Flu vaccine

Flu vaccine I am not yet diagnosed with ms, I’m having some Symptoms mainly pins and needles and lethergy and limb Weakness and swollen tongue. I’m Being treated with vb12 inj which is helping . However I have recently had a flu vaccine which Has made my symptoms much worse . Has Anyone had this problem and I guess my question Is if so how long will it take for my symptoms to settle back to A manageable level . I’m afraid that things won’t improve . I appreciate any thoughts On this Please Many thanks .

Hi Lisa,

I’ve had the flu’ jab four years running and it has never interfered with my MS in any way. In fact, it is recommended for people with MS. I don’t know if that’s any indication your condition might not be MS? Or maybe just that any deterioration was coincidental, and not linked to the vaccine?

MS is naturally highly unpredictable. It’s always tempting to put any changes down to something we’ve done or not done recently, but that is not necessarily the case. It can change quite suddenly by itself.

I hope you feel better soon, whatever it is. Most people don’t get a flu’-like reaction to the jab, but if you did, and you have a temperature, the worse ‘MS’ symptoms may last about as long as the temperature does, as high body temperature aggravates MS in many people.

Otherwise, I’d say it’s probably nothing to do with the jab, and there’s no way of knowing whether it will get better, or how soon. Most people do recover well from early relapses (episodes of new or worsened symptoms), but impossible to put a timescale on it, as it’s not always the same twice, for the same person.

Tina

x

Hi Tina Many thanks for the reply . Your comments Are very helpful. The pins and needles and brain fog are really bad at the moment . I was some how hoping for a cause and effect To explain the increased symptoms but life is never That straight forward. I was hoping that the Vit b 12 inj would be the answer but their Effectiveness seams to be decreasing which is A bit concerning. However the advise from the Neuro seams to be come back when you can No longer work . I guess we all just have to get On with things . However it’s nice to speak to Others who have similar concerns . Many thanks .

Hi again LisaJ0

No, it’s not that straightforward, unfortunately. Sometimes it’s obvious what has made us feel worse - such as a particularly heavy week, when we know we overdid it. A reaction to that is NOT technically a relapse.

But a true relapse can come on without any obvious trigger. What causes them is one of the great mysteries of MS, although it’s known that some infections - particularly respiratory infections like flu’ - give rise to increased risk for several weeks afterwards. So if you are suspected of having MS, it’s great you had the flu’ jab. Getting flu’ for real would place you at much more risk than the jab alone ever could.

Sore tongue is an absolute classic symptom of B12 deficiency, by the way. MS can cause sore just-about-anything, but isn’t particularly linked with the tongue in the same way B12 is. However, to confuse things further, not only do MS and B12 deficiency have similar symptoms, but a lot of people with MS also have low B12. It’s not known exactly what the connection is. One theory is that B12 is used in myelin repair, so if you have a demyelinating disease (like MS!), you’re going to be doing a lot of repairs, and using up the B12 at a much faster rate. Low B12 isn’t “proof” you have MS though. It happens in otherwise healthy people too. Just seems to be more common with MS, for some reason.

Tina

x