Flu Jabs

[Tfqleeds]

Hello, diagnosed with T1 six weeks ago aged 30. Flu jabs are not something I would have really considered pre-diagnosis but I received a text from the GP surgery saying I am now eligible and I have read that we are more susceptible to flu.

What are your thoughts on flu jabs? Worth getting? I have heard that they can make you feel unwell for days and people can still get flu even after having the jab.

 

[RuthW]

In my adult life as a diabetic I have only been admitted to hospital twice for infections. Once I had a chest infection. The second time was flu. I literally could not stand up. It's not the flu that kills you, it's the complications it causes. I would have the jab. I do have it every year. I have never felt ill after having it.

 

[azure]

It's up to you - some people choose to have them, some don't. If you do a search on this forum, you'll find a few recent threads discussing the jabs.

It's not so much that we're more susceptible to flu, but more that any complications from it coukd affect people with diabetes more.

I choose not to have the jab, but if there was a particularly dangerous form of flu, I might reconsider that decision.

Do your research, have a read around and see what you personally think. You asked about side effects - this seem to vary from person to person and from year to year. So one person's experience may be different from another's.

Flu can be deadly for some people, and is certainly unpleasant at best. Only you can decide if you want to get the vaccination or remain unvaccinated, which will put you at increased risk of catching flu if you're exposed to,it.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

The reason some people still get the flu after having the jab is either because they were already infected before they got the jab (it takes 2 weeks to reach full effect), or they had a cold and thought it was the flu, or they got one of the strains that wasn't in the vaccine, or they got a strain that was in the vaccine, but they didn't get it as bad as they otherwise would have. The flu jab isn't 100% effective but if it's, say, 70% effective that year, that's better than 0%.

Science based info about it here:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/flu-influenza-vaccine.aspx

 

[Jaylee]

I've had the flu jab for a number of years. Never had any immediate adverse effects.
I have however still caught the odd bout of flu. (This was the real deal, with shamanistic delirium.)
But I have found I managed to fight it off quicker than the old days when they didn't offer the jab. Back then I seemed to be down with it all the time! Lol

Diabetes is a pig to control when your that ill. If there is a weapon you can use in the arsenal to alleviate or shorten the suffering. Take it....

 

[ally1]

since being diagnoised type 2, i have been having flu jabs

 

[becky.ford93]

I was diagnosed 7 months ago and had my first flu jab a few weeks back, it was fine. I felt like I had a cold for about 24 hours afterwards but that is just your bodies immune response. I personally think it's worth it, they don't develop these things for fun!

 

[newest]

I had mine a few wks ago and have been fine, I also had the pheumonia jab last yr, that one is a one off, it lasts for life, bg levels are hard enough to maintain when ur well, so I felt I wanted to give my body every bit of help needed to maintain good/acceptable levels.

 

[noblehead]

Definitely worth getting @Tfqleeds, I had flu several years back and it was awful, I could hardly lift my head off the pillow and my bg levels went haywire.

Flu can make type 1 diabetes very difficult to control and that is why it's important to seriously consider getting the flu jab, in some cases flu can also lead to pneumonia which no one would want, however the choice is yours.

 

[Juicyj]

I would recommend having it, my arm is sore for a few days afterwards but otherwise nothing adverse. They tend to pick the flu strains perceived to be the most virulent that year and the vaccine is then produced.

I would rather have a jab than flu !

 

[tigerlily72]

I'm a newly diagnosed Type 2 and I was offered the flu jab there and then at my 1st appt with the DSN. I decided (well hubby said I should!) to have it which is no mean feat for someone who has a phobia of needles/injections!

I had a slight cold before having it but I don't feel any worse today (I had my flu jab yesterday). I have had flu prior to being a T2 diabetic and wouldn't want to get it again as I had 2 weeks off work and I didn't feel "right" for several weeks afterwards.

It's up to you if you decide to have it and there will be those for it and those who are against. You have to go with what feels right for you and also look at whether you are possibly at a higher risk of contracting flu and the implications if you decide not to have the jab.

Good Luck in coming to a decision whatever you decide

 

[tigerlily72]

I was diagnosed 7 months ago and had my first flu jab a few weeks back, it was fine. I felt like I had a cold for about 24 hours afterwards but that is just your bodies immune response. I personally think it's worth it, they don't develop these things for fun!

And we certainly don't have needles stuck into us for fun either! I had my 1st flu jab yesterday as a newly diagnosed Type 2 and I feel ok so far.

 

[Heathero]

Have had it for 20years. Really bad cold /flu last year but first time (apparently the most virulent virus was not included as too late )After effects of flu for me was ear infection dizziness ,vertigo then Bad fall and injury., Why take the risk? Would definitely recommend .

 

[Gezzabelle]

After having it last year and getting the worst dose of flu ever a month later I questioned if it was worth having. Also read that it was only 35% effective anyway so that didn't encourage me to have it again. One fail and then the statistics convinced me to just take pot luck and hope I don't get flu this year

 

[Heathero]

After having it last year and getting the worst dose of flu ever a month later I questioned if it was worth having. Also read that it was only 35% effective anyway so that didn't encourage me to have it again. One fail and then the statistics convinced me to just take pot luck and hope I don't get flu this year

The decision is yours of course. But as a type 1 for 49years. Decided when I had children that Flu would be bad news. Last year for me was unfortunate, I have seen work colleagues unwell for years but has not happened to me, no sickness time off work due to flu bad colds for 20years. Maybe like me you were unfortunate and as I mentioned initially last years vaccination was not the best one. Hope you have a good/ healthy winter.

 

[yingtong]

I've had it since its been available,no adverse effects,also no flu either,but the decision is yours.

 

[Nicola M]

The decision is of course yours. I've had the flu jab for a few years now, not had any adverse effects and have never had the flu either. As my mum always says better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Robbity]

I've had flu jabs on and off for many years - most of them pre diabetes, but missed my 2nd diabetic one last year due to concerns over side effects. This year, my second flu jab since diabetes has made me feel under the weather, and raised/upset my BG levels for over a week, but it has also made me wonder what the effects from flu itself it would be without it... Having seen what a few minor illnesses do, I think on the whole I'd probably rather not risk having a more serious one for my slightly wonky OAP diabetic body to try to deal with.

I did have proper flu (not just a bad-so-called-flu cold ) once many years ago as a young teenager, and was ill in bed for several weeks. The main thing I remember was losing so much weight that I ended up completely flat chested again, after having had a little bust. That memory is an occasional reminder to me that flu isn't trivial, and it sometimes make me rather cross too that serious conditions are sometimes trivialised: real flu is not just a bad cold, as a migraine is not just a bad headache.

Robbity

 

[nurseryboss]

Mine is a different story. Diagnosed type 1 in 1964 I had a bout of flu in 1974, aged 23. Subsequently,I had a flu jab from whenever they were first available and was fine, until 2005. Two days after the vaccination I spent 10 days in bed with flu like symptoms. Ten weeks later the same thing happened and after another 10 weeks ditto. Needless to say I have not had the jab since and I have been fine. Up to 2005 I was a great advocate of the flu jab. I knew of two other people that year who suffered similarly, but not as severely, possibly because they do not have Diabetes. "Each to his own."

 

[RuthW]

Yes, my mother, who is not diabetic is suffering from COPD and heart failure in her old age. Her doctor said it may have been caused by "Asian flu" that she had when she was much younger (before my time), so the effects of flu are not only immediate; they can be long-term.