Had my first Shingrix yesterday. Ran a temperature last night but otherwise doing fine.
Just had Shingrix shot # 1 yesterday. After reading this thread I was expecting it to be worse since I had a terrible reaction to the Pneumovax 23 shot earlier this year.I won’t say I feel great but I feel better than I did after that pneumonia shot. My arm is quite sore but I don’t have the hot red golf ball-sized lump that I did with the Pneumovax23. My muscles and joints are achy, but I tool ad Aleve and that helped a lot.
Our Publix had the vaccine in stock and in fact has had signs advertising it for the past several months. Wonder why there’s not a shortage down here in south Florida like there is in other locations?
Because all the vaccines are down in south florida? LOL
Here in LA, pharmacies are mostly out and when they do get the vaccine, they are only getting 10-15 doses at a time.
I just had my first dose on Monday at Walgreens. My doctor had written a prescription at my physical in June and Walgreens placed me on a list. They called Monday afternoon and said if I could come down before the pharmacy closed they would hold one for me so I did just that.
I think there is something to this - I had the shot in my non-dominant arm late Monday and went directly from the pharmacy to my workout class. Fairly strenuous and we do a lot with weights. The next morning my arm was mildly sore and there was no lump at the vaccination site. As a matter of fact, the tetanus booster I had in June was way more painful in the arm than Shingrix. Unfortunately, I also experienced the low-grade fever and flu-like symptoms from the Shingrix vaccine so we had to miss out on a dinner we had scheduled with friends. Oh well, a small price to pay for protection from shingles. If at all possible, I will try to schedule the 2nd dose on a Friday.
I got the a classic mild case (around the back) and didn’t need narcotics and had no after effects. Think i worked from home for a week or two.
Turns out there are two small, independent pharmacies in the area which have some of the Shingrix in stock. Went for my second round yesterday. The first one knocked me on my bumpkess. The arm was so painful for three days that H reported I was whimpering in my sleep. Ran a low grade fever for a few days.
This time I’m loading up on Ibuprofen - think Pez dispenser 
. Arm is a bit sore, but I could sleep on it if moved carefully. Feeling a little ‘off’ and got a bit of a chill this morning, but nothing like last time.
Fingers crossed it will stay this mild.
Oh, my goodness. I noticed this thread a few weeks ago but really should have made a point of reading it… I figured I’d ask my Dr about the new vaccine at my next regular appointment. I’m kicking myself now, because the rash appeared on my scalp near the back of my head last night… fortunately, I saw the Dr for a follow-up this morning for what we thought was an allergic reaction to an insect bite that started about a week ago. Had tenderness and swelling but no rash at all… but there was a pain that felt like someone was stabbing the sore spot with a fork every few minutes. Had swelling in my face and eyes on the weekend and went to the ER, they diagnosed as an allergic reaction to a bug bite, did blood tests, tick panel, etc. All were negative. Have been taking the antiviral since this morning and haven’t had the pain since the rash appeared. I’m crossing my fingers (well, I’m praying, really) that this does not spread and does not end up anywhere near my eyes. Having now read this whole thread, I am terrified of that. My heart goes out to all of you who have experienced this and especially those who are dealing with lingering effects.
I fully intend to get the new vaccine as soon as this is over and my Dr says it’s ok to do so.
My Shingrix dose came in at my doctor’s office, getting it late tomorrow afternoon. Figure it gives me the long weekend to recover.
My grandmother(89) had shingles last year and she hasn’t been the same since. She stopped socializing, and going to church.
At what age is the vaccine recommended?
I had the second shot last week. Side effects were milder than the first shot. I needed ibuprofen for a few days after the first shot, but didn’t need it at all after the second shot.
The nurse said that it is currently recommended for over 50, but that they are starting to see shingles in people younger than that. I don’t know about a cut off at the high end.
Reporting in 24 hours after first vaccine, got it at 4:30 yesterday. Was a little tired and mild headache this morning. Took a nap after breakfast. Didn’t do much today, did a couple errands close to home and watched McCain funeral & football today. No fever. Shoulder is a little sore, but I feel fine now. Seems like I got off lightly. Whew.
do folks have to pay out of pocket for shingrix, or does your current health plan pick up all/a portion?
Does Medicare cover it (under Part D)?
edited to add: HImom: I see that Medicare covered it for you. Was that under Original Medicare+Part D, or a Medicare Advantage Plan with Rx coverage?
Medicare didn’t cover for me, as I have Part A & B. My drug plan didn’t. I thought k it was $49
My folks and H have Medicare A+B +D + prívate insurance, so not sure which part covered what. I just have private insurance & it covered 100%.
Originally, each of my folks was charged $30 for the 1st dose, but then private insurance said there shouldn’t have been a copay and refunded us the $30. None of us were charged for dose 2–100% coverage between insurer and Medicare (or insurer alone in my case).
Had some soreness and fatigue after the first shot. Couldn’t find anyone with the vaccine for the second shot, and was in an independent pharmacy. Asked when they would have it, and was told they had one shot available…,if I did it right now. What? I guess it saves them from calling all the people on their list!
Got it, and that night I was so sick. Fatigue but couldn’t sleep. Shivering, body aches, fever went up to 102. It’s been a long time since I was that sick, but it didn’t last too long, fever gone by the afternoon. I didn’t care about the arm pain but was surprised by the fever.
Husband and I are on wait list for our 2nd shinrgrix vaccine at multiple CVS, Walgreens, Publix and Walmart pharmacies in the St. Pete area. Have been told that there “may be intermittent deliveries” from GSK, but the full demand may not be met until the beginning of 2019. We had our 1st vaccine in April and I really hate to go past that 6 month time period. Of course, a delivery at Publix is expected by the middle of next week and we are going away on Thursday. Not a good time for the vaccine for us but I think we will take the chance if we get the call.
^^ received similar ETA this morning. Went to local pharmacy and they said likely early 2019 for supply. In the meantime, welcome to the WL.
Perhaps the $49 was your copayment under Part D, as the full price of shingrix is closer to $200.
H was really reacting badly to his 2nd shot. 2days of bedrest and he was mostly better.
Since I posted this thread three months ago, I got my second shingles shot. This time, I took a couple of Tylenol right before the shot and a couple of whiskey shots later in the evening. My arm was still quite sore for a couple of days, but it sure was better than the first time. In my estimation, Tylenol and a couple of whiskey shots saved me at least a day or two of pain. 