Age: 70.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: FLU3
Symptoms: Urine analysis, Vaccination complication, White blood cell count normal
Clinical narrative: It should be noted up front that before this incident, I had never spent a night in a hospital since the time I was born.  My wife and I went to the local Pharmacy and got flu immunization shots at about 1:30 PM on 11-10-2011.  After dinner, at about 6:15 PM, while getting ready to go to a local high school football game, I noticed a little scratchiness or hoarseness in my throat.  At about 6:30 PM we started walking the 1 mile to the football stadium.  While we were walking, I noticed some general aching in the upper areas of my back/neck/shoulders.  We got up into our seats in the stadium just before the game started at 7:00 PM.  Early on in the game I started to feel a little nauseous.  By the end of the first quarter the nausea was getting worse, and even though the temp was in the mid-50's and we were dressed warmly, I began to get the chills and my legs were shaking.  By the middle of the second quarter, the nausea was getting worse.  I told my wife that if it didn't pass, we should leave at halftime.  When there were about 2 minutes left in the second quarter, the nausea became bad enough that I thought I might have to vomit, so I told my wife we should leave immediately.  When I stood up and we started to pack our cushions and blanket in our bag, I got very light-headed and told my wife I needed to sit down because I was going to pass out..and I apparently did shortly after.  The next thing I remember was somebody was putting my legs up and I was lying down on the bleachers.  I must have been in and out for 2-3 minutes, but I remember the football team trainer taking my pulse and vital signs.  My wife noted my face was drained of color before I passed out.  Somebody called 911 because the next thing I remember was seeing the fire truck and ambulance out on the street.  By that time the faintness and light-headedness had passed and I felt okay..and was not cold any more.  The trainer said we should sit in our seats until the paramedics got there.  The paramedics checked me out and by that time I was getting chilled again  my legs were quivering  and the paramedics told me my pulse rate was very high and my blood pressure was very low and that I should get to an emergency room as soon as possible.  They wanted to take me by ambulance but I declined.  Our neighbor took us home and my wife drove me to the hospital.  By the time we got there it was about 9:00 PM.  I was given an EKG test, and within a few minutes I was taken into one of the emergency rooms.  They immediately found I still had a very high pulse rate, a fever, low blood pressure, my blood oxygen was low, and was very dehydrated.  My eyes felt very itchy and my wife noted the whites of my eyes were all red.  By then the symptoms of nausea were pretty well diminished, and I never did vomit.  I was given water to drink, was hooked up to an IV and had an oxygen clip put in my nose.  I was given a Motrin and two Tylenol for the fever.  They took the first of several blood samples and pricked my hand and finger to do oxygen level and sugar level tests.  They asked me for a urine sample, but even though I was by then already on my second IV and had drunk a few glasses of water, I couldn't produce any urine.  Also, my pulse at rest was running around 130 or higher, and whenever I would stand up and try to produce urine, my pulse rate would jump up to over 150 (the rate alarm would go off).  After a third (this time pressurized to put it in faster) IV was attached and I drank some more water, I was finally able to produce a small sample of urine.  The emergency room doctor told me he wanted to keep me overnight because of the high pulse rate.  He contacted my doctor, who happened to be on call at the hospital that night.  My doctor arrived at about midnight and after looking at test results he concurred that I should be admitted and ordered some additional blood tests.  I was taken from the emergency room to a room upstairs and got settled in shortly after 2 AM.  I was hooked up to another IV and more oxygen.  My pulse rate was still high, but my blood pressure was closer to normal.  During the night, nurses came in to check my IV and check my vital signs every hour or so.  By early morning my pulse rate and blood pressure had returned pretty much to normal.  My doctor came in about 7:30 AM and confirmed that, but to rule out possible causes he had ordered another EKG, an x-ray of my upper chest area, a heart echocardiogram, and more blood tests..and wanted me to stay in the hospital until a cardiologist could look at the results of the echocardiogram.  By then I believe I had had 4-5 IV's and my doctor said I didn't need any more IV's or oxygen.  The cardiologist stopped by after lunch, examined me, and told me that the EKG's and echocardiogram indicated that everything in my heart seemed normal and the incident was probably not caused by a cardio (heart) issue.   I thought I would be discharged later that afternoon after meeting with the cardiologist but when my doctor returned after 5:00 PM, he said that he wanted to have a hematologist examin the results of another blood test because my platelet counts were low and said I should stay in the hospital another night.  The hematologist arrived a little after 1 PM the next day and told me that my white and red counts were normal and the low platelet count would only be critical if you are a bleeder and/or had surgery.  He ordered more blood to be drawn for further tests and suggested that I schedule a follow-up appointment to review results the next week.   At about 2 PM, a technician came in to take the additional blood samples, and a little later another nurse came in to have us sign the discharge papers.  After getting dressed, I was wheeled down to the lobby and we left the hospital about 3 PM on 11-12.    From 11-12 to 11-15, I had what seemed to be cyclic low level flu symptoms; i.e., I  typically woke up with what my wife called "morning sickness".low level headache, nausea, and general feeling of malaise, but my temperature was always in the normal range.  On 11-13, I had a slight case of diarrhea.  Usually, the symptoms would subside after lunch and I'd feel pretty good until later in the afternoon, when the symptoms would start to reappear.  By dinner time and later, however, I usually felt pretty good.  2011-11-16.  Had follow-up appointment with hematologist.  The first think he mentioned was that I was the second person he had seen that day that had low platelet counts after having received a flu immunization shot.  He looked at results of the most recent blood tests and said my most recent blood test at the hospital was positive for lupus antibodies.  He also said, however, that he didn't always trust hospital test results..so after the appointment he had me go into the adjoining Lab and have more blood drawn for further testing.  He also ordered up a brain MRI (to see if I had a stroke or tumor that could have caused the incident) and an ultrasound test of my carotid artery.   2011-11-29.  Had brain MRI and ultrasound test of my carotid artery.  Results of both tests showed no problem found.   2011-11-30.   Had another blood sample drawn at the Lab before a follow-up appointment with blood doctor.  He told me that the blood samples showed my platelet count was now normal and that in the latest tests my blood tested negative for the lupus antibodies.   He also said he had now seen a total of 3 people in the last week that had low platelet counts after getting a flu shot.     2011-12-06.  Had a treadmill stress test with EKG at cardiologist.  After looking at test results, cardiologist said that there was nothing abnormal and no indication of cardiovascular disease or heart problems.    2011-12-08.  Had a final follow-up appointment with my doctor.  He confirmed that everything now tested out normal, and all other possible causes other than the flu shot had been ruled out.  Bottom line..the reaction to this flu shot will probably end up costing me the deductible portion of my insurance ($3300) for the costs of emergency room, hospital, doctors and specialists, diagnostic tests, etc.  Is there any way I can get reimbursed for this?