After the First Jab-An Account by Joie Bose

 

What happened to me when I took the Covid Vaccine

I took my first jab on Sunday, June 6 at 1.05pm. I took Covishield or AstraZeneca. Needless to say I was excited as getting the slot itself was not a mean feat with most places showing that there were no slots available. Also I would now be able to move around a little more fearlessly. The way the hospitals are full and there is lack of oxygen (needless to mention the amount of deaths) every time I'm stepping out, it seems as if I am going to a battlefield. What happened next was something I didn't expect. Also this doesn't happen to everyone.

My excitement and sense of happiness lasted 60 mins. At round 2 pm, the sneezing started. 5 sneezes a minute leave you drained. A running nose and running eyes followed. It felt as if I had entered a dusty room that had not been opened for 10 years. On hindsight, I should have taken an anti allergic immediately. 

At 2.30 pm I started feeling weak. It must be as I hadn't had lunch I thought and served myself a good helping of rice and saussage curry. Within minutes I threw up. It's best not to have anything spicy. Maggi is my go to food in times of troubled one needs. I should have had popped a paracitamol then but I didn't. It was 3.40 pm when my body started getting warm. I was feeling cold. It happened gradually. It was a particularly hot and humid day. I switched off the air conditioner. Within 10 minutes I was sweating profusely. I was feeling breathless. I had to keep the air condition running. I wrapped myself in a fleece blanket and finally had the good sense of having a paracetamol. I was nature's paradox. If I switched off the AC I was feeling hot and if I had it on, I was feeling cold. I slept off before I could think more. 

I woke up after 2 hours. My head felt heavy. As if 10 boulders had been attached to the base of my neck. My temperature was 100F. Nothing to worry about too much. On a positive note my arm where I took the jab, wasn't hurting at all. No body ache so far. I had read of a home remedy that would help- turmeric tea. One teaspoon of turmeric and ginger grated and mixed with honey and lemon will help. It didn't. It made me throw up. I tried another. Cumin mixed with water. Same effect. My stomach revolted. Vomiting makes you feel weaker. I had a blueberry Greek yoghurt smoothie. I guess its about having calming things that you like, not what others profess. No one thing works for all. But the general idea that seems to work is keep yourself hydrated. And yes, no alcohol atleast 48 hours before and after the vaccine. Not even one glass of red wine. 

As night approached, the low fever and head ache continued. It felt like being struck with migrane. I wasn't being able to look at the screen for long. So no Netflix. Food had to be kept light as I wasn't in the mood for any more throwing up. The tummy had begun feeling uncomfortable and I opted for chicken soup and toast. I needed another paracitamol. I couldn't sleep straight and kept waking up through out - drifting in and out of sleep. No dreams. No thoughts. I kept on going to the loo for I was drinking a lot of water. As morning approached my restlessness stopped.

I woke up late this morning with a pain in my arm. This is the first time I felt pain. It felt as if I had done arm exercise at the gym for hours for the first time. I tried to do some stretches and it was still paining. The whole body was paining, especially the joints. However, the allergies and redness of face had gone. No sneezing either. I had a stomach upset and needed to go to the loo more than once. The head went on feeling heavy and though the fever was gone, I kept on feeling groggy. I was skeptical about having my morning coffee and opted for green tea and a banana. I threw up. I still felt quite miserable and attributed it all to acidity. I had an antacid and it was better in 30 mins. I was feeling hungry and so I had a cracker. It felt good to eat and I had some oatmeal cookies and grape juice. The body ache persisted and I felt sleepy again and slept off for another two hours. I had butter rice for lunch followed by a paracetamol before sleeping off again. 

The general weakness remains as I write this. The headache was there and I decided to have my doze of caffeine. Thankfully nothing bad happened! I felt more energized and began writing this. I also had more cookies. Honestly the sense of taste has dipped but it feels great as the cookies crumble in my mouth. The fever hasn't returned though the head aches come and go. The body aches are less but not completely gone. Eyes are swollen though it's stopped watering. I will take a paracetamol post dinner which will be noodle soup. Its been 30 hours since my first jab. Perhaps I am getting better now.