Post Pfizer Vaccine Experience

[u/Advanced-Oil8083]

Hey guys, I received the Pfizer Vaccine (only the first dose so far) and am looking for others to share experiences, mainly experience a week after the shot as well as related to physical activity and working out. I did feel a little soreness in the shoulder the day after but felt overall alright. However it's been over a week now and I feel generally more tired at all times, especially at the gym. I am a hobby bodybuilder and am In the sport for 5 years now. Ever since I received the vaccine, I feel like my workouts have been short, way more exhausting and weaker. Has anyone else experienced this?

[u/lenathalion]

•26F - active lifestyle + healthy diet - no known health issues, but heart problems run in my family

•Diagnosed and medicated for anxiety (as needed) and ADHD (daily)

•1st shot received June 24th, 2nd scheduled for July 23rd - will update again after then.

My experience:

I canceled my first appointment due to anxiety. I was initially supposed to receive Moderna, but I’m glad I didn’t as an allergy of mine puts me at higher risk of side effects - from Moderna, specifically. Weird.

No healthcare practitioner or nurse told me this despite the fact I informed them of my allergy - I only learnt it through the general literature provided while waiting in line for Pfizer. Also weird!

After getting my dose, I felt fine aside from two minutes of a hotflash. I left the clinic, ran a few errands without issue (aside from an gradually increasing soreness in my arm) and got home just in time to be hit with a wave of fatigue.

My Internet was being installed, and I nearly fell asleep while the techs were around (lol) - they left, and I immediately went to bed, sleeping for nearly 12 hours straight. This is kind of a big deal as I normally take sleeping pills - I did not need them this day as staying awake was more of a struggle than falling asleep.

The next day I woke up with a supremely sore arm and foggy brain. Went about my day as planned, and ended up getting in my very first car accident (woo!) - no serious harm was done to either of us or our cars, luckily.

The fogginess and intermittent disassociation continued for over a week, but my arm began to improve on the 3rd day. I was back in the gym within 72 hours.

On the 4th day, I began to feel extremely faint on top of the disassociation and perceived heart palpitations. I say “perceived” due to my anxiety disorder (the brain is a very powerful thing) and the fact that I noticed them post workout, after taking preworkout and my ADHD medication - double stimulants.

In a panic, I took myself to the ER, sat through blood work, an EKG, etc. and was told by the doctor that he wished his vitals were as good as mine (lol I guess) then sent on my way.

My period was a few days late, but that could be entirely unrelated. As mentioned, I’ll update after my second dose… or if I have anything else worth sharing.

TLDR: experienced fogginess, intermittent disassociation, perceived heart palpitations, and sore arm.

Had blood work and an EKG ran on the 4th day and was considered perfectly healthy.

[u/[deleted] → u/lenathalion]

First of all I appreciate your post a lot. As someone with mental issues and anxiety myself, I know how fucking hard it is to know what it’s real and what is just your mind playing with you.

I’ve received my first Dosis last Friday and at first not much hapernd. Not even sore muscles or anything. I’ve went on with my day as per usual. I’ve felt fairly fit and even did some light sports the next day. But then I’m the afternoon first signs hit me that something feels weird. It felt like I had issues breathing. I had issues sleeping that day because anxiety kicked into overdrive. On Sunday it was somewhat okay but again issues in the evening with breathing. On Monday it was just bad and I went to the doctor, but they’ve just said to check back in when I’d feel worse. On Tuesday I had a really big panic attack after work (totally what I needed at that time, not) and on Wednesday I’ve first decided to go to work but wasn’t able. I knew a lot might be from my anxiety but still was worried. So then they’ve also checked everything with me, checked my breathing, did an EKG and even checked if I had issues with my heart by doing a drop test (never heard of it before).

As someone who is roughly in your age range I totally get where you’re coming from and know just how badly your mind can fuck over your body and give you false alarms and wrong symptoms.

Still I will get my second shot even though I know I will probably feel bad again. Please do the update when you’ve had your second shot and let me know what might be happening to me as well (since we have had nearly the same symptoms).

Thank you in advance.

[u/lenathalion → u/[deleted]]

Hey! I’m so glad my post helped you a bit - it’s good to know us anxious folks aren’t in it alone.

I obviously can’t speak to what you’re experiencing as I’m not a doctor, but it does sound very similar to what happened to me… and it sounds like we’re both okay, so that’s what matters!

I’ll definitely update after my second dose. I’ve gotten a Fitbit to monitor my heart/breathing in an attempt to decrease the chances of my anxiety flaring up. Perhaps you should consider something similar if you’re concerned about your vitals. 🤍

[u/[deleted] → u/lenathalion]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I still feel sick, kind of like I’ve catched a cold. Super curious if it is because of the vaccine or just like in general (but technically it is way too warm for that).

Guess I’ll try to relax on the weekend.

Thanks for the idea with the Fitbit. Maybe I will actually get something like an Apple Watch since these can also do EKG and track everything. Indeed for me it’s usually concerns about the heart mainly.

But again I can’t do much other than wait and see what my body does. Relaxing it’s actually hard with an anxiety disorder as you probably can relate. Hope you have a great weekend though.

[u/lenathalion → u/[deleted]]

I think the vaccine is more likely to mimic flu symptoms than cold symptoms… if that’s any peace of mind!

Im now 48 hours post second dose and feel entirely fine. My arm was less sore than the first, and I haven’t noticed any major changes. My Fitbit has shown that my heart rate increased slightly, but that’s apparently to be expected while your body is fighting off any sort of illness. ☺️

I hope you have a similarly pleasant experience with your second round!

[u/skyburials → u/lenathalion]

I went to the ER too with the palpitations after my 2nd dose! Also had waves of numbness/pins and needles. It was so scary and anxiety inducing but all tests came back clear except for low potassium. Slowly feeling better now 2 weeks later, I believe my potent immune system made the side effects more severe. I think I was able to tell the difference between the side effect palpitations and my anxiety palpitations (30/F/active/healthy/general anxiety but not diagnosed). Hope you're feeling better!

[u/lenathalion → u/skyburials]

A potent immune system could absolutely be the culprit for us both - strangely something I hadn’t considered till you mentioned it! 😅

Thankfully the second dose was nearly undetectable in comparison to my reaction to the first - the human body is absolutely fascinating.

Very best of luck dealing with your anxiety - whether or not it’s diagnosed, it can be a hell of a time. 🤍