I hope that you're feeling better today.

Congratulations at giving up smoking. Are you breathing better?

Two years ago I got the high dose flu vaccine.

I developed a high fever, chills and muscle pain which lasted less than 24 hours.

Last year I opted for the regular dose ...no problems. Not sure what I will do this time.

Got my flu shot a couple of days ago, started feeling a little like I might be coming down with a cold last night so I took an extra vitamin C tablet. About the same today, so took another big dose of 'C'. Don't know if it's from the shot or the wonky weather we're having. No one has ever said anything to me about 'regular' or 'high dose' flu shots, so I have no idea which I received. The very first flu shot I ever got, several years ago, I was sick for a week! So I didn't take them for the next few years. 3 years ago I let my doctor talk me into trying them again, and had no problems at all.

I sure hope you are feeling better now, Rose. And congratulations on the 100 smoke free days!! That is a wonderful accomplishment! ! And a very rewarding one, too!

Rusty

I sure hope you are feeling better today and congrats on your 100 days of not smoking. How did you do it...cold turkey or weaning off?

100 days!! Very, very good! Keep it up.

I got the high dose last year and had no side effects.

Never had a flu shot. Not going to start now unless I develope some condition to put me at higher risk for dying of the flu. Survived the real flu last year. It was a doozy. First time I have had the flu in several decades. Figure my natural immunity is somewhat good for the rest of my life.

I did get a pneumonia shot a few months back at my physical. It did make me feel a bit ill for a couple of days. But I will go back for the second dose anyway.

I didn't realize there is a high dose! I'm sorry you weren't feeling well. Congrats on your 100 days!

I just got a flu shot today, but it must have been a regular one. I am traveling to Europe next month and will be on 4 different flights, so I hope the flu shot will provide some protection.

Congrats on passing the 100 day mark - that's a real achievement.

DH and I both received our high dose flu shoot last week and neither of us had any significant reactions other than the expected slight soreness around the injection area.

DH and I have both had the higher dose flu shot more than one year...no issues other than a sore shoulder some years. And, no flu in more than three decades. The last year we had back to back flu my FIL was still living and he died in 1986. I don't remember the exact year but DH was ill and missed his fathers birthday dinner. The first day he felt well, I was in bed unable to raise my head from the pillow. We have not skipped getting a flu shot since that year, or had another bout with flu.

Cheers for you Rose - great work!

Great Job Rose! 100 days!

Since I was a recent transplant patient last year, my oncologist wanted me to have the high dose flu shot. I'd say my reaction to it was very comparable to that of when I get the "normal" one. I'm supposed to go ahead and get the "normal" version this year.

Congratulations on quitting smoking.

I don't take flu shots. I don't remember ever having the flu. My prediction is I won't get it this year either. Also predicting I won't get a cold.

DH and I have had the 'high dose' for two years. No reaction.

Also no protection from whatever it was we had fall of 2016. First DH, then me. Down for the count for two weeks and another week of feeling 'weakly'. Neither of us 'tested positive' for 'the flu' then, but what the heck else could it have been! I hadn't been that sick in almost fifty years.

Congratulations on the 100 days smoke free!!!!!

I've been getting the high dose since it first came out - don't remember when. It's not a big deal - sore shoulder for a day or so.

Taking advice from apparently uninformed people is even worse than bad for you!

Happy hundredth!

Sorry you had a bad reaction. Hope that it was just a minor blip. Hope you feel better quickly!

Happy hundredth!

Congratulations on the major achievement! Keep up the great work. I hope you feel back to normal soon.

Thirty years ago my husband I both went down with a terrible flu. Since then I've never had more than a cold and never had a flu shot. I've survived Cancer. I try to lead a healthy life. Now I read that I could spread flu without having the flu. Now, unless I am visiting and touching a very sick person or a young child, what are the chances that I will infect somebody with the flu that I MAY be carrying? I won't be sneezing or coughing. I will be touching furniture, riding the bus. Isn't it everybody's responsibility to wash their hands, not touch face, mouth, etc. to avoid getting any stranger's bacteria, virus, whatever. We are exposed to multiple microbes, etc every day, not just the flu. I am sincerely asking the question, not challenging those who choose to get the shot.

bleusblue, I haven't been in a fatal car crash in the last 30 years. Would it be prudent for me to decide there's no need for me to use seat belts when in a car?

If you're exposed to the flu, the likelihood is you'll contract the flu. If you get a flu shot, there's less likelihood. Your not getting the flu is like me not having had a fatal car crash. It happens but it's hardly a reason to take an unnecessary risk. It's a choice of course but your reasoning is flawed.

Thanks for all the responses. I am 69 and have some respiratory problems, due to my smoking I'm sure. The high dose was recommended for me. I only felt lousy for about 18 hrs so I guess that wasn't too bad and my arm only hurt for a couple days.

This is from the Harvard Health web site and it dispels 10 common flu myths.

MYTH: You can't spread the flu if you're feeling well.

Actually, 20% to 30% of people carrying the influenza virus have no symptoms.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/10-flu-myths

Elmer --if I don't get the flu shot and I end up contracting flu, I will suffer through it and regret not getting the flu shot. My reasoning is -- I have a good immune system -- certainly I must have been exposed to the flu over thirty years time. Soooo -- shall I really likely that I may be a carrier endangering everyone around me? And fill myself full of injections thirty years in a row? We are surrounded by "carriers", we are exposed to germs, microbes and viruses. Everybody should take precautions, washing hands, etc. I will not touch any babies or weakened people. I think this is a reasonable concern. Your car example isn't equivalent. The proof that not wearing a seatbelt can cause death is visible to me in accident reports so I take that precaution. The proof that I am highly likely to be transmitting flu even though I'm not coughing or sneezing into the atmosphere is not visible to me. In the event that I feel vulnerable to flu because of age, or that I must spend days caring for a vulnerable person, I will get the shot.

I always find it perplexing and also somewhat sad when people feel secure making rigid health decisions with an absence of real information and knowledge. I think that's what you've done. That you've not had the flu recently isn't evidence that your choice in this matter is justified.

Ask your doctor, follow their advice. Convincing yourself that your "analysis" about this or any other health matter has any validity at all, in the absence of your having comparable years of medical training as your MD, is foolish and not in your best interest.

I have no knowledge of my own about this and wouldn't pretend to. I pass along advice I've received consistently from a variety of smart doctors with no vested interest in what I do, other than generally an interest in my continuing good health.

Do you know what Elmer -- 30 years with no flu, living in a big city surrounded by coughing sneezing people -- I'm not predicting a darn thing -- just that it has worked out so far. Glad not to have had thirty shots. And I can tell you that I have twice not followed my doctor's advice. I have given her my reasons. It has happened twice that she told me I was right after the fact. It has happened ONCE that I followed her advice and regretted it -- and she is up to date.. This does not mean I don't follow her advice and then laugh about "I told you so." I trust her to have the most up to date information as I said. I have made some decisions on my own. No, I'm not a doctor. I know that. I'm not an automaton. I weigh the options and make my decision and live with it.

I've had the flu two times in my life...the absolutely only time in my life I've been so sick I stayed in bed(except as a child with measles) I would never not get the flu shot. I just called the doctor office and starting tomorrow they are scheduling shots so I'll be calling for the high-end one for me and my husband.

Congratulations on 100 smoke-free days!

Got my high-dose flu shot today. So far, so good.

A good link to the Harvard Med website from maire-cate, the piece especially talks about people getting misinformation and bad advice from unqualified sources.

All docs recommend getting flu shots. Experts in public health recommend the same.

Bleusblue, it's a wonder to me how, as an untrained person, you would have the immodesty to think your view of this matter stands on more solid ground than the consistent advice offered by experts. The shot is cheap, adverse reactions are rare, and the protection is better than doing nothing. You think otherwise. You don't deserve the consequences of your own poor judgement but you may needlessly face them. Good luck.

It is a wonder to me, Elmer, how you think it is your business whether or not someone gets the flu shot or not. But evidently you think it is. It's not. Don't spend time worrying about what other people do that does not concern you.

I was responding to her comment, marilyn, just as you responded to mine. That's what a conversation is. My attention was drawn by her boasting about what most would consider to be misinformation and poor judgement as if it were otherwise. I know I'm not alone feeling the equivalent of a face palm reaction, just maybe more verbal and more persistent and perhaps too persistent.

Elmer -- where do you see boasting. Yes, I do make my own decisions and occasionally do not take the doctor's advice. I am not boasting about it. But I think your comment that I boast is rude. I have been right and I have been wrong. You consider that I use poor judgement. OK. I'm not boasting about it. There are nuances in life that cause one to go on another path than the one that is judged correct.

I won't be baited. But I'd say you've mischaracterized your boasting because you've been wrong and lucky if diverging from your doctor's advice, not wrong and right. What you said is clear for others to read, same is true for what I said.

There's another reason that health officials recommend that nearly everyone, starting at six months of age, get this vaccine:

Getting a flu shotisn’t all about you. It’s also about the people who are unable to get flu shots, the ones whose immune systems can’t fight off a virus like yours can and the ones already weak from battling cancer and other illnesses. When you get the flu shot, it doesn't just protect you; it protects all of us.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! Here's to 90 days more, than 90 days more than 90 days more and so on and so on!