My pcp is recommending I get the shingles vaccine. My neuro approved. My insurance covers it, and I am not an immune suppressant medication so I can get it. i am just undecided. She has been suggesting it for two years and I have been indecisive for two years. I know it is about 50% effective, but the studies also suggest it may reduce the severity of an attack. I hate trying anything new (medication wise) because I have had so many allergic reactions. Yet I have had not problems with the flu vaccine. I put off getting a tetanus booster for years until I had to go the the ER for a cut, and I just had a little soreness. I keep thinking that I should get it now before I move. But...

Who has gotten the vaccine? What was your experience?

I got the shingles vaccine a couple weeks ago, there was some redness at the injection site, but otherwise was a very forgettable event.

I would highly recommend going ahead and getting the tetnus booster; better safe-than-sorry,

Hi Barb02,

I got the shingles vaccine several years ago. Nothing has changed or happened. I gave a lot less thought to having the pneumonia vaccine and the shingles vaccine than I do about getting a flu shot.

I did have the shingles previously (unless I was misdiagnosed at that time) and did not want to get them again. So for me, I requested the vaccine.

I think I have had ONE flu shot in the past several decades. My decision to decline flu shots is based on my lack of exposure to the flu. I come in contact with very few people so my exposure to the flu is limited. If I had more exposure to others, I would probably do a flu vaccine.

I guess it all depends upon what chances you want to take. For me, I will take my chances on getting the flu for now, but want to reduce my chances on getting the shingles again or pneumonia, as much as possible.

The shingles virus resides in me so my limited exposure to other people is not beneficial for avoiding shingles like it is with the flu.

I had shingles when I was 26. It really really really sucked. Especially since I had mononucleosis at the same time. I don't ever want to get shingles again.


(as an aside, I think that having shingles at the same time that I had mono, is what triggered my MS. It was right after I started to recover from the mono and shingles that the MS symptoms started showing up. <within 6 months of recovering from the mono> I just didn't know it was MS for about another ten years.)

I go along with the others. You don't want shingles. Your family doesn't want you to have shingles. My daughter had it when she was 10 and my husband did a couple of years ago.

Decided to quit dithering about it and went and got the vaccine first thing this morning.

Let us know how it went, please.

I will. I was first concerned about having an allergic reaction. So far, I am fine. I do have a bit if a headache, but that could also be due to the weather. I will let you all know if I have any problems in the next few weeks.

Good for you, Barb! You are such a good example for all of us.

Here's what I wrote about my shingles experience:

I was "only" 54 in 2008 when I had a bad case of the shingles. Most cases
are in people over 60 which is why the shingles shot is normally available for people over 60.

I am SO glad not to get them in my mouth or near my eyes. I've read shingles
can cause blindness if they are in your eyes. Shingles can appear on any
part of your body. Any part...yes, boys and girls, even "there".

Fact: Shingles are only contagious while the blisters are weeping.

The only pre-requisite to getting them is having had chicken pox some time
in your life. You cannot give shingles to someone who never had chicken pox,
but I understand they can get chicken pox from your shingles, then later in
their life they too, can get shingles.

My shingles began on my back at the bra line, just to the right of my spine. At first it felt like someone had punched me in my back. That continued for a couple of days. By the third day the blisters began.

They spread from my back, along the bra line, under my right arm, and
immediately below my right breast. And then continued to cover the entire left side of my right breast, stopping at the center of my chest.

I went to an Immediate Care center where the doctor said my symptoms were
classic shingles which he confirmed by seeing all the blisters circling the
right half of my torso. "You've got a GOOD case", he said. Good not meaning
a positive thing.

Two years later it still hurt along the bra line and on and under my right
breast, too much wear a bra. Some say that their shingles pain can last a lifetime. The pain finally vanished for me.

The blisters were all sizes, but the largest ones - several of which were
dime-sized - were the ones on my breast itsself. They all hurt like h*ll. In all,
it took about 4-5 weeks from beginning to end for the physical blisters to heal, leaving scars.

I've attached a photo I took of my shingles. Click the photo to enlarge.

And to top it all off - you can get shingles more than once. Oh goody.

MsBluIs

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You can get the shingles vaccine even if you have had shingles previously. Most insurance plans are now paying for the vaccine at the age of 50 now.