Injection terror strikes unwitting victim!!

Ola!

Well, i've had a bit of an unpredicted shock the last day or so ... I had my second round Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis injections at the Tropic Medicine travel clinic in Liverpool on monday morning. This time the injections were really very painful as the nurse grabbed a handful of the 'fat' on my arms, and jabbed the needles in - one in each upper arm ... one is inter-muscular - the other deep sub-cut ... so she didn't half put some force behind it!! I came out of the clinic a bit dazed with stinging arm, and drove back across the water to work ...

... later that afternoon i noticed i had throbbing pains shooting down my right shin, and began to have achy shoulders and neck ... but being me, thought nothing of it and put it down to tiredness and stress (says something about my quality and style of life at the moment!!) ...

... back at home that evening I started to come over with a cold flush, and no amount of radiator heat/ jumpers/ socks/ clothes, or hot drinks could shake it, as I felt myself shaking and shivering! ... the time became very hazy after this point, though the memories of 'nurse katy' (my sister the trainee nurse), the NHS helpline (useless by the way unless you're dying on the spot!), and other people on the telephone, are coming back to me ... alongside some amount of crawling around the house, lying on the floor, sickness, spasms and achiness all over, throbbing head and then immense overwhelming hotness and sweating ... think it sounds worse now than it seemed at the time ... as I woke up the next morning with a mere dull headache after collapsing on my bed in the early hours of the morning after drinking a gallon of water!!!

... all the time I heard myself thinking ... 'i've got encephalitis - i've got encephalitis - my head's swelling and im going to explode??!!' ... but quite clearly it wasn't the case after all ... so at least i've managed to experience what tropical flu might well be like, and I'm all the wiser if i come across any of those symptoms again during my travels ... but what a test, and my travels haven't even begun yet!!! ... its all character building as Ali would say - whilst not actually believing it!! ... though next time I'd rather pass on the experience thankyou very much!!

Please don't let that put you off coming to visit me though ... they say everyone reacts differently, and I'm already pretty unique, so if anything was bound to happen it more than likely would be to me!!!

For anyone who is possibly going to visit - you may not need the Japanese Encephalitis injection as it is not a risk in Galle or its immediate vicinity. You will need to have the course of 3 Rabies injections though, alongside the main 'A' list for any worldwide travel (includes Typhoid, Hep A, Hep B, PDT, Meningitis, Pneumococcal Pneumonia, Influenza, and BCG). The Rabies/ Japanese Encephilitis injections have cost me £35 each, although this is not necessarily a standard cost. I have also been prescribed the Chloroquine and Paludrine (Proguanil) course of anti-malarials which can be bought over the counter at chemists. The program needs to be started one month before entry into a malarial zone, and you can stop taking one month free of the zone.

Well, thats the gruesome bit out of the way! Thought you'd all like to share that very unpleasant experience with me and really get a feel for the tone of things to come ... but i will try to keep things sensible from now on!!!

ciao
sarah