Hi @Fullofbeans . Sorry to hear that you have contracted covid. What a nuisance, on top of everything else. I hope you are not too poorly with it. So far I have managed to avoid catching it, and I suppose if it is your first time with it, then your resistance against it must have been pretty good up until now. Like you say, the vaccines must be doing their job. There seem to be a lot of people coughing in the town today. I am wearing a mask when I go shopping or walking about in the town. So far so good, but there is a sneezer in the house. He is just doing a covid test to find out if it is that or just a cold. Either way I donāt want to catch it. Take care of yourself and get well soon.
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Thanks, @Chris1 - I feel alright really, all things considered. Well done for avoiding covid for so long! I nearly made it to 3 years, but was downed at the last hurdle, ha ha.
Yes, thereās a lot of coughing and sneezing everywhere, isnāt there? Very sensible to keep wearing your mask. I still do when shopping, but canāt always at work - which is where I think I got it. Never mind - I knew it would catch me sooner or later, and I seem to have it mildly.
Hope your sneezer at home is ok. X
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Yes thanks. The sneezer is fine. The covid test was negative thank goodness. Heās just feeling sorry for himself. Paracetamol should do the trick.
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Oh @Chris1 and @Fullofbeans yes, I really relate to the feeling of disappointment ( and a range of other emotions!!!) at the last moment with my medical experiences.
Nothing ever seems straightforward sometimes, my current bug bears are building societies. The left hand doesnāt communicate with the right one.
Oh @Fullofbeans I am so sorry you have tested positive for Covid.
@Chris1 avoid the sneezer at all costs.
Look after yourselves and I await updates
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I think it is time you sought the opinion of q second haemotologist. I am arguably under the best haemotologist in the state of Victoria and possibly Australia. She was absolutely convinced that due to my compromised hometoligical situation I had to have in addition to having all my childhood vaccinations again, I must have the two Shringrix doses about 3 months apart. Which I have had.
So far I am in deep remission with Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) with P17 deletion as part of the global trials program using venetoclax and zanubrutinib.
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I have, at my haemotologist request, had two Astravenica shots, Pfizer shots and two Moderna .
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You need to take charge of your own future. If the second opinion re Shringrix is different to the first, then get a third.
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Good morning @Erica. Yesterday seemed to be one of those days when I would have been better to have stayed in bed. Everything that was on my list of to do things all went pear shaped. Obviously, not being able to get my shingles vaccine being top of the list. The eternal optimist in me, thinks that things can only get better from here. Unfortunately the reality isnāt always obliging. Hope you get your hiccups with the building society sorted. It all takes energy though, doesnāt it.
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Hi @JohnCP . Yes that is why the nurse at the GP surgery wants the go ahead from my haematologist. The buck stops with her, as she will be the one administering the vaccine. Itās not her fault that the GPāS canāt agree. Most of them at my surgery are new and young. The ones with years of experience have left since the beginning of covid. Now we are left with drās with no experience that canāt make a decision that should be routine.
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Hi @JohnCP and @Chris1 unfortunately all countries seem to work under their own clinical guidelines and Shingrix has only been available for 18 mths over here to certain eligible people.
Each patient is assessed individually for eligibility and a decision is made hence probably the differing opinions.
I was the first person to have it at my surgery just over a year ago and I was used as a training exercise for staff. The nurse had strict guidelines and medical advice she had to follow before administering it in the 2 doses at 2 or 3 months apart.
Yes, you are always entitled to ask why you are not eligible or request a 2nd opinion.
As a very none medical aside from me I donāt think it has done anything to help my reoccurring shingles or itās severity, hence perhaps the different clinical opinions, I do not know I am a lay person.
To be fair my visits to the Building Societies went very smoothly, thanks for asking
Look after yourselves.
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There isnāt an issue with me being eligible for the vaccine. It is just that as I had shingles four months ago, the nurse was uncertain how soon after that I can safely have the vaccine.
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Get well soon @Fullofbeans
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Good news about my Shingrix vaccine. I saw the nurse this morning, and another GP, as well as my haematologist gave the go ahead for me to have it. I have now had the first dose and will go back for the second one in two months. I hope you are recovered from the covid with no lasting effects. Take care of yourself. Best wishes from Chris.
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Oh brilliant news, @Chris1! That adds another layer of protection and reassurance to enable you to go about your life with more confidence - Iām so pleased for you.
Iām fully better from covid - thanks so much for asking. I did in the end have 4 days of feeling a bit rough - but after that it was easily bearable. This matches how my husband was with it at Christmas- and he hasnāt had a blood cancer. That reassures me a bit that my immune system must be fairly ok. So all good, thanks.
You take care too, and I hope you can enjoy a bit of spring sunshine. X
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Hi @Fullofbeans . So glad that you are over the covid and it is encouraging to know that you were no worse than your husband with it. Your immune system seems to be doing its job well. Long may that last. My reaction to the Shingrix vaccine was just a headache and a sore arm, so I didnāt react as badly as I was expecting. That was a real bonus for me, as my body has a habit of overreacting to things. The sun is shining through the window and all is well. The goldfinches are on the feeders and the daffodils are blooming. What more could you want. 
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Oh thatās brilliant, @Chris1! Iām wondering - being sensitive to these things - if youāve had a couple of feverish, achey days after each covid vaccine, then? I certainly did. Which means a score of (in terms of shivery, achey days): vaccine:12, covid:4! But I suppose without the vaccine I may have died. Or been severely ill. Iām not anti-vaccine at all - very grateful for it. But I do always react like that to it - which requires a bit of planning around each dose.
Aw, what a picture of your spring garden you paint! I love daffs - theyāre so cheerful after winter - and make you think of the sunshine when there often isnāt any. But you have had the added bonus of both today. And beautiful goldfinches too. Spring can be the most hopeful and happy season. Exactly - what more could anyone want? Perfect. 
PS And thanks so much for your concern. 
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Good morning @Fullofbeans . My first two covid vaccines were AZ and I had very bad reactions to both. The first one affected my whole nervous system and it felt like I had been plugged into an electric socket. The pain was very bad for two days and took a couple of months to settle down. The second one gave me such bad headaches that I began to wonder if it had caused a blood clot. (I know some people died with clots from that vaccine.) I decided at that point I would not have any more AZ vaccine. Fortunately when I was offered the third dose it was Pfizer and I was fine with that one. I missed 4, as I was in such a mess with the affects of the chemo, and my body could not have coped with any further toxins at that time. Sorry to hear that you had bad reactions to the vaccine too. Which version of it did you have?
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Blimey, @Chris, that sounds dreadful - especially the shock-type pain. You poor thing. And Iām not surprised you missed one whilst recovering from chemo - you could do without a reaction like that on top of the chemo!
Iāve had AZ and Pfizer too. Both seemed to make me feverish and achey for two days - but I think thatās my post-transplant reaction to vaccines in general, rather than to particular vaccines. The flu jab made me feel the same way. And one or two of my childhood vaccines.
Well, Iām so glad you didnāt react like that to your Shingrix vaccine! Especially with a second dose to come.
All the best.
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Thanks @Fullofbeans . It must make you quite wary every time you are due for a vaccine. I know that I feel that way. I was pleasantly surprised when the Shingrix vaccine didnāt have such drastic effects. My arm is still a bit sore, but I have fibromyalgia in it, so it didnāt take kindly to having a needle stuck in it. Our bodies are very complex arenāt they! Sometimes I just wish that I could be normal and not have all these health issues to deal with. As one of my friends recently said, I drew the short straw.
I hope you are feeling well today, and enjoy a good weekend. Best wishes from Chris 
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Oh Iām so sorry you sometimes feel youāve drawn the health short straw, @Chris1. Having fibromyalgia on top of everything else is indeed unlucky. I understand itās a wearying condition - anything with chronic pain and fatigue and discomfort must be awful. It does sometimes feel our health is a total lottery, doesnāt it? Well it IS - a genetic lottery to start with. I hope you have a pain-free and more normal day today.
Yes, Iāve got to have vaccines just before I have some time off, so that I can shiver and ache at home. A bit of a nuisance, but at least it is predictable and manageable.
Yes, feeling well today thanks - and I hope you are too.
Happy weekend! 
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