Flu Shots & Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

I’ve already had a flu virus that lasted 2 weeks with a cough that lasted an additional week … on top of fibro and cfs. It was miserable. After I got well I went out and got the flu shot.

I think it’s important to state that vaccinations are sometimes grown in eggs therefore if you have ever had allergies to anty part of eggs do not get a flu shot . Also my ME /CFS doctor has always said do not get a flu shot . Flu shots cause relapses in some. Dr. Lapp has a good article about this .

http://www.drlapp.net/resources.htm#Influenza%20Vaccination

for me, there is no question, I get a flu shot without question, every year. I have a couple of reasons for this. One of the reasons I get a flu shot every year is due to the fact that I have asthma which has actually developed into COPD over the past year. My doctor has told me that due to my fibromyalgia and other factors, I have a compromised immune system and what can be a simple cold for most will almost always turn into a sinus infection, then bronchitis, and possible even pneumonia for me. Even with flu and pneumonia vaccinations, I’ve had pneumonia twice in the past 18 months. I get bronchitis about 4 or 5 times a year and average 8 to 10 sinus infections a year. So any added protection is welcome.
But my biggest reason for getting the flu vaccine is because my first serious fibro flare came about after a very serious case of the flu – the first year I skipped getting the flu vaccine (9 years ago). It was a horrible month for me – first I had the flu and was down sick for almost 3 weeks and I was finally starting to recover and then I was in a minor fender bender car accident. Between the two, I was layed up for almost 6 weeks and still haven’t fully recovered 9 years later. It may be silly to think taking a flu vaccination that year could have prevented the fibro rearing it’s ugly head to the extent that it did, but i’ll never know.

Dr. Charles Lapp of the Hunter Hopkins Clinic in North Carolina advises against a flu shot for folks “like us”:
href=”http://www.prohealth.com//library/showArticle.cfm?libid=13292″
I have been getting them for years. Until I retired 8 years ago I was a community college faculty member, seeing lots of students every day, so thought a flu shot was a necessity. I haven’t had any trouble with them, myself.
SKS

The one and only time I had the flu shot (at my doctor’s request) I was in bed with a bad flare for a couple of weeks afterward. Definitely not worth it plus I never get the flu. If I were to get it, I would step up my vitamin c and zinc intake and ride it out. My body can’t tolerate the mercury, aluminum and other junk they put in the shots.

I received the flu mist yesterday….today I had no choice but to stay home in bed. I have fibromyalgia. I’ve taken the flu shot for the last three years, actually the first year was the shot, last year was the mist but not the H1N1, but this year was the mist with the H1N1. I’ve decided to talk to my doctor about not taking the shot anymore. I have pain daily, and to voluntarily bring more pain on myself….I just can’t do it. My pain level was through the roof today! I couldn’t even get out of bed until late afternoon. Even though I work in a peds clinic, I am not going to take the shot anymore. I’ll be as preventative as I can, but I just can’t deal with this pain. And it’s mandatory at my job unless you have a doctor’s statement. I refused the H1 last year and didn’t get my raise this year, but I was not comfortable, because of the fibro, with taking the H1. This year I thought I’d give it a chance. All three years I’ve taken it, I’ve had a relapse…this year was the worse by far. I just can’t do it anymore. I hope I’m making the right decision.

I do take a flu shot every year. I also took the vaacination for shingles, last year. I don’t need to get sick over sick with fibro. My arm hurts for a day, and then I feel safer kissing kids. Once school starts, the Jewish High Holy Days, crowds of people sitting close together, I make sure I have all the protection I can get.

In my Compassionate Friends group, a group for parents who’ve lost children, two adult men in two different families have died for HiNi. That has scared me straight to the pharmacy.

I have gotten flu shots every year for as long as I can remember. Was a nurse, and needed to due to the exposure to the illness. Never had any reaction other than a sore arm, until this year. I got bronchitis real bad for 2 weeks, and still am coughing some. Naturally, had increased pain the whole 2 weeks! Will I take next year? Probably. Had bad flu’s many years ago, and don’t want that on top of fibro!

I have never had a flu shot. Of course, I was told not to get one years and years ago (when they created them with a live virus), since I had an extremely low white count.

I have also avoided flu shots since I avoid as many things as possilbe to avoid triggering the Fibromyalgia.

I would appreciate any information. Thanks.

I’ve gotten the flu shot last year, (including the H1N1) and I got the combo shot this year. Didn’t have any issues what so ever… I think everyone is unique. I’ve also had the pnuemonia shot, hep A, hep B, TPD. I do these things to protect myself, as no one can say how great an immune system we have dealing with FMS. I live with my brother, and he has patient exposure from nursing classes he takes; I wouldn’t risk trying to catch anything. And.. just so people know for the millliiiiooonnnttthh time; a flu shot can not make you catch the flu.. it just means you caught another strain. It is a DEAD VIRUS. To each their own.. but that is my 2 of 5 cents on it.

Also; I too had two people in my prayer chain who died of H1N1 or had loved ones die, both were YOUNG ADULTS, 1 a teacher; with healthy immune systems!

The mist is a LIVE VIRUS btw; the shot is not a live virus.

As for the “heavy metal poisoning” you will receive from the shot because it contains “mercury”; the dose is ONLY in the shots that are multiple; those receiving shots that are prepared single dose do not have this. It is called “thermisol” (probably spelled wrong; but that is the name) This is a component added to vaccines to help them remain FRESH; a preservative so to speak; (after all they are made with EGGS). This does is SO MINOR. You will get as sick from that as eating a can of tuna fish; if you do your research.. it’s very very minor. If you have had vaccines since the mid 90’s or before; you’ve already been exposed to this.. this is how they were prepared for years.

I know these things because I did my research before I got the shot myself last year for H1n1.. I too was concerned.. I read the internet forwards, I seen all the youtubes, I read all sorts of information; and then got my facts. For me and my brother (then 17) it was the right decision. I think people should do what they feel comfortable doing based on “FACTS” not misinformation.

I get a flu shot every year with no problem. However the Pneumonia shot has given me serious problems. I’ve only had it twice: the first time I got optic neuropathy. the day after I got the shot, my neck was sore on that side of my body. The day after that, I had lost 80% of my vision in that eye! It came back after 3 months, but now I don’t see red as well in that eye.

Last year I got another pneumonia shot. It made my body weaker and I developed an allergy that mimicked Scabies!
After much ado, it turned out to be an allergy to the dye in the coating of a generic multi-vitamin! So no more pneumonia shots for me!

It was really interesting to see this today because I just went to get my flu shot today and I had been debating for a few weeks on whether or not to do it. What made me get it is I was reading an arthritis magazine, and I have also been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (it’s an inflammatory form), and it said that people with this disease must must must get the flu SHOT. I think it’s important to mention that in that article it said that “people like us” shouldn’t get the flu MIST because that is live virus, and in people who are immunocompromised it can cause problems.

So please read up on whether you should get the flu SHOT or if it’s ok to just get the mist.

Anyhow, I’ve been torn b/c in the past every time I’ve gotten the flu shot it’s put me in bed for days, sometimes weeks. However, last year I was diagnosed with H1N1 followed by mono (possibly reactivated EPV b/c I had previously known I had been infected with it in the past), and right after that I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia. A few months later I got diagnosed with arthritis on top of the fibro… so was it a coincidence? Maybe. But I noticed someone else posted about a similar experience. I can’t help but think either that if I had only gotten the flu shot maybe I wouldn’t be as sick as I am now – I haven’t fully recovered ever since then and it’s been almost a year now.

So, my advice would be to consider your past experiences with the shot b/c we all react differently, then talk it over with your doctor, and do a little extra research into the type of flu vaccine you should get based on any other illnesses you have. Getting the flu is no joke, especially when you’ve already got so many other things going on that are causing fatigue – so I ‘d consider it.

No trouble with flu shots before but I got the H1N1 and ended up in a ambulance enroute to emergency. Was very ill for 2 weeks following that. Doctor who cared for me in the emergency room said she would NEVER get a flu shot.

Within 10 days of getting the H1N1 shot last year, I started with numbness in my face, legs and arms. It then spread to my torso. Within 3 months, I was experiencing fatigue. I have gradually deteriorated ever since. Now, 10 months later, I am in a full blown flare of CFS. I’m on disability through the Family Medical Leave Act. I’m going to have to leave a stressful job that I loved!

Coincidence? I think NOT!!!!!

I took the H1N1 shot October 2009 and the next day I got seriously ill. It turned into bronchitis then five days later Costro Condritits– a rib cage inflammation– that turned into a rib cage infection that lasted for 2 and 1/2 months! Also, the CFS and Fibro both flared like crazy and I have NOT fully recovered from that!
My family doc told me to avoid the flu shot in the future. Rarely have I experienced so much pain, and never for that long a period of time.

I used to get flu shots, but every time I did, I was so very sick for weeks afterward that I stopped getting them, and I have never had the flu since. In fact, I am hardly ever sick with colds or flu’s of any kind. I now know that I have a hyperactive immune system and I am allegeric to all the ingredients that make up the flu shots as well as other vaccinations — the matrixes and preservatives. They are some of my worst allergies. So no flu shots of any kind for me — ever again!

I have always gotten a flu shot since I work in the medical field and my husband is a diabetic. This year I actually took the flu mist and did not have the FM flare up that I normally have after vaccination.

I’ve gotten a flu shot every year since 2002, and never had a problem until last year. Two days after last year’s shot, I found a lump near my collarbone on the same side as the arm where I had the shot. A doctor’s exam led to an ultrasound, which revealed a swollen lymph node that was declared “suspicious” and led to follow-ups with an oncologist. After the lymph node responded well to antibiotic, the oncologist decided it must have been a reaction to the shot. I am seriously debating whether to get a shot this year after that scary experience.

NO way will I ever get the flu shot again. I used to get it up to 5 years ago and realized that whenever I’d get the flu shot I’d get sick from 3 – 4 months nasty.
I stopped getting the shots and have not been so sick since.

I was in Walm. two days ago & realized they were giving out flu shots. It was kind of on the spur of the moment that I decided to get one. I have severe CFIDS/FMS & was told when diagnosed 18 yrs. ago to never take a shot. Well, I guess that was when the live virus was still used.

Anyway, when I woke up today, I felt like I had been run over by a Mack truck & had a terrible headache. Honestly, I feel that way so often it was hard to distinguish if it was from the shot or not. Usually by that nt., I have a low grade fever & more achy than usual. I was surprised I didn’t have that the last three times I have taken the shot. People here, explaining what is in the shot, explained why we sometimes have such bad reactions to a dead virus better than any of the professionals I’ve asked that question of.

All I know is I feel so horrible all of the time, I just can’t risk getting sick with anything else. I am going to a gym now & around a lot of sick people all the time who need to realize they need to stay home when sick vs. trying to get well faster by exercising & exposing the rest of us when they do that.

My husband and I always get flu shots (this year’s was a month ago), and I’ve never had a problem with my fibro from them. (My first colonoscopy this year was a different story, but since chemo for colon cancer nearly killed my sister, I’m stuck with having them.) The year that there was such a severe shortage of flu vaccine, we weren’t able to get them, despite the fact that my husband had had a blood clot in his lung 6 months earlier, and the last thing he needed was to be lying in bed with the flu. That year, we both got the flu; he didn’t get too sick, but I just wanted to die. Whenever I get a cold or bronchitis, I spend three weeks coughing violently, getting no sleep, and hurting so much more than usual. My husband is a part-time school bus driver, driving for field trips and sporting events (i.e., kids who have to play, no matter how they feel, so that they don’t let down the team), so he’s exposed to lots of germs. He’s been sick all of this past week; I haven’t gotten it, but I won’t take a chance with getting the flu. When I was young and strong (pre-fibro diagnosis) in my teens, I became skin and bones, while in bed for 12 days with the flu. I will get a flu shot every year, as early as they are available.

I have never taken a flu jab and neither have I been asked by my GP to have one. I wondered if it is given according to your age group because I just turned fourty and I only just notice that I should book an appointment for my flu jab. Over the years I have never contacted the flu because I avoid public places and recently I travelled to a hot climate weather so I believe it helped.
I also have toxoplasmosis and it symptoms are like flu symptoms therefore it dose not make much difference to me. In short either go to a hot climate country or avoid public places.

My doctor always askes me the same question…I mentioned to him one year that I had a flu shot and that I had had the flu for 2 weeks. I proceeded to tell him how sick I had felt. He said to me; “How sick do you think you would have been if you HADN’T got the flu shot?” lol Well, I always get a flu shot no and I have no ill effects from them, and I don’t have the constant worry about getting the flu. I also have an 8 yr old grandson who is diabetic and I certainly don’t want to get the flu and then give it to him. Not a good scenario for him…or me.

I have never had a flu shot, and I’m not going to start now. Last year I was given a T-dap shot (kind of like the dpt shots babies get). I became violently ill. Now, some 16 months later, I still have not gotten back to where I was in terms of feeling even “semi-okay.” I was told that no one ever got so sick from that shot, and the nurse said, “Sorry you had a bad week-end.” As usual, people just don’t understand this fms business, and lead you to believe that it’s all in your mind. Oy, how many times will I hear this?

Anyway, I will just say NO to any shot.

I was given the combo flu shot Wed. without knowing it was a combo shot. I’ve never had trouble with a flu shot. I didn’t take H1N1 last year and would have refused the flu shot altogether this year had the form I signed or had the medical personnel told me this shot contained H1N1. (This was given in a doctor’s office.) I was in a world of hurt within 48 hrs. My pain today, Sunday, has been horrible. Worse than any of the time in the 15 yrs. I’ve had fibro. I would love to “prove” the shot caused this severe pain-fatigue, I’ve done nothing much but sleep for 2 days but not at night. I feel invaded and like the government couldn’t get rid of the H1N1 stockpile since so few people took it last year and they decided this was a “good” way to make us take it and deplete the stockpile. May sound irrational but…..

Nobody will ever believe how dead viruses can affect people like us. I have to believe it is all the other stuff they put into the shots that is causing it, as someone has already suggested on this site. I have had so many other healthy people say they’ve gotten sick with flu shots too, that it isn’t that we harbored the virus & ironically got sick the next day or the nt. of the shot.

Yrs. ago I didn’t do well either, with the hep. shots I needed for working in the med. field. I am really leary of any shots now. Luckily, other than feeling more in pain the next day after this last shot, so far so good. I overdid the walking that day also, so I’m not sure I can even blame the shot, but I do believe it added to my discomfort somewhat. There is just no easy answer for us. We feel so rotten all of the time, that it’s hard to know when anything else is really going on, vs. “just FMS/CFIDS” & that really does concern me.

I got Lyme diease in 1990 and have dealt with fibromyalga for 20 years. I’ve been in a study to see if there is a connection between lyme and fibro. I got the H1N1 shot last year and it caused something to happen that made me feel great. I went for a month with no muscle pain, I was even able to go pheasant hunting for the first time in years. I hope the shot this year does the same.

Got a flu shot. Got the flu a week later!

I work at schools, so I usually have had flu shots for several years. I have never had a problem caused by the shot. Last year I missed my shot because of the shortage of vaccine.

This time I got the flu anyway. Misery! Every part of my body hurt.

I suppose the shot hadn’t had time to build up my immunity before I was exposed.

I plan to go ahead with flu shots in the future.

Martha, I would imagine the shot would temporarily lower your immune system which may be why you got the flu so soon afterward.

I’ve never had the flu shot, and I don’t plan on ever getting one. I’m terrified of the reaction I will have. I have terrible reactions to EVERYTHING…well, almost everything; and it really makes me gun shy. My doc suggested that my hubby and daughter get them, so hopefully it will keep it out of the house and I won’t have to get a shot.

I say…do what works for you! That’s what I’m doing. It def works for me to not get the shot, cuz i’ve never had the flu. Of course, if things change for me (my fingers are crossed that they won’t…as far as the flu shots are concerned), then I’ll have to reconsider; but until then…NO flu shot for me! (I’m also happy that I don’t get them, cuz I HATE needles….LOL.)

Good luck to us all in our efforts to feel better…or at least not get worse

I get the flu shot every year as soon as my doctor’s office offers them. I have never had any problems with them besides a little soreness in my arm. With Severe FMS, CFS, and everything else I have going on I think getting the flu shot is a good idea for me. Oh, and I have never gotten the flu!

Every year I get a flu shot simply because, otherwise, I have always come down with the flu. This year, for the first time, I had a reaction in the form of a three day mild flu with all the symptoms. Always confusing for me as I have had fibromyalgia for over 20 years and this is one of the symptoms of a flare. Yes, I will get a shot again next year as a three day flu is better than a flu that can take months to go away and impact my health for even longer.

I never let them put the flu shot in my arm, only in my hip. I had an experence with a tetnis shot that caused so much shoulder pain I said I’d never have a shot in my arm again. I tolerate the flu shot very well but have never had the H1N1. I’v have moderate to severe fibro pain for 25 years.

I get my flu shot every year. I have asthma along w/ my fibromyalgia and I usually get really lethargic for 2-4 days after it, so I always try not to make any appointments for a week afterwards just to be on the safe side. Gotta love it! NOT!!

Having been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and CFS, I get a flu shot every year. I’ve had the flu twice since 1988 and became so ill that my worst fear was that I WASN’T going to die. I’ve gotten flu shots every year since the last bout about 10 years ago. Last year I think I actually got the flu not long after getting the shot, but it was so mild, I think it might have just been a bad cold.