Shoulder pain after AZ vaccine

[LittleScottieDog]

I'm hoping someone will be able to reassure me!

I had the AZ vaccine two weeks ago. I'm a 38-year-old woman. For the past 5 days or so (so from about day 9 afterwards) I've had shoulder pain that generally feels sore all the time, but has made putting on or taking off clothes quite painful. It's not the arm I had the jab in. I thought I'd just pulled the muscle, but it seems worse at the moment and my hand feels quite cool (I don't have great circulation but the other hand feels okay).

I'm trying not to Google because I don't want to worry myself about blood clots, but I don't know enough about the symptoms of them. I don't have any chest pain although I did have a headache yesterday. Shall I just take a painkiller and try to forget it, or call 111?

It's probably just a strain and feeling sensitive because of the news. While unlikely given no chest pain, shoulder pain can be a sign of a heart attack in women, so immediate medical attention is advised. I think you should call 111 to go through their assessment process; if it's nothing serious then you can be reassured of that anyway.

I agree with MRex - call 111 and let them assess.

How are you today @LittleScottieDog, did you call 111?

Thank you, both. I didn't call 111. I did the online thing and it said just to treat it with paracetamol and if anything changes to call 111. I'm still a bit worried but trying to just chill!

Hope you feel better soon.

I hope it improves for you soon but do call 111 or if you’re concerned.

Personally I would want to consult my GP, if it is muscular they can prescribe you something to help and at least you can rule it out that way if it persists. A lot of medicine is trial and error to rule things out so it’s always worth getting a head start rather than leaving it and having to start the process later.