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Was there an uptick in autoimmune conditions after COVID vaccines?
A few years ago I experienced intense vaginal itching. I tried various over the counter creams, none of which helped. In desperation I went to a walk-in clinic (I was unable to get in to my primary care doctor) and I was examined by a Medical Assistant who prescribed a steroid cream. She said that there was a stronger one that she hesitated to prescribe because it can cause thinning of the skin. The cream was not successful and eventually I was able to see my PCP who said this was Lichen Planus and prescribed Betamethasone cream. That, thankfully was effective. The following year when I had my yearly health check I complained that my legs were very itchy. My PCP looked at them and said that I could try an OTC steroid cream. This was shortly after I had a COVID booster. I then made an appointment with my dermatologist and asked if he thought I was having a reaction to a new medication that I was taking for blood pressure. He said "this isn't a drug reaction, I think this is Lichen Planus!" He prescribed Betamethasone and it was effective although I still get occasional red, itchy bumps. I have learned (from Mayo Clinic Connect) that this is an autoimmune condition and wonder now if an uptick in autoimmune conditions has been seen since the administration of COVID vaccines.
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Note from the Community Director
The vaccines that help protect against COVID-19 are safe and effective. Clinical trials tested the vaccines to make sure of those facts. Healthcare professionals, researchers and health agencies continue to watch for rare side effects, even after hundreds of millions of doses have been given in the United States.
Side effects that don't go away after a few days are thought of as long term. Vaccines rarely cause any long-term side effects.
If you're concerned about side effects, safety data on COVID-19 vaccines is reported to a national program called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System in the U.S. This data is available to the public. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) also has created v-safe, a smartphone-based tool that allows users to report COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
If you have other questions or concerns about your symptoms, talk to your healthcare professional.
From Mayo Clinic: COVID-19 vaccines: Get the facts
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I like many others on the PMR site, all believe that the COVID vaccine caused our PMR. Its a big discussion that cant be really proven but I think the vaccine left a large part of the population vulnerable to various auto-immunes.
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5 Reactionsblinkin, hi.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9399140/
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1 ReactionThank you. So perhaps I should revise my question as follows: Has there been an uptick in autoimmune conditions since 2021?
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2 ReactionsI already had an autoimmune condition prior to getting the vaccine - the first time I got the vaccine I seemed fine. However the first time I got Covid itself, a week later I got my first DVT. Second bout of Covid led to a heavy cough and lung nodules. By the third I was off the blood thinner and got another clot. 4th and 5th - super sick… took forever to get back on my feet. Now I have COPD and a clot in the brain. My rheumatologist describes Covid as having had “devastating” effects on my immune system. I was never able to mount a good response from the vaccine and just got it over and over again which she believes put my immune system into hyperdrive. I now have dermatomyositis antibodies which I didn’t have before along with neurological symptoms which align more with MS but don’t have lesions in my brain or spinal cord. She believes it’s more likely from the repeated Covid infections than from the vaccination. I personally think there are a percentage of people like me who were provoked by the infection itself and there are probably some whom were triggered by the vaccination.
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6 ReactionsI developed severe Eosinophilic Fasciitis immediately after my COVID booster in April 2022. I was previously in excellent health. There is no question in my mind that it is causally related.
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5 ReactionsSometimes you have to ask the question... are there more autoimmune disorders since the covid vaccine because of the covid vaccine or are there more diagnosed autoimmune disorders in the last 6 years because of the advancement of testing and diagnosis over that time period? When I was growing up anyone in school who couldn't sit still and pay attention was labeled a problem child. When my own children were growing up they evaluated anyone with that same behavior for ADD or ADHD. I for one don't believe that the covid vaccine caused my PMR. I stopped taking the vaccine after having a mild case of covid three years ago figuring I now had antibodies. I had another very mild covid last June. I believe that virus triggered my vertigo and subsequent PMR. Viruses are recognized to trigger other health issues. My covid was so mild that I would never know that I had it unless I tested for it. There's no telling how many people contracted covid without ever knowing it, and how many of those developed other health issues because of it.
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5 Reactions@blinken, I've wondered why there seems to suddenly be so many diagnosed with PMR. Here is an older discussion https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/studies-on-covid-19-vaccine-causing-pmr/
The confounding factor in the rephrasing would be how much of the increase is because of Covid 19 infections.
You might ask how many were diagnosed with autoimmune disease after receiving the vaccine.
Re-asking the question in any form activates more responses.
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2 ReactionsGently,
Yes there have been multiple side effects from the COVID vaccine. I had an allergic reaction in 5 minutes; and now have an unnacceptable amount of allergies to chemicals, meds, and especially PEG since that vaccine; and others have some serious lifelong reactions. I am not an anti-vaxxer; but something went horribly wrong for far too many people. If I tell you about it, it will not help. Do the research. It will not show in government program documents. It did save lives, but it wasn’t vetted the way it should have and could have been. An unacceptable amount of damage was done to many people, young and old alike. Admeliora
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3 Reactions@philipnewbury
What is your treatment for Eosinophilic Fasciitis?
I developed scleroderma or diffuse systemic sclerosis post COVID vaccine done in 2021. My condition involves multiple systems: Raynaud's, skin discoloration and thickening, joint stiffness and swelling, inflammatory arthritis, restrictive lung disease (fibrosis of the skin around the lung), and GERD. Joint involvement is not specific to scleroderma and may be a separate condition. All of the conditions are autoimmune in nature and are progressing rapidly from the start, which is not typical for scleroderma. It usually takes 5+ years for scleroderma to go aggressively from skin to other body systems. Another 3 people reported onset of these symptoms post COVID vaccine in Scleroderma-related posts, also with rapid progression in multiple body systems. There is a reason to believe it is due to vaccine.
Please share your current state and treatment. Best of luck.
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1 Reaction@admeliora
I also have multiple autoimmune problems post COVID vaccine done in 2021. I also had a reaction 5 min post injection - high blood pressure >200 and malaise. They took me to ER - it got resolved in 4 hrs. But 1 year later I developed Raynaud, systemic sclerosis, and inflammatory arthritis. Multiple unexplained food and drug allergies.
Please share you experience in a greater detail. What is your current diagnosis? Did you test positive for ANA and SCL-70 tests?