Shingrix and Fatigue: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Ste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had the first shot yesterday, and a few hours later the arm I got the shot became very sore, to the point that moving or lifting it was excruciating. I was not expecting that! I had a hard time sleeping last night due to the arm pain. Now on day 2, and I still have the arm pain, but it has lessened a bit, but I’m now also fatigued and have a feeling of general malaise. I’ve never had a reaction to a vaccine like this before, and I’m dreading the second shot."

• Ste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had the first shot yesterday, and a few hours later the arm I got the shot became very sore, to the point that moving or lifting it was excruciating. I was not expecting that! I had a hard time sleeping last night due to the arm pain. Now on day 2, and I still have the arm pain, but it has lessened a bit, but I’m now also fatigued and have a feeling of general malaise. I’ve never had a reaction to a vaccine like this before, and I’m dreading the second shot."

• Chr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 8, 2021

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I took the first (and only) Shingrix shot in early July 2021. Very fatigued for the first 72 hours. I was taking three naps a day to get through it. No pain or fever. Thought I was good. Then I had a 17-day period (vice 1-2 days) of cognitive fog and lightheadedness for a few hours a day, normally between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. I did go to the Emergency Room once, and they couldn't find anything wrong with me. My doctor recommends waiting for 6 months before the 2nd vaccine, but I'm not going to take it. It's too disruptive, especially since I work full-time every day. To be fair to Shingrix, none of my friends had an adverse reaction like mine, however, my wife had 4 days of low-grade fever, fatigue, and her arm was very swollen. She had flu-like effects and couldn't get off the couch. She may not get the second shot. It's a nasty vaccine. I'm normally pro-vax, but I don't want to take a chance on a worse reaction to a second vaccination."

• Anonymous
• December 20, 2020

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "My first round of shingles injection was a breeze, a little pain in the arm, but that’s about it. I received the shingles shot round two around the fourth or fifth of December 2020. I had the chills, flu-like symptoms, body aches, chills, and fever. My bottom lip became very swollen, and I had to take Benadryl because they thought it was an allergic reaction to the shot. All those symptoms went away in a few days-most of them within two days, my body aches, joint pain, and sore muscles took several days. Today is December 19, and my injection site is still painful. The pain in my arm feels like the needle went through my bone. I was and still am fatigued. When will my joints and shoulder pain subside? This was not a pleasant experience. My daughter had shingles, and I saw how miserable she was, she had it on her back. I cannot decide whether I should encourage her to get this vaccine or not."

• Zoe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 28, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "On the plus side, I lost 5 lbs. I can't judge the efficacy of this shot, since I may never have gotten shingles anyway. I had the shot on Mon and was fine Mon/Tues. It stings going in, and I had a lot of redness and swelling at the injection site and muscle pain bad enough that I couldn't sleep on that side. But that's minor! I am a 54-year-old healthy woman, and this knocked me out! On Wed-Fri night, I had a 99.7 fever with extreme sweating and chills, severe fatigue, and difficulty with the smallest of movements – walking across the room was a huge undertaking. Followed by: major GI issues, diarrhea, constipation, level 10 intestinal cramping, nausea, regurgitation, acid reflux, total loss of appetite, and I vomited four times. It's Saturday, and I'm not back to normal yet. I don't know if I'll get the booster. My handout says that side effects are worse for younger people and that for 1 in 6, they may keep you from normal activity. In my opinion, it doesn't give a true indication of how severe they may be."

• LAL...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 9, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Came here to see how long side effects last. Now wondering which is better: vaccine or get shingles and then use antiviral. A friend in her 30s had shingles above one eye for which Valtrex antiviral helped a lot. My case: I'm 61 with minor health issues. Never reacted to other vaccines aside from a slightly sore arm for a day. This is only day 2 after the first shot, hoping it doesn't get worse as I am reading it can. Spent most of yesterday in bed with body aches, a bad headache, fatigue, and feeling 'out of it.' Temp is actually lower than normal as it is when I'm run down. Arm is very sore at the injection site and hurts to lift. Tylenol is helping better than ibuprofen. Thought the 2nd shot should go better, but reading otherwise for some makes me uncomfortable with that plan."

• Fle...
• September 6, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "'I took my first installment of Shingrix in Jan. '19 without much in the way of symptoms to report. A dull headache and stiffness in my neck and legs. My second injection occurred Sept. 5, 2019. The first 12 hours, not much to report. By the 24-hour mark, I'm very fatigued, stiff neck, with a general blah feeling some would identify as flu-like symptoms. Would I take the vaccine again? Oh my yes! I've witnessed those who suffer from chickenpox, shingles, get the shot!"

• Dsw...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 7, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Injection on Friday, no ill effects. Twenty-four hours later, Saturday, overcome with headache, stiff neck, body aches, chills, nausea, fatigue. Crashed on the couch all day, couldn’t do anything. Really unpleasant but better than shingles. I will get the second injection."

• rad...
• May 28, 2022

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Got 1st shot yesterday. In 2 hours, I became so fatigued I had to take a nap. Then severe body aches the rest of the day so bad I had to take hydrocodone, which I have not needed in months. I do have RA, and it felt like a major RA flare, neck pain, and headaches. I’m hoping side effects won't last long. I doubt I will get the 2nd shot."

• Don...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 24, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "First injection 01/12/2018 - fairly painful at the injection site for 3 days, fairly painful joint pain, starting the 3rd day, and continuing for 2 more days. Slight headache and general malaise for 1 day following the injection. Second injection 04/12/2018 - same symptoms as above, but less so. Unfortunately, on the 5th day, I developed severe pain across the front of my chest (shingles), under the right arm and continuing to the center of my back. The pain felt like it actually penetrated deep into my skin, even to the underlying muscles. The pain finally started to abate 04/22/2018 and continues to improve."

• Mik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 23, 2021

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I had the first dose at the end of October 2020. Headache that night. Took ibuprofen, went to bed. Woke up at 2 am with chills. In the morning and the rest of the day, I felt like I had a mild flu. Too fatigued to cook. The next day I felt perfectly fine. Recommend that you plan it when you have the next day off from work. I'm getting my second dose soon."

• Sun...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 8, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I got the first Shingrix vaccine on 7/4. My arm was very sore at the injection site for 2 days. Eight hours after getting the vaccine, I experienced chills, then sweats, fever, muscle and joint aches, and extreme exhaustion. These symptoms lasted 40 hours. This leaves me uninspired to get the 2nd vaccine, but I have come this far, so I suppose I will."

• Gra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 25, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "On day 12 post #1. Sore arm, fatigue, general achiness persist. At my age, hard to be sure vaccine-related (except sore arm), but have to be suspicious. Dread shot #2, but will take because already 'flunked' the old shot last year, and even though had mild symptoms-so I am told-it was awful. FYI, costing me $350 for 2 doses, and that's with insurance."

• Bur...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2021

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "57 yo female. First injection. Arm sore. First night awakened by uncontrollable shaking and extreme pain throughout body. Very scary. Thought I may be having a seizure. I was so cold. Could not get warm. Next day, extremely sore and fatigued. Water from shower hurt my skin, like my nerves were damaged. Not getting second one."

• Lsm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 10, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Day 1 & 2 after injection: Headache (helped with Ibuprofen), fatigue, muscle aches, general feeling of illness/tiredness, loss of appetite, redness and soreness at the injection site. It didn't help that the person who gave it to me put it under the skin instead of in the muscle."

• Hap...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Had first shot in June... arm pain, fatigue, felt fluish for 3 days. Second shot 3 months later, same issues. I have had recurring shingles on a regular basis for years, and so far, the first dose has kept it away. Worth the several days of feeling sick vs. recurring shingles! Time will tell, but for the first time, I feel there is hope to keep this away. Never had Zostavax because it’s a live vaccine and did not want to trigger more episodes. Those who say shingles only occur once are wrong. Read online, recurring shingles is a real problem. Websites need to update the public and educate doctors who say it cannot occur more than once."

• Mik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 3, 2021

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Had first Shingrix injection in the morning this past Thursday. Felt mostly okay until that night, and my neck felt really tight. Friday morning, I called in sick to work because it felt like I had the flu, but no fever. Severe body aches, joint pain, fatigue, and pounding headache. Tried ibuprofen and Tylenol (separate times), but it didn't help. Completely miserable all day. It's Saturday, and I'm going through it all again, but slightly less awful. Mostly severe body aches. I tried to mow the lawn, but it was just too much work after about 10 minutes. Back on the couch. I hope this subsides soon! I need to get the second dose in 8 weeks, which I will, but damn... This is so bad."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 24, 2018

"Had my first dose one week ago at my doctor’s office. They played down side effects vs. risk. The injection site felt like I was punched in the arm and was very sore for 5 days. Extreme fatigue every day. Now at day 7 with flu-like symptoms, aching, chills, headache, more fatigue, and tingling scalp. Depending on how long this lasts, the jury is still out on shot #2. I have traveled extensively throughout the world and had many inoculations for third world travel. Never before had a side effect. Otherwise, a very healthy 62-year-old woman."

• Jac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "51-year-old male. Here are the side effects after my 2nd shot: 0-12 hours: slightly sore arm. 12-18 hours: chills and muscle aches. 18-30 hours: fatigue. After 30 hours: feel normal except for slightly sore arm. Side effects were similar to 1st shot in timing and type. The difference was that their intensity was about 1/2 of what they were the first time around. I could have muddled through a day at work after the 2nd shot, but not the first shot."

• Big...
• February 21, 2021

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Shingrix is a vaccine to prevent shingles. It requires 2 injections 3-6 months apart. No problems with my 1st injection in Sept. 2020. The 2nd injection was February 18, 2021. Within hours, I felt unwell. Fatigued and a stomach ache. So I laid down. When I got up, I felt really cold and put on more layers of clothing. By evening, I could not eat anything. My stomach felt full, although I had not eaten. I had a headache, and my body shook. Then muscle aches began. The next morning, I felt exhausted and ached all over, and I lay in bed shivering. I could barely get up. Read the patient info sheet. All listed."

• Gut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 15, 2023

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "Had my first injection in April. Almost no side effects. Last Monday, took the second injection. I felt awful and had a fever for 2 days, headache, fatigue, and diarrhea that does not go away. It's been 3 days since the injection."

• ACS...
• August 9, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "If your experience is like mine, you will be happier lolling about at home the day after your shot. I felt woozy and fatigued. Also, my arm first hurt and then itched. I wish there were no side effects, but sometimes you pay for huge long-run expected benefits with relatively small short-run costs."

• Tun...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 13, 2023

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "The injection site was red in a growth pattern to about 2.5 inches across that also turned into a hard lump over a 4-day period. Extreme fatigue and lethargy. Also, I couldn't remember to do the things I needed to do. Definite brain fog. I couldn't even focus on getting things ready for the next day. I felt out of it for 3 days. I would recommend that if you get it, to have at least the next day off. Getting the second shot only because shingles is a worse alternative. I took my blood pressure several times yesterday while I was really feeling bad. Systolic readings were much higher than usual, while diastolic were lower than usual. (142/55). Normal today (110/69)"

• Hea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 11, 2019

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I am in reasonably good health and usually do not have severe reactions to vaccines. I took the first Shingrix shot 2 months ago and the second one 4 days ago. In both instances, I experienced a sore arm (slightly worse than a flu shot) for a couple of days, but I felt really tired the day after the shot. Other than the fatigue on the second day, I did not experience any other negative reactions. I gave the drug a score of 8 as it is hard to evaluate its effectiveness at this point."

• Tam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2018

For Herpes Zoster, Prophylaxis "I wanted to write a review to let others know about the fatigue. I see others have similar comments. I'm not going to discourage anyone from the vaccine. If it keeps me from a future outbreak - I'd do it every year. Like others, I am wiped out. Still, I made it to the gym for light workouts. Yes, I'd compare it to light flu symptoms; head and body aches. I had the same with the first dose. Fortunately, I work from home and was functional, just sluggish. And, yes, it's like being punched in the arm - really hard. The injection is not bad. It's the after pain. You'll live. Suck it up and take the vaccine on a Friday. You should be good by Monday."