Crazy little Pfizer vaccine side affect

[Throck]

Just had a quick doctor appointment about a potential Pfizer side affect. 2nd shot last Friday.

My sense of taste is a bit off, everything I eat/taste is weird. They did a quick Covid test, negative. Doctor thinks it's temporary but I'll have to be monitored.

The worst part, I enjoy one Pepsi a week. It taste like freaking toothpaste.

[True Dough]

1. Well, just think of the upside

You won't need to brush after consuming your Pepsi!

[Throck]

2. But rum and toothpaste?

[BoomaofBandM]

7. The important question is how does the rum taste?

[soothsayer]

8. That's a stinger! Creme de menthe with rum or brandy, or whisky

Packs a punch! Love stingers.

But I’m sorry for your taste being affected. Hope it clears right up.

[Throck]

11. I'm humored at the moment.

Wonder what else will morph in my taste buds.

[Lovie777]

3. Hey when I got my first shot re: Pfizer . . .

I felt like I smoked a whole joint which lasted for an hour. Second shot, the same thing

[Throck]

10. I got sleepy minus the buzz

[hlthe2b]

4. Come to think of it, a few food items seemed "tasteless" a few days after my last dose

but it passed. I had absolutely no other issues, so I never gave it much thought and there was no effect on my sense of smell. It may well have been coincidental.

At any rate, I'd not worry too much. I'd bet it will be fleeting.

[Lettuce Be]

5. Too bad weight loss isn't a side effect. It'd be easy to get people to want it then

Edit to say: Sorry, this remark is totally off topic

[soothsayer]

9. It's a good point though. Well... would you eat less if you couldn't taste?

Or would you eat nervously despite it? Or would you constantly worry your food was spoiled?

[Shrike47]

12. Definitely less. I love flavor.

[soothsayer]

13. I think so too. But I can't be sure, and don't want to find out.

[elleng]

16. Sadly I've found out, and NOT due to Moderna.

Taste has been 'off' for over a year, eating less and spending more $ looking for stuff that tastes GOOD. Have lost weight.

Have a new doc and taking meds, and HOPING I can enjoy a cuppa SOMEDAY!

[unweird]

6. Funny, Pepsi has always tasted like toothpaste

Welcome to taste reality.

[Dream Girl]

14. From what I kno about Pfizer., I don't see how that is possible.

Must be in your head. There is no virus, live or dead.

[Throck]

15. Maybe my wife is messing with my Pepsi!

[wnylib]

24. Or the sense of taste being off could be

very real and not just "in the head," but not caused by the shot. Worth monitoring because it started before the shot was fully effective - just in case of exposure to the virus. Getting exposed to others at the vaccination clinic is a possibility, which would explain the timing. If so, hopefully there is enough protection from the first shot, followed by the second, to prevent a full blown case.

Better yet, maybe there is an unrelated cause. Colds, flu, and allergic congestion can throw off the sense of taste and smell.

[Pharlo]

17. I got the J&J vaccine.

Normally, I do not drink apple juice, but the day after receiving the vaccine, I started craving apple juice. For the next 5 days, I craved apple juice. I always had a bottle of apple juice and a bottle of water with me. Then, like a light switch being flipped, I became apathetic to apple juice again. That is my crazy little covid vaccine side effect. I had a sore arm for about 10 hours, and a 5 day craving for apple juice.

[Leith]

18. I seem to have had the worst reaction to the Pfizer vaccine

of anyone on DU.

I was find after the first dose. The day of the second one was also fine. The day after, I started feeling tired and "draggy" (like lead weights have been implanted throughout my torso and legs). I ached all over and my temperature spiked followed by chills. This went on for 5 days. It felt like a mild case of the flu.

Has anyone here heard of anyone else having such a severe and prolonged reaction like that?

[Throck]

19. Yes, sons girlfriend.

She a RN age 27. Front line worker. She says the younger the age bracket the stronger the reaction.

[Leith]

20. That sounds okay, but...

I'm in my 60s.

Or maybe it could be the rheumatoid arthritis. Could an autoimmune disease have anything to do with it?

[Upthevibe]

21. I received the J & J 10 weeks ago...

I was moved up a tier because I'm a teacher so I got it sooner than many people in my demographic. I feel so fortunate because I had NO side effects what-so-ever. I mean my arm wasn't even sore!

Aside from my experience, a majority of of the people I know who received either the Pfizer or the Moderna had some side effects. Some of them were pretty bad for a day or two, while others had light symptoms. The thing that has happened to more than a few were them having the loss of smell and taste. And like you, things they'd normally eat/drink tasted really bad.

I believed most of those I know got their smell and taste back eventually but in some cases it's been weeks and even months.

I hope you get back to normal soon.

[highplainsdem]

22. I got a metallic taste in my mouth for about a day and a half after the second Pfizer shot. That

worried me a bit because I hadn't read about it as a possible side effect, but I googled it and found that a very small percentage of people do get it. For some people it lasts only hours, though some have had it last several days.

I was very glad the side effect didn't last that long for me.

One of the news articles I ran across:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/mouthful-nickels-some-say-they-taste-metal-after-covid-19-n1261944

[mockmonkey]

23. I had my second Pfizer yesterday.

I got the shot at about 8:30 AM and I had to work my second shift job. When I got home from work I was in bed by 11:00 PM. Very weak, feverish and all my joints ached. It got worse as the night wore on. When I got up today I felt better but still a little weak. I took an unpaid day off today because I knew I might have issues since my experience with my second Shingles vaccine was difficult. I'm glad I took the day off.

I'm 61.
It's worth it.