The Shingles Vaccine Absolutely Humbled Me

Being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis comes with a lot of emotions, lifestyle changes, appointments, and unfortunately… a pretty intense amount of medical prep work.

One of the biggest things? Vaccines.

Because many MS treatments work by suppressing or altering parts of the immune system, there are certain vaccines doctors often recommend getting before starting treatment. One of those for me was the shingles vaccine.

And wow. Everyone who warned me that the shingles vaccine was rough was absolutely telling the truth.

As many of you know, I was recently diagnosed with MS, and with that diagnosis comes treatment that affects my immune system’s ability to fight infections off normally.

Because of that, my care team wanted me protected before starting treatment.

If you’d like a separate blog post about preparing for MS treatment, vaccines before immunosuppressants, or navigating all of the “new diagnosis” chaos, let me know because I’d genuinely be happy to write more about it.

But for now, let’s talk about the shingles vaccine.

I got my first dose Monday evening, which honestly I’m really glad I did.

Getting it later in the day meant I could sleep through the first chunk of side effects instead of trying to function through them.

Day one was the worst.

Then somehow… day two was also the worst, but in a completely different way.

Now I’m on day three, and I finally feel like I’m slowly coming out of it, although my arm is still incredibly sore.

This was only my first dose too, and I’ve heard the second round can be even worse, so stay tuned for my future adventures in two months.

For me personally, the biggest symptoms were:

• fever

• body aches

• chills

• exhaustion

• headache

• muscle soreness

• increased weakness/shuffling while walking

The body aches honestly surprised me the most.

At one point, the tops of my thighs and hips hurt so badly that it felt like I somehow got the vaccine injected into my legs too, which logically makes no sense, but that’s genuinely what it felt like.

I already kind of shuffle around the house because of my health issues, but during this flare-up it got significantly worse.

Obviously, this is not medical advice, and you should always talk with your doctor about what’s safe for you personally.

But these are the things that genuinely helped me get through it.

If possible, I highly recommend planning for at least 48 hours of rest afterward.

Especially if you’re chronically ill and getting the shingles vaccine younger than most people do, chances are you already have enough going on physically.

Do not plan a productive week around this vaccine.

Your body may need recovery time.

This was HUGE.

My wonderful husband made sure my meals were portioned into containers ahead of time so I could just microwave food and immediately crawl back into bed.

That helped more than I can explain.

Try to prepare:

• easy meals

• snacks

• drinks

• medications

• chargers

• blankets

• comfort items

• entertainment

Basically: create a little recovery nest before you get the shot.

Fevers can dehydrate you really quickly, and dehydration can make body aches and fatigue even worse.

Drink more water than you think you need.

I ended up running a fever, so having a reliable thermometer nearby helped me monitor how I was doing without spiraling into “am I dying or just dramatic?” territory.

I genuinely loved my TheraICE Headache Relief Cap during this.

It helped with:

• headaches

• fever discomfort

• overall misery

Small tip though: I personally think the fridge works better than the freezer.

Straight out of the freezer was honestly too intense for me. If you do freeze it, let it warm up for a few minutes first before putting it on your head.

The fever/chills cycle is chaotic.

One minute you’re overheating, the next you’re freezing.

A heated blanket, heating pad, or microwaveable rice bag can really help when the body aches kick in.

This sounds silly until you’re two days deep into feeling like roadkill and realize you don’t want to move.

I highly recommend before getting vaccinated:

• showering

• washing your hair

• changing your sheets

• putting on comfy clothes

As someone with psoriasis on my scalp, I know things can get painful quickly if I go too long without washing my hair, and after the vaccine I absolutely did not want to shower.

Future me was very grateful past me prepared.

This is the time for:

• comfort shows

• comfort books

• cozy YouTube videos

• movies you’ve seen 47 times already

Your body is busy doing immune system things. Let your brain rest too.

Honestly?

Yes.

Even though it sucked.

Shingles itself can be incredibly painful and dangerous, especially for immunocompromised people.

There’s also growing research looking into possible links between shingles vaccination and reduced dementia risk, which is honestly fascinating and pretty incredible.

So while this vaccine absolutely humbled me for a few days, I’m still very glad I got it.

I just wish I had been more prepared for how intense it could be.

Hopefully this helps somebody else prepare a little better than I did.

And if you’re currently reading this wrapped in blankets after your shingles vaccine feeling personally victimized by your immune system… I see you. 💜