Has anyone actually had the swine flu vaccine? (or their kids)

[CathyS]

My Mum and ex have had the Swine Flu vaccine and are trying to persuade me to get it. I do have Lupus, which is an auto immune disease, but I am pretty healthy with it, and don't get much more than some joint aches and dry mouth and eyes. I never get the flu. Just usually a cold. I eat well and try to stay healthy.

Has anyone on here had the vaccine? Did you have any side effects? I'm very unsure about giving my kids the vaccine as well.

I would like to hear some unbiased opinions. My ex is in contact with thousands of people at his work (big factory) and he has known of workers that had swine flu. He even thought he had it last year, but tests proved he had whooping cough instead. Which scared the crap out of me as I had a newborn baby at the time. I went and got the whooping cough vaccine and bub was immunised as soon as possible.

I have always vaccined my kids (I have 4). And no side effects. They seem to be healthy with the needles. Their immunity seems good now as they never get tummy bugs or hardly ever get sick.

I never usually get the flu vaccine normally. Though I know the swine flu is deadly. I know there are posts here which claim vaccines are bad. But I know vaccines can save lifes too. It's a hard one to decide.

[Turkish Delight]

I never get the flue vaccine and wouldn't have gotten this one either if my GP never mentioned it to me. I thought okay, might as well, so i did.

I had no side effects. My arm wasn't heavy or anything as with some vaccines you can get the heavy arm feeling. My vaccine point was a tad red, but other than that nothing really.

GL

[CathyS]

Ok, thanks for letting me know.

[BethsMum]

I also had the SF vaccine. I chose to have it because I am pregnant so I got it as soon as I reached my second trimester. I had no side effects other than a little bit of soreness at the injection site.

[Jewel]

I never get the normal flu shot either but I've had the swine flu vaccine and I didn't have any side effects or anything. Just a little tenderness where it was done.

xox

[LionsandBears]

I had it as we were planning a pregnancy. Pregnant women have been some of the worst affected by SF. Just had a sore arm, but that's normal for me with needles.

[*Infinity*]

I never usually get the flu vaccine normally. Though I know the swine flu is deadly.

The other strains of the flu virus can also be deadly, mostly for people who have comprimised health already though. So while deaths due to swine flu appear to be very alarming in the news etc - the other types of flu can be just as nasty, its just not as news-worthy IYKWIM?

I don't get the general flu vax and I've chosen not to get the swine flu vax despite our GP trying to encourage us to do so. Neither has my son. He has had all the other vaccines on the schedule for babies.

It really comes down to personal choice based on your own research & information gathering. Good luck.

[amberj]

I have done a little bit of research on the SF vaccine and its effect on kids- we got that letter asking if we wanted to include DS in the study of the vaccine on kids, and so before I consented to it, I did some research.

Bearing in mind that I am pro-vaccine in general, the news was predominantly positive. There were very, very few reports of any negative side effects of the vaccine in kids (or adults for that matter), and my general impression is that it is no more or no less dangerous than any vaccine- ie- it carries some risk, but that risk needs to be weighed against the risk of the illness. Because SF seems particularly nasty to youngsters, I will definately be getting DS vaccinated (as well as ourselves). In my research, the articles I read about how many otherwise healthy children in the States have died from SF freaked me right out.

We haven't had it done yet, so I can't speak from personal experience, but for whatever my research is worth, we're going ahead!

[Muppity]

I had it with no side effects.

Try to think of it as any other flu jab. Like Infinity said, other flu strains can cause just as much damage to people, particularly those with compromised immune systems - the difference with swine flu is that it seems to be particularly severe in some people who a normal flu woun't affect so badly - like young otherwise healthy people.

In respect to the actual jab itself, again, think of it just like any other flu jab. It has received exactly the same rigorous testing and passed all the approvals and the danger of side effects is the same as with any seasonal flu vaccination.

Hope this helps

[Just Me]

I had swine flu while I was 31 wks pregnant with DD2 so I didn't need SF vacccine - my DH and DD1 and DS were also sick with the same symptoms as me but they don't test for SF anymore unless you are in a high risk category so there was no confirmation of them having had SF. DH had the vax even though I think it is highly probable that he already had the virus and he had no side effects except for soreness at the injection site.

I just like to include the warning that if you have any symptoms of SF and are pg - see the doctor immediately. They can only start a course of tamiflu if they see you within 48 hours of the start of the symptoms (and obviously the earlier the better). My symptoms were much less severe than my DH, DD1 and DS as I was started on Tamiflu in the first 24 hours of my symtoms. There have been no bad side effects on my baby of having Tamiflu while pg.

Sorry a bit off topic, but if someone comes across this thread looking for info on SF, I think that info is important.

[CathyS]

I do think that in general most vaccines are better than the disease. What made me confirm how I felt about vaccines was hearing my Mum say that when she was about 6 immunisation came in. Before this, there were many kids that she knew/friends knew of etc that died or became very ill from these diseases before they got the chance to be immunised. It was her personal story (and the fact she was a nurse as well) that made me think it was totally worth it. And now you hear of things like whooping cough coming back...

We wear seatbelts though we know it's unlikely we'll have an accident. But things do happen. It's always the unknown that scares us isn't it? Having the vaccine or not. Those that don't immunise have to worry their kids will get the disease, and those that do have to worry about the side effects that could be ongoing.. And then there is trusting the government LOL. I will probably end up getting it I think..

[HotI]

I have had the flu vaccine before, but chose NOT to get the swine flu vaccine because i was pregnant. At the time I was offered the vaccine, there were no (or very few) women who had given birth after being vaccinated. The theory offered by the doctors that it was completely safe didn't cut it for me, when they didn't have any evidence of healthy bubs following vaccination.

[AnyDream]

I had the swine vaccine as soon as i could but I was in a high-risk category. My DH had it even earlier. I had fewer side effects than with the regular flu vaccine (which I've had every year for the past 7-8 years no probs) - though I was pretty worn down immune wise at that time.

However, because you have an auto-immune system condition, this is something you really need to discuss in full with a dr that you trust.

[Loula]

very interested in this thread as i am also taking prednislone and will be for another few weeks (i hope).

Thanks for all the post pros and cons and after.

[Doodlebug]

I chose not to have it. My gp was all for it, I asked my ob if he recommended it and his answer was "if I were his daughter he wouldn't recommend me have it". Fair enough, this man has been operating on my since I was 16 and I have total faith in him.

I also contacted my Aunt and Uncle in America (Aunt is a nurse and Uncle is in research for anasthetics), both of them said the are not having it due to the small amount of research and testing that has been done.

I am in no way a medical professional, nor medically minded, the above is what I based my decision on. Each person and situation is different and you need to do what you feel is best.

It's a hard call to make! Good luck with your decision!

[prama]

cathy, I too have lupus, and just had the SF vac this afternoon, for me and my almost 2 year old.
I'm 12 weeks pregnant (i found out from different govt health websites and was told by 2 GPs it's ok to do it in your first trimester)

I didnt want to put myself, my unborn child and my son at risk. There were so many pg women in ICU last year and so many deaths.

DH and I work with people who travel a lot and I use public transport for work, and DS is at day care days. So I think we are quite susceptible to it.

There's another thread on swine flu on BB that, in my opinion, seems to discourage women from taking the vaccination. Reading it, and all the links and posts about women having miscarriages etc, can come across as telling other women who read the thread NOT to take vaccine. To me,is very dangerous, as someone can make the decision NOT to from the thread, then catch the swine flu, and have disastrous consequences, and who is going to be held liable for that?

I think the probability of something going wrong after having the vaccine is minute compared to the risk of having the swine flu vac, and saving yourself and your family.
That's just my opinion.

All the best everyone...

[melbel]

Lou if it helps I was advised by my doctor to wait until I was off the prednisone to have the vaccine for a couple of reasons: one the prednisone is suppressing my immune system for a reason and having the vaccine will force an immune response when we don't want it.....two the immune response it does mount in order to create immunity for the swine flu may be inadequate to give you full swine flu protection. So if it were me and you want the vaccination I would probably wait until the prednisone was out my system in another few weeks........ Best course of action is to have a chat with your doc or even email Gavin and get his viewpoint

[Loula]

Thanks Mel great advise