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Has anyone gotten the flu even if he/she was inoculated (at least) three weeks prior? (Original Post) ailsagirl Oct 2015 OP
If you get exposed to a different flu virus than the shot, it happens a lot. hobbit709 Oct 2015 #1
So I've been reading... ailsagirl Oct 2015 #2
My wife used to get a flu shot every year. hobbit709 Oct 2015 #3
That's a bummer ailsagirl Oct 2015 #7
Supposedly, getting the shot every year does reduce the severity MH1 Oct 2015 #8
Agreed! ailsagirl Oct 2015 #14
Yes. You can fail immunization. Laffy Kat Oct 2015 #4
Nope, not ever. Not even a cold. trof Oct 2015 #5
Keep at it! ailsagirl Oct 2015 #6
My husband had a horrible case of flu several years ago about 2 weeks after getting his shot. mnhtnbb Oct 2015 #9
That's terrible ailsagirl Oct 2015 #12
The last time I got the flu I was afraid I was going to die Major Nikon Oct 2015 #23
Can't help but laugh...but I know what you mean! mnhtnbb Oct 2015 #24
There are several brands (strains) of flu. I try to catch the less expensive one. BlueJazz Oct 2015 #10
Not me and I've been LiberalElite Oct 2015 #11
Good for you! ailsagirl Oct 2015 #13
The needle never fazed me - LiberalElite Oct 2015 #34
No, but I have patients coming in all the time complaining of having the flu, Aristus Oct 2015 #15
Preach it The Second Stone Oct 2015 #16
That's very tragic ailsagirl Oct 2015 #28
We have a friend who almost died from h1n1. Hassin Bin Sober Oct 2015 #44
It's the chills that tipped me off ailsagirl Oct 2015 #25
Never EVER get a flu shot. nt clarice Oct 2015 #17
Yeah, please don't go around telling people that. Aristus Oct 2015 #18
I'll say what I like...when I like thank you. nt clarice Oct 2015 #19
Just like others are free to say how piss poor that advice is Major Nikon Oct 2015 #20
This isn't a free speech issue. Aristus Oct 2015 #22
That's right!! nt ailsagirl Oct 2015 #27
Aristus, I DID get my flu shot... ailsagirl Oct 2015 #26
I'm glad. Aristus Oct 2015 #30
I knew what you meant ailsagirl Oct 2015 #31
Of course. Aristus Oct 2015 #32
to all..... clarice Oct 2015 #37
I'm sorry, clarice. You're going to have to do better than a couple of links to anti-vaxxer sites. Aristus Oct 2015 #38
Typical....always attack the source.nt clarice Oct 2015 #39
Yes. The source is wrong. Aristus Oct 2015 #40
IYHO perhaps....anyway, be well. Peace. nt clarice Oct 2015 #41
My opinion and scientific fact, in this case, coincide. Aristus Oct 2015 #42
Getting bronchitis made me a believer. roody Oct 2015 #29
whatever you say, Jenny Skittles Oct 2015 #33
The flu shot doesn't guarantee you won't get the flu Major Nikon Oct 2015 #21
YES! Jokerman Oct 2015 #35
I got some kind of flu years ago, in college, during one of the epidemics. The Velveteen Ocelot Oct 2015 #36
I did last year NewJeffCT Oct 2015 #43

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
2. So I've been reading...
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 04:58 PM
Oct 2015

Last edited Tue Oct 20, 2015, 09:05 PM - Edit history (2)

I guess narrowing it down to the likeliest viruses is an imperfect science.

I'm just surprised at contacting it after all these years!!

hobbit709

(41,694 posts)
3. My wife used to get a flu shot every year.
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 05:04 PM
Oct 2015

And every year she'd come down with a different flu than the on the shot was for.

MH1

(17,600 posts)
8. Supposedly, getting the shot every year does reduce the severity
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 10:01 PM
Oct 2015

even if you get flu symptoms anyway.

That seems to be true for me. One year recently I did get the flu, sort of, for about 2 days with only about a day of semi-severe symptoms. My recollection from years ago is that the flu normally last several days. So yeah, I definitely think getting the shot every year helps.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
14. Agreed!
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 03:01 PM
Oct 2015

My temp could have been higher than 102, for sure. Never again will I take getting a flu shot so lightly. I'm a believer in them.

mnhtnbb

(31,399 posts)
9. My husband had a horrible case of flu several years ago about 2 weeks after getting his shot.
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 11:56 PM
Oct 2015

But he still gets his flu shot every year.

I didn't use to get them, but I do now. I've had some horrible, awful cases of flu
where you literally think you are going to die. Had one when I was pregnant
with my youngest son and had to be hospitalized to prevent going into early
labor because I was so dehydrated. Nurse looking for a vein to start an IV
said my veins looked like I was an 80 year old woman (at age 38). So I do
know how awful flu can be.

I got mine a little early this year because we were going to be traveling at the end of September.
My husband did not get his...and guess who came home from the trip sick? He finally went
to get his last week.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
12. That's terrible
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 02:56 PM
Oct 2015

It's really nothing to fool around with-- I know people who insist shots are useless but I am a believer. Had I not gotten one, it could have been much worse.

The pharmacist told me it's more like three weeks before it kicks in-- regardless, I am grateful I got one, even though I was sick for a week. It can always be worse

Scary stuff!!

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
23. The last time I got the flu I was afraid I was going to die
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 06:10 PM
Oct 2015

Then I was afraid I was going to live.

LiberalElite

(14,691 posts)
11. Not me and I've been
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 06:45 AM
Oct 2015

getting the flu shot for over 25 years, ever since I was diagnosed with asthma. All I get sometimes is a little red bump where the needle went in.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
13. Good for you!
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 02:58 PM
Oct 2015

Unfortunately, there are those who are so petrified of the needle that they avoid having a shot at any cost. I don't even feel the needle anymore because they keep getting finer.

Aristus

(66,434 posts)
15. No, but I have patients coming in all the time complaining of having the flu,
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 03:52 PM
Oct 2015

even though they got their immunization. I look them over, and it's almost always a garden-variety cold virus. Once in a while it's bronchitis.


I swear, get a cough or a little nose-dribble, and people start screaming 'FLU!'

 

The Second Stone

(2,900 posts)
16. Preach it
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 04:24 PM
Oct 2015

A cold is awful. The flu is deadly or just short of death. My doctor fires patients who won't get vaccinated for the flu. A cousin died of H1N1 a few years back. She was already in the hospital and was recovering when it suddenly went bad and killed her. 51 years old with two pre-teen daughters.

Hassin Bin Sober

(26,333 posts)
44. We have a friend who almost died from h1n1.
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 04:38 PM
Oct 2015

45 years old and ended up on a ventilator.

It got to the point we were looking for airfares for the funeral.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
25. It's the chills that tipped me off
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 10:55 PM
Oct 2015

As soon as I felt them, I took my temp and it was 101. And I rarely ever run a fever.
No cough, no sore throat, just a general feeling of malaise.

Aristus

(66,434 posts)
18. Yeah, please don't go around telling people that.
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 05:27 PM
Oct 2015

It's irresponsible in the extreme.

Ailsagirl, if you can see this: get your flu shot.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
26. Aristus, I DID get my flu shot...
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 11:00 PM
Oct 2015

precisely three weeks before I got slammed.

And I would urge everyone to get one, esp. the high-risk groups.

ailsagirl

(22,897 posts)
31. I knew what you meant
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 11:10 PM
Oct 2015


I say, better to be slammed than be MEGA-slammed (had I not gotten the shot)!!

There's no way of knowing, of course, but I prefer to think that had I not gotten it, the illness would have been much worse.

I hope you got your shot, too



Aristus

(66,434 posts)
38. I'm sorry, clarice. You're going to have to do better than a couple of links to anti-vaxxer sites.
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 12:45 PM
Oct 2015

Jim Carrey is a funny guy, and Jenny McCarthy has beautiful breasts, but those attributes do not give them any scientific veracity...

Aristus

(66,434 posts)
42. My opinion and scientific fact, in this case, coincide.
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 03:04 PM
Oct 2015

The veracity of immunization is true, not because I say it is true, but because science says it.

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
21. The flu shot doesn't guarantee you won't get the flu
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 05:51 PM
Oct 2015

It just increased the odds that you won't and can potentially mitigate the severity if you do.

Jokerman

(3,518 posts)
35. YES!
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 09:23 AM
Oct 2015

I work in a high risk environment for the flu so I get a shot every fall.

I haven't had the full blown flu since I started getting the shots but I have noticed once or twice that I'd start feel like I was coming down with something only to recover fully the next day or maybe have a few minor, lingering symptoms.

The shot is kind of like a bullet-proof vest, it doesn't cover everything and you may still get the wind knocked out of you but it is still better than no protection at all.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,792 posts)
36. I got some kind of flu years ago, in college, during one of the epidemics.
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 09:38 AM
Oct 2015

Thought I'd have to get better in order to die. I've been getting flu shots ever since they became available; never got it after that. I really don't want to get that sick again.

NewJeffCT

(56,828 posts)
43. I did last year
Thu Oct 22, 2015, 04:12 PM
Oct 2015

Got my flu shot in the fall of 2014, then got a very mild case of the flu in January or February. (I tested positive for it, but I don't remember really being all that bad.)

I get my flu shot every year. I think the one year I forgot because of being so busy with work, I did come down with a pretty bad case of the flu and was basically in bed for 3 straight days. (back in the 90s, when I was 15-20 years younger and much fitter as well.)

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