Cam ~ You should still get the vaccine even if you are not certain you've had Chicken Pox. Per the CDC, approx 99.5% of all U.S. citizens over age 40 have had Chicken Pox at some point in their life. Even if you haven't, the vaccine will not hurt you. Also, if you've already had Shingles, you should still get the vaccine because it can help prevent future outbreaks. Rose ~ I would definitely speak with your doctor first. Per Merck, the manufacturer, "ZOSTAVAX is a LIVE, attenuated varicella-zoster vaccine and administration may result in disseminated disease in individuals who are immunosuppressed or immunodeficient. Do not administer ZOSTAVAX to immunosuppressed or immunodeficient individuals including those with a history of primary or acquired immunodeficiency states, leukemia, lymphoma or other malignant neoplasms affecting the bone marrow or lymphatic system, AIDS or other clinical manifestations of infection with human immunodeficiency viruses, and those on immunosuppressive therapy." In other words, it could be very dangerous to give to someone in one of those groups. Here's a link to their info: MERCK ZOSTAVAX INFO Hope this is helpful. Blessings, ~Addy~ Here is a link that might be useful: Q&A About Shingles and Vaccine

My three children received all their vaccines and I definitely believe all cases of Autism can't be attributed to childhood vaccines. In fact, when the 'Autism might be linked to vaccines' theories all started, I strongly urged everyone I knew to continue vaccinating their children because of the danger these diseases can bring to unvaccinated children. However, when my own children entered secondary school, I began working at a Daycare. In the 17 years I worked there, I personally witnessed two children (not related) who had been bright, active, verbal children, suddenly begin losing their vocabulary, within 48 hours of being vaccinated. I'm talking going from about 100/150 word vocabulary, to being able to say less than 10 words within about two weeks. These two children lost interest in things they had previously enjoyed, would no longer engage in play and even stopped making eye contact when spoken to, which was very disturbing. In both cases the parents suspected the vaccine, as their children had become very inconsolable in the hours after the shot (unlike their previous vaccines which caused no reaction) and their 'strange' symptoms followed so quickly. One child made remarkable progress after a year of intense therapy and today seems happy, is intelligent and holds a decent job. He is rather reserved and somewhat less socially/emotionally engaged with others than your average person, but seems otherwise 'normal.' The other child unfortunately was more severely affected and did not make great strides even with therapy and dietary changes. He never recovered his speech or social/emotional connectivity to other people and remains severely autistic. Do I still believe in vaccines? Absolutely. They save millions of lives. Do I still insist that Autism is just something a child would have developed at that age, even if they hadn't been vaccinated? No. One only need witness firsthand, a child lose almost all their vocabulary within two days of being vaccinated to believe that it CAN happen. It baffles me that the studies will publish the rare side effects of "lowered consciousness and permanent brain damage" which basically IS the very best description of Autism, but they still refuse to use the tabu "A" word itself! Numerous scientific studies now acknowledge the sudden increase in Guillain Barre Syndrome occuring in some patients who received the Swine Flu shot in 1976 and in some people who received the 2009/10 H1N1 flu shots. They confirmed that previously assumed 'fail-safe' flu shots were directly responsible for the development of Guillain Barre to a minority of people who were sensitive to the components in the vaccine. My cousin was one of them. He survived after being on a respirator for a month and having to relearn how to talk, walk, eat, etc. I still want my grandchildren vaccinated, and I still get my flu shots. But I now no longer preach to others about getting vaccinated, because I couldn't take the guilt if their child happened to be one of the very few children who developed Autisim as a result, or their child/spouse/parent developed Guillain Barre from a flu shot. I still believe that the odds are so greatly against an adverse reaction. But now I say a prayer before and after every shot.

Yay! Glad you are getting the second shot. And always good to be prepared for feeling a little down a day or two after a vaccine if you can. After a strong response to the first, my second was nothing unusual (little arm soreness? I remember the first -- not the second. LOL). I hope you have the same. I strongly encourage anyone who has reservations about a second shot to get it. My feeling is that if you had a strong reaction, you are EXACTLY who benefits most from and may need the vaccine, including the second dose, the most. If you still had a strong immunity to the virus and were likely to hold the virus at bay over the years, it doesn't seem your body would have such a strong response. Seeing my husband's pain for months and my cousin worrying about her husband possibly going blind was enough for me. I'll get a third shot if they ever decide it is needed....

Just saw this article today about another immune response to the vaccine, which causes blisters, very dangerous if not treated. We know so little about the immune system, and doctors often know little about immune responses to various things. I went to see a whole host of specialists for my rash but finally figured it out by myself. One thing for sure, these symptoms should not be ignored by doctors just because they're not sure what is causing them. They should be investigated. Do read this story, linked here. Thankfully the doctor of the woman featured did some research and outreach to try and find treatment for her, better than what would have happened if s/he had just said, "Oh it will go away" . . . or kept at the standard protocols and didn't realize that there were new developments. Having had some "atypical" responses to other medications, and my one serious but not life threatening reaction to the measles vaccine, I would say that one should err on the side of caution and monitor the situation closely with the help of a GOOD doctor. It's difficult sometimes to decide how seriously to take these minor annoyances because most of the time they just resolve on their own, except when they don't . . . I'm always paranoid I will ignore some skin cancer sign . . .but on the flip side I don't have the time or money to be running to the doctor for every little thing . . . https://www.yahoo.com/news/few-covid-vaccine-recipients-developed-133911410.html Edited to add that hubs had a recurring rash that he said he picked up "in the pool at college" which recurs whenever he spends time in a public pool. It looks like the "whole body" pictures of the Pityriasis. It comes and goes at other times too. Like I said, association is not causation, because I got my first Pityriasis outbreak in college and had never spent time in the pool there, although I did go to the hot steam sauna a couple of times which necessitated going into the locker room. But still, that's just the age I was, of the typical outbreak. It came and went with me having no idea why. I did not realize that it could occur later in life. I have not had a flare up again of it. I don't have a problem with our town's public pool or locker room so far, although I never frequented it a lot. Edited AGAIN to add that delving into the fine print of the whole article Nosoccermom posted, Pityriasis rosacea is also indicated as a possible side effect of taking omoprazole/Prilosec, which hubs has started taking for acid reflux. https://www.drugs.com/omeprazole.html Ah the mysteries of the immune system . . .