My Experience With Receiving The Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine

The covid-19 virus is vicious. I want to start this blog post with that to remind you guys what we as a worldwide nation are up against. The virus is not pretty. Writing this takes me back to my nursing school days in my microbiology class. My professor would always describe viral and bacterial infectious agents as being smart, or rude and ugly, as if he were talking about people lol. And now I get that even more with covid. It is just the worst!

So with all of that being said, I am very very happy about the fast production of these vaccines, one of which I have been fortunate enough to receive. If you follow me on instagram you will know that just like many of you, I was a bit apprehensive at first about receiving the Pfizer vaccine. But in the end I ended up getting my first dose on January 3, 2020, and my second dose on January 22, 2020.

After getting my first dose I was still able to work and finish up the end of my twelve hour shift. I had no immediate side effects, just a sore arm a couple of hours after which cleared by the next day. One day after getting the first dose I had quite a bad headache in the night time, which I took tylenol for and was able to sleep off. That was all of the side effects that I felt after getting the first dose.

My experience with getting the second dose was completely different from the first. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, side effects such as fever, chills, tiredness, and headache throughout the body were more common after the second dose of the vaccine (2021). With that being said I did expect for my experience after the second dose to be a bit worse than the first.

So let's get right in to my personal experience, which means that not everyone will experience the same side effects as I have. I am simply trying to share with you all how I felt so that you guys can have an idea of what to expect, and also how to properly prepare yourself for when you decide to receive the same vaccine. I kept a journal with me during the weekend of getting the vaccine so that I could give you guys the most accurate information on here!

All three photos have been sourced from the World Health Organization (2021) and are not my own

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Day 1 (The day that I received the second Pfizer dose)

@2:15PM: I received the second dose at this time. I then had to wait in the clinic for 15 minutes afterwards to ensure that I did not experience some immediate side effects, like an allergic reaction. I was completely fine and left to go home as I was not working on this day.

@5:00PM: My right (non-dominant) arm was sore. It felt just like it did after getting the flu shot.

By the end of this day I was still feeling good, the only side effect I experienced on day 1 was the sore arm. I went to bed feeling just like I would of felt on any normal night.

Day 2

@5:00AM: I woke up with a headache, abdominal cramps, chills, a sore lower back and full body muscle aches. My immune system was definitely up to something at this time. My husband woke up at this time as well, and so I had asked him to get me another blanket and a pair of socks as I was feeling very cold with the chills. I did not take my temperature at this time, because my main focus was on trying to get back to sleep so that I could hopefully sleep these side effects off!

@9:00AM: My headache was worse than it was before. I felt it all around my entire head. At this point the headache was unbearable so I took an extra strength tylenol at 9:40AM. I also still felt weak with muscle aches and so I decided to stay in bed to rest for longer.

@12:30PM: The headache persisted and so I continued to treat it with tylenol every 4-6 hours. I felt fatigued, weak and still had full body muscle aches at this time. I was in my bed for most of this day. I took my temperature at this time and it was 36.6 degrees celsius. So I didn't have a fever, but with that being said I was also taking tylenol which could have brought down my temperature as well.

So for all of day two I did have all of these symptoms mentioned. My headache did begin to subside by the end of the night which I was very happy about. I tried my best to stay hydrated as I was not able to eat much. I was in my bed for most of the day resting my body. It was not fun at all but I also felt good in knowing that my body was doing what it was suppose to and building up an immune response.

Day 3

@10:00AM: My headache was gone. My body still felt a bit weak and achy, but I was able to be up and out of bed.

By this afternoon I was feeling major improvements and was able to go about doing my daily tasks and chores. The biggest thing for me was the debilitating headache that I had experienced yesterday, which kept me bed bound. The muscle aches I could definitely bare with. I did not have to take any tylenol at all on day three. By the evening time all side effects were gone.

Day 4

@8:00AM: I was back at work and feeling great. I worked through my 12 hour shift with no complaints or side effects!

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So now with all of that being said, here is some of my advice for those of you who are preparing to get your second vaccine dose:

• Try to plan to have at least a day off after taking your second dose

• Be prepared with advil and/or tylenol for the day or two after taking the second dose (I was only using tylenol on day two because I did not have any advil on hand) if you know it is safe for you to do so, talk to your doctor first if you have any underlying health conditions or concerns

• Be prepared to keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water and have soup made or bought to ensure that you are at least eating something

• If you have a hot water bottle that you can use for your achy muscles then that would also be a good thing to have on hand, and of course a cloth that you can use to make cool or warm for a possible headache

• And lastly, an optimistic attitude would be great to have as well, remind yourself that these side effects are only temporary and should last for only a few days

I say this last point to remind you guys that experiencing these side effects does not mean that you are sick. In an article that I read where immunologist Beth Moore, Ph.D., the Interim Chair and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Michigan Medicine explains what happens after getting the covid-19 vaccine she states that;

"Your immune system is having a more robust immune response the second time around because you already have antibodies that were made from the first dose, and at the same time, you are boosting the immune response to be bigger, better and faster and really locking in the memory of it.”

This is incredible to know. Our bodies are amazing, we just have to trust in their power and ability! I remember sitting in my room on day two just thinking about all of the people who have experienced having covid-19 and all of the symptoms that come along with it -and then on top of that having to self-isolate for the 14 days, being restricted to one room. And not to mention some of the lasting effects and symptoms that people still could not shake even months after testing positive for covid. I thought of all of the ICU admissions due to covid, the lives lost because of covid, and just the condition of the world for all of last year and still this year as we continue to fight against this virus. I guess what I am trying to say is that I would do this over and over again, because one day of feeling crappy is much better than the major, and not to mention, unpredictable problems that covid can cause.

Working as a nurse in a hospital setting, every day I see and hear first-hand about the effects that covid-19 has had on people young to old. This virus does not discriminate. This work has allowed me to put things in to perspective and make the decision to get vaccinated, because every day I am being affected by it. And so with that being said I believe that this is our best shot at developing herd immunity and moving forward to a better normal, free of this virus.

Thank you for joining me on the blog today to gain some insight about my own personal experience and opinions in regards to receiving the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine. Feel free to ask me anything else you would like to know and/or share your thoughts about this topic respectfully.

See you guys,

S.S.