Age: 50.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: PNC13
Symptoms: Malaise, Orthosis user, Pain in extremity, Weight bearing difficulty
Clinical narrative: I was given the Pneumococcal Conjugate PVC 13 vaccine on 10/18/17 in my right arm at my local pharmacy by the pharmacist. Both my GP and Asthma/Allergy doctors had recommended I receive this vaccine. The evening after the injection, I experienced some discomfort at the injection site.  The following day, I had persistent pain in my right arm from my shoulder down to my elbow and the following day this pain extended down into my wrist and hand. At the same time, I had a general feeling of being unwell, feeling a heaviness in my chest and my glands in my neck and collarbone were swollen. I went back to the pharmacist and told her I was in a lot of pain and feeling unwell and asked her if this was something I should be worried about. She told me that this was to be expected and that if it hadn't resolved in a few days, to go see my GP. The next day, the pain subsided somewhat and I began to feel better. After a few more days, I was feeling much better, though not back to normal. In the second week of December, I thought I had injured my right forearm opening a can of dog food that the pull tab had come loose from. I hit the top of the can multiple times with a butter knife, hoping to pop the seal, hitting it progressively harder, but not as hard as I possibly could. The next day, I had significant pain in my right forearm and elbow.  I abstained from my regular exercise routine and rested it for a couple of weeks, but it did not resolve itself and continued to get progressively worse. I then went to an Urgent care center, as it was the weekend, when the pain became intolerable. I was told that I had tennis elbow and to get a brace specifically for tennis elbow, which I did and which I wore all day, every day for two weeks.  The pain did not subside, but increased and became more pronounced in my arm and elbow. I went to an orthopedic doctor who told me I had a muscle strain and tennis elbow and was given a wrist brace and told to go to a Physical Therapist. I went to physical therapy for the next three weeks with no improvement and increased pain that has now encompassed my entire elbow and has extended from my forearm into my wrist and hand. I then went to a different orthopedic doctor and was given a cortisone injection in my forearm muscle and was told to continue physical therapy and go back to wearing the wrist brace. As I was driving home from the doctor's office that day, I was trying to figure out how this had started and why this was not getting any better and it suddenly occurred to me that the pain I have been feeling in my arm is similar to the pain I felt when I got the Pneumococcal vaccine, though somewhat different in that it has caused me to have muscle weakness in my entire arm so that I can no longer do most things I would normally do. I can barely support any weight with my right arm and am relying on my left arm almost completely. I am hoping to find out from you whether there have been any other cases reported to you of this type of reaction to the vaccine and whether anybody has had a recurrence of this pain some months after receiving the vaccine? I apologize for the long winded explanation, but hope that it will give you a clearer picture of what I am trying to find out and what might be going on with my arm. I would also like some feedback that I can take with me when I go to see my GP and try to resolve this once and for all.