Headaches, fatigue, lungs hurt 2 months after 2nd Shingles vaccine

Posted by jotoya @jotoya, Sep 7, 2021

Hello.

My name is Jose and my wife is just not doing well. Without writing a 3 page post and in summary, five weeks ago, she received the second dose of the Shingles vaccine. She was told by our PCP that the second shot tends to bring about a pretty good level of discomfort for "a few days". Well, its been nearly a month and a half and it would seem that this shot has done quite the number on her.

My wife suffers from Meniere's disease and bad tinnitus. She also struggles with tracheal stenosis (having had two surgeries already to stretch her trachea). It would seem that this second Shingles shot (and we're guessing here) has triggered some sort of autoimmune response (she has "high markers" for RA but does not have RA).

At the moment she has raging headaches. Her lungs "hurt" (has been tested for COVID twice - negative) no Pneumonia or bronchitis. She feels incredibly fatigued ALL the time. She sleeps well and religiously uses her CPAP machine. Gets 7 - 9 hours of rest every day. Still wakes up feeling terrible and incredibly fatigued. Tested for Mono - negative.

We've reached out to an Immunologist, our PCP, Pulmonologist - for the latter, was asked to blow on a tube. She did. Was told, "Good job. No need to see the doctor." - seriously and literally - Nothing! No one has any direction, comfort, vague answers, wild guesses, educated guesses.

She is DESPERATE and it truly is affecting her physically, mentally and emotionally. I feel so very helpless as I watch her struggle. I/we are hoping that in this forum someone may be able to provide some sort of medical direction for us.

Many thanks.

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Hello Jose @jotoya, Welcome to Connect. I can't imagine how difficult it is for you and especially your wife to deal with these terrible side effects from the 2nd shingles vaccine shot. You will notice we changed the title of your discussion to hopefully better describe the topic so that members who may have experience or knowledge will see it and respond.

I had the Shingrix vaccine earlier this year and I had headaches and really bad fatigue the 2nd day after my second shot but it only lasted the one day. I'm sure you may have seen this information but thought I would share it just in case - What side effects can the shingles vaccine cause?: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326667

Do you think there is a possibility it might be an allergic reaction to the vaccine? Are you able to seek help at a major teaching hospital or health facility like the Mayo Clinic?

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@jotoya - I’m so sorry to hear about the serious reaction your wife had after the vaccine! It’s worrisome to continue to have such severe headaches. Has she had an MRI of the brain? Did she by chance see a Neurologist? Her symptoms are not normal. I agree with John that she should be seen at a major University hospital or Mayo Clinic. She needs a neurological evaluation soon.

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@johnbishop

Hello Jose @jotoya, Welcome to Connect. I can't imagine how difficult it is for you and especially your wife to deal with these terrible side effects from the 2nd shingles vaccine shot. You will notice we changed the title of your discussion to hopefully better describe the topic so that members who may have experience or knowledge will see it and respond.

I had the Shingrix vaccine earlier this year and I had headaches and really bad fatigue the 2nd day after my second shot but it only lasted the one day. I'm sure you may have seen this information but thought I would share it just in case - What side effects can the shingles vaccine cause?: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326667

Do you think there is a possibility it might be an allergic reaction to the vaccine? Are you able to seek help at a major teaching hospital or health facility like the Mayo Clinic?

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Hi John,

Apologies for the late reply.

Thank you for your kind and informative message. An allergic reaction has been ruled out. We started at KU Medical Center with little success. We are considering going to Mayo. Thank you again for your fast reply and my apologies for the delay in mine.

Jose

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@astaingegerdm

@jotoya - I’m so sorry to hear about the serious reaction your wife had after the vaccine! It’s worrisome to continue to have such severe headaches. Has she had an MRI of the brain? Did she by chance see a Neurologist? Her symptoms are not normal. I agree with John that she should be seen at a major University hospital or Mayo Clinic. She needs a neurological evaluation soon.

Jump to this post

Hi Ingegerd,

As with John's message, I apologize for the late reply.

Thank you for your kind words also. As a matter of fact, she is seeing a Neurologist next week so we'll see where things go from there. She has not had an MRI of the brain - yet. And, this is something that the Neurologist may order.

The biggest thing she is dealing with right now is the intense fatigue.

Thanks again. I'll keep updating.

Jose

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Giving her - and you- my best wishes for a speedy diagnosis and recovery.
Please let us know what’s happening if you have the time.
Ingegerd

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@astaingegerdm

Giving her - and you- my best wishes for a speedy diagnosis and recovery.
Please let us know what’s happening if you have the time.
Ingegerd

Jump to this post

Yes ma'am, for sure. Thank you again Ingegerd 😊

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