Cirrhosis Support Group

Hi everyone, I'm new here and was just looking for some info on side effects from the H1N1 vacc for people with liver disease. My hubby has cirrhosis and got the pneumonia shot and h1n1 shot 2 nights ago.

He started feeling terrible that evening and has been home in bed now for two days since. Body aches, joint aches, headache, chills , arms very tender at injection site, irritable and cannot think straight, and some loose stools the first night.

He says he feels completely exhausted and just wants to stay in bed.
Initially I thought he was having side effects from the shots, since i also had mild side effects from the h1n1 vacc (achy, chills, headache, fatigue), then i was worried he was actually getting the flu.........

But today I'm wondering if somehow the vaccination is causing problems for his liver? I'm reading about "liver failure symptoms" on the internet and getting very concerned since they are very much the same sypmtoms as he's feeling.

I can understand your fear, hockeymum. To me it sounds like usual cirrhosis symptoms especially that he can't think straight. If he can stay in bed, maybe he can rest it out.

I haven't been able to tell, during flu season, whether I have it or not ... not for years. Trips to the doctor have been just as frustrating ... and we just have to guess so often. Sometimes there is no definitive answer for us.

Because I don't like to rock the boat with cirrhosis, I don't take vaccines. Easy for me as I can stay home and rest. Others, perhaps it's worth it to take the vaccine.

It's pretty important to NOT take other (cold or flu) drugs or self medicate ... eat small amounts more often ... drink lots of liquids, REST.

Get it checked out if it doesn't pass or the symptoms get worse. In Canada we have a health line we can call if we don't want to go to the doctor's office. Do you have anything similar there? I find them quite helpful in determining when to go in and when not to.

Hope your hubby feels much better soon!!!

Thank you FromCanada! Unfortunately since my hubby has an auto immune liver disease he was told he really should get the H1N1 vacc, as well as pneumonia vacc, seasonal flu vacc (which he hasnt gotten yet) and that Hep vacc (twinrex?). That's alot of vacc's in my opinion for his poor liver.....

I am in Canada too and know which number you're speaking of, (TeleHealth). Thanks for your support and kind words :-)

Hello all- my son got his H1n1 shot last week, and I am happy to say that he didn't have much of a reaction at all! He did have an extremely tender arm at injection site, and earlier this week he did mention he was having a few more pains from his "splenic area" which may be associated or may not be. Other than that he has been pretty good. :o) I havent decided about getting the seasonal flu shot- (because in the past, every year we get this shot- we always get sick from it within 2 weeks usually!) It seems to me that h1n1 is the flu of the season.. so I'm not sure if I want to add extra insult into our body's if its not necessary.
For any of you that got the h1n1 shot.. how did your body feel after? Anything you might want to share, may help others... so Let us know! :o) POST IT!

I'm personally very suprised there havent been more media updates on any side effects or ill effects from the H1N1 vaccine. They seem to want to take any story and run with it.

Well, i posted above about my husbands side effects from his H1N1 vacc/Pneumonia vacc...He was down for the count for 3 days with various flu type symptoms. We think perhaps because he got BOTH of those vacc's the same day, it was too much for his comprimised immune system to handle...?

As for myself and my 2 year old son..he seemed to fair the best out of all 3 of us. His arm was very tender for a few days afterwards but didnt really show any other side effects that he could tell us about.

My arm hurt for days, and is still tender to touch over a week later. The day i got the shot i had various feelings on and off for about 24 hours:

-numbness in my fingers in the arm i got the shot on
-a cold sensatation on the left side of my body
-terrible headache
-very very tired
-neck ache, back ache right above my shoulder blades
-chills chills chills, that night i had to sleep in a hooded sweatshirt

The next day i felt really tired, and my tummy felt a bit "off" but I didnt really have any flu like symptoms.

I'm guessing everybody has a different reaction to it, some have nothing i guess, others pretty awful reactions......

Anyone else....??? It would be interesting to see what more people have to say.

Sue