Had Shingles shot and now have PMR

It's Zostavax that is the live shingles vaccine. It was discontinued in the US in November 2020, but was still used in Australia till last month (November 2023) when it was discontinued here too. Zostavax caused three deaths in immuno-compromised people (that's us) in Australia between 2017 and 2020. It also caused a treatment resistant type of shingles in some people rather than preventing it. And the health authorities all said it was "safe and effective". No wonder so many of us are cautious about vaccines. Shingrix is the non-live vaccine being recommended now.

I'm right there with you. I was a very healthy 69-year -old until by second COVID vaccination. I had the old Shingles vaccination many years ago and then they came out with the "new and improved" one, which I declined at the time because I had just taken the old version 2 weeks prior. I've never had a flu shot and I think I've had the flu once in over 30 years!

Hi, I am a physician over the past five years. I’ve had PMR three times and they were always about four weeks after I had a vaccine. And the PMR came on the same time of year about December and last 2 to 3 months with a slow prednisone taper. I got better since then I’ve had a flu shot without getting PMR but I got a flare about four or six weeks after my second Covid vaccine, the course of prednisone was a little bit shorter for this about 4 to 6 weeks, and for the last two years, I have not had any more vaccines, I did get a mild case of Covid about a year ago, I practiced internal medicine, and I feel that for some reason vaccines seem to triggered my immune system and I get a flare and I think PMR is an auto immune disease and in my practice, PMR is more common than we think, prednisone definitely helps. I’m very interested in people who have gotten the flare of PMR symptoms after vaccines.

My PMR was triggered by the shingles vaccine last January and my life has not been the same since then. You were very fortunate getting off prednisone so quickly. My rheumatologist also thought I might be able to taper off prednisone quickly with vaccine induced PMR but that has not been the case. I don’t know why the medical profession has been so reluctant to acknowledge the relationship. That doesn’t mean vaccines shouldn’t be given; the actual diseases we are vaccinated against also can cause the same issues or worse.

I’ve continued to get boosters or vaccine for COVID, flu and RSV but refused the second Shingles shot.

Dear legend, I was fully vacinated for Covid in 2021 with Phizer vaccine. For about 30 years I always received a seasonal flu shot because I worked with the public. September 2022 my PCP gave me my flu shot. By October 1, I was in the ER with a severe case of PMR. I had to go in a wheelchair and my hands were so swollen and painful I was non- functional. My PCP said no more vaccines for you. I am on a slow taper for my Prednisone. Should be off by end of February. Diet is very important for recovery

Not a physician so I can’t comment whether the Shingles vaccine and PMR are connected. However I just wanted to document my recent experience. On Nov 7, 2023 I received my second shingles shot, on Nov 10th I developed pain & muscle weakness in all my major joints. On Dec 1 (10 days after my 70th birthday) I was diagnosed with PMR and have started my prednisone journey.

Welcome @usmwp111, I'm sorry to hear you developed PMR shortly after having the second shingles vaccine shot. It's a bummer for sure but you have a lot of company and experience here on Connect that can help you manage your prednisone journey. Here's a search results link if you want to see what other members have shared - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=tapering+prednisone.

One thing recommended by my rheumatologist on my first go around with PMR was to keep a daily log with my level of pain (0 to 10) along with my dose of prednisone for the day. The rheumatologist along with my primary care doctor also kept reminding me to let them know if I had any tenderness or pain in the scalp, temple or jaw area of the head, or vision problems as they can be indications of giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Do you keep a daily log to track your pain and dosage?

John, thanks for being a mentor and the follow up! I do keep a log ( not quite daily) when there has been in changes in specific pain levels and/or if there are new areas that ache in the morning. I do record daily my prednisone dosage. In a month I will be getting my ESR and CRP levels checked (and other blood work) which have all been trending in the right direction.