Hey! How are you feeling now? With anxiety, tingling, etc.? Was your tingling all over or by the bite?

Did you ever see the bat? My husband and I have bag bite marks, but no bat was ever found in our house.

I am going through the same thing now. How are you? Did tingling go away?

Hey, thank you for sharing this! We are just starting this journey. Did you also have tingling at the site of the bite?

Hi TrainRide1!
No, we never did see the bat, but the entire night of chaos with the dog going crazy, and feeling "breezy" air disturbances in the dark bedroom as though something was flying around, plus the bite marks and the fact that our daughter and son-in-law admitted to catching bats in the house occasionally.....all added up....not worth the risk of not taking the vaccine series.

I generally wait until Christmas Eve to post, since that is the anniversary of being bitten, but here it is a few days early: "Four years out and I'm still here, still doing well. Hoping the same for everyone who is living this experience now.":grouphug:

Yes! I actually would have never noticed the bite marks, but it itched and that’s when I saw the marks. I didn’t think much of it at first, but when our house was invaded it all clicked.

I did get tingling and itching around three months post bite at the site. I’m nearing 6 months from noticing my bite and the teeth marks are still visible.

I hope your symptoms let up quickly!

New: My story
 

I am both relieved and sad to know this board exists. I have googled a lot online about side effects of this vaccine and didn't read anything in literature that mirrored my experience so far. And it's been a rough ride, and reading all your messages from over the years tells me, well, it IS a rough ride. But many of you also seem to gradually get better, and that's good to see.

My story: Bitten by cat late November. Thought it was neighbor's cat, wasn't 100% sure. Panicked in December, and even though told 'very low risk' for the area, went ahead with three shots of Rabavert early December. (They were not originally going to give them to me.) The first shot wasn't that bad. After the second shot, got a bad headache and some nausea. Hangover headache, I called it. After the third, I was okay until 4 days later when all hell broke loose. Bad headache, severe nausea, muscle aches, joint pain... the works.

Part of the immune response after #3 was weird. I had a moment where it felt like there was a squeezing in the middle of my head, deep inside my brain stem and I couldn't voluntarily control my breathing. It felt like my medulla was getting squeezed. I have no other way to describe it. But after that, it felt like pressure filling the whole base of my skull and it was constant.

The day I was supposed to get my 4th shot, I went to the ER instead and told them I had a really bad headache. I had a CT scan and bloodwork done, but nothing awful was found. I consulted with my immunologist (I have an underlying mast cell condition) and he said to hold off on shot 4.

Fast forward to a week later, and the headache is less of an issue. Still there, but not as prominent. Now it's my abdomen's turn. I found over several days I lost my appetite, couldn't eat much, and eating more hurt. I'd been dealing with nausea since the second shot, and here it was worse plus there was added epigastric/left upper abdominal pain that wrapped around my ribs and sometimes shot through my back.

I saw a doctor and he thought I might have pancreatitis, and he ordered labs and tried to get me an urgent outpatient abdominal CT. That attempt failed, and he sent me to the ER where they scanned me and ran a ton of blood tests and told me I should be relieved they found nothing life threatening.

I was really floored. I thought they would find out I had pancreatitis - I even had yellow floating stool. But no. So they told me since I hadn't eaten in 3 days (by recommendation of the doctor I saw) to start clear liquid diet and move to soft plain food, which I've begun doing.

And now, I have shooting pains all over my thighs, and pain in my hips and knees, and something that resembles the 'MS hug' - like someone tightened a belt around my waist so it's harder to breathe. I can walk, I can eat (if I don't eat much at one sitting), and do some household tasks but I get tired with exertion easily. It's not clear if I feel better walking or lying down as both hurt.

So this is where I am right now... I don't really know what to do or expect. I hope I am going to be okay. I hope my titer is in a good range with fewer shots - I have no idea.

All I know is I'm in a lot of pain right now and I haven't had a shot since the second week of December and here it's January. It doesn't seem normal.

I hope I can find a comfortable position to sleep in. I hope I'll be okay. (Yes, I said that before - I'm anxious, and I've been traumatized by what happened.)

So, that's my story.

Hello TiredNWired. I am so sorry to hear yet another person has had an adverse reaction to the rabies vaccine. Sounds like you are going through a lot worse than myself, but there are many others who posted to this site that were or are dealing with major side effects like yours. I also came in contact with a stray cat, got scratched, told by PCP wound was healing and very low risk for the virus, no vaccine needed. But, my mind would not rest, anxiety building, and 16 days later I opted to get the vaccine. I got thru all the shots with minimal side effects.only light headed/dizzy and muscle aches. But within a couple weeks after last shot more obvious side effects started, continued muscle pains all over, sharp nerve pains, ice pick headache pains and the extreme FEAR THAT I HAD GOTTEN THE SHOTS TOO LATE. Panic attacks, anxiety) I am over 1 year out from my event (10/2019) and still have intermittent muscle aches and nerve pain, but I'm positive that given more time, these too will go away. Keep positive, take care of yourself...wishing you a full/complete recovery.

Thank you for reading my story and sharing your experience. I'm sorry we have experienced pain in common. I'm glad to hear that a year later you are doing better. I'm sorry that you still experience pain.

I am having a rough time lately. Almost a month after my last shot and I am cycling through new symptoms and the previous set ends. It was first a really bad constant headache for 2 weeks, and that got better. Then this round of upper abdominal pain like pancreatitis - except there was no evidence of it in tests. I now wonder if it's gastroparesis instead? And now, within the past two days, it's urinary retention time and not knowing when to pee. I am hardly producing urine and have lower abdominal pain.

The whole thing is weird. Like the Forest Gump line about life being like a box of chocolates and not knowing what you're going to get. I hope it gets better soon.

Well, here I am roughly 7 months since beginning these shots (6.5 from finishing) and I’m back on the rollercoaster of symptoms. I’m having pins and needles, muscle spasms everywhere, sore throat/lump in throat feeling, and of course this makes the worries begin all over again.

I know I’ll get through this, but it is distressing. I hope you’re all hanging in there.

Symptoms update since Jan 2021 post
 

So, it's a little over a month since my last post, and thought I'd fill people in on how I'm doing.

After my last post, the urinary retention continued along with losing thirst reflex. I simply couldn't tell when I was thirsty. And while I tried to drink more water, I couldn't drink much and felt done early.

The end result? I eventually ended up with nearly brown urine (what little did come out) and serious case of dehydration. I nearly fainted when I stood up, and ended up in the ER with chest pain. They tested me and gave me a lot of IV fluids. I was discharged and told to hydrate myself more, required 2 liters of water a day whether I felt thirsty or not.

I continued to feel weak and exhausted and not at all like myself. But eventually I began to get the thirst reflex back, and drink like a normal human being.

That was about 3 weeks ago.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that a number of my symptoms I reported here a few weeks after my third shot had improved... I'm no longer getting severe headaches at the base of my skull. I slowly began to eat more solid food and my digestive system came back online, and I'm able to eat a normally portioned meal - but I do digest food better if I eat smaller meals more often during the day. I began to have bowel movements again when I wasn't, between not being able to eat and incredibly slow gut motility.

In terms of nerve pain, I'm rarely getting intense muscle and nerve pain in my legs (especially the upper thighs). 3 weeks after my third (and last) shot, I was able to walk around the block near my home a couple days a week and it took 20 minutes; when I got home I was exhausted and in pain and had to lie down. Now it's been nearly two months since my last shot, and I can walk several blocks, stop to take photos with my phone, and walk home in about 40 minutes to an hour and I am fatigued but there is not much pain. If I walk longer than that, I will get hip and thigh pain that's pretty intense. But this to me is a major improvement.

Something is still wrong. I am getting episodic joint paint in my hands and arms and legs, and I never had this before the shots. I get what feels like tendon pain/tendonitis randomly, too. I don't know what to do about it and I have appointment with a neurologist in the near future to discuss this and orthostatic hypotension.

I also feel like something is not right in my brain/breathing centers ever since I had the weird sensation within days of the shot where my ability to breathe voluntarily was affected. Because rabies virus attacks the brainstem, I suspect the dead virus is also found there, and affected me somehow. (I'd really like someone who researches this to tell me more about what I may have experienced; it's been the most disconcerting aspect of this post-vaccine hell.)

About a week after my last post, my titer test came back. It is 3.0. So in theory it's protective, but we all know from the fine print about what a protective titer is that it's a relative statement. However, no one really wants me to get the 4th shot given I reacted so badly to the first 3. The case rate in my area is super low, and we think we have seen the cat that bit me. The doctors originally were not going to give me the shots at all, and despite underlying medical conditions let me get them because my anxiety was severe and intractable when I went to the ER.

I also want to eventually get a COVID vaccine. And am afraid that I'm going to react badly to that, or possibly trigger something worse in me after this series of 3 shots in one week. It's hard to navigate this decision given what I've been through, and it's not clear how having a mast cell activation disorder affects it.

This is pretty long-winded, but I wanted to give a thorough update in case anyone wondered how I'm doing and in case anyone else would benefit from the sharing of my experience.

What I have learned that has really helped me echoes something someone else wrote here many posts ago: The anxiety can be severe with this situation, and it amplifies and worsens symptoms. It's important to find a way to tone it down, and focus on something other than the worst case scenario. The anxiety can create a vicious cycle that makes symptoms worse, which makes the anxiety worse, and then the symptoms worse.

I had to repeatedly tell myself, "It will be okay, a symptom means the shots are working - not that you are experiencing the virus" and then eventually a shorter "A symptom is just the shot side effect. Chill." It took many repeats in my head of doing this and pushing myself a little physically to do things around the house and take a walk (even if it hurt) for this to slowly improve over the course of a month.

Okay, all for now. :-)

I’m glad you’re hanging in there. Anxiety is definitively ely a factor!
I had a lot of joint pain especially in my hands. Icing and heating your hands can be helpful... At about month 6 post vaccine it began to subside for me and haven’t had that arthritis feeling since.

I truly hope you find some peace of mind during your upcoming appointment!

Can you give us an update. Are you better now. What about pins and needless. Did they gone with the supplements you took;

Hello,

I just found this post searching the web and I am going to describe my past and current symptoms. I had a 5-dose post-exposure rabies shot out of precaution in August 2020 and in September/October started feeling weird stuff in my body, which could be or could not be linked... but resembles in many cases what's described in this post.

• August 2020: stomach age, tiredness, feeling of unrest (24 hours post shots)
• September 2020: one marked episode of pins and needles in both feet, followed by sporadic heat sensation and tingling. Started getting numb feet randomly when sitting, that lasts to this day. Developed an urge to urinate for about two months. Tested STD, UTI, lots of other stuff, all came back negative.
• November 2020: had 4-5 sporadic episodes of tinnitus, lasting a few seconds, with a permanent onset early december. I'm sure this is muscular as pressing my jaw, flexing my neck, or other neck movements change the tone of the tinnitus. Checked with ENT doctor, tested outter, middle and inner ear, all normal. I developed a feeling of neck weakness and crackling.
• January 2021: persistent numbness in hands when waking up that subsided for the most part after moving them and numbness on feet when sitting, as well as random tingling in feet and arms.
• February 2021: began having fasciculations and tinglingall over my body, first in my left hand right dorsal, then left eye, then everywhere else: legs, arms, chest, cheek, you name it. They come and go, randomly, and have a high frequency. They don't hurt but are annoying. They last to this day. Then began noticing that my fingers had a slight tremor. When holding the phone on two fingers I began noticing my heartbeats more and more.
• March 2021: began having a feeling of weakness in legs and arms, especially hands. When doing exercise I noticed shaking upon applying minimal force (similar to when you try to hold a plank for a long time, just from the very beginning. Started in all 4 limbs at the same time, as well as neck. Super weird.
• April 2021: developed a new symptom - I feel like my body vibrates inside, especially when I lie in bed. It happens some time, it's as if my legs, arms and torso were shivering inside.

I've visited two Neurologists and a Neurosurgeon during this time, got a B12 prescription and multiple tests - full spine MRI, head MRI, all back normal except for some disc herniations without stenosis or nerve compression. Did lots of bloodwork for immune disorders and other, all came back negative.

I see that my symptoms match some of the previous ones posted here. I'm dismayed in that symptoms seem to be developing for the worse instead of getting better.

I plan on going again to the Neurologist and ask for a NCS and EMG since this seems to be the last tests that I'm missing. In general doctors pointed out at stress but I know my body well and I can totally tell there's something abnormal going on. I don't know if it's related to rabies vaccine but I didn't visit a doctor for anything related for the past 10 years and I can't think of any other relevant event.

I'll keep you posted with the developments.

Hi Atreides, thanks for sharing your story. I received 3 out of 5 shots in March 2018 (I decided to not get the last 2 shots because of the side effects). A lot of the symptoms you are describing are similar to mine. A feeling of numbness in feet if I sit in a particular position for some time. I wake up not feeling my fingers, which solves itself after shaking my hands for a few seconds. I had muscle twerks across my body. I also sometimes wake up with leg weakness and not being able to stand up for a minute or so. I have this feeling of arthritis in my knees and wrists. And many other symptoms that have come and gone. I stopped visiting neurologists in September 2019, because those consultations were not helpful in understanding what is happening. It has been 2 years now, and I can say that the symptoms have gotten less. It seems to be some kind of flaring up of the body from time to time. I can feel when the inflammation enters, and when it subsides. I hope your symptoms resolve over time!

COVID vaccine?
 

My wife at age 56 developed a peripheral sensory neuropathy very similar to many others in this forum after receiving the Imovax and HyperRAB S/D vaccine following a bat bite. That was 4 years ago. Currently her symptoms are not as severe as they were in the first 12 month post vaccination but they do tend to flare up on occasion particularly at night.

My question—has anyone with a similar post-vaccine neuropathy received one of the COVID vaccines? She is very concerned about experiencing worsening symptoms and is leaning against COVID vaccination. She is otherwise healthy.

Thanks.

William

I had originally posted here but requested it be removed as I did not want to be an alarmist or deter anyone from getting this life saving vaccine if the needed it.

To answer your question, I had the Moderna Covid vaccine with no issue. I hope this gives your wife some peace of mind to move forward if she so chooses. I was concerned to get it but like the rabies vaccine I had to weigh the benefits with the risks. :)

I am not advising your wife one way or another to take or not to take the COVID-19 vaccine. I am just telling what happened to me after taking the first dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine 8 weeks ago. I never had any neuropathy whatsoever before the vaccine. I now have tingling and numbness in all 4 of my extremities and bulging veins in same. I have been to the ER, pcp, neurologist, and was put on gabapentin. In my research I came across this site and noticed the similarities between some people getting the rabies vaccine and then getting neuropathy and what happened to me. I find it comforting that Eventually most of the acute neuropathy cases on here calmed down. Looking back in 20/20 hindsight I personally would have not gotten the Moderna vaccine. Again. It’s an individual choice and I am NOT giving advice on what anyone else should do.

Hi! Just a couple of updates. I’ve been doing pretty well, other than occasional numbness/pins and needles in my hands typically while sleeping. And also occasional lump in my throat. Everything else has seemed to subside, I don’t even need to take all my herbs and minerals I was before.
I did want to mention the COVID vaccine... I had Covid in November, got the J&J vaccine earlier last month and didn’t have any issues other than the sore arm/COVID like symptoms the following day. Nothing lingering.
Take care.

Foot drop
 

Has anyone here experienced foot drop? I just noticed that I cannot stand on my left heel if I lift my right leg in the air.

I am very scared now, and can´t review 54 pages to check if anyone else has written about foot drop.

I had the rabies vaccine 2 years ago, and have been having neurological symptoms since then.

If anyone has anything to share,please do. Thank you

Hi, I am here with you. This vaccine has been rough, without a doubt. I have read and reread these posts many times thought the year and I cannot recall anyone saying they’ve had any issue. My advice is to let it go for a few days and if you feel like you need to revisit it, go back to it. I really feel you will be ok. Do not worry.

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Will see my neurologist tomorrow.

I went to the neurologist and had the NCV test performed. There was a difference in strength and conduction velocity between my left and right leg, though still within normal range. Oddly enough, I can now stand on my left heel again.. a few days later.

Update after almost 2 years
 

Hi all! I just wanted to quickly check in to let everyone know that I am 95% back to normal! I took 5 shots of the rabies vaccine in August and September of 2019. I had pretty bad symptoms of neuropathy (random twitching, tingling, phantom water drops all over my legs, feet, arms, and hands) until about February of 2020. since then, my only recurring symptom is random leg twitching. This does not happen very frequently and seems to only be triggered by extreme stress or fatigue. It does not intervene with my life whatsoever. I learned that the best way to combat this is to take care of your body as much as possible by resting, eating healthy, and not drinking much. Also, it is best to try to keep your mind occupied since I felt like, at times, I would hyper-fixate on my symptoms and magnify them. I know it is easier said than done, but that is what mostly worked for me. Also, I was forced to focus on other things since, around that time, I went through a break up, a move to a different country, and a job change! lol Anyway, I would really like to thank BatBite24 and everyone else that has been consistently updating and helping out others on this forum. (I would also love to hear from Tobius and the few other people I talked to during this time if y’all are still around) My post vaccine period was easily the most depressed I have ever been. My best wishes and hugs to everyone else that is currently going through it. I hope my recovery story is of some help.

Thank you for the information. I took my vaccine at BIDMC in Boston, MA in June of 2020. By any chance are you located in MA as well? Did you ever donate plasma for future IM for rabies vaccines? Thank you for your time and patience. :D

Do you have any recommendations for physicians that treat EDS?

Hello, I am from Kazakhstan. after the vaccine my legs hurt (((I'm with you !!!!!

I know this is an old thread, but looking for help. I had the rabies vaccine at the end of October of 2020 due to a dog bite. Then, in January of 2021 I began getting pain in my left leg. By the end of January, it was alternating between both legs. Then, the pain stopped, but I started getting sensory neuropathy, ( like I had BenGay or Vicks Vapor Rub icy hot)in both my feet. By April the neuropathy had spread over entire body except for my abdomen and breasts. In May the majority of the icy hot went away (still a little bit in my feet), to be replaced with partial numbness all over. In June, I noticed a slightly enlarged, scalloped tongue. I have also been having increased heart palpitations. Also, I have been having leg and arm pain that feels like aching in my bones or muscles.

My question is this: Did any of you all experience an enlarged or scalloped tongue as one of your symptoms? I fear a diagnosis of amyloidosis, since the enlarged tongue is a symptom of that, so I am hoping that one of y'all experienced the large tongue, so that it may ease my fears.

Thanks for any replies. I appreciate it.

Hi, I do have scalloped tongue from time to time, usually when I have a cold, but never associated this with the rabies vaccine.

I experienced most of the other symptoms you mentioned (e.g. pain in limbs, limb weakness, numbness etc) and a bunch of others. It seems to all randomly come and go, like transient inflammation that travels around the body. It has been just over 2 years since i received the rabies vaccine. My neurological issues peaked at about 6 months in, and started getting notably less 18 months in.

I do notice some residual effects like needing to shake my legs out in the morning before getting up, probably due to nerve damage. But I guess it could all be worse and don´t think too much of it anymore. Hope you feel better soon!

I’ve also experienced scalloped tongue, my doctor said it’s likely due stress/anxiety possibly dehydration. All my labs have come back normal. I never associated it with this vaccine.

I recently went to the ER because of heart palpitations and was cleared by both a cardiologist and my doctor. I don’t have the answer as to why, but did notice it began around the time of the vaccine, but honestly my anxiety has been super high since.

Be well 🤍

Thank you
 

Thank you for the replies y'all. I wasn't sure I would get any because of the age of this thread. So, I really appreciate it. I am hoping against hope that all my problems are stemming from the rabies vaccine and not something more sinister. I have had a physically and very emotionally scary, frustrating, and painful year so far because of these symptoms, so my heart goes out to everyone here who are experiencing issues. I hope you all have had better luck with your doctors than I have.

Checking in since April 2021 post
 

Hi everyone,

Just checking in to let y'all know how I'm doing.

A capsule summary of my timeline: Cat bit me Nov 2020. I received 3 Rabavert shots in Dec 2020. I had side effects after shot 2, and more pronounced neurological, digestive, urinary, joint, and muscle problems after shot 3 and was in and out of the ER a lot. By April 2021, twhen I last posted here, the worst of my symptoms had improved, and I still had shooting nerve pain with walking more than 45 minutes or just moving around the house a certain amount and some odd sensations in my head/brainstem area.

Now it's July 2021 and lot of my symptoms are gone or lessened a lot, to the degree that most of my symptoms can't be separated from underlying medical conditions I had before the Rabavert shots.

I still get shooting nerve pain on and off, mostly sciatica related and I would periodically get that before Rabavert. One of the more annoying symptoms I get now is occasional tingling/itchiness in the wrist near the bite site, and this has been going on ever since I got bitten, so I do wonder how much of this is due to healing nerve damage from the bite versus any residual effect from the shots.

I still have an odd sensation at the base of my skull/inside brainstem area and it is more noticeable some times than others, usually when I haven't slept enough and have a headache at my temples. It's less anxiety-producing than it was months ago, because back then it felt like it came with impaired breathing.

The joint pain in my hands that really concerned me (because I am an artist and was making it hard for me to draw anything for long) is gone and that really makes me happy.

I received Pfizer shots for COVID-19 between late April and May, and I didn't even feel the first shot and only felt fatigued after it, and had about 2-3 days of side effects after shot 2 (headache, a little joint pain, a brief-lived fever, and LOTS of fatigue). My feeling about it at the time was, "Eh, that's IT? This is NOTHING compared to Rabavert!". I am relieved everything went okay with the Pfizer shots.

I have seen a neurologist and he ran a ton of blood tests for me for autoimmune factors and antibodies that affect the brain, and those were negative. I have vitamin deficiencies (B12, D3) and have been supplementing for those; I've been told if you're under a lot of stress/immune challenge those can be depleted so perhaps consider asking a doctor to test your levels to see if supplements help... because a deficiency in these can make your symptoms post-rabies vaccine worse.

I have an MRI w/o contrast on order, but haven't gotten it between feeling closer to normal and avoiding medical centers as much as possible because of COVID. I haven't decided when I will go for it.

This is all for now. My main issue overall is how crappy my sleep is, and that may be for any of a number of reasons unrelated to Rabavert. The pandemic and an anemic social life and other stressors I'm sure have played a role in my sleep being messed up and I hope it improves.

you are lucky to be in America. in Kazakhstan they do not believe in the side effects of vaccinations. I have one vaccination and everything hurts (((

sore feet
 

my legs hurt i can't walk

2 years of side effects (

Hi all,
It is now one year from my last dose, for a year a had symptoms come and go, mostly mild but still I experiance back pain in the muscles.

I use pain killer, I hope its vanished at the end.

A year later
 

Tomorrow marks a year since completing my rabies vaccines. My kids and I were exposed to bats in our home that was housing a maternity colony of hundreds. We all felt flu like during the duration of the shots, after completing them I had a lot of tingling/numbness, headaches, joint paint, just feeling awful… the worst of it was within the first 3 months and slowly tapering off. I feel as though I’m 99% recovered.

It does get better, don’t lose hope.

Dog/Cat Quarrel
 

Hi. Im new here. Im so glad I found this forum. My 2 Months Puppy and my Cat was fighting so I went to them and ended up getting bit with my puppy and a scratch from my cat. So to have peace of mind, I got the Anti-Rabies Vaccine (Speeda Vaccine). 1st shot, I did develop stiff neck, muscle twitches (mostly in my stomach, left face and left hand), joint pain, both hand pain, pain on my legs. Yesterday I got the 2nd shot and made my eyes blurry so I slept early. And I noticed the tingling sensation (Itchy like) all throughout my body. Now I regret getting the Vax. :(

We all have been there, but better to be safe.

I know right? Done with the 3rd shot 3 days ago! Im glad all the tingling sensation and pin like feeling gone. Just a sore shoulders

same
 

Hi,

I am having similar issues with the j&j... how have your issues been since now?

Hello.

About 3 weeks ago I had an encounter with a bat. I decided to get the rabies vaccine to be safe. I received my first dose of Rabavert and the pep and was fine. 3 days later I received dose 2 of Rabavert. That’s when my life changed. I started having numbness and tingling in all extremities. Weakness in my legs and burning pain in my spine and neck. The pain was so severe I was in tears a lot. I went to ER and told it was anxiety. I received my 3rd dose and everything worsened. I reached out to an infectious disease doc who said I was most likely having an adverse reaction to the vaccine. I went to the ER again as I was so dizzy and in pain. They did a lumbar puncture and now I have a terrible spinal headache on top of the burning pain. All labs normal. I feel like I’ve poisoned myself… I’ve missed 2 weeks of work. reading this forum has helped to know I’m not alone. Thank you.