Thread: Flu shots??
View Single Post
Old 09-25-2010, 11:46 AM
smae's Avatar
smae smae is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 458
10 yr Member
smae smae is offline
Member
smae's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 458
10 yr Member
Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mere View Post
However, according to my Rheumatologist, should you take any drugs that compromise your immunity such as prednisone, methotrexate, TnF -bolckers (Humira, Embril, etc), absolutely DO NOT receive any type of vaccine. EVER.
Mere,

I wasn't aware of this. I am not on prednisone, but I am on fludrocortisone. I read your post and went to check to see if there was any information on shots while on fludrocortisone.
I had posted a question about if people with neuropathy were supposed to get a flu shot or not. My neuropathy started in December (09) and I had already had a flu shot.

The answers were a bit mixed, and most people said to ask my doctor. I did, and he said he always recommends getting the flu shot. Well, that was before he put me on the fludrocortisone.

Anyway, the information says this:

"Patients should not be vaccinated against smallpox while on corticosteroid therapy. Other immunization procedures should not be undertaken in patients who are on corticosteroids, especially on high dose, because of possible hazards of neurological complications and a lack of antibody response."

So, I should NOT be getting the flu shot as long as I stay on this medicine, correct? I may go off of it the first week in October when I see him again, or I may be on it long term.

Thanks, Mare, for bringing that to my attention. And thank you, Melody, for asking this question! Without it, I would not have thought twice before getting the flu shot, since that is ultimately what my doctor told me I should do. (I would assume that he is aware that people on this medication should not get a flu shot, but I do not get flu shots at the clinic. My mom works for the state at the college in town, so we go up there to the employee (and family) flu shot clinics.)
__________________

.


♥ "Hope is more than a word; it's a state of being. It's a firm belief God will come through. Life brings rain... hope turns every drop into the power to bloom like never before." -Holley Gerth ♥

My name is Sarah and I am 25 years old. I have a lot of chronic health problems. Peripheral neuropathy and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) keep me bedridden the majority of the time. I also struggle with degenerative disc disease, disc desiccation, spondylolisthesis, arthritis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with insulin resistance, allergies, sound sensitivities, and other health problems.
smae is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote