SIRVA Beware this is real

Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration SIRVA is a real problem and it's effected me.

I went to get my annual flue shot at Schnuck's Pharmacy on Nov 1th a Tuesday night around 8 pm. I was shopping and figured I'd get my flu shot at the pharmacy. I had been to my family doctor the month before and he gave me a written prescription for a flu shot, pneumonia shot and also a shingles prevention shot. I figured I'd get the flu shot at the Doctor's Office but they didn't offer the shot to me. They instead ordered me to get it at my pharmacy for some reason.

I reget this now. The lady at the pharmacy that night was new and told me she was new. I had not seen here working there before and I have been going there for the last 7 years. I know all the people that work there as I've been going there for a long time now. I'm in there at least once a month and do my grocery shopping there too.

After I got the shot I noticed that she gave me the shot high up on my shoulder. I don't remember ever getting a shot that high up on my shoulder. Normally they gave it to me in the arm. The pain started about a hour after I got the shot. And I've had extreme pain in the left shoulder ever since I got that shot. I can't move my arm without pain at times.

I'm going to make an appointment with my family doctor and am worried. I waited a for a while to make sure that it was not just normal pain from getting a flu shot. Now before I've had a slightly sore arm for a day or so and then it cleared up and the soreness went away. It was never extremely painful like this time. I'm going to see my family doctor and see if he what he says.

But if you are going to get a flu shot this year I'd recommend that you get it from a RN instead of someone at the pharmacy. The person giving the flu shot needs to be trained in human anatomy because if they insert the needle into the wrong spot it can create a lot of pain and potentially do damage to the shoulder rotator cuff area.

Gees, hope you do OK and no major damage, that *****, I know I will NOT get an untrained person sticking me after reading this.

I never get the flu shot. My doctor respects my opinion and doesn't push the issue.

I left the Pharmacy profession just before pharmacists starting giving shots. I went to school to be a pharmacist, not a nurse.

[QUOTE=Moveon;558723]Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration SIRVA is a real problem and it's effected me.

I went to get my annual flue shot at Schnuck's Pharmacy on Nov 1th a Tuesday night around 8 pm. I was shopping and figured I'd get my flu shot at the pharmacy. I had been to my family doctor the month before and he gave me a written prescription for a flu shot, pneumonia shot and also a shingles prevention shot. I figured I'd get the flu shot at the Doctor's Office but they didn't offer the shot to me. They instead ordered me to get it at my pharmacy for some reason.

I reget this now. The lady at the pharmacy that night was new and told me she was new. I had not seen here working there before and I have been going there for the last 7 years. I know all the people that work there as I've been going there for a long time now. I'm in there at least once a month and do my grocery shopping there too.

After I got the shot I noticed that she gave me the shot high up on my shoulder. I don't remember ever getting a shot that high up on my shoulder. Normally they gave it to me in the arm. The pain started about a hour after I got the shot. And I've had extreme pain in the left shoulder ever since I got that shot. I can't move my arm without pain at times.

I'm going to make an appointment with my family doctor and am worried. I waited a for a while to make sure that it was not just normal pain from getting a flu shot. Now before I've had a slightly sore arm for a day or so and then it cleared up and the soreness went away. It was never extremely painful like this time. I'm going to see my family doctor and see if he what he says.

But if you are going to get a flu shot this year I'd recommend that you get it from a RN instead of someone at the pharmacy. The person giving the flu shot needs to be trained in human anatomy because if they insert the needle into the wrong spot it can create a lot of pain and potentially do damage to the shoulder rotator cuff area.[/QUOTE] A Pharmacist is perfectly qualified to give most vaccines and be aware that some insurance coverage's will not fully pay for vaccines at the Drs office but they will cover in full at most pharmacies. It would be a good bet that she (the pharmacist) didn't warm the vaccine before she gave it to you. Every vaccine a pharmacy has with the exception of shingles (which is kept frozen) is kept in a closely monitored frig at around 35 to 36 degrees F. The colder a vaccine is when it's injected the more it's going to hurt and be sore. When you get a vaccine from the pharmacy always be sure to ask the pharmacist to warm it before you get it. This is usually accomplished by the pharmacist carrying the single dose vial around in their closed fist for a few minutes. Another way reduce soreness after a vaccine is to keep moving the affected arm/shoulder around for about 30 minutes after you get the vaccine. Yeah you'll look like an idiot walking around the grocery shaking your arm and pretending you're lifting a dumb bell but who cares. Just got done with the 3 dose Hep A/B vaccine regimen myself and boy do they hurt but it is because they go deeper into the muscle and the volume of each shot is almost 3 times that of a flu vaccine.

[QUOTE=Tyme2fish;558730]I never get the flu shot. My doctor respects my opinion and doesn't push the issue.

I left the Pharmacy profession just before pharmacists starting giving shots. I went to school to be a pharmacist, not a nurse.[/QUOTE]

Nurse should be giving these shots at the Dr. Office. I'm not sure how the Pharmacy's got into this business of practicing medicine.

I'm guessing this happened because it's cheaper to give the shots at the pharmacy.

I have to get two more shots and my Dr Orders are at my Pharmacy still. So I'll either have to return to the pharmacy again to get my other two shots or ask the Dr to give me new orders.

Evidently the Dr's Office does not have the vaccines in their office.

I never got the flu shot when I was younger. But a few years ago I was recovering from open heart surgery and my breast bone was cut in half and it hurt like hell to cough for three months until the bone healed fully. So the last thing I wanted was a cold and a cough. So that's when I got the flu shot and I've been getting one every years since that time.

I've been very lucky and have not gotten the flu since that time. So I'm thinking that it does work. Again I never had any problems in the past 7 years with the flu shot until this time. I think this was the first time that I had the pharmacy give me the shot.

Thank you for the inside information. It's now been three weeks and my left arm is still sore. I've been applying ice packs to it once or twice a day ever half hour and that's helped a bit. I've also pushed though the pain to try to move it in certain directions. My doctor wants me to get another X ray of my arm. I don't think that an X ray will show him where the needle was injected or where the inflammation is in my arm. But my Dr. Did give me a referral to an orthopedic doctor which I've seen before. So the Ortho Dr will give me a shot of cortisone if he thinks that might help.

I'm thinking base on where the band aid was placed on my shoulder that the needle was put into my arm too high up and it went into my shoulder joint. This has been happening around the country according to the research I did on this topic SIVRA.

[QUOTE=sweetwater;558733]A Pharmacist is perfectly qualified to give most vaccines and be aware that some insurance coverage's will not fully pay for vaccines at the Drs office but they will cover in full at most pharmacies. It would be a good bet that she (the pharmacist) didn't warm the vaccine before she gave it to you. Every vaccine a pharmacy has with the exception of shingles (which is kept frozen) is kept in a closely monitored frig at around 35 to 36 degrees F. The colder a vaccine is when it's injected the more it's going to hurt and be sore. When you get a vaccine from the pharmacy always be sure to ask the pharmacist to warm it before you get it. This is usually accomplished by the pharmacist carrying the single dose vial around in their closed fist for a few minutes. Another way reduce soreness after a vaccine is to keep moving the affected arm/shoulder around for about 30 minutes after you get the vaccine. Yeah you'll look like an idiot walking around the grocery shaking your arm and pretending you're lifting a dumb bell but who cares. Just got done with the 3 dose Hep A/B vaccine regimen myself and boy do they hurt but it is because they go deeper into the muscle and the volume of each shot is almost 3 times that of a flu vaccine.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Moveon;558802]Nurse should be giving these shots at the Dr. Office. I'm not sure how the Pharmacy's got into this business of practicing medicine.

I'm guessing this happened because it's cheaper to give the shots at the pharmacy.

I have to get two more shots and my Dr Orders are at my Pharmacy still. So I'll either have to return to the pharmacy again to get my other two shots or ask the Dr to give me new orders.

Evidently the Dr's Office does not have the vaccines in their office.

I never got the flu shot when I was younger. But a few years ago I was recovering from open heart surgery and my breast bone was cut in half and it hurt like hell to cough for three months until the bone healed fully. So the last thing I wanted was a cold and a cough. So that's when I got the flu shot and I've been getting one every years since that time.

I've been very lucky and have not gotten the flu since that time. So I'm thinking that it does work. Again I never had any problems in the past 7 years with the flu shot until this time. I think this was the first time that I had the pharmacy give me the shot.[/QUOTE]Last year approximately 150 million doses of flu vaccine was distributed in the U.S. Can you imagine the wait in a Drs office if all those shots had to be given there? If flu shots were only given by nurses or Drs I wonder how many more people would die from the flu each year because they couldn't afford the extra expense of paying for an office visit just to get a flu shot....or just didn't take the time to do it.

Been getting them since age 19, I'm 80+ right now. While in the army I was on travel orders, got the shot before I left mybase, got another on arrival at new post, and another when I returned. No ill effects, and I had no choice in the matter. I got the shingles shot at walgreens, pneumonia shots in several places over the years. Befor going over seas, we stood in line and recieved multi shots, couldn't object again. Theres the story about missionarys who went to this pagan island, and the mortality rate was 100% of them. Finally a new arrival asked the local medicine man why his folks prospered. The medicine replied, " we have a bird here called the FOO, its dropping have the cure. The teaching is if the foo sh-ts wear it

[QUOTE=sweetwater;558814]Last year approximately 150 million doses of flu vaccine was distributed in the U.S. Can you imagine the wait in a Drs office if all those shots had to be given there? If flu shots were only given by nurses or Drs I wonder how many more people would die from the flu each year because they couldn't afford the extra expense of paying for an office visit just to get a flu shot....or just didn't take the time to do it.[/QUOTE]

All I know is that while I don't have the flu my arm is sore as H. I can't move my arm without pain in certain directions and angles. Thank god it doesn't hurt when it's hanging straight down. But if I have to reach up it hurts like H. It's been over three weeks now.

What I am saying is that people who give us these shots need to be trained in how to do it properly. Evidently in my case something went wrong.

I'm leaning towards the fact that the shot (needle) was placed in the wrong spot. Too high up on the shoulder and not in the muscle properly. How hard could it be to give a shot properly?

The girl that gave me the shot was brand new at this pharmacy as she told me that herself. She was working alone and without any supervision at the time she gave me the shot. I'm thinking that she is not the pharmacist. I'm thinking that she is one of the techs.

[QUOTE=Moveon;558818]All I know is that while I don't have the flu my arm is sore as H. I can't move my arm without pain in certain directions and angles. Thank god it doesn't hurt when it's hanging straight down. But if I have to reach up it hurts like H. It's been over three weeks now.

What I am saying is that people who give us these shots need to be trained in how to do it properly. Evidently in my case something went wrong.

I'm leaning towards the fact that the shot (needle) was placed in the wrong spot. Too high up on the shoulder and not in the muscle properly. How hard could it be to give a shot properly?

The girl that gave me the shot was brand new at this pharmacy as she told me that herself. She was working alone and without any supervision at the time she gave me the shot. I'm thinking that she is not the pharmacist. I'm thinking that she is one of the techs.[/QUOTE]Pharmacy Techs are strictly forbidden to give shots of any kind. If you got the shot a chain pharmacy such as Kroger or Wal-Mart the Pharmacist was probably a floater. Most newbs start out that way. By what you're saying I agree that it sounds like the vaccine was given too high in your shoulder. Going forward in the future when they swab your shoulder with the prep pad and it feels like it's too high say something before you get the shot. Sorry that has happened to you and I hope you get better soon.

[QUOTE=sweetwater;558829]Pharmacy Techs are strictly forbidden to give shots of any kind. If you got the shot a chain pharmacy such as Kroger or Wal-Mart the Pharmacist was probably a floater. Most newbs start out that way. By what you're saying I agree that it sounds like the vaccine was given too high in your shoulder. Going forward in the future when they swab your shoulder with the prep pad and it feels like it's too high say something before you get the shot. Sorry that has happened to you and I hope you get better soon.[/QUOTE]

I was distracted right as she was giving me the shot. The Thoracic Surgeon who performed my 8 hour long open heart surgery came into the area where I was getting the shot and stood about 3 to 5 ft in front of me as he was looking at eye glasses on display in the area where I was getting the shot. I recognized him as he was still in his operating scrubs. He lives in my area and also goes to the same eye doctor that I go to. I have seen and talked to him at the eye doctor's office once before. I was talking to him when the lady gave me the shot. I didn't notice any pain at the time of the shot. In fact it was the least painful shot that I've got in a while. It stung a little bit when the needle went in but I'm so used to getting IV's these day and having blood drawn that the needle in the arm doesn't bother me much these days. It was only after I got the shot that my arm got sore. It started when I got home from the grocery store and put the groceries away. As I was watching TV that night about an hour later I noticed the pain starting and getting worse with movement of my arm in certain directions.

It was a day or two later when I was trying to get the band aid off my arm that I noticed just how high up on the arm the band aid was placed. I filed that information away in my brain and figured that the arm would go back to normal in a few days. But after two weeks of pain still there I decided to look up "arm pain after getting a flue shot" on the google search engine and found out about this problem. That was when I started to worry that the pain may never go away completely. I went though physical therapy with my right shoulder for a long time and the pain in the right shoulder from another injury is finally gone away for the most part. I can move my right shoulder without pain these days but it took almost two years for the pain in that right shoulder to subside.

I have an appointment next week with my Orthopaedic doctor and he will tell me what's going on. I'm still icing the left shoulder once or twice a day and that's helping a little bit. But it's still very painful when I move it in certain directions above my head.

I'll find out who that new girls is the next time I get my prescriptions refilled as I know the other girls and I'll ask them about her.