by compound complex 72 Replies latest jw friends
Do tell, Baroid Bonds, which information is bad. Most of it is peoples' personal experience with the flu shot. It seems that their experiences are worth weighing in.
I have had 2 flu shots in my entire life. I got the flu this year but I've been a lot sicker than that other years. Sure, nobody wants to get the flu, but maybe that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
Have taken the flu shot the past 4 or 5 years.
Elderly are supposed to do that.
(Another wake up call regarding "you will never get old in this system"!)
Never an adverse reaction.
Never the flu.
Hey, it's free. Why not?
Doc
Did not get the flu shot and i did get sick with the flu this year, had bronchitis and was in bad shape for a week and very weak for another two weeks.
After feeling better went to the doctor and got a Tetanus shot and that made me sick for the next 3 days, could not lift my left arm due to pain where i got the shot.
Bad January.....just don't know whether i should get the flu shot at the end of the year as they recommend.
I've had them pretty much annually the past 10-15 years, but this year did not....worst reaction I ever had to one was feeling a little sickie for a day or so, but nothing really bad. This year I did not get one - and the past week I have been down quite sick with a bronchial thing. Who knows if a flu shot would have made a difference or not....the type of strain the vaccine is geared for vs. the actual germ that gets around can be two very dissimilar things.
All said, I think the flu shot is a good idea - it can't harm you, and it can protect you from some very serious complications.
And, aside ..... I remember the polio epidemic in the 50's and I know first-hand what that did to its victims. Some of the best things for humankind have been the eradication of smallpox, polio, and other formerly deadly and/or disfiguring diseases due to the development of appropriate vaccines. How many of us who were ravaged by childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, pertussis would not have preferred a mini-sting of a shot compared to the sicknesses we bore.
BOTR, my reactions and experience is the same. I even had my first pneumonia shot this year, good for five years. BTW, the flu vaccine contains a dead virus. Antibodies react predictably to the invader, which explains the mild fever.
I am religious about the flu shot because I had a very, very bad flu twelve years ago. It destroyed a muscle in my shoulder and it took forever to build back. So it's been flu shot ever since.
Coming soon:
I just started getting the shot a few years ago, and have never had a reaction to it. I can't speak to how effective it is, because I've only had the flu once in my life, as a kid. I get the shot mainly because it's offered for free at work.
Good morning!
It's certainly been only one of two things for any of us.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. No one's intent is to recommend or not recommend any form of treatment.
Good health and prosper!
CC
I have gotten the shot the last few years, so far no reaction. Some people get a reaction, but I have seen no evidence that the vaccine can actually cause the flu. It takes a few weeks for the vaccine to become effective, so it's possible you just happened to get the flu about that time. It could also be that you just got a different strain than was in the vaccine. They have to guess months in advance which strains will be most prevalent, but flu virus constantly mutates and the shots are not 100% effective.
Good article about it in The Slate
Qualification; the flu shot is not 100% effective against all strains of the flu. It is effective against the strains of flu that are predicted that season. As the virus mutates, yearly shots are required to get protection against the new expected varieties.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2013-2014.htm
I don't know if I already had the H1N1 when I got the flu shot last (2009), but three days later I had horrible physical reactions to it. I have never felt so bad in my life... Was it a reaction? Did I have the H1N1 already? I don't know...
Will I continue taking vaccines? Yep... Although I would advise a doctor of previous reactions. They would probably make me wait for an hour to monitor me for reactions, and if I had any, I would go back to the doctors.
