First Dose of Moderna on 05/04/21 Lot #016C21A
Prospect Park, Pennsylvania
UPDATE ON 01/02/2023:
The Moderna vaccine, one dose (5/4/21), activated Shingles, Epstein Barr Virus, and Lyme Disease (previously undiagnosed) for me. I lost count after 13 modern medical doctors in the Philadelphia area (where Pfizer is headquartered) refused to help me, and finding a holistic doctor (who is also an RN) has been life-saving. I suffered through Shingles without treatment (with the exception of an urgent care doc giving me prescription steroid cream for the painful nerve rash, at 3 weeks out, which did help immediately). But the holistic doctor looked at my labs previously ignored and discounted by doctors, Marker 39 for Lyme activated, and EBV IGG of 189.00, along with my symptoms, along with other measures of pinpointing inflammation in my body (ancient Chinese medical practice of Iridology), to conclude the reactivation of EBV and activation of Lyme Disease (which I had previously been asymptomatic of). I’ve undergone the 7 month protocol to put EBV in remission, with the brand Deseret Biologicals protocol, and I have my energy back, thankfully. I’m just starting my Lyme treatment, similar protocol structure, also 7 months in duration. The holistic approach is gentler but much lengthier, and there is honestly no shortcut, it is very brutal at times, but totally worth it. I can attest to it working, for anyone wondering. Also of note, I have the genetic mutation MTHFR C677T, impacting 40% of the population, which explains my reactions and allergies to so many medications (and supplements as well). I wish the best to all on this healing journey. Love and Light, Nikki
ORIGINAL POST ON 11/11/2021:
My name is Nicole Boltz. On May 4, 2021, I was a heathy and active individual eager to get my first Moderna vaccine, and return my life to the “new normal”. It is of utmost importance for me to be able to visit my father who has Alzheimer’s and lives in a memory care facility. I can’t wait to attend (the many times rescheduled) concerts. I want to volunteer at our local children’s hospital, and although I chose to leave working the front lines of retail in December (to take some time off to regroup and rework my career path), I look forward to returning to the workforce as a fully vaccinated individual. Doing my part.
Well, all of that, life as I knew it, has been sidelined since May 4th. I was too sick with neuroinflammation from the first dose of Moderna, so reluctantly, the night before, I cancelled my 2nd dose, which was scheduled for June 1st.
To describe my life and the LIMBO that I have been stuck in ever since, as a half-vaccinated individual in modern American society, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I feel like an outcast, a modern-day leper. Public policy and popular opinion is being shaped around hateful stances and rigid mandates. I am terrified to complete my vaccination until I know and understand what caused my adverse events from the first dose.
After 9 doctor visits (3 visits to my Internist, Dermatologist, Immunologist, Urologist, and 3 trips to urgent care) with symptoms, post vaccine, ranging from severe neuroinflammation (48 hours in, I had an “event” where I lost the ability to walk for 3 hours, followed by short term memory loss and cognitive dysfunction) to a very painful nerve rash (Shingles?) to terrible paresthesias (burning concentrated in my face that spreads to my muscles and extremities) to unexplained blood in my urine to severe insomnia due to internal tremors…somehow I have ZERO answers. The medical community has turned their respective backs on me. I haven’t received any diagnosis (except “migraines” from my Internist of 6 years, which I respectfully disagree with) or treatment. I am stuck in complete and utter LIMBO. My life is now on hold for how much longer??
Nicole Boltz Real, Not Rare Story:
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
I was a previously healthy and energetic 46 year old who started her days by dancing in the kitchen, and I was turning my life around post-hysterectomy (after years of infertility and pain from endometriosis), I had lost 70 pounds (through changes to my diet and exercise) and ironically my yearly labs the week before the vaccine were my best values in 5 or 6 years, improvements in every category. My only pre-existing conditions were anxiety and insomnia, and I was finding natural/homeopathic ways of managing these inherited traits (yoga, deep breathing, meditation, etc.)
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
I was celebrating my amazing labs 48 hours after the first dose of Moderna. I had seen my Internist of 6 years earlier in the day to review the great results of my hard work. So I was celebrating by making my favorite dinner, just me and my cat as my husband was working 3rd shift. I was supposed to call my mom after dinner so I could share the good news with her. After eating, I suddenly started to feel very ill (dizzy, nauseous, terrible headache coming on) so I texted my mom that I needed to lay down, but I will call her in the morning. What followed the next 3 hours was terrifying at the very least, I call it a “neurological event” that I still don’t have an explanation for. My blood pressure bottomed out and I was freezing cold, my hands and legs were tremoring so badly that I could not walk, my cat was on our deck 20 feet away and I was unable, for 3 hours, to walk to the screen door to let him in. I decided if it was imperative I would crawl with my arms to let him in. I believe I lost consciousness on the couch. I could hear birds chirping outside but the sound was so amplified that it felt like the birds were literally in my ears, the sound was so loud and unbearable. I “woke” and 3 hours had passed. That night I was agitated and couldn’t sleep at all, and for the following 2 days I experienced short term memory loss and cognitive dysfunction (I was misspelling simple words, I could not follow simple conversation, I could not find words to speak and communicate accurately, and familiar things and names seemed completely unfamiliar to me). I also experienced muscle weakness in my hands and couldn’t grip objects such as pens and eating utensils correctly. I was doing dishes and holding a bowl with both hands, and suddenly was unable to hold it and had to quickly set it down before I dropped and broke it. From there, my symptoms evolved into painful paresthesias (burning that is concentrated in my face and then spreads to the rest of my body, my muscles feel like they’ve been injected with hot sauce) and at 2 weeks out I developed a painful nerve rash on my back that I believe was Shingles. That rash took over 3 weeks to resolve. My eyes, nose, and throat are so dry and irritated, especially my left eye. It is hard to wear my glasses, especially at night when the inflammation is the worst. My fatigue and insomnia are the worst I’ve ever experienced in my life. At 2 months out I developed allergies to high histamine foods that never were a problem for me before (spinach, tofu, etc.) I’ve been a vegetarian for 23 years and these foods are staples to me, now I have food poisoning like reactions to them and the paresthesias go into overdrive. I had blood in my urine at 3 months out, and internal vibrations began at 5 months out. As you can see, I was too sick from the first vaccine to get the second one, which was a big disappointment for me.
Q: What was your life like after you got the vaccine?
On May 4, 2021, I was a healthy and active individual eager to get my first Moderna vaccine, and return my life to the “new normal”. It is of utmost importance for me to be able to visit my father who has Alzheimer’s and lives in a memory care facility. I can’t wait to attend (the many times rescheduled) concerts. I want to volunteer at our local children’s hospital, and although I chose to leave working the front lines of retail in December (to take some time off to regroup and rework my career path), I look forward to returning to the workforce as a fully vaccinated individual. Doing my part. Now, I am in complete and utter LIMBO and can’t do any of the above mentioned things. As a half-vaccinated individual in modern American society, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I feel like an outcast, a modern-day leper. Public policy and popular opinion is being shaped around hateful stances and rigid mandates. I am terrified to complete my vaccination until I know and understand what caused my adverse events from the first dose.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
After 9 doctor visits (3 visits to my Internist, Dermatologist, Immunologist, Urologist, and 3 trips to urgent care), somehow I have ZERO answers. The medical community has turned their respective backs on me. I haven’t received any diagnosis (except “migraines” from my Internist of 6 years, which I respectfully disagree with) or treatment. Again, I am stuck in complete and utter LIMBO.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
I reported my adverse reactions to VAERS on 7/14/21, and the only contact I have had with them since then is their 60 Day Follow Up Letter emailed to me, it is simply one question, “Has the vaccinated person recovered from the reported adverse health event?” I’m not under the impression that they care about us, only that they want a head count of who is still injured so that they can protect themselves from a liability standpoint. I filed my follow-up report with them, letting them know that I do still suffer from adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
On one of my visits to urgent care, thankfully a doctor was empathetic (albeit very confused by my pile of symptoms) but gave me a prescription steroid cream that helped alleviate the pain and discomfort from my “Shingles” rash. Outside of that, I have my support group to thank for any and all remedies. In the beginning, I found a combination of the H1 and H2 (histamine blockers) Claritin and Pepcid ac, taken together daily, really helped to alleviate a lot of the nausea, headache, paresthesias, and sometimes insomnia. Then I tried a low histamine diet, and have been able to get the same benefits from that and discontinue the antihistamines. I am taking black seed oil capsules, ground chia and flax seeds daily to help with the inflammation and I switched to a prenatal vitamin, strange as it may sound, to see if increased folate (B 9) amongst other things, would benefit me and I have noticed a marked improvement in my energy, I am much less fatigued. On average I now have 3 goods weeks and one bad week, and often the triggers are stress, insomnia, and trying to resume normal levels of activity. Also, increasing my fluid and electrolyte intake has improved my energy and overall sense of daily well being.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
Where there is risk, there needs to be choice. This is not a political issue. This is, at its roots, about humanity. I am on Team Humanity.
