Dystonia after seasonal flu shot: Craziest thing I've ever seen

Tragic story.  Link 

Just...wow.  It's hard to believe because it's just so odd.

Wow!!  I feel bad for this girl, that is awful!!

just, wow. :(

So sad.

I feel so bad for her!

I watched that video last night, and watched another one where some kind of health expert was saying how there is no link to her condition from the flu vaccine.  She said it was most likely caused by something else.

I think it's a little too coincidental to say it was triggered by something other than her reacting to the vaccine.

Aww.  I feel bad for her.

Original Post by samantha81:

I feel so bad for her!

I watched that video last night, and watched another one where some kind of health expert was saying how there is no link to her condition from the flu vaccine.  She said it was most likely caused by something else.

I think it's a little too coincidental to say it was triggered by something other than her reacting to the vaccine.

Correlation doesn't imply causation - while it is possible that the dystonia could be related to the shot, the proximity of the disorder doesn't mean the shot triggered it.

As horrible as this woman's plight is, I hope it doesn't discourage too many people from getting the flu shot, which is important in preventing the flu from becoming a pandemic.

I'm not saying that because of her condition that 'just happened' to manifest itself after her flu shots, people should be discouraged from getting their seasonal vaccines.  However, I do believe people should research it and know what they're putting into their bodies before jumping in out of fear!

Personally, I'm more concerned with the vaccine than actually getting the flu.  But that's my own choice.  Everyone needs to make that decision for themselves.

Everyone needs to make that decision for themselves

I agree, Samantha.  To me, the pros of the shot outweigh the cons (I feel that the benefits outweigh the risks), but that my decision is influenced by the fact that I've gotten the shot for years and never had any [detectable] averse reaction.  Others of course will not have had the same experience as me.  :)

how terribly sad.  makes you think twice about taking these flu shots. I did take the seasonal flu shot, as I have had them for about 5 years or so with no problems. but I will not take the " H1N1 vaccine. my dr. even told me that she was not recommending it to her patients, something to do with mercury being in it. also look at the 70's and what happened around that shot also for the swine flu. I agree there are pro's and cons but it either way it is a gamble with the newest flu shot. I also worry that in their haste to get these shots out ( the H1N1) that they may not have taken all the precautions that they should.  Most people do not realize that so far H1N1   swine flu has not been as deadly as the reg. seasonal flu,( we have been lucky in that account as the virus has not mutated into a deadlier form).  Regular seasonal flu kills thousands every year, and so far I have not heard the numbers from H1N1 reaching anywhere near that number.  I will take my chances on not taking the shot for H1N1, eventhough I have health conditions that qualify me for it first round.( no shots have reached my area anyway yet.)  I did take the seasonal flu shot...

Original Post by lonestarpenny:

Most people do not realize that so far H1N1   swine flu has not been as deadly as the reg. seasonal flu,( we have been lucky in that account as the virus has not mutated into a deadlier form).  Regular seasonal flu kills thousands every year, and so far I have not heard the numbers from H1N1 reaching anywhere near that number. 

In young people (anyone under 25, I believe) and pregnant women, 1 out of every 100 people who contract H1N1 are sick enough that they have to be hospitalized.  A quarter of the kids at one of the local high schools are currently off school due to the swine flu.  The university has been lucky that it hasn't broken here yet.  (We only have 1% off with it at any given time; that's still 100 students though.)  Anyone who is young or has regular interaction with the young (e.g. teachers) should be getting a flu shot for H1N1 as it has not yet peaked and, unless the flu shot campaign is a lot more effective than predicted, the worst months are yet to come.

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by lonestarpenny:

Most people do not realize that so far H1N1   swine flu has not been as deadly as the reg. seasonal flu,( we have been lucky in that account as the virus has not mutated into a deadlier form).  Regular seasonal flu kills thousands every year, and so far I have not heard the numbers from H1N1 reaching anywhere near that number. 

In young people (anyone under 25, I believe) and pregnant women, 1 out of every 100 people who contract H1N1 are sick enough that they have to be hospitalized.  A quarter of the kids at one of the local high schools are currently off school due to the swine flu.  The university has been lucky that it hasn't broken here yet.  (We only have 1% off with it at any given time; that's still 100 students though.)  Anyone who is young or has regular interaction with the young (e.g. teachers) should be getting a flu shot for H1N1 as it has not yet peaked and, unless the flu shot campaign is a lot more effective than predicted, the worst months are yet to come.

As I recall the media told us a few years ago we were all gonna die of the bird flu...

Original Post by michachu:

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by lonestarpenny:

Most people do not realize that so far H1N1   swine flu has not been as deadly as the reg. seasonal flu,( we have been lucky in that account as the virus has not mutated into a deadlier form).  Regular seasonal flu kills thousands every year, and so far I have not heard the numbers from H1N1 reaching anywhere near that number. 

In young people (anyone under 25, I believe) and pregnant women, 1 out of every 100 people who contract H1N1 are sick enough that they have to be hospitalized.  A quarter of the kids at one of the local high schools are currently off school due to the swine flu.  The university has been lucky that it hasn't broken here yet.  (We only have 1% off with it at any given time; that's still 100 students though.)  Anyone who is young or has regular interaction with the young (e.g. teachers) should be getting a flu shot for H1N1 as it has not yet peaked and, unless the flu shot campaign is a lot more effective than predicted, the worst months are yet to come.

As I recall the media told us a few years ago we were all gonna die of the bird flu...

no no it was SARS...

and that swarm of killer bees is taking its sweet time making its way across the country...

I didn't say we were all going to die from it.  I just wanted to point out that there *are* people dying from it.  As someone directly involved in health/safety issues at a university, I may have access to a little more info. than what's on the news.

Original Post by lonestarpenny:

but I will not take the " H1N1 vaccine. my dr. even told me that she was not recommending it to her patients, something to do with mercury being in it. also look at the 70's and what happened around that shot also for the swine flu. I agree there are pro's and cons but it either way it is a gamble with the newest flu shot. I also worry that in their haste to get these shots out ( the H1N1) that they may not have taken all the precautions that they should. 

The H1N1 vaccine isn't either "new" or "being rushed out." It's made exactly the same way as the seasonal vaccine, the only difference being the deactivated virus added. Had it appeared earlier, the H1N1 strain would have been included in this year's seasonal flu shot. No vaccine is risk-free, but vaccine making has come a long way since the 1970s. H1N1 is just a new strain of the same old flu, and flu vaccines have a very good safety track record.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public /vaccination_qa_pub.htm

My boss has been at work, feeling sick, for days. He finally went to the doctor yesterday, and was hospitalized for a few hours, then sent home to take Tamiflu. He won't be back at work untill Tuesday at the earliest. The doctors say he has Swine Flu.

I've been working around him, and I'm not sick yet, so maybe I'm not going to catch the swine flu. The vaccinations are not available for regular people like me yet, anyway. Only for pregnant women and health care workers, I think. By the time the vaccination becomes available for me, I expect I'll already have active antibodies from being exposed to the flu and not catching it. The vaccination comes too late to do any good.

I haven't taken any vaccinations for years, but I would have considered taking the swine flu vaccination if it had been available soon enough to do me any good. I don't think the vaccination will be of any use to me after I've been exposed to Swine Flu.

Like I said in the daily chat: Taking the H1N1 lightly? Think again.

I feel so bad for her. :( She's very pretty, I truly hope that there is a way to help correct her so she can at least live more comfortably. Maybe help re-train her brain or something. Hopefully a "cure" will come in her time. I don't think the flu shot actually caused it. Has she had flu shots before? She may have had this condition already and that shot may have been what triggered it, but I don't think the shot GAVE it to her. It wouldn't surprise me though, I'm not a fan of vaccines.

I've not had the flu shot since I was 17 and don't plan on ever getting one for any flu. I've also never had the flu. I used to get sick after every flu shot though, I used to dread it, but my mother forced us (brothers got sick too) to have one.

H1N1 doesn't even frighten me (which is saying a lot because I'm insanely paranoid). I wash my hands, I cough into my elbow, I carry Purel which I use regularly (aloe vera, it smells so good). Only time I've gotten sick is when I went to my parent's house (brothers and grandmother was sick), and I didn't practice my usual because I was somewhere I'm comfortable, at home, I managed to not get my husband sick.

Don't touch your face (becomes a real habit when you've suffered with loads of acne), wash your hands regularly (like before eating or after blowing your nose etc), and don't cough into your hands.

I'm kinda split on this issue so far. I have seen quite a few people who were healthy end up intubated in the ICU from H1N1. Obviously "quite a few" isn't really a great sample size to be making decisions from, but it makes quite an impact when you see it first hand.

At the same time, there are a LOT of doctors that don't want to take the swine flu vaccine. None of the neurologists that I've been working with are going to get it because they don't want to risk getting Guillain-Barre. IDK 

Original Post by susiecue:

I didn't say we were all going to die from it.  I just wanted to point out that there *are* people dying from it.  As someone directly involved in health/safety issues at a university, I may have access to a little more info. than what's on the news.

 And people died of the flu last year, and the year before that and the year before that and so on and so forth.  Yes, it's targeting a different group.  That doesn't mean we should all panic and beat down doors trying to get a vaccine that may or may not be safe.

Original Post by melkor:

Like I said in the daily chat: Taking the H1N1 lightly? Think again.

 Hi Melkor.  I promise not to argue with you again.  =P