First Dose of Pfizer on 01/25/21 Lot #EL3302
Second Dose of Pfizer on 02/15/21 Lot #EL3246
Grand Island, New York
47 yrs old
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
I was healthy, had started back to the gym, and played with my active dog a lot. I’m a Registered Nurse. I worked in nursing homes in New York for the past 2 years because I was in paramedic school for my firehall in 2020 and the schedule was good. During the outbreak I was doing clinicals in the ERs and on the ambulances with almost no PPE. I never had COVID through all of that despite transporting and caring for many sick COVID patients.
Q: Would you like to share your reasons for getting vaccinated?
I was working at a nursing home in NY, the patients hadn’t seen any visitors in almost a year or are in the dining rooms or had social events together because of DOH regs. I had hoped if enough of us got vaccinated then they could have pieces of their lives back. I also knew we would be mandated eventually and the management at my place of work was harassing us often to get vaccinated.
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
1st shot nothing, it was great
2nd shot around 20 hours a migraine hit, I got home around hour 30 and I was pale, cold clammy sweats, dizzy, weak, short of breath. I thought I was going to pass out if I tried to walk. My vision was blurry and it was hard for me to speak .. to find the right words. It felt like a huge hypoglycemic reaction that lasted 2 days. ( the carbon monoxide detector was beeping that night so I wasn’t sure if it was carbon monoxide poisoning or the shot. I had friends from the firehall come over and rule out the carbon monoxide poisoning).
4 days later I felt like I had a really bad sinus infection, that lasted 3 more weeks, I even got treatment from my doctor.
Then the fatigue, tinnitus, GI issues and joint pain became evident. ALL of my joints hurt, even my good ones. They hurt so much in my feet and ankles it was hard to stand and walk. The shoulders, hands and elbows made it hard to work. This pain was an intense burning and sometimes stabbing. It was nothing like the arthritis pain I have in my hip ( from a car accident injury).
The fatigue was so bad it was all I could do to get through my work day, eat dinner and let the dogs out .. there was no energy to walk my dogs or go to the gym even if I didn’t hurt. That lasted 3 solid months and it will come and go now. The tinnitus and GI issues came and never left.
Q: What is your life like now, after getting the vaccine?
I still have the ringing in my ears, the blurred vision and joint pains come and go. The fatigue is still there.
My heart is healing slowly, I am able to do more before I get weak, SOB and am rarely getting dizzy anymore.
I feel weak.. I have felt tired and weak for a year now.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
None from just the vaccine but I am confident that the heart damage I suffered while having COVID was caused by being vaccinated.
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
I reported it to my doctor at the VA
Q: Is there anything that has helped, and have your symptoms improved?
I take CoQ10 and that seems to be helping my heart. Magnesium helps with the joint pain and I eat minimal carbs to decrease inflammation
Q: Have you had Covid before? What was your experience if so?
I got COVID, the delta version November 8, 2021. It was not mild. I didn’t have a fever or sore throat but almost every other symptom:
Insane headache. I thought someone was trying to squeeze my head until it popped
Nasal congestion
Sneezing
Crazy sweating then chills
Lost smell and taste day 5
So tired and weak
Dizzy when walking
Short of breath with basic things like walking 100’ or trying to make myself a meal
Nausea
Diarrhea
Blurry vision
COVID brain fog
Burning in my upper lung lobes
Soreness in my rib cage
I couldn’t even read or follow along with a TV show
On day 12 I thought I either had myocarditis or was having a heart attack so I actually went to the ER. I was making eggs, just standing there watching them cook and I got so sweaty, SOB and dizzy I almost passed out. My heart rate was in the 150’s My chest over my heart hurt like crazy, I was having stabbing pain behind my left shoulder blade, I was really nauseous and weak… usually I could sit down and take some deep breaths and feel better ( that worked the past few days) that day I couldn’t. I was scared.
Further testing showed it was neither of those but I do have inflammation of the entire right side of my heart. I got to wear a heart monitor for 14 days to capture the arrhythmias caused by the damage to see if I need medication.
I’ve NEVER had any cardiac problems before the vaccine/ COVID
Q: What do you wish others knew?
I wish that others knew how awful this vaccine /booster is for some people. I wish I hadn’t got it.
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