Strange reaction to booster

[Player456]

I had AZ for my first two doses. Felt very ill after first (shivery, high fever, couldn't move for a day), fine after second.

Husband, son and nephew had Pfizer and were fine, so assumed it was better in terms of side effects.

Had booster (Pfizer) yesterday.

Only had a sore arm. Today I feel ill. What's most obvious though is joint pain. I already have an ankle that was due for replacement before Covid, but has now been postponed indefinitely. My opposite knee has been swollen and painful for a few months (presumably the way I walk due to not weight bearing on other leg).

So today my ankle is especially bad, my knee has given way several times, my hand/finger joints are incredibly painful (always quite painful, but comes and goes), and my wrist and side of hand, that I fell on last week are quite exquisitely painful today. Also my shoulders and neck.

I haven't got a fever/temperature, just incredibly achy joints, headache and just not right.

Could the immune response to the jab, cause a immune response to existing inflammation? My husband says no! It is not the same, but the fact that every problematic joint is horrendous at the same time, seems to point to the jab

Yes. I hope someone with more knowledge of science comes along to explain it properly- but my understanding is that these vaccines can exacerbate existing problems because they can push the immune system into overdrive.

Is that right? Someone ...

Thank you Sean

Yes that's why some people with autoimmune disease experience a flare up of their symptoms after the jab. (Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease)

It's a known side effect, nothing you can do really except report it to the doctor so they can put it on the yellow card adverse event tracking system. It really annoys me that warnings on this side effect are not being given to those most at risk as I keep hearing about older friends having the same issue.

The good news is the flare up should subside over time from what I am hearing from people who have had similar reactions.

AFAIK I don't have any AI issues (but as over 50 and overweight I do have painful knees sometimes), but I had my booster on Friday, and have had awful pains in my joints, including fingers and toes, and neck and shoulders. Beginning to ease today. I was poorly for nearly a week after my first AZ, and was hoping the Pfizer booster would be fine.

yes its to do with the immune response and can happen with any vaccine - my family member had an auto-immune flare after first AZ with persistent numbness, pins & needles, weakness and skin blisters, the GP wont give her a second jab unfortunately, but her symptoms have now settled after about 4 months. Its important to report it to your GP and MHRA, as any reactions will ultimately help the pharm companies tweak vaccines and allow better targeting of particular vaccines for particular patient groups. As others have said, its highly likely to settle down and at least you wont have to have another jab for a good long while!

I had my Pfizer booster yesterday morning and feel so unwell tonight. Every part of my skin is so painful, joint pains, painful glands, horrible headache, sore throat and so exhausted. Had Covid at start of this year and now have Long Covid so I definitely prefer the side effects of booster than another bout of Covid but I’m feeling awful. Just wondering how long everyone’s had side effects for?

I had mine Friday and definitely feeling better now. Still tired, but pain has almost gone.

Just taken my temperature and it’s 38 when I’ve already had paracetamol and Ibuprofen. I feel absolutely awful.

I've just had one extremely sore underarm with the booster.