I Got my Shot

Recently, I received an email from Sobey’s Grocery stores in response to my request to be waitlisted for the vaccine.. They said, I was eligible for the COVID vaccine, for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Finally!!

^{AZ Vacvine}

I went & signed up. It turns out the closest location for the shot was in the city a Gerrard & Vic Park. I’m sure there’s not a lot of you familiar with the geography of Toronto but from my home it is approximately 50 km or just over 30 miles ( just under an hour away) to that specific grocery store for my shot. But I was going to be going into Scarborough (East Toronto) anyways because of Lilly’s surgery. I figured I’d would kill two birds with one stone.

My Shot, Thursday

So my appointment was on Thursday, at 11:30am. It was super quick. By the time my brain registered the sensation of the needle, she was already putting it syringe into the sharps bin.So, even if you don’t like needles, it’s not that bad. I stayed the required 15 minutes. No reaction initially other than some moderate nausea.

^{Waiting n the cubical for the pharmacist to give me my shot}

The nausea stayed with me for the day. I was a little tired afterwards & had a short nap which helped me feel a little better. Even went for walk with my sister in the evening.

My Reactions – That Night

By 2:00am the nausea was worse, so much so that I had an empty bucket beside my bed, just in case.

Shortly after that I noticed I was cold. I was eventually shivering despite pj’s and warm bedding. My temperature at this time was 38 & change in Celcius .

My arm was sore, but most people have that reaction. My fibro was triggered and my pain was climbing everywhere. At worst I’d say 5/10.

By 5:00 this morning my body had switched from shivering to sweating. I was also having a headache kick in. I took some Tylenol with codeine and was finally able to get back to sleep.

My Reactions – Next Day, Friday

I was abruptly woken up by my Mom at 10:30am for a temperature check. It was 36.8, completely normal. After checking Lilly & giving her meds (see her surgical post if you are interested), I went back to bed. Fortunately in the morning, the body wide pain had taken a step back and no more shivering or sweating. I did still have the headache, and the nausea but it was not as bad.

As the day wore on I’d flip from chills to overheating, but no temperature. The nausea kept up and I did rush to the bathroom with dry heaves. The body-wide aches went back up by bedtime.

My Reactions – Day 2 Post Vaccine, Saturday

Still has ongoing flipping between chills & hot flashes. Left arm still sore.. Ongoing body aches all during the day.. Still nauseous, but not actually vomiting..sent alot of my time resting.

My Reactions – Day 3 Vaccine, Sunday.

Chills & hot flashes completely abated by the evening and the nausea aswell. Still had body-wide aches & pains.

My Reactions – Day 4 & 5, Monday & Tuesday.

I think by this point I was completely finished reacting to the actual vaccine, whoever my fibromyalgia decided to react to the vaccine reaction. Oh so fun. So by the time I woke up on Monday I was in a lovely little fibro flare that has lasted several days. Only thing I accomplished was the opening & closing of my Tuesday Night Cub meeting.

So, by this point my actual immunoreaction to the medication in the vaccine was done, but not the end of this saga of my vaccine.. Read here for more on this story.

My Fibro Is Not Her Fibro

I’ve written on this before, but that seems to be one of the lost articles in the gap of time. So, I’m taking another stab at it

Do not compare your health with anyone else’s. They are not really comparable beyond the basics.. Yes we may both have fibromyalgia, but my symptoms & treatments are different from everyone else’s . It not like comparing apple & oranges, but more like apples to apple.. a Delicious vs a Granny vs Macintosh. They all have the same basic characteristics, but are still significantly different.

Fibro, like apples, have different but similar forms..

For example, a friend also has Fibromyalgia. Her diagnosis happened alot quicker because she knew me & I had alot of the same symptoms.

Now, while we both have fibro, we experience it differently and treat it differently. Our symptoms overlap with the obvious: pain, fatigue, IBS, fibro fog, sleep impairments… But from there they differ. I have mental health issues, significant cognitive issues, chemical allergies, speech impairment, & TMJ .. Her issues include balance problems, vertigo, chronic migraines, difficulties maintaining body temperature .. This is by no means an exhaustive list for either of us.

She is able to take some of the pharmaceutical treatments.. They work for her. She also sees a chiropractor on a regular basis. This helps her. She is able to work full time. I’m not saying she does not have pain or fatigue or anything else. I am also not saying she has less pain or less fatigue than I do. I’m saying we experience it differently, we react to it differently, and we treat it differently.

Myself, no, I am unable to work due to my symptoms and have been for many years. I am currently on long-term disability . It has taken a long time to get my symptoms under control with a very different treatment plan than my friend. I’ve tried the pharmaceutical route & most of those medications do not work, or work well for me. In addition to regular visits to my pain doctor, I have alternating appointments (well before & after COVID19) with an Osteopath & RMT ATVs local health clinic. I also go to the gym. (Before you jump on me, read my post about my activities at the gym))

So, you can see, two very different people can have very different symptoms, very different treatments, and very different results.

We both have Fibro but we are not the same.