Coronavirus, covid-19, covid-19 vaccine, & psychiatric drug tapering & withdrawal

[Snowyowl16]

I really don't want to deter anyone from getting vaccinated. Everyone reacts differently and given a choice between the vaccine and having covid I chose the vaccine. The prolonged anxiety could have been my own worry. I did not have the same reaction after the second dose.

[marie123]

Hello everyone. I'm taking the Covid-19 vaccine. I have an appointment next week for it. Will I get a reaction from it? Probably, I get reactions from the flu shot so it seems it likely it will happen with this vaccine. I feel it's worth it if I get thrown into a wave. Waves end and I'd like to be able to get on with things. Marie.

[Mimi79]

Hi @marie123

I’ve received my first Covid19 vaccine shot 4 weeks ago. I’ve had the normal issues like fatigue and a slight headache. 
At that time, I was already in a wave, so don’t know if it had an impact, but I had some mood swings the week after. 
 

[marie123]

Hi Mimi. I live in New York state. I wanted to try my four years of high school French on you.

 

It's funny that I was posting about the vaccine. My family member just came for a visit. He's young and just received his second vaccine yesterday. He feels sick with a fever and said that he's been sleeping a lot. He got his second dose yesterday. My family member is strong as a bull with a great immune system. He never gets colds but got Covid a few months ago. It was not a bad case but he says he feels worse than when he had it. I'm still going to get it. Marie.

[marie123]

Sorry Chessie. I replied before I ready your comment. Marie.

[Mimi79]

@marie123 

The day after my vaccine shot, I remember now that I had some anxiety and it grows over the weekend. But I can’t say if it was because of the vaccine or just my nasty wave. I don’t know when I will have the second shot. I will watch if new symptoms arise when I will have it. 

[Superwoman]

On 2/13/2021 at 12:36 PM, Snowyowl16 said:

Superwoman..I have also noticed as my dose is reduced I react less to things. It used to be I couldn't stand strong smells (haven't worn perfume in years), bright light, touch etc. It was as if my whole body was electrified. It is better now except for the waves.

My plan is to keep reducing the dose slowly until I am eligible to get the vaccine.  I think that I will be less likely reactive, the lower the dose.  I plan to hold for the two months when I get the shots.  

[savinggrace]

I am still having a headache 9 days later. I don’t usually have them. The very acute w/d type symptoms passed in about two days. I plan on getting the second vaccine though I am concerned about this 8 day headache. It is mild to moderate. I am super sensitive about everything.  Crossing my fingers about the second dose effect. 
 

Grace

[ikam]

Got my vaccination on 24th Jan. Unfortunately, in UK the second dose is within 12 weeks. 

I had a Pfizer jab. No additional problems, bit headachy and tired. But I am tired of this situation anyway. 

We all live through trauma and this definitely affects me...

 

 

[Shep]

This is a few months old, but worth a watch. A lot of overlapping symptoms of "long hauler" COVID symptoms and withdrawal symptoms. There likely is something being caused by COVID for some of it, but the messaging that doctors are giving that it's "depression" or "anxiety" means they may be mucking around with patients' neurotransmitters by prescribing psych drugs. 

 

"Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome": COVID "long-haulers" suffering symptoms months after initial diagnosis video (13 minutes)

 

I noticed it's taking doctors getting sick from this to message it's not all "in your head." Same with what we're dealing with here. 

[Fightinghard]

I had round 2 of my moderna vaccination this morning.  The first shot i had a sore arm and maybe some sleep/anxiety issues but hard to say since I’m in a windows and waves pattern.  Within a few days of shot 1 i was fine. My arm cleared up.  So far today, my arm hurts and i feel a little’ edgy’.  Not sure exactly but i feel different.  Not anxious; not normal but just different.  Could all be in my head since I’ve been anticipating this for a few weeks.  I’ll check back as i go along.  Just to clarify, I’ve been in a wave for a few days now with sleep tough and some increased anxiety. So maybe I’m just ‘relieved’ that it is over.  

[Fightinghard]

So I’m 2 days since my 2nd moderna shot. First 24 hours or so i felt sick.  Just Blah.  Slight headache.  My arm is sore.  From a WD standpoint i can’t say I’ve seen a difference.  At least there had been no dramatic uptick in symptoms or severity. If things change I’ll update but as of now it’s been ok. 

[shambambo]

                       I thought Covid-19 vaccine was mandatory. Turns out, it is not mandatory in my country and I have been through covid during my withdrawal and severe vitamin d deficiency, so what can be worse? I won't get it, I don't want to get it  because it is a variation of regular flu we get at least once a year. I don't want to get a flu shot basically. It hits hard people with already existing problems like asthma etc. I don't have those and only have vitamin D deficiency, which is an essential to alleviate covid symptoms. I had covid in moderate intensity and I had  a fast recovery. I got better after 2 weeks. It was longer than a regular flu, with weirder symptoms like loss of appetite. I was eating things, they would feel like water. I don't even want to add my already existing withdrawal. It is difficult on its own, I don't want to play another gamble with my body.

                      Also I don't want to become a victim of another "treatment". I remember researchers talking about a proper vaccine to take 2 years at least. after one and a half year, a company spoke about vaccination, others followed along. What happened to "At least 2 years" statement?

                      Even the mask efficacy is open to debate, there are papers stating masks are quite useless unless everyone wears those. Even then, after 1 hour it has almost no protective asset, quite the opposite actually.

                      With these said, my grandmother got it, which is cool. She is over 75, so it is wise to get it done before it can be late.

 

[bunchesofoats]

I wanted to chime in to say coronavirus is not a flu, that's a common misconception. They are completely different families of viruses. The reason any vaccine was able to be made in this time frame is because there was already research being done on vaccines for other coronaviruses (and there were a lot more resources than usual put on making a vaccine).

 

That being said, I understand hesitancy, and many people I know that got the Moderna had quite uncomfortable side effects for a few days (fever, low energy, feeling generally sick). Nobody I know that got the Pfizer has had any side effects. As for me, I won't have the option to get the vaccine until June anyway so I haven't had to make an early decision.

[Shep]

I just added this to the "admin note" on the first post of this thread:

 

February 2021: Rxisk.org is compiling a database of patient experiences with the COVID vaccine here - Report Covid Vaccine Effects to RxISK

 

Also just added the latest research involving polypharmacy and COVID in the Journals section here: 

 

McKeigue, 2021, Relation of severe COVID-19 to polypharmacy and prescribing of psychotropic drugs: the REACT-SCOT case-control study

[Rabe]

@Shep Hi Shep, I wanted to thank you for posting and Im grateful I came upon this.  I have NO clue what to do with reacting to everything so much now and having reacted tho vaccines and so much my whole life.  I am going to read what you have posted to help with my decisions.  If you have any other thoughts on reading I would be grateful.  At my age I should get it but IDK.

Thanks again!!💜

[Mamgu]

I had the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday and it wasn't too bad.  I don't think it's affected my withdrawal at all, things have been fairly settled for a while anyway, just my usual background symptoms so I felt OK to take the jab.  I may have postponed it if I was in a bad way though, out of fear of it exacerbating the withdrawal issues.

 

I felt pretty grotty with side effects from the vaccine on the Friday and half of Saturday, these were a sore arm and heavy cold symptoms but they've all gone now.

[freeaway]

Hi everyone one! 

I received pfzer a hospital.

 

My experience with first dose:

- mild body chill

- migrane

- arm pain where I got the shot 

It only lasted 24 hours.

 

Second dose:

- barely any pain where I got the shot 

I had no other symptoms or any side effects. 

 

[marie123]

Hello everyone. I received my first shot of the Pfizer vaccine more than a week ago. I am happy to report I did not receive any reaction. I get my second shot in another week and a half. I hope this one will go smoothly too. My family member got the second Moderna shot and had a reaction of fever and feeling ill for three days. Marie.

[ChessieCat]

Q:  Has anyone had or know of anyone who has had the AstraZeneca vaccine?

 

OR

 

Q:  If AstraZeneca vaccine is available in your country have there been any bad things / reactions publicised about it?

 

Thank you.

 

In Australia Pfizer is only available for priority groups.  AstraZeneca will be for the majority of people.  Pfizer is said to have a 95% efficacy whereas AstraZeneca is said to be about 70%.

 

[ChessieCat]

Link to the following:  https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-03-03/covid-19-pfizer-astrazeneca-vaccine-ingredients-components/13137240

 

I'm copying and pasting the text just in case the link moves or gets taken down.

 

And the direct links given to the product information given at the bottom of the article, again just in case something breaks:

 

https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/auspar-bnt162b2-mrna-210125-pi.pdf

 

https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/auspar-chadox1-s-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-210215-pi.pdf

 

What's in Australia's COVID-19 vaccines? Here are the ingredients in the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs

ABC Health & Wellbeing

By health reporter Lauren Roberts

As Australians start to roll up their sleeves for their COVID-19 vaccine, many people have been wondering — what's actually in the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs?

Key points:

• Australia's COVID-19 vaccines have undergone rigorous testing

• They both come in multi-dose vials, but only the Pfizer needs diluting

• Pharmaceutical ingredients are added to stabilise the vaccines

Both coronavirus jabs use new technologies to train the body's immune system, teaching it to recognise and fight the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) if the virus was to infect the body.

Pfizer uses messenger RNA (mRNA) encased in a lipid layer, which, until recently, had not been approved for use in a human vaccine.

The AstraZeneca option is a viral vector vaccine, which uses a harmless chimpanzee adenovirus to deliver DNA into our cells. This technology is also new to the world of approved vaccines.

But it's important to note the rest of the ingredients in Australia's two approved coronavirus vaccines — both of which have undergone rigorous testing and clinical trials — are the same as those found in a typical vaccine, Monash University professor of pharmaceutical biology Colin Pouton said.

"Apart from these main [newly developed] parts, everything else is fairly standard."

Pfizer's active ingredient

The Pfizer vaccine has been shown to be 95 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, and it does this using genetic material called mRNA.

What's in the Pfizer jab?

• Nucleoside-modified messenger RNA — active ingredient

• ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl) bis(2-hexyldecanoate) (ALC-0315) — lipid casing

• 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide (ALC-0159) — lipid casing

• Distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) — lipid casing

• Cholesterol — lipid casing

• Potassium chloride — salt

• Monobasic potassium phosphate — salt

• Sodium chloride — salt

• Dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate — salt

• Sucrose — sugar

• Water for injections

mRNA is a standard part of a cell's day-to-day operations. It ferries messages from the cell nucleus, where our DNA is stored, to ribosomes, structures in our cells that act as protein-building factories.

When an mRNA vaccine is injected into our arm muscle, the message carried by the mRNA is directed to our cells' ribosomes, RMIT University professor of immunology Magdalena Plebanski said.

"For the mRNA coming from the [Pfizer] vaccine, this will be making the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2.

"Once the message is given, it self-destructs [and the mRNA degrades], hence it does not hang around."

Each vial in Australia holds six 30-microgram doses of this vaccine (which is a white or off-white colour), which must be diluted before being injected.

The mRNA — the active part of the vaccine — is very vulnerable to degradation, which is why it must be stored at super-cold temperatures and encased in a lipid or fat particle (made of four different fats including cholesterol) to protect it.

Professor Pouton said both the mRNA and its lipid casing were new technologies, and although both were proving to be safe, some side effects to the jab could be attributed to the lipids.

"Those adverse events are things like soreness, perhaps some flu-like symptoms and some people say headache as well," he said.

Australia has already missed its COVID-19 vaccination target.

AstraZeneca's active ingredient

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which also comes in a multi-dose vial, doesn't need to be diluted and is a clear to slightly brown colour.

What's in the AstraZeneca jab?

• Recombinant, replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus vector — active ingredient

• Histidine — amino acid

• Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate — amino acid salt

• Sodium chloride — salt

• Magnesium chloride hexahydrate — salt

• Disodium edetate (EDTA) — salt

• Sucrose — sugar

• Ethanol absolute — alcohol

• Polysorbate 80 — surfactant

• Water

Its efficacy ranges between 62 and 90 per cent, depending on dosage amount and time between doses.

New research shows a 12-week break between doses, which the Therapeutic Goods Administration has recommended in Australia, may give the vaccine an efficacy of around 82 per cent.

AstraZeneca's active ingredient is a non-infectious chimpanzee adenovirus, which Professor Pouton described as a "delivery system" for a DNA payload, which contains code to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, into the body's cells.

"It can't give you an infection. It's only capable of delivering the DNA," he said.

Professor Pouton said a chimpanzee adenovirus was chosen because they could be sure the population had not encountered it before.

If scientists enlisted the help of a human adenovirus, there would be a good chance we'd already have antibodies against it.

Those antibodies could neutralise the adenovirus before it delivered the DNA to our cells, and the vaccine simply wouldn't work as well.

"Adenovirus infections are actually very common, but they're not pathogenic, so they just give you symptoms like a sore throat. You might not even realise that you've had an infection," Professor Pouton said.

"It's estimated that probably half the adult population has had an adenovirus infectious without noticing."

Once the vaccine has done its job, our body's immune system disposes of the adenovirus, and our cells dismantle the DNA.

What else is in the vaccines?

As well as these active ingredients, both vaccines contain a handful of pharmaceutical ingredients that help to stabilise them, as well as water.

For instance, both contain salts such as sodium chloride — same as table salt — which Professor Plebanski explained kept the vaccine solution stable at a particular pH.

"These are usually found in influenza vaccines as well," she said.

The Pfizer vaccine, which must be kept below -70 degrees Celsius, also has materials to keep it stable during the freezing process.

Professor Pouton said sucrose (table sugar), for example, is in the Pfizer vaccine to protect the formula at sub-zero temperatures.

It also contains a compound called polyethylene glycol (PEG), which forms part of the lipid casing, so anyone with a confirmed or possible history of PEG allergy should seek expert advice before being vaccinated.

The AstraZeneca option contains ethanol absolute and histidine, substances which Professor Plebanski said worked together to "mop up" free radicals that would otherwise contribute to the adenovirus degrading over time, and the vaccine losing potency.

AstraZeneca has an additive called Polysorbate 80, which is commonly used in vaccines and food as an emulsifier.

"Polysorbate 80 is [also] a non-ionic surfactant, which is necessary to prevent adsorption of adenovirus vaccine to glass surfaces of the inside of the vial during storage," Professor Plebanski said.

You can find a full list of the ingredients in the vaccines on Pfizer's product information sheet and AstraZeneca's product information sheet.

[gdtrfb]

Hi all - received Pfizer dose one recently and had no major reactions.

 

I was fatigued for about 36hrs, otherwise no issues. Heard similarly from a couple others. 

[NoMoreLexapro]

I have now received both moderna shots. Shot 1: no reaction at all except for slight arm pain.  Shot 2 was Friday.  Got it at 1pm.  Woke up at 2-3am not feeling well.  All of Saturday had lots of fatigue, muscle pain, body aches, and was freezing cold.  Never had a fever.  Slept really well Saturday night- better than usual- and woke up Sunday better than normal.  Most surprising thing?  On Sat when I had all the vaccine side effects many of my WD sxs were improved.  It was actually pretty amazing.  I'd happily do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

[Colonial]

29 minutes ago, NoMoreLexapro said:

Most surprising thing?  On Sat when I had all the vaccine side effects many of my WD sxs were improved.  It was actually pretty amazing.  I'd happily do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

 

I've long suspected they've  had a working "cure" in many meaningful ways for the worst of WD.  

 

But that would mean no more refill prescriptions for all the millions of people doped up every month they've fooled into thinking their WD is a sign of an actual "Condition".  

[NoMoreLexapro]

@Colonial yeah-the dramatic lessening of certain WD sxs on the day of my covid vaccine effects really proved to me once again the power of the mind-to-body connection and how devious these WD sxs are.  Since starting retrainingthebrain.com in late Dec and reading Norman Doidge's two books I've just come to accept that many of these WD sxs are lies my brain and body and trying to send me and I'm not accepting those anymore.  I know everyone's experience is different but for me I learned that I never should have feared getting the covid vaccine while in WD. 

[HopeToHeal]

I had dose #1 of Pfizer this past weekend and had a sore arm for a couple days but it’s fine now and I feel pretty darn good!

[Henosis]

On 3/8/2021 at 6:10 PM, NoMoreLexapro said:

@Colonial yeah-the dramatic lessening of certain WD sxs on the day of my covid vaccine effects really proved to me once again the power of the mind-to-body connection and how devious these WD sxs are.  Since starting retrainingthebrain.com in late Dec and reading Norman Doidge's two books I've just come to accept that many of these WD sxs are lies my brain and body and trying to send me and I'm not accepting those anymore.  I know everyone's experience is different but for me I learned that I never should have feared getting the covid vaccine while in WD. 

Did the lessening of the WD symptoms continue beyond that day? Or just a fleeting thing?

[Colonial]

On 3/8/2021 at 9:10 PM, NoMoreLexapro said:

yeah-the dramatic lessening of certain WD sxs on the day of my covid vaccine effects really proved to me once again the power of the mind-to-body connection and how devious these WD sxs are. 

@NoMoreLexapro

 

I remember being worried just how bad I would be if I got sick on top of WD. When I finally did? Most of my symptoms stopped for the duration of the illness and all I had was the illness symptoms.

 

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE! I said to myself, half jokingly: "If I knew I was going to be so well off getting sick I would have purposely infected myself sooner.  That is really a testimonial to how bad these drugs WD are, if being sick is a cake walk compared to the process.

 

It was as if, my body needed all it's recources to fight the infection that it didn't have any spare energy to do whatever it was doing in the healing process that produced the symptoms.

 

 

[NoMoreLexapro]

@Henosis Just that day and the next...but it was a huge improvement, and involved sxs that aren't trifling:  dizziness, anxiety, vision issues, nausea, confusion/neurological stuff...it's like they just disappeared.  It was amazing.  It almost made me feel that the moderna sxs were preferable!

[NoMoreLexapro]

@ColonialYeah...that really served to reinforce for me the ridiculousness of the WD symptoms and convinced me that underneath all of them the same, old, healthy me is there. 

 

 

[Henosis]

2 hours ago, NoMoreLexapro said:

@Henosis Just that day and the next...but it was a huge improvement, and involved sxs that aren't trifling:  dizziness, anxiety, vision issues, nausea, confusion/neurological stuff...it's like they just disappeared.  It was amazing.  It almost made me feel that the moderna sxs were preferable!

That is fascinating and totally unexpected! 

[NoMoreLexapro]

@HenosisVery much so!  And it just shows me how I'm fundamentally, basically, underneath the WD stuff, still the same healthy person I was before that all started.  Baylissa once told me that WD sxs mimic many other serious conditions...now I know that the mimicry part is really accurate. 

[Africa]

I had my first AstraZeneca jab on Saturday at 8:30 am and by 8:30 pm I had flu like symptoms. I had chills/shaking, muscle aches, fever, sweating and fatigue. This lasted for 36/48 hours and then slowly I started to improve. My arm just feels a little tender. 

[ChessieCat]

1 hour ago, Africa said:

I had my first AstraZeneca jab on Saturday at 8:30 am and by 8:30 pm I had flu like symptoms. I had chills/shaking, muscle aches, fever, sweating and fatigue. This lasted for 36/48 hours and then slowly I started to improve. My arm just feels a little tender. 

 

Thank you for letting us know.  Please post after you have the second shot.

[Longroadhome]

I had my AZ vaccine on Monday 8th March.  

The muscle around the vaccine site is a little achy 5 days later but nothing really. 
On the evening after I had it done my body felt a little achy with flu like symptoms but that had gone by the next morning . 
all in all I can’t complain. 
it has not sent me into a wave and has not made my wd symptoms worse. 
 

I tested positive for COVID in October last year. I had very few symptoms. Pain above my eyes and pains in my stomach  along with a slight temperature . That was it . 

[JustBella]

@Snowyowl16 just read your post about anxiety spike after vaccine. I have had increased anxiety and insomnia since my first (Jan23) and second dose (Feb 26). I do not know if it could be related to the Vaccine but I have noticed a change. My  waves seem more intense but my windows are better, just shorter. I was 16months past rapid AD taper and 6 months past 10 month benzo taper when I took the vaccine. 
I have recently read that the vaccines can impact our nervous systems.