During the summer a co-worker was out of work for 2 weeks due to shingles. She sent us a phone pic of the rash and it was horrible and she was miserable! I called my doctor and asked about the vaccine. As he is a small family doctor, he doesn't have the required office equipment for that particular vaccine, it has to be kept at an exact chilled temperature, but he recommended I go to one of the local supermarket pharmacies and ask.
I did so, and was able to get the first vaccination in August, and was told to come back for a booster, in 2 to 6 months. I went there on this past Sunday afternoon to see about scheduling, and they said they could take me right then. As the needle went on, whoa!!! It felt like it was coated with acid!! I told the technician "Wow, that was stingy!" and she 'yes, the booster is a little stronger than the first, some people feel that also, sorry about that".
Well after a few hours, the injection site was sore, I expect muscle soreness with any shot. In a few more hours my whole arm was kinda sore and I was starting to worry about having to go to work the next day with a weak sore arm, and wondering if it should have been scheduled maybe right before days off.
The next day I went to work and just didn't feel 'myself'. Within a few more hours ,the most severe flu-like symptoms came on suddenly. When every joint in your body is burning with heat, it feels like every cell is screaming. When your HAIR hurts. And my arm..I could't barely raise it. And felt tenderness under it now, in the armpit and down my side. And the the uncontrollable shaking, like if you've ever started to go into shock, that kind of deep whole body shaking. I could not hold it together anymore and found a supervisor. They were concerned about me driving home. I only live 5 miles away and was sure I'd be fine. Oh man....walking in that parking lot to my car felt like 10 miles, every step was agony. Drove slowly and carefully home, parked like a crazy drunk person, staggered into the house, was able to take boots off but crawled into bed with coat, gloves, scarf, everything still on.
In the morning felt like a 120 yr old person and could barely move my right arm at all. Called doctor and they confirmed that in many cases, there are 'temporary debilitating effects' from the vaccine. But apparently it outweighs the pain and problems if you do get the shingles virus. CDC says the two doses are more than 90% effective at preventing shingles. And the side effects are temporary and usually gone within 2 to 3 days.
So my recommendation is read up alot on it! and make your decision. And if you decide to get the vaccine, maybe schedule it so you have the next couple days off, or definitely don't plan a road trip or travel or such. Maybe you will be lucky and have no side affects. I really wish I had read up on it more beforehand. Best wishes!
Oh should have told you the happy conclusion! So, vaccination was 5:00 pm on Sunday, Monday night was horrible, Tuesday all day bad, Tuesday night kinda better, Wednesday morning much better, Wednesday night back to myself!
