COVID Vaccine and Symptoms.
Hi! I made a new account as the last time i was on these forums was 9 years ago and donmt remember the account to be honest. So, i am currently unvaccinated by choice. I am more afraid of it if anything. Not from long term effects (being zombie etc). But the immediate effects like causing me to flare up permanently. I have lost alot of my eye sight in one of my eyes from flaring up optical prednisone and constant severe iritis. I dont want it to start in the other eye. Also i HAD Crohn's 19 years ago and it almost killed me. I have an ostomy bag since the emergency surgery. I take no meds for it and have not had any issues with it ever again. Praise God. I do not take any immunosuppressing drugs. I take celebrex and oxy daily. What do you guys think about my fears with this. The AS is quite severe. It destroyed me all over from head to toe. Everything hurts and is permanently deformed/swollen etc. Very high constant CRP in the 80' and 90's mg/L. I am HLA b27 negative go figure. (I have always wondered if its some type of bacteria or fungus etc that is trapped in my intestines that my immune system cannot get rid of and it;s causing my AS symptoms since im not genetically predisposed to it and it popped out of nowhere after being healthy for over a decade) Anyways got side tracked there. What were your experiences with getting the Pzifer or Moderna Vaccine? Did it make you worse in anyway?
My husband is the one with AS and we’ve always been careful in choosing what medications and treatments he should take. He avoided biologics for years and we tried a lot of other options but nothing was significantly helping the pain. But those side effects are so scary!
When COVID hit and the vaccine came out we also wondered what he may go through. Especially while on Humira. But when I asked him how he felt, he told me the risk of not being vaccinated and possibly getting covid while immunocompromised seemed worse than a flare up after taking the vaccine. So we made some arrangements for me to be off of work to help him recover from any of the vaccine side effects.
He had Pfizer and did just fine. The second dose was like having a mild cold/flu. He didn’t have a flare up, and boy were we relieved!
I have had all three Pfizer vaccines, and I have not had a single adverse impact. I think it is important to follow the ACR standards for the vaccine. Here is an excerpt:
"The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released its COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance Summary that provides an official recommendation to vaccinate rheumatology patients with musculoskeletal, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases."
https://www.rheumatology.org/About-Us/Newsroom/Press-Releases/ID/1138
The data is pretty clear that we should be vaccinated. I know this is a concern but I hope the ACR statement will help in your decision. rick ................... (moderator)
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Thanks so much for reaching out. I am sorry to hear how challenging it has been for you and certainly understand your concern. I do hope others will chime in on their personal experience however, we do recommend consulting with your healthcare provider to discuss how it may impact you. ~Doreen (Team Member)Sorry to hear about your problems. I completely agree with you being cautious about the vaccine - these are early days! I consider myself in remission from AS thanks to following The Paddison Programme which is tough but was sooo worth it in my case. Very reluctant to accepting the vaccine since I have worked so hard to get off all meds. Wishing you all the best
