Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Hi,
I had the Moderna vaccine back in March. Never had Covid, got the shot with only a bad headache for a few days. I thought all was swell until the storm rolled in. I have had RA for a few years (no biologic seems to have worked for me). My RA was moderate but tolerable. Now I am wrecked. Some days I can't get out of bed because both my hands/wrists/ shoulders hurt and knees. I scream b/c I know terrible pain is going to shoot through me. I took Prednisone but barely helped. I have been to the Doctor and they said they have had some people with similar complaints but they would give them a shot of steroids and all would be fine again. NO nothing but insomnia from 80 mg of the crap.
It has now been since March 23rd and am in daily pain. Am I alone? Is this my new reality? I am scared.
As ususal, I agree with Kim. Get a second opinion. If I were you I'd ask to try another biological. In the meantime, did you just have a pred injection or were you givern oral pred? Oral pred is the usual treatment for a flare until other meds take effect. And they WILL.
What biolgicals have you tried so far that hasn't worked? There is almost ALWAYS another to try. Have you take methotrexate? Most biologoicals work best WITH meth.
Good luck.
I've had one shot of Pfizer. I had no reaction at all, not even a sore arm. My only thought when I had the shot, was that it hurt a lot less than my Cimzia shot. Lol
We are all so unique in our RA challenges, and this seems to be another place it happens
If you have been suffering for months, time to change your meds, or add meds. When I moved provinces in 2015, I was on Simponi, which was 100% from the day I took it! I started getting a few flares as we packed. A week after we moved in, Simponi just stopped working completely, with a double dose. I think the move was just too hard on my body.
It could be this happened to you with your COVID shots it just stressed out your whole body. Since not everyone gets this, with RA, that suggests your body was triggered, rather than being something IN the vaccine, it was just your body's defence system.
Please see your rheumatologist, if he does nothing, see your GP. Then phone some COVID hot lines, to complain about these side effects, and what can be done. As a last resort, phone the CDC to report your side effects to them. You should not ignore what happened.
Sadly, all people with autoimmune diseases were purposely excluded from the trials. I read they are looking at people like us, anecdotally. A big part of what they have found is a very low efficacy rate. Some are as low as 18% protection after the first shot, and 30% after the 2 shots, when most reports for Moderna and Pfizer say about 95% efficacy rates. I don't know if they have begun to compile side effects for people like us.
I'm sorry this is happening. Don't give up, bug your rheumatologist and others till you get some answers and get on meds that work.