Posted , 12 users are following.
I wonder if members are going to have the flu vaccine this year? I have had the jabs every year till now but recently read somewhere that for PMR this might not be advisable - and may even have been a factor in causing PMR! Any thoughts on this?
0 likes, 44 replies
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amkoffee ricky23486
Posted
My doctor wanted me to get the flu shot as well. And of course I did. I get it every year. My mom died of the flu just two Januarys ago and I'll be damned if I'll put my family through that. Especially if its something I can stop.
ricky23486 amkoffee
Posted
Oregonjohn-UK ricky23486
Posted
Very basically it's OK to have a non-live jab but not to have have a live vaccine.
ricky23486 Oregonjohn-UK
Posted
I didn't know that I could choose? I will ask the nurse about that - thanks
Nefret ricky23486
Posted
I had mine 3 weeks ago. I've been having the jab for longer than I have had PMR.
I have had flu - the real thing in the think-I-am-dying mode and I don'e ever want to have it again.
ricky23486 Nefret
Posted
EileenH ricky23486
Posted
There is no evidence at all that flu jabs cause PMR - certainly not on their own, although they may possibly have been the final straw for an already overloaded immune system that then flipped out causing PMR. However, I developed PMR long before I had my first flu jab. It wasn't a factor in my PMR.
You are on pred, an immunosuppressant. You have an awry immune system, it needs all the help it can get not to catch nasties. The flu jab may not be perfect, but if it reduces the likelihood of catching flu even by only half - get it.
It is recommended we get the flu jab - don't know where you read it isn't for PMR patients. What we may NOT have is live vaccines. That means the NASAL form of the vaccine used for children is not suitable for us but the flu shot is killed vaccine and OK.
Like nefret I've had real genuine "I can't even get out of bed to go to the toilet for a week" flu and I have no desire to go there again. A couple of years ago my husband didn't get his shot, he had bronchitis the day it was offered and he forgot to go back. He caught flu, spent nearly 2 weeks in bed and then developed pneumonia - which took 6 months to clear (he does have dodgy lungs) and meant he had 2 CT scans and a lot of worry. He won't be forgetting again!
ricky23486 EileenH
Posted
louisa85653 ricky23486
Posted
louisa85653 ricky23486
Posted
I have always been advised to have the flu jab since being diagnosed with PMR and being on prednisolone and was additionally advised to have it on top of innoculations when travelling to Vietnam a couple of years ago. I would be interested to hear any other comments though, as I am supposed to be having a flu jab this week.
Louisa
dee53012 ricky23486
Posted
I personally will never get the flu jab. They are only 70% effective and they put all kinds of stuff in them that have terrible side effects for many with autoimmune issues. I know some swear by them. My sisters all get them and they are fine. My dad got it years ago and he's never felt well since. I am not willing to risk taking them.
diana21296 dee53012
Posted
ricky23486 dee53012
Posted
EileenH ricky23486
Posted
Well, it depends on how you look at it doesn't it? Flu can kill - and is more likely to be severe for us being on pred or any other immunosuppresant. Being 70% effective removes a fair bit of the risk of catching what's going round this season - reduces it by 70%. No flu jab leaves the risk at 100%.
I'd rather let my body get a glimpse of what it might meet this winter in the form of killed vaccine which DEFINITELY can't cause the flu - if its first exposure to flu is live viruses it has to get going rather faster from scratch.
ricky23486 EileenH
Posted
I just had my flu shot - questioned the nurse carefully and was told that the live form is not being used this year. so. that's done. Thanks.
djwillms EileenH
Posted
Anhaga dee53012
Posted
Last year I think our flu shot was something as miserable as 20% effective. It was certainly much worse than usual and it's because every year they have to calculate what are the likely strains which will hit the population and last year they missed. I understand there is a new type of vaccine in the works which will target all the strains and then we won't have to be vaccinated every year. I, too, am more concerned about the additives in the shot, especially exposure to aluminum for old people whe are already at risk for dementia. I know nothing is proven, and the links betwen alzheimers and aluminum are only speculative, but as up to now I'd always been low risk I preferred to avoid the exposure to aluminum, waiting until it was really necessary. Basically I am very much in favour of vaccination. Vaccination, clean water, and antibiotics are major developments of the 20th century which have contributed most to improved health and longevity.