Personal Note: Knocked on My Butt By the Vaccine

I don’t get too personal on my blog, but I might as well post about my Covid vaccine experience since it was an experience of note.  I got my second dose of the Moderna on Friday, and, whoa, did the second dose pack a wallop. 

I got the first dose on March 19^th, St. Joseph’s feast day!  Other than the sting in my shoulder afterward, I did not have any symptoms. 

This past Friday, April 16^th, about a month later, I got the second dose.  It didn’t feel any different than the first at the point of being stuck.  That evening I went on to my son’s little league baseball game, a drizzling cold night in April, but I didn’t feel any effects of the vaccine.  That night, just before bedtime, I started shivering.  No matter how many clothes I put on and how many blankets I put over me, I could not stop shivering.  I had no idea if I had fever because I didn’t get out of bed to check.  I barely slept.  I trembled with chills all night.

In the morning I checked my temperature.  I had a mild fever.  I still had chills, but when I got out of bed my muscles resisted the simplest motion.  I had no strength.  I stayed in bed all day.  I took Advil, which brought the fever down.  The chills came and went but they never went away completely.  My wife (God bless her) got me a large order of Wonton Soup.  It helped.  I had it for lunch and for dinner.

Then in the evening the fever started rising.  What was mild (99 to 100 degrees) climbed to 101, then 102, and even a 103.  I started to worry.  Took more Advil and eventually came down.  I slept that second night and when I woke up I felt it had gone away.  I still felt weak, but temperature was normal, and I could do some low stress chores.  It’s now evening of the second day, and I feel close to normal.  I can’t say I feel 100% strength, it’s good 75%.

My left shoulder, where the needle punctured me hurts.  I don’t remember it hurting this much on the first dose.  It feels more like a wasp sting, if you have ever had that unpleasant experience.  The hurt seems to spread over a lot more area than the sting, and it hurts for a lot longer than you would expect.

I had a number of vaccines when I had to travel internationally, and I don’t recall anything like this.  This was tough.  A friend told me the more the reaction to the vaccine, the greater than immunity one builds.  I don’t know if that’s true, but I hope so.

My wife, my mother, and my mother-in-law have all had the same second dose of Moderna.  My mother had some chills, a headache, never measured a fever, but on the second day had a blood pressure drop which caused her to faint.  We took her to the Emergency Room but they didn’t seem to think it was related to the vaccine.  The follow up doctor said it was possible.  My mother-in-law had chills and mild fever and headaches and enervated.  She felt terrible for a few days.  My wife did not have any chills but felt enervated.  She was the least affected by it.

My blogger friend Jan had a colorful way of describing her vaccine experience.  This from her first dose  and this from her second.  LOL.

It does feel like I was hit by a truck.  But I do recommend getting vaccinated.  I don’t know if one has similar reactions with the other types of vaccines, but from what I have read the Moderna provides the best immunity.  It’s worth the peace of mind.