First Dose of Pfizer on 12/15/21 Lot #FD7218
St. Augustine, Florida
32 yrs old
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
My fiancé and I had spent the past two years saving for a Sprinter van to convert into a home so we could travel the country together. We are avid adventurers who enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time in nature. We pooled all of our savings and finally got to drive our new van in November of 2021. Less than a month later, I was incapacitated by the vaccine.
I was vaccinated on December 15, 2021. I made three separate types of a Christmas cookies that day.
Q: Would you like to share your reasons for getting vaccinated?
I got vaccinated because I wanted to go see my fiancé's family for Christmas without putting my family at risk. I believed that all of us being vaccinated would protect us from the virus.
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
This was my booster shot, so initially I expected my timeline to be exactly as it was the last two times: a little arm pain, a mild fever, and some fatigue.
Within 12 hours, I had severe (to the point where it felt like I had a bullet in my arm) arm pain that eventually traveled down to my armpit, my ribs, my breast, and my chest. 24 hours after the injection, I developed a fever of 101.9- but that passed quickly. My first of nine emergency room visits (to date) was on 12/17/21, when the chest pain started getting more pronounced. The ER doctor at the time wrote it off as muscular pain and I agreed with him.
On 12/19, I was back at the ER with severe chest pain. I felt like I was having a heart attack. I was admitted and spent the night on the cardiology floor while the monitored my condition. My troponin levels never elevated, so I was sent home the next afternoon.
A few days later I was rushed back to the ER by ambulance, because the chest pain was now accompanied by a racing heart. Doctors told me there was nothing further they could do for me- my test results were normal and I would need to wait until I could follow up with my cardiologist.
I went home, took a moderately high dose of NSAIDs every eight hours and waited to see my cardiologist a few days after Christmas.
The cardiologist diagnosed me with pericarditis, stating that he had seen cases like mine and "this was the reason he didn't recommend the booster for people my age". I began taking Colchicine .6mg every 12 hours.
Just before New Years, I developed a new symptom: a burning pain in my legs and cramping feeling in my calf. I was again bought to the ER to rule out DVT. CT scan and ultrasound of my left showed that there was no DVT in my leg or PE in my lungs. I was discharged with no further instructions.
A few days into 2022, I began experiencing severe stomach pain. Back to the ER, another CT scan, all tests were normal. They did find two ovarian cysts on my left ovary, but the pain was in the wrong location to be attributed to that. I followed up with GI due to suspicion of a stomach ulcer from NSAID use.
During all of this time, I noticed that my heart had begun to race to 120-130bpm while I stood, but would remain at a normal 60-70bpm while lying down. My heart rate does not go down if I remain standing. Instead, I become lightheaded and begin to feel faint.
My most recent ER visit was a week ago. The chest pain had gone away for a few days and returned with a vengeance. I was extremely uncomfortable, and my heart began to race. Again an ambulance was called, but I opted to ride to the hospital with my family, as my medical bills are piling up.
While on the monitor at the hospital, I and a nurse were able to witness what happens to my vitals during episodes of inappropriate tachycardia. My O2 inexplicably dropped to 70 and my heart started racing to 160bpm. The nurse double-checked my oxygen levels with a second pulse oximeter and confirmed that my O2 levels were very low. This episode lasted only about thirty seconds, but it was enough for them to rush me in for a third CT to confirm that I did not have a pulmonary embolism, and to recommend a beta blockers and a Holter monitor from my cardiologist.
The Holter monitor arrives next week. I can't start the beta blockers until I've been wearing it for a week.
Q: What is your life like now, after getting the vaccine?
I am completely disabled now. I can't stand up for a more that a minute or two at a time without chest pain and feeling very faint. My heart races and I get chest pains if I "exert" myself- which could be anything from walking the 80 feet to my parent's house, to getting out of bed to use the bathroom.
I have lost all independence. I cannot cook for myself. I can't stand long enough to take a shower, so my family purchased a shower stool for me to sit on. I haven't been able to work since I was vaccinated. I have seen small improvements that I am grateful for- I can now wear a seatbelt without significant pain, and blankets no longer feel like they are crushing my chest. But I also know I have a very long way to go before I can consider myself recovered.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
I have had multiple CT scans, chest x-rays, bloodwork, and ultrasounds. I received a diagnosis of Pericarditis from my cardiologist. I am waiting on further information about my bloodwork from my Rheumatologist. I may also have a stomach ulcer, caused by frequent NSAID use.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
I self-reported to vSafe and VAERS. I get weekly check-ins from vSafe, but when they call to confirm my report, they don't ask more than if I've made the same report to VAERS.
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
Before this I wouldn't even take a Tylenol unless I had a horrible headache.
Now I take:
Famotidine 20mg AM
Colchicine .6mg AM & PM
Loratadine daily
Magnesium 100mg as needed.
B-12 daily CoQ10 daily
I do feel like each of these things may be helping with symptoms, but none of them are enough to individually treat this condition.
I also have been taking epsom salt baths and rubbing epsom salt on my skin during showers, as this helps with the ache in my chest.
I have been eating a low histamine/nutrient dense diet to help my body heal and have found it to be beneficial, though again, not a cure.
Q: Have you had Covid before? What was your experience if so?
I do not believe I ever had COVID. I had a COVID test one week before my vaccine and it was negative.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
We are not anti-vaccines. We believe in science. But we also feel like collateral damage. I am collateral damage. My life matters. There were so many things that I wanted to do with my life and places I wanted to see and now I spend every night wondering if I'm going to wake up the next morning.
I also want to highlight how many of the responders here are female. The only reports of serious adverse reactions, specifically myocarditis, to the mRNA vaccines that the media portrays are those of young males, but the groups of vaccine injured are full of women. Is it that we are less likely to have a reaction? Or that doctors are less likely to believe us when we do?
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