Up until now, I’ve only gotten the Pfizer vaccines. And while I’ve reacted to them, it was never particularly bad. Light muscle aches and some fatigue were basically it. Worst was the second one - I could feel my hair follicles and eyelids with that one.

But the Moderna one seems to be quite the beast.

When I found out I could get the new Moderna, I was excited, since I’ve heard that mix-and-match is probably the strongest immunity you can get. And I figured it wasn’t going to be that bad when after several hours, I only had some light fatigue.

But today has been awful. Consistent fever around 102.3, chills, headache, nausea, whole-body aches, and ludicrous levels of exhaustion. I’ve been utterly useless.

Is this what Moderna vaccines have been like all along? I’ll take it over contracting COVID-19, definitely… but ouch. It’s hurting me plenty.

Next morning update: Chills are gone, fever seems to be gone, muscle aches aren’t entirely gone, but they’re fading. All in all, 10/10 would feel like shit for a day again to help stop the spread of a dangerous disease.

  • Encode1307@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I think the moderna dosing is still double the pfizer dose. So I think it’s always caused a larger immune response. Ibuprofen will deal with most of those symptoms if you’re really not feeling good.

    • PurpleTentacle@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I believe one can’t 1:1 compare the dosage, Pfizer’s MRNA was supposed to be a little more stable and hence less of it was needed. But, yeah, Moderna’s dosage is higher.

      I’ve gotten both over the years and Moderna always knocked me out harder, but never like OP. Symptoms have always been medium to strong fatigue and at most a mild headache.

      I haven’t gotten the new booster yet.

    • rambaroo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Moderna absolutely kicked my ass, I had the worst body aches I’ve ever experienced to the point that I was curled up in a ball on the floor until the double dose of Tylenol started kicking in.

      I just got the Pfizer booster recently and had hardly any side effects at all.

      • Encode1307@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It helped to remind myself that I felt like shit because my immune system was at work. It’s a sign (albeit an unwelcome one) that the vaccine is working.

  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Every shot and booster I’ve had made me feel like shit for several days, and made my arm throb as if I’d been shot for about a week.

    But if my choice is between that and long covid, well, I’m chosing the shot lol.

    • kescusay@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      But if my choice is between that and long covid, well, I’m chosing the shot lol.

      Bingo. I have extended family with long COVID and it sucks ass. My father-in-law used to be the strongest and most active guy I knew. Woodland firefighter, constantly doing stuff with his hands. All of that is over now. Long COVID has wrecked him. He’s probably going to be on supplemental oxygen for the rest of his life.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Oddly enough, none of the COVID vaccines or boosters have affected me in any significant way… but… I got my flu shot last week and it hit me like a freight train. I was having to fight to speak clearly in a work meeting thirty minutes after the injection, but on the plus side, it’s nice to know my body’s building an immune response.

    • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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      1 year ago

      I’m glad someone else has an immune system that doesn’t hate them, I’m going in later this week and this crowd was making me feel anxious even though I’ve never had a reaction to vaccines.

  • kobra@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Your experience matches every shot I’ve had with Moderna. I’m planning to get Pfizer this time around, in the hopes that it goes easier on my body 🤞

  • Brkdncr@artemis.camp
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    1 year ago

    I think it’s good if you have a strong immune system response to the vax. It means your immune system will be charged up with antibodies.

    I always plan to take 1-2 days off after getting vaccinated.

    • kescusay@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      That’s what I should have done. Oh well. At least I’m feeling a lot better this morning. C’est la vie.

  • BitingChaos@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The old Pfizer doses would shut me down for 3 days.

    Fever, chills, body aches, fatigue.

    The first shot wasn’t so bad. The second and third were insane.

    I’m pretty sure I’ve had a fourth shot, but I don’t remember how I felt. I think I got covid last year, after already having the third shot, and I’ve been dealing with symptoms for over a year now (mostly muscle fatigue).

    I want the new shot with the new variant mix, but I’m also afraid of how I’m going to react to it. I have too much going on at work and home right now to take half a week off for the shot.

    I have a pretty crummy immune system and have always dealt with autoimmune issues, so it’s important that I get the shot, even if I react badly to it. :/

    • FReddit@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My immune system is compromised by a low level form of leukemia.

      I was scared when I took the first Pfizer – no side effects.

      The second one was painful as hell. The others were no problem.

      Then I got Covid last week for the second time anyway.

  • Papanca@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    According to my records i’ve had Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Apart from a sore arm and maybe a bit tired, i thankfully had no other symptoms.

  • kemsat@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Normal. After I took it, I was feeling like I’d done an intense all body workout, like all my muscles felt sore. Was basically done the next day.

  • Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    So interesting to hear all of the individual reactions. I had the Pfizer primary series - the first shot was rough but the second shot, and the Moderna booster I had later, only caused some arm pain.

    I just had my fourth shot, the Moderna Spikefax, along with the flu shot at the same time. Caused malaise overnight and pain in the COVID shot location for 3 days.

    Whatever pain and inconvenience the vaccine shots cause it’s nothing like having COVID. Ask me how I know.

    • kescusay@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Ask me how I know.

      I’m going to take a wild guess here: You or people you know have had COVID and it sucks donkey balls?

  • Fondots@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Haven’t gotten the new vaccine yet, but my first moderna gave me some chills, headache, and fatigue, I didn’t check my temperature but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had a slight fever. It hit me maybe 8-12 ish hours after I got it, not too bad, but not exactly fun either, could have worked through it if I needed to but I was glad I had the day off. The real kicker for me though was I work night shift, I got it right after work in the morning, went home, went to bed, and it started hitting me a bit after I got up the next evening, and by the time I was ready to go to sleep the next morning I was feeling fine. If I’d been on a normal schedule and got the vaccine at the same time, I probably would have been going to bed at about the same time it hit me and I would have slept through all of the symptoms.

    Most of my boosters have been moderna, and I haven’t had any issues with them besides a sore arm, so I think the first dose was my immune system going “hey wait, what the fuck is this? We got a code red over here” And with the boosters it pretty much just went “oh, ok, another one of these, go ahead and put it with the others, no biggie”

    The one Pfizer vaccine I did get didn’t seem to make my arm quite as sore as the others. So that’s something I guess.

  • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    When I took the Moderna two dose in 2021, I was stuck in bed having fever dreams for a couple of days. Like I was hallucinating that I was in different places. Sickest I’ve ever been in my life.

  • Drusas@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Guess I’ve been lucky. The first vaccine I got (which was Pfizer) made me a bit sick for a couple of days with a brutally sore arm. Since then, every booster I’ve gotten (Pfizer and Moderna) has just given me a sore arm for a few days. I usually get cold-like symptoms after I get a flu shot, so I guess the Covid shots aren’t as hard on me somehow.

  • Icarus512@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Don’t think I had any fever today but definitely fatigued, sore, body aches, and chills last night (vaccinated yesterday + flu). Had moderna for shots 1 & 2, and Pfizer for 3 (no real side effects I can remember). Wasn’t expecting to have any side effects since they were very mild after booster 2, but definitely was wrong. Wanted to try Novavax but don’t think it’s been approved yet and didn’t want to wait any longer

  • 👁️👄👁️@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I really just get muscle ache and chills really bad. It lasts a day or two for me at most. What’s weird is when I got my last booster of Pfizer a few months ago, I got a dtap (the giga vaccine) in both my arms at the same time and had zero sickness the next day lol. Then I took the flu vaccine and still got sick a few weeks later so I feel scammed.

    Also just remember, the covid vaccine doesn’t stop the spread, that is misinformation. It greatly improved your immunization towards it so you don’t get nearly as sick.

    • kescusay@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Also just remember, the covid vaccine doesn’t stop the spread, that is misinformation. It greatly improved your immunization towards it so you don’t get nearly as sick.

      It doesn’t stop the spread, but it reduces it. If you are infected when vaccinated, your illness will likely be much shorter, which means much less time during which you’re contagious. So the vaccines are still very important for slowing down the virus, even if you aren’t guaranteed full immunity.