Thursday, 11 October 2012

A shot in the arm.......

Had my seasonal flu jab yesterday and have been feeling the effects ever since.  The composition of the vaccine changes every year, depending on the flu strains currently in circulation so it's a bit like playing Russian roulette vis-a-vis possible side effects.

Some years I've had no reaction at all, others I've felt somewhere on a spectrum from slightly to very ill for hours or days afterwards.  A few years back, it was routine to wait for 15 minutes in the doctor's surgery before going about your business.  Nowadays it's in and out quick smart with barely time to sit down.  

Yesterday, after my jab, we had to do some food shopping, and no sooner had I set foot in Tesco than I came over all peculiar.  Sort of woozy and faint with ringing in my ears.  It passed after a short while but over the course of the afternoon and early evening I felt increasingly 'not right', culminating in a very restless night, alternately roasting hot then shivering cold, skin crawling, diffuse aches and pains..... in fact a feeling not dissimilar to flu.

As far as I'm aware the vaccine isn't 'live' so shouldn't cause symptoms similar to the illness it's designed to prevent, so perhaps my raddled immune system is simply waving the white flag in surrender.

Even Small Dog is not immune to this week's medical shenanigans as this afternoon she's due to have her rabies booster vaccination.  Regular readers will be well aware of her strict zero tolerance policy on all things vet-related so we're none of us looking forward to it.  She has to take her Pet Passport with her which means I've got to go and hunt it out following the Great Clear Up.  I have a vague recollection of putting it in a desk drawer a few weeks back but to be honest, it could be anywhere.

In the meantime, Small Dog seems to have got wind of the impending vet visit and has made herself scarce......

 

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