Please talk me down.

[Stupidworries]

I have very bad health anxiety. I am on medication for it which I've increased recently. I am due to start CBT.

DH had the pfizer vaccine on Friday. He's the kind of person who never gets sick or worries about it. Yesterday he felt a bit woozy and had a sore arm. Today he has a temperature, feels dizzy and foggy, and could barely manage a small walk earlier without being wiped out. He's now sleeping in the middle of the day.

This almost never happens - in about 15 years of marriage I've maybe seen him unwell once or twice. I am trying so, so hard to stay calm and have mostly been managing to hide it so far. I've also been trying so hard not to Google the side effects of the vaccine so far as I'll talk myself out of getting it.

Please can I check, is this all just normal? When should I worry?

(And I'm very sorry if posting like this annoys anyone, I just feel like I'm about to have a panic attack.)

It’s within the the realms of normal yes, if he is still suffering in a day or so contact your GP. Did he get a leaflet detailing the side effects? It’s easy to google if you haven’t got it to hand.

I had Pfizer and knew about it both times; first I wasn’t convinced they’d jabbed me at all until about six hours later when I felt generally off and had joint pains for about 48 hours. I did continue to go to work and parent but would have happily took to my bed if I’d had the opportunity. Second one did take the wind out of my sails and I had to take a day off work (the day after the jab) just feeling generally grotty. That lasted a few days but improved daily.

These are all signs your immune system is working and responding to what it’s meant to so shouldn’t alarm you or your DH but it’s absolutely prudent to keep an eye on him to ensure that there isn’t aren’t any symptoms going too far. Try to keep him hydrated and fed - he’ll feel worse if he isn’t - and encourage him to take paracetamol:ibuprofen if it helps to soften the effects,

Yes all normal side effects and can last a few days. Here's the information from the CDC

Possible Side Effects
In the arm where you got the shot:
Pain
Redness
Swelling
Throughout the rest of your body:
Tiredness
Headache
Muscle pain
Chills
Fever
Nausea
These side effects happen within a day or two of getting the vaccine. They are normal signs that your body is building protection and should go away within a few days.

Totally normal side effects OP. I’m feeling the same today, had second dose of AZ yesterday. Generally aching, tired, foggy head, sore arm and don’t want to do anything today. Better than I felt after the first dose though!
I know I’ll feel a lot better by tomorrow.

Totally normal OP, try not to stress him out with your anxiety, give him a few days to recover. It’s a good thing, it means he is building immunity to keep him safe from Covid.

What is your anxiety telling you it might mean?
Those are pretty well documented side effects of the jab, are you worried it’s something else?

Thank you all so, so much, I really appreciate it, especially the shortened list of side effects. I have tried not to Google because I know it will come up with the inevitable rarer effects and deaths and such, and I will get fixated, I do it on every bloody thing and can't afford to not get the vaccine.

I am trying to stay very calm and mostly succeeding. You've helped me to feel better and I'm genuinely grateful

Sounds normal. Some people come away with no side affects at all, others feel rough as f**k. I was in second group, sounds like your DH is too. Paracetamol, rest and I'm sure he'll be better soon.

My granny had the Pfizer—she slept like a baby for about 3 days, then was back to her usual self. Totally normal.

I had my first Pfizer dose three weeks ago. Grand on the day but wiped the second day with headaches and tiredness. That lifted by the end of second day and was fine. Having my second one in a week and can't wait

I had Pfizer yesterday, my arm hurts, I feel generally achy and tired and a bit nauseous. All as I was expecting - similar to when I had covid but not as severe and hopefully won't last anywhere near as long (I felt ill with covid for over a month, I fully expect to feel well from the vaccine within a few days).

Fig me, I'd stampede for any jab that would make me sleep like a baby for 3 days. Potential bliss!!

He's on the mend and is miles better than Sunday, but still has brain fog and looks exhausted. I still feel absolutely sick with anxiety, and have been realising I don't know what I'll do if he's ever properly unwell. It's like my anxiety has decided that's my new terror in life.

I just wish I could switch my brain on to normal mode. Aside from medication and the upcoming CBT, are there any other ways that anyone would recommend to reprogramme my brain or something?

If he gets any side effects that hurt, then he should call a doctor, but what you've described sounds normal. Exhausted is fine, his body is tired because he is creating lots of lovely antibodies, so that's all great news and it might be helpful to start thinking of it like that.

Give the CBT a chance to work before you worry about other things to try. Is there something else you could start to put your focus on? Even taking the oven apart to clean it or clearing out and cleaning the loft can be therapeutic, something useful to put your mind to. Otherwise a good novel that you can get lost in?

CBT is extremely useful for anxiety. They will teach you techniques you can use to help bring your anxiety down.

Here are some things you can try in the meantime:

tense and release - sit down somewhere comfortable. Tense absolutely every muscle in your body - make fists, clench your arms, screw up your face, squeeze your feet etc. Count to 10 silently while holding the tension. On the count of 10 release all that tension while exhaling, you can also say "relax" as you let the tension go. Do a few repetitions of it. People with anxiety often hold physical tension in their body and this will help you let go of some of it.

worry time - allot yourself 10 minutes at a particular point in the day to go and sit in a 'worry location' and let your worries about his health go wild. But the deal is, you mustn't allow worries to creep in at other times because you have this dedicated time to focus on them.

questioning - write down your worry. then start to look at it from different perspectives, asking questions like: what makes me believe this is true? are there any other possibilities? what evidence suggests that this is true, and what evidence suggests that it is false? are there any less worrying explanations?

These are CBT type techniques so should sit helpfully alongside your upcoming therapy.

There’s some useful emergency CBT for panic stuff on here, all free, some recordings to listen to etc., just while you’re waiting for your appointment cbt4panic.org/

I also find headspace amazing when I’m feeling panicky. Hope you feel a bit better soon x