Side Effects
Yesterday, I went to my appointment at the Wal Mart in Manchester for my 2nd Covid shot. Now before we go any further, talking vaccines is worst than talking about religion and politics. Everyone has different opinions and that is great, but I am just telling you all a story.
So I go in to the Wal Mart, follow the signs to the pharmacy. They make you fill out this questionnaire. It’s all the usual questions; have you traveled outside the US? Do you have HIV? Have you had Covid? I fill that out, bring it to the lady, and she takes me around the curtain. She asked if I had side effects with my first shot. I told her yes, that I had a sore arm and was just really tired. She then looks me dead in the eyes and says, this will be way worse. WTF lady! Thanks for the boast of confidence. I get my shot wait the 15 minutes and head home.
The first shot my arm hurt like 6 hours later. This time around it was an hour and I could feel pain, my nose was running like a fire hydrant, and the headache was the most severe headache I have ever had. Thinking this is all that it’s going to be, I popped some Ibuprofen and headed to bed at 6:30 pm. I don’t remember much except waking up on the couch at 3 AM exactly 12 hours after my shot and that is where the fun began.
I am a bigger guy (Dad bod that sweats a lot). I never get cold but when I woke up I had the shivers, I wasn’t able to warm up, my teeth crashing together, I honestly thought I was dying because I was so cold and shaking. [*Editor’s note: Because he’s a pussy] I say this in all seriousness, I felt like Michael J Fox. I am not making fun of that disease, but the way I couldn’t control my body was terrifying.
I went in my bed grabbed extra blankets and still couldn’t warm up. Fuck this, I jumped in a steaming hot shower and just stood there for 10 minutes hoping when I got out that the coldness would be gone. It worked, but now here comes the body aches and the headache. I woke up 7 and felt like I ran a marathon. I shuffled to the bathroom and just sat. I thought this was the worst decision of my life, I feel like death. After more Ibuprofen and some food and water several hours later I feel much better. I am just writing this for A. A laugh later on in life and 2. To give you a heads up that the side effects SUCK!
[*Editor’s note. Ray forgot to mention that he incessantly texted us about how bad the wittle baby felt and that he almost shit his pants on the ride home. We needed to know if the diarrhea mama mia side effect was real or if this was another CDC gaffe. He left us in the lurch. Now we’ll never know.]
