Flu vaccine

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DaisyB

Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
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Hi all,

I always come on here as the first place to ask for advice. Grateful to everyone on here for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Anyway, I'm in the UK and have been offered the flu vaccine this year (injection). I was diagnosed earlier this year and at the moment I'm on Mezavant and Azathriopine.

Does anyone else here get the vaccine? My initial thought is to get it but I wanted to check first that there aren't good reasons not to!
 
Yes, crohns patients and those immunocompromised like yourself should get the vaccine if not allergic to it. Request the deactivated vaccine to ensure you don't get the live one.
 
Definitely get it. I'm in the UK and I've been offered it and am being jabbed next week (ouchie!). I was laid up last year for a few days after it feeling kind of crummy but it was only about three days so it wasn't so bad. The pharmacy did say that might happen because even though it's not the live vaccine it can still make you a bit ill.
 
I get it every year - if you have others in your household they should get it to so your exposure risk is minimized. All need to get the inactive vaccine.
 
I get it every year because I'm asthmatic, double checked with my consultant recently about getting it this year and he told me absolutely yes. It's really important to make sure we are protected. Have been asked several times by my nurse to make sure I get it too, mines booked for next week.
 
I don't get the flu vaccine any more. I used to get it every October, but then I realised I get ill early November every year. Not full blown flu, but fever, sweats, shakes, enough to keep me off work.

I missed it 2 years ago as my daughter had just been born, and that year I didn't get ill. So I haven't had it since and haven't had a flu-like illness since either.
 
I dont get the vaccine. My first GI with long term experience was not favouring it. There are so many different types of viruses that a single vaccine cant protect for all and the new sources of viruses. Ive been about 8 years in total on immuno-supressant and never caught anything terrible to bring me to a hospital. Once only I had a flu with fevers that lasted about 1 week, but I dont mind managing that. Other than that I get one or 2 colds / year, just like anybody. Im personnally more worried about the potential consequences of a vaccine and its fillers on the body and immune system for the long term than getting a flu. I may ad that my GP, current GI and rheumy never talked to me about it.
 
DS gets it every single year as does the rest of the family.
Realize the vaccine takes at least two weeks to become effective.
Complications from the flu can kill.
DS is on immunosuppresants plus has asthma so all his docs recommend it .
He has only had the flu once ( h1n1 no vaccine)
Which resulted in high dose steriods for a week barely staying out of the hospital.
Daily phone updates with docs
Not something I wish to repeat .
 
If you want to search this question tends to come up annually as you might expect :)

Personally I am in favour of the vaccine. Worth taking into account that it protects against the 3 most common (at time of manufacture) strains of flu, so not all of them.

I always say immune to 3 is better than immune to none.

In the UK it's common to get the dead vaccine (injection) over the live vaccine (nasal spray) in most cases. The former would be most appropriate for the OP anyway.
 
thanks for the reminder , forgot last year , was feeling good , the flu would finish me off now i think .
 
I'm getting mine next weekend. I've only had a flu vaccine previously when I was pregnant and the swine flu was doing the rounds. Didn't get sick from it, so hoping that it will be similar this time.
 
Get it! The flu caused my disease to flare so badly I ended up with permanent arthritis in my spine. Til this day I still feel if had stayed away from the sickly girl in my class and gotten my flu shot I wouldn't be in so much pain right now. My son and I both got the flu that year but it was life changing for me....
 
Have gotten it since diagnosis. My GI encourages it as does every nurse I interact with. Why risk it especially since it could lead to a flare up maybe. I am hoping to get mine in the next few weeks.
 
FrozenGirl said:
Have gotten it since diagnosis. My GI encourages it as does every nurse I interact with. Why risk it especially since it could lead to a flare up maybe. I am hoping to get mine in the next few weeks.
Click to expand...

Do you have any extra-manifestations of UC? How often do you flare?
 
I've never had a flu shot nor have I ever gotten the flu.The same goes for my husband and our 6 boys. I plan on keeping it that way. :D
 
Jajabinks said:
Do you have any extra-manifestations of UC? How often do you flare?
Click to expand...

Not many. Potentially some eye stuff I need to look into and achey joints at times. I have been in a flare for over a year and am just now hopefully going into remission
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. Most people seem to recommend getting the vaccine. I'm going to get it - I'd rather not take the risk of getting the flu because like Tony H I think it could finish me off! I go every week to get my bloods taken so will get it this week or the week after.
 
Glad you were able to make a decision, I think it's a good one if you're around a lot of people in school or work or live where winters are long (like NY).
 
Jajabinks said:
Glad you were able to make a decision, I think it's a good one if you're around a lot of people in school or work or live where winters are long (like NY).
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help jajabinks. I'm sorry to hear the affect having the flu had on you. I know from my general life what it's like to think 'what if I'd done this or that differently' and beat myself up over things. I hope you're doing okay.

I do work with a lot of people and I get public transport a lot and have found that's also a bad place for picking up bugs!
 
Yup, I get it every year. Being on not one, but three immunosuppressing medications, I would be an idiot not to get it. I also work in public health, and used to work doing influenza and respiratory disease surveillance.
 

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