I am 36 years old and a mother to two young girls. I moved to Australia from NZ about 3 years ago with my husband and have spent the last year doing a diploma in early childhood care. I also spent a year and a half doing before/after school care.
I have always been in good health but have suffered from migraines on and off most of my life. They have always been manageable and is just something that I have learned to live with.
On 19th of November 2021, I decided to get my first Pfizer vaccine in order to continue my diploma in early childhood care and to better protect myself and my family. I spoke with my doctor about my migraines as I had heard headaches were a common side effect of the vaccine, but they assured me that I had nothing to worry about and prescribed me with pain relief just in case. Other than this I was not too concerned as my husband had already received 2 doses of the vaccine and had not experienced any side effects.
About 10 minutes after receiving my first dose of Pfizer vaccine, I experienced an excruciating migraine. At first I wasn’t too concerned as I knew this was a possibility and I had medication to help deal with the pain. Over the next few days my migraines became much more frequent and intense. The medication I was on was no longer helping and my pain was debilitating. I found myself waking up through the night with hot and cold sweats and noticed that I couldn’t keep my hands still without them shaking. I felt very uncoordinated, and my arm was sore for about 3 days.
As my migraines persisted, I started to experience extreme brain fog and became very forgetful. I couldn’t remember entire phone conversations I had with my family members overseas and my husband noticed that I had been asking him the same questions again and again without realising. I also started to make very strange spelling mistakes (for example I would write Fish like Zish) and I would write my numbers backwards. It felt like I was drunk 24/7.
I had seen my GP a number of times during this period and was eventually given a referral for a CT scan, which came back normal on 15th December 2021. That same day, I was admitted to hospital for further testing. I received a lumbar puncture to ensure there were no underlying causes for my migraines, which also came back normal. Many doctors assured me that my symptoms had nothing to do with the vaccine and were often very dismissive of my concerns. One of my doctors walked out on me and another told me to ‘suck it up’ and get the second vaccine as I have always had migraines and they didn’t see a correlation. After 5 days in hospital, I was discharged with a migraine preventative to take each day and a referral to see a neurologist. Unfortunately, the preventative didn’t do anything for my migraines, and I experienced stinging sensations in my hands and feet as a side effect from the medication. I then returned to hospital in January for additional treatment but have seen no improvements.
Prior to the vaccine my migraines have always been manageable and have always responded well to medication. Now that the medication is no longer working, I find that I am constantly physically and mentally exhausted. I have excruciating migraines almost every day and I have to take regular naps so that I can focus. My short term memory has only slightly improved over the last few months, and I still find that holding conversations for long periods of time is very difficult – particularly if I’m tired. I can no longer have any carbonated drinks as this seems to make my migraines much worse. At this stage, my GP agrees that I should not take another Pfizer vaccine but has suggested that I think about Moderna vaccine instead.
Because of my ongoing symptoms, I have decided I will not receive another Pfizer vaccine. I am unable to work and have had to stop my diploma in early childhood care due to the mandates. I am currently on the waitlist to see a Neurologist however I have called the hospital to discuss this a number of times and have been given no further information.
I hope that by getting my story out there, people in a similar boat might feel comfortable enough to share their own experiences so that we can learn from our mistakes and prevent these things from happening in the future.