Anybody here get the Shingles vaccine AFTER TX. ?
My wife and I both had shingles before the cancer. It wasn't pleasant even with the antiviral drugs. Yesterday my wife had to rush to the doctor when we realized she had shingles again in a race to make that 48-72 hour window from when the itching starts that the antivirals are effective. It's much worse for her this time.
The literature all says not to get the vaccine DURING TX nor immediately afterward or if sick or a compromised immune system
My doctors say my immune system is "not compromised" but have no direct experience with their cancer patients getting the shingles vaccine. I really do not want to get it again = but the stress of planning a move to get rid of the mortgage (which means we move out of this area where our only child is) plus my constant problems with the damn feeding tube does not bode well. I finally got the flu shot last year for the first time since the cancer and I ended up with a bad case of the flu anyway.
So any experiences?
Charm

I think it's an odds game - I personally have only ever had a flu vaccine one time and got sick from it - and except for the tumor in my tongue - I haven't really been sick. I'd feel a cold come on but then it would stop after a day or two and before it moved into my chest. My daughter and husband get colds a lot - I rarely catch them - so I personally would not take either. But if you know you are suscepticpble you need to ask yourself what will be worse - the fallout from the vaccine, or the shingles - and what is the chance you're going to catch shingles if you don't. Do you work with a lot of people ( the public) have a lot of people around you? Go out all the time? If there's a good chance you'll be exposed to the virus then do it - if it's unlikely then don't. Sorry not very helpful.... Sorry you have to move too. Hope you find a great place you're happy in.

I was told to get the flu shot post Tx, have for 5 years now, and have never had the flu.

Re shingles I also got it post Tx but I thought I was told once you get it you don't get it again so I didn't get the vaccine.

Hi Charm,

My husband Ron got shingles twice and it was brought on by a very stressful situation (the first time he saved a woman from getting killed by her ex boyfriend. The second was brought on by his latest cancer recurrence). He talked to his Doctor about getting the shot and the Doctor advised against it. According to his Doctor the shot has not been proven to keep a person from not getting shingles again. Anyway that's what he said.

Shelley

Cheryl and Shelley: thanks for that input

David: If it was a Doctor who told you that, he or she needs immediate CME. Here's a very recent Harvard blog on how the odds of getting Shingles a second or even third time are pretty much the same as the first time
Harvard Health Blog � Shingles can strike twice
It references a Harvard health letter that states
[quote]One study that's often cited was conducted in Olmsted County, Minn., where the Mayo Clinic is located. Dr. Barbara Yawn, director of research at the Olmsted Medical Center, and her colleagues have reported that over a period of a little over seven years, 95 of the 1,669 adults in the county diagnosed with shingles had a recurrence later on. That works out to a risk of 5.6%, which is comparable to the risk of getting an initial case of shingles for people ages 60 and older.[/quote] It looks like the vaccine works for the 60s but not 80s decades from the rest of that newsletter.
The doctors that treated my wife and myself the first time all emphasized that it often comes back in their experience.
Keep the Faith
Charm

I have also heard of people getting shingles more than once. I have heard that shingles can be very very painful and make you very ill. My grandmother had shingles and ended up being hospitalized for it. I tried to get the shot but I wasnt old enough for insurance to cover it. When I hit 50 I will be able to get it.

I also have been told to always get the flu shot and get the pneumonia shot too. Every year I get the flu shot.

What I also found interesting with shingles is I was concerned Ron could have given me shingles. If I hadn't had chicken pox when I was younger, when Ron had shingles he could have given me chicken pox. It is my understanding that shingles is brought on by an extremely stressful event. Luckily for Ron, the two times he got shingles he was able to see the Doctor right away and that helped him heal quicker. As we all know...early detection is the key.

All the best,

Shelley

Charm,

Getting old, maybe I didn't hear him say that? He's a very good PCP so I got to give him the benefit of my doubt. lol

Shingles vaccine is live vaccine i.e. contain a version of the pathogen (Vericella Zoster virus) that has been weakened in the lab so it can�t cause disease. Once injected, your body's immune response recognizes the agent as foreign, destroys it, and remembers it (as an anti-body) and that is why it is usually preferred in healthy individuals. Shingles vaccine is only known to reduce the severity and duration of pain and discomfort associated with shingles. Moreover, you get shingles only when you are stressed out, weakening your immune system.

Live Attenuated vaccine: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/vaccines/understanding/pages/typesvaccines.aspx#live

I have had shingles several times on my right ear and symptoms
( pain at slightest touch)on the right side of my head since treatment ended.

The good news is that now i can feel it coming on and reflect what is happening in my life that is causing stress and deal with it.

Also to manage episodes timely my physician has given me a standing prescription to acyclovir, which if given wwithin 24-48 hours of onset can limit its progression.