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Personal SARS-COV-2 vaccination experiences


JennyD

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5 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

It is not my own, but I hope it is ok to post about this. 

I cried today because my brother and sil got the Covaccine (The vaccine developed in India), first dose. DH's sister and bil who live in India are getting vaccinated most likely tomorrow. It is very special because COVID is raging in India, the hospitals are beyond collapse, no beds available and people are dying from lack of oxygen. To top it off, they ran out of vaccines. They are running out of wood to burn the dead. Even the best Hollywood screenwriter could not make this up.

My parents and inlaws are vaccinated, both doses for which I am immensely grateful. My brother and sil did not get vaccinated before because of age limits and we did not want to jump the queue. When the limits were finally relaxed my BIL and SIL in the UK and DH and me pulled every string we could from outside to get access to vaccines leveraging friends and family we had. We vaccine hunted. The fear and desperation we felt I cannot put into words, we were desperate for a vaccine, Oxford, Chinese, nothing mattered. 

We do not know the efficacy of the vaccine, we do not care about side effects because having just a vaccine is a life saver now. I am beyond grateful but heartbroken for the almost 500,000 people affected which is what experts say the tally is.

When I hear about people refusing the second dose in the US because of side effects, I just cannot process that. 

COVID is real, hospitals cannot handle the load. India has among the most robust private hospitals on a good day where people from other countries come to take treatment. Now even if you have money, nothing can save a person if there is no bed oxygen. It is beyond heart breaking to watch. 

DH and I get our second dose soon too. 

I couldn't figure out what reaction emoji to use.  This is happy and sad at the same time.  I am so glad your family is getting vaccinated.  I am so sorry your birth country is experiencing this.  I remember rejoicing with some friends from India about how well the country had been doing.  Now, I am so sad.  (((hug)))

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Just back from my second Moderna.  This time it was painless.  No side effects so far, but it's only been a couple of hours.  I think I need to go cook dinner right now just in case.

 

ETA:  I got teary eyed this time.  So glad to be done!

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I got my second Pfizer shot this morning with DD.  She is feeling great, not even sore arm.  I am starting to feel yucky.  The ringing in my ears is getting louder, but the pharmacist gave me some ideas of stuff to try.  I am feeling a bit nauseous, tired, and sore.  I was going to take DS for his first shot appointment this afternoon, but am not feeling up to it, so DH took time off work to take him.  Really, he is 18 and could have gone by himself, but he hates shots and having DH there to drive makes him feel better about it.

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My dh and I got our second Pfizer shot this morning.  So far so good.  My dh did come home earlier today than he has been.  He's feeling tired and light-headed, but neither of us slept well last night and he's been working long hours.  I have a headache but I have given up Coca Cola (again) as of yesterday so lack of caffeine is more likely my issue. 

So not sure if either one of us are having actual side effects yet. Nothing but sore arms with the first dose.

 I was so glad to get the second dose though.  Our pharmacist did say that they are not seeing the numbers of people getting the vaccine that they had expected.  He also said a lot of people are wanting the Johnson and Johnson, so maybe that is what folks are waiting for.  I would just love to see us approaching herd immunity by the fall (or sooner if possible). 

India is breaking my heart.  I was listening to NPR on the way to the pharmacy and the crisis there is terrifying and overwhelming.  Hoping things improve there very soon.  

So glad for everyone sharing their experiences.  It helps me with anxiety to just know what types of things can be expected or what others have experienced.  

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I seem to be basically back to normal 48 hours after the second dose. We'll see if I'm wrong about that, but I feel pretty functional at the moment. More functional than I tend to feel when I have my fairly frequent headaches -- I'm still a bit sore, but it's not interfering with my life. 

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DH and I are getting our 2nd Pfizer dose tomorrow morning.  Praying for as good an experience as we had with our first dose.  Like last time, we are prepared with lots of easy foods, Tylenol, and a clear calendar.  Hoping we don't need it!

At least this time, I'm not going to question whether I should take my medical anxiety pill :-).  I'm just gonna do it!

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2 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

DH and I are getting our 2nd Pfizer dose tomorrow morning.  Praying for as good an experience as we had with our first dose.  Like last time, we are prepared with lots of easy foods, Tylenol, and a clear calendar.  Hoping we don't need it!

At least this time, I'm not going to question whether I should take my medical anxiety pill :-).  I'm just gonna do it!

I was wondering about you! I got my second today at noon. (I’m your medical anxiety twin). I didn’t have any anxiety this time. I’m feeling okay so far—8 hours out. Just a really sore arm. Just planning to take it easy tomorrow.

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More anecdata: I had my 2nd shot of Moderna at this morning and 8.5 hours later am in bed with a 100.5 fever, headache, and chills. Mild, non-specific symptoms after my first shot.

I'm a vaccine enthusiast and hardly ever have side effects from anything. Hoping this passes quickly 🤷

 

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9 minutes ago, popmom said:

I was wondering about you! I got my second today at noon. (I’m your medical anxiety twin). I didn’t have any anxiety this time. I’m feeling okay so far—8 hours out. Just a really sore arm. Just planning to take it easy tomorrow.

I'm so glad you are doing well!  I would take a sore arm if I bypassed the other yucky stuff.  Make sure to move it and ice it.

Did you have that weird feeling in your throat this time?  Hoping I don't this go around.

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I got my 2nd Moderna dose on Monday afternoon.  I had a really sore arm yesterday but not much else. Today my knees are aching, I'm a bit tired, and I have a fever of 38.8 (close to 102) right now.  It is bearable so l am not going to take anything.  

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5 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

I'm so glad you are doing well!  I would take a sore arm if I bypassed the other yucky stuff.  Make sure to move it and ice it.

Did you have that weird feeling in your throat this time?  Hoping I don't this go around.

Nope—no weird feeling at all. I’m kinda proud of myself. 😉 

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3 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

I seem to be basically back to normal 48 hours after the second dose. We'll see if I'm wrong about that, but I feel pretty functional at the moment. More functional than I tend to feel when I have my fairly frequent headaches -- I'm still a bit sore, but it's not interfering with my life. 

OK, spoke a tad too soon -- I have a bit of a headache tonight. Although it's still less bad than my usual headaches, lol... that being said, I didn't want DD8's Harry Potter wand to make its noises anymore 😉 . 

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19 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

OK, spoke a tad too soon -- I have a bit of a headache tonight. Although it's still less bad than my usual headaches, lol... that being said, I didn't want DD8's Harry Potter wand to make its noises anymore 😉 . 

She needs to learn a no headache spell! 

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51 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

DH and I are getting our 2nd Pfizer dose tomorrow morning.  Praying for as good an experience as we had with our first dose.  Like last time, we are prepared with lots of easy foods, Tylenol, and a clear calendar.  Hoping we don't need it!

At least this time, I'm not going to question whether I should take my medical anxiety pill :-).  I'm just gonna do it!

Do you mind if I ask what medical anxiety med you take? I got my second shot today. Both times they didn’t seem to care that I was so nervous about the shot. I guess they do this so much, it’s nothing to them. I kinda got the side eye, and I was doing my very best to not seem nervous, but it was hard. I once passed out and had a short seizure after a blood draw while pregnant. So there’s a bit of PTSD going on there. 

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28 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

OK, spoke a tad too soon -- I have a bit of a headache tonight. Although it's still less bad than my usual headaches, lol... that being said, I didn't want DD8's Harry Potter wand to make its noises anymore 😉 . 

Hope you feel better tomorrow.

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9 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

Do you mind if I ask what medical anxiety med you take? I got my second shot today. Both times they didn’t seem to care that I was so nervous about the shot. I guess they do this so much, it’s nothing to them. I kinda got the side eye, and I was doing my very best to not seem nervous, but it was hard. I once passed out and had a short seizure after a blood draw while pregnant. So there’s a bit of PTSD going on there. 

I have Lorazepam .5 mg.  I only take it if I have a lot of anxiety going to a medical appt and for dental work, like a filling or crown.  It just takes the edge off for me.  It helped me get through that 1st shot since it is an unknown for me.

I'm so sorry!  Yes, I had a bad reaction (911 call, but no hospital transport) to a topical numbing cream (that I had used just fine before my pregnancy).  It was not fun and freaked me out for a long time.  I am better now, but still need something to take the edge off sometimes.

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25 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

I have Lorazepam .5 mg.  I only take it if I have a lot of anxiety going to a medical appt and for dental work, like a filling or crown.  It just takes the edge off for me.  It helped me get through that 1st shot since it is an unknown for me.

I'm so sorry!  Yes, I had a bad reaction (911 call, but no hospital transport) to a topical numbing cream (that I had used just fine before my pregnancy).  It was not fun and freaked me out for a long time.  I am better now, but still need something to take the edge off sometimes.

Thank you. I may get those for next time!

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8 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Next day after second shot (Pfizer).....8:00 am and beginning to get chills and aches. Took one Ibuprofen just now, but did not take any yesterday. Sore arm. I should feel better by tonight. I hope. Nothing else uncommon to report.

Please remind me.  What was your reaction to the 1st dose?

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10 hours ago, jrichstad said:

More anecdata: I had my 2nd shot of Moderna at this morning and 8.5 hours later am in bed with a 100.5 fever, headache, and chills. Mild, non-specific symptoms after my first shot.

I'm a vaccine enthusiast and hardly ever have side effects from anything. Hoping this passes quickly 🤷

 

Good to know. I had my second Moderna yesterday and only have a sore arm today.  (I may have had a mild headache, but I had a bit of a sinus headache going in so it may be unrelated) I will make sure not to over schedule the next 24 hours.

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22 hours ago, KeriJ said:

Dh and I just returned home from our first Moderna shots.

Almost 24 hours later.  Only a mildly sore arm for both of us. Really tired at bedtime last night,  but, you know, five kids, late 40's....🤷‍♀️

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My 2nd teen got his 2nd Pfizer yesterday.

Both he and my other teen got COVID arm after the first Pfizer and both had a swollen, painful lymph node after the 2nd shot. 

He had a 101-102 fever most of the day and a significant headache and eye pain. (The eye pain subsided before the headache.) His headache description seemed worse than the headache the rest of us in the family had post shot. He tends to run really high fevers with viruses (103-105 with the last virus he had).

He  didn't do his normal routine the next day. He laid around most of the day until about 24 hours after his shot, when he started feeling better.

He had an episode of  minor vomitting early afternoon, but I think that was mostly because he hadn't felt like eating anything that day. I'm not sure. Nausea subsided after that and he ate a little, then ate quite a bit 24 hours post shot/later that evening. 

I'd say he and my husband had the strongest post 2nd vaccine reactions in the family (both felt fine after about 24 hours). 

 

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2 hours ago, freesia said:

Good to know. I had my second Moderna yesterday and only have a sore arm today.  (I may have had a mild headache, but I had a bit of a sinus headache going in so it may be unrelated) I will make sure not to over schedule the next 24 hours.

My fever eventually spiked to 102.3, which is the highest it's been in years! But I slept ten hours and feel mostly fine this morning. I appreciate now why the Dr office insisted that they only schedule second shots in the morning. Hope you continue to feel good 😊

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Well, I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday. I had a small headache going in, and I still have a small headache 24 hrs later. Is it the same headache? Is it a side effect?  Who knows. 
 

Yesterday evening I had no symptoms, except the headache. Took night time Tylenol before bed. Woke up in the early a.m. and noticed the am I got the shot in was sore, which I expected. 
 

As this morning progresses, i also have some joint/muscle aches, but mild, and maybe some pain in the lymph nodes under my arms. RE: joint Pain, though, especially in my lower back, I also just got my period and I always have more back and joint pain then.

 I’ve had Covid, so I wonder if that affects how many side effects one experiences in the first round? Also, here’s hoping I don’t break out in hives , which happened the day after the first and only flu shot I’ve had. But I’ve never reacted to any other vaccine, so I feel like chances are I won’t to this one either.

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2 hours ago, Emba said:

 

 I’ve had Covid, so I wonder if that affects how many side effects one experiences in the first round? Also, here’s hoping I don’t break out in hives , which happened the day after the first and only flu shot I’ve had. But I’ve never reacted to any other vaccine, so I feel like chances are I won’t to this one either.

My sister, who had previously had COVID, had a strong reaction to her first Pfizer. She was told those who have already had it might have a reaction to the first shot that is similar to other's reactions to the 2nd. The first is kind of a booster in those w/prior infections. Her 2nd Pfizer was much easier. 

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Youngest child's 16th birthday was yesterday, and she went and got her covid vaccine today.  They apparently have extras, because they asked me if I wanted one and seemed kind of disappointed when I said I had already had it.  

Oldest goes for their second Pfizer vaccine at 2:20 pm.  

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2.5 hours post 2nd Pfizer shot.  Nothing yet.  Hardly felt the needle, I didn't get the weird feeling in my throat like the last time, no sore arm.  I ran my one errand and am home in my jammies for the rest of the day :-).  Will take a nap at some point, as that is usually my best sleep of the day.  

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24 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Youngest child's 16th birthday was yesterday, and she went and got her covid vaccine today.  They apparently have extras, because they asked me if I wanted one and seemed kind of disappointed when I said I had already had it.  

Oldest goes for their second Pfizer vaccine at 2:20 pm.  

Oooh. Your whole family is getting vaccinated! That's exciting. 

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4 hours ago, mlktwins said:

That is awesome!  You should be!!!

How are you feeling today?  We are leaving at 9:50 am for ours...

Tired. Headache. I woke up at 3am with chills/shivering. Then around 5 I was sweating profusely. I had to get up and do a sponge bath and change clothes—it was so weird. I’m 24 hours out and it’s much better now. 

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33 minutes ago, popmom said:

 I woke up at 3am with chills/shivering. Then around 5 I was sweating profusely. I had to get up and do a sponge bath and change clothes—it was so weird. 

My oldest son got the J&J vaccine and experienced this all night long on the hour - alternating chills with heavy sweating.  He said he didn't even bother changing clothes after a while because he knew the cycle was just going to start all over again.  

DH gets his second Moderna tomorrow.  I'm a nervous wreck for him since he always does poorly with vaccines.  I'm surprised he's even going through with it (he just had a horrible reaction to tetanus in March).  

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I forgot something. 

I’ve had 3 c sections. Starting about 5 hours after my shot, one end of my scar stings like mad off and on. It’s the side with the most scar tissue—rigid. It has to be related. I haven’t felt that sensation since right after having a baby. It’s no big deal to me—just interesting. Just kinda wondering what’s going on in there. 😉

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8 hours ago, jrichstad said:

My fever eventually spiked to 102.3, which is the highest it's been in years! But I slept ten hours and feel mostly fine this morning. I appreciate now why the Dr office insisted that they only schedule second shots in the morning. Hope you continue to feel good 😊

Update: About 24 hours after my second  Moderna  I started feeling tired, the slightly achy and walking kind of feels like walking slowly in mud.  I have a little tightness in my chest and throat and a temperature of 100. I am really really tired and will go to bed early.  So, so far not terrible, but a definite reaction. 

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I'm 24 hours after my 2nd Pfizer and have the typical sore arm similar to a flu shot.  Last night I had a headache and I got warm enough overnight that I had to lose the pj's, but I wasn't soaked in a pool of sweat or anything.  I also slept in late this morning but otherwise feel ok.  After my first shot I had a day and a half of flu-like symptoms starting about 12 hours post injection , so I was worried this would be much worse.  I'm very relieved.

We think dh had covid last February, so it's possible I had some prior low level exposure.  I was recently out of surgery and had lost a lot of blood, so I was fatigued from that.  I was also on rx painkillers, so I wouldn't have noticed any aches and pains.

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So happy to say that the four of us living here have (as of today) all received both vaccines of Pfizer. All other eligible members of our family but one (whose 2nd one should come up next week) have been vaccinated. I'm so glad. We are not in a high area, but I'm glad to get this done in case numbers start rising again.

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DH had his second Moderna yesterday morning.  He has a fever now with chills and some stomach upset.  He took Tylenol before bed last night due to the chills and feeling off and that helped but it wore off and he doesn't want to take more due to the stomach upset.  

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1 hour ago, Kassia said:

DH had his second Moderna yesterday morning.  He has a fever now with chills and some stomach upset.  He took Tylenol before bed last night due to the chills and feeling off and that helped but it wore off and he doesn't want to take more due to the stomach upset.  

Quoting myself for an update.  He's mostly miserable with nausea now.  It's really bad.  He has a fever and headache too.  😞  

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1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

Update on me: I've been totally able to do my normal stuff this week, but I still have a bit of a vaccine headache, which is annoying. Will update you all when it goes away. 

Mine finally fully went away on day 6.

Though during those 6 days I was dealing with one day of miserable vaccine reaction, a dental emergency, two major transitions with Elliot's daily therapy, Elliot's behavioral fallout from those transitions, and a plumbing flood. So I'm sure my "vaccine" headache was exacerbated by stress and lack of sleep.

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21 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

Mine finally fully went away on day 6.

Though during those 6 days I was dealing with one day of miserable vaccine reaction, a dental emergency, two major transitions with Elliot's daily therapy, Elliot's behavioral fallout from those transitions, and a plumbing flood. So I'm sure my "vaccine" headache was exacerbated by stress and lack of sleep.

Mine's definitely a vaccine headache, because I get LOTS of headaches and this one feels very different -- back of the head, not my usual tension headache. 

Sorry about all the emergencies you're having! I imagine the vaccine reaction is the least of it... 

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Because tinnitus has been discussed I wanted to add my experience. I’ve had it for 30 years. When I had a low grade fever it got louder with one shrill moment. That is normal for me when tired or feverish. It is back to a low level normal for me—I hear it when I think to listen. So, no permanent change. 

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