Friday, my arm was starting to feel sore and felt under the weather. I sort of felt like I was coming down with the flu so I stayed home from Knit Night. I went to be early and shivered under the covers for a few hours until I could finally fall asleep.
Saturday, I have a welt on my arm and it's even more sore and the discomfort has spread down to my chest. The whole area from my armpit to my breast is tender to the touch and I have to take Tylenol just to be able to wear my bra. I check the handout the nurse gave me about possible side effects and decide that I fall into the rare category of people who get flu-like symptoms, swelling, and tenderness. Continue to take Tylenol.
Sunday, hurts to move arm, welt is bigger. Decide to call doctor on Monday if I don't feel better by then. Decide to take Advil for it's anti-inflammatory properties.
Monday am: welt is size of my hand, hard and hot to the touch. Armpit/breast area even more tender and ponder actually not wearing a bra to work. Decide that "free movement" causes just as much discomfort as wearing a bra so suck down a few more Advil in order to get dressed in a socially acceptable way. Later, call doctor's office, explain that I got a vaccine a few days ago and am I just suffering side-effects? Doctor wants to see me that day to check it out.
Monday afternoon (early): really hurts to move arm. Shot was in left shoulder. I am left handed. Really, I am not very happy.
Monday afternoon (mid): doctor appointment. Doctor feels that my flu-like symptoms on Friday were most likely a side effect to the pertussis vaccine but that the welt on my arm and the pain in my chest are due to an infection caused by the injection itself. Prescribes antibiotics. I am wondering how the hell I could get an infection from an injection from a doctor's office. While all breaks in the skin can lead to an infection, you'd think I'd get an infection from my frequent hangnails and not from an injection using a sterile, disposable needle on skin that cleaned with an antiseptic solution at the injection site which was covered by a bandage for several hours afterward.
Monday evening. Home. Arm still hurts. Kitchen, trying to unload dish drainer. Sadly, there were casualties:
That's the remains of my orange teapot and my remaining Octopus pint glass.
Sigh.
3 comments:
damn, that sucks all around! I hope you start feeling better soon!
Thanks for coming Saturday :) She loves the book and dog.
Oh Sweetie! Hope that you start feeling better from with the antibiotics soon. That surely does suck.
Hope you're on the mend! The story is sadly familiar - it's how I knew I was allergic to tetanus. I had two out of three of the course of injections. I had to have my arm in a sling, developed symptoms of lock jaw. My hands were so swollen that I could only see day light between thme from the last joint! Then a few months later I mysteriously developed Low Grade Rheumatiod Arthritus. After the first injection, the GP said it was to do with the Nurses poor asceptic technique (the nurse did her nut when I told her what the GP said - I heard her shouting at the doctor....)
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