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I was happy to receive the flu shot this year, as I feel like it's "doing my part" to stop the spread of the influenza virus. Plus, any inoculation that can either prevent, or lessen the symptoms, of flu is motivation to me!
I've received the flu shot annually, for the past 10 years. I have the typical soreness at site, possibly a little tired that evening. But that's it.
This year...my shoulder muscle (at the site of the injection) is still painful, so much that I can't move my arm forward at shoulder-level, or lift my arm up over my head, without a sharp pain in that one muscle. If my arm is still, it does not hurt. It is affecting my sleep, as I am confined to sleeping on only my right side (it is my left arm that hurts).
Are there any other reports of this flu shot symptom? Did I just not move my arm enough after the shot (kind of "favored it"), or is there something else wrong??
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Hello, I wanted to offer you a response regarding your flu shot. two years ago I also had a flu shot with long standing residual pain. Initially I thought that the shot had been given to high? or that maybe the wrong size needle was used? At any rate, my shoulder continued to hurt with the pain radiating down my arm to my hand and now 2yrs later, I still have periodic shoulder pain and my thumb has been affected and I developed what is called "DeQuarvan's Tendonitis" I wear a thumb spicca brace, which helps with the pain. I had an MRI initially of my shoulder and there was also "tendonitis" which is inflammation of the tendon. I had my flu shot given to me by a pharmacist at a grocery store. When I contacted the store to tell them about my shoulder and concerns that i may have received the shot in the wrong area or with a long needle (My arm is very thin and it is recommended that a shorter needle be used in thin people so as to not give injection into the shoulder joint) the store manager referred me to their regional office, who basically blew me off. Which was upsetting. I did obtain an attorney as a result and I'm still in litigation however as it turns out, new findings on the flu vaccines and from the CDC it appears that the "flu material" maybe causing a type of "allergic" reaction, and there are several thousands of people who all have the same varying degrees of shoulder injuries after they've gotten the flu vaccine.
I would contact The National Vaccine Injury compensation program:
http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html
They do indicate that you have to have had the symptoms for at least 6 months.
December 26, 2013 - 8:20amThis Comment
I have had the same pain that all of you are reporting now for 5 months . I told my doctor and he said it will go away . But it has not ! Not that I am overly worried , but the pain does effect my sleep and my day to day functions . Is there any hope the pain will subside ?
December 22, 2013 - 5:26pmThis Comment
I'm having the same problem, and my doctor is doing everything to blow it off. "It will go away in a couple of weeks with heat compress and anti-inflamatory meds." Guess what? No improvement, and the more I research the more I'm learning about this God awful problem that I didn't create.
December 22, 2013 - 7:58amThis Comment
I received my flu shot for my 3rd year, on Nov. 12, one month ago. The previous 2 years I had really bad arm pain that lasted maybe a week. This year the nurse gave it to me in my dominate right arm and she told me to make sure to exercise it (which is why she prefers to put it in the dominate arm). This year my pain only lasted a couple of days. BUT..... the pain came back at the beginning of this week and is worse than ever. The last 2 nights I haven't slept at all. (I sleep flat on my back with my arms at my sides, same as I have for decades). Ibuprofen has helped a bit. Why would the pain come back after being gone for 3 weeks?
December 13, 2013 - 4:41pmThis Comment
I am having the exact same problems described here since I had the standard flu shot (Fluvirin by Novartis) administered by a Walgreen's pharmacist 4 weeks ago on November 19, 2013. My symptoms include pain in my upper left arm and shoulder. No pain when the arm is at rest. But cannot lift my arm very high without pain; cannot reach above my head without pain; cannot reach behind my back without pain; cannot lift something as heavy as a full coffee cup without pain . Hurts to sleep on my left side. There is no external sign of inflammation and skin is not sensitive to touch. This is entirely different from my many years of getting flu shots and other vaccines. I had the normal post-shot soreness. Then, across a period of a week, the pain in the upper arm got progressively worse and spread into a broader area encompassing the left shoulder. I saw my internist three days ago and he seemed perplexed. He ordered an ultrasound to r/o hematoma (none was found). I am now being sent for an MRI. This is frustrating, painful, and mysterious. I travel for work and right now that is not going to be possible without aid. I cannot carry suitcases and computer bags. Driving a car any distance exacerbates the pain. Will let you know what I learn, but it is scary that after seeing the posts of numerous individuals to this site and others across a period of years, no medical professionals have gotten to the bottom of this.
December 9, 2013 - 9:57amThis Comment
I feel your pain. But know that it does get better!! In 2008 I came to this site, after receiving a DPT shot from what apparently was an untrained individual in my upper left arm that left me in the same situation as you and others here for months. Soreness, pain, swelling, odd burning sensations, numbness. Experienced it all. Night time was the worst. I will tell you now that it is completely gone, so that is the good news. If you think back to the individual that gave the shot and the type of needle used, you will probably have your answer as to what occurred. The individual administering my shot did not pinch the skin in my arm to prep it, she just jabbed it in and it most likely hit a nerve, and possibly bone too.
I read an article recently that they are looking into/have developed retractable needles for this purpose. This would be a great thing!
As to what I did: KEEP IT MOVING. I know this may sound painful, but it is essential. You can Google exercises for shoulder pain or frozen shoulder and do those. Once the swelling is alleviated, you can use heat. Massaging the area also helped me. It may take weeks or months (mine took about 4-5 months to heal) to go back to normal. I also took Tylenol under a doc's supervision and he also did prescribe a muscle relaxer which I only took at night to sleep during the first month.
Good luck, and happy holidays.
December 9, 2013 - 1:03pmThis Comment
I am having a similar issue from the Dtap vaccine I recieved 8 days ago. My shot was giving very high up on my arm near the shoulder. I woke up the next morning with pain in my shoulder and upper arm--barely able to wash my hair, get dressed, etc. I have limited range of motion, can not lift my arm overhead, can not reach behind my back, and am having trouble sleeping. It got worse for about 3 days and them leveled off, but the pain is unbearable without advil/tylenol combo every 4 to 6 hours. I am going to the clinic where I received the shot tomorrow morning to find out what is going on.
December 3, 2013 - 7:19pmThis Comment
So glad to have stumbled upon this after researching pain and flu shots. It will be two weeks this Saturday and it is disrupting my sleep, I have trouble putting shirt on/off and pain while washing my hair, etc. I too had my injection really high, close to the shoulder. For those of you being told the injection hit a nerve, will this go away?
November 28, 2013 - 8:17pmThis Comment
I took the vaccine for flu in September 2009. If you scroll through the many responses on this thread, this is not a new problem. It has been going on for years. I feel that I am pretty much recovered but will never be fully recovered. I may be the exception to the case, but it honestly took me 4 months to even be able to sleep on my left side or back again since I received the shot in my left arm. It took an additional nearly 3 years to wake up one day mostly pain free. It took perseverance in Physical Therapy and using that arm in spite of the terrible pain to overcome my problems. My answer is that the pain will eventually go away, but seek help from your doctor or trusted medical professional. Not the answer you may be looking for, but I hope the truth helps.
December 4, 2013 - 7:01amThis Comment
So glad to have stumbled upon this after researching pain and flu shots. It will be two weeks this Saturday and it is disrupting my sleep, I have trouble putting shirt on/off and pain while washing my hair, etc. I too had my injection really high, close to the shoulder. For those of you being told the injection hit a nerve, will this go away?
November 28, 2013 - 8:17pmThis Comment