Shingrix Shingles Vaccine

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I mentioned I got my first Shingrix shot earlier this year and I got the second one yesterday. I've had people here ask me about reactions so I'll answer here how they affected me. Others, please chime in with your experiences.

The first shot wasn't too bad. I got it back in early January around noon. At first, I noticed some soreness at the injection site when I touched it so I just avoided touching it. Around 5PM, I suddenly felt sore in both shoulders and really tired all over. I went to bed shortly after that. I felt much better by noon the next day and just fine by around 6PM.

Yesterday's shot affected me differently. I got this one around 5 PM. At first, I had the soreness I had first experienced but didn't think much about it. I horsed around some with the SSD dock project I started on recently, then went to bed at my normal time but couldn't get to sleep (not uncommon for me). It was around midnight before I finally got to sleep. I also was feeling a bit queasy early in the evening, like when I get mild heat exhaustion so I drank a 20 oz. Powerade 0 with 1/4 tsp. of salt added. The Powerade tasted sweet instead of salty which indicated that my electrolytes had been low. Other than some minor achiness, felt much better after that (getting low on blood sodium is not unusual for me).

I didn't sleep well (again, not uncommon). I got up at around 5AM and stayed up for a little while but felt completely wiped out and achy all over. After an hour or so, and after having an allergy attack, I went back to bed and fitfully slept for another five or six hours. By then, I ached some all over and felt a bit feverish, like I had the flu but without the nausea and vomiting I would get from flu. I had what felt like a sinus headache (that could have been from the allergy attack earlier).

I had taken a couple of Aleve yesterday morning with breakfast, another one with supper, again at breakfast this morning, then again at supper. I'm feeling much better now with only a little achiness in my neck and shoulders and a slightly stuffy feeling head (I took some Sudafed for that).

While the reaction this time was much worse than it was the first time, it still wasn't bad enough that I wouldn't get the shots again in a few years when when they come due again. Shingles is much, much worse. I know people who have had shingles and watched my Mama suffer when she had them (and was a pretty tough old gal) so I'll gladly trade a little bit of suffering to dramatically increase my chances of not getting them (or, at least, a much milder case).

If I was still a working stiff and this wasn't a Holiday weekend, I feel I would be fit for work by Monday, if not by tomorrow. Fortunately, I'm retired and can take the down time. If a working stiff decides to get the shots (which I encourage but only after consulting your doctor), I recommend getting them on the last day of their workweek so they can have the weekend to recover.

[Jymm]

I got my second shot last Tuesday. At the site of the shot I had a red ball the size of a baseball a bit swelled with a red line that ran under my arm pit. It was very sore. I also was so tired the next day I could barely keep my eyes open. It also effected my stomach. Yet I never felt sick. Not a pleasant experience, but I had a gret aunt that had shingles and it was still better than that. I too am retired, I don't think I could have worked the next day if I had still been working.

[GELvdH]

I got my two shots last year at the proper intervals. I do not recall any after effects from either shot but then, I was in the military and had more shots than most people so my reaction may have been somewhat blase.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Well, this morning, the second since the shot, I feel one "heckuvalot" better. I didn't sleep all that well last night but it was better much than it was the night before. I have DSPD (Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder) so it may have been because of that rather than from the shot. I feel like I overslept but that may be due to all the sleeping I did yesterday. The injection site is still sore but I feel it only when I touch it (it never did noticeably swell up).

If I wasn't retired and had to go into work today, I wouldn't hesitate to do so. I might have gone into work yesterday but I might not have lasted the day. I'm just feeling lazy this morning rather than tired and lousy.

Again, I do NOT regret getting the shot.

[thursty]

In late October, just before the pandemic began, I visited the pharmacy for my annual flu shot. My GF had been pestering me for years to get the Shingles Vaccine, so I asked about it. They pointed out that I could get the 2nd shot before the end of December (avoiding insurance complications), and I decided to go ahead.

I also was accustomed to multiple shots at a time of active duty with the military many years ago. I don't have much "illness" reaction to them. I decided to get both shots in my left arm since I am right handed. The arm was a little more sore than usual for the first few days. But after a week to ten days it felt like a knot in the muscle about the size of a golf ball! I was consider seeking medical advice, but a couple of days later, all seemed to have returned to normal.

I did not have any noticeable reaction to the second shot, two months later.

I am looking forward to getting my fifth COVID shot on the first day they are available this fall.

[MurphCID]

It is time for me to bite the bullet and get it.

[SMG]

While the reaction this time was much worse than it was the first time, it still wasn't bad enough that I wouldn't get the shots again in a few years when when they come due again.

They come due again? I thought it was just a two-shot series.

Looking at the CDC: What Everyone Should Know about the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix), I do see it indicates, "Immunity stays strong for at least the first 7 years after vaccination.", but I had not heard of boosters being needed.

(avoiding insurance complications)

My doctor mentioned to me during my recent wellness exam that I might want to keep in mind to get this vaccine while I have insurance because Medicare does not cover it. I was surprised that was the case, but when I checked that does seem to be true.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Looking at the CDC: What Everyone Should Know about the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix), I do see it indicates, "Immunity stays strong for at least the first 7 years after vaccination.", but I had not heard of boosters being needed...

I'm just assuming one or more boosters will be needed sometime after 7 years, similar to how tetanus shots have to be repeated every few years. I'm not going to worry about until then. Who knows? I may be dead by then.

(avoiding insurance complications)

My doctor mentioned to me during my recent wellness exam that I might want to keep in mind to get this vaccine while I have insurance because Medicare does not cover it. I was surprised that was the case, but when I checked that does seem to be true.

It is but the shot is generally only $25.00 USD and you duck the additional cost of a Dr. Office co-pay by getting it from a Pharmacy unless you get the shot while at the doctor's office while there for another reason. I suggest talking to your doctor before getting any shot to make sure you don't have any medical conditions that could make getting the shot risky, even though it is unlikely.

[SMG]

It is but the shot is generally only $25.00 USD and you duck the additional cost of a Dr. Office co-pay by getting it from a Pharmacy unless you get the shot while at the doctor's office while there for another reason.

Other than the yearly wellness exam, I'm rarely at the doctor's office so I have been getting my COVID and flu shots at the pharmacy. The pharmacy is also a shorter drive.

Shingrix: Cost & Coverage indicates one has to have Medicare Part D (drug coverage) for the per shot cost to be less than $50. With private insurance, there is typically no out-of-pocket cost per their website. That latter part is probably to what my doctor was referencing.

[old_noob]

I was "fortunate" enough to get a very mild case of shingles when I was 50. No worse then a poison oak rash. Hopefully this will give me immunity going forward (?).

[BenTrabetere]

I mentioned I got my first Shingrix shot earlier this year and I got the second one yesterday. I've had people here ask me about reactions so I'll answer here how they affected me. Others, please chime in with your experiences.

For a couple of days after my first dose I had injection site soreness and a slight case of not feeling well - essentially, a normal immune response to a vaccination.

My second dose was different - I took a long nap when I got home. For three or four days my entire upper arm was noticeably sore and I felt like I was coming down with something. Again, a (somewhat) normal immune response.

It is probably unrelated, but my first three COVID (Pfizer) vaccinations were very mild. My fourth dose came three months after my second Shingrix poke, and left me feeling flu-ish for a couple of days. (Although, it could have been triggered because the Ligustrum was in bloom.)

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I was "fortunate" enough to get a very mild case of shingles when I was 50. No worse then a poison oak rash. Hopefully this will give me immunity going forward (?).

You should ask your doctor about that. The singles virus is also the chicken pox virus and I had chicken pox over sixty years ago

[thursty]

A search indicates that while rare, shingles can recur multiple times.

[Jymm]

I got my two shots last year at the proper intervals. I do not recall any after effects from either shot but then, I was in the military and had more shots than most people so my reaction may have been somewhat blase.

So was I, that is not it as the second shot gave me a reaction. A lot of people were in the military and got the sequence of shots you did. I talked to the pharmacist. He said some people get a worse reaction the first shot, some the second shot and some not at all. It all just depends on the person.They really don't know why, but it is about 95% effective at preventing shingles.

[rambo919]

Must be a regional thing.... almost no one in SA gets shingles as far as I am aware... no one is promoting vaccines for it either.

[AdamFirst]

My mother developed shingles in her fifties. It hit her hard.

My second Shingrix shot was surprising to me. I had never had a tough reaction to a vaccine before. My second and third covid shots were also like a three day flu.

This could be a sign that my immune system is working well, or it could just be that I'm getting older.