Even though I can't remember if I'd ever had chicken pox, my VA doctor told me that it would be highly advisable for me to get the shot. I've been telling my wife that I would, but kept putting it off. Medicare doesn't pay for it, so had to rely on our drug plan...…..which isn't very good and we plan on changing it. My wife got hers last October. She had chicken pox when she was young. That one, got at CVS Pharmacy, cost us almost $200. Unfortunately, the one she got last October turned out to be only 30% effective and she needed a new one. Well, actually, the new shingles shot aka Shingrix, is given in two shots, 2-3 months apart. Neither of us were very happy to know that the almost $200 we spent on her shot in October was gone. Anyway, I got my "first of two" shots yesterday morning. She got hers yesterday evening. The shot she got last October was fairly painful the night after she got it and this shot wasn't much different. A few hours after I got mine, I had to take ibuprofen for the pain and then, at 11:30PM, I was woken with pain, so I took more ibuprofen. She took an ibuprofen when she went to bed, so she slept fairly good, but my ibuprofen didn't work nearly as good as the one I took in the afternoon. It was excruciating pain for me, but my arm, where I got the shot, was definitely talking to me. Got very little sleep. Don't feel to bad this AM, but did take a prescription pain killer that I have for my shoulder osteoarthritis pain. And, in a couple of months, we both have to go back and get one more shot. BUT, getting the shots and enduring the pain is much, much better than getting Shingles and what can possibly come after the Shingles is finally gone.
I hear shingles is pretty painful, too. At this point, shingles is pretty much the only thing that I'd be vaccinated for, although I haven't done it yet. I had an aunt who suffered from shingles, as well as my older brother, and I know that it's painful. I guess, like the flu shots, you get some of the symptoms of shingles from the vaccination?
Having experienced shingles I wouldn't get the vaccine if this is true @Ken Anderson. And from what @Cody Fousnaugh said about the pain experienced after the vaccination, uh,not. You know the saying "I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy." Shingles would take care of your worst enemy for sure. I would think long and hard for an enemy that I'd wish shingles on.
Thinking back, I believe the most pain I've ever experienced was with shingles. Long after that experience I have refused the shingles shot time and again.
Not having recalled having Chickenpox as a kid, I got Shingles when I was 39. Started as a reddish rash in my right armpit, somewhat painful, no itch, gradually spreading across my upper chest, and then the left armpit. As it progressed, the worst effect was the rubbing of skin against skin under the arms. Went to the Dr. He said I had Herpes Zoster, gave me a Cortisone shot, and gradually the affliction subsided. Lasted a little over a week, as I recall, painful, yes, but far less so than the abscess I had had in my upper jaw at age 19. Shingles happened almost 40 years ago, I have had no recurrance of any kind, and would certainly not consider a vaccination now. Stubborn old man........ Frank
The last time I saw my VA doctor, I was asked if I wanted one and I said no. She warned me and told me about a recent patient who had shingles around his eyes and it started me thinking but not enough to get one. I really, really hate needles which is one good reason for no tattoos, but is my hatred for needles so overwhelming that I will not take care of myself? After all, I'm a big boy and I wear big boy pants and do big boy stuff so maybe next time (July 24th) I might give the doctor the thumbs up and get the derned shot just like other big boys do.
I got Zostavax, I think, a number of years ago. I am very against unnecessary vaccinations, but, having had friends and associates who experienced shingles, I wanted to reduce the likelihood of developing them myself. It is a personal choice; no "herd immunity" argument can be made. Decide for yourself and enjoy/endure the consequences of your decision.
No pain last night at all. Had an ibuprofen "at the ready", but didn't need it. If it's just one night of pain I'd have to endure, getting the second dose (shot) will be well worth not getting shingles. Wife still has some pain, but her pain has subsided as well.
It seems like every time we have to go in to see the doctor for one of the wellness checkups, they are asking me if I want a shingles shot or a pneumonia shot, or a flu shot. I always refuse all of them, and I have an excellent immune system. Like many other illnesses, shingles is more apt to strike someone who has a compromised immune system. It is well known that three people can be exposed to a cold or flu virus, one will come down with a horrible cold, one will get a milder version, and the other person might just have a few sniffles, or nothing at all. It all depends on how strong your immune system is, as to how severe the symptoms will be, according to experts, and that makes sense to me. So, it is definitely a personal decision as to whether a person should get the vaccine for shingles or not, and if you know that you often get sick, have colds or influenza when it is going around, then it is definitely an important thing to get the shingles shot because you will probably have a very bad case of that, too. https://draxe.com/5-shingles-natural-treatments/
I looked the Shingle shot up and one of the side effects is pain so you might have it again with that second dose @Cody Fousnaugh. Try taking some pain reliever before you get the next dose...that might help.
My wife's younger sister got shingles late last year, while in the hospital. It was pretty bad, but finally cleared up. From the picture her older sister took of it, and sent to us thru e-mail, neither of us want to get it. Shingles can be pretty bad. Our immune system is ok, but definitely not good-to-great, so.....….each year it's the Senior Flu Shot and now it's the Shingles two dose shot. Heck, because we know that our immune system isn't that good, we don't attend church here, except for Christmas Eve Service. We've even moved from one restaurant table to another, because someone was coughing and sneezing at a table close to us. When we hear, or see, someone in a store cough, we automatically get out of the isle they are in. Seems like way to many people want to go places when they are sick! We seen one guy, as we were leaving, come into a grocery store wearing a surgical mask, and you know what that means, right?
The mask might mean he is protecting himself, or it might mean he is protecting you from the respiratory disease he has. No way to know unless you ask.
@Yvonne Smith Regarding the "strength" of one's immune system, and in consideration of the typical virus-caused symptoms, I've been told that in answer to the question of why seniors seem less afflicted that the young, that there are about 600 viruses which cause typical cold symptoms, and that by old-age most of them have already been "caught" and specific immunity to them remains to fend them off. FWIW, not sure what to believe! Frank
Having been single, I know that people living alone have to do things sometimes, whether they are sick or not. If I knew that I had the flu or even a cold, I wouldn't go to eat in a restaurant or to sit next to someone in church, but I might have to go the store or some other places. In the past, employers looked with disdain on those who called in sick every time they had a sniffle, and with appreciation on those who were willing to come to work despite being sick. That has changed, and it makes sense for it to have changed, given communicable diseases, but that doesn't mean that everyone's thinking has been rearranged, particularly older people who were raised to believe that you carried on regardless.
Yes, I read that Sick Pay isn't a benefit with some companies. I don't remember when I read about this, but there was some kind of article talking about a flu epidemic going on, because people were going to work sick and so on. One single mom somewhere in NY, said "I'll stay home and take care of myself if someone will pay me for the day/days I'm off. There's absolutely no way that I can take a day off of work and still pay my bills and feed my daughter and I."