When I received my first two Moderna jabs in California, I planned ahead for both. I timed them to line up perfectly with the weekend. In fact, for the second vaccine, I even took an extra day off just in case I had prolonged symptoms. With my booster shot, while I did line it up with the weekend, it was a last-minute decision thrown in with existing plans. Consequently, it took me four days to recover.
When and Where Did I Get My Booster Shot?
I got my booster shot two weeks ago while visiting Arizona. I booked my appointment via the Walmart app the day before. I was not surprised to find several openings. It is Arizona, after all.
I received the shot on a Friday afternoon and still felt unwell when I went to bed the following Monday night. In fact, I barely got any work done. I didn’t feel like myself again until waking up on Tuesday morning.
What Were My Symptoms?
General lethargy was one symptom that followed me throughout my “recovery”. Here are the others:
Day One: I immediately felt a little light-headed and had a pain in the arm I got the jab in. The pain wasn’t unbearable, but it certainly wasn’t the most comfortable two-hour drive back to camp.
Day Two: I woke up with a headache and still had a slight pain in my arm. I also had a swollen lymph node in the armpit on the side I got the vaccine. I didn’t have this symptom for the first two shots. To add to this, I got light-headed in the last half of the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until I had already started a three-hour roundtrip to pick up some items in town.
Day Three: I woke up feeling much better than the previous days, but I still had a swollen lymph node and felt a little tired. I went to bed early that night, after driving from Arizona back to Mexico.
Day Four: I was 100% sure I would be fine when I woke up on Monday. At first, I thought I was, but I had a difficult time concentrating and getting any work done. Thankfully, I didn’t need to cancel anything.
Day Five: I woke up with no symptoms and could resume work easily—except for the lymph node under my armpit. That disappeared by the end of the week.
What Do I Think Prolonged My Symptoms?
When I visited Arizona, I did so for one primary reason. The rooftop tent I had bought in February was finally being delivered. One of my neighbours in Mexico had volunteered his friend in Arizona to accept the tent. But, the person messed up the delivery and was not cooperating with me or the freight company. Consequently, I arranged for the company to hold it, so I could pick it up in person that Friday.
The tent cannot fit inside the truck. It’s longer than the full roof. So, another friend picked it up in his truck. We installed it on his ranch that Friday night, by flashlight. We had a tough time because the screws we received were the wrong size. So, instead of going to bed and getting some rest, I was lifting heavy objects, solving tent-mounting problems and getting sleepier by the second.
The following day, when I felt the sleep taking a hold of me again, I decided to fight it. I was worried that if I slept during the day, I’d have a tough time going to bed that night. That seemed like a bad idea when I had to drive back to Mexico the following morning. So, I stayed up.
In short, while my immune system was in overdrive and needed rest to mend itself, I was busy running around. I am 100% sure this is what caused my symptoms to last as long as they did.
As for the swollen lymph node, it’s a common immune response. It’s also a known potential side-effect of the vaccine. Consequently, while it did cause some discomfort, I wasn’t concerned about it.
Have you gotten your booster shot, yet? If yes, did you experience any symptoms? What were they? Were they better or worse than the symptoms you had with your other vaccine(s)? If you haven’t yet gotten your booster shot, be sure to schedule time for rest. Don’t fight it, like I did!
I’m not eligible for my booster yet having only been fully vaccinated 2 months ago. My reaction from the second one wasn’t great though, I had some minor chills and achy joints, while feeling spaced out. It definitely pays to not do any strenuous exercise or drink alcohol at the tome lol. I was fine after 2 days.
That’s true about the alcohol. They warned me of that for the first two shots. I didn’t have any alcoholic beverages around my booster shot days, but I did have caffeine. I wonder if that’s part of the problem. 😅
I received my booster of Moderna a month ago. I experienced many of the same things you listed plus I ran a mild fever for 24 hours post jab. I hadn’t experienced any lightheadedness or dizziness from the first 2, but this time it was hard to sit up from a laying down position or even walk because of my dizzy spells. The only swollen lymph nodes I experienced was 5 weeks after my second dose.
I was originally planning to wait on my booster, but since I was scheduled to have my wisdom teeth removed the end of October, I figured it was best to be boostered up what with strangers inside of my mouth.
LMAO at being boosted with strangers inside of your mouth! 😅 I have a similar reason. I need to head to the dentist soon for a wisdom tooth extraction and I have a flight over the Christmas holidays.
Sorry to hear you had an even worse experience than me, though. What do you think caused swollen lymph nodes a whole 5 weeks later?
Well it can take up to 2 weeks for the body to be fully protected after the shot (no matter which dose), so I just think it was a delayed immune response. In a way I’m grateful because I know my immune system is working.
I got the Pfizer booster shot because I’m over 65 years old. I just got a sore arm with the first shot but the second one, wow. But then they explained to us the second shot reactions were going to be worse. As for the booster shot, just a sore arm and I immediately ran for the Tylenol. No problems after that. I’m glad that you got the booster shot and the vaccines though.
That’s great that the Tylenol stopped the bad side effects for you. Someone who works at the Cali health department told me we should try not to take medication and let our bodies figure it out. I don’t see how that helped me this time, though! 😅
I had my booster a couple of months ago. My first two vaccines, I had nothing. The booster, on the other hand, kicked my butt. I had swollen lymph glands and felt like a truck ran over me. No fever, no headache, just body aches. With the first two I guzzled water from moments after the shot and continued for 24 hours. With the booster, I foolishly skipped that step. Not sure what caused the reaction the third time, but it is so much better than getting the virus. Glad you are better now.
I never heard of the water guzzling being helpful. Do you think that might have been the cause?
Sorry to hear it kicked your butt, but I’m glad we’re both well now. Like you said, so much better than being slapped with the full force of the virus.
Only hypothesizing as to the cause. All better now, so it’s all in the past. 🙂
Glad to see your feeling better. Godspeed young Goddess !!!
Thank you! I’m glad the side effects are behind me too.