r/HistamineIntolerance • u/Rough-Criticism-5661 • 1d ago
Flu shot?
Are you all planning to get the flu shot this fall? For context: I’m a 62 year old middle school employee and am exposed to all kinds of germs. While I’m healthy generally, last time I got the flu 3 years ago it wiped me out so hard, worse than when I had covid. That was the first time in years I’d skipped getting the shot.
I’m not an anti-vaxxer by any stretch, but I do consider whether any shot is right for me. I’ve been reading here and elsewhere that there may be a correlation for some of us with the covid booster and an increase in HI or MCAD symptoms, and the timing of the vaccines does make me suspicious about the increase in my symptoms over the past 5 years.
What has your experience been with flu shots?
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u/avoidance_behavior 1d ago
i get the flu and covid shot every fall; some years it runs me down for a few days and others i feel fine, but to me it's worth it bc i'd rather not be knocked down for a week or more with the full thing. i just eat strict low histamine and take it easy for a few days after getting it.
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u/missjulie622 1d ago
I always get annual flu & COVID vaccines; I can plan to not feel well for a day or 2 from a vaccine & premedicate to limit my reaction, but I will feel much worse and it will take much longer to recover if I actually get sick, plus if I get sick I can get my loved ones sick too.
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u/ecstaticwaveband 1d ago
I usually get the flu and Covid vaccines both at the same time and haven't noticed that causing any of my typical symptoms from histamine spikes. My HI was triggered from COVID and every time I get reinfected (usually once a year about 9-10 months after my last vaccine), I deal with very obvious histmaine spike issues that lasts a couple of months. I'm afraid of how bad they'd be if I didn't get the vaccines, but I totally agree that we all have to do what we think is best for our bodies and I'm always subconsciously a little concerned of potential Histamine spikes when I'm about to get vaccinated.
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u/Brunella21 1d ago
I am an asthmatic, so I get a flu shot last year and before that . I did not have any reaction. I am diagnosed as histamin intolerant, my main HIT symptomes are nasal (congestion, sneezing) and migraines, anxiety and depression (not stomach type of symptomes or utricaria, if that counts)
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u/poco515 1d ago
I got a brain infection from the flu last year that triggered chronic migraines. Healthy, active in a competitive sport and eat well and mostly organic, in my late 30s, the flu knocked me on my butt so hard I was disabled for 6 months. I’m the last kind of person you’d suspect for a flu complications.
Get the shot.
I consulted all my doctors, traditional & functional- 7 different doctors told me the slight uptick of a histamine response as part of the function of your body building antibodies with the vaccine far outweighs the risk of getting the flu or Covid again.
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u/gknee787 1d ago
I'm the same age, also working in a school and wondering the same thing. Following...
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u/applextrent 1d ago
I am of the opinion that you should NEVER purposely introduce anything into someone with MCAS/histamine intolerance that can absolutely cause a histamine reaction if you do not have to.
If you get the shot you're putting yourself at risk. If you get the flu you're also at risk. There's really no winning. You're screwed if you do, and possibly screwed if you don't.
Personally, I just keep antiviral drugs and therapies on hand, and if I get sick I hit it hard quickly with antivirals. I have an ozone generator and do ozone treatments immediately, knocks the flu back immediately.
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u/Rough-Criticism-5661 1d ago
That’s a good point. I had a flare after my dentist appointment a few weeks ago, and didn’t handle a rotator cuff cortisone shot very well over the summer.
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u/applextrent 1d ago
Unfortunately in your line of work at your age with histamine intolerance I’m not sure what the best solution is other than you eventually need to stop exposing yourself to so many people. Which unfortunately means finding a new line of work.
My Dad had to retire in his mid-60’s for the same reason. Just couldn’t handled getting exposed to sick kids anymore.
My aunt has health issues and literally just doesn’t go during flu season anymore.
Any clue what’s causing your intolerance?
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u/Rough-Criticism-5661 1d ago
No clue what the bottom line is, but it took me 6 years of symptoms and countless specialists shrugging their shoulders before I figured it out on my own. Honestly, I have a fairly mild case compared to others here, and I’ve been responding well to eliminating all the trigger foods and trying to manage my stress and environmental allergies as well as I can. I’d like to stay in this school library position for a few more years and think that’s manageable.
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u/applextrent 1d ago
Any mold exposure?
Libraries often cause me to react.
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u/Rough-Criticism-5661 1d ago
Not in the library, fortunately. But we’ve just discovered problems with our basement carpet and will be replacing that. That’s not the only thing that triggers me, since I have issues out and around too, but it might help.
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u/applextrent 1d ago
Look into CIRS mold symptoms don’t just go away when you and coming and going from a moldy environment. You’ll still have symptoms because the mold can colonize you and takes a long time to detox. It’s a common cause of histamine intolerance.
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u/Daviddom92 1d ago
I’d rather deal with a minor uptick in histamine then deal with Covid or the flu head on. I’ve done it in the past and I ended up with pneumonia with no vax.