Get your flu shot! (And get free $5 at Target, even!)

[Roadrunner53]

Posting for ACCOUNTABILITY.
I am afraid of shots.
I used to give blood often, but had to stop because I started passing out later in the day following it (and missing 2-3 days of work being sick afterwards), and since then I have only had maybe one or two shots.

Funny thing…(well funny to other people, I actually get quite annoyed when nurses, people think this is funny)
...I have an actual full tattoo sleeve and a partial tattoo... short(?) upper thigh, not sure what to call that . 
Soooo, I have interacted with needles... but am still VERY SCARED of shots.

I may need to have a full day off of work, maybe two just to be safe... but I am going to get a flu shot this year... I'm going to do it!

I have awful Cigna insurance through the marketplace with like a 9k deductible, so I'm not sure what my options are... but I will look into it. 
It's time to put my adult pants on.

JanetJackson, I sympathize with your fear of needles. I used to have a horrible, horrible fear of going to the dentist. I would dwell on it for days prior and just about tear the material off the arms of the exam chair. I would have heart palpitations. I had extensive dental procedures as a child and that was in the 'olden' days when the equipment looked like it came out of Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory! It took me about 15 years but I found a dental practice that said it catered to cowards. They really treated me nice and I never had pain. I can actually go to the dentist now and never have fear anymore. To calm my fears in the beginning I would tell myself that it was just going to be a few minutes of misery. I also want to mention that the flu shot is almost painless. I compare it to a mosquito bite. By the time you feel it, the shot is over with. Grit your teeth, don't look at the needle and say to yourself you can do it! Plan a hunker down day afterward, eat some ice cream and watch some movies. Pamper yourself and get thru it!  I now have a fear of driving on the highways. It terrifies me to be in such high speeds and erratic behaviors drivers exhibit. We all have our fears and we have to find a way to face them. I use back roads as much as I possibly can!

[diapasoun]

JanetJackson, I am exactly like you: tattooed and scared of shots. You are most definitely not alone!

[Gin1984]

Posting for ACCOUNTABILITY.
I am afraid of shots.
I used to give blood often, but had to stop because I started passing out later in the day following it (and missing 2-3 days of work being sick afterwards), and since then I have only had maybe one or two shots.

Funny thing…(well funny to other people, I actually get quite annoyed when nurses, people think this is funny)
...I have an actual full tattoo sleeve and a partial tattoo... short(?) upper thigh, not sure what to call that . 
Soooo, I have interacted with needles... but am still VERY SCARED of shots.

I may need to have a full day off of work, maybe two just to be safe... but I am going to get a flu shot this year... I'm going to do it!

I have awful Cigna insurance through the marketplace with like a 9k deductible, so I'm not sure what my options are... but I will look into it. 
It's time to put my adult pants on.

Marketplace plans include, at no cost, preventative care like flu shots.

[Clamdigger]

Last year my wife had an adverse reaction to the flu shot, although she had it in previous years with no reaction.  She has a sensitive immune system and arthritis, and something in the shot caused inflammation in her hips and back, causing intense pain.  It took about six weeks for her to get back to normal. We studied ways to reduce inflammation and found some foods that helped. Her doctor has signed a form so that she is no longer forced to get the flu shot as a condition of employment.  I will get the flu shot this year, but for my wife, she is done with the flu shot.

[Dollar Slice]

A conversation I overheard a while ago...

"I got a flu shot, and it made me sick! I have a fever and everything!"
"Really? How high is your fever?"
"98.3."

(For the metricians, that's 36.8C)

Sometimes you really have to restrain yourself from accosting strangers and calling them dumbasses.

[Imma]

I had my flu shot on Thursday! Most years I just have a sore arm but this time I had some (extremely mild) side effects: my cheeks were burning, the rest of my body felt cold and I went to bed early. I have another vaccination scheduled for Monday, hopefully I'll have less symptoms from that one.

I know what having a real flu is like, so you won't hear me complaining about some mild side effects. One night of feeling not completely well has potentially prevented a hospital stay. Of course there are some people who suffer serious side effects, but we're talking about a very, very small group of people.

[Rimu05]

I'm basically hoping to make an annual flu shot into my yearly exposure therapy....

That's kind of what I did, and it worked! I am pretty stoic about the flu shot now (I have to look the other way so I never see the needle, but otherwise it's OK). I am still pretty bad about getting blood drawn, though. I have an appointment to get three injections on Thursday afternoon this week and I'm not too happy about it. But. We can do it if we have to, right? :-)

Glad I do not have these problems. I have small veins so needle fearing is not an option. I get pricked at least four times or more every time I get blood drawn.

[Roadrunner53]

Shingle shots are finally starting to appear at the pharmacies. The hub and I have an appointment early June to get the first shot. There is a second shot (booster) you take a few months later. The good news is that it is finally becoming available.

The bad news is that it has to be covered by my Medicare Plan D prescription card. The Shingrix shot is a Tier 4 drug which means I have to pay $78.70 for the shot. I am supposed to pay 40% of Tier 4 drugs but I went to a non preferred drug store and have to pay 45%. So the hub and I will each have to pay $78.70 each. GRRRRRR!!!! Yeah, I could go to a preferred drug store but 5% isn't going to be much more. As it is, we each pay $72 a month for the Prescription card.

On a side note, I got the pneumonia shot, second one, and it was covered 100%.

[Exflyboy]

You would think that States would want to fun flu shots for everyone on the basis of public health.. Worker productivity etc.

But thats Socialism so would never happen!