Unsure whether to book vaccine appointment

[unmumsymummy21]

I received my text this week, inviting me for the jab, as I'm in group 6.

I thought I would be elated, but instantly a sense of dread came over me. I have pretty bad health anxiety, which also spans to medication generally. I worry about medications and side effects. It freaks me out.

I'm on an immunosuppressant because of my condition, but apparently that doesn't cause you to get worse covid. I find that very confusing. But my doctors said that. The vaccine is also fine to have on the immunosuppressant.

Here is my worry- what if I die after ? There was a doctor in Florida who died due to a rare condition kicked off by the vaccine. It's very rare apparently, but it can happen.

I am not anti vaccinations by any means but when my children get theirs, I worry a lot that they'll have bad reactions.

In addition to this I am confused about the messaging from the government. I thought things were going to get a lot better because of the vaccines but this week there have been such negative messages from government ( Grant Shapps ) it has really made me wonder what the hell is going on and why I should even get the vaccine if things won't change or get better ?

May I also add that I've been absolutely terrified of getting / dying of covid this entire year. To the extent that I've had panic attacks about it/ not been able to sleep/ been in the pits of despair. I am in counselling by the way and have been most of the year.

I want the vaccine ! I need reassurance I am going to be OK. I guess this is all about how you evaluate risk. I've been reading a lot about that this year, to calm myself down. I'm over evaluating the risk of the vaccine and I know it's irrational but I'm still really scared. I also over evaluated the risk of dying form covid, which was also irrational. It's been a tough year ! Any kind words of advice welcome.

Just do it. Get it. Job done

I understand your concerns but you need to put it in perspective. More than 13 million people have been vaccinated in the UK and not a single one has died (because of the vaccine). You will be fine, and you'll be one of the lucky ones who has been vaccinated!

I feel like this is your anxiety talking in a massive way. In the kindest way I feel the panic in your message.

I am CEV / multiple immunosuppressants/ high dose steroids / active disease so that equals shielding for sure, but I haven't and I have worked throughout. I have been offered the vaccine and I'm not having it but this is because of known, extremely severe drug reactions.

From what you've written about yourself if that was me I would have it without a second thought.

I had it- no problems, except aching arm.
You seem to hold o to the experience of one dr in the US. Not the 14 million in the uk.
14 million. Many of whom have serious underlying conditions.
Can you look at a picture for a big gig like live aid? That’s 80,000 people. Now imagine that gig, every night for 6 months. All those people are fine.
The vaccine will help prevent serious illness, even if you will need booster for other variants at times.
Do it.
Do it for yourself and your family. It’s your thoughts stopping you- prove them wrong.

All said, anxiety is horrible. And irrational. Hope you manage to make peace with it.

I was just as nervous. Even though by the time I had my vaccine more than a million had gone ahead of me in the UK with no ill effects, my anxious brain focused on those incidents that the media hype up which aren't even confirmed to be linked to the vaccine.
I turned up for my appointment anyway with butterflies in my stomach. I am not too worried about dying from covid. I am worried about getting long covid. I had the jab. Not even a sore arm. I feel so much happier now.

I felt like this too, but the alternative of catching it could be so much worse and potentially life threatening. Ime the vaccination centre was efficiently ran and I did have side effects that made me worry that should I have caught the virus how unwell I would have been! Be brave op

@OpheliasCrayon thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't really realised. It's useful to mentally imagine it as being the anxiety talking and not myself if that makes senseS I've been really upset this week as I just feel so stuck on what to do and I really do want to be protected from covid. I've been so afraid all year of it!! I should be jumping for joy. I thought I would have to wait a lot longer. I'm worried after I get the vaccine I'll just be sitting there waiting for something terrible to happen.. I guess I need to distract myself with something out of my ordinary routine after the vaccine, that might help.

I have a friend in the NHS who has refused a jab because pf that one person dying!
She goes to work on public transport every day to s hospital potentially putting lots if people at risk through her own selfishness snd irrationality.
It us not about you it is about joint responsibility.

Jump for joy. Roll up sleeve. Get jabbed. Enjoy knowing you've reduced your chances of having to Skype friends and relatives from an ICU.

I have health anxiety too so I sympathise. Despite being pro vax, when it came to my flu jab during pregnancy (first time having it) all the conspiracy theories came rushing to mind. My midwife even said she was “on the fence about the flu jab”

I got the jab, I was absolutely fine as was baby. Obviously.

You’re going to be fine!

I understand that you have anxiety, my DH has anxiety, and it’s very frustrating.
Just get the jab.
You are scared of Covid yet you’re also scared of the solution.
There is no guarantee, no one can guarantee anything.
But what I can say is that I work at a hub, and we have had no problems whatsoever. Not even one feint.
Go get the jab.

@unmumsymummy21 I could have written every word of this post myself. The health anxiety, the panic attacks for the best part of this year, chronic condition and on immunesuppressors and the vaccine invite kicked off my anxiety terribly.

I had it done in the end, but now I have crazy worry about whether I should have and if I really needed it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that mentally I am feeling pretty unstable at the moment and nothing is going to make me settle. If I hadn’t had it I would probably be stressed about the fact that I didn’t, but because I did I’m stressed about that.

Go with your gut but if you’re anxiety is like mine then you’re mind will always move onto worrying about the next thing x

My dh had the jab yesterday and I am so relieved/elated . how does this choice of your affects people you love ?

Wow - dh and I got our invitations yesterday and are over the moon. Booked for the earliest possible slot next week.

I'm coming to the end of a self isolation period tomorrow and have been quite anxious all week about developing Covid . So the prospect of now getting the vaccine is wonderful.

Go for it.

You are right that this is about balancing risks. No one is claim that any vaccine is totally risk-free but nothing in life is. You aren't choosing between taking the risk of a specific action (having the jab) vs an alternative choice which is totally risk-free. The alternative path of not having the jab carries a much much higher risk because either you are risking infection with a disease that is known to be very dangerous for some who get it, or if you shield well enough to avoid that risk you are instead risking other serious problems both mental and physical due to the isolation. Compared to the magnitude of the risks you would be taking by not getting the jab, the tiny chance of an adverse vaccine reaction is much much less likely so getting the jab is the least risky option.

Please get the jab as soon as you can.

The jab does definitely work in reducing the probability of serious illness or death. Scientists are confident of that as they have done the experiments and proved a high degree of statistical correlation. The experiments haven't yet been done to quantify the extent to which they also reduce the incidence of mild illness and/or entirely asymptomatic but still transmissible infections so there aren't solid and reassuring statements about that. Media reports are seizing on the caution of intelligent people who understand that you can't make assertions until you have solid evidence, and working that into sensationalist stories about how the vaccines are useless for actually ending the pandemic. These stories are silly and should be ignored. We are on the path out of this. The scientific experiments to analyse exactly how fast we will achieve that are still in progress - but meanwhile, just get the jab.

@Senso21 hahah OMG I will be exactly the same after. I will never be at peace with whatever I choose to do. This is LITERALLY the story of my life. I agonise over things and whichever decision I chose in the end, was always wrong anyway. I'm never at peace. I also deep down always know which decision I will go with. For example here, I know I'll get the jab. It's going to be agonising until I do go to get it and after I will agonise over having got it. FML seriously. I try laugh at myself about how ridiculous I am.

And I've had years of therapy. I don't change. Not sure what's the point haha

@midgedude well my parents think I am absolutely insane to get the jab. They've been calling me and begging me not to get it. This has fed into my anxiety a lot as you can imagine. But of course for my husband and children, I feel good if I can protect them but also a little worried if I die form the vaccine..

@unmumsymummy21 if you have the vaccine the anxiety will only last a few days leading up to having it. Once you've had it and realise you'll be ok (because you will) you will move on with your life and forget all about it.

If you don't have the vaccine you will live in fear of dying from Covid forever.

It's a no brainer from me.

[quote unmumsymummy21]@OpheliasCrayon thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't really realised. It's useful to mentally imagine it as being the anxiety talking and not myself if that makes senseS I've been really upset this week as I just feel so stuck on what to do and I really do want to be protected from covid. I've been so afraid all year of it!! I should be jumping for joy. I thought I would have to wait a lot longer. I'm worried after I get the vaccine I'll just be sitting there waiting for something terrible to happen.. I guess I need to distract myself with something out of my ordinary routine after the vaccine, that might help. [/quote]
I don't have anxiety, but I have done during pregnancy very very badly, so I understand it - and it's absolutely horrible. And furthermore when you're in the middle of it, you can't actually tell your anxious thoughts from your real ones...so I get it.

But reading your message - to me that is anxious thoughts speaking and not your actual thoughts.

Here is my worry- what if I die after ? There was a doctor in Florida who died due to a rare condition kicked off by the vaccine. It's very rare apparently, but it can happen.

Not wanting to tear you apart but this is what makes it very evident to me. That is one person - and in the UK we have had millions vaccinated and then however many more millions in the United States so that's millions and millions of people who have had it and one person has died. And that's because of an already rare condition and this is something you've seen in the media. The media have absolutely no idea how this condition may have started, was he predisposed to it already etc. It's just a pointless story (tragic yes as someone's died but completely irrelevant to your vaccine). To put it simply, today, a far higher number of people than this one in multiple millions of people will tragically die on a road. You will, I assume at some point today or over the next few days, go on a pavement or road. It is statistically highly more dangerous than this one person who's died from the vaccine.

Please see your GP about your anxiety. This is not normal.

There is absolutely not a shred of evidence that the doctors death you quoted was due to the vaccine. People die suddenly and unexpectedly every day, and the odds are that when nations are having massive roll outs of a vaccine some of those people may die afterwards. That doesn't mean the vaccine causes the deaths.

In a period of time like this, if you have health anxieties anyway, I would suggest not reading social media, tabloid newspapers, or anything else that is going to disturb you. There is far too much of it about. Even the true stuff is disturbing for many people. Everything in life is a risk. It is certain that one day something will cause everyone to die. But we don't spend our lives doing a risk assessment very time we eat cream cheese or set foot outside the house. Life is too short - so enjoy it while ou can, and the vaccine is one of the gateways to being able to do that again.

@OpheliasCrayon it's true. It's all about how you evaluate risk. It's what I've been doing all year to try and calm myself about covid- reading up about risk and specifically actuarial risk. Interesting topic haha. I have a little fear of flying too and I always tell myself that I probably had more chance being in a car crash on the way to the airport.. so I totally get it. The same applies to the vaccine.

I think though that this is how the anti vax movement started. It was started by the one in a million. Because the one in a million exists ! And if you're unlucky enough to be that one in a million, to you- it's a bad idea then in general to get vaccinated or whatever it may be. You then go and shout it from the rooftops ( Social media ) and you quickly get a following from other people who also shout it from the rooftops. This then lands on parents / people who then may also get the impression it's extremely common and that their child or them may have an adverse reaction. I think that's how it has spread. And voila people are scared of giving their kids vaccines now and we lose our measles free status etc.

My mum has just received the letter, 69 and dietetic. Offered an appointment at a local vaccine sent or wait for her GP rollout. Her appointment was....mid May. Fucking May.

I'm so angry. This government saying all the people in the highest risk categories have now been offered an appointment. Box ticked. Lying shits. It's not a success if that appointment is more than 3 months away.

You won't die from the vaccine .

Who said "they fuck your up your mum and dad "?

Don't fuck yours children up get the jab!

Just booked it.