Are you going to get a flu shot?

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The only time my husband and I got the flu shot was the only time we have ever gotten the flu.

No. No one in our house is going to get one.
 
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MooCowSteph:
Me too. I’ve enver had the shot before. I’ve had the same experience as you, knowing people who get the flu within days of the shot. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I’ll probably be getting the shot this year. My immune system has NOT been the same since I’ve been pregnant. 2 colds, a sinus infection, and a respiratory infection since May.
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Wow, actually you just made me feel so much better. I have been sick seemingly non-stop since I got pregnant. I think a lot of it was exacerbated by the nausea and vomiting daily, but I have had this cold on and off for nearly seven weeks. I thought I was done a few days ago, but just last night I was coughing and wheezing and doing it all day again today. I’ve been to three checkups for it and I’ve been given more inhalers and prescription cough syrup but I’m tired of drowning in Tylenol and being told all of this is fine for the baby. I called the doctor this morning and they are supposed to return my call and tell me if I should try an antibiotic yet. I worry about that for the baby too… I’ve never had a respiratory issue during summer, it’s almost always fall and winter for me.

But, I remember how sick I was with the flu. It was horrible, horrible, horrible and if I can avoid that while being pregnant, then I think I should try for the shot…and just pray.
 
Yes, I’ve been getting the flu shots for about 5 years straight now with no problems.

I’m a senior that commutes on public transportation so I do feel it’s to my best interest.

It helps that I can get the shot from the VA at no cost.
 
Ummm, I go with what my doctor recommends. I figure her opinion is based on better information that the opinions of my friends or people on Catholic Forums. Until recently, my doctor did not recommend the flu shot but she changed her mind about two years ago. I followed her advice. I don’t know your doctor, but I bet he or she knows your medical situation (in particular) and the medical science of flu shots better than we do.
 
I’ve asked my doctor about it, and he pretty much says that if you don’t get it very frequently without having the shot, it really isn’t all that necessary, just kind of a preventive measure. However, like you, EVERY time I get the shot I get sick, and any time I don’t I’m fine. My daughter was one week less than six months old (when they can have the shot) and got the flu. I was in bed with her nursing and holding her for two straight days, and didn’t get the flu. I’ll take my chances on my own.
 
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MomToMany:
Two years ago I was 14 weeks pregnant and got a flu shot. The next week I went in for a routine OB checkup and found out the baby had recently died. I miscarried a seemingly perfecly formed baby boy. It was devastating. I may be completely off base but all I can think of is the flu shot because of the timing. My dr. says it had nothing to do with it. On the other hand, the miscarriage was not reported to the agency that handles the flu shot so how do they know how often it happens?

I’m sure for most people the shot would be fine. I am currently 29 weeks pregnant and will NOT be getting a flu shot until the baby is born.
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So very sorry for your loss…and encouraged to hear you are now expecting. Thank you for sharing this story…there are so many points of information that are not always connected for us as consumers. At the same time there may have been no cause & effect between your shot and miscarriage, but it is something for every pregnant consumer to consider.

I have never had a flu shot nor given ones to my kids–believing that unlike polio, measles, etc. the flu was something that, though unpleasant, we would most likely get through. (Not always the case for those with asthma or immuno-compromised conditions.)

Anyone else hear the piece on NPR (hold your rotton tomatoes) on how pre-school children are the biggest spreaders of the flu and usually the leading edge of any outbreak? A study from Japan showed that when this age group was vaccinated against the flu, infection rates in the unvaccinated elderly declined significantly. A related report also encouraged active and frequent hand washing and avoiding the school drinking fountain–one of the dirtiest things tested in the school–containing more harmful bacteria than the toilet seats. :eek: ! If you want more info see: npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4945957
 
I won’t be getting it and neither will any of my kids nor my husband.

I came to the decision when I was pregnant this last time, my OB and pediatrician were both recommending that I get it (being due in flu season and all), and that my older kids get it too. I asked them both point blank if they were getting it (people in healthcare are “high risk” for the flu as well, and the pediatrician was also pregnant and had young kids the ages of mine), both admitted that they were NOT getting it (I did ask them both to call me when they got it and I would be right in, and I was serious). My mother who has been a nurse for 40 years, and who is very pro-vaccine (except those made from aborted fetal cells), also never gets the flu shot. Myself and my kids got the flu 3 years ago, but that was the only time any of us have ever gotten it, we cuddled and felt yucky for a few days, and life went on. I figure healthy people can handle the flu (and pregnancy is a state of health, of course)

On the thought of getting it while pregnant, I found it funny given all of the hype about not eating certain fish due to mercury content, that it was ok to put it directly into the old body with the flu shot (which is preserved in a mercury derivative, b/c of the multi-dose vials, I believe).
 
I will be getting it.
I’ve only ever had flu once and it was a nightmare! Never again if I can avoid it.
FYI My doctor has told me that it takes about 2 weeks for the vaccine to become fully effective. So if you’ve been exposed before that time, you will come down with it, shot or no.
 
I don’t want to because of all the warnings from family and friends but I missed the flu shot one year and got the flu. I was sick for a week. :mad:
 
Nope, nope, nope…I have an autoimmune disease (in a mild form, thank God), and the doc thinks that a flu shot might cause my illness to flare up. I’m better off taking my chances. I don’t have kids, so I’m not exposed to quite as many germs.

I sure hope that the human-to-human avian flu doesn’t get started…I would probably be in for some serious trouble. :bigyikes:
 
The only year that I did get a flu shot…it was my SICKEST year! I caught everything!

Now, I’m not a nurse, doctor, nor do I play one on TV but I have a theory…

Last year if you remember, there were no flu shots.

I never heard the media go on and on about schools being out because of flu…and no one that I know came down with the flu so…

I believe the flu shots START the epidemic. That’s my opinion. Because you are actually receiving a live virus, I wonder if some people don’t become carriers. Hence, the beginning of the epidemic.

Anyone every thought about that?
 
I don’t know, I think the flu was probably just as bad last year as it always is (which is not what the media reports, IMO they make it seem much worse), but since the pharm. companies couldn’t make a fortune off of us, we didn’t hear the hype.

(are we both cynical now? ;))
 
The flu shot contains the dead virus-- you can’t catch it from that!

cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
<<The “flu shot”—an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions. >>

the nasal spray has the live virus

<<The nasal-spray flu vaccine—a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine”). LAIV is approved for use in healthy people 5 years to 49 years of age who are not pregnant.>>

Jennifer
 
I got mine last Sunday after mass. Our church held a flu shot clinic. The price is almost double of what it was two years ago…$25
 
Of course, I get the flu shot every year. This year I’ll ask for the pneumonia shot too. I haven’t had the flu in 15 years, ever since I started getting flu shots. I’m even afraid of getting regular colds, they always turn into bronchitis or sinus infections in me. I also have asthma and diabetes so a flu shot could be a life saver for me.
 
To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever had the flu. I never get a shot and I won’t this year
 
Absolutely. I work in healthcare so it is a MUST!

Everyone in my family gets one every year & we are always flu-free!🙂
 
I already had mine, both me and my husband last weekend.

Here are some facts.
You CANNOT get the flu from a dead virus. IMPOSSIBLE! You who caught the flu were already going to get it.

If it was dangerous, why would it be so highly recommended for us very high risk folks. I am a lung cancer survivor and my hubby is a 5 way heart bi-pass patient with diabetes. It is recommended for all of us high risk folks, seniors and infants.

Think about it. We would never survive and the law suits would be astronomical.

The most I have ever had was a mildly sore arm.

Why do you all believe all these silly stories?
 
Adding to the previous poster,

The flu that the shots are preventing is the serious flu that puts you in bed for several days. Not just the feeling bad for a while sickness.

I recieved the flu shot almost every year for 12 years in the Navy. The winters when I did get it, it seems that I was catching almost every cold that came along, but they were not significant. When I didn’t get the shot, I was fine.

Also, getting the shot doesn’t mean you won’t get the flu. It is made from what will expected to be the 3 (maybe 5) most occuring strains of flu.
 
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