# flu and the "new pneumonia" shots UPDATE



## AZ Jim (Sep 29, 2015)

Felt kinda funky.  They are both covered by Medicare but the total of the two was $270.  Hoping I'll feel better in the morning.  Have you got you shots yet?  At least the Flu?


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## tnthomas (Sep 29, 2015)

I just got a flu shot this morning, offered free at work.    My arm is a little sore.


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## AZ Jim (Sep 29, 2015)

The sore arms (one in each arm) are a little sore but I have a little fever and just feel funky.  I don't know which shot did that.


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## Laurie (Sep 30, 2015)

Have an appointment next Monday.

I don't normally get a reaction but I did last year, 
.


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## Kadee (Sep 30, 2015)

We get our flu shots in March .. Many who have had their shots  for years ,have been struck down this year with a fairly bad flu keeping most in bed for up to six weeks.... We have had a very cold winter .. It was 14 c yesterday where I live . ..its forecast to be 35c this coming Saturday ...its going from winter temptures to mid summer temptures in 3 days


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## SifuPhil (Sep 30, 2015)

Never get the shots - I just go out back and eat a handful of dirt. 

Hope you feel better soon.


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## Butterfly (Sep 30, 2015)

I got the high dose flu shot and the new pneumonia vaccine Monday last week.  One arm got VERY sore (never  happened before) and I felt funky for several days.  Never happened with the regular flu shot, but this year with the high dose one I got  a reaction.

Worth it, though.  I had influenza once, and thought I would die -- really.  Ever since that, I've religiously gotten the flu shot every year.


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## QuickSilver (Sep 30, 2015)

Jim...  the reaction you are having is probably a good thing.  It means you were not immune to the strain of flu expected and your body is cooking up antibodies to the bug as we speak...   It happens to me some years... some years not..   so don't sweat it..  take a nap.. you will be fine in a day or so.


I've had my pneumonia shots...  I am scheduled to get my yearly flu shot in a week or so.   I get it free at work.


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## Jackie22 (Sep 30, 2015)

I have not had my yearly flu shot, but will be getting it soon.


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## boozercruiser (Sep 30, 2015)

I have had mine, free in the U.K.
I have had two friends killed by phnewmonia, 
I don't want t to get me!


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## Hanfonius (Sep 30, 2015)

I had my 'flu shot in one arm,  and (at my request) a shingles shot in the other.

I'm pheeling normal. 
 Probably the bottle of gin that I drank....
Hic!


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## Bullie76 (Sep 30, 2015)

Hanfonius said:


> I had my 'flu shot in one arm,  and (at my request) a shingles shot in the other.



I plan to get both around the end of October. Don't want any part of either.


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## Josiah (Sep 30, 2015)

Jim, what's new about the "new" pneumonia shot?


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## Falcon (Sep 30, 2015)

I'm like Phil..........don't get the shots  (for Anything).  Seems my body takes care of itself.  I haven't been sick  in YEARS!


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## applecruncher (Sep 30, 2015)

Got pneumonnia vaccine (think it's called Prevnar 13) a couple months ago at dr office. Got flu shot a few weeks ago. My arm was sore for a few days. Got Shingles vaccine last year.


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## Shirley (Sep 30, 2015)

I got my pneumonia shot and the shingles shot. I will get my flu shot about the end of October. I almost never get sick but I want to keep it that way.


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## venus (Sep 30, 2015)

Having mine tomorrow, apparently last year's vaccine was ineffective.


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## AZ Jim (Oct 1, 2015)

Well today, I feel much better but yesterday I had a fever and really felt punk.  This "new" pneumonia shot is apparently superior to the one I had two years ago but they suggested it provides much better protection so I got it.  Both shots are covered by Medicare here in the U.S..Ibuprofen saw me thru a couple of days.


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## Ken N Tx (Oct 2, 2015)

Falcon said:


> I'm like Phil..........don't get the shots  (for Anything).  Seems my body takes care of itself.  I haven't been sick  in YEARS!


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## venus (Oct 3, 2015)

Anyone had any problems with pneumonia jab?  I could barely lift my arm yesterday.  Glad this is a one off


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## RadishRose (Oct 3, 2015)

Had flu shot 2 days ago. Sore arm but nothing else. Had a 2-year pneumonia shot last year, so not needed. I forgot about the shingles shot; I never had one. Maybe I'll wait on that.


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## debbie in seattle (Oct 3, 2015)

Perhaps it was the 'jabber' who gave it.   Worked in medical all my work life and some folks just suck at giving injections, just saying..............


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## NancyNGA (Oct 3, 2015)

debbie in seattle said:


> Perhaps it was the 'jabber' who gave it.   Worked in medical all my work life and some folks just suck at giving injections, just saying..............



Agree. I think that has more to do with the soreness part of it than anything else.  Some years my arm gets sore from just the flu shot.  Other years nothing at all.


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## Butterfly (Oct 3, 2015)

venus said:


> Anyone had any problems with pneumonia jab?  I could barely lift my arm yesterday.  Glad this is a one off



Yes.  My arm was so sore I could barely lift it, and it hurt and throbbed all night long.  Not a good experience.  In truth, however, I got the pheumonia shot in one arm and the "high dose" flue shot in the other, and I don't know which one went in which arm.  One was so painful it kept me up all night, and the other not hardly at all.


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## Butterfly (Oct 3, 2015)

Josiah said:


> Jim, what's new about the "new" pneumonia shot?



They said it gives improved immunity, and also gets a couple things the old one didn't.  They told me the old pneumonia shot was only good for 5 years, and since it had been a bit more than 4 years for me, I should go ahead and get the new one.  So I did.


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## Butterfly (Oct 3, 2015)

Falcon said:


> I'm like Phil..........don't get the shots  (for Anything).  Seems my body takes care of itself.  I haven't been sick  in YEARS!



I hadn't been getting the flu shots and hadn't been sick in years either, until I got the influenza.  I NEVER want to go through that again.  I was really, really, really sick.  It kept me flattened and bedridden for 10 days to two weeks, and then was a while till I really felt OK.  And there isn't hardly anything they can do for it, either.  I was so sick I had to get my son to come in and feed my dogs.  I couldn't stay on my feet long enough to do it.   The real flu isn't anything like what most people talk about when they say they've got the flu -- it's about a hundred times worse.  I really thought I might die.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 4, 2015)

I'm getting my flu shot next week... I had the shingles shot last year.. and the old pneumonia shot a few years ago.. I'll be getting the new one the next time I see the doc.


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## Shirley (Oct 4, 2015)

Butterfly said:


> I hadn't been getting the flu shots and hadn't been sick in years either, until I got the influenza.  I NEVER want to go through that again.  I was really, really, really sick.  It kept me flattened and bedridden for 10 days to two weeks, and then was a while till I really felt OK.  And there isn't hardly anything they can do for it, either.  I was so sick I had to get my son to come in and feed my dogs.  I couldn't stay on my feet long enough to do it.   The real flu isn't anything like what most people talk about when they say they've got the flu -- it's about a hundred times worse.  I really thought I might die.



I think anybody that has ever had the real flu would get the shot. It is a killer, especially for older people. One person has died from flu in NC this week.


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## Hanfonius (Oct 4, 2015)

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people.     It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. 
More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. 
Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 4, 2015)




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## debbie in seattle (Oct 4, 2015)

Shirley said:


> I think anybody that has ever had the real flu would get the shot. It is a killer, especially for older people. One person has died from flu in NC this week.




Couldn't agree more!   Once you experience the flu, never, ever want it again


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## Ruthanne (Oct 5, 2015)

I'll get my flue shot on the 23rd of this month.  Didn't know they had a shingles shot so I'll ask for one of those too.


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## Kadee (Oct 5, 2015)

Shirley said:


> I got my pneumonia shot and the shingles shot. I will get my flu shot about the end of October. I almost never get sick but I want to keep it that way.


I have never heard about a shot for shingles  ? Is it on the free list over there ? Quite a few of our dancing friends / colleges have had it , one friend has had it three times .. It sounds terrible ..


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## applecruncher (Oct 5, 2015)

Kadee46 said:


> I have never heard about a shot for shingles ? Is it on the free list over there ? Quite a few of our dancing friends / colleges have had it , one friend has had it three times .. It sounds terrible ..



The Shingles vaccine is NOT free (costs about $250 USD +/-) Sometimes it's covered by insurance.


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## debbie in seattle (Oct 5, 2015)

Kadee46 said:


> I have never heard about a shot for shingles  ? Is it on the free list over there ? Quite a few of our dancing friends / colleges have had it , one friend has had it three times .. It sounds terrible ..



Shingles shot has been around for awhile.   Boy, be sure and get one, nasty, nasty stuff.   Painful is an understatement for it.   It runs down your nerve endings and as the blisters burst, the pus makes it spread.
AKA  Old Peoples Chicken Pox &#55357;&#56833;


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## tnthomas (Oct 5, 2015)

My wife got it in Jan '14, Dr suggested we both get the vaccine, which we did.


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## Hanfonius (Oct 6, 2015)

Sorry to upset our American friends here.....

In the UK,  the shingles shot is recommended to people in their 70's,  and your doctor will tell you when you should come in for it.
It is free under the National Health Service.

If you are even thinking about not bothering - change your minds.
Shingles is a terrible thing to have to suffer with,  and it is avoidable.
Even a light 'episode' will be very uncomfortable for a few weeks,  and a bad incident can last for the rest of your life.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 6, 2015)

Mine was paid for completely by my insurance.


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## Shalimar (Oct 6, 2015)

I had shingles as a child, my doctor feels it is unnecessary for me to have the shot. I will get the flu shot in November.


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## Debby (Oct 6, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> The sore arms (one in each arm) are a little sore but I have a little fever and just feel funky.  I don't know which shot did that.



You're not alone Jim.  My mom who is 80 decided last year that she wouldn't get flu shots anymore because she has a very bad reaction to them as well.  Like you've described, she feels unwell and her arm usually swells up for a week from wrist to shoulder and it's quite painful she says.  Some people just can't take them.  Personally I don't get vaccinated but then I'm very careful when I go into town (lots of hand sanitizer!) and we live a pretty simple, private life so we don't come into contact with too many people who might be carrying a bug.  Hope you feel better soon.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 6, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> I had shingles as a child, my doctor feels it is unnecessary for me to have the shot. I will get the flu shot in November.



The shingles virus is the exact same virus that gives kids the Chicken Pox..  Once you have it, it stays in your body.. generally living at the base of major nerves.. As we age our immunity to the virus decreases and the virus can become active.  Since it clusters around the nerves.. instead of giving an over all outbreak of blisters like chicken pox.. it stays pretty much around the nerve.. which is why shingles appear along only one nerve track.   Having chicken pox or shingles as a child does not mean you will not get shingles as an older adult..  this is why you should get the shot..  not sure why your doc thinks you cannot get shingles... he is wrong..



*Chickenpox* is caused by the *varicella*-zoster *virus*, a member of the herpes *virus* family. The same *virus* also *causes* herpes zoster, or *shingles*, in adults.

*Shingles and chickenpox (Varicella-zoster virus) | University ...*

umm.edu/.../*shingles*-and-*chickenpo*...University of Maryland Medical Center

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## AZ Jim (Oct 6, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> The shingles virus is the exact same virus that gives kids the Chicken Pox..  Once you have it, it stays in your body.. generally living at the base of major nerves.. As we age our immunity to the virus decreases and the virus can become active.  Since it clusters around the nerves.. instead of giving an over all outbreak of blisters like chicken pox.. it stays pretty much around the nerve.. which is why shingles appear along only one nerve track.   Having chicken pox or shingles as a child does not mean you will not get shingles as an older adult..  this is why you should get the shot..  not sure why your doc thinks you cannot get shingles... he is wrong..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Absolutely those who had chicken pox as a child are most vulnerable as an adult.  I had them as a kid but I have had the shot so I am somewhat protected but they tell you when they administer the shot is not 100% protection.


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## Shalimar (Oct 6, 2015)

I am torn re the shingles thing. I certainly would hate to get it again, yet I have difficulty with shots. Invariably, I have side effects. Also, according to Dr Oz, and the Honour Society Of Nurses, fewer than four percent of people get shingles twice. I presume that is why my doctor does not advise me to get the vaccine.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 6, 2015)

I'm thinking that they mean fewer than 4% of the people who get shingles as an Adult get them twice..  You had them as a child.. that I'm thinking was a long long time ago...  Your immunity is about gone by now I would think..   Remember.. it's the very same virus that causes chicken pox.. and people that had chicken pox as a child get shingles.


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## Butterfly (Oct 6, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I'm thinking that they mean fewer than 4% of the people who get shingles as an Adult get them twice..  You had them as a child.. that I'm thinking was a long long time ago...  Your immunity is about gone by now I would think..   Remember.. it's the very same virus that causes chicken pox.. and people that had chicken pox as a child get shingles.



QS, I never got chicken pox as a child.  My sister, did, and we slept in the same bed but I never got it.  Does that mean I wouldn't get shingles as an adult?


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## Hanfonius (Oct 7, 2015)

My brother-in-law,  who lives in Canada,  is in his early-70's.   A few years ago,  he developed shingles,  mainly on his left chest and shoulder area.

Although he has received medical assistance throughout,  he still suffers greatly from it.   On the pain levels of zero to ten,  he often is at the ten level.

His consultant has told him that it is incurable - he will have to live with this for the rest of his life.

He has told me that the pain becomes so intolerable at times that he has often considered suicide.   

Never underestimate shingles.   The lower levels of this terrible condition normally are on only one side of your body - your head and neck,  your shoulder and chest,  or your abdomen.
In the bad cases,  it will affect both sides of your body.

This is pure torture,  and for the unfortunate few,  they may not be strong enough to endure the pain.

http://patient.info/health/shingles-herpes-zoster-leaflet


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## QuickSilver (Oct 7, 2015)

Butterfly said:


> QS, I never got chicken pox as a child.  My sister, did, and we slept in the same bed but I never got it.  Does that mean I wouldn't get shingles as an adult?



I don't know.... why chance it?


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## Davey Jones (Oct 7, 2015)

This post made me ask my doc how long this pneumonia shot lasts?

He says 5 years and I though it was like the flu shot ,every year.


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## Rocky (Oct 8, 2015)

_I've had shingles, not severe, once -- 25 years ago.  I've been meaning to get the shot, but haven't yet.  It's free.  Covered by Medicare and all I've ever heard is that it's covered by all other insurances as well.  I'd guess it's less expensive for insurance companies to pay for the shot than it would be to treat someone for a nasty shingles outbreak.

As for the flu shot -- never get it.  I'm told it does, quite often, bring on a relapse of CIDP, which is what I have.  Since CIDP and MS are in the same "family", I wonder if MS patients ever get flu shots?_


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## AZ Jim (Oct 8, 2015)

Rocky said:


> _I've had shingles, not severe, once -- 25 years ago.  I've been meaning to get the shot, but haven't yet.  It's free.  Covered by Medicare and all I've ever heard is that it's covered by all other insurances as well.  I'd guess it's less expensive for insurance companies to pay for the shot than it would be to treat someone for a nasty shingles outbreak.
> 
> As for the flu shot -- never get it.  I'm told it does, quite often, bring on a relapse of CIDP, which is what I have.  Since CIDP and MS are in the same "family", I wonder if MS patients ever get flu shots?_



Bad news!  It's not FREE and covered by Medicare.  I paid $250 for mine.  It might be covered by some insurances but definitely not medicare.


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## Rocky (Oct 8, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> Bad news!  It's not FREE and covered by Medicare.  I paid $250 for mine.  It might be covered by some insurances but definitely not medicare.



_Depends on your prescription plan whether shingles vaccination is covered.  Interesting, really, 'cuz the vaccinations are routinely given by pharmacy personnel.
"Generally, Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D) cover all commercially-available vaccines (like the shingles shot) needed to prevent illness." 

My prescription drug coverage does cover the shingles vaccine.  I'm guessing those not yet retired may or may not be covered by their employers' plans.

__www.medicare.gov/coverage/flu-shots.html_
_Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) normally covers one flu shot per flu season  in the fall or winter.
_


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## QuickSilver (Oct 8, 2015)

my employer plan covered it in full... as well as the DTP shot..


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## Shalimar (Oct 8, 2015)

In Canada, we have to pay two hundred dollars for the shingles vaccine.


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## AZ Jim (Oct 8, 2015)

I do not have the part D due to it costing more annually than my prescriptions without coverage.


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## Denise1952 (Oct 9, 2015)

lol dang fool, crack me up phill!


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