The Shingrix Side Effects are Terrible. And 100% Worth It.
In April, I got shingles. I wrote about already, in the context of praising Aquaphor Hydrocortisone Ointment, but now I have had my first shingles vaccine, and BOY was it an experience. I did not do a single Google about Shingrix before I got my first shot (of two) and I’m both glad and mad that I didn’t.
I’m in my mid-30s, and generally speaking not at all eligible for the shingles vaccine, which is for folks 50 and older. I only found out I could potentially get a shingles vaccine because an angel on Chronic Illness Twitter told me!
Sidenote: The NEISVoid Twitter community is an absolute treasure. An indispensable resource for anyone with chronic health issues!
So now I was armed with info, and I sent an ecare message to my rheumatologist (I went to urgent care in the same medical system as my rheum, so she could see all the info about my shingles dx). I did not mention that the urgent care doctor was weirdly kinda anti-vax, but I did mention the CDC recommendation and asked if my particular brand of immunosuppression made me eligible, and she said yes and wrote me a prescription for a vaccine right away. You have to wait a little bit after your shingles clears up to get the vaccine, so I just let that prescription marinate for awhile. In the meantime, I had an appointment for a mole check with my derm, and becasue she was going to be checking every inch of my bod, I warned her about my shingles rash hyperpigmentation that still hadn’t disappeared (it’s three month later and it’s still there, btw). Then she told me if for whatever reason the rheum prescription didn’t work, SHE would write me one. So now I had the CDC, my rheumatologist, and my dermatologist on my side. I was no longer worried about getting the vaccine that was “only” for people over 50.
Then I tried to make an appointment at the drugstore to GET the shot.
The pharmacy was super helpful and everyone was very nice, so don’t worry about that. But the system for getting an appointment is NOT set up for those of us who have special circumstances. The appointment system at this particular pharmacy is entirely online, and because I’m under 50, the computer said, “NUH UH.” So I called, and the lovely person I talked to ALSO couldn’t get me an appointment. There was no overriding the HAL 9000 they have managing their system. The told me to just come in, and they’d give me the shot. So I did! I was told that my arm would be a little sore, and sent on my way. Everything was going well… until the next day.
I was totally wrecked the day after my shot. Every muscle hurt, I got winded carrying Ruby outside to pee, and I was exhausted. I took a covid test, becasue I thought this couldn’t possibly just be from a vaccine. Covid was negative, but it was only THEN that I Googled “Shingrix side effects.” Turns out, there was a pretty good chance I was going to feel terrible for 2-3 days after my shot! Might have been nice to know!
Please know, I felt absolutely terrible, but a few days of feeling crappy becasue of Shingrix is infinitely preferable to shingles. I was knocked flat for ALL of April, and compared to the first time I had shingles, this was a breeze! Plus, with shingles there is a risk of developing chronic nerve pain, which would mean that you never really recover. There is no scenario where I would not want to get Shingrix. There IS a scenario where I wish I had done even ONE Google search about side effects, but only so I could have prepared for a weekend on the couch beforehand.
Me IRL after Shingrix dose 1
Younger people are more likely to have adverse reactions to Shingrix, and I think having a chronic illness that causes joint and muscle pain doesn’t help. I felt absolutely awful one day after my shot, on day two I felt significantly better but still a bit crappy, and on day three I felt even better than day two, but wanted to take it easy just to be sure. It’s actually pretty remarkable how different day 3 was to day 1, and it helped reassure me that I didn’t have a false negative on my covid test.
The second Shingrix shot is in two to six months, and from what I’ve read, it’s better for immunocompromised people to get it closer to two months than six. The pharmacist suggested I get an other prescription for my second dose, just to be sure I don’t get any pushback as a young person trying to get an old person vaccine. There’s no telling if I will have the same reaction after the second dose, or a worse one, or nothing at all. But now that I know, I’m going to prepare! And again, it’s all worth it to be protected from getting shingles again!
Sources!
“Doctors worry Shingrix side effects will put patients off their second dose”
