I’m a mum of three young girls and I was active and healthy. I’m not for or against the vaccine, but had my concerns and didn’t want to get it yet. I’m a support worker, so I needed to take the vaccine to keep my job. I supported my client, and we went together to get our Pfizer vaccine on the 6th of September, 2021.
I had the expected symptoms of headache and fever afterwards, but both my client and I recovered.
We went for our second Pfizer on the 7th of October. After one week, I still had pain where the injection had been administered, a numb arm, shoulder pain, loss of movement in my arm, and pins and needles. The worst symptom was the burning sensation. My arm was slightly swollen and red, so you can see where the burning is, just a few centimetres right of the vaccine site.
Three weeks later my symptoms were getting worse. I couldn’t lift my arm past my shoulder, and had increased sensitivity which was triggered by heat, cold and touch. I booked an appointment with my GP who seemed to ignore any suggestion or questions I had about the vaccine possibly causing my symptoms. He suggested I must have injured my shoulder, even though I assured him, nothing had changed.
In hindsight, the way I was treated at the GP that day was the beginning of a never ending cycle of unanswered questions.
I was sent for an ultrasound which revealed bursitis and inflammation at the shoulder joint on the arm. I was prescribed anti-inflammatory and pain relief at my next GP check up. This pain has not subsided and in fact, it’s become worse. I could not sleep. I could not eat. I was tormented everyday with a burning flare up on my arm and as mentioned before, the pins and needles, numbness, and weakness.
I admitted myself to hospital on the 25th November, travelling by UBER as I was in no state to drive, given the extreme burning sensation in my arm. It became worse and worse. The pain was so crippling I couldn’t keep my eyes open! My arm felt like it was on fire. I arrived at the ED desperate for any pain relief available that would relieve the excruciating burning sensation in my arm. The doctors and nurses were so confused and conflicted with my symptoms, because my blood tests were normal, and everything else showed normal results – apart from my pain.
I wasn’t given any pain relief, and at any opportunity when I was strong enough to keep my eyes open to have a conversation, I’d ask if the vaccine had anything to do with my symptoms. I didn’t get any answers, and was just told they didn’t know.
I was admitted into a rehabilitation ward for the elderly for two nights. The nurses even commented that they’d never seen anyone so young in the ward before. During this time, I was given drugs that blurred my days into nights, and I wasn’t given any answers or pain relief. I just slept and cried through the pain.
I was discharged with buprenorphine, duloxetine, and tapentadol to manage the pain. I was seen by doctors twice during my two night hospital stay, and each time they seemed as confused as each other about what caused my symptoms.
The only explanation was complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) which is a form of chronic pain that usually affects an arm or a leg. CRPS typically develops after an injury, a surgery, a stroke, or a heart attack. The pain is out of proportion to the severity of the initial injury.
“What now?”, I asked the doctors. They told me there was nothing left they could do for me. I was told to see a specialist, have a nerve conduction test, and MRI. As they freed me from all my questions, it only left more unanswered.
I went for my MRI which showed a slightly inflamed B3 B4 in my neck. When I questioned the vaccine, I was told it had nothing to do with it, and could be ‘wear and tear’. I also received my nerve conduction test appointment which wasn’t for another two months.
The drugs I’ve been prescribed make it hard for me to function normally and I’m unable to work. I’ve been given no reassurance that my life will return to normal and there’s no acknowledgement that my family and I are now suffering due to an adverse reaction from a vaccine I didn’t even want to take in the first place – and now I’m paying for it!
I’ve received no support, sympathy, empathy or acknowledgement of the symptoms I’m now suffering every day. I feel bitter, sad and full of questions. I keep asking myself, “Why me..!?”
Five months after my second Pfizer vaccine, I’m still in pain every day. Some days are better than others, but it’s just so unpredictable.
There needs to be more support, understanding, and compensation for those who’ve been adversely affected by the vaccine. There needs to be more studies because it’s not okay for anyone to have to suffer in this way.
My life has changed, and I don’t know if I’ll feel back to my old self again.