Got the second and final shingles vaccine this morning.

[LuckyCharms]

Got the first one in December. The 2nd one was due 6 months later in June.

So I'm 3 months late.

Pharmacist told me not to worry about being late. Said that I will still get a good degree of protection from shingles.

Now I have to get the yearly inspections done on my vehicles Wednesday and Thursday. They are only 7 and 8 months late(!)

Driver's license expires in a month. While I was at the pharmacy, I had an eye test done that they forward electronically to the DMV. Now I can apply for my license renewal online without going to the DMV. I guess they use your old photo.

I hate going out anywhere, but it feels good to get some of this stuff off my plate.

I'm posting this because I'm pretty sure there are a few thousand of you who were wondering about my shingles shots, my vehicle inspections, and my license renewal. Well, rest easy DUers., I'm getting shit done. Now go relax and have a drink or something.

[CanonRay]

1. Thinking of getting it

Any side effects?

[LuckyCharms]

3. On the first one in December, I remember I had a sore arm and

felt just a bit under the weather for a couple of days. No worries though, it was hardly noticeable.

It's been about 3.5 hours since I got the 2nd one this morning. Not feeling anything at all yet, but I'm going to take a Tylenol in a few minutes just in case. I'm told the second shot is a little worse than the first.

All in all, I feel they are worth getting. In my case, the side effects were hardly noticeable, and I hear that the shingles really suck.

I'll reply to you again here if I get any horrible side effects, but I think it will be fine.

[JT45242]

5. Just had dose 1 -- Yep but worth it

I just hit the Big 50 Physical and my doctor recommended the shingles vaccine. She warned me that it might make you feel bad for a couple of days. Does not affect everyone but just be warned.

The next morning I felt like crap. I had the chills and my arm felt like I had blocked every punch in the Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed fight with my left tricep. I ended up using a sick day (since I have a ton of PTO to use or lose befor the end of the year) and slept most of the afternoon.

Nurse said that the second shot is usuallly worse side effect. However, the new vaccine here (been used in Europe for a while) is much better. I'll take two days of feeling awful to prevent getting shingles. I have seen aunts and uncles as well as parents of college friends get shingles. I definitely do not want that.

So... yes, a mild side effect. But in the long term -- safe and effective.

FYI -- I also get a really sore arm for tetanus shots. So, I may just have a more responsive nature to these things.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

10. My FIL had shingles...

I ran knocking people over to get my shot. He suffered so much.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. My second dose of shingles vaccine went better than the first

The first one hurt more than other recent vaccinations that I remember.

[frazzled]

6. Yeah, I just had the first one in August

(I'd already had the 2-dose of the earlier vaccine some years ago, but my doctor said I had to have the new improved one). I had the soreness and mild flu-like symptoms for around 3 days. Not that that's so bad ... it's just that during a pandemic, whenever you start to feel under the weather you start to wonder if you could have COVID: the worry is worse than the condition!

Glad to know the second one is better.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I had my first one about a month ago.

It hurt some, but not a problem. I've written a note on my calendar (I still use physical ones) the first date I can get the next shot.

[zeusdogmom]

7. Do not delay in getting your shingles vaccine. Do it now!!!

I had the old original, sort of effective vaccine about a decade or so ago. The new vaccine had been hard to come by in my area and I hadn't gotten it yet. Guess what I got in late October - shingles. On my face and in my eye. (Just a foretaste of what 2020 would be 😠 Came close to loosing the vision in my left eye despite aggressive treatment. Nearly a year later, I have ca. 70% of that vision back, dry eye irritation despite drops, my eyebrow itches a lot, and there are some residual fading, but still present red scar patches from the shingles lesions on my face. No clue as to why the shingles popped up - I was - and still am - a healthy, vigorous older adult who seldom is ill, even with a cold. I was not aware of being under stress. The damn stuff just popped up one day. I was not a happy camper.

So ... take my advice. Get thee to your doctor or local pharmacy and get the shingles vaccine. Along with your flu shot and pneumonia vaccine. And a whooping cough booster. It's called being responsible for yourself and for others you may come in contact with.

I'll get off my soapbox now. 😊

[MaryMagdaline]

12. Wow! Thank you for this information

My brother told me shingles was painful, and that was enough to scare me. Got the first round last month. I will not delay the second round.

[zeusdogmom]

14. Thankfully I didn't have a lot of pain.

First round of vaccine. Good for you.

Think the pain is more common with shingles on the torso of the body where the disease normally presents itself. And it can be wicked, wicked ugly. Even the touch of light clothing can send the pain soaring. For me it was itchy lesions - like chicken pox. Think I did a pretty good job of not scratching. I did a lot of tapping on those stinkers which seemed to help a bit. That and squalane oil (facial oil) especially as the lesions began to dry. The vey light weight oil was soothing and did a good job of relieving the itching for a bit. Any maybe helped with the scarring. I'm very fair and spots stick out like crazy. "Nana, you have a lot of mosquito bites" (2 year old granddaughter). She cracks me up.

[MaryMagdaline]

15. Good to know all of the above

“Mosquito bites” too cute

[dgauss]

8. Getting a flu shot, first shingles shot and tetanus booster tomorrow.

The nurse I spoke with said it shouldn't be a problem getting all the same day so I figured I'd just get it all done at once. Maybe more likely to feel a little sore. Guess I'll know soon.

[LuckyCharms]

9. Good luck! Flu shot next week for me. n/t

[MaryMagdaline]

11. Thank you for posting

I got the first shingles shot last month, along with the flu shot. Shingles is bad enough to risk going to the pharmacy. I will pick a slow day to get the next round

[LuckyCharms]

13. Ask the pharmacy what the best time would be...

They will probably say right when they open. Good luck!

[Midnight Writer]

16. My second shot scheduled for next week. Renewed license in July, two months late.

[ironflange]

17. I also got my second dose recently

It's one less thing to worry about.