Age: 50.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: VARZOS
Symptoms: Injection site pain, Injection site paraesthesia, Iron deficiency, Laboratory test abnormal, Loss of personal independence in daily activities
Clinical narrative: I took the Shingrix shot May 20th. I initially felt soreness on my left side. On May 28th I had cold sweats, tingling, numbness and burning sensations radiating and spreading from the injection site. On May 29th I visited the ER since I suspected GBS due to the shot and was concerned that if I didn't get early treatment the problem would be more long-lasting and serious, than if I would get early intervention. The ER doctor refused to accept this as GBS in the absence of serious muscle and reflex involvement and suspected stroke. He ordered a CT scan and it came back negative. I decided to go back home at this point. The tingling subsided the next day and was replaced by shortness of breath, and extremely high blood pressure (I never had problems with this and always had low blood pressure for my age), and I had problems with controlling my body temperature. I take sertraline (25 mg once a day- a very low dose) in order to cope with anxiety caused by insomnia. I told the ER doctor that I suffer from anxiety ONLY in conjunction with insomnia and that I had two panic attacks in the week preceding the Shingrix shot. I would like to note that this was a VERY unusual situation for me, and I rarely suffer from anxiety and panic attacks (perhaps 5 per year), and if I do - only with insomnia. The ER doctor, however, put this in my notes, and claimed incorrectly that I had stated this, and this followed me through my visit to the point that a night nurse refused to provide beta-blockers to me and told me that I should calm down since this was obviously anxiety. Unfortunately, this is a common problem for women with diffuse medical issues. They are often dismissed as suffering from psychosomatic issues when this is in fact not the case. I was admitted to the Hospital via the ER on May 30th. The doctors suspected a heart attack or stroke, but all test indicators of this were negative. I was admitted to the hospital and evaluated until June 1st. Four Troponin I tests came back normal. Metabolic tests, T4 free, TSH, etc. came back normal. Echo came back normal. EKG was slightly abnormal, especially at the time of intake, and was stabilized with beta-blockers. Blood pressure was high and was also stabilized with beta-blockers. I was denied access to plasmapheresis but was allowed a steroid shot on May 31st. I am now at home since June 1st. I am taking beta-blockers to reduce my blood pressure. I am weak and have trouble maintaining normal physical activities and get tired easily. I had several tests done showing abnormal EKG and high blood pressure and no other problems indicating any cardiovascular underlying issues. Hospital has my records. A concern that I have is that the ER doctor and several other doctors were very skeptical at first that this could be a reaction to the vaccine, and I had to insist on this diagnosis. It is still unclear to several doctors that this could be a vaccine reaction. The only one who seemed convinced - and this was AFTER I had been hospitalized for several days - was the neurologist who has experience with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Information should be collected on the rare cases of very mild GBS and that the initial presentation is not the classical symmetrical and ascending, but starts from the site of Shingrix injection, and is asymmetrical for this reason. The lack of this insight prevented them from recommending the correct treatment initially and the diagnosis is still somewhat unclear, even though they seemed more convinced towards the end of my stay that this was a vaccine side effect. I am reporting this in the hope that the FDA will receive enough reports on this rare but serious side effect, that may not classify as GBS but carries many similarities and may have serious consequences for the patient.