rocking back and forth until morning arrived because we were having an ice storm and I didn't want to take the chance of an accident on top of the shingles. There was no way I could lie down or sit. Extremely painful. The area itched for a long time and is now numb.

Just imagine your nerve endings are on fire. That's how it feels.

[smirkymonkey]

34. Ugh! It sounds awful! I would rather be going through this than that!

It's freezing here and I am not up for going back out so I am just taking Advil and external pain relief and hot tea to soothe myself and hope to get some sleep. I am so sorry to hear about your experience. I hope you are at least free of pain these days.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Sancho]

28. Yes..we have had them...

and for one shot, my wife had a fever and felt bad for about a day.

OTOH, the shingles is really, really painful, so we are glad to get the shots.

[smirkymonkey]

35. Thanks for letting me know Sancho. That is what I am hoping. That it is from the shot and it

will go away within a day and not linger. From what everyone has said, I am pretty sure this is still better than getting shingles.

[Skittles]

37. I have had the first one

did not feel any symptoms

second one is due soon

[smirkymonkey]

41. A lot of people don't have any severe reactions, it's just a possibility that Dr's warn you about.

I wouldn't worry about it, but if you can, schedule it toward the weekend or before you have a few days off to be on the safe side. If I had known, I would not have done it on a Monday.

[Skittles]

44. I'll be getting the shot, then working for 12 hours

that's the way all my appointments happen

[rurallib]

38. Got them last July and October

I seldom react to shots.
First one was a nothing.
The second made my upper arm slightly sore for three days.

No other reactions.

[smirkymonkey]

42. Yes, the soreness is nothing to me at all. I broke my arm about three years ago and it is still

sore, so this is nothing compared to that. I don't know if it's the Advil or the tons of Biofreeze I have been using, but I am beginning to feel a bit better. About to go to sleep soon so hopefully will feel better in the morning. Thanks!

[nuxvomica]

39. For both shots, I had flu-like symptoms the next day

I seem to recall the timing was strangely precise: I had the shot around 2 pm and suddenly the next day, around 2 pm, I had severe chills, body aches and lethargy that lasted almost exactly 24 hours. It felt like my immune system determined there was no real threat after 24 hours and said, "Alright. False alarm, folks. Get back to work," and I was suddenly at 100% again.

[smirkymonkey]

40. Thank you!

Good to know! I am feeling a little bit better already, so I am hoping it was just a delayed bad reaction!

[UTUSN]

43. Had 1&2 - no symptoms at all

[AZ8theist]

47. Had both - no issues at all.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

48. I got them, my arm was sore for a few days each time.

No flu symptoms after either shingrix shot.

I had flu symptoms (102 temp, aches, shivering, but only briefly) after my 2018 flu shot (the hi-dose shot for geezers). No symptoms after the 2019 hi-dose flu shot.

[smirkymonkey]

49. It's funny, I felt better this morning and all day today, but it was strange how it

just happened so suddenly and came out of nowhere. It wasn't like I was just tired with a headache or anything. I went from feeling fine one minute to feeling like I had been run over by a truck the next. Luckily the duration was very brief.

I think with some of these very potent vaccines, our immune system can just go into overdrive for a little while giving us those symptoms, which is really just our bodies trying to fight off what it perceives as a threat.

[snacker]

60. Same thing happened to my sister

and she described the feeling exactly as you did...felt like she had been hit by a truck.

[chia]

50. Had the first shot, no problem. Second shot a few months later - and BAM

16 hours after the second shot I felt like I'd been hit with the proverbial truck - muscle aches, sore skin, fatigue, weakness, fever of 100.8. Lasted about 12 hours and other than a very sore arm (for several days) after that I was fine. First time I've had a reaction to a vaccine like that, but glad I'm now fully vaccinated.

[redstatebluegirl]

51. I had it because my Dad had horrible shingles and I do NOT want them!

I was really sore from both shots, felt a little flu like after the second one but it passed pretty quickly. I did need an ice pack on my shoulder though.

[enid602]

52. Shinga shots

I had my shinga shots.

[Va Lefty]

53. I had them both. Had a mild reaction to the first.

That evening I felt like I was coming down with the flu. Mild aches, fever etc. Next day I felt fine.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

54. I got a shingles shot last year, but only one.

Was I supposed to get another. I don’t remember being told that. Is there another kind that you only need one of?

[smirkymonkey]

56. I'm not sure. There was an older vaccine, but I am not sure if that required a second shot

or not. I know it was only half as effective. You might want to follow up with your doctor to see if you need to update or get the newer vaccine. Good luck!

[Golden Raisin]

55. I had sore arms at injection site both times

that lasted 4 or 5 days, but nothing more, reaction-wise. I'm old now but had a nasty run-in with shingles when I was much younger. NOT something you want to have. VERY painful.

[Laffy Kat]

57. That happened to me with the first shot.

It was so bad I decided not to have the second one and I'm no wuss. I hope you feel better soon. It took me about three days.

[smirkymonkey]

58. Thanks Laffy Kat.

Luckily, it didn't last more than half a day and I am sure it was better than getting shingles. The arm pain is nothing to me, that I can handle. If I had to do it over again, I would do it on a Friday so that I had the weekend to sleep off the flu-like symptoms, for any of you planning on getting the shot. Just don't get it right before you have something important planned.