Polysaccharide Pneumonia Shot Reaction

[tummyache]

I've been meaning to mention this to see if anyone else here has had this happen, if I haven't already done so: I had a Polysaccharide Pneumonia booster shot (you need to be a senior citizen to be getting one) and had a hypoglycemic reaction to it within just a few minutes -- unheard of by the CDC, plus the manufacturer; we had to report it as it was that dramatic. And NO it wasn't because I was scared! HA! I started shaking all over and felt really weak for a while afterwards and then really sleepy.

[colormist]

That's scary! I had to look that one up on our sugar list (not there) and then on wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysaccharide

Excerpt from the wiki article:
"Examples of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and glyceraldehyde.[5] Polysaccharides, meanwhile, have a general formula of Cx(H2O)y where x is usually a large number between 200 and 2500."

Polysaccharides are a long chain of monosaccharides. Sounds like your shot had a long chain of fructose in it. I'm going to add this one to our list on my blog ( fructose-free.tumblr.com/post/15777874026/which-sugars-to-avoid-with-hfi ).

Do you mind if I quote your experience in the blog?

[tummyache]

Please share my experience if you think it will help others. Unfortunately. the manufacturer was not cooperative at all in telling me what the sugar was. I really wanted to know because it was so obvious that it was the shot that got me. Every time I react to something I make a record of it and attempt to find out what the sugar is because we are still looking for answers.

[colormist]

I added your information to the blog and updated the sugar list. I know there some nebulous information as to whether or not you have HFI, but your reaction coupled with the wiki article about the sugar is enough to convince me that it's not a safe ingredient!

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

I have not and will not give my son live vaccines for this very reason. Most docs say "it is such a small amount of sugar, blah blah blah".
Interestingly, the National Immunization Advisory Committee used to recommend that HFIers do not get vaccines with sugar (this is usuaully the live ones), but they changed their rec a few years back. I wonder who paid them!

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Here is the link:
www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/guidelines/changes10012014.pdf

[tummyache]

Thanks Ziba for the info. I can't find anything on the Polysaccharide Pneumonia injection I was given, but I don't think I will ever let them give me another one if it is offered again. I could never find out what the polysaccharide (sugar chain) was that was used, but it through my body for a loop.

[ukbill]

I did not have the Polio vaccine as a child because it was given on a sugar cube!

Luckily I have not visited Pakistan or any of the few areas remaining in the world where that awful virus remains in action.

As an adult, some 20 years ago I suppose, I had the Polio vaccine from my Drs orally without the sugar.. its not that bad tasting.. so why the sugar??

Tummyache sorry you had such a bad reaction.

As I have said before there is no 100% safe option for anyone about anything.

Genetics are a wonderful thing but everyone (except identical twins) is slightly different so rare exceptions to every rule are to be expected.

I suspect that sometime in the future people will find the children who react to the MMR virus (not proven but anecdotal) will turn out to be the children who would have died or become severely damaged by the Measles had they got the disease as children or adults as a result of some Genetic propensity to a reaction to that sort of pathogen.

Wishing you all the best and health this coming winter.

I have not yet had the anti-flue virus jab.. its available to me for free now due to may age.. may have it this year to see if I react as well.. forewarned is forearmed, thanks.