Side Effects of Shingles Vaccine

The night after the injections I contacted my providers they seem to think that this is normal and some people and they asked me a bunch of questions about athletic shock I like that said to call them back they got worse but didn’t seem to think that it was serious again it sounded like they’ve seen this before

I received the first shingles shot with no issues. I was advised at the time that I should make sure that both my second shingles shot and flu shot were not administered within 30 days of each other. My flu shot is provided at my place of employment, so it was good advice when time for the second shingles shot. I did have a few issues after the second shot, soreness in the arm, redness and a little fatigue, but wasn’t too bad.

I also took the shingles vaccine yesterday. Today I'm extra tired muscle aches, and a headache. I have all of the side effects

@bmslade Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It sounds like the shingles vaccine you had a couple days ago gave you side effects.

May I ask how long the side effects lasted?

Got my first dose of Shingrix Nov 20, 2020. Had severe (and weird I must say) arthralgia and myalgia during night for 2 nights straight, essentially slept for 2 days after--flu like but weird enough symptoms I thought I had Covid! Then started to rebound on 3rd day after. Then lips swelled up for 2 days. moving in a circular pattern from bottom lip to top. That cleared up then have had watery diarrhea and not a normal bowel movement since (today is Dec 9). A few days ago the stomach upset was accompanied by swollen left knee and left foot that has the characteristics of gout (which I am familiar with). Can barely walk. So I took a Covid test which came back negative. So either I am having some coincidental acute situation or things have not been the same since the vax.

Did you find out if you had COVID, sounds like it?

@soill Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support. It sounds like you may have had a bad reaction to the shingles vaccine.

May I ask if you have contacted your provider regarding your symptoms?

I had the Shingrix vaccine and had a very strong arm for several days along with fatigue and a low grade fever. It did affect my activity and needed more rest. Advil helped. My wife had Shingles after the old vaccine that lasted over a month with extreme pain. Shingrix is supposed to be over 90% effective vs 70% for the older vaccine. I wouopt for the shot vs the disease especially after seeing my wife suffer and will take the second dose in February or March.

On 11/14/2020, I received the first dose of the Shingrix vaccine. I was very tired for 3 days. Immediately after that, it felt like the floor or ground was severely rocking under me when I walked or stood. It felt like trying to walk on a boat in a storm. After two weeks, I had a tele-med visit with a nurse practitioner who said it might be crystals in the inner ear. It continues, but is less severe. Have been mostly housebound, I’ve also had headaches. I read that shingles can cause ear infection or nerve damage, Even now, Dec 12, I sometimes veer to the side when walking, I asked the pharmacist about this ( he gave the injection, did not advise about fatigue ) but he quickly said it was definitely not related to Shingrix. 1. Is there a possible connection? 2. Should I risk the second Shingrix vaccination? I’m loathe to have further damage.

Hello Carol, and welcome to Mayo Connect.
We are a community of people with a wide variety of conditions and challenges who share our experiences in hopes of helping each other to live as fully as possible. We are not medical professionals and don not provide diagnoses, but we do share what has worked for us.

Since your NP suggested you may have misplaced crystal in the inner ear, did she suggest any home treatments you could try to relieve the dizziness? Misplaced crystals may give rise to a condition called Benign Paroxysmal Positi0nal Vertigo (BPPV) and there are a variety of exercises you can try to get relief. This article from Johns Hopkins gives a good description of the condition and the most usual therapy to treat it, called the Epley Maneuver:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/home-epley-maneuver
This is only a guess, but resting for longer hours due to fatigue after the vaccine could have caused crystals to shift in your ear. My episodes of BPPV tend to occur during/after an illness or after spending multiple days in a moving vehicle. I have used the Epley Manuever and others I found on You Tube successfully, sometimes if the dizziness is severe it can take up to 5 sessions to get relief. If this doesn't help, you can call your NP again for more advice.

Sue