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COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot and Myasthenia Gravis
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The Covid vaccine (Pfizer) 100% caused my initial MG, so no way would I consider the boosters. One can argue that “I already had it, the vaccine was just the trigger”. Okay, but I’d counter argue that trigger may NEVER have been pulled in my life otherwise. My neurologist actually said that, so trigger vs cause is just semantics IMO. And I’ve had Covid 3 times since anyway. 🤷🏼♂️
I wasn’t an anti vax-er or crazy 😂, but I’ve now had several doctors tell me that the mRNA vaccine appears to be the cause (or trigger) for a wide spectrum of neurological and other health issues, including a significant spike in initial MG and exasperated MG of existing patients. Jabbee beware!
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I agree about the semantics, in my opinion it is a cause not a trigger, because like you said it may otherwise never have appeared.
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I’m 63 and had MG for 2 1/2 years now. First Mederna shot went very well, 2nd Maderna shot I didn’t feel well after. Within a week my eyes started drooping and hard to chew my food and lost all my strength during pheasant hunting trip and had to leave early. When I arrived back home 2-days later my eyes went to double vision when lifting a heavy object in my garage. Like every body else I had no clue what was going on starting with the eye doctor for double vision etc. After reading about my symptoms on the internet I diagnosed myself to about 4-5 disease possibilities.
I showed them to my primary doctor whom referred me to my now neurologist. 3 months later and a series of blood and MRI test I was diagnosed with full blown MG.
To cut to the chase it was probably coincidental of the 2nd Covid shot timing and having MG symptoms begin in the same week but there’s a place in the back of my mind that still feels they are related so in short I have no intentions of getting any further Covid booster related shots. I have never been diagnosed with Covid but lost my sense of smell about 18 months ago and still don’t have it back. I take elderberry vitamins daily and haven’t been sick for over a year. That’s petty good as my job requires much travel through airports, motels etc. My neurologist tells me they have seen a lot more neurological related patients show up in their office since Covid but has no opinion if MG and Covid could be related or not.
Please understand that my Covid shot experience is of my opinion only and just sharing my experience with the forum.
On an unrelated topic, I had a shingles shot last year that really threw me for a loop, was extremely sick and lost 20 lbs in a week plus most importantly I’ve learned that Anastasia is potentially dangerous on MG patients during surgery or other procedures. I’m having back surgery in a week and for a cautionary step to prevent the possibility of an MG crises during surgery, they will be giving me an IVIG infusion the day before and the day after surgery…
Hopefully in time and by sharing our experiences, we’ll all be much more informed about MG..Hope this helps..
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I don’t say this lightly, as a registered nurse I felt it was my duty to get the vaccine. I was reluctant because I had had COVID and never got better and wasn’t sure how to vaccine would react. (Found out 3.5 years later that I had acquired MG after having Covid) So I went ahead and got the vaccine in 2021. I will not have it again. It exacerbated my disease. I started having symptoms I never had before, like choking, problems with my speech, week arms/shoulders and upper leg weakness. It was approx 7-10 days after the vaccine.
Understanding the immune system pretty well, it certainly makes sense that the spike protein can make someone’s immune system go haywire. Not everyones’, but some and I am unfortunately one of those people. I had a great life until Covid came along and am determined to get it back.
Best wishes to all,
Michelle
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I did fine with my first three shots but the next 2 boosters really triggered my MG symptoms, double vision after years without any, stiff painful neck, drooping eye and mouth, unsteady walk. The flares only lasted a week or so and there was no crises but still… I probably am not taking any more boosters for the fore seeable future. I would do so if the situation with Covid became really dire across the nation again.
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I’ve had all Covid 19 shots with little negative responses. I will continue to get thiem.
I think this is a decision best left up to the patient and Dr.
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I believe the Covid vaccine was what actually gave me the MG. My neuro said no but next appt he said he was seeing a lot more cases of it. I had my first shot in late March and the second in April. Was diagnosed in end of May. Symptoms actually started in mid May.
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I’ve kept up with all the Covid shots (vaccines and boosters) since the start of the pandemic (which happens to also be around the time my MG started). I’ve never had any symptoms from the shots (both Pfizer and Moderna) other than a little soreness at the injection sites. I don’t know if there’s a relationship, but I’ve also never had Covid symptoms whenever I’ve acquired a Covid infection (i.e., positive Covid test). I wonder, too, if the Prednisone or Mestinon that I am usually on are possibly responsible for negating the Covid shots’ symptoms. It’s truly fascinating that we’re all so different from each other!! MGFA should sell snowflake pins for us to wear.
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While the timing could be a coincidence, I think the COVID-19 vaccine caused my MG. But that being said, I don’t know if the vaccine caused it or triggered my MG. For context, I am currently in my late 20s, and I was diagnosed with myasthenia over two years ago.
One week after the third vaccine, I started to have symptoms developing first on the same side as the vaccine before “spreading” to the other side. In less than one month, I rapidly deteriorated and became so weak that I could barely walk, eat, or even hold up a cup of water. In comparison, I was an exercise fanatic and often lifted heavy weights.
Fortunately, I was diagnosed by a neurologist very quickly and had a VATS thymectomy less than a year after diagnosis. Currently, I am 20 months post-thymectomy, and I’m in pharmacological remission. I still need to take Mestinon, prednisone, and CellCept, but my doctor is tapering my meds. I am not 100% back to how I was before getting sick, but I’m slowly moving in the right direction.
Kind regards,
Taylor
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I did not take any Covid-19 vaccine or boosters. Way too much shifting sand from ALL the global health authorities regarding same. It’s still difficult to comprehend the manufacture and distribution of hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine 6 months after its initial discovery. As a 70 year old male with limited abilities due to MG, I got the flu and tested positive with Covid-19 twice between 2021-22. It was the flu, and I survived.
I also believe there to be no measurable benefit to wearing paper masks. It’s difficult enough for me to breathe when I am tired or weak without restricting the only air intakes I have available.
That being said, if you feel more comfortable in taking vaccines, boosters and wearing paper/fabric masks, you should feel free to do so, and I will always support your decision to take such precautions. Just please do not force me to take said precautions if I don’t believe in their benefit.
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I’m in Canada and I’ve had 6 Covid-19 shots, starting with the first 2 Pfizer and the next 4 boosters either Moderna and Pfizer, as soon as I was eligible (with one exception stated below). For the first 4 shots, because I was so stable, my neurologist allowed me to reduce Cellcept for 2 weeks starting 2 days before a shot. I got slightly stronger reactions from the Moderna vaccine but they were mild: a sore arm, fatigue and muscle aches.
This fall, I got boosters for Covid-19, flu and pneumonia, and the new RSV vaccine. My neurologist strongly recommends I get immunized esp. against respiratory viruses because MG affects the lung muscles. Also, I have many co-morbidities on top of MG which makes me high risk, and during the pandemic, ICUs were mostly full of high risk patients. So for me, it makes sense to be immunized.
<font face=”inherit”>Does it work? I had Covid once in August 2021 and the person I was exposed to was quite sick with it. I wasn’t, but I started Paxlovid antiviral meds on day 2 after the symptoms started. Paxlovid stopped the progression of the disease and I was mostly symptom free except for a week or so some brain oddities, like forgetting words and which way to turn the shower faucet off and weird super-salty & super-sweet tastes at </font>times<font face=”inherit”>.</font>
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I address my comments to the staff that produces this newsletter because I do not understand why this particular article on the Covid vaccine is in my inbox today as it is so outdated! Why would you print these comments from way back in 2021 when so many things have changed? I hope you will keep topics current, not 3 years old. Thanks, Claire
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Yes, it’s a vexed question re vaccines and autoimmunity. I was MG triggered (probably) by a hepatitis vaccine in 1962 and had a thymectomy in 1964; I do think there were hints of MG prior. The surgery helped as did naturopathy and homoeopathy and I eventually stopped Mestinon for a few years and became a massage therapist! In my late 70’s I take a little Mestinon. I’ve had 2 x Astra Zenica, 3 x Pfizer vaccines with little myasthenic troubles, but have had mild Covid twice despite being careful, and subsequently, vascular issues ( BP issues difficult to control) and aches and pains which might be polymyalgia rheumatica. Who know if it’s vaccine related or just my age …almost 80. When I take my next vaccine, I will do what I usually do, take KI Immune Defence, which contains Astragalus herb, an adaptogen (Martin and Pleasance Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia) for a week before and a week after the booster. Adaptogens help the body cope with stress and return to homoeostasis. I believe they help me, not sure about you.
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