Flu Shot Woes

Christine

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 31, 1999
Hey all, I wanted to bring up one the DISboard's famous winter topics: The Flu Vaccine!

I'm not really posting to debate it as I think that's been beaten to death; however, just looking for your experiences with it.

I'm 55 years old and I've never had a flu shot, for various reasons. One, I feel that I am one of those *sensitive* people and I get side effects to everything, so I've never wanted to deal with it and, two, debatable, but I've never overly been convinced it works as well as other vaccines so in my internal benefit/analysis, I have skipped it. I've probably gotten the flu 3 times in my life with the most recent time being in 2016. I was sick for a while but it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever had.

With that said, I am going to Disney in about 2 weeks and will flying and then immersed in the petri dish of humanity for a week during the kick off of the flu season. Already where I live, they think we've had an early start to it so, with that on my mind, I took the plunge and while I was at Target Friday evening, I impulsively asked for a flu shot. One thing that boosted me on was that I got at TdAP shot this summer due to an injury (hadn't had one in 40 years) and I did really well with it--minimal pain, no side effects. For this flu vaccine, I think I did all the wrong things: I had on a tight, pullover that I couldn't roll the sleeve up so I had to pull the shirt down and offer up my shoulder/deltoid (apparently a no-no) and I think the the person giving the shot was higher than me. Honestly, I was so nervous I can't remember. The injection itself was painless and done. I was so proud of myself.

Of course, as the evening wore on, my arm got more sore, but that was expected. By Saturday morning, my arm was REALLY sore and I had joint/body aches pretty much all over. I didn't have a fever on Saturday morning, but by the afternoon, I was up around 99.7 and just feeling like poop. Arm *very* sore--started to fret over the location of the injection. Was it too high? Am I going to get one of those vaccine shoulder injuries (yes I needed some Xanax at this point).

It's now Sunday morning. I woke with a low-grade fever still (around 99.1 on waking and 99.7 in the middle of the night). Usually I'm well below 98.6 in the morning. My arm doesn't seem any worse today for pain, but I think it's a little warm, but not red or swollen.

I guess I'm a little surprised because "googling" says that I really should not have many side effects and, if so, it seems like today they'd be on their way out (I'll be at 48 hours post-shot around 4PM). I've talked to all my friends/parents who get them and no one seems to ever have anything happen so I'm feeling a bit unnerved. I do remember my coworker getting one last year at his physical, coming to work the next day and then having to leave because he felt so bad from his vaccine, but was totally fine the next day.

So, am I having a standard reaction? Anyone else have this or am I just going to be a weirdo as usual and, if so, maybe not do this again!
 
Hey all, I wanted to bring up one the DISboard's famous winter topics: The Flu Vaccine!

I'm not really posting to debate it as I think that's been beaten to death; however, just looking for your experiences with it.

I'm 55 years old and I've never had a flu shot, for various reasons. One, I feel that I am one of those *sensitive* people and I get side effects to everything, so I've never wanted to deal with it and, two, debatable, but I've never overly been convinced it works as well as other vaccines so in my internal benefit/analysis, I have skipped it. I've probably gotten the flu 3 times in my life with the most recent time being in 2016. I was sick for a while but it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever had.

With that said, I am going to Disney in about 2 weeks and will flying and then immersed in the petri dish of humanity for a week during the kick off of the flu season. Already where I live, they think we've had an early start to it so, with that on my mind, I took the plunge and while I was at Target Friday evening, I impulsively asked for a flu shot. One thing that boosted me on was that I got at TdAP shot this summer due to an injury (hadn't had one in 40 years) and I did really well with it--minimal pain, no side effects. For this flu vaccine, I think I did all the wrong things: I had on a tight, pullover that I couldn't roll the sleeve up so I had to pull the shirt down and offer up my shoulder/deltoid (apparently a no-no) and I think the the person giving the shot was higher than me. Honestly, I was so nervous I can't remember. The injection itself was painless and done. I was so proud of myself.

Of course, as the evening wore on, my arm got more sore, but that was expected. By Saturday morning, my arm was REALLY sore and I had joint/body aches pretty much all over. I didn't have a fever on Saturday morning, but by the afternoon, I was up around 99.7 and just feeling like poop. Arm *very* sore--started to fret over the location of the injection. Was it too high? Am I going to get one of those vaccine shoulder injuries (yes I needed some Xanax at this point).

It's now Sunday morning. I woke with a low-grade fever still (around 99.1 on waking and 99.7 in the middle of the night). Usually I'm well below 98.6 in the morning. My arm doesn't seem any worse today for pain, but I think it's a little warm, but not red or swollen.

I guess I'm a little surprised because "googling" says that I really should not have many side effects and, if so, it seems like today they'd be on their way out (I'll be at 48 hours post-shot around 4PM). I've talked to all my friends/parents who get them and no one seems to ever have anything happen so I'm feeling a bit unnerved. I do remember my coworker getting one last year at his physical, coming to work the next day and then having to leave because he felt so bad from his vaccine, but was totally fine the next day.

So, am I having a standard reaction? Anyone else have this or am I just going to be a weirdo as usual and, if so, maybe not do this again!

When you get a flu shot you have to move your arm a lot so it doesn’t get sore. Your fever was only 1.1 degrees over normal. Nothing to worry about.
 
I got my flu shot and my pneumonia shot 2 weeks ago. My job requires the flu shot or else I have to wear a face mask 😷 for 5 months. I’ve never had any after effects and I’ve been getting flu shots for years. My personal philosophy is that the shot may not protect me from the particular strain of flu that may come my way that year, but it won’t hurt either.
 
I just heard about a similar thing, basically if the shot is given up high in upper arm, there can be a ache or soreness that can last for up to 3-4 months. They had a acronym for it (I heard about it on Dr radio on Sirius ) but I'm afraid I can't recall what it's called. If I remember the conversation correctly, there was no permanent or long term damage.
 


When you get a flu shot you have to move your arm a lot so it doesn’t get sore. Your fever was only 1.1 degrees over normal. Nothing to worry about.

Thanks! I wasn't overly worried about the low grade fever, it's just I haven't found a kindred soul who I can commisserate with. Everyone always says: I didn't have any reactions!! I feel so ridiculous.
 
I just heard about a similar thing, basically if the shot is given up high in upper arm, there can be a ache or soreness that can last for up to 3-4 months. They had a acronym for it (I heard about it on Dr radio on Sirius ) but I'm afraid I can't recall what it's called. If I remember the conversation correctly, there was no permanent or long term damage.

Yes, that's what I found on Google yesterday. They give the shot up to high and it actually penetrates the shoulder bursa rather than the deltoid muscle. The shot is higher up than I thought it should be, but it appears to be the standard "3 fingers" below my shoulder bone so I think it's probably fine.
 
I get the same way you did. I felt really crummy for two days after I got the shot and this happens every time to me. That being said, I still believe it is worth getting since the flu can be very dangerous.

A couple years ago a 17 year old girl in my sons class died from complications of the flu. She was completely healthy otherwise and it happened very quickly. It was heartbreaking.

When things like that happen I figure it is worth getting and feeling crummy for a day or two.

I hope you are feeling better today and hope you have an awesome trip!
 


My arm gets kinda sore after the flu shot but I figured its because I was a wimp, I didn't realize it was an actual thing!

I don't think I've ever noticed a fever or anything afterwards.

I just did some googling and I guess the soreness is common, and can also mean that the vaccine is working and your immune system is kicking in? I suppose I would much rather have a sore arm for a day or two then actually get the flu, which would likely be more miserable for a longer period of time. But honestly I don't really get the flu shot for me, I get it so that I don't get the flu and pass it on to the elderly people that I'm around on a regular basis.
 
I had the same reaction this year for the first time. My low grade fever lasted about two days. I felt like I was getting sick, but then it just went away.
 
We haven't always gotten a flu shot. Did so last year and this year- part of the herd immunity theory.

17 year old daughter, usually healthy as a horse, was suddenly very sick this spring.

Doctors recommend she and we all get the flu shot this year. Sore arms for about a week. Lingering soreness when I moved it or slept on it. Found the more I moved it the less sore it was. Maybe try using a warm compress or heat for the soreness
 
We haven't always gotten a flu shot. Did so last year and this year- part of the herd immunity theory.

17 year old daughter, usually healthy as a horse, was suddenly very sick this spring.

Doctors recommend she and we all get the flu shot this year. Sore arms for about a week. Lingering soreness when I moved it or slept on it. Found the more I moved it the less sore it was. Maybe try using a warm compress or heat for the soreness
You should never ever get the flu shot while sick. Im glad everything went ok but the doctor should have never done that. Your body is fighting the sickness and is unable to actually use the flu shot the way it's meant to be. It might not have even done anything for her.

The soreness is linked to how tense you are when getting the shot. Even a moment of tense when the needle is in there will bruise u inside.
 
I had my flu shot Oct 2 and felt like crud for few days after almost like getting cold. My arm, where I had shot, was warm and red and swollen. Almost like getting bit by something. it took me about 4 days to wear off and feel better.
 
You should never ever get the flu shot while sick. Im glad everything went ok but the doctor should have never done that. Your body is fighting the sickness and is unable to actually use the flu shot the way it's meant to be. It might not have even done anything for her.

The soreness is linked to how tense you are when getting the shot. Even a moment of tense when the needle is in there will bruise u inside.


I think she meant because her daughter got sick last year that the dr recommended she get the shot for this season. I don’t believe she was sick when she got the shot.
 
You should never ever get the flu shot while sick. Im glad everything went ok but the doctor should have never done that. Your body is fighting the sickness and is unable to actually use the flu shot the way it's meant to be. It might not have even done anything for her.

The soreness is linked to how tense you are when getting the shot. Even a moment of tense when the needle is in there will bruise u inside.

Umm never got flu shot while sick.

Daughter has a chronic controlled autoimmune disease. Now prone to ugly complications from routine illness.
 
Mine was quite high on the arm, and had no issues. I haven't had a reaction from flu vaccine in many years, but a few early on did cause me to have low grade fever. The worst was one year that I did the flu mist ... it was a bit higher fever - 100.5, and I slept a lot the whole weekend. I went on to get the mist a couple more times and no issues. Even if they don't get the strain completely correct, having the vaccine reduces chance of death resulting from flu complications, so I'm good with putting up with a bruise or low fever for a day or two.
 
People get confused and think the Flu shot didn’t work because they still caught the flu after having the vaccine. Each Australian winter, which of course occurs during our summer, the CDC keeps track of which strains of the flu are the most active there. Then they create this years vaccine for the US. It’s wholly possible they don’t catch the strain they takes hold in the US, like in the bad flu season of 2017. But, and this is the important part, it can still greatly reduce your symptoms and help prevent hospitalization if you DO catch the flu. Unless you’re in a small group of people with certain preexisting conditions, you should get the shot. For yourself AND those around you.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm
Some side affects do occur in some people. You body is forming antibodies to the flu by fighting off the dead or weekend flu you were injected with. That’s why some people feel slightly ill. A low grade fever is not uncommon. This is your body building immunity to the flu.


What side effects can occur after getting a flu vaccine?
While a flu vaccine cannot give you flu illness, there are different side effects that may be associated with getting a flu shot or a nasal spray flu vaccine. These side effects are mild and short-lasting, especially when compared to symptoms of bad case of flu.

The flu shot: The viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that may occur are:



    • Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
    • Fever (low grade)
    • Aches
 
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Ah gotcha I must have read your post wrong. Many folks don't understand why they can't get it while sick was just trying to pass on the info. My husband is a pharmacist who gives shots all day.

I've got 2 in pharmacy school now. One just started giving shots on his campus this season.
 

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