To not know where to turn about vaccine fears?

[WaxedNotVaxed]

I've started a new job in the NHS, I'm patient facing and there is pressure being put on for me to get the covid vaccine as soon as possible.

My fears are that I have PCOS and have always struggled with my periods and my cycles used to be 100+ days. Since having a baby a few years ago I have a 29 day cycle and I don't want to mess with this?

I'm scared about the vaccine making me infertile? Or having long term impacts on my reproductive health? It's scary enough with PCOS and I definitely want another child.

I'm overall just a bit skeptical as a 26 year old woman who wants more kids and has PCOS to get a vaccine without long term studies for a virus id likely only be mildly ill from?

I can't say this at work but I feel really anxious over it

@shas19

Nobody can tell you the sode effects as nobody knows, thats why its a trial period. If you dont want it dont have it, i wont be until at least 2023. Worlds gone crazy.

It's not in a trial. Trials are finished. It passed

The way I see it is if myself or a family member needed emergency lifesaving treatment would I be asking to see the vaccine certificate of the people treating us? It's easy to say it's selfish not to have it and you shouldn't be in a patient facing role but they were grateful for everyone in the NHS this time last year when no vaccine was available, what next clapping on a Thursday for the vaccinated members of the NHS and booing on a Friday for the 'selfish' ones?

Covid itself also affects your cycle

I slipped two cycles after having it

If you don’t have the vaccine , you will beg Covid . It’s one or the other basically (at some point )

I would concur with the poster (s) who have suggested seeking expert advice. There may well be people with expertise on here but you won't get a resolve without speaking to people who have the knowledge of how the vaccine works.

Sorry but this isnt a trial😂. Nobody knows the side effects thats why they cant tell you anything. As adults we have choices, if you chose to have it okay, and if you dont okay.

@Endofether

Covid itself also affects your cycle

I slipped two cycles after having it

If you don’t have the vaccine , you will beg Covid . It’s one or the other basically (at some point )

Sorry - you will GET Covid at some point

@mog27

The way I see it is if myself or a family member needed emergency lifesaving treatment would I be asking to see the vaccine certificate of the people treating us? It's easy to say it's selfish not to have it and you shouldn't be in a patient facing role but they were grateful for everyone in the NHS this time last year when no vaccine was available, what next clapping on a Thursday for the vaccinated members of the NHS and booing on a Friday for the 'selfish' ones?

This.

YANBU, OP. I don't think AIBU is the best place to ask this though as people will just call you selfish for thinking about your reproductive health over patients etc. There is a thread on the Coronavirus board at the moment about how some women have had their cycle affected by the vaccine, and how they get dismissed and told it is just a coincidence. The replies there are a lot kinder.

@WaxedNotVaxed

So I should quit the career that I've studied years for because I, as a young women, have fears over the long term fertility impacts of a still very new vaccine?

Worlds gone mad.

Hasn't it just. I totally get your fears, I have endometriosis and haven't had the vaccine yet as worried about any issues it will cause.

OP you are about to start a patient facing role within the NHS. It's pretty shocking that you haven't sought correct and appropriate advice from your own consultant/doctor/occupational health department before now.
Mumsnet really isn't the place as you will get bombarded with both good advice and some really bad advice that will throw your current concerns and anxieties into further disarray.

The gp on this thread pointed you in the direction of the RC of obs and gynaecology website, which states that there is no known mechanism whereby your fertility can be affected by vaccines.

You are worried re long term effects of the Covid vaccine. Are you not worried about the long term effects of Covid itself? It's really a rock and a hard place for you then. If you won't get the vaccine, then you really need to protect yourself against Covid so you are best looking for a different job. Simple as that

Is the concern about fertility connected to any particular vaccine? I have autoimmune issues so I avoided Pfizer as none of the Pfizer studies had participants with autoimmune issues, plus I felt the AZ was more of a tried and tested type of vaccine which made me feel more reassured.

Nobody can tell you the sode effects as nobody knows, thats why its a trial period

The vaccines currently available have already been through pre-release clinical trials. They passed. What they are currently in is a Phase Four trial. Phase Four is basically post-release monitoring to check that the product performs in the general population the same as it did in the clinical trials, the pharmaceutical version of after-sales support. Have you ever taken paracetamol? Then congratulations, you have participated in a Phase Four clinical trial.

You can't speak to someone who knows, because nobody knows the long term effects of this vaccine on account that it's not been on the market very long.

Vaccines don't really work this way. They don't hang around in your system forevermore waiting to suddenly rears up ten years from now and cause you problems. The vaccine enters your body, primes your immune system to recognise a specific threat, and then dissipates. Same for any follow up booster - enter, prime, dissipate. There is no vaccine left in your system after this time. When/if you do then encounter the threat, its your immune system that responds not the vaccine.

Side effects can appear anywhere from with seconds of being vaccinated (e.g., severe allergic reaction, very rare) to within a few hours (e.g., sore arm), to within a few days/weeks (e.g., feeling unwell due to the immune response). Even the very rare side effects of blood clots or temporary heart inflammation become apparent within a few days to few weeks of the vaccine being given. There is no known case of a vaccine presenting side effects several years later.

@Kittyswhiskers

This thread is getting ridiculous. There is NO evidence that the vaccine causes fertility problems. Don’t even know where this rumour started tbh!!

But there is TONS of evidence that it affects your cycle (tens of thousands of women, actually), in some cases for a long while. OP is right to be concerned about this if she has only just got on an even keel with her periods and wants to try for a baby. It’s not hard to understand!

@Mif4

No way in hell would I get jabbed. Please don't feel coerced into something your not comfortable with doing. My partner will soon be sacked from his job because he refuses to get vaxed. His body, his choice. And I think it's the right one x

There you go, OP. Avoid the jab and get sacked! There's a way to stick it to the man.

Honestly where do these posters come from? They can't be real.

You need to speak to someone with knowledge on this, OP, but just anecdotally, I also have PCOS and a history of extremely long cycles (period took over a year to come back after stopping the pill, cycles were 40-50 days apart when I conceived DS, and I, too, have also finally got mostly regular cycles since having my son. I was a bit nervous about getting the vaccine too. However, my first period after the Pfizer was bang on 28 days, and I had ovulation pain as normal etc. Obviously that's just one cycle, and I'm not trying to get pregnant, so can't speak to that, but it doesn't seem to have messed my periods up at all.

Personally I'd rather take the chance with the vaccine than Covid. I appreciate that we know relatively little about both, but, to my mind and statistically speaking, Covid poses more of a threat.

If I had to spend any time in hospital, or visit my GP, I would absolutely expect the staff to be fully vaccinated. If you feel that’s not possible for you, then you need to change your career. Your fears don't trump the needs of the many people you’re caring for.

@Livelovebehappy

If I had to spend any time in hospital, or visit my GP, I would absolutely expect the staff to be fully vaccinated. If you feel that’s not possible for you, then you need to change your career. Your fears don't trump the needs of the many people you’re caring for.

I would not care about their vaccine status. It has not been an issue during the pandemic for the best part of a year as not vaccines were available. If you need healthcare, you need healthcare.

@shas19

Nobody can tell you the sode effects as nobody knows, thats why its a trial period. If you dont want it dont have it, i wont be until at least 2023. Worlds gone crazy.

Oh for god's sake, another one of the usual anti-vax lines being trotted out.

@WaxedNotVaxed, you work for the NHS. You have access to HCPs with actual knowledge about the vaccines. Why did you decide to post here instead of speaking to someone who actually might know what they are on about?

I think I can guess the reason tbh.

The anti-vaxxers know they are losing the argument, losing momentum.They are making last ditch attempts on various SM sites to attempt to dissuade others from getting vaccinated.

Op there are some absolute loons on here suggesting you quit your career because you are concerned about your fertility.
Just do what you have to do. There are a few in our department ( clinical professionals with patient facing jobs) who haven’t had the vaccine yet. I had it don’t but I’ve had my kids. I might have reconsidered had I not.
Mumsnet is not the place to be asking this. You will just get people at far ends of the spectrum responding.
It’s a job at the end of the day and a badly paid one at that.

@standupsitdownturnaround

The vulnerable people would have had the vaccine though?

Yes but who do you think is still dying of COVID at the moment? Vulnerable people who despite the vaccine still couldn’t shake it off. The vaccine gives you some protection, you’re less likely to catch it, spread it and die from it but if you’re extremely vulnerable you can still die.

Livelovehappy - you would expect someone to risk their fertility for your sake? Aren’t you a love. And they call anti-vaxers selfish.

I had COVID last year - I'm early 30s and have had cysts on my ovaries since my early 20s (never actually diagnosed with pcos but had one cyst that needed removing). I didn't get COVID badly but it massively screwed up my cycle (and also made me feel really ill each month when I was supposed to be on my period) - that lasted for months and was the only lingering symptom I had.
I had my first Pfizer vaccine in May and I was slightly late on my next period but that was it - all back to normal now. Just had my second vaccine today so we'll see if that has any effect.
What I'm saying is, I think when you make your choice you need to also weigh up the effect of COVID on your cycle- there is evidence that it can have an effect and it certainly did with me - far worse than the vaccine has. Given your job, you're also probably more likely to catch it.
I'm not saying you should or shouldn't have the vaccine, but I'm not convinced that catching COVID wouldn't have a worse effect on your fertility.

@PopcornMuncher they can do what the hell they want as long as they keep said bodies away from people with Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.