MomtoGiuliana Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I am planning to get the booster shot, although not sure I really fit into any of the listed criteria. From what I have read it seems it is highly questionable that most people need the booster to avoid serious illness. I am curious if anyone has had the booster shot and if so what side effects you experienced. I was pretty sick for a day+ after the second Moderna (101 deg temp, severe aches, fatigue), so I am not excited about a repeat, or worse side effects, especially if it is not really going to give much more protection than I already have. My younger sister just got the Pfizer booster last week and her side effects were worse than with the 2nd shot. She had severe fatigue and muscle pain for several days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted November 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 PS for anyone who did not see this and may be interested. As part of the recent series of videos that were released in October, we have one talk on the topic of COVID and dysautonomia. https://youtu.be/JI_c95dvg0w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I did discuss the third shot of the Pfizer vaccine with my cardiologist just recently. He did get it his only complaint that his arm was only a bit more sore than usual and felt a bit run down. symptoms only lasted a day. I plan on going forward with the third shot next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer65 Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I had Pfizer booster a month ago. Sore arm, tired and headache for a couple of days otherwise fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RecipeForDisaster Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I had a bad time for one day after my second shot, but after my third Moderna, I only had a heavy/sore/tender arm for one day. I wasn’t as feverish/didn’t have chills, muscle aches, or flu like symptoms like the second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyproblems Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I got my third Moderna a few weeks ago. I had a little bit of a sore arm but nothing much else. Actually not even as bad as the first two. I'd rather have gotten Pfizer because I think switching is more effective but another Moderna was my only choice at the time. I'm immunosuppressed so I qualified early, but, as with the first set that I got as soon as possible, it was not long before it would've been widely available to me anyway. I really don't know if I'm responding. I don't have anti-covid antibodies (although that's not the absolute indicator of immunity) so I'll just keep taking boosters when they're offered. I still go about my life wearing masks inside and such as if I'm unvaccinated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 @MomtoGiuliana - should you not have antibodies if you had the shot? I know that in people with natural immunity they say that the antibodies last for so long and then no longer show up, however the innate immune system ( T-calls etc ) are supposed to remember how to make the antibodies if confronted with the virus. So - should it not be the same with the vaccines? Should you not be able to test if there are antibodies, and if there are not you may need the booster? I am just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted November 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 @Pistol good question. A friend of mine my age but with no significant health issues was told by her doctor to have antibody testing before deciding on getting the booster. However, I read elsewhere that this does not provide information that is useful in making a decision about whether to get vaccinated or to get the booster. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/28/1031287076/antibody-tests-should-not-be-your-go-to-for-checking-covid-immunity "having detectable antibodies from a blood test "only means that your immune system mounted a successful response then and that you have immune memory." This does not translate into useful information in terms of how well protected you are, apparently. I am glad to hear that so many got the booster without significantly more severe side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 As far as I know antibody presence is how we have been measuring the effectiveness of a vaccine. So I do not see why it would be different with the COVID vaccine. When I got my Hepatitis shot years later they checked the antibody titer in order to see if I needed a booster ( I did not ). So why would it be different with the COVID vaccine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 3 hours ago, MomtoGiuliana said: "having detectable antibodies from a blood test "only means that your immune system mounted a successful response then and that you have immune memory Well- that is the meaning of having immunity. I don;t know why that would be meaningless - it is HOW immunity WORKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushi Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 Thanks for the reports, everyone. I plan on getting the Pfizer booster on Monday—it will be 9 months since my second shot so my immunity has probably waned. For the first 2, I followed Dr. Nancy Klimas’ recommendations ((she is an immunologist who specializes in ME/CFS/Dysautonomia) and I had very few side-effects, so I’ll do the same for the booster—not sure if I can give her recommendations here but they can be found on her website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted November 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 20 hours ago, Pistol said: Well- that is the meaning of having immunity. I don;t know why that would be meaningless - it is HOW immunity WORKS! It is confusing. I think one problem is that there is not enough data yet and the immune system is complex and our knowledge of COVID is not good. One fact I am aware of is that there have been quite a few people who have been infected w COVID more than once--which does suggest that immunity weakens over time. This recent article may be helpful. https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/95156 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyproblems Posted November 5, 2021 Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 To be clear, I had antibody testing to see if I was getting any passive immunity from the subcutaneous immunoglobulin infusions I get weekly. Since the company, Hizentra, refuses to tell me or my Dr's office when the donor blood used to prepare the concentrated Ig I get was originally collected, and where, or if they've tested it for covid antibodies, I took it upon myself to check to see if there were covid antibodies in there showing up in my own system. Every gram of Ig is concentrated from the blood donations of thousands of people and I get 14 grams weekly. This far into the pandemic it would be reasonable to assume a significant portion of the blood donating population would have antibodies from either having covid or being vaccinated if the blood had been collected in the last year or sooner. However, these Ig concentrates have a very long expiration date of around two years when I get them so the product obviously can last a long time once prepared. Because of this I actually have no idea whether the donated blood used to make the concentrated Ig I get was collected within a time frame to reasonably assume I might get some passive immunity. This is actually very important to me since I'm immunocompromised and may not be able to generate my own response from vaccination. The semiquantitative test I had was negative so I guess not yet. (I don't think my own response to vaccination can be reliably measured since I continually get Ig from external sources but in any case, that was negative also.) The quality of these possible passive antibodies to neutralize the actual virus is another question. So my own situation is complex and so is the testing and I shouldn't have mentioned the antibody testing at all. Thank you to MomtoGuiliana for the great article helpful in explaining some of the concepts of immunity and testing. But it's actually a *very* complex and constantly evolving field. Speaking as someone with higher education in the field in both research and clinical laboratory testing, who has developed these types of immunology tests in academic and clinical settings, and generated monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies in the lab to whole substances (like a whole viral particle) and various individual antigens (the immunologically stimulating portions of something), finding the simple answers to complex questions around these issues that people need right now is not possible. I myself struggle with finding and evaluating studies and facts I can trust. I understand this is very frustrating to people who just want a clear answer when there are so many different people out there saying so many different, often conflicting things. People are going to listen to who they want to listen to but a reasonable idea might be to look for sources that are drawing from a significant consensus of those involved in the current scientific understanding and practice on the topic. I look to this forum to provide information from these types of sources as I know it strives to do. Thank you so very much for your efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted November 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2021 9 minutes ago, toomanyproblems said: a reasonable idea might be to look for sources that are drawing from a significant consensus of those involved in the current scientific understanding on the topic This is an important point. Thank you for sharing your perspective and knowledge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogini Posted November 7, 2021 Report Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) I just called my doctor to ask about this yesterday, since I am well below the recommended age and my dysautonomia is not that severe. I feel guilty about taking a booster shot away from someone who needs it more. However I will be taking a few plane trips, including internationally. My doctor recommended it and said it is better to get it now, since it’s relatively easy to get and there isn’t very strict criteria. My appointment is Tuesday so I can report back on how it goes With each of the Moderna shots I was fine immediately but woke up the next morning with terrible symptoms. The symptoms lasted less than 24 hrs. Ii figure experiencing those in the safety of my home is better than getting COVID overseas, ruining my family’s holidays etc. Both of my parents got the Moderna booster and had zero symptoms so I am optimistic it will be easier this time around. I believe it’s a smaller dose. Edited November 7, 2021 by yogini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogini Posted November 7, 2021 Report Share Posted November 7, 2021 On 11/4/2021 at 5:46 AM, Pistol said: @MomtoGiuliana - should you not have antibodies if you had the shot? I know that in people with natural immunity they say that the antibodies last for so long and then no longer show up, however the innate immune system ( T-calls etc ) are supposed to remember how to make the antibodies if confronted with the virus. So - should it not be the same with the vaccines? Should you not be able to test if there are antibodies, and if there are not you may need the booster? I am just wondering. Scientitsts believe that the booster is needed because the antibodies wane over time and don’t protect against new strains. Immunity isn’t a black and white thing and having sone immunity and sone antibodies isn’t going to be enough to prevent hospitalization and/or death if for whatever reason one’s body reacts poorly to a new case of COVID. There are other viruses that require periodic booster shots for the same reason. There are a lot of non-scientists in the public discussing antibodies when there isn’t good medical guidance on when you can rely on them. This seems like a time consuming, stressful and complicated path to go down when the booster is perfectly safe and free to get. For one day of symptoms I will generally be able to go about my life, not worry about getting COVID and also protect my loved ones and my community. Seems like a no brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogini Posted November 11, 2021 Report Share Posted November 11, 2021 By way of an update, unlike the first two shots I didn’t have any symptoms from the Moderna booster. I’m glad I went through with it as I will be traveling a bit between now and January, including overseas. If I didn’t have travel plans I probably would have waited until the booster shots were recommended for the general public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted November 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2021 21 hours ago, yogini said: By way of an update, unlike the first two shots I didn’t have any symptoms from the Moderna booster. Oh wow--that's good--I was hoping for that for me too. Unfortunately I am having symptoms after getting the booster yesterday morning. Not quite as bad as the 2nd Moderna, but I have a fever, headache, dizziness, lethargy. Also my arm is super sore. All of these symptoms popped up within hours of getting the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmep37 Posted November 12, 2021 Report Share Posted November 12, 2021 My Mum, Dad and Granny all got their booster on Wednesday - Mum and Dad had previously had 2 Pfizer vaccines, Granny 2 Astra-Zeneca vaccines but all got the Moderna booster which I think is half a normal vaccine dose. Mum spent all yesterday in bed - she got up at 2am on Thursday morning to go to the loo, fainted, ran a very high temp all day, bad headache, nausea, muscle aches and pains BUT she is back to normal today. My 85 year old Granny also had side-effects - very sore arm, fever, muscle aches but is also fine today. My Dad also got his and we joked his must have been water as he was completely fine! All agree that they wouldn't hesitate to get the booster again - 24 hours of symptoms is much better than having Covid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdlady Posted December 2, 2021 Report Share Posted December 2, 2021 Previously I had Pfizer with zero side effects other than a sore arm. I got my Moderna booster yesterday. Woke up feeling very dehydrated and chills/fever (101). As the day went on I felt worse and got very tired/heavy, lightheaded and more tachycardia when standing. I ended up taking a few hour nap and woke up super overheated/lightheaded. It is definitely making me more lightheaded, lower bp and higher heart rate. Not pleasant, but also solidifies that I really don't want to get COVID either. Finally got some soup and fluids in me and was able to get cooled down without chills, so I'm hoping at least the POTS symptoms will calm down a bit. Fever seems to be coming down as well. For me having a fever with POTS is really awful. It's just hard when you have chills and are overheating at the same time. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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