Richard Nixon and Admiral Bill Halsey suffered from shingles. I believe Halsey was hospitalized, unable to sleep and lost twenty pounds in weight.
My update -
Got my second shot Thursday mid-morning, but the time I got back to the office (10 minute drive), my arm was hurting, not a sharp pain, but a deep one like a bruise, by the afternoon, I had to stretch my arm out painfully to keep it moving…by the time I got home, the tiredness was settling in, my arm was really sore, football helmet to the arm sore, my entire body was aching…
Went to bed around 10, by 1 am, I awoke with chills and shaking, I couldn’t move without pain throughout my body, exactly as one feels in the throes of a bad fever, the rest of the night was alternating between chills and wrapping myself in my blanket and throwing the covers off as I was covered in sweat…
Got to work Friday morning, it’s been really hot and humid here in the Cap District, I had to wear a flannel shirt to keep warm and keep from shaking, people were asking, “You alright??” And my arm was really, really hurting, baseball bat to the arm hurting…My whole body ached, just hard to walk around and I was exhausted, totally wiped…mid-morning, my boss stopped by my office, I told him I might be leaving at noon, I work for a great company, he said, “Totally understand”, noon rolled around, I buzzed him and said, “See you Monday…”
Got home, ran to the bathroom (um, not one mentioned here, but one I found later on the Shingrix website, um, think the aftermath of a really bad burrito…'nuf said), crawled into bed, tried to watch TV but must have fallen asleep at some point…
Eight o’clock pm, Mrs. BLTC creeps in and says she has some dinner ready, I got up, ate, still groggy, still in pain, the headaches had really kicked in, took some ibuprofen and was back in bed by 11 pm…another bad night of sleep, the chills, the sweats, the really creepy vivid dreams one associates with a fever, finally, around nine am, Mrs. BLTC comes up and asks how I feel…
I got up, I’m not sure I’ve slept that many hours in a day in a long time, I definitely felt better as the day went on, we spent the afternoon doing our weekly shopping, early dinner, yes, I’m still tired, yes, my arm hurts, my body aches a little, but just a dull pain now…
After reading this thread initially and doing some reading online, I said to the nurse, “I understand the side-effects are worse the second time around”, she said, “Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing, but it’s better than shingles.”
And having had shingles at age 27, if I feel even better tomorrow, I would have to agree wholeheartedly…
Despite the possible side effects, I wish I could get this vaccination. I’m still in my 40s, barely, so probably not in the “recommended” age for shingles vaccination (50 or 55 I think?), but I have already had shingles a couple of years ago and not interested in having it again. It was on the right side of my forehead and felt like what I imagine having a cluster of sticker burrs stuck to my head would feel like. The main concern was if it had spread to my eye, which it did not, and I’ve had no lasting effects but definitely not interested in a repeat.
Probably too late now, but if you think you have something infectious, like flu or shingles, you might want to call the clinic FIRST. They probably have a separate entrance or waiting room for you, because the last thing they want is for the people in the regular waiting room to be exposed.
I didn’t know that shingles was contagious.
I’m looking forward to getting the new shot. Even if the arm is painful for several days, that is NOTHING compared to the pain of shingles. I couldn’t function at all, could only lie in a dark room and endure, for two weeks, and functioned poorly for two more, as I started to get better. Grateful that it only lasted for a month. My SIL was in pain for 6 months from it. Someone else, who had in in the eye, was blinded by it for a whole year before her vision returned.
So yeah, side effects from the shot, as unpleasant as they are, seem pretty minor in comparison.
Someone with an active case of shingles can give chicken pox to someone who has never had it. Can’t give shingles to someone else, however.
If you’ve had shingles, or you have any kind of immunosuppressive condition, your doctor may request a prior authorization from the insurance company. Doesn’t hurt to ask.
I got the first Shingrix dose two or three months ago, and got a letter from the pharmacy last week reminding me it’s time for the second. With the first, I felt the next day like you feel when you’re starting to come down with a cold - kind of feverish and tired, not too awful, but it was just one day. My arm was slightly sore, no big deal at all.
I’m now planning the timing of the second shot so that it won’t matter if I need to lie around the next day.
ETA: My dad had shingles and I don’t want any part of that.
Update: That spot on my shoulder has been waxing and waning, and today I decided to see a doctor. I went to the walk-in clinic, because my regular doctor wasn’t in, and that doctor couldn’t see or feel a rash, and it didn’t show up with a black light either, so he told me to keep an eye on it and come back if it worsens and/or any blisters show up.
Not sure what to do. I was supposed to get my first shot about 6 weeks ago but they were dealing with a shortage and ran out of the vaccine. I can’t take painkillers of any kind. I have general anesthesia or locals but nothing else. So, if I get shingles (my mother had them) I might have to suffer. I guess it’s makes sense to get the shots.
I just got the first dose of Shingrix on Sunday and had some initial soreness in the injection site but later it turned into muscle and joint pain all over. Advil took care of that.
I am getting the second dose in a few months. A friend has shingles right now and is suffering horribly. Another friend’s brother had shingles and almost lost his eyesight. I figure some temporary muscle pain is worth it to avoid that living hell or at least reduce the risk of getting it.
I made the mistake of texting my SIL about the muscle pain. She replied, “Don’t get the vaccine!” She sounds just like her anti-vax daughter, who will be homeschooling all of her kids since she will not get them immunized.
Oh, and did I mention that my SIL is a registered nurse? :rolleyes:
The second was FAR worse for me, but you know what, as someone how has had shingles and lost three weeks and have permanent scars, the shots effect is over and done, get the freaking shot…that’s all I have to say about that…sorry…just feel strong on this issue…
I have to ask, why would the second shot be worse than the first? Shouldn’t the first one have stronger effects as the immune system ramps up?
I just got the first shot last week and had pain like a bruise around the injection site for 2-3 days.
My admittedly meager understanding is that the feverish feeling is due to the fact that the Shingrix vaccine includes an adjuvant, an extra ingredient that provokes your immune system, which has the effect of putting it into a higher gear in building the antibodies against the virus. Seems likely that your body’s response to the adjuvant woudn’t change from the first to the second.
Fever is an immune response. If the first injection works, you’ll get a strong immune response to the second injection. And hopefully a very strong immune response to any remnant virus that lingers in your system.
Adjuvants are not well understood (by me), and I don’t know what kind of adjuvant the vaccine has. In theory (I think) there is no reason why your reaction to an adjuvant should change (if it is the kind of adjuvant that provokes a reaction at all) In theory (I think) some adjuvants were just thought to stabilize or protect the virus fragments (or deactivated virus) so that your body had the chance to mount a greater immune response.
So (if I’ve got this), when you see something saying that this vaccine provokes a greater response ‘because of the adjuvant’, that doesn’t mean it’s the adjuvant provoking the greater response.
Well that is damned confusing.
I thought it was because G-d hates me, and you guys got in the way.
She thinks, “Oh, Plant is going to get a shingles vaccination? This is gonna hurt!”
Mea culpa.
I just had the first shingles vaccination, combined with a flu shot the same day, and it wiped me out for a full day. It’s now two days after and I feel back to normal except some slight pain at the injection site.
They used to say you only get Shingles once.
I had my Shingles attack in 2003. I was in my mid forties. It got in my left eye and damaged my cornea. I was on Prednisone drops for several years. The virus would return in my eye if I stopped the drops. I finally got weaned off Prednisone a few years ago.
Thought I never had to think about Shingles again.
Now, they say get the shots.
Damn. 
I want to talk to my Opthalmologist first. Confirm the shots won’t trigger this crap in my eye again.
I had my first shot 4 months ago, and they are still out of stock here for the second one. Advice from the pharmacist is that it doesn’t matter too much if the two shots are more than 6 months apart. Here’s the CDC advice: