Did The 2016 Flu Shot Cause My Hospitalization With Relapsing Polychondritis?
Did The 2016 Flu Shot Cause My Hospitalization With Relapsing Polychondritis?
My numerous doctors all agree that I need the flu shot each year. So, similar to past years, two weeks ago I received this year’s flu vacation.
A nurse in my doctor’s office injected the flu vacation into my upper right arm.
The day after the flu shot my body is off, more than normally. My extreme fatigue and flu-like symptoms linger for days. The shot injection site on my upper arm is extremely sensitive and sore a week after the flu injection.
To combat my new layer of fatigue, I swallow additional supplements, rest, and rest.
About ten days after my flu shot the layers of extra fatigue begin to lift but symptoms of my Relapsing Polychondritis appear.
I frighteningly feel the pulling pain coming from my rib cartilage. I know the feel of the pain all too well. The pain is the result of Relapsing Polychondritis trying to flare within my rib cartilage. I up my steroids and the pain in my ribs begins to dissipate.
Day twelve after my flu injection I awoke in the middle of the night, the left side of my neck screams in pain.
Between 3:00 A.M. – 6:30 A.M. I ice my neck, apply heat to my neck then I ice my neck again. Finally, I swallow a pain pill, but the sharp stabbing jolts of pain to my neck become unbearable.
I try to stand up at 7:00 A.M. I am more hunched than standing, and I am unable to keep my head up. If there was a million dollar lottery ticket on the ground, I would be out of luck. I can barely shuffle a few half steps and if I try to bend my body it would definitely take a hard fall straight to the floor.
By 8:00 A.M. my husband has brought me at our local Emergency Room.
Our local Emergency Room has hundreds of pages of my medical records over the past decade.
Fortunately, any Emergency Room doctor is able to review my medical records and it blatantly apparent my hospital records resonate that I am a Zebra type of patient.
Thankfully, by noon I am in a hospital room with my right arm tethered to an IV bag filled with Steroids and pain medication has been administered.
At 7:00 P.M., the Magic Fingers of the hospital pain specialist, injects steroids into the epicenter of my neck pain.
The nurse in the room marvels in amazement as she witnesses the transformation of my neck.
By 7:15 P.M. I can walk, move my head up and move my head down.
Around 1:00 P.M. the following day the doctor releases me from the hospital. The doctor gives me a prescription for additional steroids, pain medication, and medical follow-up instructions.
I am left to ponder if the flu shot did trigger a Relapsing Polychondritis flare.
There is little to no research about the outcome of the flu shot and Relapsing Polychondritis.
When I tell my pharmacist about my Relapsing Polychondritis flare she immediately mentions how her friend with Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disease, had a flare after she was given the flu shot.
We both agree there is most likely a common denominator between the flu shot and both of our autoimmune flares.
Here is information about the 2016 Flu Vaccine:
How Is The Flu Vaccine Made
- All flu vaccines begin with a version of the virus that it is created to treat.
- Yes, that does mean the flu vaccine contains the flu virus.
- Medical experts decide what flu variants to place into the flu vaccine.
Is The Flu Shot Effective?
Well, maybe?
It ‘s difficult for medical experts to predict which flu strains will circulate each season.
The flu vaccine can take more than a half of year to manufacture a flu vaccine.
Do You Have An Allergy To Eggs?
If you are allergic to eggs, you may not be able to receive the flu vaccination.
The CDC reports that the flu viruses for the flu shot grow inside fertilized chicken eggs.
If you have had a painful experience with your health days after the flu shot, it would be terrific if you could share your story. You can email me at Lisa@HypoGal.com.
The hospital lab results from my hospital stay show that my body is struggling to fight infection. Even without my lab results, I know my body was screaming, invasion.
Did The 2016 Flu Shot Cause My Hospitalization With Relapsing Polychondritis?
I am not sure if the flu shot triggered my Relapsing Polychondritis to flare. Perhaps, it is just a coincidence?
However, as Emma Bull writes, “Coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.”
You can read about other shortcuts to living with a chronic illness at HypoGalBlog.
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You May Find These Relapsing Polychondritis Resources Helpful:
https://hypogalblog.com/relapsing-polychondritis/relapsing-polychondritis-rp-video/
https://hypogalblog.com/relapsing-polychondritis/relapsing-polychondritis/
https://hypogalblog.com/relapsing-polychondritis-appointment-ologist-rheumatologist/
https://hypogalblog.com/relapsing-polychondritis/what-is-relapsing-polychondritis/