The Lemon Fool

Assuming I'll be getting vaccinated in the next few weeks, is there any official / unofficial advice on taking painkiller or anti-inflammatory type meds before or after the jab?

SteadyAim wrote:Assuming I'll be getting vaccinated in the next few weeks, is there any official / unofficial advice on taking painkiller or anti-inflammatory type meds before or after the jab?

Yes.

Official advice: Fine, go ahead.

Unofficial advice: No don't do it. A fever is your body's immune system working. Don't interfere with it.

Hope that helps....

I am NOT a doctor , but..

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavir ... s-vaccine/

Most side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are mild and should not last longer than a week, such as:

a sore arm where the needle went in
feeling tired
a headache
feeling achy
feeling or being sick
You can take painkillers, such as paracetamol, if you need to.

Booked my appointments (online) a week or so ago and had the first this morning. Yesterday I phoned the chemist as whilst relatively close its 'outside my patch' to ask about local parking. He said that the vaccines were being administered at a local church and reeled off a load of parking options. He also said that it was the astro-oxford that was going to be injected. I mentioned that I'd heard that had more side effects than the Pfizer but he disagreed and opined them to be equal and that the best thing was to drink plenty of fluids both before and after. Having followed that advice and having had the jab over 8 hours ago I've had zero side effects, other than a physiological soreness around the top arm area where injected. When injected I bled so a small cotton/plaster was applied which is higher up than the BCG scar type upper middle arm location from where some 'warmth' type mild sensation seems to arise - so I suspects its all just in the mind.

I would be the wrong person to ask as I have never taken painkillers, ever. So would not for a jab.

Except the one time after I had 5 wisdom teeth removed. That hurt. Yes, I am a mutant as most people only have 4. For my sins I was born with 34 teeth and 11 fingers.

1nvest wrote:Booked my appointments (online) a week or so ago and had the first this morning. Yesterday I phoned the chemist as whilst relatively close its 'outside my patch' to ask about local parking. He said that the vaccines were being administered at a local church and reeled off a load of parking options. He also said that it was the astro-oxford that was going to be injected. I mentioned that I'd heard that had more side effects than the Pfizer but he disagreed and opined them to be equal and that the best thing was to drink plenty of fluids both before and after. Having followed that advice and having had the jab over 8 hours ago I've had zero side effects, other than a physiological soreness around the top arm area where injected. When injected I bled so a small cotton/plaster was applied which is higher up than the BCG scar type upper middle arm location from where some 'warmth' type mild sensation seems to arise - so I suspects its all just in the mind.

I've been invited to book online (today, by text) but the nearest option is a grotty-looking pharmacy in Tilehurst (not sure about their infection control given the size of the place), and the next in terms of distance is the Madejski stadium , which is a pain to get to if you don't drive
I'll probably book at the Mad Stad when I can be [expletive deleted] , but not looking forward to a week or two off the beer (as recommended , but not prescribed)
I'll have to decide which arm - the smallpox side, or the BCG side ....

AleisterCrowley wrote:

1nvest wrote:Booked my appointments (online) a week or so ago and had the first this morning. Yesterday I phoned the chemist as whilst relatively close its 'outside my patch' to ask about local parking. He said that the vaccines were being administered at a local church and reeled off a load of parking options. He also said that it was the astro-oxford that was going to be injected. I mentioned that I'd heard that had more side effects than the Pfizer but he disagreed and opined them to be equal and that the best thing was to drink plenty of fluids both before and after. Having followed that advice and having had the jab over 8 hours ago I've had zero side effects, other than a physiological soreness around the top arm area where injected. When injected I bled so a small cotton/plaster was applied which is higher up than the BCG scar type upper middle arm location from where some 'warmth' type mild sensation seems to arise - so I suspects its all just in the mind.

I've been invited to book online (today, by text) but the nearest option is a grotty-looking pharmacy in Tilehurst (not sure about their infection control given the size of the place), and the next in terms of distance is the Madejski stadium , which is a pain to get to if you don't drive
I'll probably book at the Mad Stad when I can be [expletive deleted] , but not looking forward to a week or two off the beer (as recommended , but not prescribed)
I'll have to decide which arm - the smallpox side, or the BCG side ....

Where is the “week or two off the beer” recommended? First I’ve heard of that. A bit academic for me now, I’ve already failed to follow that advice. I was certainly never told that when I had my first (and currently only) jab.

When I booked all of the locations offered were in quite poor areas mostly on the edge of council estates. It was curious, I live in one of the most affluent areas in the country and there wasn’t a single vaccination centre listed in my local area so I had to travel quite a few miles to get my jab.

= Julian

Julian wrote:

AleisterCrowley wrote:I'll probably book at the Mad Stad when I can be [expletive deleted] , but not looking forward to a week or two off the beer (as recommended , but not prescribed).

I'll have to decide which arm - the smallpox side, or the BCG side ....

Where is the “week or two off the beer” recommended? First I’ve heard of that. A bit academic for me now, I’ve already failed to follow that advice. I was certainly never told that when I had my first (and currently only) jab.

Yep, me too, I cut back a bit for a couple of days after the jab but that is it. Nothing in the documentation I received said anything about staying off the sauce.

Always the left arm for me, as a rightie.

It’s been shown (studies passim) that paracetamol interferes with (diminishes) the immune response to the regular childhood vaccinations, and it’s use is deprecated nowadays. HOWEVER, the “Green Book” (the bible on immunisations and vaccinations on which the NHS relies) actually states that paracetamol does not interfere with the covid vaccine immune response, and that it’s OK to use it... I do not know on what they are basing that statement, as I don’t believe it can have been studied. So, I’d suggest that people try to avoid the use of anti-inflammatoires, but if you really are in need, take some.

Was that "off the beer" perhaps advice given to a heavy drinker?

As a drinker of entirely modest amounts of beer (and other beverages, some of them alcoholic), I never heard it. Can't remember whether I indulged in a tipple the day of my (first/only) jab, but I certainly wasn't "a week" off it.

Now that you mention it, they gave me an information pack after giving me my jab. The info pack says I must read it before having my jab. Ho, hum. Well, it passed some of the time I had to sit around while they watched me after the jab.

Some booze-related advice here

while there is no published data about the specific effects of alcohol on the body’s response to the Covid-19 vaccination, there is evidence that drinking alcohol, especially heavy regular drinking, can interfere with your body’s ability to build immunity in response to vaccines.

Disclosure:- I failed dismally to avoid alcohol following my AZ jab.