The Pneumococcal Vaccine

The Pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for cochlear implant recipients due to an increased risk of developing meningitis after the surgery. After checking my school immunization records, and thinking I had the meningitis vaccine, I brought it in for my doctor to check on so that we were sure. It happened to be that I had the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13-Prevnar 13) recommended for babies, not adults. There are two types of the vaccine, the former, and the Pneumovax- PPVSV, a 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine for adults.

I'm usually the type of person that avoids getting vaccines unless I'm left no choice (like in this case, unless I really want meningitis just for being able to hear). As if that wasn't enough, getting this vaccine made me more determined to never get vaccines again, for as long as I can control it.

I recently went in to get the vaccine tuesday afternoon. It seemed harmless. The needle was in and out and I didn't feel much. However, my left arm was in pain for the rest of the day- and still is- and I have a red, not quite a rash, but inflammation from the shot. It started off being about the size of a golf ball, but today, 2 days later, it has tripled in size. It hurts when I attempt to use the tricep or when the muscle stretches, say, trying to put my hair in a ponytail. I am unbelievably alert when sleeping at night, as I'm afraid my husband is going to roll on my arm at any moment, or hit it, since he's just so fond of sleeping on my side instead of his.

Until last night at about 9pm, I began to develop chills and my fingers were going numb and blue. It was also 80 degrees in my house, while my body felt like it was 60 degrees. I took my temperature and it was 90. My healthy body temp is only about 97.8. About 20 minutes later, my temp was up to 100.4. At that point, I decided I'd crawl into bed and watch a movie and see how it goes. Was typically in the 101 range all night and all morning, except for the point it rose to 102.3 at 1am, in which my husband and I attempted to see Urgent Care, but to no success (they were closed). It didn't feel like an emergency, so we didn't go to the ER, though it's where I wanted to go anyway. But in my experience, I just avoid ERs and Doctors unless I feel like I die. 102 temperature felt really uncomfortable, especially with the onset of my lower back and leg muscles beginning to ache, but doable. Unless I'd die. But ya, that never happens.

Anyways, I slept it off for about 14 hours, though 12 of those were awful sleeping hours. Temp was about 101 when I woke up, but kept dropping- 100, then 99, took an ibuprofin, now at 97.1.

Do you know what the CDC says side effects are? mild, yet common, side effects is redness, swelling and pain at the injection site. 1% develop a fever, and more severe pain in the arm. In my opinion, those results are ridiculously vague. I would like to know the average fever range and if they develop muscle aches like I did, and if their redness on the arm continues to grow in size. I would also prefer to know how long it lasts and when I should consult my doctor. Intensive research just told the same thing everywhere with nothing useful- makes you think what you're feeling isn't even related to the vaccine. Yet, I found an article on the vaccine posted by an RN, and about a dozen people posted comments that they developed side effects similar to mine. The RN was consistently responding to the comments making a good point: that we should report our effect to the doctor anyway so that the information would enter the database, and thus, eventually, get rid of the completely vagueness of it all over the web. Also, the manufacturer of the vaccine would be checked on to see if the side effects are related to them.

All in all, I'm recovering. I expect my symptoms to be gone in another day or two, although I've heard of some people having arm pain from the shot that can last even six months. I wouldn't say my experience or the lack of complete clarified information on some things, means you shouldn't get this vaccine if you're susceptible to pneumonia or meningitis someday, but be aware if you're one of the unlucky ones, it'll be a crappy few days after getting the shot.

Here's the picture of the inflammation from day 1 to day 3

The lovely waiting period for a shot

Today I went through the annoying process of sitting in the waiting room of the air force clinic for an hour, then sitting in the clinic room for another thirty minutes, staring at the walls, in order to get my pneumococcal meningitis vaccination for the implant surgery. But I mean, REALLY? Is it really necessary to make someone spend an hour and a half of their life waiting for a doctor to write a piece of a paper and then walking 20 feet to the next clinic for the vaccination, which once you receive that piece of paper ONLY takes 5 minutes total? IS IT!? It's truly a consistent reminder why I do not bother going to the doctors unless I feel like I might die. The worst part of all this is that the health care reform, once fully enacted, is going to make waiting for the doctor just as long as an hour to several hours long. Bummer huh? Surely I would've grabbed my book to read while waiting, but I actually felt it'd be a quick in and out, and, if you have a hearing loss, you're (at least I am) always afraid you're not going to hear the nurse call your name, so I pretty much prefer staring at the door and reading the lips every single time the nurse pops out to call a name. Therefore, I wouldn't even get much reading done anyway.

Guess what I realized today? Our fish tank filter is LOUD. Unfortunately I do not wear my hearing aids all the time. I only wear them when I gotta go somewhere, like to the doctors, maybe a job interview, la la la. It doesn't seem necessary to wear them when I'm sitting at home on the computer all day and won't hear anything but barking dogs and jets. Plus, they make my head hurt. They make me tired. They make my ears itch. And they are completely outdated and need to be programmed to the change of my hearing over the last 5 years. Which reminded me, even though I'm getting the implant in my right ear, I'm gonna need the left hearing aid reprogrammed, or at least, replaced, with something a bit more modern than my 8 year old aids. I noticed that many new hearing aids don't even require ear molds anymore. How about that?! Although with my luck and type of loss, I'd probably be recommended for aids with molds. But then I remembered, insurance rarely covers the cost of hearing aids. Stumped. I'm gonna have to yell at someone. Probably the husband. But then, someone will probably manage for me to get approved for a hearing aid- somewhere- someday.

Hearing Test with Hearing Aids

Having a hearing test with my hearing aids is a recommended testing to prove to insurance that hearing aids don't help me and that the cochlear would benefit me much more. After a series of typical beeping tests, there was the "repeat what the man says" test. Sentences of approximately 6 words, and I would have to repeat whatever I could. I repeated nothing correctly. I couldn't even understand any of the sentences and pretty much took a guess at the last words. With just the right ear, I heard even worse as the voice seemed really distant and fast. Therefore, I failed the test, but in a sense, passed, because it proves I just can't hear speech well whatsoever. Medicare shall love me. I should hear back in a few weeks of approval (or shocking disapproval), then on to book the surgery.

About Me

For as long as I can remember, I've had a hearing loss. I remember sometime around 5 or 6 years old being fitting with hearing aids. And I remember wearing them in first grade, as opposed to preschool. My behavior in preschool, in fact, might have been the jumping stone that alerted teachers and my parents I had a hearing loss. There were times I was being scolded for "not listening," although I could assume it was because I just didn't hear them. I wasn't the type of kid that would just ignore authority and have my way, unless you were my parents or my brother. :-)

According to my audiograms, my hearing loss was only in the moderate range as a kid. It kept going downhill after that, to the point that now, 20 years later, it's a severe loss. There was a time I could hear birds and rain on the roof and the loud chirping of crickets in Arizona at nightfall. There was even a time I heard an earthquake five seconds before it hit. I could usually tell when my parents came home as I would hear the roaring engine of a VW bus 1/4 mile up the hill. Today, the loudest thing I hear is the TV when my husband turns it up to volume 50. Something I don't understand, being that he has completely healthy hearing. (I mean, this is actually the "loudest" thing, which I hear perfectly fine at volume 32). Occasionally I'll hear the jets fly overhead, yet, they are certainly not as loud as they were 7 or so years ago. The most uncomfortable sound? Front row at a rock concert. There's just something about all that bass roaring out and vibrating the place that makes me feel sick to the gut, nauseous, and at one point, made me want to cry.

Why am I writing all this? Because I'm in the process of getting the cochlear implant. In fact, today I have my last appointment of the process- the hearing test- to prove to insurance my hearing sucks, even with hearing aids. I should most likely be approved for one cochlear, as opposed to two. Although my husband and I may fight to get a second one next year, if I feel like it'll benefit me more than one will. Surgery will be booked for probably end of June to end of July, as I'll be surprised if it's booked beyond that.

Alas, being I've been a hard of hearing person in a hearing world my entire life, I am excited to become a little more of a hearing person in a hearing world. No more telling store clerks, "I have a hearing loss" so that they would get the snotty look off their face for thinking I was being rude and ignoring them. No more sitting in groups and staring at people talk and talk and talk to the point I just want to go home from a lack of any idea what is going on. No more being in public and walking by everyone with a smile because they asked me something that I'm not interested in them repeating 5x so I can respond. And no more just not hearing most things. Hey! And to my husbands delight, I might actually be able to sit a classical concert with him and listen to the music instead of talking to him out of boredom. Even though the thought of me talking and talking instead of listening makes him laugh at the memory.

Well, gotta get ready for my appointment now! Tootles.