Has anyone been advised not to have their 2nd dose?

[CometCupidDonnerBlitzen]

I'm a bit shocked to be honest and trying to seek out others who are in the same boat and just check this is right. I had my vaccine on the 21st of last month. It was the astrazeneca and within about an hour my arm came up in a hot blotchy rash. Over the next 24 hours I got all sorts of flu like symptoms and a few days worth of diarrhea. After those side effects disappeared I was left with a very swollen and sore arm. It was itchy and I spent most of that next week on painkillers every 4 hours. It carried on into a second week but the swelling started to go down. I have been left with a hard lump in my arm about the size of a 50p that is still hot, itchy and sore to touch. At the weekend the skin peeled on the lump.
After my husband got his jab on Saturday and mentioned it to the staff there they told him I should speak to a doctor as it was too long to still be having symptoms.
I've just got off the phone with a doctor who seem pretty stumped. He said he'd not come across it but it sounds like an allergic reaction and suspects the second dose would be worse. He thought a second reaction could put me in the hospital and has advised me against having it. He did say he was going to phone around for more advice but needless to say I'm pretty shocked. I didn't have any allergies I was aware of and have never had any problems with previous vaccines. Is there anyone else out there that has had a similar experience?

I wonder if you had cellulitis, from the hypodermic?

Sorry I had to google that. :) I'm not sure. It does appear to slowly be getting better but very slowly. The doctor wondered if the lump was a hematoma but he said as it appeared to be getting better he was happy to leave it. However if it didn't get any better by this time next week he'd take a look at the surgery.

You could be reacting to the Polysorbate-80 in the AZ vaccine. This can cause an allergic reaction.

Have you spoken to just your GP or 119?

Did you take antihistamines ?

I have only spoken to my GP at this point. Up until my husband spoke to someone at the vaccination centre I was under the impression it was covid arm and would vanish any day. I was honestly expecting the doctor to ask why I was calling with it. Which is why I think it was such a shock.

I took some antihistamines on the first week after the vaccine and didn't find them very helpful.

I’m similar to you. Had flu like symptoms for 3 days and then extremely sore arm for a week, including a giant red lesion around site with hard lump in the middle. Two weeks on, the redness is fading leaving a ring of red around the outside. It’s causing no bother so I’m not worried about it and didn’t occur to me to speak to GP. Just did some Googling and sounds like what the US are reporting as covid arm, a mild allergic reaction. (I’ve previously had mild allergic reaction to penicillin which caused my red and upper body to go bright red!) I’m still planning on having the second dose.

119 is your best option. No disrespect to your gp but a lot of gps are as confused as the rest of us re covid. There are a plethora of weird symptoms and side affects.

Sounds like a local reaction and some cellulitis.
I don’t think this is a reason to not have the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The flu like symptoms are very common and some can last longer than the 24-48 hours and again no reason to not have the second dose.
I would take an antihistamine prior to going, have it in the other arm, keep an eye on any signs of cellulitis/infection and get antibiotics if it does look infected again.
Some people are more prone to infections after bites/injections than others.
I’d vaccinate you and get you to wait for 15 minutes.

I'd wait for your GP to get back to you and see if they refer you for allergy testing, or say it's nothing to worry about. If it is an allergy, the different vaccine brands are made in very different ways so another type might be more suitable for you. But definitely make sure your GP gives more advice before you get the second dose.

@CometCupidDonnerBlitzen

Just to follow up whether you have been advised to have your 2nd dose.

I had my AZ 1st dose this week and had the expected 8 hours fever (which resolved completely now with paracetamol-no issues) but also mild pins and needles. I'm filing a Yellow Card report for the latter and will call 119 within the next couple of weeks to see whether I should be having my 2nd dose (I'm inclined to have it, but just to be on the safe side)

I'm also interested to know what would happen if you don't have the 2nd dose at all or if you need to wait (longer than 12 weeks?). How long will you be protected for?

Just to clarify, from all the vaccines that have been approved to date in the UK, the AZ one would still be my preferred choice (if we had a choice).

So I'm not hoping to have a different brand later on, just interested in what would happen if you had one dose for the time being and then wait a while.

[quote mustlovegin]@CometCupidDonnerBlitzen

Just to follow up whether you have been advised to have your 2nd dose.

I had my AZ 1st dose this week and had the expected 8 hours fever (which resolved completely now with paracetamol-no issues) but also mild pins and needles. I'm filing a Yellow Card report for the latter and will call 119 within the next couple of weeks to see whether I should be having my 2nd dose (I'm inclined to have it, but just to be on the safe side)

I'm also interested to know what would happen if you don't have the 2nd dose at all or if you need to wait (longer than 12 weeks?). How long will you be protected for?[/quote]
I didn't have much except for incredibly slight feeling of pins and needles in my finger tips. Weird.

Then i did on that week carry pretty heavy bags of shopping so no idea if it was that as I have suffered from carpal tunnel in the past.
I also had pain under my armpit which im led to believe is swollen lymph nodes. NHS when i phoned them told my that if I were to go to breast screening i should tell them I had the vaccine.

I assume that is because the lymph nodes would look like lumps.

OP I would be cautious. It could very well have been a clot in your arm.
Last night, I read about a lady who developed a lump in their leg. Turns out it was a blood clot. She was fine after treatment. I would push for investigation.

It sounds like quite an extreme reaction, there seem to be lots of cases of a lump by the injection site but a fully swollen limb should always be checked. I'm a bit confused why your GP isn't looking at it this week to be honest, do you have a different GP at the same practice who you can talk to?

@neveradullmoment99

i did on that week carry pretty heavy bags of shopping

Yes, may be related to that. I am reporting my pins and needles as it's something I don't normally experience (without a reason) and also the symptoms started that same evening.

Last night, I read about a lady who developed a lump in their leg. Turns out it was a blood clot

Yes, the blood clot issue, though it could be serious, has had a lot more press so people and HPCs are more clear on what to look out for to address them quickly.

Yes, I would never have thought it would have created a physical lump though. Maybe swelling but Ive personally never heard of that.