FLU SHOTS

Question ?
Are Flu shots not safe for ITP/ Lupus patients ???

because i read some recent posts that seemed to suggest that .
Since my Heart attack , 10 yrs. , I have gotten them for the last 5 yrs.
also got innoculations before Splenectomy,
and Pneumonia vaccine last year.

SuperDave
Staying positive

Don't know about Lupus patients, but I get the shot every year, especially since my splenectomy. Hopefully others will respond too.

Dave:

Since you have had a splenectomy, you should probably get a flu shot. Stay away from the live (nasal spray) vaccine and stick to the shot.

I personally do not like vaccines because I seem to react to everything, but if I didn't have a spleen I probably would.

I'd ask your doctor Dave - I am not supposed to have any vaccines but I told my docs I really wanted a flu shot since I have small grandchildren [germ carriers ] and was told I can but at my own risk. Got one in October and as far as I can tell all is well.

The flu is bad, beside being able to put one in a hospital it can kill - that's why I get one. I've seen what it can do.

However I do not have lupus - so really I'd ask my doctor if I were you.

Isn't there also something about whether vaccines are effective if you're on or recently had Rituxan treatments?

Most Rheumatologists push the flu shot for Lupus patients and it is recommended by the LFA (Lupus Foundation of America). I tend to buck the system due to the increased risk of serious side effects in Lupus patients.

Melinda - Really? A doctor said to get it at your own risk? I'm surprised by that. Did he say why? I always wonder why some doctors seem to be against it. They are a minority.

Matthew - yes, vaccines are usually ineffective for about six months following Rituxan.

Sandi wrote: Melinda - Really? A doctor said to get it at your own risk? I'm surprised by that. Did he say why? I always wonder why some doctors seem to be against it. They are a minority.

Sandi I am not supposed to have any kind of vaccines/shots at all - my dear late hematologist and the special allergist are very good so I trust them - I just gave the gist of what was said.

I'm not supposed to have vaccinations/shots so if I want to get one as I have in the past then I can but there may be a problem and there may not be a problem. I have had a flu shot every year since 1992 without a problem so decided to give it a try since there are people out there who will not get them therefore they make me vulnerable to coming down with the flu - also I have small grandchildren, who do get the flu shot/mist, but I go to their school and I know there are snot nosed sick kids in there who have not had it. I would rather be safe than very sorry.

So hematologist & special allergist not necessarily against the flu shot, but against it for me.

For what it's worth, my current hematologist and PCP urge me to get a flu shot each year, and I do so even though I sometimes don't react so well. My mother, who recently had a splenectomy (not because of ITP) got hers a couple weeks back at the insistence of her treating docs.

After a splenectomy, it's a must to keep up with all vaccines. Sepsis is a scary thing!

Melinda - I'm glad your doctors feel that way about it and express that to you. In my experience, most doctors push the vaccines and don't ever seem to see the risk for some patients. I see that risk for myself and don't want to take it. I question the safety of many vaccines but each patient has to make that decision for themselves.

This isn't exactly a vaccine story, but it illustrates the frustration that I feel with doctors over side effect possibilities. After I had Rituxan twice and had classic serum sickness from it twice, about six months later my Hemo handed me a list. On that list were about nine medications that can cause serum sickness. He said, "Rituxan isn't on the list". I said, "So... are you saying that I didn't have serum sickness"? He said, "Well it's not on the list".

That totally blew my mind! He was the one that diagnosed me with it the second time when I was at the ER. It's well documented that Rituxan can cause serum sickness. I had classic symptoms, yet he seemed to change his mind because of a list? It was obvious to me that it wasn't a complete list; it was that simple. No where on that list did it say "This is a complete list of all current medications that cause serum sickness". I think I rolled my eyes so hard that I saw my brain.

My point is that some doctors are unwilling to believe side effects because 1) none of their other patients have had that one, or 2) it's not on the particular list that they happen to look at.

My ditzy PCP whom I fired in October 2013 would always tell me I needed the shingles vaccine - this was after I was told no vaccines, but I would just look at him and tell him I have ITP and cannot have live vaccines. He'd say oh - then the next time I'd be in he'd tell me I needed the shingles vaccine and on and on. So glad to be rid of him!

What a ditz that doctor is who handed you the list and said Rituxan isn't on it so can't cause serum sickness. Wish you had that list still, I'd like to know if amoxicillin is on it or if I just was making up all those horrendous side effects that were attacking me thanks to it causing serum sickness. It is like the ditzy doctor who told me gamma globulin cannot trigger ITP but vaccines can - huh??!! Hematologist I had back then has it in my records that it did most likely trigger mine.

Sandi one of those doctors is my dear dear dear hematologist who passed away this month.

Sorry about your Hemo, Melinda. I really like mine too, but that day he really put my panties in a bunch!

I had a reaction to the flu shot last year. I go this week to my Hematologist to ask for a note so I do not get one. That said I still have my spleen.


Each of us is different so really the conversation should be done with the doctor. Like Sandi said if you no longer have your spleen get the flu shot not the nasal mist it is a live virus.

Thank You for sharing EVERYONE !

my hematologist recently retired . (have to admit my last visit left with a tear and a hug !
She had saved my life during heart attack)

Dave

Ellen had to have a flu shot for work (she works in an HIV clinic). She could have gotten a doctor's excuse, but they would then have made her wear a mask all the time. It was just after her Rituxan treatment, so it won't do a bit of good, but it was easier than fighting the bureaucracy!

This is not very timely, as it is a little late to get the flu shot this year, but here is a recent study of the risks of thrombocytopenia following either influenza or the influenza vaccine.
Bottom line: Only nine cases where either flu or vaccine caused ITP found in either the English or Japanese language literature, and almost always acute, not chronic.

Virology & Mycology
Shizuma, Virology & Mycology 2014, S2
dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0517.S2-003
Mini Review Open Access
Virology & Mycology ISSN: 2161-0517 VMID, an open access journal
Influenza Virus Interactions with the Host Cell
Immune Thrombocytopenia Following Influenza Virus Infection and Influenza Vaccine Administration
Toru Shizuma* Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tokai University, Japan
Abstract
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) may be induced by the reaction of autoantibodies with platelets. Although
the precise mechanism remains to be elucidated, certain viral infections or vaccine administration can lead to ITP.
However, ITP induced by influenza virus infection or influenza vaccine administration is infrequent and thus there have been few related reports. Here, we present a review of relevant case reports in the English and Japanese literature.

Conclusion
Influenza virus infection or influenza vaccine administration seldom induces ITP. We summarized 9 reported cases of ITP [...] after influenza infection (2 cases) or after influenza vaccine administration (7 cases), and recent definition and current management of ITP. All the 9 reported patients who developed ITP after influenza virus infection or influenza vaccine administration were treated with steroids, immunoglobulin, or both. Nonetheless, 1 of 9 cases of ITP, including Evans syndrome, associated with influenza virus infection or influenza vaccine administration died, possibly because of a poor condition at diagnosis. Moreover, 1 of the 8 surviving patients developed chronic ITP, and the other 7 entered remission.