LF, my high school had over 6,200 students. I know I wasn’t the only infectious body there. I was just the first confirmed case- after having been exposed by a friend who had been vacationing in Mexico.
Luckily, everyone made it through the illness without dying or (as far as I know) serious long-term effects. So being Swine Flu Romani is just an “interesting” story from my past. 
(And a reminder that the flu can even strike the young and healthy!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_annual_reformulations_of_the_influenza_vaccine
I’m traveling this week so I think when I get back I’ll go in.
Just got the email that my vol group has shot days in early November. I may ask if there’s any reason it’s then or just about scheduling.
@techmom99 Huge love for your son if he gets to be a bone marrow donor! My niece was saved by a donor and I’ve been on the registry for years hoping to pay it forward.
^ There was a thread about marrow donors and it was a surprise how many here are registered. Great idea, especially if you’re part of some less common gene pool.
Just got my shot today at work and yes my arm is sore. I don’t blame it on the nurse, she was fine, the shot was over and done before I even felt it. But definitely sore now and I don’t remember experiencing that with past years shots.
Perhaps many people disregard the seriousness of the flu because so many people refer to any feverish sickness as the “flu”, even if it is something that is much less severe than the real flu. Or they think that the vaccine is ineffective because they got a “flu” that was not the real flu afterward.
^^^^Yep.
People even get a stomach virus and insist they had the flu, when the flu is a respiratory illness.
@threebeans - He is waiting for the patient’s doctors to decide if he is a suitable candidate. We are all so proud of him. Second son, the Eagle Scout, was overheard wondering about what could possibly make S17’s bone marrow better than his and when will he get to donate! The ironic thing is that H and I joined the registry many years before S17 was born to support a friend, whose birthday was the same day as S17’s. Our friend received a donation, but died of an opportunistic infection. I am so glad that your niece is doing well. There have been so many advances in the past few years.
I just got mine last week. Like @surfcity , I never got the vaccine until my husband and I got the flu one year and were in bed for a week. The kids had had the shot, so they were fine. I’ve been getting it faithfully since then.
The vaccine isn’t always effective, but it does lessen the symptoms and shortens the duration of illness if you do get sick.
Pro tip: get the shot in your dominant arm. Bcos its your dominant arm, you will move it more and thus, the vaccine will be absorbed/dissipate faster, and reduce the soreness of the injection spot.
Got mine last week in nondominant arm. No pain and no stiffness after. I haven’t been sick for years BUT…the next day I had a raging headache and extreme dizziness that led to vomiting. I was a mess for 24 hours and then much better. Not sure if I picked up something at Dr’s office or reacted to something in vaccine.
I had a terrible experience with last year’s flu shot. I usually get a sore arm, but this time it was very sore afterwards. And it got worse every day. After a couple weeks of it being very sore and having it hurt to raise my arm, I went back to the pharmacy where I got the shot and talked to the pharmacist. She was at a loss to explain what had happened, but filed some Adverse Reaction paperwork on the issue. She also gave me an 800 number to call - I called hoping to talk to someone who could tell me what I should be doing. Wasn’t sure if I should try to exercise it to keep it from getting stiff or if I should restrict motion to let it rest and heal. At this point, I couldn’t lift anything with that arm and it was really painful to raise it above shoulder height.
The 800 number turned out to be an agency that basically could provide me with a list of attorneys in my area who would be available to litigate a claim on my behalf. Geez, all I wanted was advice on how to make my arm stop hurting , not try to sue anybody! Anyway, it was a long saga and I never did get any real advice but after a few months it became somewhat less painful. I still don’t have complete range of motion without some pain, but I can at least lift my suitcase into an overhead compartment on an airplane without agonizing pain again.
In the meantime, I’ve done more research on SIRVA (shoulder injury related to vaccine administration) and it seems that this happens occasionally and is related more to the administration of the shot itself than to a reaction to the vaccine. It happens more often if the shot goes in too high on your arm and it is also more common with smaller people. They use the same size needle on me at 110 lb as they do with the 250 lb guy, and there seems to be some evidence that the depth of penetration of the shot makes a difference - it is probably penetrating too deeply on me.
So I was pretty worried about getting a flu shot this year, especially with reading of so many people saying that this year’s shot gave them a more sore arm than usual. I wanted to do it in the same (dominant) arm again, because if I have another problem I don’t want to end up with limited range of motion in both arms. But I went ahead and got one this morning and so far it doesn’t seem too bad. It’s a little sore but not too bad. Crossing my fingers that it is no big deal this year and that last year was just really bad luck. I had never had a problem with flu shots in the past and I sure hope I never do again!
My arm always aches for several days after getting flu shot. I’m also small and thin.
Finally got my first flu shot today! So far so good
My son who is waiting on possibly being a bone marrow donor was able to get a flu shot. I told him to take Ibuprofen right after and ice his arm and he was fine. He got it in his right, non-dominant arm, though I like the idea upthread of using your dominant arm because you move it more and will work it out. I might try that next year.
I am annoyed at my H, who refuses to get a shot. I told him that if he gets sick, I am NOT using my vacation days to take care of him.
Huh, I just got mine this week and that is what the doc gave me (quadrivalent). I have a Blues plan (but I know coverage varies by state). I guess we will see what happens when the bill comes! I’m stunned that there are docs that don’t keep this vaccine on hand and offer it to all patients in season. Mine didn’t hurt at all going in this year, and only the tiniest amount overnight afterwards. But I am a master at the “limp noodle arm” when I am getting it – I figured out some years ago that shots hurt a LOT more if you tense your muscles. I always get it in the left arm. I’ve had frozen shoulder TWICE in my right arm, and the first time started about a week after my flu shot. Probably no relationship, but just call me superstitious.
I generally get my flu shot in the non dominant arm and generally have done fine with it. The pharmacist at the nearby CVS seems to be quite skilled at administering it with minimal discomfort and I’ve never had frozen shoulder, knock wood. I have had the flu shot regularly since being diagnosed with serious, progressive lung disease 17 years ago. H has gotten the flu shot every year with me. When he doesn’t get the shot with me, sometimes he has been known to get it twice if he forgot he already got it (e.g. when he got it at work and again at his MD’s office).
My folks got the flu shot with me and no one complained of any pain. My kids can’t get the flu shot and their MDs have advised against it because it would guarantee that they’d get very sick. Even when the MD tried to split the dose, then they’d get very sick twice–once with each smaller dose!
When they get sick, they’re generally very ill for about a month!
The pharmacist used my non dominant arm and kept reminding me to relax it. He said to relax that arm for the rest of the day. I feel a tiny ache if I think about it but nothing like a tetanus shot. And I would even care if my arm hurt for a couple of days - that’s much better than the flu!