Age: 33.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: FLU3, FLU3
Symptoms: Paraesthesia, Tongue spasm, Tremor
Clinical narrative: This retrospective pregnancy case was reported by a consumer who is also a healthcare professional and described the occurrence of hereditary spastic paraplegia in a 33-year-old female subject who was vaccinated with FLULAVAL (GlaxoSmithKline) during pregnancy. Concurrent medical conditions included hereditary spastic paraplegia. The subject had one previous pregnancy with a normal delivery at 36 weeks resulting in live birth. No prior history of miscarriage. No maternal or paternal history expected to affect the outcome of the pregnancy. On 10 January 2013 the subject received 1st dose of FLULAVAL (.5 ml, unknown). Her last menstrual period was on an unspecified date and estimated date of delivery was 07 October 2013. The subject was exposed to FLULAVAL during the first trimester. On 10 January 2013 at the time of vaccination of FLULAVAL, the subject experienced vaccine exposure during pregnancy. On 6 February 2013, 27 days after vaccination with FLULAVAL, the subject experienced hereditary spastic paraplegia, disease progression, miscarriage at 5 weeks gestation, extreme heat sensations in her feet that progressed into her chest and pelvis, numbness and tingling in her arms, tremors in her arms, back and abdomen. The subject also experienced unpleasant whole body sensation, facial twitching, tongue twitching, lip numbness, cheek numb, facial paresthesia, off balance, spasticity, muscle weakness, fingers will wriggle around, creepy crawly feeling, feeling anxious, brain zaps, sensation of electric shocks and electric jolt sensation [shock sensation in left side of her brain and her left arm jolted]. The subject considered the heat sensations, numbness, tingling and tremors possibly related to vaccination with FLULAVAL. The healthcare professional considered the events were disabling. The outcome of the pregnancy was a miscarriage at 5 weeks gestation. At the time of reporting the hereditary spastic paraplegia, disease progression, feeling hot, unpleasant whole body sensation, arm numbness, arm tingling, tremor, facial twitching, tongue twitching, lip numbness, cheek numb, facial paresthesia, off balance, spasticity, muscle weakness, finger twitching, creeping feelings, feeling anxious, brain zaps, sensation of electric shocks and electric jolt sensation were unresolved. The subject, who is also a nurse, reported that she received FLULAVAL vaccine on 10 January 2013. On 29 January 2013 she found out she was pregnant. On 06 February 2013 she miscarried at 5 weeks. Also on 06 February 2013 she started to get extreme heat sensations in her feet that progressed into her chest and pelvis. The subject was nervous about Guillain-Barre, so she went to the emergency room (ER). There is was determined that she did not have Guillain-Barre and it was suspected to be a progression of her pre existing genetic condition of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). Since then the symptoms have progressed so she now has this whole body sensation. There is numbness and tingling in her arms, tremors in her arms, back and abdomen. Her tongue and face twitch. Her lips and cheeks are numb. She has paresthesia in her face. She once had a shock sensation in left side of her brain and her left arm jolted. Balance has been off a little more. She has tremors, twitches and spasticity, more so than with her existing condition. Her HSP was largely asymptomatic, and only affects the lower body. The fact that her upper body and arms are affected suggests that this is not her HSP. She experiences muscle weakness when folding clothes and her arms will shake when working with a patient. After typing at work her fingers will wriggle around. It is difficult to text on the phone. She has a creepy crawly feeling. Since this started she has been feeling very anxious such it is mentally disabling. She has concerns about MS (multiple sclerosis) and Lou Gehrig Disease and has started seeing a counselor. She is seeing a neurologist to receive testing for MS, but the neurologist speculates this is a reaction to the FLULAVAL vaccination. At this point she does not think her symptoms have plateaued. It seems like every day there is something new. The existing symptoms are stable and have not improved. She is looking into whether she has received a vaccine with thimerosal in the past and is also curious about whether it could have been accidentally injected into her blood stream instead of muscle. She doesn't know if the pharmacist administered the vaccine check for blood before injecting.