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Hep and flu shot
I posted in an earlier thread about the flu shot that I was going to get.Well now my drs PA has called and said that the she doesnt think that they are going to let me get one.She said that with the very high viral load that I have that my immune system is already working overtime.The flu shot this year has a live strain of the viruses in it.Kinda makes sense.This is probably why the pharmacist asked me what my VL was.Waiting on the second call.But I did get an order for a il28b polymorphism test !!!Does this flu shot thing make any sense to anybody????
none of the confusion or wrong info surprises me. Happens all the time. If you want to know anything, ask at least three experts then research it for your self . Only after that you should make "your" decision.
Oh, BTW, I had the "real" flu once about 20 years ago. I thought I was going to die, took me months to recover. I now get a flu shot every year.
Oh, BTW, I had the "real" flu once about 20 years ago. I thought I was going to die, took me months to recover. I now get a flu shot every year.
Hey Lady, I know how bad you wanted that shot. And I know you take it every year! You need it with all those little children around you. Your a prime canidate for illiness. You had it last yr w/o mishap , and the yrs before... Happy to know you got your desire "Da Shot" May you be well. On that note I think I will check and see if we have any joyfull news from Robert..I hope he clears.
Thx-needless to say I was pretty piss_ _ yesterday.I didnt mean to get everyone upset,its just that the way things fell.I was confused what to do.I WANTED THAT SHOT!!!.I probably got someone in trouble yesterday but hey they need to get it together.I trust you all here and hope you all will be here for me when my time comes!!!
Had my shot this morning.....Went to another place and they didnt ask a bunch of questions-just if i was allergic to eggs or latex,something they didnt ask at the first place-GO FIGURE !!!!!! Feel much better knowing I got it-Late but got it !!!
I was told to get the flu shot on treatment and never did but then I didn't leave the house much. Either get the shot or don't, only you can make that decision. Live virus, I don't think so.
Maybe instead of the woman at the pharmacy should have asked me if I was allergic to eggs or latex(which she did not),instead of what my VL was !!!!!What if I was allergic to one of these things,it was NOT on the questionaire!!!!!
Maybe everyone is right - depending on what they are thinking the shot is made up from. Check this:
An attenuated vaccine is a vaccine created by reducing the virulence of a pathogen, but still keeping it viable (or "live").[1] Attenuation takes an infectious agent and alters it so that it becomes harmless or less virulent. These vaccines contrast to those produced by "killing" the virus
Personally, I was taught that a virus was never considered alive or dead - just on or off - guess you learn something new all the time...
An attenuated vaccine is a vaccine created by reducing the virulence of a pathogen, but still keeping it viable (or "live").[1] Attenuation takes an infectious agent and alters it so that it becomes harmless or less virulent. These vaccines contrast to those produced by "killing" the virus
Personally, I was taught that a virus was never considered alive or dead - just on or off - guess you learn something new all the time...
Maybe this type of inept medical practice is a test to show how it will be if Obama's medical bill is passed. It is really scary hearing stuff like this is going on.
.......................
Copy, what does this have to do with Obama's healthcare bill? And I thought that bill passed a while ago. Am I confused for a change?
.......................
Copy, what does this have to do with Obama's healthcare bill? And I thought that bill passed a while ago. Am I confused for a change?
Maybe this type of inept medical practice is a test to show how it will be if Obama's medical bill is passed. It is really scary hearing stuff like this is going on.
They make a latex/eggs allergic shot that is the one I get.
From now on don't tell people you have hepc and it willl save you a lot of aggravation in the first place.
From now on don't tell people you have hepc and it willl save you a lot of aggravation in the first place.
I do intend on telling him what she said.I am also going to tell him what the pharmacy lady said about VL
Ok just got off the phone with DR.He said go ahead with the flu shot..He was concerned of allergies to eggs
I told him about what one of the PA s told me-Maybe I just got someone in trouble IDK???Also the pharmacy lady???He did say VL had nothing to do with the shot(I kinda knew that from you all) Maybe he is a good dr after all--Back to work gotta get the children home cindy
Ok just got off the phone with DR.He said go ahead with the flu shot..He was concerned of allergies to eggs
I told him about what one of the PA s told me-Maybe I just got someone in trouble IDK???Also the pharmacy lady???He did say VL had nothing to do with the shot(I kinda knew that from you all) Maybe he is a good dr after all--Back to work gotta get the children home cindy
PS My doctor will usually call me back within a day, I'd speak to yours and let him know what the PA is saying to patients.....I'm sure he would like to know this information if it isn't coming from him this person is putting people in harms way.
Dont get the shot if you dont want to but if you've ever experienced having the real flu (not some three day cold but the flu where you are in bed for ten days thinking you are dying) you'll regret it once you get it. There is no way a knowledgable doctor or PA would say such things. And yes the shot does contain more than one type of the flu but the virus is still DEAD. I'd find another doctor whether he is in a big city or a small town he still is incorrect, as we have been saying.
But it's up to you - get the shot or dont the doctor (PA whatever) is still not making any sense and everyone who has hepC should be getting the flu shot unless there is some valid reason (high viral load not being one).
I posted this a couple months ago.
Myths about the flu:
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
In a new survey by Consumer Reports, only 30% of respondents were "very confident" that this year's flu shot is safe.
That leaves many doctors and scientists perplexed. Of all the many things to fear in the world, they say, vaccines should be at the bottom of the list. USA TODAY's Liz Szabo talked to vaccine safety experts to address some of the most common myths.
Myth 1: The flu shot causes the flu.
The viruses in the flu shot are dead, so they can't give people the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its most common side effect is soreness in the arm.
FluMist nasal spray contains weakened viruses, so they don't cause severe, flu-like symptoms, either. Side effects in children can include a runny nose, wheezing and headache.
So why do some people swear that they got sick right after getting a flu shot? Flu shots tend to be given at a time of year when respiratory viruses are beginning to circulate, doctors say. So it's only natural that some people will catch a respiratory bug shortly after getting a vaccine. And since it takes about two weeks after getting a vaccine for the body to develop immunity, some of those bugs could be the flu. But the vaccine itself isn't causing disease.
Myth 2: The flu is just a bad cold.
While some people develop worse symptoms than others, flu symptoms tend to be much more severe than — and come on much more suddenly — than a cold. Many who got H1N1 (swine flu) last year were out of work or school for a week with fever, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, headaches and a runny or congested nose, according to the CDC.
And unlike a cold, which generally goes away on its own after five days or so, the flu can cause life-threatening complications, mostly by causing secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia.
The flu sends 200,000 people to the hospital and kills 30,000 in a typical year, the CDC says.
California obstetrician-gynecologist Jennifer Gunter says her 7-year-old son, Oliver, who was born prematurely, has been hospitalized for the flu twice. Both times, he came home from the hospital with an oxygen machine. Gunter caught H1N1 last year, before the vaccine was available.
"It was horrible," Gunter says. "I was off work for six days until I was no longer infectious."
In developed countries, influenza kills more people than any other vaccine-preventable disease, says pediatrician Jon Abramson of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Families Fighting Flu, a non-profit health group.
Myth 3: This year's shot — which protects against both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines — is riskier than earlier versions.
Actually, the new flu shot was made the same way as every other flu shot, says Randy Bergen of Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Every year, vaccine makers include circulating viral strains that are most likely to cause illness. Typically, these include two influenza A strains — an H1N1 and an H3N2 — and a strain of influenza B, Abramson says.
This year, manufacturers included the H1N1 strain that caused pandemic last year, Abramson says.
All drugs, including "natural" supplements and vitamins, have side effects. But the safety of vaccines is actually tracked more closely than just about any other drug. Unlike most medicines, "we have more hard facts when it comes to the flu shot," Gunter says.
Through the National Adverse Event Reporting System, investigators check out every serious side effect that people experience after getting a flu shot. Most aren't related to the flu vaccine. In fact, there were no deaths attributed to the H1N1 vaccine last year, Gunter says.
Myth 4: Only sick people need a flu shot.
While older people and newborns are usually at greatest risk for complications, swine flu is actually most threatening to the young.
Typically, about 90% of flu deaths are in people over 65. Last year, however, about 90% of flu deaths were in people under 30. About 10% of flu deaths last year were in children, according to the CDC.
When healthy people get vaccinated, it can help protect the weak, including cancer patients, anyone with a compromised immune system and newborns too young to get the shot, says Paul Offit, chief of infectious disease at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Because babies can't be vaccinated until they're 6 months old, they depend on those around them — parents, grandparents, siblings, babysitters, hospital employees — to get the flu shot, creating a "cocoon" of protection, Bergen says.
Myth 5: Flu shots contain methyl mercury and other toxic chemicals.
Although there's no evidence that the ethyl mercury-based preservative thimerosal causes harm, vaccine makers responded to public concerns in 2001 and stopped using it in most vaccines.
Neither flu shots in individual-dose containers or the FluMist nasal spray contain thimerosal. Flu vaccine kept in multi-dose vials do use thimerosal as a preservative, to prevent the growth of fungus or other potentially dangerous germs, Bergen says. Patients can ask for the thimerosal-free versions.
But scientists note that all mercury is not the same.
Thimerosal contains ethyl mercury, which has not been shown to cause harm, rather than methyl mercury, the type that can cause brain damage, Offit says. While most laypeople don't pay attention to such differences, they're important. Consider the huge difference between ethyl alcohol — or drinking alcohol, found in wine and beer — and methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol, which can cause blindness.
There's also no data to prove that thimerosal causes autism, Offit says. In fact, seven studies now refute that idea.
Gunter notes that flu shots don't use aluminum, which is used in other vaccines as an "adjuvant" to stimulate a stronger immune response.
While many medications and consumer products have trace levels of chemicals, so do our bodies, Offit says. Breast milk has more mercury contamination than vaccines. So does infant formula. But vaccines, like breast milk, play a vital role in keeping infants healthy.
"If you have zero tolerance for mercury, you have to move to another planet," Offit says. "We all have mercury and formaldehyde and aluminum in our bodies. Vaccines don't add to what we normally encounter every day."
But it's up to you - get the shot or dont the doctor (PA whatever) is still not making any sense and everyone who has hepC should be getting the flu shot unless there is some valid reason (high viral load not being one).
I posted this a couple months ago.
Myths about the flu:
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
In a new survey by Consumer Reports, only 30% of respondents were "very confident" that this year's flu shot is safe.
That leaves many doctors and scientists perplexed. Of all the many things to fear in the world, they say, vaccines should be at the bottom of the list. USA TODAY's Liz Szabo talked to vaccine safety experts to address some of the most common myths.
Myth 1: The flu shot causes the flu.
The viruses in the flu shot are dead, so they can't give people the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its most common side effect is soreness in the arm.
FluMist nasal spray contains weakened viruses, so they don't cause severe, flu-like symptoms, either. Side effects in children can include a runny nose, wheezing and headache.
So why do some people swear that they got sick right after getting a flu shot? Flu shots tend to be given at a time of year when respiratory viruses are beginning to circulate, doctors say. So it's only natural that some people will catch a respiratory bug shortly after getting a vaccine. And since it takes about two weeks after getting a vaccine for the body to develop immunity, some of those bugs could be the flu. But the vaccine itself isn't causing disease.
Myth 2: The flu is just a bad cold.
While some people develop worse symptoms than others, flu symptoms tend to be much more severe than — and come on much more suddenly — than a cold. Many who got H1N1 (swine flu) last year were out of work or school for a week with fever, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, headaches and a runny or congested nose, according to the CDC.
And unlike a cold, which generally goes away on its own after five days or so, the flu can cause life-threatening complications, mostly by causing secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia.
The flu sends 200,000 people to the hospital and kills 30,000 in a typical year, the CDC says.
California obstetrician-gynecologist Jennifer Gunter says her 7-year-old son, Oliver, who was born prematurely, has been hospitalized for the flu twice. Both times, he came home from the hospital with an oxygen machine. Gunter caught H1N1 last year, before the vaccine was available.
"It was horrible," Gunter says. "I was off work for six days until I was no longer infectious."
In developed countries, influenza kills more people than any other vaccine-preventable disease, says pediatrician Jon Abramson of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Families Fighting Flu, a non-profit health group.
Myth 3: This year's shot — which protects against both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines — is riskier than earlier versions.
Actually, the new flu shot was made the same way as every other flu shot, says Randy Bergen of Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Every year, vaccine makers include circulating viral strains that are most likely to cause illness. Typically, these include two influenza A strains — an H1N1 and an H3N2 — and a strain of influenza B, Abramson says.
This year, manufacturers included the H1N1 strain that caused pandemic last year, Abramson says.
All drugs, including "natural" supplements and vitamins, have side effects. But the safety of vaccines is actually tracked more closely than just about any other drug. Unlike most medicines, "we have more hard facts when it comes to the flu shot," Gunter says.
Through the National Adverse Event Reporting System, investigators check out every serious side effect that people experience after getting a flu shot. Most aren't related to the flu vaccine. In fact, there were no deaths attributed to the H1N1 vaccine last year, Gunter says.
Myth 4: Only sick people need a flu shot.
While older people and newborns are usually at greatest risk for complications, swine flu is actually most threatening to the young.
Typically, about 90% of flu deaths are in people over 65. Last year, however, about 90% of flu deaths were in people under 30. About 10% of flu deaths last year were in children, according to the CDC.
When healthy people get vaccinated, it can help protect the weak, including cancer patients, anyone with a compromised immune system and newborns too young to get the shot, says Paul Offit, chief of infectious disease at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Because babies can't be vaccinated until they're 6 months old, they depend on those around them — parents, grandparents, siblings, babysitters, hospital employees — to get the flu shot, creating a "cocoon" of protection, Bergen says.
Myth 5: Flu shots contain methyl mercury and other toxic chemicals.
Although there's no evidence that the ethyl mercury-based preservative thimerosal causes harm, vaccine makers responded to public concerns in 2001 and stopped using it in most vaccines.
Neither flu shots in individual-dose containers or the FluMist nasal spray contain thimerosal. Flu vaccine kept in multi-dose vials do use thimerosal as a preservative, to prevent the growth of fungus or other potentially dangerous germs, Bergen says. Patients can ask for the thimerosal-free versions.
But scientists note that all mercury is not the same.
Thimerosal contains ethyl mercury, which has not been shown to cause harm, rather than methyl mercury, the type that can cause brain damage, Offit says. While most laypeople don't pay attention to such differences, they're important. Consider the huge difference between ethyl alcohol — or drinking alcohol, found in wine and beer — and methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol, which can cause blindness.
There's also no data to prove that thimerosal causes autism, Offit says. In fact, seven studies now refute that idea.
Gunter notes that flu shots don't use aluminum, which is used in other vaccines as an "adjuvant" to stimulate a stronger immune response.
While many medications and consumer products have trace levels of chemicals, so do our bodies, Offit says. Breast milk has more mercury contamination than vaccines. So does infant formula. But vaccines, like breast milk, play a vital role in keeping infants healthy.
"If you have zero tolerance for mercury, you have to move to another planet," Offit says. "We all have mercury and formaldehyde and aluminum in our bodies. Vaccines don't add to what we normally encounter every day."
It wasnt the dr saying because of the high VL-it was the pharmacist that was going to give it to me.Maybe shes the one that doesnt know what she talking about.I work with children and come in close contact with them and get this shot every year.Ill just have to wait for the call.My Dr is Dr Martinez here in Atlanta.Well known Hepatologist and Director for the Liver Center here at Emory University.If I get to talk to him and he says I can get the shot,I will tell him what his PA told me.Maybe shes ill informed also????Well see.....
Your doc apparently disagrees with the CDC docs across the street in Atlanta:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
flu shot this year has a live strain of the viruses in it"
What kind of doctor is this office?????? What kind of PA??????There is NO NO NO live virus in the flu - none at all. If there were live virus we would all get the flu as soon as we got the shot! Never have I heard of a doctor telling someone that their viral load in any way would effect whether or not they got their flu shot. It makes no sense whatsoever and personally I am wondering if you are asking a general practitioner or a liver doctor because a liver doctor would have no problem at all with you getting your shot as where a GP has no idea about the disease and might not realize the viral load means NOTHING. I mean shoot if your viral load is 1000 or 100000 your immune system is still going to be working just as hard to kill it off there is no difference anyways.
I'd totally find a new doctor who knew about liver disease because this doctor does not.
What kind of doctor is this office?????? What kind of PA??????There is NO NO NO live virus in the flu - none at all. If there were live virus we would all get the flu as soon as we got the shot! Never have I heard of a doctor telling someone that their viral load in any way would effect whether or not they got their flu shot. It makes no sense whatsoever and personally I am wondering if you are asking a general practitioner or a liver doctor because a liver doctor would have no problem at all with you getting your shot as where a GP has no idea about the disease and might not realize the viral load means NOTHING. I mean shoot if your viral load is 1000 or 100000 your immune system is still going to be working just as hard to kill it off there is no difference anyways.
I'd totally find a new doctor who knew about liver disease because this doctor does not.
IDK She did say that this years flu shot was actually 3 in 1-Influenza,H1N1 and something else(I forgot-will ask when they call back)So I dont know-My Dr is the director of the Liver Center here in Atlanta so hes no small town Dr.She did say this years shot was a live strain so IDK????????Waiting on the call....................
When I was on Hep C treatment I was told to get the flu vaccination but not to get any vaccination that had live virus in it (such as herpes shot, etc.).
I'm no longer on treatment but the flu shot that I am going to get this week (yes, I'm late in getting it) says it is NOT live virus. The nasal mist is live virus but not the shot...at least that's the information I've been given.
I'm no longer on treatment but the flu shot that I am going to get this week (yes, I'm late in getting it) says it is NOT live virus. The nasal mist is live virus but not the shot...at least that's the information I've been given.
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