Vaccinations

Kevcoy

Me and my LO got our flu and Covid vaccinations about a month ago then two weeks later got our RSV shot. All of them went well just a little sore at the vaccination point. Yesterday we got our shingles shot and things seem to be going to hell in a hand basket. DH got up at 2am and kept turning the light on and off and going in and out of the room until I finally decided to get up too. All day long he has been super impatient and can barely walk taking steps of about 2 inches at a time and catching his shoes and almost falling which is unlike him. We are sitting in a spare bedroom with my computer and dog while having our carpets cleaned which is throwing my LO for a huge loop. He keeps getting up and trying to leave the room to talk to the man cleaning the carpet. I've been looking at the internet to see if the shingles vaccine has different side effects for people with dementia / Alzheimers and haven't found anything. I was wondering if anyone's LO has had any side effects from vaccinations and how long they lasted.

LU2Pieces

Hi. My husband with Alzheimer's was practically comatose a day after his last Covid booster. This lasted about 24 hours. Hope your husband is back to baseline soon.

ImMaggieMae

Kevcoy, I don’t know from personal experience, but I’ve read that 20 to 30 percent of people who get the shingles vaccine may get a fever, along with pain and swelling at the injection site. Is it possible your DH got a slight fever and just didn’t notice it? I’ve heard from people here on the forum that a fever can cause problems for people with dementia.

Those walking symptoms sound like ones my DH had with a UTI. Do you have some test strips that you could test for that?

MN Chickadee

I've heard the shingles vaccine is rough afterwards; even healthy people need to take the next day off work and are down for the count. It seems perfectly plausible the side effects could temporarily worsen his cognition. Hope he comes back to normal soon.

Whyzit

Have you considered checking for a UTI? It is possible something else is going on. Best wishes.

harshedbuzz

@Kevcoy

I had a very strong reaction to my second Shingrix injection that included the host of flu-like symptoms for about 24 hours. Fever can trigger unusual behaviors in PWD. If he doesn't settle to his baseline by tomorrow, I would see about screening for a UTI.

HB

Chammer

My 2nd Shingrix shot made me feel pretty garbage-y and my arm was quite red and sore at the injection site. Hoping for your sake that this is only a reaction to feeling crummy after the vaccine.

Kevcoy

I'm thinking the shingles shot threw him for a huge loop. Things are back to normal with no accidents since that first one. Even 5 days after receiving my shingles shot the injection site is still tender. Thank you everyone.