Thursday, October 27, 2016

My Flu Shot Gave Me The Flu!

Well....not a full-bown case of "The Flu", but I definitely had a reaction to it.

Monday afternoon was my quarterly medical check-up (I'm Type II diabetic), and besides the confirmation that I've lost 15 pounds and the blood draws they always do, they asked if I'd had my flu shot this year. Since I hadn't had one yet, and I was there, I said to go ahead and do it.

By Tuesday afternoon my arm was really sore, I had a serious case of the sniffles, and my stomach was more than a bit upset.

Wednesday morning I was really out of it, and spent a good portion of the day either in bed, or in the bathroom.

I'm back to about 99% today, so I either had a definite reaction to the shot, or I was "coming down with something", and it just happened to hit me 24 hours after I had the shot....

I never used to get the flu shots, and there were only a few times I ever got really knocked down sick.

Right after I'd moved in with my wife-to-be, I got really sick.

Since we weren't married yet, and her medical insurance wouldn't cover me until we'd been married something like 30 days, I just toughed it out and was miserable for a couple of months. I told her to remind me to get the shot the next year, and if I squawked about it, to remind me just how sick I was when we got married.

ANYWAY....besides the weight loss, my A1C was DOWN 2 points, so all the frantic activity I did during the 7~8 weeks I worked on the Supra definitely helped. and my Doctor was quite pleased, and told me to keep doing "The Toyota Physical Fitness Plan" I was on.

Not going to get much done today, as we're expecting some heavy rain starting late this afternoon, and running through Friday. I've staked down/tied off the canopy I got to cover the Supra, and cleaned out the garage enough to get the OEM wheels and tires strapped down to a small furniture dolly, and tucked under one of the big shelves.

And threw away/consolidated several large boxes of "junque" parts that were beyond saving.

If I keep this up, I'll be able to get the car in the damn garage where it belongs before the winter rains hit.....

12 comments:

  1. Haven't had a flu shot in ten years. Haven't had the flu in the years.

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  2. Yeah, I "missed" mine last year and never got more than a cold. Turns out it didn't matter, as the strain that nailed people last year wasn't the one the shot was supposed to help!

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  3. Hey, congrats on that! Dropping A1C 2 points is pretty significant. You've reduced a whole bunch of risk factors with that.

    I got my flu shot a week or two ago. I started getting them one year after a particularly nasty flu strain laid me out for almost two weeks (early 90s). To me, there's just no point in getting sick for a week or more if I don't have to. I'll take the bet the vaccine is good for the year.

    Also got one of those Prevnar pneumonia vaccines, on the recommendation of my allergist. One in each arm. I was sore in both shoulders for about 24 hours.

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  4. Thanks, SiG...

    Yeah, the Doctor was very pleased about the A1C numbers dropping. I knew from past experience that dropping some weight and keeping physically active WOULD drop the numbers.

    And now that my rear is in gear with at least some actual running around, cleaning parts, moving things around, and in general NOT sitting on my butt, I hope to be able to drop another 20 pounds or so, and see further improvement.

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  5. I get the flu EVERY time I get the shot...

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    Replies
    1. This is the first time I've had anything other than a sore arm.

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  6. I would never get the flu shot until the wife went on chemo for breast cancer. I wasn't going to take a chance. Cancer free for 12 years.
    And congratulations on the weight loss and A1C. She fights that also. She was impressed.
    Terry
    Fla.

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    Replies
    1. I think being on a rudimentary "schedule" of sorts while I was doing the auto work forced me to change my eating habits "just enough" to make a difference.

      Get up, have morning coffee with a bowl of oatmeal, get outside and start working. Break for lunch when I get hungry, and take a break when I got overheated or really winded, which happened a lot at the beginning.

      At the beginning I could only work 20~30 minutes before I had to take a break. By the end I was bashing away for two hours or more before I had to refill my glass of water/Gatorade, or stop for a snack.

      The rain we were supposed to get last night passed to the North of us, so I've been out puttering around moving stuff, sorting stuff out, and stowing lightweight stuff up in the rafters.

      I'd really like to get the car inside the garage and up on jack stands this winter so I can do some things to it, like replace the carpet. I just can't tear it apart enough out in the driveway, and leave it apart, to do stuff like interior work.

      Delete
  7. I never get a flu shot. Since I don't get around people much, my chances of catching it are slim, but if I get the shot, I get sick.

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    Replies
    1. This is the first time it's ever done anything other than giving me a sore arm for a day or two.

      Delete
  8. The 'flu shot' does not give anyone the flu. Because it does not contain a viable virus capable of transmitting the disease. What the vaccine does is put protein markers from the most likely strains of flu expected in to your body to trigger an immune response so that when your body DOES encounter the virus it can react to it and kill it before you get the flu. This triggered immune response makes you feel like you have the flu....but you don't. The feeling of being sick is normal, it's your body tuning up to fight an infection....one you don't have. But it only lasts a day or two. If you DID get 'the flu' from it you would feel like sh*t for a LOT LONGER than a couple days...more like a couple weeks. It's your body...play Russian roulette with the flu if you like. But NOBODY EVER got 'the flu' from the vaccine.

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  9. I have had a severe reaction to a flu shot before as well. It wasn't the flu, but it was like the shot didn't agree with my body and wanted me to remove the vaccine that had been placed in it, but I was fine for the rest of flu season.

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Keep it civil, please....

Gloomy, Gritty, Grey Day

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