This past Saturday I had a strange experience. I was unaccountably weary all day. I felt as if I’d spent the previous day strenuously exerting myself and then gotten only half a night’s sleep. I took a nap after breakfast but it didn’t revive me. A strong cup of coffee made no difference. I took a second nap in the afternoon and that didn’t help either.
It didn’t occur to me until after I’d turned the light out that night that I’d had the second dose of the Shingrix shingles vaccine the day before. I picked up my phone and looked up the list of potential Shingrix side effects. Along with nausea, headache, fever and seven other conditions — none of which I’d experienced — drugs.com listed “unusual tiredness or weakness” as one of the more common side-effects of the Shingrix vaccine.
By the next day — yesterday — I was 80% recovered, and today I’m fine. But that one day was an eye-opening experience. It occurred to me that if I felt every day the way I felt on Saturday, I would have a completely different life. And I know people who live every day with fatigue much worse than what I experienced for just one day. A friend of mine developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome five years ago. It forced her to retire before she’d planned to and entirely redesign her life.
Beyond that there are people who live with persistent pain, constant migraines, or any number of other ailments that make their lives anything but comfortable and carefree.
I hasten to add that I in no way intend to discourage anyone from getting the Shingrix vaccine. Shingles can be exceedingly painful, and anyone who has had chicken pox can get it, especially those of us older than 50. While most people get over it in a few weeks, for others the pain persists for months. For an unlucky few it never goes away. So no, don’t avoid the shingles vaccine just because you may experience unpleasant side-effects for a day or two.
But do count your blessings if you’re one of those fortunate people who don’t experience a persistent health problem that complicates your life or limits what you can do. It’s a cliché that good health is what matters most in life, but just one day feeling less than 100% can illuminate how true that really is.