I got the Tdap shot Wedsnesday, and was still fine when l I went to bed, no soreness, no side effects, all was well.
Thursday morning I woke up and started to stretched, and immediately jerked my arm down in pain, “What the hell is that?!” It felt like Ali got a clean shot on my arm, a powerful, screaming pain where I got the injection. I had forgotten the pain from ten years ago, and it all came rushing back hard.
As the day progressed, I began to feel achy, and felt a slight fever coming on. “Okay,” I told myself, “It’s just the shot, you’re not getting sick, grin and bear it.”
As I crawled into bed last night , I just knew it was the flu, I was really sore, achy everywhere, feverish, and my nose began to leak a bit. I fell asleep with that feeling of sickness, hot and achy.
I woke this morning with only a slight soreness in the arm, the aches and fever were gone. Thank goodness, it was just the shot - I can see my Angel tonight
I just got my shot a few weeks ago (my daughter is due any day now! Pretty much anyone expecting to hold the baby will get their shots) and now I feel like a jackass for complaining about my reaction. I just had a really sore arm for a couple of days, then it went away.
The Antrax vaccine, though, that one hurt like 8 bitches in a bitch boat.
I’ve gotten the Tdap 3 times in the past 2 years. Little bit of overkill if you ask me. None of these times did I have any sort of reaction beyond a bit of a sore spot on my arm for a day or so.
Why so often? From what the doctor told me, it’s only required every ten years, unless there is a serious chance of infection (stepping on a bunch of rusty nails, etc.)
First one was because I cut my finger and didn’t remember the last time I had gotten it. It’s interesting going to Urgent Care with e “knife wound.” They ask all sorts of sneaky questions to figure out if you’re a victim of domestic violence. In my case it was potato violence.
Second and third ones where because of immigration procedures, they require the tdap and a booster like two months later. I could have avoided one if I had kept a record of the shot I had gotten previisly, but I didn’t. And in theory it wasn’t supposed to be the tdap both times, one was supposed to be a simpler shot, but they were out of it that day.
I’ve found that if I don’t wait until the 10 years is up, my reaction to a new shot is much reduced, if it exists at all. I’ve assumed that means that the old one was still giving me at least some level of protection.
Well, I read about dying of tetanus in “All Creatures Great and Small” and it sounded pretty hideous. Seems axiomatic that “felt a bit ill” is less bad than “agonizing death” but I suppose I am taking it on faith.
ETA: at different times in my life I have had a bad reaction, and no reaction to a tetanus booster (BTW, I thought it was DPT, not T-dap? Is there a difference?)
Wow, mystery solved! the bad reaction I had in 1995 was before Tdap was available in the US. The last time I had a booster, no reaction at all, except mild soreness.
When I went in the tech said, right before he stabbed me, “This isn’t going to hurt.”
I looked at him and replied, “You’re a goddamn liar.”
“Yes, yes I am. This is going to suck.”
And you’re right, it takes a second for it to hurt. I kept moving my arm around once the pain hit and when I was talking I noticed my voice would shake.
And then a few weeks later you’d get the second in the series…
