COVID vaccines and neuropathy
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.
Oops...sorry, Colleen, for using All Caps in my message prior to yours! Actually, I think in a couple of instances I meant to be shouting, in a good way, for emphasis, not at any person or group of people. Won't do it again, Not good electronic etiquette. Bless you for all you do for so many! elizabeth
Hello @lmill7 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I see that you are replying to @revisl to provide support/understanding with regard to neuropathy pain, which you know personally as well.
I am so glad to hear you have found good pain doctors. How did you arrive at your current Rx and supplement combination and how long have you been on your current regimen?
Getting back to the original topic, data from the UK (see link below) on immediate vaccine side-effects from a very large sample is quite interesting, even if it is based on self-reporting. I notice that exacerbated PN is not reported in the study which suggests that it is not a common reaction. However, that's scant comfort to those that do experience permanent negative effects and it would be a pity if it was therefore ignored by the medical community. I am personally interested in whether adverse PN reaction is limited to certain types of PN and/or certain vaccines. Is there something about mNRA vaccines that make a negative PN reaction more likely?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00224-3/fulltext
Thank you for the link. This is what I concluded by reviewing the VAERS data as well. More study is, of course needed. I will say that my initial hyper-inflammatory vaccine reactions were both to traditional, non-mRNA types, and that PN reactions have been reported in VAERS as far back as 2007.
Now we need to push either a researcher or one of the pharmas to take a deeper look to answer the questions about who is most affected and if there are ways to mitigate.
Sue
Agreed Sue. Interesting that there were 2000 cases of burning in the UK study which is my predominant aftereffect. Odd though that they classify it as an allergic reaction. I fear that only some media attention will galvanize a closer look...
I never had neuropathy and developed after 1st covid vaccine (moderna). It has not gotten better and I’m going on 5 months. MDs I’ve seen said it must be from vaccine but haven’t seen it before, I have been told they have seen similar symptoms in post covid patients. I did not have covid (had nucleocapsid test to confirm). I did not get second vaccine. I have filed a report with VAERS
I had the same thing happen after moderna and it’s still not improving 5 months out. I’m worried its not going to resolve and MDs have no idea what to tell me as far as what to expect bc they haven’t seen it
So very similar to my own case except I did take my 2nd Pfizer dose. I am encouraged by the fact that at least it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. And I don’t have numbness or pain that is bad enough to affect my mobility or balance. Predominantly burning in my feet these days. I feel like we will hear more of it as time goes by. I’ll look forward to keeping up with your progress through this forum.
Hello @tracyt and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for joining the conversation and sharing your experience following your vaccine. Filing a report with VAERS will provide helpful information. Did your doctor suggest that?
I did file a report with VAERS early on and they called me a month or two later based on my vsafe answers but they only asked a couple questions and couldn’t give me any info regarding if there were other similar cases. My neuro filed a consult with CISA regarding my symptoms and whether to get second dose and the answer was very vague and basically said I need to discuss risk/benefits with my provider. In the end I didn’t get second dose bc the MDs (as well I) were afraid it might make my symptoms worse. It’s just very frustrating having these painful symptoms and the doctors I have seen don’t really know what to say other than it has to be from vaccine.