[Madjostok]

Anybody ever get one of these?

I did yesterday and today all I can do is sleep, I can't function or do anything, if I do anything I'll immediately forget what I just did and go back to sleep, my dreams are incredibly vivid and frightening, dreaming about getting shot in the head or other strange imagery that I've only experienced once before in my entire life....when I actually had the flu.

Why did I pay $20 to get this?

Never again!

[Cucoulkrory]

A flu shot gives yuo a mild case of teh flu (I believe).

I think it is based on the protiens that your body can recognise as being ones that would be on the surface of the virus itself.

Your body reacts, builds antibodies to fight it, and you are now prepared if you get hit with something that "looks" the same.

The reason it does not give you a full case of the flu is because it is only the "shell" or thethingers on the outside of the virus that your antibodies would attach to. It does not invade your cells and replicate, so once your body deals with it, it does not have to keep fighting it.

Unfortunately, some people react to it more than others, getting a mild case of the flu as their body fights off the dummy-virus.


BTW, most of the symptoms for colds and flus come from your body fighting it, not from the bug itself...

[FYvWldC0]

the first time in your life you get a flu shot most people get some kind of reaction, not as strong as yours but usually weird enough for someone to say "I got the flu shot and got the flu". if you continue with the shots every year the reaction is less and less, it will get to a point where your arm is just mildly sore for a few hours.

[Kragh]

You can get the same vivid hallucinations for free at any county clinic.

[Grapappytek]

Anybody ever get one of these?

I did yesterday and today all I can do is sleep, I can't function or do anything, if I do anything I'll immediately forget what I just did and go back to sleep, my dreams are incredibly vivid and frightening, dreaming about getting shot in the head or other strange imagery that I've only experienced once before in my entire life....when I actually had the flu.

Why did I pay $20 to get this?

Never again!

I did the flu shot last 9 november (I do it every year)... but I've had the flu since last saturday until... today!!! But I don't think that's because of the shot... maybe it would be better say that I hope it...

[WFSdZuP3]

I got a flu shot for the first time ever a few weeks ago (in large part because my company will no longer offer sick leave after the 14th of December--but that's another thread) and within a day I felt like $hit...all congested, with a weird sensation as if I had water up my nostrils. Time will tell if it was worth it.

[replicamuse]

Please tell me: why on earth are you guys getting flu shots?

I imagine you are young and healthy. Why pump stuff like vaccines into your body?

So you get the flu. So what?

In the meantime try eating well, getting air, some sun, going for walks. Open your windows, turn down the heat... generally build up your strength.

From CBSNews:

Young, Healthy People Don't Need Vaccine

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in652021.shtml

[Sheelldaw]

Never had a flu shot.

[PrareeLor]

Because if you have ever had the flu, with a high fever, body aches, and bed-ridden for sometimes up to a week, you would appreciate being spared from ever having to go through that again.

You calculate the risk of contraction. Teachers now take it as a requirement (due to their VERY high exposure). If you are not in high exposure, and are careful about washing up and such, there is probably no need.

[tussinelde]

If you are young and healthy there is no need. Period.

From the NYTimes:

You should be vaccinated each year if you:

-Are 50 or older

-Have chronic lung or heart disease

-Have sickle cell anemia and other hemoglobinopathies

-Live in a nursing home or extended care facilities

-Live in any type of housing where there are chronic health problems

-Have kidney disease, anemia, severe asthma, diabetes, or chronic liver disease

-Have a weakened immune system (including those with cancer or HIV/AIDS)

-Receive long-term treatment with steroids for any condition

-Expect to be past the 3rd month of pregnancy during the flu season (you may want to consider requesting the mercury-free flu vaccine)

How many of you fit the above description?

The flu is unpleasant. That's life.

What are the long term conequences of taking such vaccine?

Perhaps it is better to build up you own resistance, your own anti-bodies.

From the National Vaccine Information Center:

"Studies Fail to Demonstrate SAFETY or Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccine in Children and Adults":

http://www.909shot.com/PressReleases/pr1031flu.htm

http://health.nytimes.com/health/gui.../overview.html

[fuslkdhfma]

To provide an update, today I am 90% better. I am still a little hot and achy, but atleast I can coherently think again. For the hell I went through yesterday I still don't think I'll ever get the flu shot again. Already I hardly get colds, I take vitamin c, zinc, general man vitamins, eat a clementine atleast once a day, and carry hand santizer with me. If I feel a cold coming on I'll take airborne and it always seems to work. No amount of airborne was able to kick what I was going through yesterday though.

[unlomarma]

Then don't get one Fab.

My father had the flu when he was in his 30's. Knocked him on his arse for a week and he was miserable.

Did it kill him? No.

Most of your list seems to tell of the people that would find the flu as a life-threatening illness. I think you are taking the artical, and list, out of context.

Why pump stuff like vaccines into your body Seems to show your perception of the vaccines as some sort of drug or foreign agent. Like by injecting them you are becoming a lab rat.

You do have to do your research on this, but most vaccines are not harmful to most people. Avoidance of them as if they were some sort of evil artificial substance is not a healthy attitude.



Have I gotten a flu shot? No. Have I thought about it? Yes. I just do not have all that much exposure to too many people to think of getting it. When I have kids, I might change my mind due to teh increased exposure of me, my kid, and my family.

But I have never though t that I would be "pumping" myself full of anythnig by taking one.

[autoloanexpert]

Stern, consider trying it one more year. If you get the same reaction, just stop. Gettnig a mini-flu every year is not worth the hassle of avoiding getting the full-bugger-on every 5-6 years.

But if you only have a few symptoms (like what you have now) when youget the next one, it may just be a minor inconvenience in the future rather than a major pain.

[anolbom]

Please tell me: why on earth are you guys getting flu shots?

I imagine you are young and healthy. Why pump stuff like vaccines into your body?

So you get the flu. So what?

In the meantime try eating well, getting air, some sun, going for walks. Open your windows, turn down the heat... generally build up your strength.

From CBSNews:

Young, Healthy People Don't Need Vaccine

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in652021.shtml

I'm young but I have an allergic "asthma"...

[marcusdexz]

I got one this year and I was a little under the weather for about 24 hours - but not all out sick. I've been getting them for about 13 years now. Never got the flu since.

[EnubreBense]

Last year, I got one about this time because half of my high school had the flu and I had the exact same reactions to it Stern. It sucked, but you get better as the days go by, as I see you did. Now that I see that I never needed the flu shot from what the NY Times said, I feel like a complete idiot.

-ben

[wrbwrbwrb]

From the same NYT article:

WHO SHOULD NOT RECEIVE A FLU VACCINE
According to the CDC, some people should not be vaccinated without first talking to a doctor. In general, you should not get a flu shot if you:

• Had a severe allergic reaction to chickens or egg protein
• Have a fever or illness that is more than "just a cold"
• Had a moderate to severe reaction after a previous flu vaccine
• Are a woman who is, or might be, in the first trimester of pregnancy (first 3 months of pregnancy)
• Have ever been paralyzed due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome

If you meet any of the above criteria, ask your doctor if a flu vaccine is safe for you. All it says is that it recommends that you take the vaccine if you have X Y or Z, and that you consult a doctor if you have A B or C.

You can still take it, and it sites your bodies reactions to the protein coat of the influenza virus (it is no longer a "weakened" virus, it is just it's "shirt").

Subsequent years and strains are usually similar, so the reaction to further inoculations is less extreme.

Perhaps it is better to build up you own resistance, your own anti-bodies. "Building up antibodies" against it on your own is just that. Your body does not build them up w/o being exposed to them in the first place. When you get exposed to the protein coat, your body reacts to it like it was the virus, producing Antibodies that attack it.

Now, if you get the actual virus, there is less lag time between when you catch it and when your body has its systems manufacturing antibodies targeted specifically at the virus. The virus has little, if any, time to entrench and replicate itself before it is neutralized.

If you do not get a vaccine, or catch the disease, there is no way to build up antibodies "on your own".


So all this says is that if you are unhealthy, definitely get a shot because the Flu could possibly kill you. If you have any of the special conditions sited, do NOT get it unless your doctor says OK.

Otherwise it is your choice. You think you have a high risk of being exposed and do not want to run a high fever for 4-5 days and be out of work, get it.

Low exposure or don't really care, don't get it.

[DoctorDeryOne]

About three months ago i had a flu injection (i had to because i work in a hospital). I felt rough for about 24 hours but after that i was OK, but i didn't get a bad reaction.

The injection is far better than getting flu as bad as i did about 3 years ago, which left me in bed for a week.

[bahrain41]

Three years ago i did injection and then i had mighty flu.
Oh, i felt myself very bad.
After that i never do this thing.
I think, that injection isn't good thingamajig -(