I do since I am high risk for developing pneumonia. I don't like shots either, but deciding between a shot or spending time in the hospital or dying isn't a hard decision! Are you eligible for the nasal spray?
I don't mind shots, but every time I get the flu shot I end up getting the flu from it, so I haven't gotten it for a long time. I read an article that said this year's flu vaccine doesn't protect aganist the most prevelent strain of the virus. So... it's a toss up for its effectivness.
I have gotten one every year since I started teaching in 1993. Well, one year i couldn't because of medical treatment I was having, but otherwise I get one. Even the years they weren't widely available I got one because I'm on a high-risk list. I am vaccinated for everything I can be. I've never had anything that can be prevented by a vaccine, so it seems to have worked. L I don't like shots either, but it's better than being sick.
This is the first year I didn't get one in a long time. I HATE shots (I'm a fainter in medical settings - particularly with needles). I didn't get one this year because no one made me. That sounds stupid, but either my husband, my mom, or my nurse-friend has taken me to get the shot in the past. There is no way I'd drive myself to GET a SHOT! Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. I got the nasal spray once and it wasn't fun, either. I ended up with a migraine afterward ... it may have been "all in my head." Ha.
Yes...since my college days after getting the flu one year. Mr dr asked di you get the shot & I said, " I thought it was for old people." He said I bet you get the shot from now on!! We do get the shot every year!!! I have to laugh when people say they have the flu for a few days...When I had it was like an elephant sitting on my chest!!! Oh it was the worst...I was down with worst systems for a week & didn't feel better for a few weeks!!! I am not a shot person either...I just look away. WE got ours at walgreens!
I've gotten the flu shot each year since 2009 after I had a bout with the swine flu during my pregnancy. The flu shot is required for everyone at the hospital I work at on the weekends. That said, my nurse coworker got her flu shot a few months ago and was diagnosed over the weekend with flu A. Yikes. My kids have gotten one since they were 6 months old, except for one year when my son didn't get it. My husband, on the other hand, has maybe gotten it once.
Yes--at school even! Our district does a flu clinic each year where they bring in a bunch of nurses, and the students who have returned their permission slips all go to the gym and get their shot or nasal spray. Teachers also get theirs at this time. When filling out the permission slip, parents include their insurance or Medicaid information, so not only are they "free," it's one less run to the doctor's office.
My school offered it for free, and if you didn't get vaccinated, and there is a flu outbreak, the unvaccinated will be required to wear a face mask while in the building (think doctors, not thieves!). Some years the CDC gets the strains right, sometimes we get hammered with a strain that isn't in the vaccine. I support the vaccination and hope for the best.
I usually do, but I keep getting colds and sinus infections, so I haven't been healthy enough to get the shot.
My school always has a public nurse come in and give flu shots. I hate shots too, but I hate the flu more... and between having a two year old daughter and working around children, I consider it more or less an obligation to try and keep myself flu-free.
Though with that said, I've gotten the flu shot for the past 8 years (including the Swine Flu shot back when that was a thing), and I've still gotten the flu three times.
I get a flu shot each year because I am at risk due to diabetes. I also got a pneumonia shot last year and it is good for years and years. This year I got the shingles vaccine, which is good forever, I believe. There was no copay for any of them, luckily.
And I've never gotten one and never gotten the flu. Hmmmm. I don't get them-I believe that the reason we have so many strains now is because of the vaccination process. It has just gotten worse and worse every year since they started vaccinating regularly.
I used to get the flu every year without fail. Only getting it 3 times in 8 years is still a major upgrade for me. I think I'll also trust the opinion of the medical community and the CDC.
I don't get the shot and I haven't had the flu since college (knock on wood). I despise needles so I avoid them at pretty much all costs. I'm healthy otherwise and not around people with weakened immune systems.
Earlier in this thread there was a very good description of what the "real flu" feels like. The reactions many get from the vaccination are aches, low grade fever, and generalized "yucky" feel that we note, but can get through. It is the body responding to the antigen. Some people may be reacting to the egg protein without knowing it, as well. If you truly get the flu right after getting vaccinated, you were previously exposed and in the process of developing the disease anyway. My bouts of true flu were can't lift my head off of the pillow, not enough energy to eat or talk, and then that terrible lung involvement and a cough that lasted for what seemed like a month. There are a ton of other respiratory viruses floating around, and I would lump most of them in the "cold" category. You don't feel great, but you pretty much function. With the true flu, you don't function. That's the disease I hope to never have again. I am no fan of needles, but I have been run over by the bus that is flu, so I simply look away. For what it's worth, I get that same aches and blah feeling from a tetanus shot. It actually is reassuring to know my body is reacting and making antibodies to the antigen.
A few years ago, I noticed that I'd get a fever within 24 hours of getting the vaccine. Nowadays, I take Tylenol (or whichever pain reliever I have at home) immediately after getting the shot to avoid getting a fever. Other than the fever, the only other symptom I've experienced is a sore arm for 24-48 hours.
Last year our insurance brought the flu shots to our district and did them all for free there. I assumed they were doing that again and was waiting for the announcement, but I guess it's not happening. I'm wondering if it's even worth it at this point. I also heard that the vaccination is not protecting against the major flu strains going around this year, but I guess getting it is better than nothing. I got the flu once in 8th grade and have been getting the shot since.
I was the one who mentioned it... & yes you describe it perfectly.... I told everyone I felt like elephant on my chest just to breathe or a Mack truck hit me!!! I was banned from going to school rest of week! My dr. said I could take down half the college!!!
I do every year after the one year that I chose not to get the flu shot. That year I was in bed a week with the flu. Never again if I can help it.
I got the flu shot once years ago and I was so miserable I decided to never do it again. I asked my doctor why it affected me so much and was told that since I have an autoimmune disorder there is always a chance the flu shot will trigger an immune response that I don't want. With that and the current shot doesn't really work against the most recent strain and that I've only had one 24-hour flu once in the last 10 years, I think I'm better off without it.
I personally think flu shots are more harmful than anything else. I've never had a flu shot. I got the swine flu one year and the only symptom I had was being fatigued and having a fever. The other people I knew that had the shot and still got the flu had more severe and long lasting symptoms. Weird huh?
I also get vaccinated for the protection of those around me. For instance, my dad was a dialysis patient. He didn't need my funky illnesses.
Agreed. Since my husband is AD military, he has no choice with the nasal flu "shot." That contains live antibodies compared to the shot. Every year when he gets the nasal spray, he is sick for 3-4 days. On the other hand, I take vitamin D and C.
Yep. I hear people say, "I had the flu." Usually I don't believe them. I had the flu. I didn't know my body could hurt that badly and still be same afterward. Had I been able to reach the phone (it was on the kitchen wall and I couldn't walk and lived alone) I would have called an ambulance.
Three years in a row so far now...I generally am not a fan of shots, but with the flu shot I can hardly tell it's happening. I haven't had the flu, but I was sick this past fall with a chest cold, and that was bad enough.
The 24-hour "flu" isn't really the flu. It's a stomach bug. The real flu is terrible, like knock-you-on-your-butt terrible, and it lasts longer than 24 hours.
Yes, exactly. The flu is no joke. It's not just a bad cold or feeling slightly more achy or tired than usual.
But you can't predict when you'll get the flu. I think that you guys have been lucky so far, and maybe you'll continue to be lucky in the future. I certainly hope so. For me, though, I wouldn't count on that. I wear a seatbelt in the car even though I've been in my car thousands of times without getting into an accident. Better safe than sorry.
:thumb: Many people misguidedly rely on luck and misinformation when making health decisions. Your advice, Caesar, is spot on:thumb:
