COVID vaccines and neuropathy

Posted by cue @cue, Feb 15, 2021

I am 85 with small fiber neuropathy that is getting worse. My neurologist thought it would be a good idea for me to wait with the covid vaccine and not be first in line to see how it affected other people with neuropathy. Probably because it is a new technology. Has anyone had a problem with neuropathy after receiving the vaccine? If so, which vaccine?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

@sueinmn

I just took a look into the numbers, to see if there are answers to any of the questions being asked, and here is what I found. From the CDC on April 6, 2021: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

"Reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination
To date, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines.

- FDA requires vaccination providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS.
- Reports of death to VAERS following vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused the death.
- CDC follows up on any report of death to request additional information and learn more about what occurred and to determine whether the death was a result of the vaccine or unrelated.
- CDC, FDA, and other federal partners will continue to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

Over 167 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through April 5, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 2,794 reports of death (0.00167%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC and FDA physicians review each case report of death as soon as notified and CDC requests medical records to further assess reports. A review of available clinical information including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records revealed no evidence that vaccination contributed to patient deaths. CDC and FDA will continue to investigate reports of adverse events, including deaths, reported to VAERS."

Then I looked a little deeper.
- During the same 110 day period in the US, roughly 855,000 people died, out of a population of 331,000,000 (about 7775 per day die in the US) . That is a death rate of .0258% overall (25 in 100,000.)
- Even if you said 2794 people died out of 83.5 million - assuming 2 injections per person - that is still a POSSIBLY vaccine-related death rate of .0033% (3.3 in 100,000) - about 1/8th the chance of dying of any cause during the same time.
- Based on current statistics, if you contract Covid, your chance of dying is 1.8% (1800 in 100,000) - at least 500 times higher than your chance of dying from the vaccine. And if you have underlying conditions or comorbidities, that risk is even higher.
- The chance of getting Covid this past year has been 1 in 11 - chances among vaccinated people so far has been less than 1 in 1000.

This is my last contribution to this topic. If these numbers, and the reduced incidence of illness and deaths in congregate living facilities and among health care workers after vaccination cannot convince you of the advisability of getting vaccinated, nothing will.

All I ask is that you not use your personal fears to discourage others from getting vaccinated.
Sue

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Superb, Sue!

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Hi Everyone
I did have a fever yesterday & was real tired. I stayed in bed all day.
I feel better today but I saw they are concerned with the J&J with blood clotts.
Does anyone know how you can tell if you have a blood clot or getting one?
Now I am all scared.
Thank you
Genie

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@tigreyes2004

Hi Everyone
I did have a fever yesterday & was real tired. I stayed in bed all day.
I feel better today but I saw they are concerned with the J&J with blood clotts.
Does anyone know how you can tell if you have a blood clot or getting one?
Now I am all scared.
Thank you
Genie

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@tigereye I just heard @colleenyoung mention that they usually start in lower extremities, would appear reddish, you would feel pressure/pain in your leg and the the spot would be warm to the touch. For more information, please see some additional information I found on Mayo Clinic's website.

-Blood Clots Basics: When to see a Doctor
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/blood-clots/basics/when-to-see-doctor/sym-20050850

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Recently, my neuropathy increased in my toes. Yesterday I had my first Covid vaccination. I'm glad I experienced the increase in pain months BEFORE the vaccination rather than after, or I would have been erroneously convinced there was a cause and effect relationship between the two. (I'm sharing my experience just in case it might be relevant to someone else.)

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@tigreyes2004

Hi Everyone
I did have a fever yesterday & was real tired. I stayed in bed all day.
I feel better today but I saw they are concerned with the J&J with blood clotts.
Does anyone know how you can tell if you have a blood clot or getting one?
Now I am all scared.
Thank you
Genie

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Any pain or swelling in your legs - thighs, ankles? See the doctor- otherwise you’re probably fine.

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@tigreyes2004

Hi Everyone
I did have a fever yesterday & was real tired. I stayed in bed all day.
I feel better today but I saw they are concerned with the J&J with blood clotts.
Does anyone know how you can tell if you have a blood clot or getting one?
Now I am all scared.
Thank you
Genie

Jump to this post

Hi Genie- I can certainly understand your fears. The CDC and J&J are looking closely at these rare clotting episodes to see if they can be induced by the vaccine. I believe there were 4 or 5 women under 48 years old who had them

"events or thrombocytopenia in patients who have recently received the J&J COVID-19 vaccine, including severe headache, backache, new neurologic symptoms, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, petechiae (tiny red spots on the skin), or new or easy bruising. Obtain platelet counts and screen for evidence of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia." Since I am not a medical doctor I can't explain the terms, but you can google them.

As always, if you have anything that changes with your health that is unusual call your doctor. Did you have J&J?

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@mawagner13

Oh I’m sorry. Flouroquinolone toxity is horrible. Happy to connect and I’ll share information. FQT symptoms,severity and recovery vary greatly and Covid adds such a twist.
There’s also a website Floxiehope that offers a ton of information but some of it scary. There might be some other vaccine stories on there though to help with your decision. There wasn’t when I got mine but that was a few months ago.
Let me know how to connect directly.

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I appreciate it so much! Still trying to gather all the information I can at this point. So scary and unexpected, especially during this crazy time!

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@tigreyes2004

Hi Everyone
I did have a fever yesterday & was real tired. I stayed in bed all day.
I feel better today but I saw they are concerned with the J&J with blood clotts.
Does anyone know how you can tell if you have a blood clot or getting one?
Now I am all scared.
Thank you
Genie

Jump to this post

Hi @tigreyes2004 I can understand your concerns. Your doctor may be better to advise you knowing your medical history. I have not researched what type of blood clots occurred with the J&J vaccine. Were they an arterial thrombosis, venous thrombosis, or both? Each may have different symptoms. Your doctor can warn you of which symptoms to look out for.

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@avmcbellar

Hi @tigreyes2004 I can understand your concerns. Your doctor may be better to advise you knowing your medical history. I have not researched what type of blood clots occurred with the J&J vaccine. Were they an arterial thrombosis, venous thrombosis, or both? Each may have different symptoms. Your doctor can warn you of which symptoms to look out for.

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I read on the computer & TV that this is very rare but they are just pausing J&J to make sure of the safety concerns. It said to look for signs up to 3 weeks. I see my Neuropathy dr. next week so I will tell her my concerns.
Everything is a risk so I will think positive. I feel a little safe from the Covid now but will still follow the guide lines & war my masks.

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@merpreb

Hi Genie- I can certainly understand your fears. The CDC and J&J are looking closely at these rare clotting episodes to see if they can be induced by the vaccine. I believe there were 4 or 5 women under 48 years old who had them

"events or thrombocytopenia in patients who have recently received the J&J COVID-19 vaccine, including severe headache, backache, new neurologic symptoms, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, petechiae (tiny red spots on the skin), or new or easy bruising. Obtain platelet counts and screen for evidence of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia." Since I am not a medical doctor I can't explain the terms, but you can google them.

As always, if you have anything that changes with your health that is unusual call your doctor. Did you have J&J?

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Hi Merry
I had the J & J vaccine. I feel good today. Just the low grade fever & tired & at first a little nausea but when I heard this morning about those 6 people I got scared. Thank you so much for giving me the details on what to look for.
My. dr. talked me in to getting the shot so that is why I did. My husband also had the shot at the same time I did & he had no symptom's except they drew blood with him & he had a sore arm but he is fine.
I live in Az. & that is the shot they seem to be giving. The Maderna one is the one that I know a few people got really sick for 3-4 days with that one.
Thanks again
God bless
Genie

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