Flu shot

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J

Jun

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Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone knew if the flu shot was detrimental to having a seizure.

My workplace is making the flu shot mandatory and this would be the first time I would get it. I don't want to debate whether its right or wrong to have it mandatory, but rather would like to hear your experience whether getting one increased frequency or maybe decreased frequency of having a seizure while of AED's. Im currently taking Tegratol and Clobazam.

Thank you
 
Jun

That is a hard question to answer, I know you have heard this before but everybody is different and the simple answer is "do not know" it may bring on seizures or it may not. I got the flu shot 2 years ago, never again will I get it, I wound up with the worst flu ever.

To be honest its going to be luck.
 
For me, an illness that is more than just a minor cold can dramatically worsen my seizures so I have always made a point of getting flu shots. I've been getting the shots for the past 15 years and have only had one fairly minor bout with the flu, even though my job involves close contact with people who may be sick and/or have poor social skills when it comes to properly covering the mouth when coughing, etc.
 
Our whole family gets the flu shot every year. We have had no problems with it. If you are allergic to eggs then you should not get one.

We have always gotten a flu shot every year every since I can remember.
 
Have gotten in the past and have never had problem. As a matter of fact, am going to get one today. Will let you know how it goes.
M
 
I have it every year so do 30yr old daughter..my son a doc and won't have it gut daughter in law do
 
Mind you I know don't want talks of rights and wrong as you asked but I think it disgusting making you all this even ..The stupid people know is the fue vaccination is using bugs from last years strain so can still get flu this years strain maybe different..
 
seagull said:
The stupid people know is the fue vaccination is using bugs from last years strain so can still get flu this years strain maybe different..
Click to expand...

You got the flu shot seagull, right? Who are the stupid people? I know they usually use a strain that they think might come. However, I still get the flu shot every year.
 
I haven't had so much as a sniffle since I went Paleo back in 2009 but I've always gotten flu shots. So now I'm thinking maybe the dietary strengthening of my immune system is really what counts.
After going Paleo, I kept getting the shots partly out of habit and partly out of deference to my father who was elderly and for whom I was the sole caregiver. This year I think I'm going to give it a pass.

Let me make it clear that I am not anti-vax for childhood diseases such as whooping cough and polio. There there is a clear cost/benefit in favor of getting the shot. For one thing, those diseases are relatively stable while the flu mutates so fast that any flu shot you get is basically fighting last year's flu and a shot in the dark guess as to where it will go this year. Also, having the flu means you feel like crap for a few days, whereas those other diseases can easily be fatal.

Yes, I know the Spanish Flu epidemic wiped out a lot of people but I honestly don't thing a vaccine would have been ready to handle something like that if it happened today. That's not something they could predict.

So:
1)Iffy chances of success targeting "this season's" flu
2)Concerns over "inactive" ingredients. (I really don't know where I stand on this)
3)Worst case scenario is a few days in bed eating chicken soup (I would stay home and keep it to myself)
4)Low chance of even getting exposed given that I live in a sparsely populated place

I have a good strong immune system. I can see though that if you don't or if you take care of someone who doesn't such as an infant or an elderly person, your personal cost/benefit might shift.
 
I'm definitely not against vaccinations. But after my last flu shot 3 years ago, I got muscle aches the next day and didn't feel very well--and seizures. So I upped my vitamin D to ward off the flu and haven't had a shot since. I go back and forth about getting one--I know I should but I think I personally reacted to the shot that year, though I hadn't before.
 
The decision to get a flu shot is a very personal one, obviously. A lot depends on how we react to an illness; ie. does significant illness increase one's chance of seizures or not. A flu shot does not necessarily prevent the flu in all cases, but it can reduce the severity and duration of the flu.
Another factor to keep in mind, is the type of people we are around. Are we in a position to pass illness on to others, especially those who may be particularly vulnerable (those with chronic illnesses - including others with epilepsy, young children, the elderly). With this in mind, it is important to be aware that flu germs can be on our hands and in our nasal passages etc. and not affect us but leaves others susceptible to these germs even if they're healthy, and this passing of germs from one to the next can eventually reach the most vulnerable for whom illness can be life-threatening.
There are a lot of factors to keep in mind when deciding to get a flu shot. It is worth a discussion with your family doctor and neurologist.
 
Thanks for all the comments!
As mentioned in the opening post, I'm more interested to know if the flu shot has had an effect on people's frequency/ severity of having a seizure rather than if it's right or wrong decision to get one.

I went yesterday to get the shot. Haven't felt anything funky yet so I hope that's a good thing.

Thank you for all the support
 
Hi Jun,

I have a flu shot every year and it has had no effect at all on my seizures.
 
Ruth said:
You got the flu shot seagull, right? Who are the stupid people? I know they usually use a strain that they think might come. However, I still get the flu shot every year.
Click to expand...

do you know I got no clue why I posted that I must been doing two things at sametime or I just taken nytol and clobzam together I talk a lot of crap when I done that
 
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