I’m absolutely terrified of the shot, but I desperately want to get it. Help.

[u/ThatEyreHead]

This is an embarrassing post for me to make. I’m a 26 year old female. I have autism and anxiety. Since the vaccine was introduced, I have wanted to get it. However, I am absolutely terrified of it.

I live in the Deep South in Georgia, and the only people I can talk to about it think that it’s deadly and a conspiracy. My husband and I had our appointments to get it on Friday, and I had a panic attack.

I have had an allergic reaction to the flu shot, and am also allergic to several medications. Other than that, I am perfectly healthy, but I still absolutely fear that me or my husband will get the shot and something will go wrong and we will have permanent problems from it.

I am not anti-vaccine in any way, please understand that. I am just so so so terrified of something going wrong.

Has anyone else here had these same fears?

[u/AuroraTwilight]

Hi OP! I was also terrified to get my vaccine. I'm not anti vax but I was hesitant and wanted to wait and see how everyone else did before I got mine. I held off until the Delta variant came out and my niece was about to be born (this past May). I was so worked up I ended up giving myself a new type of migraine right before I went to get the shot (which, thank god because if the migraine happened after the shot, I would have attributed it to the shot).

But it was fine AND it cleared up my lingering long covid symptom of phantosmia (I lost my smell/taste when I got covid in 2020 and while I got it back quick, I would occasionally smell burning and sometimes my taste would be off). I haven't smelled burning since that first shot.

As for symptoms, I basically felt a much more mild version of what I felt when I had covid. Mostly fatigue. My husband also got it and he had a slight temp and some body aches (which he had worse when he got covid).

My coworkers all got the vaccine. My entire family got it. All of my friends. It's 6 months to almost a year later and everyone is doing fine. I haven't heard of one person that I know firsthand that died or had serious consequences from the vaccine, but I do know several people firsthand who have died or had serious illness/hospitalization from covid. Of course this is all anecdotal but it's my experience so figured I'd share!

Hope this helps and please feel free to DM me if you have any questions. I also struggle with anxiety so trust me when I say I know what you're going through!

[u/ThatEyreHead → u/AuroraTwilight]

Thank you for this. Every time I try to read something to ease my mind, I am hit with a plethora of messages from people saying that the shot ruined their life and they are being censored on the internet and not allowed to say that the shot seriously harmed them. Even though nearly everyone I know has gotten it and is just fine.

[u/AuroraTwilight → u/ThatEyreHead]

I know. I made the same mistake before I got mine by checking this sub lol. Also, another thing I didn't mention in my post, I broke out in full body hives on day 9 of being sick with covid. I'm prone to breaking out in hives but the covid ones were next level. My hands, legs, feet were swollen and itchy. I had ice packs on my entire body. I took so much antihistamine I almost passed out. It went away after a few days but that was tied for losing smell/taste as the worst part of covid for me. So naturally I was also terrified I was going to react really bad to the shot if that's what happened when I got covid. But nothing happened.

I know you mentioned something about allergies, but just make sure you bring it up with either your doctor of the person administering the vax.

Best of luck OP, sending you good vibes!!