First Dose of J&J on 08/31/21 Lot #203A21A
North Carolina
40 yrs old
Q: What was your life like before you got the vaccine?
I had a very full life before the vaccine destroyed it. I had a full-time job with a local municipality as a public servant and a part-time job providing architectural review. I had just finished renovating a house and was in master’s school. I am also a wife and mother. I enjoyed doing outdoor activities and renovating homes. I miss my old life and have little hope that I will ever be able to function on that level again.
The vaccine has impacted every aspect of my life. It has changed my life as a mother and wife. I was a successful professional that has lost her career. It has impacted my ability to hang out with friends, see family, go on trips, and do anything that involves walking for a period of time. If I overdo it, I immediately vomit and have to lie down for the rest of the day. I will also have pain and feel sick for several days, depending on how much I wanted to do. It is a mental struggle everyday. I try to push my body to do the things I want to do and get denied.
Q: Would you like to share your reasons for getting vaccinated?
I was worried about getting the vaccine and would have preferred not to have gotten it. However, I was able to hold out for a while. In the end, social, societal, and work pressures led to me getting the vaccine. My job never mandated it but sent emails asking us to get it. I asked my doctors which vaccine I should get, but no one wanted to point me in any direction. I am sure they didn’t want to be liable for anything. I picked the J&J vaccine, because my father had it with no reaction. I wish I had been stronger and held onto my beliefs. I have a cousin that has managed not to get the vaccine, and I have heard of people losing their jobs because of their refusal. I wish I were as mentally strong as them.
Q: What was your reaction, symptoms, & timeline?
I received the J&J vaccine on August 31st, 2021. I waited for a while at the doctor’s office to see if I had a reaction after receiving the shot. Since I didn’t at that time, I went home and thought I was lucky. I was fine for the rest of the day and told all my friends and coworkers that I had received the vaccine with no side effects. My side effects began the following day, September 1st, 2021. When I woke up, I had a fever and headache together. I had muscle aches like when you have the flu and abdominal cramps like when you have a period. The symptom that sent me back to the doctor was bleeding gums. They did PT/INR and CBC tests, and they came back normal. My abdomen also started swelling, and it looked like I was eight months pregnant. The swelling got really bad, and then my left leg stopped working. On September 11th, 2021, I went to the Hospital Emergency Room. Everyone was worried that the inflammation was around my heart, and they were worried about blood clots. They checked for blood clots, and they didn’t find any. They did blood work in the hospital but could not find anything to help. The symptoms continued, and then my right index finger started swelling. On September 15th, 2021, it turned purple-blue. The doctors were worried I had an infection in my finger, so I went to the infection doctor. It was not an infection. I went to a finger specialist, and they cut my finger all up, and said it was connective tissue disorder. The finger is still stuck straight, discolored, and inoperable. The fever and all other symptoms were an everyday experience. I was admitted to the hospital by my PCP on October 4th with many symptoms. My D-Dimer was high, but nothing new was found by the hospital. I couldn’t get out of bed for many months. I was able to see a rheumatologist, and they said I had lupus and then changed that to lupus in evolution. I was able to hold onto my job in local government for a little while, but then they let me go. They said they would like to have me back when I am better. I was able to finish my master’s degree, but I can no longer hold a job that would require it.
I have continual blood in my urine, and my whole body continues to be inflamed. The latest diagnosis has been psoriatic arthritis. When I started taking Humira, things got much worse. I now have unidentified heart issues and skin issues. They are putting me back on Methotrexate. It has been over a year, and I would not consider myself better. I now have pain in my elbows, shoulders, hips, and feet. My neck hurts at the base of my skull. The vaccine seemed to have done something to my immune system, and I feel like everything that might have gone wrong in my 80s is happening now. While I cannot go for walks or do hardly anything I used to do, I am still alive for now, and I am grateful for every day.
My life is pretty sedate now. I can’t do too much, but I do what I can. I was lucky enough to find a flexible part-time job from home. I really hope by sharing my experience; someone may be helped. I also hope that there is a doctor out there somewhere that specializes in vaccine injury now and can help me and others try to get back to our everyday lives as much as possible.
Q: Share your experience with any medical care and any diagnoses you have received:
I started at my PCP, then: an infectious disease doctor, multiple rheumatologists, a gastrologist, an orthopedic surgeon, a dermatologist, a urologist for blood in the urine, a vascular doctor, and whoever else I saw in the hospital visits.
The rheumatologists diagnosed me with lupus. I met with a rheumatologist to review what to do for lupus and told my employer. Then they backtracked and said I have Lupus in Evolution. Which means I don’t have all the markers. I had many blood tests. My ANA would be positive on and off. My Double-stranded DNA was a high positive, and other blood tests were positive for inflammation. So that you know, lupus is protected, but Lupus in Evolution is not protected, so you can get let go from your job with no recourse. No one really knows what a vaccine reaction looks like, so you are on your own.
Since my finger was swollen and inoperable, they decided to cut it open and take samples. From the samples, I was diagnosed with connective tissue disorder.
The dermatologist diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis, October 2022.
-I have had every blood test you can imagine. I used to hate giving blood, but now I am a pro. These tests were for a variety of diseases, infections, and afflictions. Too many to list.
-Ultrasounds for blood clots and inflammation
-X-rays, Cat scans, MRIs -Echocardiograms
-Several EKGs
-Surgery on right index finger
Q: Was your reaction reported, and what was the response?
I had to report to VAERS myself. They sent a confirmation letter and then asked for an update on my year report anniversary on October 17th, 2022.
Q: Are there any treatments we should know about that helped or hurt your health?
Methotrexate has helped, mostly with exhaustion. Plaquenil helped a little. Steroids, antibiotics, and diuretics didn’t do anything. I just tried Humira for my most recent diagnosis, which did something to my heart. I feel like I may have a heart attack when lying down at night.
Q: Have you had Covid before?
I just recently had Covid starting on October 19th, 2022. After the first day, I was able to take Paxlovid. I was sick for like five days. The most interesting thing is after my symptoms went away from having Covid, my daily fever from taking the vaccine also went away. Having a fever every day for a year takes it out of you.
Q: What do you wish others knew?
The first thing would be not to vaccinate your kids until more information about the vaccine is known. Also, it would be nice if doctors knew more about the effects of the vaccines, so I could get some knowledgeable help. You also must be aware that you are on your own if you get sick. I have had a stable career all my life and thought that if I were to get sick or injured, there was a safety net. I paid extra for supplemental insurance for that reason. However, when the time came to use those insurances or get disability, I was denied because there was no understanding of vaccine injury.
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