Vaccine update: It has been 5 days since I got my first dose of the Moderna vaccine, this is the vaccine that my docs recommended and that as someone with Lupus and GBS, I felt that I'd have a decreased risk for adverse reactions.

For a few minutes after I got the shot, I felt flushed, my heart rate accelerated, I felt weak and a little dizzy but it passed after 5 minutes. About 8 hrs after, the only real symptom was a sore arm although I did feel a flare might be coming on

Woke up the next day, no flare but my arm was terribly sore, but no symptoms. No fatigue, chills, body aches..all good. The 28th, I had a liver biopsy done. It all went good but the added trauma, full blown lupus flare.

I tweeted about the inflammation being so bad, my arm popped out of the socket, what I didn't realize til very early this morning is that it was the same arm I got the vaccine shot. Needless to say that side of my body has been tremendously sore & I was thinking it's just a flare

Turns out this may not be the whole story but my body responding to the vaccine. I was feeling off yesterday, sore, fell asleep around 3am, woke up at 4 drenched in sweat, but no fever. My heart rate & blood pressure high, my chest tight and i couldnt take a full breath

Partner was still awake and started running down our list of questions to determine if we wait or go to the e.r., what I was feeling and what I thought I might need, and pulling out the pulse ox, blood pressure cuff and checking my blood sugars.

Heart rate elevated, blood pressure was like 150/101....not good. Blood sugars were 125, elevated but definitely not high enough for it to be the source. No fever. I felt really off but 20 minutes later I felt alright. Tried to go back to sleep

Not even 10 minutes later, i bolted up again and seriously for a moment it felt like my heart stopped, it didn't but it sure felt like thats what happened. So we start running through our list again and this is where we started connecting the dots like could be the vaccine?

We start going through the little info packet that I got and hit up the google and yeah, pretty sure my body is responding to the vaccine, it's doing its thing and my lupus having body is doing its thing and freaking out cuz there's something strange in my immune neighborhood

Because this is a new vaccine and because of its emergency rollout, they are still learning how different immune systems react, etc. If you get the vaccine, pay attention to your body. Having lupus, I get complacent and everything is just a flare

This whole time of "no symptoms", yes I was having symptoms of a reaction but doing what I normally do and brushing it off as a lupus thing. I have an appt to get blood work done and checked out tomorrow, orders to head in to the e.r if it gers worse

I don't want to discourage or scare anyone, but these vaccines are new and we have choices. Ask questions, ask your doctor which one is recommended for you based on your health and your age, be aware of the side effects and listen to your body after.

I am extremely grateful that I was able to get the vaccine, that I was able to get the vaccine that was recommended for me and that I felt safer getting. I know not everyone has the choice and largely being given whatever vaccine their hospital, tribe or state was able to get.

That's okay, because we need these vaccines to not only help save our lives but the lives of others. Know the risks and know the limits of the vaccines. The long-term hope immunity but the immediate hope is just to reduce serious symptoms of covid and hopefully prevent infection.

You must still wear a mask, practice social distancing, etc it is not a get out of COVID19 and quarantine card. Be smart and mindful becausse there are a lot of folks whose lives depend on you to do the right thing.

Don't get the vaccine and treat it as an excuse to try and live like you did before COVID, be a decent human and order food for delivery or pickup, order what you can online and keep your ass home until the vaccines are more widely available to those who who need them most

Be mindful of the disabled and chronically ill folks who have been left out of the vaccine rollout, be mindful of essential and healthcare workers who are tired and most at risk. If you get the vaccine, don't be a jackass.