Life gets a bit complicated when we’re on immunosuppressants. Because it’s not 100% certain the Shingrix vaccine has me protected I’m still taking and antiviral pill daily…just in case.
I agree, this has to be a case by case decision. If someone has had or has an active case of Shingles they should wait until it’s approved. A weak immune system is just the opportunity the virus is looking for to reemerge.
I had a bone marrow transplant, essentially giving me someone else’s immune system so technically I haven’t had chicken pox but the virus might be in my system from the transplant donor. So we’re covering all the bases by getting me immunized. Hah, talking about not being an antivaxer. I just had my final 2 post transplant vaccinations, #s 28 and 29 since last October! Hope some of them take!! LOL.
@loribmt I have not heard of anti-viral pills. Do they not interfere with your immunosuppressants? It certainly sounds like something that would be valuable for those of us who are immunocompromised.
@fourof5zs Hopefully you have heard the end of your shingles. My husband's bout was very short-lived and not bad at all.
JK
@loribmt I have not heard of anti-viral pills. Do they not interfere with your immunosuppressants? It certainly sounds like something that would be valuable for those of us who are immunocompromised.
@fourof5zs Hopefully you have heard the end of your shingles. My husband's bout was very short-lived and not bad at all.
JK
It was part of my artificial immune system while in recovery from my bone marrow transplant. That’s why I’m so grateful to finally be off ALL of them.
For over 2 years I’ve been on daily doses of penicillin, bactrim, an antifungal med, antiviral and tacrolimus~for those who don’t know the med, it’s an anti-inflammatory/anti rejection drug.
So for sure, the Valacyclovir can safely be taken with the immunosuppressive.
I’m finally off the tacro and my new immune system is up and running on its own now!! Fist pump!! (And after 27 childhood/teen/adult vaccinations over the past year, not including the 2 covid and a flu shot)
I do take the antiviral for a while yet even though I’ve had both shingrix shots, to be on the safe side. My transplant doctor said we’ll consider the next step in January when I see him again.
@loribmt I have not heard of anti-viral pills. Do they not interfere with your immunosuppressants? It certainly sounds like something that would be valuable for those of us who are immunocompromised.
@fourof5zs Hopefully you have heard the end of your shingles. My husband's bout was very short-lived and not bad at all.
JK
@contentandwell
JK my husband got his meds today… the pharmacy was lacking in having a couple of them in stock yesterday. Last night he did not sleep well at all because of the pain. The meds should help him get better. He is having to do eyedrops… to help prevent the Shingles from entering his eye. He hates eyedrops. He has me put them in. .. oh when he picked the meds up the pharmacist said that Shingles is a very rare side effect of the vaccine.
Our dog has to have eyedrops daily and he growls and fusses (not viciously.. just displeasure) at me when it is time to do them. My husband jokingly did a growl at me before I put the drops in his eye. When I was through Ziggy (dog) jumped in his lap and leaned against him… I guess he was comforting my husband. Ziggy got lots of petting from my husband.
@contentandwell
JK my husband got his meds today… the pharmacy was lacking in having a couple of them in stock yesterday. Last night he did not sleep well at all because of the pain. The meds should help him get better. He is having to do eyedrops… to help prevent the Shingles from entering his eye. He hates eyedrops. He has me put them in. .. oh when he picked the meds up the pharmacist said that Shingles is a very rare side effect of the vaccine.
Our dog has to have eyedrops daily and he growls and fusses (not viciously.. just displeasure) at me when it is time to do them. My husband jokingly did a growl at me before I put the drops in his eye. When I was through Ziggy (dog) jumped in his lap and leaned against him… I guess he was comforting my husband. Ziggy got lots of petting from my husband.
@fourof5zs Your dog was comforting your husband knowing what it's like to get eye drops! Dogs are great.
I'm fine with eye drops but I can remember when my son was a baby, he was impossible. He had conjunctivitis and I just could not get them in at all. It cleared up anyway though.
I sure hope that we can get the shingles shot soon, thoughts of getting it, particularly knowing what my sister-in-law has gone through, make me squirm.
JK
It was part of my artificial immune system while in recovery from my bone marrow transplant. That’s why I’m so grateful to finally be off ALL of them.
For over 2 years I’ve been on daily doses of penicillin, bactrim, an antifungal med, antiviral and tacrolimus~for those who don’t know the med, it’s an anti-inflammatory/anti rejection drug.
So for sure, the Valacyclovir can safely be taken with the immunosuppressive.
I’m finally off the tacro and my new immune system is up and running on its own now!! Fist pump!! (And after 27 childhood/teen/adult vaccinations over the past year, not including the 2 covid and a flu shot)
I do take the antiviral for a while yet even though I’ve had both shingrix shots, to be on the safe side. My transplant doctor said we’ll consider the next step in January when I see him again.
@loribmt What a great feeling to be off so many medications! You don't even need an immunosuppressant now? That's wonderful. It can get tiresome to be taking all of these medications.
JK
@loribmt What a great feeling to be off so many medications! You don't even need an immunosuppressant now? That's wonderful. It can get tiresome to be taking all of these medications.
JK
I’m really feeling liberated from that pill box and don’t miss it at all! 😉
With a solid organ transplant the body will always see the new organ as an invader. So an organ transplant patient will require an immunosuppressant, which is an anti-rejection drug, for a lifetime.
With a bone marrow transplant it’s the new stem cells ( new immune system) which need to be kept suppressed because they will see the body as an enemy, wanting to launch a huge attack. Graft Vs Host Disease is a serious side effect of stem cell transplants. At some point, months or years out, with luck, the new immune system eventually recognizes the body and an amicable accord is struck. At that point we no longer need immuno suppressants!! Yay! I finally reached that point…knock on wood!! ☺️
I am 70 years old and my husband 71. I am allergic to some medications… he is not.
We had our first Shingrix vaccine last Friday. We had our flu vaccine a week before and was offered the Shingix vaccine at same time. Because of me having allergies or severe reactions to some medications ... and had no idea how I would react to the Shingrix vaccine … I said I wanted to wait. My husband waited too. A week before the flu vaccine we had our covid booster vaccine. I ran a low grade fever for a few hours after the booster and a bit buggy for a couple of days.
Friday evening after having the Shingrix vaccine we both had very sore arms, felt buggy and had a headache. We felt even more miserable Friday… he was nauseous and I was nauseous and vomiting. Not a good thing when you are keeping your 7 & 8 year old grand-girls. By Sunday evening we were feeling better. Our arms were not sore to move.. but sore to touch by then. Those girls know how to find the sore spot when hugging.. they hug a lot! I think Tuesday the soreness was gone.
I looked up the side-effects of the Shingrix vaccine and these are more the side effects of the second vaccine than the first. Most people do not have such reactions. We are just weird. Usually it is just me that has the weird reactions and not my husband… guess I'm growing on him. 😂
What happens to others will probably not happen to you. You know you best. … how you react to medications.
To me this discomfort from the vaccine will be worth it to never get Shingles again. I had it on my face in Sept of 2017 and had a milder case of it on my face again earlier this year. Shingles is very painful! It is also scary near my eye. Shingles can enter the eye.
My goal here was not to scare you .. but maybe help you decide what is best for you.
Thank you for sharing. I am 70. I had my booster Pfizer vaccine 2 weeks ago. I am currently taking immunosuppressant medications due to other health issues. I had the original shingles vaccine years ago and was advised by my PCP to take the updated vaccine. I am concerned because I produced no antibodies from the Pfizer vaccine. I am concerned about taking any other vaccines because I am taking immunosuppressant medication. I plan on discussing this with my pharmacist. Your discussion is informative.
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@loribmt I have not heard of anti-viral pills. Do they not interfere with your immunosuppressants? It certainly sounds like something that would be valuable for those of us who are immunocompromised.
@fourof5zs Hopefully you have heard the end of your shingles. My husband's bout was very short-lived and not bad at all.
JK
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1 ReactionI take Valacylovir. But there are other anti-viral meds on the market. It works to prevent herpes and shingles in immuno compromised people.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/valacyclovir-oral-route/description/drg-20066635
It was part of my artificial immune system while in recovery from my bone marrow transplant. That’s why I’m so grateful to finally be off ALL of them.
For over 2 years I’ve been on daily doses of penicillin, bactrim, an antifungal med, antiviral and tacrolimus~for those who don’t know the med, it’s an anti-inflammatory/anti rejection drug.
So for sure, the Valacyclovir can safely be taken with the immunosuppressive.
I’m finally off the tacro and my new immune system is up and running on its own now!! Fist pump!! (And after 27 childhood/teen/adult vaccinations over the past year, not including the 2 covid and a flu shot)
I do take the antiviral for a while yet even though I’ve had both shingrix shots, to be on the safe side. My transplant doctor said we’ll consider the next step in January when I see him again.
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1 Reaction@contentandwell
JK my husband got his meds today… the pharmacy was lacking in having a couple of them in stock yesterday. Last night he did not sleep well at all because of the pain. The meds should help him get better. He is having to do eyedrops… to help prevent the Shingles from entering his eye. He hates eyedrops. He has me put them in. .. oh when he picked the meds up the pharmacist said that Shingles is a very rare side effect of the vaccine.
Our dog has to have eyedrops daily and he growls and fusses (not viciously.. just displeasure) at me when it is time to do them. My husband jokingly did a growl at me before I put the drops in his eye. When I was through Ziggy (dog) jumped in his lap and leaned against him… I guess he was comforting my husband. Ziggy got lots of petting from my husband.
Take in the tiny joys of life as they come 😀🐩
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1 Reaction@fourof5zs Your dog was comforting your husband knowing what it's like to get eye drops! Dogs are great.
I'm fine with eye drops but I can remember when my son was a baby, he was impossible. He had conjunctivitis and I just could not get them in at all. It cleared up anyway though.
I sure hope that we can get the shingles shot soon, thoughts of getting it, particularly knowing what my sister-in-law has gone through, make me squirm.
JK
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1 Reaction@loribmt What a great feeling to be off so many medications! You don't even need an immunosuppressant now? That's wonderful. It can get tiresome to be taking all of these medications.
JK
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2 ReactionsI’m really feeling liberated from that pill box and don’t miss it at all! 😉
With a solid organ transplant the body will always see the new organ as an invader. So an organ transplant patient will require an immunosuppressant, which is an anti-rejection drug, for a lifetime.
With a bone marrow transplant it’s the new stem cells ( new immune system) which need to be kept suppressed because they will see the body as an enemy, wanting to launch a huge attack. Graft Vs Host Disease is a serious side effect of stem cell transplants. At some point, months or years out, with luck, the new immune system eventually recognizes the body and an amicable accord is struck. At that point we no longer need immuno suppressants!! Yay! I finally reached that point…knock on wood!! ☺️
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2 ReactionsThank you for sharing. I am 70. I had my booster Pfizer vaccine 2 weeks ago. I am currently taking immunosuppressant medications due to other health issues. I had the original shingles vaccine years ago and was advised by my PCP to take the updated vaccine. I am concerned because I produced no antibodies from the Pfizer vaccine. I am concerned about taking any other vaccines because I am taking immunosuppressant medication. I plan on discussing this with my pharmacist. Your discussion is informative.
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