I usually don't but today I did

I did it. I got the flu shot. My friend Judy had been pushing me for a week to get one. Then I saw some news reports and realized it may be the best thing to do. The thing is I tend to have bad side effects from a lot of things. Antibiotics have made me break out in hives. Pain killers make me so nauseated several times I've gotten sick to my stomach and once I couldn't even stand up I got so dizzy I had to close my store and lie on the floor for hours until I felt well enough to drive home.

Basically it was really easy:

• I walked into a CVS pharmacy and filled out a short form.
• They needed a few minutes to process the form so I did some shopping and received 20% off my entire purchase for getting the flu shot.
• When they were ready they called my name over the store's PA system and asked me to return to the pharmacy.
• I was charged out at the register but was fortunate my health insurance covered the entire cost of the shot so I didn't have to pay anything. Friends had told me shots usually cost between $20 - $30.
• I went and received the shot. Yes, it hurt. But only for a couple of seconds and not nearly as bad as I'd be hurting if I caught the flu.

So when I got the shot this morning and felt fine a few hours later I thought I'd dodged the potential side effects of this year's influenza vaccine.

Then I took a nap.

When I woke up I felt like I'd been power lifting and/or had been hit by a truck. I had body aches in my arms, hands, chest, and legs. I also had the chills. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening feeling like a sick puppy. I'm hoping I'll feel better tomorrow.

But the moral of the story is: I'm glad Judy talked me into getting the shot. I think it's her fault I feel so icky now but I wanted to thank her for being so concerned about me not dying from the flu that she cared enough to hound me for a week.