got my flu shot today..

[Margerie]

and maybe that is why I am a little grumpy and don't want to make dinner LOL

Just wanted to put out a reminder to all my friends here. My onc offers the shots, but not until next month sometime.

I just called our local pharmacy/grocery store and they had 3 different dates for flu vaccination clinics. It was $30 for the influenza vaccine and I think the pneumonia was a little more. This place did take Medicare also.

I assume you would need to check with your doc if you are still in treatment. Since my kids bring home all kinds of bad ju-ju from school, I make sure to get mine as early as possible.

[Yorkiegirl]

Got mine last Sunday at the Pharmacy at the Grocery Store. I had no wait, like I would have if I went to my PCP.

[Soccermom]

Hey Margerie..
I hope your arm isnt too sore to be able to push the Arimidex pill out of that nasty blister packaging!?!?

I have been meaning to respond to a comment you made regarding that, a few weeks ago,LOL. WHAT were they thinking when they designed it ?? I can barely use my fingers (thanks to chemo/estrogen starvation etc) to button a shirt let alone push that tiny thing out of that superglued bubble!!! LOL I BEGGED my Pharmacist to see if he can locate some good old bottled Arimidex for me.

Seriously though thanks for the flu shot reminder,
Much love,Marcia

[Mary Jo]

Thanks for the reminder. The school where I work gave flu shots today however, I didn't get one. I've never gotten one. Hopefully I never come to regret that decision.

Mary Jo

[AbbyDawg]

Great news about the Arimidex impenetrable packaging fiasco! I called my pharmacist and ranted and he said he'd rant to his saleman ... then he asked if there was an 800 number on the NEW packaging. Sure enuff there was in giant letters! So I called them, the FIRST thing the recorded message says is, "If you are calling about the new packaging for Arimidex, please press one." Hmmmm, does that make ya think they are already getting an ear full?

I stayed on the line and also complained to a Real Person but the main message they are saying is that as of Sept. 1, 2008, they went back to the 30 count bottle or the new packing option. We get to choose. Oh, by the way, they did mention that they are examining new reforms to the blister packs. Duhhhhhhhhhh.

Sooooo, the bottom line is that all pharmacists can give you the old 30 count bottles ... as long as they know now they can order it either way. I suggest you all call your pharmacists ahead of the time for your next reorder and say you will not accept the blister packs and ask them to order the bottles. My pharmacist did not know they had changed back on Sept. 1 and was SO happy to know he could order the bottles again for all his customers.

We DOOOO have power!!!!

I asked the nurse on the phone, "What ever possessed an presumably intelligent company to even come close to making such an idiotic change like that?" She said it was to help people not forget to take it each day. I told her the packaging would not only cause MORE non-compliance, it would be reason enough for me to switch to a different treatment.

[Soccermom]

THX Abby Dawg!

[juanita]

i'll get mine nov 1 at school. i asked about them today.

[Soccermom]

I got mine today...

[Ceesun]

My onc gave me one a few days ago. Ceesun

[StephN]

Thanks for the reminder - the chilly season comes on fast here after the Indian summer is over.

Saw a friend last night who is a physician's assistant. She got her flu shot last week and says that is the first time in 12 years of getting them that she had a reaction.

I asked about predictions for this flu season and she said it is thought to be "normal." But she said if the reaction is just a tiny bit of what the flu itself might be like, she hopes NOT to get it!

I need to email my onc's nurse for a script next time I am getting Herceptin.

[Sheila]

I drug my hubby and we both got them 2 weeks ago at the Dr.'s office....and they billed our health insurance for them...what a deal...now to go and get my pneumonia shot...they say they are good for 10 years, but with chemo they want me to get it every 5....Lucky Me!!!
Has anyone gotten the Shingles Vaccine yet?

[Soccermom]

Hey Steph, My arm has a 4 inch round knot that is red ,raised and hot today (had vaccine yesterday). I have never had a reaction before so was very surprized . I had them do it on the side with least amount of lymph nodes out BUT I should have had it in my hip...I FORGOT! DUH! (FYI, Got it for $25 at Walgreens)
Am supposed to be doing the ACS Making Strides walk tomorrow at 9 AM and its supposed to be our first cold night here si I may have to pass...Sheila ,pneumonia supposed to be given every 5 years, I just asked yesterday..

Love to all,Marcia

[Patb]

I got the shingles vaccine. My internist insisted and
everything went well. That was in May. My father
had shingles and it got in his eye and it was painful so I
did not resist the shot. I got the flu vaccine today
and so far so good.
patb

[StillHere]

Great info on vaccines. Got the Pneumonia vac just after I finished chemo (3 yrs ago) per my GP's suggestion. Have always gotten the flu vac at work (Hospital). Not only does it prevent you from getting a BAD case of the flu, it also prevents you from being a carrier of the flu bug. Eighty-five pediatric patients died last year from the flu, so I feel it is my duty to try to prevent my spreading the flu to the the weak. Just as I did not want to come into contact with someone harboring the bug when my immune system was compromised. To those who have not received the vac yet, here are some hints. Massage the area after the shot to help disburse the medication. Take an analgesic just before if you are not allergic to them. If it is sore, put a warm compress on to help disburse the medication. Thanks for info on Shingles vac. I did not know that one existed. Have heard many horror stories of how painful shingles can be. Thanks also on time-frame for Pneumonia vac. Was not sure how long it was suppose to last. You all are the bomb when it comes to information! Peace Karen

[Chelee]

I finally stopped in my primary doc's office to get my flu shot last Tues. (21st). I've never had a problem before but this time it is so sore it's not funny.

Every once in a while it will itch and I go to scratch my arm without thinking and darn it hurts! It's still kind of red, hard and painful to the touch. I feel a slight lump on my arm where she gave me the shot. It didn't bother me at all last Tuesday...but it sure does now. (At least that is the only reaction I had from it...didn't get sick in any way...so that's a good thing.) :)

Chelee

[Yorkiegirl]

Chelee alot of people seem to be having the itching,red, sore arm. It was explained to me that it is the strain they are using this year.

If you soak your arm in a warm bath that helps alot.

[Terri B]

I got mine today and I can already feel the soreness. I can deal with that, no problem, I just don't want to feel sicky :(

[Jackie07]

Our hospital had set up a special area for everyone to get flu shot. There's a study going on in our town of 50,000 and all the school age children are getting the flumist (?) in their nose. Hubby and I got the shots the same time last Friday - my Father-in-law was supposed to get it the same week, but he missed it.

[Chelee]

Yorkiegirl, thanks for letting me know this reaction seems to be normal. I hadn't heard of it. My biggest concern about getting it this year is that I didn't get sick from it as Terri said. So far...no problems at all. Not so much as a sniffle.

I was just surprised at how much it itches, & how sore it is 7 days later. But if this is all I had to worry about I would have it made. lol Its the least of my concerns. Whatever is in this years flu shot must be some good stuff. (Or it better be!) ;)

Chelee

[Yorkiegirl]

>>There's a study going on in our town of 50,000 and all the school age children are getting the flumist (?) in their nose.<<


Oh my goodness this does concern me. As the the flumist is a "weakened live virus" I do hope the parents know this. Where as the shot is a killed virus.

[juanita]

i had a reaction like that to my tetanus shot i got earlier this fall. don't remember ever reacting to a tetanus like that before.

[Jackie07]

Vicki,

Found this info. from the website of Scott & White Hospital about the VIPS (Vaccination and Influenza Prevention in Schools) program:
FluMist® is thimerosal free and contains live, weakened flu virus. A very small amount (0.1 ml) of vaccine is sprayed into each side of the nose.
The inactivated flu vaccine is a killed virus vaccine that may contain thimerosal. A small amount (0.5 ml) is given by shot into the muscle of the upper arm.
Both vaccines are licensed and approved by the FDA.

Healthy children will receive the FluMist™ vaccine. Children who have any chronic medical condition that disqualifies them from getting FluMist™ will receive the flu shot. Some examples of medical conditions when flu shot will be given are:

Use of any medications for asthma or reactive airway disease within the last year.
Chronic aspirin therapy.
Immunosuppression due to an illness such as cancer or AIDS.
Living in a house with a very severely immunosuppressed person (such as bone marrow transplant).
Pregnancy or planning to become pregnant within six weeks of receiving the vaccine.
Children with a significant allergy to eggs or egg products or flu vaccine or who have a history of Guillain Barré syndrome will not receive either flu vaccine.

[Yorkiegirl]

Yes Jackie that what I was saying about the Flumist and Shot.