I've never had a flu jab.
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi Everyone,
At the age of 73 I've never had the flu or a flu jab. My "inner voice" which has always been correct, tells me not to. I have heard that some people have been poorly after their jab. My husband has the jab and we are careful about hygiene, we even wash our hands after handling objects from the outside world! I am reclusive so the risk is lessened. Has anyone ever had side effects?
Also I would be interested in your thoughts on the pneumonia jab which I am tempted to have. As I have been stable with COPD for the last nine months, I am scared of rocking the boat.
I would love to hear from you and thanks.
Blessings xxxxx
0 likes, 18 replies
Nanny10 deanne77778
Posted
hi my husband has chronic copd and had the pneumonia jab 2 years ago and has a flu jab every year with no effects.
Reglois deanne77778
Posted
Hi
I didn't have any adverse effects from either,am about to get , the shingles jab as I have had
shingles twice in the last 5 years. Hope I get through that with no side effects as well. I am very unstable so daren't risk catching nasties, I also disinfect oten and live in a remote area with nice clean air, the down side of this is the fact that when I do come into contact with people I have very little immunity
Listen to your gut, if it says don't do it then don't, I am a great believer in gut reactions
regards Sue
deanne77778 Reglois
Posted
Thank you so much Sue. I am so glad I have a fellow believer in gut reactions. I'm so sorry your condition is unstable, like you I am scared of catching nasties. I am on steroids so I get even more scared! You have made me feel better so THANK YOU and I wish you well.
Deanne
Reglois deanne77778
Posted
Hi Deanne Thank you for your good wishes
Me too, on steroids, was taking the smallest dose I could get away with
until an exacerbation last week now up to 10mgs daily. I have 4 lung diseases so have to be extra careful, only go shopping in the lunch hour when all good French housewives are at home cooking for the family, especially Mondays, hardly any one around Carry sanitizer with me every where. My Bronchectasis is the least dangerous of the 4.
By the by we are the same age.
aitarg35939 deanne77778
Posted
I've had the flu twice in my life, am 65, have bronchiectasis & COPD, & haven't had a flu shot in 10-11 yrs. Before that i had them annually for about 12 yrs. Always had a slightly sore arm & 1-2 days of feeling a little sub-par, but i am known to be extra sensitive to a lot of manufactured chemicals and to eggs when they're even 5 seconds past done. US flu shots are egg-based.
The last time i got one, i had an allergic reaction, losing everything in my system from mouth or bottom w/in 15-20 mins. The CDC doesn't class that as an allergic reaction -- allergists do. Tho i carry an epi pen always, i am not willing to risk a worse reaction. They make an alternate flu shot now; too scared to use it. Never a problem w/pneumonia vaccine.
A year or so before my allergic reaction, we had had a big flu scare here. A friend noted that the only person in the family who even got a cold that year was the 9 y.o. girl, the only one who got a flu shot.
Since i had to quit flu shots, I've gotten fewer colds. I've always been quite good about washing my hands. Nowadays, beginning when (if???) the weather gets well below the 100s, i'll wear an N-95 mask when in public.
sunflowerseed deanne77778
Posted
i had the honest to goodness full fledged flu, where my temperature soared and i was begging for death 30 years ago, it was so bad i still remember it today. i get the flu shot every year and the pneumonia shot when my doc tells me (im thinking it lasts 10 years, i only remember receiving one). my family & friends forewarn me if anyone has so much as sneezed before a visit and i disinfect shopping carts before touching & i intermingle as little as possible with strangers. i've never had a flare up of my copd and havent had so much as a mild cold in 15 years. i may be overly cautious, but i have a FV1 of 42 and i feel great.
Ironbutterfly deanne77778
Posted
Agree, your inner voice is never wrong....never had a jab....touch wood....but i am open to this....I sort of leave it to the body....irresponsible ?????
Reglois Ironbutterfly
Posted
Ironbutterfly
Don't think you are wrong, you know your body better than any one else. Instincts are there for a reason
larry49033 deanne77778
Posted
Deanne,
Have you ever had the full blown Flu or experienced Pneumonia? If you ever have, then you can imagine what contracting either with COPD would be like. I've had Pneumonia/COPD at the same time and it was memorable. I was X-Rayed and my Dr. immediately put me on some "Super Antibiotics" that would make Penicillin look tame. Following that experience, I've not failed to get an annual Flu shot and my Dr. lets me know when the records indicate that a Pneumonia shot is called for.
They are the foundation of my common sense health maintenance. Today if I were to either get the Flu or contract Pneumonia it could KILL ME. Please use good common sense, go see your Dr. , and protect yourself with a Pneumonia and an annual Flu shot.
Reglois larry49033
Posted
Same with me Larry either would kill me, I know I have to take care BUT I also listen to my gut which is saying no to certain things like to pulmonary rehab in the city 1 1/2h away three times a week, for several reasons, one) city makes me ill, two) with my conditions PR will not do any good at all according to all the clinical trial results does no good for CPFE but good for most other lung conditions, and three ) the cost is prohibitive, diesel wise, plus all the wear and tear on the car and waste of time in three hour round journey and not to mention the fatigue most of us suffer from, no my gut said no even before I researched. I know that my decision will have repercussions here, French doctors do not like to be disagreed with, when I asked the rehab specialist if he knew of my condition he said no but all lung conditions are the same NOT. Listen to your gut instincts as well as researching and the docs that's what I do.
larry49033 Reglois
Posted
Regolis,
Getting Pneumonia and Flu Shots are once every 5 years (I think) and annually for a Flu shot. Here in Virginia (USA) most Pharmacies/Drug Stores can/do offer the Flu shot with Insurance Coverage prices (free for me).
Three 3 hour round trips per week for pulmonary rehabilitation sounds worse than the cure. Instead can you perhaps learn some of the pulmonary exercises that can be done in your home.
Yes, the severity of COPD, is patient dependent. The challenge is to not get worse. In my opinion, getting the shots is just good health maintenance and common sense.
Reglois larry49033
Posted
Hi Larry
Yes pneumonia jabs are every 5 years and for me everything is 100% free, no insurance needed but if my gut said don't get them I wouldn't, I am a great believer in your body telling. Got a very good sixth sense to being a Cancerian zodiac sign !!!
So happy you agree with me re the rehab, takes some one with severe lung problems to really understand I am not just being lazy which is what the pulmonologist seems to think. I do all the pulmonary exercises that I have learnt off the net. Walk the dogs every day for at least 2kms and never seem to have time in the day to just sit down as I live on my own. The trouble is that my spirometer tests are excellent when it comes the pulmonary volumes (wont put in the French initials as they are different from every where else) looking at those you wouldn't think I have severe lung diseases but my blood oxygen levels plummet, usually to very low 80s, depends if I am on a gradient or not, on the slightest amount of exercise even on 5 lts of oxygen and I have to stop for a minute for the levels to go back up which they do quickly, then I get going again. Sitting I don't need O2 at all and my sats are 97 like a normal person. I also have an exercise machine at home, not scared of exercise but need to be able to be in control because of the pain and dizziness the lack of blood oxygen causes. I just know refusing thes pul rehab is going to have repercussions, Esbriet refusal already has seen my appointments drop from every three months with CT scans to six monthly and only X rays !!! Here they really don't seem to understand CPFE +SS+BX, sigh.
A bientôtSue
aitarg35939 Reglois
Posted
Reglois& Larry, I also listen to my gut. Have done so all my life and it has kept me sane & alive against things like doctors ("It's all in your head, honey ") and people in whom i sense evil or malice. My allergic reaction to that last flu shot is a case in point: I knew that that's what it was despite the ignorance of the CDC. Research with allergists proved me right. My gut tells me it's better to risk the flu, something which i'm blessed not to be prone to, against possible instant death via anaphylaxis from a flu shot.
Gotta go with my gut on this. And Reglois, your decision about PR seems very wise to me. Cancerian here, too.
Reglois aitarg35939
Posted
Thanks aitarg
Cancerians seem to be very intuitive, I sometimes do things without knowing the reasons why but just know I am right and have to do them.
Saved the life of my husband once when all the doctors said it was some thing else, three months later, husband fully paralysed, one dear doctor actually carefully listened to me and what I had been saying ALL along, result, lumbar puncture and H life flighted to big hospital, put on intravenous antibiotics and he was on his feet in two days, rare form of Lymes disease in his spinal fluid. Yep gut instincts are good if you are lucky enough to have them.
aitarg35939 Reglois
Posted
Same here. As the Cuban half of my family says, "Why is it that Aitarg always knows 6 mos -2 yrs ahead of doctors that someone is desperately ill inside?"
All intuitive. People like us are blessed, IMHO.