I hope this thread is still active since I could really use some support. This past month has been probably the worst of my life. On August 28th of 2019, I was traveling Thailand with my boyfriend and I got bitten by a monkey. My skin did not break and I could not find any blood or even the wound. I suffer from anxiety and get paranoid very easily, so I decided to begin the rabies vaccine course. In Thailand, it is 5 shots and, although this seemed like an inconvenience to my trip, I did not think much about it. I didnÂ’t think about the risks since I have been getting vaccinated since I was a baby and have had no (known) side effects or complications. This was probably the worst mistake of my life since I now experience symptoms like burning toes, non existent water drops on my legs and side of my head and a weird prickly sensations throughout my body and some muscle weakness. I began with a tingling sensation on my fingers and toes after the second shot on August 31st. That night I was laying down and the left side of my body went numb and I felt like I couldnÂ’t breathe. At one point, I felt like I fainted. I went to a nearby clinic and they told me that it was, not related to the vaccine. I am not sure if what happened was a panic attack but this is when I started to experience all the symptoms that i previously described. Also, the night before this incident, I drank with my friends to the point of intoxication. Mind you, I had asked the doctor at the place where I got the first shot on the 28th if I could drink and he said it was okay to drink a day after the shot. Even with the doctorÂ’s approval, I understand how irresponsible of me it was to drink after beginning a vaccine course.

I took the third and fourth shot in Thailand and the fifth shot in Japan on September 25th. I got back to the U.S on the 3rd of October and saw my doctor the day after. He told me it was completely unnecessary for me to have taken the shots. I also made the mistake of telling him I had severe anxiety over this situation and he basically dismissed everything I said as symptoms of anxiety. He refused to write me a referral to a neurologist and, instead, made me do a bunch of labs to rule out Lyme disease, diabetes, and other infections. He also put me on hydroxyzine, which I have taken before, and IÂ’ve been taking it for 4 days. He wants me to wait 4-6 weeks for progress, but I still experience burning toes, feeling of water drops on my right knee and right calf, and random prickly feeling on my legs, feet, hands and arms. I also feel random twitches on my knees and calves and my knees feel a bit weak. I can still walk with no problem but it feels a bit awkward. None of these symptoms are consistent since they happen randomly and go away soon after. However, they are all very concerning and IÂ’m scared that I suffer from neurological damage and that, by delaying treatment, I am just letting my condition get worse. What should I do? Should I just wait to see if my symptoms get better, as my doctor advises, or should I look for another doctor?

Sorry for what you are experiencing, glad you found this thread. I can't imagine any doctor saying the rabies post exposure protocol was unnecessary after an encounter such as yours with a monkey! Bad neurological reactions to the vaccine are no fun, but rabies is a death sentence. After much reading and research, I'm wondering why more doctors don't insist on travelers to Africa and Asia getting the pre-exposure vaccine before they go to these countries where rabies is endemic. WHO recommends it. After discovering the bat bites on my hands I was ready to fight for the vaccine if they tried to deny it to me! The neurological sensations you are experiencing are very real, and anxiety plays into the situation also, which I consider quite normal. Being bitten and going through treatment is traumatic. At this point your best option is to sit tight and see what develops. If it becomes unbearable, seek out a good neurologist who will run some tests to reassure you (blood test for autoimmune, EEG), but not go all invasive and extreme. Also be prepared to accept that the neurological side effects may wax and wane, seem very bizarre, and be with you for possibly years. For a long time it was nearly impossible for me to walk, and walking was very painful. If you've read the entire thread, you realize that with few exceptions, we've come out alright. Hoping the best for you.

Hi there, I've found your posts really helpful to my recent situation with muscle twitching starting in my feet that have ascended to my entire body after receiving the post-exposure rabies vaccines. How are your symptoms now and how long before the muscle twitching you experienced subsided?

ATX_Man's posts were extremely helpful and on point. They were also a great help to me. He hasn't posted since 10/29/15. Most people seem to drop off the thread when they are well "Out of the Woods" so to speak. It would be reassuring to know how everyone is doing 5,10,even 20 years down the road after treatment. All the best with your course of recovery!

Hi Batbite! Thank you so much for consistently checking in on this forum. It’s really reassuring to have some support from someone that has been through it and has managed to survive the rollercoaster of symptoms and emotions.

As for my symptoms, I wouldn’t say they are unbearable, just mostly annoying. I am a person that loves resting and its terrible that every time I lay down now I am hyper aware of every single twitching, tingling, and twinging sensation in my limbs. If I am walking I don’t feel anything, it’s just when I am laying down or sitting. Was this also the same for you?

I guess one of my main concerns is that the alcohol’s reaction with the vaccine was the main culprit in offsetting these neurological symptoms since, prior to the second shot, I had not been experiencing any abnormal sensations. I feel very confused. Everybody just wants me to wait, but I am scared that my symptoms will get worse and that I will end up paralyzed or losing complete sensation.

If you don’t mind me asking, when did it get to the point that you were unable to walk and what was this due to? Joint pain? Should I also expect my symptoms to worsen with time? How long did it take you to recover and are you fully recovered now? Sorry, I read all of the posts on this threads, but I already forgot some information.

Thank you so much once again! Also, sending some positive vibes to everyone in this group.

I completed the vaccine series near the end of January, 2017, and the difficulty with walking began in March, so almost two months later. Along with extreme pain, I also experienced a partial paralalsys. My left pelvis/hip just would not move normally and it was as if I had to swing my entire left body forward to take a step with my left leg. It is not surprising that you are most bothered by the twitching, etc., at rest. My neurologist explained that the twitches are actually small seizures, which occur during the time when the brain is in a "pre-sleep" mode. I'm no expert, but that may also explain why your problems presented with the alcohol consumption. I wouldn't guilt on that though, due to allergies I don't drink at all, and my neurological symptoms came on anyway. My progression began with my right foot twitching (literally fluttering) at rest, and over the course of a year progressed to the problems walking, pain, neuropathy, nocturnal seizures, myoclonus, and auditory hallucinations. Was not fun at all. I kept wondering what would happen next, and if I'd ever get better, and if so, how much better. I'm glad to now report that exept for a rare twitch in my right foot at rest, all of my symptoms are gone...the pain, paralisys, seizures, myoclonus, neuropathy, auditory hallucinations...all gone. I am walking just fine, pain free. Everyone's symptoms seem to run a slightly different course. Hopefully yours will be mild and brief.

Since I've had my last shot recently I would like to share my exp. So far

I took the vaccine 5 days after the initial contact with a stray dog ( as it didnt look rabid ) and I went to the same place 14 days later to find the same dog with his pack still grumpy as ever which is a sign of relief but by this time Ive had two shots and the vaccine did a number on me I had anxiety which didnt go away even after being reassured nothing is gonna happen by 5 Doctor's yeah call it any name you like xD I went to see 5 different Doctors from 3 different Hospitals here in Delhi 1 from Aiims 3 from Safdurjang Hospital and finally 1 from RML Hospital ( the Dr from RML was ****** since there were a lot of emerglency and me being present there with my anxiety didnt do much 😂 ) .

I recently took my fourth shot and now the muscle and joint pain are starting to kick in again plus I've been drinking a lot the past 2 month and this did a number on me too .

All in All my mind is fresh , my body isnt left leg knee down slightly numb and with pins and needles from time to time and left hand elbow down also have pins and needles but lower back pain is gone ( the best part ) . Thank you everyone and Thank God .

Thai Traveller do not worry too much I know my words will not be enough but you'll be fine , you should hang out with your bf the symptoms will go away one day .

God bless you all thank you so so much 😭🙏

Tobius, thank you for your reassuring words and your positive attitude! I hope one day I will be like this lol so you are in Delhi right now and continued taking the shots even though you saw that the dog was still alive? When did you have your last shot?

Also, another thing that I am wondering is about your experience with the reactions between alcohol and the vaccine. Did you continue drinking throughout the whole process, if so, how soon after you got the first shot? I completely stopped drinking after the messy experience I had with the second shot. I don’t know if I should just stop completely drinking until I no longer have any symptoms. I am scared that if i continue drinking I will do more damage to my nerves or something 😩 it’s been hard though as I am 22 years old and that’s what I’m constantly surrounded by.

I was drunk the night I got bit , drunk after a few days and drank heavily on the night of the third shot thats when it all happened the next morning was hell my anxieties peaked I thought I was gonna die , wrote my will and notes for my friends if I ever did die . The thought of leaving my single mother behind was the one thing that was troubling me the most ( I literally cried a few times maybe 5 times or more ) .

I think you will understand as you are only a year younger than me on how life is kinda here and there , you just wanna escape or do something about it but there are a few harder days and those days you drink . Thats my life for the last two months . At one point after the Whole rabies thingy I literally couldn't sleep at night my anxiety was too much panic attacks and living nightmares ( When I close my eyes its like my inner demon takes form smilling at my long suffering ) . I would drink water every few minutes to make sure I am not hydrophobic , stand under the fan to make sure I am not aerophobic , turn on the lights of my phone to make sure I am not photophobic , it was not nice and at one point I was so broken I went outside smoke a cigarette and prayed for 4 hours and tell all my christian friends to pray for me and told them about the notes I left them . It was hard mentally to know you are gonna die at a young age without any proper chance to thank your parents for taking care of you . Lets get super personal I am at the lowest point of my life right now and I had to add rabies , but maybe it was necessary thinking back now even if it was only a week or two time ago I am glad I had that level of mental challenge I now find peace with myself .

There is no single piece of advice thatll help you Ive been through it and I know but there was this exp for me where I met people who got bitten by stray dogs on multiple occasions over the part 2-3 years and didnt develop rabies at all that was a little light in the cave I was in.

To answer your question I took my last shot on the 14th this month ( took it two days after the appointed time cause of my busy schedule and over populated hospitals ) .

The reason I still took the shots well I was drunk so there is this part of me that says you are drunk so the dog you saw was another dog 😂 .

**

And thank you Batbite for always taking your time to talk to us . You sir are a light in this darkness that is post vaccine problems . God bless you man 🙏

Tobius, reading your last post brought back vividly just how dark and difficult the post vaccine reaction can be. Describing it to the average person, or even to most medical personnel, they just can't believe it, or dismiss it as over the top anxiety. Unless you have lived it you just don't know. I too, am a praying Christian and have prayed many times for everyone on this planet who has had an encounter with rabies, or even the shadow of the possibility of rabies.