Zoster vaccine, recombinant and Sore Arm: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Jac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 21, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I received my first Shingrix in September and had a very sore arm for 4 days. I received my second dose this past Monday and have been sick ever since. It’s been 5 days now. The first 2 days were bad with fever, shivers, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and sore arm. Most of the symptoms subsided in 3 days except for the nausea and diarrhea. Hoping that goes away soon. I’ve never gotten sick from a vaccination before. If this required a 3rd dose, I would decline it! I’ve lost 6 pounds this week from being so sick."

• Sic...
• October 24, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had my first shot in August and had a sore arm for about 2 weeks. Felt a little achy for a couple of days. That was a walk through the park compared to my second that I received 7 days ago. Burnt like fire going in, and a few hours later my arm is very, very sore and still is, no bruise or swelling though. Along with the sore arm, which I can deal with, I have been knocked down with severe joint pain from head to toe, fever, horrible headache, and overall exhausted even after sleeping. When is it going to stop!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I got my first Shingrix shot on a Tuesday afternoon. About 12-18 hours later, strong flu-like symptoms (muscle aches, nausea, stomach pain), I had to leave the office, go home, and I took Advil. 48 hours later, all side effect symptoms seem to be gone except a very sore arm (although no redness). I plan to take the second shot in 3-6 months and will plan accordingly."

• Ouc...
• December 17, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Seems as though we are all saying pretty much the same thing. I’m a 57 yo female in great shape who never gets sick! First injection in Sept. no big deal. Arm was a little sore, no other side effects. Injection #2 was yesterday (12/16/20) - WOW! Felt like I got punched HARD in the deltoid. Within 12 hours of the injection, I was shivering in bed, put on winter pajamas in Florida (75 degrees in the house), and fell asleep. I also had some upper back pain, generalized in location. Woke up at 0400 with a throbbing headache - took Tylenol, went back to sleep. Was dragging this morning, felt a bit feverish, so I took another Tylenol. All side effects seem to have gone away except for the arm pain. I’d get this injection again, knowing that I won’t be suffering from a shingles attack."

• bzt...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 20, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I received the Shingrix vaccine about 10 days ago. Arm a little sore at first, but nothing terribly noticeable. But within a few days, I noticed I was feeling tired, achy, and somewhat nauseated at times. GI not doing great. Joints hurt. I thought it might have been a GI thing, but eventually, I realized it must have been the vaccine. While not necessarily truly allergic to much, I have pronounced difficulties with almost every medication I've ever taken. After reading the responses on this site, I am quite certain that all my symptoms are related to this vaccine. However, I am so thankful that this effective vaccine is now available. I am in healthcare, and I know firsthand how awful shingles can be. Do not be put off by the side effects. Get the vaccine. You won't remember the side effects, but you would always remember the shingles."

• Rob...
• August 27, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "With the first shot of Shingrix, I just had a sore arm for about 5 days. Second shot yesterday. Fever of 100, chills, arm pain at the injection site, chills, nausea. Took Advil and feeling a bit better. Probably will spend the day at home today. Hoping tomorrow is better."

• Cat...
• September 20, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I wanted to share my positive experience with Shingrix! My husband and I (53/54) both had the first dose in May 2019. Neither one of us had any side effects other than soreness at the injection site. Second dose end of August 2019 on a Friday (purposely on a Friday just in case we got sick from it). The only side effect again was a sore arm, and we were both exhausted on Saturday. We took a nap, and by 6 pm Saturday night... we were fine. Everyone reacts differently."

• Cat...
• September 27, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Had 2nd Shingrix shot 7/3/19. Next day had fever, chills, and body aches, along with a sore arm. Here I am almost 3 months later, and my arm is sore and I have pain when lifting it. Wakes me up at night. Went to the doctor today, had an ultrasound done on my arm - shows nothing. Dr. told me to put warm compresses on, and if not better in a month, he will refer me to a surgeon. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks."

• JKa...
• January 22, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Had a terrible reaction the first night. Chills and shakes. Didn’t sleep well. Felt like I had the flu. Next day, major headache and very tired. Had to miss half of a day of work. I can deal with a sore arm, but I have had body aches all day long. Scared to take part 2. I never had this reaction to the other shingles vaccine I took a few years ago. I am a healthy 53-year-old man."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 15, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "65 y/o male. Had first dose on Thursday (Aug 2020). Today is Saturday. I had a sore arm on Thursday and Friday, but today 90% better. Had some headache on Friday, and one extra strength Tylenol took care of it. No other serious side effects. Hope to get the second dose in about 3 months."

• Deb...
• September 15, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "The first Shingrix injection was fine other than a sore arm (small price to pay). I had body aches, fever, and nausea with the second injection three months later. Lasted 12 hours, then fatigue for another day. Still a small price to pay considering how awful shingles can be."

• fla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 25, 2020

"50 y/o female, 150 lbs, healthy, active. Felt fine when I went in for the first injection. Within 2 hours, arm was very sore, could not sleep on that side. Next day, arm still sore. By end of day 2, I had a severe headache, could not lie down, made it difficult if not impossible to sleep. Day 3, fatigue, mild headache, sore muscles, neck pain, sore joints, injection site tender to the touch but less painful than previous 2 days. My husband, 62 y/o male, 220 lbs with hypertension, only had soreness in his arm, no other side effects."

• Som...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 6, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "1 day out from Shingrix, sore arm, tired. Would not have had shot if I had read these comments beforehand. It appears that the general public is being used as guinea pigs in a free study benefiting the manufacturer. Probably will not have second shot. Caveat emptor."

• MJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had my first Shingrix injection in September. I had a very sore arm and felt sluggish for a few days, but it didn't stop me. I had my second shot Tuesday, October 8th. Based on my experience with the first shot, I took Advil right before I got the shot. My arm was very sore when I went to bed, and I woke around 4 AM, and it hurt much worse. I took 2 more Advil and went back to sleep. The pain was reduced, and I went about my day until around 6 or 7 when I started feeling sore all over, became very tired, and got the chills. I barely had an appetite. I made it to almost 10 so I could walk my dog, then went to bed, taking more Advil. Today my symptoms are present, but have reduced. If I don't get shingles, it will all be worth it. PS, Medicare doesn't pay for the shots, so I spent well over $300 for the shots."

• DR ...
• April 7, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Wow. Certainly worse than any other vaccine. The side effects are really bad. Lost a day of work (which is expected if you read the fine print). Had to take some leftover painkillers to offset the outrageous headache that will wake you up the first night, chills, nausea... and I have to do the booster in 2 months? Someone has a lot of nerve approving this for the general public because I had a pretty good threshold for pain/discomfort. The sore arm is the least of the symptoms."

• Mol...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 17, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Only took the first. Fever of 103 deg F. Overall body aches, nausea, headache, very sore arm. Spent the day after in bed. By the second day, mild fever and head/body aches. Resumed normal activities. Four months later - got the first cold sore I have ever had. Related? I'm a runner, and one knee feels like it has a fever. I've never experienced quite this type of pain. Related? I will skip the second shot. I talked to my doctor, who agreed with me to skip. Sometimes I wonder if all of this hype is for companies to make money selling vaccines. I have never had any kind of side effect from any medication or vaccine before."

• Far...
• July 17, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I have now had both Shingrix vaccinations, and my response was about the same for both. Within two hours of the shot, I got a wicked headache that lasted about 5 days. The next day, I had extreme arthritic-like pain, particularly in my spine, neck, and knees. I felt feverish, had scary nightmares, and could not get comfortable temperature-wise in bed. I felt like crying, which is not my style. My stomach was quite upset, and I could barely eat. I felt lethargic and dizzy at times. I also had two incidents of visual display disruption, like what I was looking at was vibrating. This was migraine-like if anyone has ever had that. My arm was very sore and red. My breasts hurt. I felt, at times, like it was hard to get air. My husband had the shot, and it hardly bothered him. He felt mostly just tired. I am 64 years old, and he is 68. I got the shots because I know some people who have had shingles, and they were in excruciating pain."

• Too...
• July 26, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "52-year-old female. First shot Dec/18. No effects first day, other than a very sore, stiff arm. 24 hours later, suddenly felt very warm all over, heart racing, felt dizzy and nauseated. Thought I might pass out. Unable to work, spent the rest of the day in bed with flu-like symptoms and a bad headache. Fine on Day 3. I had the second shot five days ago. Again, very sore, stiff arm on Day 1. Day 2 started having the same reaction again. Felt woozy and faint, very warm all over, racing heartbeat, diarrhea. Very weak with flu-like symptoms and a pounding headache for the rest of Day 2. Day 3 felt fine, then out of the blue, hearing became muffled like my head was underwater. Lasted most of the day. That suddenly went away just as quickly as it started. Days 4 and 5 have been okay, just tired. Give yourself a few days to recover from the side effects of this vaccine. If it prevents me from getting shingles, it will be worth it."

• fra...
• August 15, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "On June 13, 2019, I received the second Shingrix shot. Like the first shot, my arm was sore for a week. Unlike the first shot, on or about June 22nd, I broke out with characteristic symptoms (itching, red rash) of shingles! A visit to my MD confirmed. Can someone explain this to me? Others with similar experience?"

• Age...
• September 24, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Got shot, nurse said... so did they tell you about side effects? Right after the shot I got a headache, within a couple hours my arm/neck was really sore, and 8 hours later felt like I had the flu. Lasted about 2-3 days. Now, 5 days later I have a lump (chocolate Easter egg size lump on shoulder) above the injection site... not sure what that’s about? Boy, it’s going to be hard to get that second shot!"

• Dan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 17, 2023

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "My wife and I got the first injection of two on the same day. I had a sore arm and slight body aches, which lasted a day. My wife had flu-like symptoms at night and was a bit achy the following day. Well worth the side effects we had versus getting shingles. Our friend got shingles next to her eye, and my cousin came close to leg paralysis due to shingles in his legs. Bottom line, most people that do fine with any vaccine do not post online about a positive experience, pharmaceuticals in general. This double-dose injection is a must for 50+ year-olds. Don’t risk getting shingles."

• BGa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 20, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had the shot Monday this week, and my arm is still really sore. I woke up Wednesday morning with swelling and puffiness under my right eye. I saw a dermatologist who believes Shingrix triggered this swelling. I only found out this vaccine has 191 medications it can interact with. No one advised me prior to the shot. I will endure as my parents had terrible shingles. More advice to users prior is critical!"

• Tam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Healthy 52-year-old female, I had my 1st dose in Nov. The shot hurt, I felt like I had the flu for 2 days. My arm was sore for a week and was red for another 3-4 days. This 2nd dose hurt as well, now here it is 6 hours later and I already have started to feel like rubbish... so I am expecting the same side effects as the 1st dose. I have heard the shingles are miserable and sometimes last for weeks, so this has to be better than getting them."

• JJa...
• November 9, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I took the first Shingrix shot two months ago. I had the sore arm like everyone else. I got the shot in the morning. By afternoon, I had a wicked headache, and by evening, I had flu-like symptoms. By late afternoon of the second day, I was back to normal. I was totally rethinking the second shot, but the doctor said symptoms are nothing compared to shingles. I just had the second shot this morning. I took Advil before and then another after. So far, I just have the sore arm. I did nap for three hours afterwards, but I was already very tired. I think the Advil is the trick. I will take another before I go to bed. Hopefully, that will keep the flu-like symptoms away."

• Bec...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 15, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "It's hard to really rate this. I had the first shot a couple of months ago and got the flu shot at the same time. My arm was much more sore from Shingrix than from the flu shot. I was a little tired and felt a little bad, but I got the shots on Friday evening and just stayed home and rested all weekend. Still didn't feel 100% by Monday, but I didn't feel bad enough to miss work. A week ago I got the 2nd Shingrix shot and my monthly B12 shot. The Shingrix site is sore again, but this time it has had a red rash around it, along with swelling and fever around the site. If it keeps me from having shingles, it was well worth it. I've known several people who have had shingles and I do not want to go through that! Just praying no other side effects from Shingrix appear in the future."