Hi everyone! First of all, thank you for this thread. Sorry for the long post, I hope you have the time to read!

30 days ago I was bitten by my own dog because I was trying to force a pill down his throat. He was sick (bladder stones - peeing blood) and I was trying to provide treatment. He bit me in the middle finger of my left hand. He was overdue his vaccine by 4 months (because in my country rabies vaccine should be annually, but I checked that the vaccine he was given last year has a protection of 3 years according to the vaccine brand).

So, I took him to the vet because he looked in pain and he was not eating. They decided to perform surgery for his bladder stones and next day after surgery he started to recover, he was eating and drinking.

However, since I live in a “rabies endemic country” (Dominican Republic) I decided to get my first rabies vaccine at day 6 after the bite. I got a tetanus shot and rabies shot, one in each arm. They did not provide immunoglobulin. At day number 10 after bite, my dog was completely normal, so I decided to stop treatment.

Like Batbite24, I am a floxie. I had a severe reaction to Ciprofloxacin in 2019 and I was left with peripheral neuropathy and occasional paresthesia, so I am careful with meds and vaccines. That’s why I assessed my risk and decided to stop vaccination.

So 12 days after the rabies and tetanus shot I started feeling pins and needles and some numbness in my left hand, especially the bitten finger. As you can imagine, I started to get VERY anxious. I have pins and needles everywhere in my body but my left hand, finger and forearm are much more affected. (Every time I get a sensation in any other part of my body I get really happy).

So my dog, 30 days later is completely fine. Happy, playful, eats, drinks, normal behavior. But I can’t understand why the bitten finger/hand is most affected by the vaccine. I have stopped eating properly or being productive because of a HUGE fear of having rabies. My neurologist said that since I already have Peripheral Neuropathy from my reaction to Cipro, probably the bite affected a nerve and that is why the pain is more present there. However, it wasn’t a huge bite, it was small, so this explanation is hard to believe.

Recently I read that a small % of dogs can actually overcome rabies disease. Now I’m thinking “what if my dog had rabies the 3 days he was acting sick (when he bit me) and his behavior was not due the bladder stones but rabies? And then he got better coincidentally after surgery?” I know it sounds crazy but every time I feel tingling sensation on my bitten finger I FREAK OUT. My neurologist says that some dogs can overcome rabies, but they have to live the disease first, and my dog never showed other neurological symptoms, only pain and lack of appetite for 3 days.

I just don’t know how to stop feeling anxious all the time. The “tingling sensations” caused by rabies, is it immediately before getting other clinical symptoms? Or can it present itself weeks before the other symptoms? My tingling symptoms started 2 weeks ago and it’s not constant or getting worse. Some days are better and some days are worse.

I just don’t know how I will continue my life with this constant fear. Since there is no way to actually KNOW, I do not know how to handle this uncertainty and it is taking a toll on my life.

I figure we were very overdue for an update but as you’re soon to read, life threw us some curveballs. If you don’t want to read this lengthy monologue, then all you need to know is I am still twitching, and they could never figure out why or how to treat, BUT all testing is supportive that whatever is going on is nondegenerative meaning I can move fully and I’m not losing my strength or function etc. and quite honestly, I’ve just learned to live with it because I don’t really have any other choice. Also, there is a rainbow at the end of this story.

As a refresher: I had a possible bat exposure and received Imovax 10/2019 and had muscle twitching in my left foot (pinky toe jumping) that started less than 48 hrs after receiving my first shot. I received the second shot and immunoglobulin but then stopped the series because the twitching (which I was told was nothing) worsened and ascended immediately after the 2nd injection. It looked like there were worms under my skin, and it made my fingers and toes jump too (fasciculations and myokymia). I saw a neurologist who told me it probably was a vaccine reaction worsened by anxiety and it should go away but agreed to do further testing. EMG done 11/2019 was normal. I continued to twitch for months after, and he agreed to do another EMG and an MRI without contrast of the brain. Both done 5/2020 and came back normal. Well, 6/2020 comes along and my husband and I were exposed to covid and since this was still beginning of pandemic, it was the strict 2-week quarantine thing. A month later, we find out we were pregnant with our little quarantine surprise. (Come to find out all the supplements I was taking to help with my neuro symptoms are the same supplements that make you super fertile). Neurologist felt there would be no risk to the baby as my symptoms had been relatively stable for several months at that point, just migratory twitching all over my body. My twitching did not get better or worse during my pregnancy, it just stayed the same. I did suffer from some vasovagal syncope (passing out) but could control with drinking more water and eating more salt; this is also an issue I had (rarely though) before I had vaccine reaction. The only time my twitching became an issue during my pregnancy was at my 36-week checkup, they checked my cervix to see if I was dilated. For some reason, that stimulated a twitching storm down there and sent me into preterm labor. I delivered a healthy baby who was actually a good size and didn’t need a NICU stay (I exercised constantly and ate as healthy as I could just in case anything like this were to happen). Of note: I still twitched in my legs even with my epidural. Since then I’ve been loving mommy life with my sweet baby who has definitely been the rainbow to our storm. Postpartum bloodwork showed I do have a +ANA but I’ve had that in the past with a full workup by rheumatology and they never find anything, so that I will continue to watch. I also found out I have a MTHFR genetic mutation which I’ve seen several other members on here mention as well. I also had a DRD2 mutation which I’m curious if anyone else has checked as well.

I still twitch every minute of every day, but I really don’t notice it unless I focus on it, and it doesn’t keep me from being able to do anything. A few interesting things that have happened though: I contracted HSV-1 (cold sores) and because it is a nerve disease my nerves reacted very hypersensitive. I woke up with a fever, face tingling, feeling like my arms were vibrating, and crazy intense twitching all over my body. When the sores appeared it was apparent what was going on. My MD said that was a very atypical presentation but not surprising given my underlying neuro issues. I then thought I would react that way every time I got sick. A few months later I got a 24-hour stomach flu with high fever, body aches, chills, the normal stuff etc. What was interesting was that with this illness my twitches completely STOPPED. For the first time in this 2+ year journey they stopped for about 3 days. Then as I steadily got better, the twitches steadily came back. The same thing happened again when I caught the inevitable covid last month. I am unvaccinated (due to my past vaccine reaction) and thankfully my covid course was very mild. The twitches didn’t completely stop with Covid, but they were pretty darn close. And same thing, as I got better the twitches returned. My theory is that whenever I get sick my immune system gets turned on to fight an actual invader and stops attacking my own nerves, then when I get better it’s like “Ok, let me go after those nerves again”. My hope is that my nerves are not getting damaged in the process. For this reason, my PCP wants me to see my neurologist annually for routine MRIs (neurologist felt 2 EMGs was good for a legit lifetime so no need for those again). I did have an MRI of brain, neck, and spine 6 mos. ago, was told all was clean. My brain had one area of T2 that my neurologist was not concerned about because it was unchanged from previous MRI (though they didn’t even report it on the read) and believed it to be artifact from the imaging (He described it like seeing red eye on a photo).

Whatever the reason, the battle remains the same. I still fight this twitching battle every day, and the anxiety related to having an unknown and untreatable condition caused by vaccine that was supposed to help me is extremely frustrating especially being a healthcare provider myself. I still worry about what if my MRI and EMG will eventually show something, or if something is being missed like MS. I still worry if someone else on here has a similar path like mine, but they never got better or got worse. My hope is that most people stop reporting their symptoms on here because they get completely better, and I hope to one day report the same. But at least I am pain free and functional, and I take that as a win.

Vaccine
 

Don’t know if anyone is still on this thread but I recently started the rabies vaccine on 3/22/22. I had a possible exposure on 3/7 but there was a delay in the start of my vaccine so I keep worrying I started the vaccines too late. On 3/7 there was a weird chirping sound in my bedroom. I didn’t see anything but I didn’t look up at the ceiling or the tops of the windows because I had no idea it could possibly be a bat. A few days after I saw a small mark on my wrist. I googled and saw it could have been a bat and my anxiety spiraled. I went to two doctors and they told me I didn’t need the vaccine since I didn’t see a bat. We had pest control come out and they found bat droppings I’m the attic and that’s when I went to ER and started the shots. Since the shots (just had second on Friday) I have had pins and needles everywhere, throat is super dry and felt like I had a lump, and weird tight sensation in back of my neck. I’m just so scared I took the vaccine so late and am having extreme anxiety- went to the er recently for chest pains which the doctor said could be gerd or anxiety. This has been such a scary ordeal so far and I haven’t even finished all of the shots yet. I figured I’d post since it seems like you guys have experienced some of the same things.

Welcome Shellz. :Tip-Hat: So sorry for your experience. Hope it all turns out okay.

I had a delayed start too, made me a nervous wreck, but I’m still here!

You should be done with you series by now, I hope you’re doing well!

How did you deal with the anxiety? I feel like I am having a real rough time with the anxiety and thinking the vaccine may not have worked since there was a delay in treatment.

When I felt half OK I practiced CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) to help reframe my thoughts about everything going on. Meditation and visualization helped as well.

Now the crazy part of how I got through it… I memorized every rabies case in the US and Canada. It helped me grasp how after 30 days the likely hood became less, 60 days even more rare, and then finally 90 days it has never been on record. I reminded myself that PEP rarely ever fails and I did get the shots before any symptoms showed up.

It’s hard, I don’t wish the worry on anyone. I truly believe you’re going to be fine, but know when you’re in that worry it is so hard to believe that.

Take deep breaths and remember you are still here!

New here. Hello!
 

Hi everyone. Wow this has been a terrific trove of real time information over the years. Kudos to all the consistent and regular posters!

Backbrief. New to the upper Midwest, not super familiar with bats but familiar enough to know not to touch one. Came across a grounded little brown bat at the city park, live in a small town and the park is a big attraction, the bay was relatively close to the kids playground so i thought hey this isn’t good. Asked a few passerbys if there was a park service to call or how to proceed and one suggested I move the bat off the sidewalk and into the long grass along a creek. Great idea. I found the nearest stick I could and proceeded to try and coax the bat towards the grass. It resisted. Fluttered it’s wings. Gave me an oh **** moment. Then the person who suggested I move the bay handed me a longer stick. Got the bay to latch on and then moved to a tree nearby. All in all the interaction was 5 minutes or less start to finish. Later that evening I research the internet. I send a couple local bat experts pictures and info, it’s a holiday weekend so nobody responds. The following morning I check back the bay hasn’t left. So I call local PD dispatch as that is who dispatches animal control here. They send an officer who puts on a glove grabs the bat and carries it off to his squad car to relocate it. Wild.
No mention of rabies, no asking about my interaction with the bat, nothing.
The weekend goes off, my mind wanders. I start to review the video I recorded of the interaction and notice the stick flings towards me when the bat climbs off onto the tree. I set off into panic mode. By Monday I’m in the urgent care discussing whether or not I was potentially exposed to rabies. The nurse calls me paranoid. Sends me on my way. Tuesday I’m a ball of nerves reading into every sensation in my body. Wednesday I notice a tiny cut on the back of my hand and suddenly it hits me that while I was so busy being paranoid of the flinging stick I didn’t think about the possibility of the bat scratching me while moving it with the first smaller stick. Thursday I call public health and have a chat. They insist because I’m not certain the bat didn’t touch me I go get the vaccine immediately. So I did. HRIG in the thumb and deltoid and vaccine in the deltoid. It’s been a wild ride of emotions and anxiety.

I stumbled across this forum and y’all are amazing. I just got my day 3 shot this past Sunday and have day 7 this Thursday. I’ve had severe bouts of anxiety, but also marked known side effects of the vaccine, the tingles and the soreness as well as some hypersensitivity in the arm the day after each shot so far. Been doing my best to stay busy and tell myself mathematically with the length of the stick and the size of the bat there wasn’t anyway it possibly scratched/cut me. But even then an air of doubt creeps in and spirals out of control. Thanks to search engines mostly.

I’m perplexed that not one of my conversations with the locals suggested I examine my hands for any possible scratch or bite wounds. You’d think there would be protocols in place living in a national forest area!

I’ll keep checking in as this plays out. Thanks for reading!

Hi battyinthemountains.. I am thankful you shared your experience... Which helped me get through the horrible initial phase of vaccine reaction. I am now 8 months post my vaccine completion. I saw that you also experienced throat issues around this time. Can you please elaborate on how they were exactly. What i have is, from the time of starting of vaccine till now, each time I have a flare up this throat issue feels more and more. Now at 8 months out it feels like something is stuck in throat everytime after 30 min to 1 hour of having a meal.

I think I posted here in 2019 and 2020 following a possible rabies exposure with Category 2 bite from a stray dog in New Delhi,India. Started the vaccine late by 5 days and delays at the day 3 and 7 shot no immunoglobulin to my knowledge. I had a huge episode of panic attack and anxiety following this experience. It was a very huge deal and every year I have a flare up at around the same time of the year. A tingling at the site of the bite and itching in my left hand ( dog bit my left hand ,no blood, little to no puncture wound) and tight shoulders. This is the 4th year and it doesn't get any easier atleast for me. So my only advice is hold on tight. If you are religious like me prayers help.

possible bat exposure
 

So here I am once again with possible bat exposure. I just got the vaccine again.

It is good to be alive. Hope everyone is doing well.

In your past experience did u face any Throat issues? Say after 5-6 months of vaccination?

I had neuropathy in my left arm and left leg knee down, which gave me a huge shock, . I have no throat issue but I do have a huge anxiety problem for a whole year. Everytime my neuropathy flare up I was like " welp this is it" .

I finished vaccination on 18 nov 2021. It has been 9 months .Till date with evry flare up i have pain in my right foot toe ,some lethargy and throat issues like some uncomfortable feeling in throat thn it goes away in 6-7 days or so. But yes with every flare up i feel issues in my throat. did anyone else had this issue? I saw that battyinthemountains had the same issue but anyone else? i took the Rabipur vaccine.

Google provides very little data
 

Thank you for reporting in again. It sucks and googling it doesn't make it easier plus some Doctors are not very professional in treating things related to Rabies. Its probably because as deadly as it is there is no definite symptom. I have neck pain and left hand nerve pain whenever I pull an all nighter or staying up late which also gives me a huge anxiety all on its own. As I am writing this I have these exact symptom and it really sucks. I have been like this since 2019 October. If I maintain a healthy lifestyle I do not have problems but once I pull an all nighter or sit in a bad posture blam, it flares up really badly. Its kinda a headache.

Even for me I feel like its mostly flares up everytime i push myself hard in Gym or i catch some kind of viral or bacterial infection, there is a flare up. As like u my neuropathy issues r mostly connected to my right foot only, other places it is random and very less. But my foot toe and 3rd finger is the first thing that start paining once there is a flare up along with the throat..........How were your initial months after vaccination? Does it change after some time or is it completely same as of 2019?

Yep still the same maybe I injure my nerve after a huge anxiety/panic episode. Before all of the rabies stuff I was a heavy drinker for about 3 months and maybe that with the huge anxiety problem resulted to this problem that I am currently facing. I was bitten on my left hand and it tingles everytime I am extra anxious!!! I have prepared myself for death multiple times. But I am used to it now. You are not your brain by Jefferey and Rebecca is a good book and it helps me alot.

Hey everyone. It’s been just over a month and a half since I posted about my possible bat scratch rabies exposure and getting the rabies vaccine a week later. Possible exposure June 30 2022. PEP w/RIG began July 7 2022 and last shot July 21 2022.

It’s been an interesting time to say the least. I’ve gone through bouts of numbness and tingles and muscle twitching, anxiety, headaches, brain fog etc. it’s been pretty intense.

The hardest part really is dealing with the anxiety that the entire ordeal brings on.

Just over the last couple of days I’ve gotten sick, my son and his mom were sick and I likely caught whatever they had. But I’d be lying if I said the potential for a vaccine failure hasn’t crept into my mind causing the worst anxiety to date! I’ve gone back and re read this entire forum multiple times and found myself diving back into rabies cases on the internet, even though this just causes a further spiral of anxiety, and yea here’s to hoping I just caught some seasonal funk from my kiddo and it isn’t in fact rabies.

Hope everyone else is doing well, thanks again for the posts, they truly do help with anxiety.


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it is what it is
 

Yo Peptalk, good to see you.

What you just described would be my problem back in 2019. I was so scared that I had a panic attack once when I tried to shower and I thought that was it. I have had many sleepless nights and nights where I just think of my family. I am just a few months out of university, went to a special school for jobs, and I was grinding hard, but then all this rabies ordeal had to happen. I was ******,afraid and kept thinking about what would happen to my family and friends after I was gone. I was pretty darn dramatic to be honest. So I understand what you are going through, but I will be blunt and honest with you here for this one.

Even though there might be a possibility of rabies (which I highly doubt because I too was late by 5 days and yet here I am), there is nothing you can do about it. Your anxiety is just lying to you. They are not real. Anyway, thoughts and prayers to you and your family. God bless.

Thanks Tobius! Glad to hear you’re doing well. So far so good. Tested positive for covid and feel like I’m on the tail end of the illness. Nothing new to report here. Still have some minor bouts of anxiety from time to time, but breathing through it.


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Hey Shellz! How have you been holding up? I’ve been battling anxiety too, it’s a vicious cycle that’s for sure.


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You can beat that anxiety or just ignore it. Carry on and do swing by anytime you feel uneasy and just need someone to interact with. Our experience written here then becomes the bedrock for others who will keep coming here. Forward and onward my friend hahaha.

hello friends, I am a person from Russia and we also have the same side effects from the rabies vaccine, muscle twitching and other symptoms. We came to the conclusion that all this is a lie and our fears are simply manipulated by the doctors who create these vaccines. For more than a year now, on a Russian-language forum, I and other people have been looking for ways to improve the condition of a person who has suffered from immunoglobulin, the only thing that reduces the antibody titer is the drug Rifampicin, which was previously used in Belarus. Although it is an anti-tuberculosis drug, it normally removes twitches. If you know of any other drugs that remove the vaccine from the blood or remove symptoms and post-vaccination complications, please write. Let's look together for the truth and ways to solve our problem, maybe someone knows chemists or scientists who can study this drug and find out how to make an antidote?

hey there.i am new to this thread. i had my series in august. my face and arm falls asleep sometimes... feels tight and weird. my knees felt numb and tight for a while but thats better now. for the first week it seemed like i either was having mini seizures or my body just couldnt stop shaking... it was awful. i got all better for about 2 weeks and the other night my face and arm felt weird, tingly and almost asleep. i got really dizzy and brain fogged so i figured i had a mini stroke... the hosptial said it was just anxiety and that my blood pressure was beautiful. some advice and words of wisdom from people who understand would be amazing...

Hello suzy it is good that you found this forum.

Yes indeed it could all be just anxiety. I certainly did get better when I finally rid my mind of the fear and step out into the world.
It could also be a side effect, which is entirely possible. How do you feel about it ? Did your confirm your exposure ? Did you follow your protocol well ?

I had 3 vaccine shots on 10/31, 11/03 and 11/07 with immunoglobulin before the first shot and side effects started to appear after 2nd shot starting with tense nerves inside my brain which caused me to be physically unable to fall asleep which I barely managed with anxiety meds to sore throat and mild needle pain in the liver and chest areas and as I'm typing this I have had a strange sensation in my face and eye muscles feeling either weak or locked up as in I could barely move my eyes and face which really scared me but thank God I'm able to breathe and speak and I'm afraid what could happen next. I'm sitting in a chair right now and massaging my face helps me relax it. Has anyone here had similar effects and if so how long did they last and what did you do to manage them?

SleepyJoe yes I had this too but thankfully it did pass. In my opinion this is a very hefty vaccine. I personally feel it's the immunoglobulin that has the worst side effects. I got pretty sick after that with a horrible headache so bad it scared me. Each vaccine I felt ill but I got through it. So if it makes you feel better the answer is yes, what your feeling I felt and it did pass. So sorry you had to go through these series of shots but at least rabies is 100% not going to occur for you.

Thank you so much for your feedback and God help you. I have read your posts and noticed you took two courses of different manufacturers' vaccines. Did you get 6 shots each? I was scratched by a street cat and rushed to get the vaccine the next day, I only managed to find the cat after two first shots and monitored if it stayed alive for 10 days like the doctor said and it's still alive to this day so I was let off the hook after the third shot on November 7th. I'm planning to get an appointment with a neurologist and I hope they could be of some help. I'm occasionally having random fasciculations in my calves and thighs but no crazy nerve flares or fatigue anywhere in my muscles. Except the feeling right in the center of my head that nerves there are lit up. I'm mitigating this with anxiety pills/syrup without which I sometimes wake up at 4:00-5:00 am and when I try to fall asleep my muscles relax yet I'm still awake and there is no place even for random thoughts/imagination left. I don't know for how long I can keep this up because my liver starts to ache/feel funny at times.

Did you experience worse symptoms than this other than teeth nerve pain? Forgive me if I'm prying into your personal business.

Also how much time did it take for your symptoms to stop permanently, may I ask?

So I had the immunoglobulin and 4 shots from the same manufacturer. I am in the States.

I seem to develop some type of trigeminal nerve issue. I can't say for sure if it was vaccine related who knows but the timing was just right. But keep in mind this is unusual. I had all kinds of wacky things happen as I was going through the series. I was so unable to sleep that I think I was feeling like I was loosing it. Not only the fear of rabies but just the shots they made me very off. My suggestion is to take good care of yourself, get good sleep and take a healthy vitamin. I think this will pass for you please try not to worry. Your body just needs it's time to recover.

Thank you for your kind words burninghead. I looked up trigeminal nerve along with other cranial nerves and now it makes sense.

My back started to ache around the waist last night, it was getting more and more painful to the point it burned like I had sprained it after overdoing physical activity. Then all of a sudden I felt a painful flash there and the aching completely resolved on its own and went on to build up a bit higher. Very unusual occurence to be honest.

Six weeks later the nerves inside my head stopped firing up taking away my sleep. I had the same burning pain in my forearms last week as in my back but it resolved quickly. Now I feel like my entire nervous system is sort of overclocked and I react more strongly to flashing lights/colors, loud sounds and my skin reacts to everything, even air, like I'm about to hit something and it anticipates pain when there is no any painful impact that has taken place. Occasional headaches happen but they're minor and I take care of them. BTW anyone here had a fear of epileptic seizures occuring to them or actually having them when epilepsy has never happened to them? Should I worry about it?

Approaching 2 month mark since the first shot, I can say that burning pains are gone, I get occasional moderate headaches which feel like my brain is being mined with a pickaxe but they are manageable with ibuprofen. What I noticed is that my nervous system became really reactive, my whole body becomes agitated very quickly as if I'm bracing for impact and is very slow to relax. Fortunately it does not affect my mood, temper or personality, but being so twitchy because of this vaccine feels weird.

hi everyone,

i have severe anxiety that the rabies vaccine will give me rabies. i got my vaccine due to a low risk exposure and i’m super worried that i am either going to contract rabies from this or another long term illness. could someone please calm my mind. i have felt tingling in my hands and i get headaches as well. the headaches don’t feel like a regular headache, it’s a like a burning tension sensation. please help

Hi, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It is understandable you would be anxious. Hopefully some of the other members here who have experienced the rabies vaccine will come by soon to offer some more positive feedback and support than I can. In the meantime, maybe read some of the posts on the thread. It seems to me you're not the only person with the same worries and anxieties, but for many it has worked out well in time. I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forums. take care.

Edited later to add>>>
I did some hunting. We don't have Rabies in Australia so wasn't sure if I was looking in the right places but I did finally find a US site from HHS.gov that explains that the Rabies Vaccine is an inactivated vaccine. i.e. not a Live Vaccine. You wouldn't get Rabies from the actual vaccine. It's dead/inactivated.
Vaccine Types | HHS.gov
Scroll down to where it says "Inactivated vaccines".
Hope that helps.

Hello everyone.. i hope everyone is doing good and i would suggest to stay positive as much as possible. I am over 1 year from my final shot of rabies vaccine. The initial 6 months were very difficult after that there was gap in every flare up it became a month thn 2 months now its very rare and very low.

tingling in hands and numb finger
 

hey everyone! i received the rabies vaccine series and after my third shot i started developing tingling in my hands as well as a numb thumb. my left thumb feels like when your finger gets numb after touching something cold. i got the shot on my left arm. should i be worried? i tried contacting my doctor but he has not responded yet.

hello everyone

i’m very nervous. ever since i got the vaccine specifically the third shot on my left arm i have been experiencing on and off finger numbness in my left hand. please help

i’m now experiencing burning sensations in my left hand as well as the numb sensation in my thumb i don’t know what to do