Would like input from others about the Shingrix vaccine

[senseandsensibility]

I have had shingles more than once, am over 60, and should get the vaccine. But I am concerned about side effects. I don't know why, but this one scares me. I have all my Covid vaccines with no problem but I got a case of shingles right after my last booster a year ago. Even my doctor thinks there may have been a connection.

Anyway, my fear of the shringrix vaccine is not exactly logical, I admit that. But I am having trouble overcoming it.

[ampm]

1. Shingle shot

I had mine years ago with no side effects. So glad I got it. Since you have had shingles you should talk to your doctor to put your fears at ease

[senseandsensibility]

3. Good to hear that

From my research, a few years ago there was a "milder" version (name starts with a V I think) that was a single shot. That's not available now. Now it's Shingrix, which is two shots with much stronger side effects.

[TwilightZone]

21. Zostavax

It used a weakened version of the live virus and wasn't as effective. Health professionals recommend that anyone who received Zostavax get the Shingrix shots.

[Abnredleg]

15. The new version is two shots

I had the single shot version but my doc recommended I get the new Shingrix (two shots). Had sore arm and mild cold-like symptoms.

[Borchkins]

2. No side effects at all.

I recommend it.

[senseandsensibility]

6. Was it Shingrix or the other one

that was available until 2020?

[Walleye]

4. I'm in the same boat with you, and 75

My doctor looking at my back once told me I had shingles I never really felt it, I could see there was a streak of itchy spots. And I should get the Shingrix, so far I don’t think Medicare covers it, and that’s my excuse, and I’m afraid of It, like you. Would appreciate any input or experience with this

[senseandsensibility]

8. Yes, my shingles were relatively mild as well

but I did go on medication almost immediately.

[Walleye]

11. Well I've had all the Covid shots, no reaction, I'll get my flu shot next week

I’ll talk to the pharmacist about the shingles shot and I guess they’re giving a shot for RSV

[LastDemocratInSC]

57. Just a heads up on the RSV vaccination...

The pharmacist who administered mine yesterday said it's a bit thick and I would feel more than with any other vaccination. She was right, it stung a bit but only during the injection and for a few minutes after. A small price to pay for the protection it provides.

I had very mild soreness in the arm for the rest of the day and overnight. Today everything is back to normal.

[yellowdogintexas]

26. From the 2024 Medicare Handbook

Medicare drug coverage (Part D) generally covers all other recommended
adult immunizations (like shingles, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis
vaccines) to prevent illness. You can now get more vaccines under Part D
at no cost to you.

[vanlassie]

37. Medicare covers it.

[Walleye]

39. Thank you, I will ask about it and try and get it when I go to get my flu shot next week

[Ninga]

53. Medicare covers it.

[ratchiweenie]

61. Medicare covers it if you are over 60 now. Stings a little but no real

side affects other than a sore arm for a few days.

[Walleye]

62. Thank you I think I have definitely almost decided to get it

[Srkdqltr]

5. Husband had shingles then had both shots with no side effects.

I had one shot, I need the second, with no problems. Husband is 85.

[senseandsensibility]

10. Good to hear!

Glad you both did well.

[CTC]

19. Shingles vaccine hesitancy

I received a two dose Shingles regime a couple of years ago and other than a sore shoulder and mild fatigue for a day or two, no other issues. I saw what my father suffered with for decades as he battled shingles and had days were he couldn't wear pants as the skin irritation was too extreme. As an aside, pretty much all vaccines result in some sort of side effect(s), in the vast majority of cases these are limited to local muscle soreness around the injection site, occasionally general fatigue, etc. It's extremely rare that anything more severe occurs. Always a good idea to check-in with your healthcare provider if you have questions or concerns.

[Thunderbeast]

7. I was very tired the day after each Shingrix jab

I would not schedule anything strenuous for the following day. Plan for a long nap.

Having been around people who have had shingles, it seems to be worth the temporary discomfort.

[madaboutharry]

9. I got the vaccine.

I knew someone who got shingles and it went in her eye and she lost her sight in that eye. It really scared me. I did have a reaction for a couple of days after the 2nd shot. My arm really hurt and I had a fever. But it was so worth it.
I would talk to your doctor for advice.

[senseandsensibility]

12. Thanks for sharing your experience

My doctor has already told me to get it. I seem to have anxiety about it that doesn't really make sense.

[TwilightZone]

13. Severe side effects are extremely rare.

For the vast majority of people, side effects are relatively mild and can include issues like a sore arm, fatigue, headache and nausea. A lot of people don't have any side effects at all. Some just get the sore arm.

For me, I had a sore arm both times and was pretty tired the second time.

Shingrix uses a dead form of the virus, so there's no chance of getting shingles from the vaccine, if that's part of your concern.

Info on Shingrix from Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the US.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22996-shingles-vaccine

[senseandsensibility]

40. Thank you

for the link!

[claudette]

14. A neighbor

of mine in her 80’s had severe nerve damage as a side effect according to her doctor. I had chicken pox in my early 30’s and I personally want no part of the vaccine.

The TV ad for the vaccine sounds like a doomsday ad. Trying to scare people into getting it. If you’re worried, check with your doctor before deciding but allopathic medicine almost ALWAYS pushes drugs

[Progressive dog]

16. No worse side effects than flu vaccine

A little soreness on arm was all I had after either dose.

[claudette]

18. Glad for

you. She really still suffers from it.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. If you had chickenpox, you are at risk for shingles. I had a mild case but caught it early

and started meds right away. My sister was pretty much housebound for 6 weeks; all clothing irritated her skin so badly she pretty much hid in the back of the house the whole time.
Our grandmother had it in her esophagus and could not swallow.
I have known several people who were in constant pain for weeks, and just because you have shingles once does not mean you won't have a recurrence.

I'll be getting the vaccine before the end of the year

[vanlassie]

38. Your neighbor had severe nerve damage as a result of the vaccine? Or shingles?

The risk of severe damage is much, much higher with shingles than the vax.

[KPN]

52. GBS is a potential side effect of the shingrix vaccine in rare cases.

It’s syndrome that affects nerves by attacking the myelin (the sheathing — think of it as insulation - around nerve cells. So, yeah, if that’s the case, it can result in nerve damage. My son had GBS as a 10 year old. He has residual nerve damage to this day 30 years later.

[vanlassie]

59. Well I do understand your hesitation.

[pazzyanne]

17. I had my Shingrix in 2018.

Due to my autoimmune disease, I had two shots with no bad side effects. I knew a person who had shingles, and her experiences with shingles made me a believer in the shingles vaccine! She was in pain and extreme discomfort for almost 3 months.

[LittleGirl]

20. Got my shots this year

I had them give me the shots in my hip because I had tendon surgery in January in my arm and didn’t want the sore arm. I barely felt them. I’m over 60.

My spouse had his shots in his arm and he had some fever and chills for about 36 hours each time. Nothing serious mind you but for a healthy marathoner he was a little surprised at the fever part. His covid shots just left him with a sore arm.

He also got covid in late September and he had a positive test for 8 days and a fever for those days too. I don’t think they are related but wanted to share that with you.

The doctors here didn’t want to give me the shots until I was 65 but I insisted. I paid 350 for each of us.

My bff got shingles last year and she was a miserable wreck for weeks. She sent me an urgent reminder to get the shots because the pain was unbearable. She has a very demanding job and the shingles were horrible for her. My mother got addicted to pain killers after suffering from shingles. The pain never went away like it should have. I didn’t want that for me. I have enough health problems as it is.

Edit: Good luck in your decision.

[senseandsensibility]

41. Thanks for sharing your experience

Did your spouse get Covid immediately after his shingles vaccine or was it sometime after?

[LittleGirl]

60. We spaced the shots by 3 months

And his last shingles shot was in July, covid infection in late September so I don’t relate them. He probably got covid before he traveled to the states (masked) at the office. There was an outbreak right after the kids got back in school for the fall semester. The parents shared it.

[bamagal62]

22. Sore arm, rash at injection site,

And felt a bit sore and feverish for about
24 -48 hours. Same with both shots. I would do it again if I had to if it kept me from getting shingles. My mom has had it twice. Once was in and around her eye. Lasted for a long time and was very painful for her. The shot is worth it for sure.

[zeusdogmom]

23. I know it is easy for someone else to say you'll be fine

So I won’t say that.

75 years old, got both shots within the past 18 months because I got shingles late in October 4 years ago. In my eye. 🤬 Luckily I did not loose my vision but it was touch and go for a bit. I wasn’t released from the ophthalmologist’s care until this past spring. That’s how long it took to make sure everything was healed and good to go.

The first shot was fine. 2nd shot - glad I had cleared my calendar because I was very tired. So tired Zeus Dog didn’t get his walks. He survived 😄. 24 hours later I was 100% fine. FWIW - I live alone so I made sure I had some creature comforts in place and a couple of meals prepped if needed.

Go get the shot. Worst part is the anticipation (this from a person who has passed out after a TB test injection and does suffer from anxiety about shots) Give yourself permission to do nothing afterwards. This vaccine is part of what we seniors need to stay as healthy and active as possible. Think about what shingles side effect did to Diane Feinstein.

[senseandsensibility]

42. Thank you

for your helpful post. I think it helps to hear from someone who also has anxiety about the shot.

[Voltaire2]

24. I had mild side effects from the second shot, none from the first.

But seriously, even if it knocks you flat for a day or two, that is nothing compared to the hell of shingles. You've already had shingles, you should know. Get the shots.

[NoRethugFriends]

27. Correct. You are being illogical

Get the shot

[Siwsan]

28. I got it last year.

I had a very mild case of Shingles, a couple of years ago. A few big blisters - well, a little bigger than a pencil eraser - and a scattered rash across my rib cage. Uncomfortable but more annoying than painful. I do take Turmeric so maybe that helped mitigate the inflammation.

Last year I decided to get the Shingles vaccine and had zero issues.

[unweird]

29. Have had old and new vaccines

The Shingrix two dose resulted in heavy fatigue the next day after both doses. Had a shingles flareup after the earlier vaccine that tried to follow the nerve awfully close to my eye. After that episode I was primed for any advances and jumped on Shingrix when it came available.
Bottom line recommended but be prepared for heavy fatigue the day after.

[Native]

30. Husband and I both got our Shingrix vaccines.

I have reactions to freaking everything, and yes, I felt like I had a mild flu for a couple of days, but it was worth it for me. My next door neighbor went blind because of Shingles. I watched him deteriorate daily, and he was sick for what seemed like an eternity. A woman I worked with, she was in her 30's at the time, became seriously ill and was hospitalized. It took them a week to figure out what was wrong with her. It turned out she had internal Shingles, which is supposed to be rare, and it had infected almost every organ. She almost died before they caught it. No outward signs of the disease.

My husband felt more tired than usual for one day after the vaccines.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

31. I've never had shingles, but I knew I needed to get both doses of the Shingrix vaccine.

First shot, no problem. I was keeping a journal, and wrote nothing about having any sort of reaction.

Second shot: different story. I'm told that extreme reactions to the second dose are very rare. Nonetheless, I had a very bad reaction.

In fact, I noticed something right after getting the vaccine: my right leg seemed weaker than usual. This is not new for me, so I ignored it.

Later on I was taking a nap, and when I woke up, I felt weird and I could hardly move, esp. my right leg. I had to pee and it took all my energy to get into the bathroom. I called for my husband to help me. Got wiped, got my clothes back on, and then he helped me stand. But I couldn't weight-bear on my right leg. I was able to stand briefly while he went for my walker. But I couldn't hold on to the counter, and I fell onto my back. I told him to call the paramedics.

They thought I'd had a stroke. Off to the hospital! Got admitted. The doctors couldn't figure out what had happened. Was it an extreme reaction to the shingrix, or was it a stroke?

One thing that made it look like a reaction was the fact that my symptoms resolved on their own. They kept me overnight and the next day a bunch of doctors and technicians looked me over very carefully. PT got me out of bed and with a therapist holding a belt around my waist, had me walk some distance. No Problem at all.

When I asked my personal MD if he'd ever seen a reaction like mine, he said mine was off the charts. He also said I would NEVER catch shingles.

I recovered uneventfully and have been fine since.

I'm telling you this not to scare you but to let you know that it's rare. But it can happen.

[senseandsensibility]

43. I am so glad that you fully recovered!

That's the main thing, and you're protected from shingles!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

45. Thank you! It was pretty obvious that I was recovering well before I went home, 24 hrs later.

I hope I didn't scare you!

back atcha!

[Native]

44. Did your doctor tell you why he felt confident you would never get Shingles?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

46. No, he hadn't told me why. But I knew the stronger the reaction, the better the defense ...

the body puts up when exposed to the virus.

BTW, I'm a retired RN.

[Native]

47. Gotcha.

[Jilly_in_VA]

32. Husband had Shingrix last year

He usually reacts to everything, but he reported that all he got from that was a very sore arm. Twice.

[Scrivener7]

33. I can't imagine that a Covid vaccine gave you shingles. I've had both Shingrix shots.

Every Covid shot makes me sick for a few days, and I felt kind of miserable after both Shingrix for a couple of days. No big deal. Less of a reaction than I get to the Covid shots. And now I'll never get shingles. Yay!

(Correction: I have reacted to every Covid shot but the one that came out this September. That was a total breeze.)

[peachpit24]

34. Peachpit24

I have not had covid
Just careful and lucky. Last April and July I had the shingles vaccines. I had no after effects. Just a sore arm. Later in the year in October I got my last covid booster. It really hurt. The whole day and night I could hardly walk. My right leg was very sore. The next morning I woke up with shingles. I think there was a connection. I had the latest covid booster a month ago and no side effects.

[JenniferJuniper]

35. Had both shots with no cost and no reactions last year.

Seemed a no-brainer has my father and grandmother suffered pretty badly from shingles in their 70s.

[MLAA]

36. Had both shots in the last 5 years before insurances were covering it. I'd heard horror stories from

friends and acquaintances and didn’t want that experience 🙂. No side effects at all, I was in my late 50s at the time and I have an uncomfortable 36 hours after each and every Covid shot.

[wildflowergardener]

48. Shingles

My symptoms were similar as to after the covid vaccine. Mostly just had a fever felt a little out of it. I recommend you get it on a non work day. Got my second one a Friday night I think. i always seem to feel it the most about 24 hrs after.

[Wonder Why]

49. Get it. If you get shingles in the face, it can be a nightmare. You can lose your sight.

My wife got shingles in the face a few years ago. Went to eye doctor right away. Was really bad but no loss of sight. She had already lost partial sight in one eye due to a stroke of the eye (not the brain) so it would have devastated her. Luckily, she came out ok from the shingles.

[pansypoo53219]

50. the 2nd shot made me pooped the next say. that's all.

[Sky Jewels]

51. Got the two doses at age 56.

No problems—just a bit of low energy the day after, both times. Do it! It’s SO much better than Shingles. Did you know that sometimes Shingles can attack your eyes and consequently cause vision loss? That was the terror that spurred me to make an appointment.

[Laffy Kat]

54. I got quite sick but it only lasted about 48 hours.

I react strongly to every vaccine, always have. My doctor said the second shot is usually worse and I made the decision not to have it. If you do fine with vaccines, I would go ahead. Just give yourself a day or two to recover if needed.

[da svenster]

55. side effects

in my case, i did a twofer vaxx - HepC was done at the same time as shingrix for both doses.

first shot: other than sore arms, not much.

second shot: roughly 12 hours after getting it, i had a low grade fever and chills and felt kinda crappy for the next 12 hours or so. don't know if the symptoms were from the HepC or shingrix (or the double whammy of getting 'em both).

i took the 2nd shot as a good sign - it was eliciting a decent response after the first one.

with the mild side effects (and the duration of < 24 hours) i got some peace of mind and (hopefully) a lifetime immunity. i'd do it again in a heartbeat

[Rhiannon12866]

56. I got the vaccine after talking to a woman who had had it and it sounded very painful

She told me that she cut off her hair because it hurt so much when her hair touched her face. My only issue was that I was afraid I couldn't get the second shot in time. I got shot #1 at Walgreens and then the pandemic hit and the pharmacy stopped offering it, but I got shot #2 just in time. I recommend it highly since I'm no longer afraid of getting it.

[unc70]

58. Covid shots triggered shingles in me. Not unusual

The covid vaccines triggered shingles flareups for me. Relatively mild shingles rash, but substantial nerve pain on the same side with each flare up. I had received the older shingles vaccine and it probably helped moderate the symptoms.

I have now gotten my first Shingrix shot, felt like a mild case of shingles for 3-4 days. With my recent covid shot, I did not get the shingles flare up. Progress. I still did have a couple of days of typical flu-like symptoms from the covid shot. Arm still sore after 10 days, but getting better.

Get the shingles shots. You really don't want shingles. My sister had a bad case a few years back. Really unpleasant and dangerous.