Age: 68.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: PPV, PPV
Symptoms: Injection site erythema, Injection site pain, Injection site swelling, Laboratory test normal, Muscular weakness
Clinical narrative: This spontaneous report was received from a physician, the 68 year old female patient and also the daughter of the patient. Concurrent conditions included diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. The patient was allergic to BACTRIM and sulfa drugs. Concomitant medications were INVOCANA, LEVEMIR, NOVOLOG, baby aspirin, LIPITOR, amlodipine, metformin and AMARYL. In September 2010, the patient received her first dose of PNEUMOVAX 23 intramuscularly (lot number not provided) and there were no adverse effects. The physician and patient reported that on 20-FEB-2017 (reported by the daughter as 27-FEB-2017), the patient received her second dose of PNEUMOVAX 23 intramuscularly for "routine vaccine" and for prevention of pneumococcal disease (lot number M036728; expiration 20-MAY-2018).  The physician stated the patient called the physician's office on 21-FEB-2017 to report that within 12 hours after receiving PNEUMOVAX 23, she developed redness, swelling and soreness at the injection site. The patient reported that a few days after the vaccine, she began to experience severe reactions including extreme weakness in both arms and legs and numbness in her right arm. The patient described the adverse experiences as "having the life being sucked out of her" and her extremities "felt like they weighed 100 pounds". The daughter stated that on 03-MAR-2017, her mother began feeling weak in her arms and her legs felt heavy and tired. The physician said that "11 days later", (reported as the daughter as 04-MAR-2017) the patient called the physician's office again complaining of weakness in both arms and legs. The daughter stated the physician stated that "her symptoms may not be a reaction to PNEUMOVAX 23 and if she didn't feel better then to call back on 06-MAR-2017". The physician recommended that the patient go to the Emergency Room (ER). The physician stated that on an unspecified date, the patient went to the ER but was not admitted. The patient stated that when the symptoms first began, she went to a hospital but they "couldn't find anything wrong". The patient was seen in the physician's office for a follow-up visit two days after going to the hospital (reported by the daughter as 06-MAR-2017) at which time the patient complained of continued weakness, easy fatigue and pain all over her body. The patient stated her physician also "couldn't find anything wrong". She was referred to a neurologist who she saw on 07-MAR-2017 to rule out Guillain-Barre which the neurologist ruled out. The daughter stated that the neurologist stated they could not verify that all of the symptoms were a result of PNEUMOVAX 23. The neurologist put the patient on a prednisone taper from 07-MAR-2017 through 12-MAR-2017 and an electromyogram (EMG) was scheduled. At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered from the events. The daughter stated that thus far, her mother had no relief from her symptoms and was unsure of what else to do. The patient stated she was "running out of options and may need to seek legal counsel". Additional information has been requested.