They say pride comes before a fall and I can certainly testify how true this can be! Having had my booster vaccine in early October, I expected no more than a sore arm. How wrong I was.
Here’s how it went….
Got invited by email to book a booster vaccine in early October.
I grabbed a slot the very next day, at the blummin’ Council offices where I used to drop in and use a hot desk from time to time. Totally surreal.
I had my vaccine easily enough. Was given a little pamphlet and told to read page 5 concerning the reactions. I put it in my pocket and waited the required 15 minutes before sloping off.
Next day I had a sore arm. No big deal, after all I had that before and nothing more.
Symptoms kicking in
The following day I started to feel cold, even colder than I normally do, almost shivering. A few hours later I was feeling achy all over, just like having flu. I wasn’t overly bothered.
Those symptoms lasted a few more days and then things started to change.
My armpit started to feel uncomfortable. Yes my ARMPIT of all things! Not just my arm pit but that corner of my chest, sort of armpit to nipple and everything in between.
To make matters worse, I could also feel my heart pounding, especially in the evenings and when I went to bed. At this stage I was beginning to wonder what was going on, things didn’t feel quite right. Now as it happens, most days I take a daily blood pressure reading and I noticed it had gone up a little (not too much but a rise nonetheless). Was this because I was worried or because something else was causing it to climb a little?
This carried on for a few days and I thought I ought to read page 5 again, well, why not? This listed various reactions, those to worry about and those of no concern. By now this was grabbing my attention.
Calling the running Doctor
So the next day I made an appointment to speak to my Doctor. This is the usual routine these days where you have to explain the issue to the Receptionist who then might make an appointment for you to speak to a Doctor, or a Nurse or perhaps someone else. She thought my issue warranted a chat with the Doctor who would call me during the afternoon.
He did call. Once I’d explained everything he said he ought to check me over. “When?” I asked and his reply surprised me “Can you come down to the surgery now?”
I sat in the huge waiting room alone. There were a couple of other chairs, all 3 metres apart. I contemplated what the Doctors knew, that we didn’t, that made them have chairs so far apart. I had already been given strict instructions to wear a face mask and sanitise my hands.
The Doctor called me in, wiped over my chair and directed me to his examination couch. He went over the timescale again, also re-verifying what vaccines I had already been given and whether I had any adverse reactions. He was typing every detail into my records.
He was focussed, working through a clear process as he told me to take my shirt off, breathe in and out, keep still while he listened to my heart and all around it. He felt both of my armpits (whilst trying my best not to feel ticklish!). Next he asked me to roll up my jeans. He measured from my knees to a point on my shin and then around my calf muscle, on both legs. While all this was going on he was darting to and from his computer, tapping in all of his observations.
I asked him what he thought was going on. “I’m 99% certain you are having a reaction to the vaccine, although it seems strange knowing that you didn’t have a reaction before” he then went onto say “I’m also pretty sure you don’t have a DVT in the making or any blockages elsewhere”. Well that was a relief.
And just one other thing, Doctor….
Knowing he was a runner (you can tell by all of the medals and photos all over his office walls) I raised the question of a running injury. I thought that was an important way of phrasing my query, knowing Doctors prefer to deal with one issue at a time.
I had his interest.
I explained that I had a painful foot, and gradually getting worse over the last few months. I said I’d asked Dr Google but was still unsure of the problem.
“And what did Dr Google say?”
“Either a tendon problem or a bone problem. You know I’m dreading hearing about bone problems since I’ve been told I might experience those issues at some point, reference kidneys”
“Ah yes, I see your point.”
He looked at my feet, started talking aloud as he was working it through. It could be X, although not if he doesn’t suffer from Y. He’s an experienced runner so it’s not Z”
“We need an x-ray. It could be a stress fracture of a metatarsal bone and an x-ray would confirm that one way or another. We can hopefully illuminate that with an x-ray, yes let’s do that. Which hospital would you like to go to?”
Within a couple of days I had the appointment come through. I only have to wait a couple of weeks. I thought that was amazing, given all the news about 5.6 million people waiting for treatment.
Just in case you’re wondering, I’m now a week on from that appointment. I would say that I’m almost back to normal, very nearly there as far as my Covid vaccine reaction. I’m still pleased I had it, it’s a nice feeling to know I’m well protected but we still take careful precautions. I am so grateful to have been vaccinated and, I’m sorry to any anti-vaxers reading this, I just don’t understand your position.
Please remember to use the Government’s Yellow Card reporting scheme for any adverse reactions (but only if you live in the UK). I did!