WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

Hi folks, welcome to this week's Wellness Wednesday. Sally Riggs here, fellow long hauler, psychologist and your long COVID coach. And I wanted to talk to you today a little bit about the Omicron specific booster vaccine. Just to preface and I know that you've heard me say this before, this is not me giving you treatment recommendations. But I know that many, many people are thinking about whether to get the Omicron booster at the moment. Many people are also thinking about whether to get the flu shot at the moment: lots of people have asked me; I've seen a few postings in various Facebook groups, and I just wanted to share my experience having gotten it this Friday. And again, a little bit about how I make treatment decisions, thinking about paying attention to my body and seeing what shows up.

So I got the Omicron booster on Friday morning. And I also got this year's flu shot at the same time. And in terms of COVID vaccines, this will have been my fifth shot. I, being in the US and I know many of you are in the US. Some are also in the UK, other parts of Europe that have different systems in terms of being called or booking or etc. So I can only share what I have available to me here. I was able to get the original vaccine, and I had Moderna two doses back in February 2021. In the US, they were doing healthcare workers first. As a psychologist, I qualified for that. And so got it few weeks after most of my other colleagues because I had been in the UK a little bit longer into January. And at that time, we had to book our own appointments and it was really hard to get an appointment. So I got those first two February and March 2021. The first Moderna shot I was quite poorly for about 72 hours, fever, chills, body aches, kind of similar to acute COVID infection. And then when it came to the second shot I was expecting similar but it wasn't quite so bad. But still a little bit yucky.

Then in the US, those of us who count as immune compromised, were allowed to get a third shot six months after our original and so I scheduled mine for September. And that was before they decided that the booster was going to be a half dose. So I got a full dose again of Moderna in September end of September 2021. And that made me the most poorly that I've been with a vaccine. I was in bed for 72 hours. The nausea was absolutely horrific to the point where I was starting to get suicidal ideation because I didn't know how much longer it would go on. And I wasn't sure I could keep going. The nausea was so bad. Thankfully, a very good friend talked me through it and peppermint tea, which I had forgotten, of course, it's great for nausea.

Then when it came to being eligible for a fourth dose again, the US was offering for immune compromised people to have a fourth dose. I did that in March, and that was a half dose again, I got Moderna and I didn't have quite such bad symptoms. But what I have learned because of being a little bit symptomatic for about 72 hours, I always scheduled them on a Thursday night or a Friday morning. So that I've got the whole weekend to recover. And so again, I went ahead and did this Friday morning. And of course now we don't have to trek all over town to a special center and stand on line for hours. I can just get mine at the pharmacy across the street. And it's super easy to book and to do that. This time I also booked to get the flu shot at the same time. Now, historically pre-COVID, I've always gotten the flu shot again as a healthcare worker. And I am a little bit reactive to the flu shot. So usually I get a little bit congested, a little bit feverish for about 24 or 48 hours. So I was taking a bit of a gamble, taking both of them at the same time. But in all honesty, I have to travel next week for a couple of conferences, and I wanted to have that protection, people are catching the flu already. And having wasted the whole of last weekend with a relapse, I am fed up of wasting all of my weekends on these silly vaccines. So I decided to go ahead and get them both together. And I can tell you a little bit about how I felt.

Typically what happens for me and this was the same again, that for about 12 hours after the shot, I am okay. And then if any symptoms are gonna kick in, it's about 12 hours later. So I deliberately had a bunch of doctor's appointments on Friday that I needed to get out of the way. And then we went ahead, had a nice, relaxing restful weekend. I did notice some congestion Friday night. A headache, a little bit of kind of stiff neck kind of going into that headache, little bit of body chills and body aches. So I took some paracetamol or Tylenol for those in the US. I did sleep Friday night. Saturday, I felt pretty yucky. And I spent the whole day just relaxing on the couch. I didn't make it to the couch. I wasn't in bed all day as I have been in the past. I then went to bed again early on Saturday night, and Sunday I woke up body battery of 100 and feeling absolutely fine. So I got up and went about my day doing the things that I had needed to do anyways. And Sunday night, I was a little bit fatigued, a little bit yucky, but again Monday morning I felt absolutely fine.

And if you're hearing me and thinking, "Gosh, she sounds like she has congestion", the temperature just dramatically dropped here in New York. And that always kicks off allergies for me. So I've had a runny nose for the last couple of weeks because of allergies. And no, it's not COVID I'm testing and lateral flow negative. So all in all, I feel like that was pretty much maybe the easiest one I've had out of all of these.

Now I am aware that many people have a lot of anxiety about the vaccine. And I do have a little bit of anxiety before I get it about how are the symptoms going to be. And then also a little bit because I know some people have long COVID from the vaccine, some people's long COVID has gotten so much worse from the vaccine, that it is a little bit of Russian roulette. And so I just have a teeny bit of anxiety before I go ahead. And yet for me, it always feels like the right choice. My body is always calm generally, thinking about getting it, it's those kinds of moments of uncertainty perhaps is a better word than anxiety. Because generally, my body feels calm, it feels good about the choice. And I've always made that choice and feel comfortable with it. So I've never been like, "Oh my goodness, should I get it? Should I not get it?" I don't know, I've always felt comfortable with the choice. And I always booked it as soon as it was available to me. And I know that isn't the same for everybody. And so I just wanted to share a little bit of my experience.

But I also just wanted to remind you that checking in with your body, taking that time, close your eyes, get still, get quiet. Listen to what your body is telling you. I know that in the UK, a lot of people are being called for boosters right now or being called for flu shots. And just using that process of getting quiet, paying attention to your body, seeing what it's saying and then choosing accordingly what is the right choice for you and for your body.

I hope that helps and I hope you have a tolerable week. I will see you soon on Wellness Wednesday.