it is an odd thought,,i never did get a flu shot intill after TM. just never did fool with it. my family Dr told me since my immune system was comprimised that perhaps i should so i did. took flu,pneumonia,and some other shot as well.
wont be taking one this year. cant afford it.hope i dont get flu! ________________________________ From: pat cooley <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: tmic <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 11:25 AM Subject: Re: [TMIC] shingles vaccine Patti in Michigan - I agree with you. My neuro (I am on my second because I moved) and they both recommend that I NOT get any shots - even for singles. I will take my changes. Patti in Wisconsin On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 9:35 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: Our local newspaper has a medical column in the Sunday edition by Dr. Anthony Komaroff. >www.ask doctor k.com Sunday had a column titled "shingles vaccine is a good >idea for adults over 60". A healthy 65 year old woman asked - what is >shingles and should I get the shingles vaccine. The doctor explained shingles >and the vaccine. Here is a portion of the article. > >"Getting the vaccine does not gurantee that you will noy get shingles. But it >does reduce your chances by 50 percent or more. And it does an even better >job of reducing your risk of postherpetic neuralgia. > >I've had patients worry that the vaccine itself could give them shingles. >That's because the shingles vaccine is made with a weakened - not dead - form >of the virus. And a tiny percentage of people do get either a shingles or >chicken pox - like rash within a month or so of getting the vaccine. > >You may wonder if the risks associated with the shingles vaccine, though >minimal, outweigh its benefits. And if we were only talking about shingles, >you might be right. It's not pleasant, but most people get through shingles >just fine. > >Postherpetic neuralgia is another story. It can last for months, even years, >and be debilitating. The shingles vaccine can cut the risk of that happening >by two thirds. And I'd say that tips the balance in favor getting the >vaccine. I've voted with my feet. I got the vaccine, because I've seen too >many of my patients suffer from postherpetic neuralgia. Chronic pain can >disrupt a person's life" > >(end of article) > >Jim, >I think this is a question for a neurologist. Unfortunately, I haven't seen >mine in three years so I cannot ask for you. I think it would be good of all >our Tmers who are seeing a neuro to call and ask if the neuro votes yes or no >for the vaccine and post the results for us. > >------------- > >Regarding the flu shot: > >I did not have a flu shot proir to my TM that was later lableled idiopathic - >undetermined cause. I was also asked dozens of times during my >hospitalization and rehab if I had had the flu shot thus determining that all >medical personal thought the shot causes TM. Not so. Medical personnel asked >if we had had the flu shot because they know the flu shot can cause various >reactions and it is one of the many questions they ask a patient. >The neuro who diagnosed me with TM asked if I had the flu shot during his >first observation of me. I saw him for five years post TM and learned that >he, his wife, and children received the flu shot annually. >I asked my PCP in September why he didn't ask me if I wanted a flu shot. He >said, "Do you?" I questioned if he takes one and he said he did not because >he is not prone to getting the flu and he will not push them on his >patients. That was the best answer I've received yet. I am not getting the >flu shot. > >------- >Patti - Michigan
