I'm finally getting my first Shingrix shot tomorrow

Oh, please.

It's awful! But shingles is worse so well worth it but I was shaking and shivering in bed for several hours.

I had mine done about a year and a half ago, when I turned 60 over the extended Thanksgiving weekend. No reaction at all. Glad I got it done - it's off my 'list' of medical things I needed to do after my fifties.

I was fine.

Be prepared for your arm to swell up and fall off.

Also no reaction to either.

I had mine the week I turned 50 and said to the pharmacist, "I want to get all my vaccines in before the crazy people take over".

It was around the time of RFK's confirmation hearings.

He chuckled.

Shingrix

OP, I also had no reaction other than a sore upper arm.

I also had no reaction except mild soreness.

No soreness, just very sleepy and had a long nap.

I was quite sick for about twelve hours and then bounced back almost instantly.

When you get sick from it, do you throw up?

I had my second shot last Friday, along with Covid booster and RSV shots. I was down most of the weekend with mild fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. Feeling pretty good today though. I’m getting MMR, DPT and Hep B later this week.

I’m traveling internationally next month, so I’m getting vaxxed up before long flights and a week in Buenos Aires.

A friend didn’t get the shot, got Shingles in India and had to fly home for treatment.

He’s an evangelist for the shot now.

I had no reaction from either shot. I even took off from work gearing the worst. Then, nothing.

The first one isn't the bad one, OP.

But be sure to schedule the second one for after the semester ends and you have a few days to be sick, because that one MAY kick you in the ass.

Enjoy your trip, R14.

Have been putting mine off but will definitely do it in the next few months.

R13, I did not. It felt like a relatively mild flu. Fever and chills and aches. But it didn’t linger, and a day later, I was fine.

Good for you, OP! As an old, I assure you that anything you do now to protect your health will be much appreciated later.

The pharmacist who gave me my Covid vaccine booster a few weeks ago told me to reduce swelling and soreness in my arm, to vigorously massage it for an hour or so once I got home. I'll be damned if it didn't work.

My first Shingrix shot was the only vaccine I've had any kind of reaction to. The first 24 hours were miserable and I slept a lot with a sore arm for maybe 48 hours. I've also had shingles about 15 years ago and droopy faced Elephant Man me with scalp lesions would rather have the shot.

r15 did your friend's travel insurance not cover shingles? Some of the Indian hospitals offer top notch care. Having to.jet home for proper treatment sounds awful and costly.

I'm overdue for my Td booster.

R14 Dengue fever is fairly widespread in Argentina (230,000-plus cases recorded last year) and presents in BA from September to April during the Southern summer. It’s a nasty disease.

There is a 2-shot vaccine made by Takeda in Japan approved by the Argentine health authorities but it’s not approved in the US yet. Wear mosquito repellant.

R25 He’s an Indian citizen and an MIT professor. He said the 24 hours it took to get home was preferable.

Sorry Kitty. R26 was in reply to R24. I still shudder when I recall him talking about what he went through and the need to be vaccinated. He’s very convincing on the subject.

The first shot was fine, it was the second Shingrix shot which made me feel like I'd been thrown off a moving train, then after 24 hours it vanished, and I felt fine as before.

I admit to putting it off. Husband got it two years ago.

Apparently from the reading I've done, it really varies whether the first or the second shot is worse, if you have a bad reaction. But apparently you can have two bad reactions from each shot, if you're really unlucky.

I had no reaction to either Shingrix shot, although I typically have flu-like symptoms from COVID boosters. (They subside within a day or two.)

R25, thank you for that advice! I’ll definitely be using insect repellent!

I had a very sore arm both times, but it was worth it. I know several people who got it and they were miserable for weeks.

Got my first shot four days ago. Arm was very sore for the first three days, and the fatigue was insane. I slept the sleep of the dead the day after the shot: 11+ hours.

I had my Shingrix shot three hours ago. My arm is sore so far, but not painfully so.

I got the shingrix shot and flu shot at the same time a couple years ago, felt bad the next day, and that was it

I was supposed to get my Shingles vaccine about three years ago. Doctor advised me. I kept procrastinating. Then, last Fall I got Shingles. it lasted for 7 fucking weeks. It was hell. Pure Hell. My skin hurt. it was on fire. I got a rash, then scabs and the itching was miserable. I had a f ever, headache, etc. I was in tears. There was no comfortable position to sit or sleep in. No sleep! In January I got the first shot. No reaction at all. Three weeks ago I got the second shot. I had a fever and chills and I was achy. But 36 hours later I was fine! No problem. OP your reaction from the shot will be nothing compared to actually getting Shingles. And BTW: Once you get it, it will come back.

I was another foot dragger after getting my scrip for the vaccine. Nine months later I got shingles...on my face. I almost went blind in one eye and was basically out of commission with extreme exhaustion and vision issues for two months.

The vaccine was nothing like the misery of shingles!

The injection site swelled to about half the size of a grapefruit and was sore for a few days, but I don't regret it. It was the Covid immunization that made me sleepy.

Not to scare you OP, but here's my story with Shingrix. I had one bout of shingles back in 1966. I'm 72 years old now and got the Shingrix vaccine over a year ago. 3 months after getting the vaccine I had my 2nd bout of shingles. This bout was not as serious as the first one 58 years ago, but the rash hung around for 7 months. It would act up then it would die down then act up again. It finally went away about 3 months ago.

Lucy wanted to get the Shingrix shot but Gary talked her out of it.

I just got a booster for TDAP and MMR.

With measles on the uptick, I don't want to take a chance.

[quote]Not to scare you OP, but here's my story with Shingrix. I had one bout of shingles back in 1966. I'm 72 years old now and got the Shingrix vaccine over a year ago. 3 months after getting the vaccine I had my 2nd bout of shingles.

It is extremely uncommon for children to get shingles: 1)They had chickenpox before age 1. 2)The child’s mother had chickenpox very late in pregnancy. 3) The child has a weak immune system from a health condition or certain treatments, such as cancer therapy.

In I'm more inclined to believe your situation with shingles and shingrix are part of a statistical anomaly.

I am pro vaccine, had covid vax and boosters, flu. I had the old shingles vax about 10 years ago. At 73, my doctor felt I needed the shingrix vaccine. I have never had any reaction to medication or vaccines, except a slight soreness at injection site. I got the first shingrix shot in July. Just a sore arm at first, woke two days later inner arms covered with l blisters, huge welt like hives from crotch to ankle, my entire upper back a huge fiery welt. I felt like hell. Benadryl did nothing, so a day later I got a steroid shot and a z pack of methylprednisolone. Took about a week for the blisters and hives to die down. Since then I have had bouts of inflammation on my legs and arms in the areas that originally had hives and blisters. Now 8 months later, still struggling with swelling in my legs which causes stiffness in my knees. Had to use a cane for a month. Have been to rheumatologist and orthopaedist, other doctors. No cause to be found other than the initial reaction which caused systemic inflammation and an immune response.

Sorry to read your story, R44. However, if vaccine-related, sounds like a real outlier reaction. For those of you frightened of a few days' inconvenience (I had problem myself), you can get Shingles near your eyes! Sores across your midsection is bad enough, but do you really want that?

The scare stories are too late; I already took the vaccine this morning.

I will write back and let everyone know if my head explodes.

I wouldn't worry about tit R46/OP. Vaccines are never 100%. No one is posting stories about horrific reaction stories to the vaccine. They are stories about getting shingles despite the vaccine.

I have 100% gotten the flu a few times despite getting the vaccine every year.

I'm still getting the vaccine.

The way my Doctor explained it, the vaccine didn't guarantee you won't get the flu or COVID, but it will not be as severe and it will keep you out of the hospital.

Why did you wait so long? There is no reason for such a delay. t's good that you're getting it now.

You'll be fine.

Isn't it a good thing if there is some sort of reaction? Doesn't this mean your body is responding to the vaccine and is producing antibodies? Just because you get a vaccine doesn't mean you are immune. No vaccine is 100% effective. I've tried the Hepatitis B vaccine series twice (required for work) and both times never developed antibodies.

I have refused the shots because every time I get shingles I dab the fluid from the pox on doorknobs and the keypads of supermarkets and drive-up banks.

I encourage herd immunity in my own small way.

{quote] 1)They had chickenpox before age 1. 2)The child’s mother had chickenpox very late in pregnancy. 3) The child has a weak immune system from a health condition or certain treatments, such as cancer therapy.

I had chicken pox at the age of 3 months.

My mother never had chickenpox.

My immune system was never compromised.

They bug me about getting the shingrix shot at the VA, but I don't want to get it. My dad and my youngest sister both had very bad reactions to the shot (my sister went to the hospital) and my mom and my middle sister both had shingles.

I'm fucked no matter what.

I don’t care!

R54 We don't like you! You are a huge CUNT!

OP? Update, please?

it's horrid. but nearly one hundred percent effective

I did first Shingrix shot this past October (along with Covid booster), second in January (along with flu shot). No effect on me whatsoever - it was a breeze. Glad I did it.

I landed in Clinique Générale-Beaulieu for a long weekend after my 2nd Shingrix shot.

Geez, from a statistical perspective, with the number of people claiming to have had such severe adverse reactions, DLers must comprise ALL severe negative reactions to the Shingrix shot - EVAH.

I'm the OP, and I did not have a very bad reaction this week. I had a sore arm for 24+ hours and that was it.

Not so bad...chills, fever, sore arm, .Tylenol and sleep. Completely gone in about 24 hours

Listen to your doctors, people!

What other vaccines should a gay guy over 60 get? I asked my doctor about Meningococcal vaccines. She said why on earth would you need that. I said, because there were incidents of clusters of it in gay men, recently. She doubted me. I said no I am sure of it look it up. Indeed 2022 and the 2017 or so. She said, you told me you stopped sex the first month of Cambridge and I confirmed it. So it's been 5 years. She said, so you don't need it.

But what about other vaccines?

cambridge? no COVID.

Lissen. Shingles is hell. Pure Hell. And it lasts. weeks of it. There is no remedy. Get the fucking vaccine.

[quote]But what about other vaccines?

Of course, you should always check with your doctor regarding your health. Advice from DL (or anywhere) should only be a starting point to ask questions and point to areas which might be worth further investigation.

TDAP - you need a booster about every 10 years or so.

Measles - if you were born after 1958 and or received the vaccine before 1968, there is this weird window where you probably weren't exposed because of low incidence, but they switched vaccines in 1968 to a more effective one (live virus). If you got the previous virus and weren't exposed, you may be at risk for catching measles.

Consider - Pneumococcal vaccine - protects against pneumococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection that can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis

Hep B vaccine - you know, if you're a whore, darlin' (and perhaps even if you're not).

R67

I'm in that weird window. When I needed measels "proof" later in life to go back to school, my doc had me do a test to show antigens(?) when exposed to measles. I passed, so what was injected was strong enough.

I got my first Shingrix shot on Monday, and I felt fine immediately afterwards. But Tuesday, while at work, I started getting chills, headache, body ache, and overwhelming fatigue. On my way home, I nearly plowed into the car in front of me on the 101 as I struggled to stay awake. Thankfully, I made it home safe. After taking two Tylenol tablets, I crashed on the sofa and woke up at 11:30 pm.

Wednesday was more of the same: chills, headache, bodyache, fatigue. Today (Thursday), so far so good. My arm is still sore though.

R69, massage the soreness in your arm and drink lots of water . I got a similar reaction from the second shot. Not the first. Doc told me to immediately massage t he site of the injection so that it will help the vaccine circulate and relieve the soreness.

Should you get this even if you have never had chicken pox?

I had chicken pox on my 16th birthday which wasn't fun and then when I was 18 or so I had shingles. It was painful but it wasn't that bad. You survive. There's a lot of hysteria and marketing around shingles these days.

I guess the best time to get this shot would be Friday so you have the weekend to get over any symptoms.

A new study finds that the shingles shot is associated with a lower risk of dementia:

[quote] The study was looking at a group of people who had had the shingles vaccine. What they found was that the people who had the vaccine reduced their risk of developing dementia for the next seven years by 20%.

69 you’re a pussy.

R53, you know shingles is the gift that keeps giving. Torture yourself with the shot. Suffer a few days. You can do this.

R76 is right. I was told to get the shots and I kept postponing it. Then I got Shingles. I wanted to die. It was pure hell for 7 fucking weeks.

I was scheduled to get the shot on Tuesday, but I was in so much pain from having a back tooth pulled that I just didn't think I could handle any more pain. BTW, today it's been two weeks since the extraction, and it still hurts. Can you say "dry socket"? Bah.

I too just keep putting it off, R77. But I swear I'll get it one of these days. Really. Seriously.

[quote] A new study finds that the shingles shot is associated with a lower risk of dementia

R74 Please note that the study was of the old Shingles vaccine (Zostavax, which is no longer used in the US) and not the current vaccine (Shingrix). The authors buried that fact at the end of the introductory section of the paper. Had I been a reviewer of the manuscript (I’m an immunologist), I would have required the authors to reveal that fact in the abstract, which is the only section that many, if not most, people read.

The two vaccines differ in many respects. One cannot assume that the effects of the vaccines on dementia are the same.

Not getting it.

Good luck OP!

Well, that puts a whole new spin on it, doesn't it, R79? Thanks for the info!

I have both so I'm compos mentis from here on out! Yay!

Amused by the chap (R72) who had shingles when he was 18 and it wasn't that bad.

Few medical things are "that bad" when you're 18 and you're young and healthy and your body recovers from most things very quickly.

But once you hit 50, it's a different game. One friend had to be hospitalized for three months when he got shingles he was in so much pain and things were getting worse. My grandfather almost lost his one good eye (he'd lost vision in the other as a child) when shingles started covering that part of his face. And the father of one of my best friends is dealing with shingles now, and it's been an ongoing misery for more than six months.

It's not worth the risk, folks. Get the vaccine.

Whiners on DL are always near death about something, ignore the trolls, most are lying anyway and just want pathological validation, go sit your whining asses down and get Shingles and die.

100% agree, R84. I postponed getting the vaccine, got shingles, and as I said earlier up thread, It was pure hell for 7 weeks. My skin was on fire. I was very fortunate because the nerve trunk that was affected went from behind the knee on my right leg, and all the way up my back to my right shoulder. But it also affected my anus and right buttock. The chills and fever and skin on fire plus the rash which eventually crusted over and got scabby was just horrible. A lot of people think Shingles is just an uncomfortable rash, but it is a virus that attacks the nerves. I bathed the area with wet paper towels saturated with liquid Dove anti bacterial soap, I used Aveeno baby wipes to cool it off. later when the itching started I used calamine lotion, daubing it gently and I was washing my hands constantly. I was terrified at the possibility I could spread it to my face and eyes. People go blind from this virus! So, yeah, please get vaccinated.

All good points. I plan on getting mine this year.