I just received the second dose of the Shingrix vaccine. The first one knocked me on my keister for a week. For three days after the first dose I could barely tolerate a loose sleeve over the injection spot. I felt like I was getting the flu - again!
So, following the recommendations of others who’ve taken the Shingrix shots, I loaded up on Ibuprofen the day before the second round. I also continued taking Ibuprofen for 12 hours afterwards. And I felt really good. Just a bit of pain in the arm. And then I got to thinking…
I broke a toe several months ago. Both the Ortho and my PCP recommended NOT taking any NSAIDs if at all possible. Recent info indicates they ■■■■■■ the healing process. And I got to thinking…am I suppressing part of the Shingrix effectiveness by taking the Ibuprofen??
So, it appears there is reason to stay away from the pain meds. We could be reducing the efficacy of the annual flu shots. Many elderly folks are on daily NSAIDs. Are they, as a group, not benefitting from the full effects of vaccinations?
Interesting article, but acetaminophen is not an NSAID like ibuprofen, it’s an analgesic for pain and fever relief. Open label studies aren’t generally seen as producing data of high veracity, but could be enough info for someone to undertake a double blind, placebo controlled, randomized study. So, Barring other data, it doesn’t seem like ibuprofen should impact shingrix’ efficacy/response. Getting Shingrix is on my to do list.
I think the over riding question is - does suppressing the symptoms and side effects of a vaccine by taking ‘pain meds’ result in decreased efficacy.
If our bodies respond to a vaccine by raising internal temperature, inflammatory joint pain, headaches etc. should we let those processes take their natural path? Those physiological responses are in line with our bodies fighting an invader - which is the definition of a vaccine. If our bodies are supposed to ‘fight’ whatever a vaccine introduces in the hopes of creating antibodies, then taking away the ‘fight’ ability seems counter productive.
“Additionally, all reported decreases in antibody response occurred only with novel antigen vaccination, with little to no impact observed following booster immunizations.”
^^This observation from the study might give you some comfort. The immune response was impeded only in the case where the acetaminophen was given prior to the first dose of a vaccine. You took the ibuprofen only prior to the second dose of the vaccine.
Exactly - two very different classes of medications Tylenol is primarily an antipyretic, with weak anti-inflammatory qualities, while NSAIDs are weak antipyretics. Many elderly are on daily low-dose aspirins, which are yet another class of drugs that can reduce fevers too. The benefit of that daily aspirin likely outweighs any risk associated with vaccinations.
Funny, the first shot and second made me miserable. After waiting as long as I could the day of the shot, I consulted a Doc who said, “don’t suffer, take the Ibuprofen” I had not been taking it as I was correlating it to not taking fever reducers so that the fever will make my body unattractive to the germs. I guess I am not the only one who thinks that way.
Found an article which reviewed the literature and these were the conclusions in a nut shell…
Both NSAIDs and acetaminophen can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines because they lower fever which seems to boost the immune effect. (but depends on the vaccine and age of person).
The blunting in vaccine effectiveness seems to be greater if the antipyretic is given beforehand rather than waiting as long as possible after the injection.
NSAIDs may also blunt effectiveness by another mechanism other than fever reduction (varied theories).
HOWEVER, just because the immune response is blunted does NOT mean you didn’t get enough response to be satisfactorily immunized. And the initial decreased response seems to be negligible after a booster shot (so you "catch up"so to speak)
As to Shingrix specifically–there aren’t any studies about whether taking pain meds or antipyretics cause any decreased effect.
Current recommendation is to apply cold compress for local pain at injection site and take acetominophen if necessary to manage other symptoms. (My recommendation would be to wait until AFTER getting the shot to see how it goes rather than taking meds before getting the shot).