Looks like today is the day…

[VaccineAnxiety]

I don’t think this will end well for me. I just need a place to scream which I can’t do at home..

@xuli I tried cbt didn’t work with this do I will have to speak to the go again

@PurpleDaisies but I’ve run out of excuses…

Is there any medical reason why you think you’re at risk of side effects OP? If you previously had blood clotting issues you would have been advised to have Pfizer. I had Pfizer as have numerous other women I know who are on the pill, smokers, overweight etc with no ill effects. Also know people who’ve had AZ with no ill effects including DH.

Even if you are one of the very, very few people who do get a blood clot, you know the signs to look out for and with quick medical treatment, it’s very unlikely you will die!

You could have more serious effects from being unvaccinated and getting Covid, or you could randomly have a heart attack or a car crash on the way to the vaccination!

You need to calm your down for your own and your DDs sake!

I had a panic attack having mine, I didn’t want it much like you and was bullied into it. Sod the people that say it isn’t coercion it absolutely is and I have PTSD from being forced into things.

I was actually fine after both physically so you will be ok.

Having said that it’s a medical treatment and if you don’t want it you shouldn’t be made to have it.

[quote VaccineAnxiety]@PurpleDaisies but I’ve run out of excuses…[/quote]
The only excuse you need is “I do not want it”.

I am massively pro vaccination. I think you should have it.

I worry about the effect on your mental health. You say you feel you are being coerced. That’s not proper consent.

I have an anxiety disorder and I like with health anxiety. I'm too terrified to take the sertraline I've been prescribed and on occasion I'm even too terrified to take ibuprofen or a simple paracetamol.
I did however have the AZ vaccine back in January and the second jab in April (when the news of clots was starting up).
I'd rather have the jab than take my chances with Covid and luckily the rational part of my brain was working in relation to this.
The week after my second I was extra alert to any potential issues but I was fine.

@JustCallMeBubblesDahling maybe I will look out for signs but my gp doesn’t pick up calls, the local nhs is falling apart- most healthcare workers are tired , I won’t be surprised if they give me two paracetamols snd send me on my merry way… there is a post by another lady in mumsnet about how she is admitted to the hospital and not eaten for 2 days properly because one time when the menu was handed over she was in the loo and no one noticed this - how can a healthcare system be so careless about proper nutrition? It’s shocking…

@WillowGrand thank you - yes it is coercion

@MissMissTorrance yes I don’t take medication as well…I have a massive fear of them

@VaccineAnxiety I don’t know if this will help, but I had an episode of sudden breathing problems after my first vaccination - but not caused by the vaccine. I’d actually been having these episodes since before having the vaccine and already had a referral to a specialist - so these problems were NOT caused by the vaccine. Just wanted to be really clear about that!

I called 111 about the breathing problems and they asked me to immediately go to hospital in case it was a clot caused by the vaccine (I knew it wouldn’t be, as the symptoms had started a month before I had the vaccine, and I don’t think it’s mastered time travel yet!) but went along anyway. Hospital looked after me brilliantly, I had a d-dimer (blood clot) test which came back clear, blood tests for other things, and a chest x Ray, and was home again in about 10 hours.

Now in my case I knew it wasn’t related to the vaccine, but they treated it as if it were. They knew exactly what tests to do, did them quickly and were ready to do a CT scan if the d-dimer had been borderline/positive.

So, worst case scenario is, if you notice any symptoms, and end up going to hospital they know exactly what to look for, and if they found any issues would be able to treat you on the spot.

Sorry for the long winded post, I hope it helps though. And good luck!

I think many of us feel coerced into getting the vaccine. Rather than running a positive campaign and addressing people's fears in a reasoned way, they're threatening that if you don't have it you can't do x, y and z.

I was very poorly after the first AZ vaccine, it took a month for the blinding headaches to go. I want a second but I'm not prepared to be that unwell again. They're not offering any alternative to people in my situation.

OP, the vast majority of people are fine after the vaccine, but if you are unwell, please call 111 and ask for help.

Would you feel any better if it was Pfizer, op? Any reason you can't go to a Pfizer clinic if you are worried about AZ or are you worried about getting any vaccine?

If I was you, I wouldn’t be having it.
The level of anxiety you have is unhealthy and mentally I think you would be better off without it.

Do you have the same anxious thoughts about catching Covid? Or just the vaccine?

@WaltzingTilda I didn’t want Pfizer or any other brand new ones- atleast AZ is the known devil quite literally for me

@ThorsLeftNut yes very anxious about Covid too - I realise I will have to give in into this one way or the other…

How was your mental health pre covid?

@WaltzingTilda

Would you feel any better if it was Pfizer, op? Any reason you can't go to a Pfizer clinic if you are worried about AZ or are you worried about getting any vaccine?

I was going to suggest that too but then realised the health anxiety is probably about any vaccine not a specific one.

OP as @MissMissTorrance points out, better to be vaccinated than take your chances with Covid. For someone with such extreme health anxiety I am surprised you are not more worried about that to be honest.

For what it's worth I had no side effects from AZ other than an itchy arm a few days later. (I'm needle phobic and also delayed the first one for ages).

OP if you are this anxious about all medications (and many OTC medicines have as many warnings of rare reactions as the vaccines do) then I think you do need to seek out more therapy as that is no way to live your life.

The 'coercion' concerns are a separate issue and not related to the health anxiety so I'm staying away from that aspect.

Take care OP.

OP I know when you're scared there's not much anyone can say that will make it better, but know that in a week, two weeks, a month, you will be sitting here reading nonsense about neighbour's parking and difficult mothers-in-law, you really will.

I have periodic anxiety. When i was due to have my second child I was so anxious, I was convinced it was going to go wrong for one or both of us - I couldn't bring myself to believe that not only was I allowed my first wonderful child but a second too. I wrote my will. I wrote goodbye letters for my husband and daughter, the hardest thing I have ever done. I tidied. I told no one what I was thinking, I tried to handle it the best I could but I was CERTAIN.

Nothing bad happened. It all went smoothly, dd2 and I came home and were well. I still have those letters. I will destroy them when I am strong enough, but for now it is enough that they were never needed. I know from how I felt that nothing anyone else could say would have changed my mind, but I am here now and it is a beautiful day. You will be too.

Sorry you are feeling this way OP. If it helps none of the people i know who have had either AZ or Pfizer have had any adverse reactions although i know some do. The chances are that you'll be okay unless you have any pre-existing health conditions making vaccination unsuitable for you. I am not sure how the AZ is more of a known devil to you than the Pfizer. If I remember correctly in uk they started the vaccine roll out with the Pfizer then moved to AZ, and now Pfizer for the under 40s. I am early 40s and didn't want the AZ so went to a Pfizer clinic instead. Still awating the second dose but for the first i got a sore arm for about 24 hours and no other issues, thankfully. If you think negatively about this you might have a panic attack. Tbh, i would have rather not had the vaccine myself but this covid seems to be like a Tsunami coming in waves and just because I managed to avoid virus the first few waves there is no guarantee that I won't get caught in a subsequent wave. Just looking at all the people attending the clinic, some mums with babies in buggies inspired me. I hope it works out well for you OP, good luck xx

i am 67 and fat....so thrombosis and stroke risk. i had both my az jabs. Pull up your big girl knickers and go x

OP, I think you know that this goes beyond the vaccine, and that it's not really about the vaccine at all. You don't sound at all mentally well, and I think you need to get some help quite urgently. Please do that

You absolutely don't have to do this, you're in charge of your own body and this is your decision. you will be able to travel without a vaccine - it just might be a bit more of a faff for a short while.

If you are going to get it, for reassurance, I am mid 30's as is my husband and we both had AZ, felt a bit under the weather for a day or 2 but nothing more. It also may be worth speaking with your GP if your anxiety is this high though - being anxious of the vaccine ids one thing but the levels you have gone to are extreme