Page 4 | to drive myself to covid vaccine appointment?

MarySanderson · 2021-03-21T23:55:48+00:00

It's booked for Friday and is just over an hour away. YABU - you should get a lift in case of illness (with DH) YANBU - just get in the car and drive I have had big allergies in the past although never to anything medical (apart from latex but that doesn't really feature). Will take routine antihistamine as normal and always carry eye drops and epipens.

BoyTree · 22/03/2021 08:56

I wasn't asked how I got there and wasn't given the option of sitting for any length of time after the jab (all done standing up with my coat hanging off one arm!). I have had allergic reactions to meds before, but not vaccinations. I think the sensible plan of working out what would be best in either situation makes sense and I hope it goes well!

espressoontap · 22/03/2021 08:57

@MarySanderson

Thank you to almost all of you for your input - I'll let DH know that his offer to drive me there is 'infantilising', 'pathetic' and 'ridiculous'

.

Getting a lift there isn't something that had crossed my mind until someone suggested it to us. DH said he can take the 3 hours off to drive me there and back, but it seems the vast majority of posters agree with me and that there's no need.

If I do react and get stuck there it makes more practical sense for him to be home. I know from previous anaphylactic episodes, the reaction tends to come on relatively slowly and I am very aware of the symptoms. I'm packing my kindle and buying a large coffee just before I get there - should be perfect temperature by the time I'm out.

How life has changed that I'm looking forward to going somewhere 'new' to sit in a sunny car park. I've put earrings and a necklace on, and a bit of perfume - go me!!

You sound like me! I was so excited to go and do something different! Enjoy 😊

KaleJuicer · 22/03/2021 08:58

I was jabbed at a London hospital vaccination centre and they weren’t making anyone sit and wait around afterwards (I checked). I got straight back in my car and launched into the inner London traffic!

KaleJuicer · 22/03/2021 09:00

Ps though with your history of allergies am sure you’d be well advised to wait as you’re planning to. Enjoy the outing - I did! It was the most people I had been around for nearly a year.

LilMidge01 · 22/03/2021 09:00

I'm guessing you're rural so maybe its less of a big deal, but in big cities there is a real problem with people bringing spouses along. Think about it, we're in a pandemic. if everyone turned up at the centre with someone with them, there's then double the amount of people!

Advice is to only take someone if you medically need them to assist you.

If you feel you medically need him, have him drive you, but I would definitely ask him to wait in the car for you rather than clogging up the vaccine centre with yet another person!

LilMidge01 · 22/03/2021 09:02

@KaleJuicer

I was jabbed at a London hospital vaccination centre and they weren’t making anyone sit and wait around afterwards (I checked). I got straight back in my car and launched into the inner London traffic!

Yep this! I'm in London and my elderly father had to go there and back on public transport as he can't walk very far on his own and well..we're in London...almost noone I know has a car.

They were also annoyed if people came with people for no reason (my mum had to accompany him as he is unsteady on his feet and has COPD so needs to take his inhaler after walking more than a few minutes)

SchrodingersImmigrant · 22/03/2021 09:15

I wasn't kept around either.

Make absolutely sure you yalk to them about your allergies. Are you exempt because of that maybe?

RockingMyFiftiesNot · 22/03/2021 09:22

Where I had mine they did have people asking how you were getting home and if driving you had to wait 15 mins.

4ensic · 22/03/2021 09:23

I was asked if I was driving my self home. I'm very obviously blind and had my personal assistant with me 😊

I had to wait 10 minutes then we could go.

Hope all goes well OP

ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn · 22/03/2021 09:55

I got turned away a few weeks ago at the mass hub due to my allergy history, but went to local hospital hub yesterday. My GP advised taking antihistamines beforehand and the on-site doctor asked me to wait half an hour. I had driven myself (and was fine).

You can read the yellow card reporting stats to get an idea of chances of anaphylaxis, which isn't actually that different for both current vaccines and is still a very low risk.

winnieanddaisy · 22/03/2021 10:21

I'm sitting outside the hospital as we speak , waiting for my daughter who is having her second Pfizer jab . Not because I need to be with her but we have things to do and places to go on the way home . She was really poorly the day after her first jab so not really expecting any reaction this time.

FlyingBurrito · 22/03/2021 11:10

I drove myself, 30 minutes away. Had a reaction and ended up stuck there for hours. So wish I had accepted DH's offer to take me - @Cherryup

30 minutes later

@Itsalonghaul I wouldn't worry about driving there or back, it was completely fine for hours afterwards, did the housework as normal.

When will people realise that you can't assume anything from anyone else's reactions? Every thread is oh, I was fine so you'll be fine or oh, everyone I know has had bad side effects

Seriously people, do you really think that's how medicine works?

HorseChestnutTree · 22/03/2021 18:12

I think most people go by themselves, you have no history of extreme reactions so I am bemused as to why you think this would be any different. I honestly haven’t heard of anyone having an extreme reaction, side effects are quite common but these appear something like twelve hours later.

There are several people on this thread saying that they felt ill straight away, I am not sure that the OP can rely on 'most people's' experience. You just never know how you will react.

I felt ill on the way home from my vaccination, DH is going to drive me for my second.
I wouldn't risk an hour's drive, I felt dreadful sooner than that. You just don't know how you will be affected, everybody is different.

^This. I only had to drive for 5 minutes and felt awful , that was after the 15 minute wait time when I had no symptoms. An hour is a long drive if you are feeling bad.

Seriously OP you are not being 'pathetic' and 'ridiculous'. Being safe to drive your car is a sensible consideration. Take up your husband's offer. There are some people on MN that think if you need help in any circumstance it means you are showing a terrible weakness.

lljkk · 22/03/2021 18:16

Fucks sake. If I get a jab (likely but nothing is certain) I will walk or cycle by myself. I cannot take this situation more seriously. At moment, the cycle ride home is likely to be 17 miles. Not my preference, just all I'm being offered.

Until a week ago I lived in walking distance of TWO vaccine centres.

I will bring a book to read I guess, long Q.

Scarby9 · 22/03/2021 18:16

I drove myself (70 minutes) to our big hub. I didn't see anyone sitting waiting in a car as the sole driver got out or both people in the car got out and went in together.

They told us to sit in the car for 15 mins afterwards in case of an anaphylactic reaction, which I did, but noone else in my area of the carpark did. They came out, got in the car and drove straight off.

muddyford · 22/03/2021 18:21

I drove myself. It was really quite thrilling as all the huge gantry signs over the motorway were about the vaccination centre. We won't be seeing that again. I had to wait fifteen minutes after the jab then was allowed out to drive home.

DaffodilSunshine · 22/03/2021 18:23

I drove myself and I wasn't asked how I'd got there. Everyone had to wait 15 mins before leaving though to check they were ok

Recycledblonde · 22/03/2021 18:35

My DH had his last week, I didn’t even think of offering to drive him. I had mine at work and went straight into a 12 hour shift. Didn’t cross my mind to take an antihistamine either. I just made sure I had some paracetamol at home.

kowari · 22/03/2021 18:48

I wouldn't risk that distance on my own in case I was ill. What if you are delayed in traffic and not fit to drive? More than half the people at my workplace who have had it have had to take time off as they were too ill to work, some were fine for several hours before it hit them, some weren't.

Original poster

MarySanderson · 23/03/2021 10:06

Ok, so all of those (including myself) that said all would be fine were wrong. I've woken up with the tiredness/achey muscle thing that many report, but yesterday didn't go so well.

There was much debate as to whether or not I should be vaccinated due to history of severe reactions. They eventually decided yes (partly due to the prescription anti-histamines I'd already taken, I had my epi-pens, and my anaphylaxis happens slowly) and I stayed there for 20 minutes under supervision.

Set off home ok, started to feel a bit 'odd' - by the time I got home speech was confused & slurred, unsteady movement and I appeared drunk. I had to look at map app to see which route home I'd taken as I had no recollection. 'Drunkeness' wore off after a couple of hours.

Hindsight is great, I should've stopped and phoned for help, but I only really realised how bad I was once I got out of the car. So what do we take from this? Not everyone reacts the same, and just because you were ok didn't mean that I would be. Next time DH is driving.

OP posts:

LostToucan · 23/03/2021 10:20

On the “if you had the jab and felt iffy afterwards” thread a few people mentioned felling a bit spacey pretty quickly after the jab.

FlyingBurrito · 24/03/2021 08:26

@MarySanderson

Ok, so all of those (including myself) that said all would be fine were wrong. I've woken up with the tiredness/achey muscle thing that many report, but yesterday didn't go so well.

There was much debate as to whether or not I should be vaccinated due to history of severe reactions. They eventually decided yes (partly due to the prescription anti-histamines I'd already taken, I had my epi-pens, and my anaphylaxis happens slowly) and I stayed there for 20 minutes under supervision.

Set off home ok, started to feel a bit 'odd' - by the time I got home speech was confused & slurred, unsteady movement and I appeared drunk. I had to look at map app to see which route home I'd taken as I had no recollection. 'Drunkeness' wore off after a couple of hours.

Hindsight is great, I should've stopped and phoned for help, but I only really realised how bad I was once I got out of the car. So what do we take from this? Not everyone reacts the same, and just because you were ok didn't mean that I would be. Next time DH is driving.

Sorry to hear you're had a bad experience, hope you're feeling better soon.

Your last sentence is so true and I've posted the same on other threads and actually just a few posts above yours.

I hope that the posters who can't comprehend that we all react differently and that it's ridiculous to think that one person's experience is somehow predictive of another person's will think again before they glibly say you'll be fine when it could have serious consequences

Get well soon

Cattitudes · 24/03/2021 14:24

I am so sorry to hear that. Could it have been the antihistamines? I would report it as a reaction to the vaccine. It is great that you have it and are developing some immunity but it is important that side effects are accurately documented. At least dh will get his day trip in a few months!