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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Right as Rain

Right as Rain

by | 85 Comments

This post is in: 

Not to stomp Anne Laurie, but I want to report that 40 hours post shot and I am back to normal and feel right as rain.

So for those of you who may have been intimidated to get the shingles vaccine, don’t be an idiot. Go get the shot, take the 24 hours or so of suck, and spare yourself from potentially months of misery because shingles ain’t no joke.

Reader Interactions

85Comments

  3. 3.

    Tony Gerace

    “Don’t be an idiot” is sound advice. I wish that more people would follow that advice.

  4. 4.

    RepubAnon

    A friend of mine got shingles, and suffered terrible debilitating pain for many years – so I decided to stop procrastinating and get vaccinated. I got the two shingles shots a while back – no significant side effects.

  5. 5.

    Mousebumples

    Find a covid vaccine appointment here, if you have trouble finding a nearby spot to get one – https://www.vaccines.gov/

    I’m boosted, my husband is scheduled for his booster next weekend, and we’re waiting for news on the <5 shots for my kiddo, probably next year sometime. Hopefully early 2022.

  6. 6.

    SW

    Caring for my 87 year old Mom when she had shingles on what is left of her leg (she is a lower limb amputee) was the worst experience of my life.  I got the shot.  Felt lousy for a day.  Big fucking deal.

  8. 8.

    Mathieu

    I have a family member that lived the last 30 years of her life with chronic pain due to nerve damage from Shingles. Get the shot.

  9. 9.

    libarbarian

    We had one room covered in wooden shingles and it was such a pain to tear them off so we could repaint.

  10. 10.

    Antonius

    I got my first shot 4 weeks ago after watching a friend of mine become barely able to function for 9 weeks. No joke is right. vax up.

  11. 11.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Tony Gerace: ​Some of us are genetically predetermined to be so. Not speaking for myself, no. Just that I have met a few here and there. A few.

  12. 12.

    p.a.

    I got the older shot after my bout in 2012: on my face, no pain! during the outbreak but post, bad headaches.  A low-dose antidepressant (generic elavil IIRC) worked A+.  Is the newer 2-dose something I should look into?  I’ll call my pcp.

  13. 13.

    Scout211

    @p.a.:

    Is the newer 2-dose something I should look into?

    Yes, if you are 50 or older.  It is recommended for that age group right now.

    We both had the original shot and my husband still got a (mild) case on his stomach area. The new shot is very effective, but AFAIK, is still only recommended for 50+.

  15. 15.

    Jaysails

    Shingles is NO joke! Single most painful experience I’ve ever had. Pain that had me sobbing in the doctor’s office, and I’m not much of a cryer. Do not f*ck around with this. It sucks. The shot sucks so much less.

  16. 16.

    Eunicecycle

    @p.a.: my pcp recommended that I get the Shingrex although I had the old one. I guess the old one is only 40% effective and the new one is around 70%. I haven’t gotten it yet but plan to, soon. Of course you should follow your own doc’s recommendation but just thought I’d chime in.

  17. 17.

    ixnay

    The headmistress at my school (pre-K through senior, mind you) was a polio survivor. We all got our sugar cubes with the drop of vax as early as possible. Get every vax you can. None of the illnesses to be vaxxed against are lightweight. BTW, I am just shy of 70, have a medical degree, and an interest in epidemiology.

  18. 18.

    OldDave

    I had a torso area shingles breakout over twenty years ago.  Still remember the pain.  Not recommended.

  20. 20.

    2liberal

    my dad had so much pain and he couldn’t keep food down due to the meds until they found a better script.  he lost an eye and almost died.

  22. 22.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jaysails:

    Shingles is NO joke! Single most painful experience I’ve ever had. Pain that had me sobbing in the doctor’s office, and I’m not much of a cryer. Do not f*ck around with this. It sucks. The shot sucks so much less.

    This, a thousand times over.

    Sure, both Shingrix shots basically made me feel shitty for a day, but I said in the other thread that I’d rather take fifty Shingrix shots than have shingles again.  And I meant it.

    ETA: And I should add that my case was brief, the worst was over in a day or two.  But even still, it was the most painful thing that I’ve ever experienced.

  24. 24.

    Dave P

    I got my Covid booster and a flu shot at the same time last weekend.  It wasn’t nearly as painful as watching the Bengals’ beat-down of the Steelers.

  26. 26.

    HeleninEire

    I got the first shot a month ago. The only reaction was it made me tired. I took three 2 hour naps in one day. I’ve already got the second dose in my calendar for January.

  27. 27.

    zhena gogolia

    OT, I’m giving up on Stephen Colbert. He was making fun of Biden’s stutter the other night. Such a cheap shot.

  29. 29.

    Barbara

    @raven: My hubby had it in his eye. Very, very scary and significant enduring pain. I had a mild case on my right torso and arms but I still have tingling and pain many years later. I do plan to get the vaccine but wanted to pace myself and get booster and flu shot first.

  31. 31.

    Fleeting Expletive

    I’m glad for these posts mentioning the shingles vaxx. I got the first one last Friday, since I was already stuck at the CVS waiting my turn for the Covid booster shot. I totally spaced on instructions for the second shingles shot schedule (try saying that three times fast!).  The shots left me feeling  somewhat yucky and gross for several days, but knowing I’ve done all anyone can do to avoid getting sick is a relief.

    Yesterday’s Supreme Court debate has me feeling stabby anyway.  That was the shoddiest excuse for learned legal discourse I’ve ever heard, at least since first-year law school.

  32. 32.

    SpongeBobtheBuilder

    My doc, who is under 50, looked me in the eye and said “If I could get it, I would.  If you have seen the way people suffer with shingles, you would not hesitate.”  I, too, had 24 hours of feeling yucky, so was glad I got it on a Friday.  But then I was fine.

  34. 34.

    oldster

    @cleek:

    My experience as well. Second shingles shot (Shingrix) was worse than any of the three COVID Pfizer shots.

    But that really only meant 36 hours of mild flu-like symptoms. I got very lucky with the COVID shots.

    I remember my 7th grade Latin teacher, a venerable Benedictine monk, telling us that his shingles felt as though his rib-cage was being whipped with scourges. For whatever reason, that did not make me want to run out and get shingles. But there was no vaccine in those days.

    It’s funny — I am almost certainly older now than he was then, but to my 12-year old self he seemed impossibly old, as though his age was measured in centuries.  Poor guy was probably on the young side of 55 at the time. A baby!

  35. 35.

    Freemark

    I’ve been a pin cushion this past year. Since getting any vaccine reduces your chance of severe COVID temporarily because of the immune system boost I got many waiting for the Fauci Ouchie.

    Before the COVID vaccine became available I got my TDP booster, MMR booster, flu, and pneumonia vaccines. Since then I’ve had my three COVID shots, both my shingle shots, my first two Hep B, and this years flu shot. My I insurance has 0 copay for prevention and Target gives me $5 for every shot.

  36. 36.

    Ejoiner

    *Shingles vaccine – done

    *COVID vaccine – done

    *COVID booster – done

    *Had COVID – done

    At this point, I’m bulletproof, right? Right?!?!

  37. 37.

    Brachiator

    It’s the holiday season..

    Shingle Bells,

    Shingle Bells,

    Shingles go away!

    Get the shot

    As well you ought

    And have a happy day!

  38. 38.

    kindness

    I had chicken pox as a kid so I got my 1st shingles vax in October. Second one coming up middle of this month. I’ve seen what shingles can do and don’t want any part of it.

  39. 39.

    geg6

    Thankfully, this is one jab I can completely avoid since I have never had chicken pox. All five of my siblings had it, but, for some reason, I never caught it.

  41. 41.

    S. Cerevisiae

    I also had chicken pox as a kid and still remember the itching so I got the new shingles vax as soon as I could. Didn’t have much of a reaction.

    have also heard shingles horror stories, definitely wanted no part of it.

  42. 42.

    Barbara

    @geg6: That’s amazing, really.  My siblings and I all had it at the exact same time, after being exposed on Christmas Day 1965 when we visited my aunt, whose two younger kids had it at the time.  Like measles, chicken pox can be transmitted before you have symptoms.

  43. 43.

    Almost Retired

    I just got the second shot last week with no side effects (hope there is no such thing as a shingles placebo).  My son had shingles in High School, and it was brutal.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, he turned lemons into lemonade by taking his diagnosis and his fake ID to Venice Beach to get a medical marijuana prescription.  I thought the abrupt reduction in his level of pain was attributable to good parenting, but evidently not.

  45. 45.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Speaking of Holiday events (as Anne was before being stomped on by Mr. Tough vaccination guy) when will the Pet Calendar be available for ordering?

  47. 47.

    Another Scott

    @geg6: I hope that you got the Chicken Pox vaccine then.  I had it as a kid and it was horrible – Shingles being worse makes me happy that a vaccine for it is available.  Isn’t CP supposed to be bad if you catch it late in life?

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  48. 48.

    Ruckus

    As I said in the earlier thread, and agreeing with everyone else, YOU DO NOT WANT SHINGLES. As one of the many that have experienced them, we can all tell you what pain is. I’ve stated this here before, that I’ve been hit, literally head on by a truck, and once the adrenaline wore off, I could barely move for hours. One minor surgery, no lasting injuries. Shingles was worse. By several magnitudes.

  51. 51.

    J R in WV

    since I have never had chicken pox. All five of my siblings had it, but, for some reason, I never caught it.

    Perhaps you had a very mild case, with no or very few bumps? Even an asymptomatic case? Maybe you should talk to your doctor about your memory?

    My dad had it… he was very pain-tolerant, never bothered to get numbed at the dentist, was miserable with shingles. Looked as bad as it felt, too.

  53. 53.

    Leto

    OT: (WaPo)Parents of Michigan high school shooting suspect charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter

    Prosecutors said Friday they would file charges against the parents of the student accused of fatally shooting classmates at a Michigan high school.

    James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of 15-year-old Ethan, will be charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. Authorities say the teenager killed four students and wounded seven people at his high school Tuesday, using a semi-automatic handgun purchased by his father in the deadliest school shooting in more than three years.

    The decision comes after authorities shared that the suspect’s father bought the 9mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistol on Nov. 26. Authorities have declined to say how the suspect obtained the gun after it was purchased.

    David Chipman, a veteran Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent once nominated to lead the agency, said if prosecutors find evidence the shooter’s parents acted unlawfully, the criminal justice system has a duty to act.

    “As gun owners, we have a responsibility that when we acquire firearms we don’t put our neighbors, and in particular their children, at risk,” Chipman said. “If a parent provided their car to an unlicensed teen for a night of drunken joy riding, no one would be shocked if a prosecutor sought to hold the adults accountable.”

    Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Crumbley’s parents were not cooperating with investigators.

  56. 56.

    zhena gogolia

    @frosty: You have to be patient with it. It can seem boring at times, but if you stick with it, a very powerful narrative emerges. (I’m only just done with Part 1.)

  57. 57.

    Mike in NC

    I got the second shingles shot and a flu shot at the same time, in different arms. No reaction at all.

  58. 58.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    I think I’m going to dive into it when I’m at Sighthound Hall next week. They have almost every streaming service known to man (including the relevant Disney+).

  59. 59.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: I think it’s perfect if you’re on painkillers and you can just mellow out and hang with the moptops. Although they’re not moptops any more at this point.

    I have such renewed respect for Paul. And the love between him and John comes through so clearly. Ringo also comes off well. George is a little troubled. :)

  60. 60.

    Ruckus

    @Almost Retired:

    Bad parenting? He got rid of his pain didn’t he? Sorry, but shingles pain requires pretty much any process that can reduce a level of pain that is about as severe as it gets.

    On the vaccination pain, I had none, and my reaction to shots is usually bad or none so this was, on my scale a zero. As I’ve said here before, I’ve been hospitalized for 9 days because of vaccine shots. The second Pfizer was 2 days lost, first and booster were no reaction.

  61. 61.

    Ken

    @ixnay: BTW, I am just shy of 70, have a medical degree, and an interest in epidemiology.

    But do you have a twitter account with over 50,000 followers?  That’s the real sign you’re qualified to give medical and vaccination advice.

    (Even if the only reason you have that many followers is they all liked your three-minute cameo in an early 90s teen comedy where you flashed your boobs.)

  62. 62.

    trollhattan

    @Leto:

    Pleasantly shocked the DA is going there. Now they will become martyrs and the GoFundMe response will be epic, but I don’t care. They’re sociopaths who raised one, then armed him.

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    Jeanne Shaheen chops Cotton, all in a day’s work.

    December 3, 2021 at 9:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard

    Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) got into a heated exchange on the Senate floor as Cotton bashed Democrats for being weak on dealing with Russia:

    COTTON: The simplest way to deter an invasion of Ukraine, the simplest way to deter Russian aggression is to draw clear red lines and enforce them — something that Joe Biden will not do, something that apparently the Democratic senators will not force him to do.

    SHAHEEN: I just have to take real umbrage at your suggestion, Senator Cotton. I’m the one who Vladimir Putin refused a visa to get into Russia. Because of my opposition to Russia and to what Putin was doing. He didn’t deny you a visa to get into the country! So don’t talk to me about how I’ve not been tough enough on Russia, because that dog won’t hunt.

    See, you can be “tough on Russia” and Putin’s puppy at the same time.

  65. 65.

    eachother

    Shingles is so awful. I’ll spare the manifestation details. But know when you hear someone say you don’t want it, the memory of the experience is being brought back to mind and quite possibly the body memory as well.

  68. 68.

    Skepticat

    Good news, J.C.

    I’m happy to be a pinchushion. I had two COVID-19 vaccinations and can’t wait to be eligible for the booster. I’ve also had the first (old) shingles shot and both of the newer two-dose version; pneumonia; tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis; hepatitis; measles, mumps, and rubella; polio; varicella;  annual influenza; and maybe others I’ve forgotten. Last time I was reviewing my immunization record with my doctor, he said, “Well, its clear you aren’t vaccine averse.” No, I’m pathetically grateful they’re available.

    And given others’ comments, I guess it’s time to stop complaining because I had such a sore arm after the second shingles.

  69. 69.

    opiejeanne

    When I was 33 (1983) I had the mildest case of shingles my doctors had ever seen: just two spots on my left shin. Nasty! Felt like acid burning holes in my skin.

    I got the old version, single shot in 2000-2005 (?). I really need to get us both signed up for Shingrex because I never want that pain again, not ever.

  70. 70.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    I’ve never had chickenpox. So do I need a shingles shot, or a varicella shot, or neither?

  71. 71.

    JustRuss

    @raven:  I had it in my eye, you don’t want it.

    Had it on my face, got very close to my eye. Doctor said I was very lucky that’s as far as it went.  I guess it’s possible to get it again, I need to get the shot. Once was enough.

  72. 72.

    opiejeanne

    @Skepticat: In 2005, before they started treating me for Hepatitis C (cured now), they vaccinated me for everything, except maybe a couple of exotics like yellow fever.

    The only thing they missed was mumps, and a blood test not too long ago told them that I’d never had mumps. MMR wasn’t available until my kids were little, and I had measles, rubella, and chickenpox as a kid. My kids all had chickenpox because the vaccine wasn’t available, luckily not severe or life-threatening.

    Now children don’t have to have any of the terrible illnesses we worried about thanks to vaccines, and I don’t understand people who don’t protect their kids this way. I do understand not being able to be vaccinated, which is another reason to get your own kids vaccinated.

  73. 73.

    trollhattan

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:

    IDK whether I had chicken pox and the mom resource on such matters is long gone. Am told “if you had it you’d remember” but that doesn’t really help. DO remember having both measles and “German measles.” I have zero patience with parents hemming and hawing over whether to have their kids vaccinated against them. “DO IT!”

  74. 74.

    Scout211

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:

    CDC recommendations for Shingrix.

    Shingles vaccination is the only way to protect against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication from shingles. CDC recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine), separated by 2 to 6 months, to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Your doctor or pharmacist can give you Shingrix as a shot in your upper arm.

    Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and PHN. Two doses of Shingrix is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN. Protection stays above 85% for at least the first four years after you get vaccinated.

    Healthy adults 50 years and older should get two doses of Shingrix, separated by 2 to 6 months. You should get Shingrix even if in the past you

    • had shingles
    • received Zostavax*
    • are not sure if you had chickenpox

    There is no maximum age for getting Shingrix.

    If you had shingles in the past, you can get Shingrix to help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time that you need to wait after having shingles before you can receive Shingrix, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has gone away before getting vaccinated.

    You can get Shingrix whether or not you remember having had chickenpox in the past. Studies show that more than 99% of Americans 40 years and older have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember having the disease. Chickenpox and shingles are related because they are caused by the same virus (varicella zoster virus). After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant (inactive) in the body. It can reactivate years later and cause shingles.

  75. 75.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @Scout211: ​Thank you!

    @trollhattan: ​

    IDK whether I had chicken pox and the mom resource on such matters is long gone.

    THE mom resource say I never had it, and I have no memory of ever having had it.

    That said, the CDC notice Scout211 posted says “Studies show that more than 99% of Americans 40 years and older have had chickenpox.”

    I’m scheduled for a Covid-19 additional shot on Monday. I was already planning on asking for the flu shot then too, so I guess I’ll consider asking for the shingles shot as well, despite my skepticism that I’ve ever had varicella.​​

  78. 78.

    Ruckus

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:

    You could be a one-percenter, you could have had a mild case.

    At my 50th HS reunion we all talked about the fact that we all had all the then childhood diseases. Many people under 40-50 yrs old didn’t have the range that those older did. In my complex there is a woman the same age as me, who has polio, got it when she was one yr old. She is back in a wheelchair, has been for a long time, was scheduled for an electric chair but her asshole doctor refused to sign the paperwork. She grew up about 6-8 miles from me and is the 4th person I’ve known with polio, all of them within less than 10 miles. My point is that if you’ve achieved gezzerdom you’ve been around some rather nasty diseases and likely have had almost all of them.

  79. 79.

    geg6

    @J R in WV:

    Nope, never had it.  I remember all my siblings having it and my mom being frantic to keep me away from them (understandably, five kids with chicken pox were pretty much her limit) and uninfected.  All the brothers and sisters were relegated to the upstairs and forbidden from coming down until recovered.  I’ve been vaccinated for chicken pox, though.

  80. 80.

    Nutmeg again

    Agreed! I got Shingrix 1 & 2 earlier this year. Very glad to have them too. My old tough guy, never complain, never sick, plane crashed in China flying the Hump (WWII) dad said that having shingles was the worst pain he ever experienced. So I was motivated! My arm hurt for a few days post shot, but NBD.

    I am now boostered, shingrixed, and flu shot-ed. Am going in to have my spine carved at the end of the month. Actually, a really good piece of news! I have a degenerative spine condition that has been rapidly getting super bad. You know when you are looking forward to surgery on your spine that it’s dire. (For those among us who have delivered a full term pregnancy, it’s like when you get to 8.5 months, and you’re ready to get that baby out any old way, Alien-style or whatever.)

    But contemplating surgery of this nature on my own is a big-ass challenge, no lie. I have no family around any more, (nor friends thanks, divorce!) Thank Maude my kid works in Germany–she’s able to come for a month. Still, we have a very fucked up health care system/editorial mini-rant.

  81. 81.

    CindyH

    I read that about half have a reaction to the shingles shot.  I got mildly sick for 2 days, but well worth it.  I watched my mom suffer miserably from shingles and she was a strong woman who usually was stoic about illness – not with shingles.

  82. 82.

    randy khan

    A little shingles story to give people some incentive.

    Years ago, I had a pretty awful rash and went to the E.R.  The E.R. doctor wasn’t sure whether it was shingles or impetigo, and since there was no reason not to treat me for both, that’s what she did.

    I went to see my regular doctor for a follow-up maybe a week later and he told me he was sure that it wasn’t shingles for two reasons.  One was something about how shingles rashes spread, but the other was that I would have been in a lot of pain and it was evident that I was not.

  83. 83.

    HinTN

    @p.a.: Yes, definitely. Mrs H and I got the original single dose as dinn as we were aware that we should. When the new vaccine came out our pharmacist explained that the original was about 90% effective and the new was almost 99%. We have a friend who had shingles. We got the new vaccine as soon as it was available.

  85. 85.

    soapdish

    I’ve had shingles in November 2016 and again November 2020.  Gee, it’s difficult to figure out what the stress was that triggered it.  Fortunately it was mild both times, was caught early, and treated with meds.  Thanks for the reminder that I need to schedule the shot.

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