It's been a very long time since I last wrote in here. I'd take that as a good sign. I have been busy living my life, daring greatly and manifesting my dream of moving to far away places.
However, I feel compelled to share my vaccine story with hopes that I'll get feed back and hear responses like 'Me too!'. Getting the COVID vaccines was a no brainer decision for me. I want to travel and felt like this was absolutely necessary for safety and good health while abroad. I had heard that if you have a good immune system you will have lots of intense side effects. So, mentally, I was prepared to feel bad for a few days, a small price to pay for COVID immunity. I was not expecting how my body reacted to the vaccine.
I had traveled an hour and a half to get my first vaccine. As soon as they gave me the injection I felt dizzy instantly. I waited the 15 minutes to make sure I wasn't going to have a seizure or go into anaphylactic shock, then drove home. Things were feeling "off" in my my body for sure. Then I developed a giant goose egg sized welt on my forehead and the nausea set in. I had a low grade fever, felt exhausted and then developed a migraine. All "expected" side effects. This lasted for about a week.
Then I braced myself for the second vaccine which was supposed to have worse side effects. Surprisingly, I felt a little bit better after the second shot. Nausea and fever didn't kick in for 12 hours. However, for three weeks, I had rolling migraines every 12 to 24 hours, combined with wicked insomnia and intense hot flashes. These migraines were exactly like the ones I had that led to my Chiari diagnosis in 2006. Thankfully, the headache storms passed, but left me thinking what happened in my body when the virus was introduced?
It's clear to me now that my lizard brain - cerebellum - is always on alert. Guarding, protecting me from an intruder who just might cut into my brain again. The warning system is working for sure, but maybe a little too sensitive? I wonder if with time this will settle down some or is it something I will have to get used to.
Did any other decompressed Chiarians out there experience anything like me?
