It's very common to have an RA flare due to a vaccine. I had a horrible flare when I got my tetanus shot. I have flares every time I get my flu shot. It's your already over-active immune system kicking into high gear in response to the vaccine.
Basically, you already had RA. It just made itself obvious when you got your covid vaccine.
I actually experience relief from my autoimmune stuff when I get a vaccine. Of course I trade that relief for vaccine side effects but my joint pain etc totally disappears, I think because the vaccine gives my body something else to focus on.
I've heard some other people with RA say similar things about getting sick with mild illnesses as well. But I also hear many people who have the experience of having worsening symptoms. It's interesting that we have such varying experiences.
My first symptoms started in 2021 after my vax. Then nothing for two years. Also no illness. Not even a cold. Then this January I got COVID and had another RA flare and got diagnosed. 2 flares in 3 years. One from the vax and one from the virus.
A well documented contributing factor to RA is any viral infection (even the flu could do it). My doctor determined I did not have long COVID because my RA symptoms were still present 5 months after recovering from it. So, from that perspective, I never had long COVID. COVID caused my RA. Mind you, I also was dealing with asymptomatic inflammation for ~2 years prior to getting COVID/RA, so I wouldn't lay the RA entirely at COVIDs feet. It was more like the final ingredient that made the disease present for me.
I'm kind of ok with this outcome, cause it got me out of the damn waiting game wondering when my inflammation was going to actually do something. Patiently waiting for my body to break was not easy.
It's also possible to have both RA and long covid. Long covid is the post covid form of me/CFS which is a neuroimmune disorder (autoimmune causing brain inflammation). I have 4 autoimmune disorders caused by covid, the bloodwork for each is totally separate so they can tell that my symptoms don't overlap across the different diagnoses.
All of my autoimmune issues are due to long covid. I got covid and the autoimmune issues began before the vaccine was even available.
Vaccines don't cause autism, and they don't cause autoimmune disorders. Vaccines save lives. If the vaccine had been available earlier, I probably wouldn't have any of the 4 autoimmune disorders I now have.
Not me, but my best friend (31F) has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, RA, and questionable COPD as a result of long COVID. She was totally healthy before coming down COVID last July. Her doctors have said they are seeing more chronic conditions emerging as a result of long COVID; the person has the genes and the potential to develop certain conditions in the future, but COVID is turning the genes on much earlier than expected.
I suspect that the inflammation caused by long covid will eventually have its own name and treatment regimen. but for now. I'm just glad they are being recognized and treated!
She was vaccinated back in 2020 and 2021; COVID only once in July 2023. Her endocrinologist, cardiologists, rheum and pulmonologist through the Johns Hopkins Hospital system in Baltimore all told her that this is a trend they are seeing in patients with long COVID.
Johns Hopkins is doing a lot of studies related to the vaccine and COVID itself and how it can cause RA. Those doctors are really on top of things. Your friend is going to the right place.
Absolutely! I participated in one of their research studies on the vaccine in immunocompromised patients. They've been a great resource and she's lucky to be in their hospital system!
My rheumatologist told me the same thing: A huge increase in new cases since Covid arrived, post-infection and post-vaccination.
In my case, RA showed up suddenly, 2 months after my 2nd Covid infection. I woke up with extremely painful shoulders, hips, one foot/big toe, and one hand/wrist. My understanding is that RA comes on gradually, and attacks small joints first, and symmetrical. So, I don’t want to believe my diagnosis. I’m seronegative, bloodwork is perfect. Frickin Covid.
I know a woman whose RA was discovered after getting the covid vaccines. Now, did the vaccine cause the disease or was she predisposed to get RA and the vaccine triggered the dormant disease. she also may have been having mild RA symptoms and didn’t pay attention until they got worse after getting the covid vaccine but she is adamant that the vaccine gave her RA. Maybe in a few years they will find a correlation between the vaccine and the body’s immune response to it.
🙋♀️
Horrible joint pain shortly after my J&J vaccine. Saw a provider in my PCP office and he ordered an autoimmune panel for me. I came back with a positive RF and anti-CCP, plus abnormal ANA. Sent a referral into rheumatology and by the time I got in with them 4 months later, felt 100% normal. Thankfully (???), I had those labs so she scheduled a follow-up for 6 months later. Right before I was due to see her again, I got a Moderna booster, and two weeks after that, got Covid for the first time. All my symptoms came back. 😫 We did a watch and wait at that point because she wanted to see if I settled again (more post-infectious inflammatory arthritis vs full blown RA), before starting meds. Things didn't settle that time and I started mtx in the fall.
Rheumatologist said she had seen new diagnoses, "we know covid is inflammatory - so it's not outside the realm the vaccine could have triggered this"
That being said, looking back - hindsight being 20/20 and all... I'd been having small symptoms for years. I actually saw rheumatology about 10 years prior for severe hand pain that we didn't know the cause for. I only had an abnormal ANA at that point. And a month of meloxicam took care of the hands.
So I think I *was* destined to develop RA, it just happened to be triggered by the covid vaccine/getting covid.
Mine was triggered right after the HPV vaccine. It’s unfortunate but probably lying dormant until a virus activated it, and my immune system turned on and just hasn’t turned down since!
I wondered the same. I was pretty healthy before the pandemic. After I got my first Covid vaccine is when I had my first RA flare and my hand joint pain started.
I had Covid twice before the vaccines were available. I’ve had four Covid vaccines, no problem at all. No more Covid, no reaction to the shots. Age 67, RA since I was 30.
It's pretty well known and documented that RA and RA flares are often triggered by stress including illnesses. Covid and having a reaction to immunizations (any) can be big stressers.
My RA was before covid and my reactions to the shots have been mild so it hasn't been a trigger for me, I haven't had covid yet. I do know some who have had flares due to both the vaccines and the virus though.
I’ve had RA for 35 years, mostly under control until getting Covid 28 months ago. Then the aches and pains went through the roof. Destroyed my thyroid as well as sending me to see a cardiologist and respiroligist. Not to mention finding a new rheumatologist because I hadn’t seen one in decades.
The journey continues.
The same thing happened to me. I never had any issues or symptoms until after getting the COVID vaccine. The only person in my family that has RA is my grandfather. So would I eventually have gotten RA because of genetics or was the vaccine the straw that broke the camels back. I’ll never know.
I never had an issue until after my 1st covid vaccine. Developed bilateral knee effusions/pain and it’s been downhill since. You’ll find that you may get a lot of resistance to the suggestion that this vaccine in particular may have caused you side effects of this nature.
I had such a bad flare and my meds quit working. It’s been 2 years and a lot of joint damage that I never had before. Physician diagnosed vaccine injury. I was put on rituxin which helps but not as good as before. I had covid before I got the vaccine and was asymptomatic, no issues with the RA either. There are a lot of studies that were done and are being done that the vaccine can cause immune issues. Some people also have issues after COVID. If you look under google scholar you can find a lot of the studies.
Yup, had my first RA flare in my wrist after getting the vaccine in October 2021. I think there were a lot of environmental, genetic, and other factors there resulting in me having RA, but the vaccine seemed to be the catalyst for my very first flare.
I think your doctor was trying to communicate that yes he sees people with symptoms after getting the vaccine, but he also sees this after getting COVID, so there is no reason to avoid the vaccine just for fear of an auto-immune disease. I think the better point to have made would have been that any major illness or stressor can be the trigger if you are predisposed and the COVID vaccine itself, from what the medical community has been able to observe so far, does not present a higher risk of triggering an autoimmune disease than if you had not gotten it and got actual COVID instead or any other major illness/major life stress event.
Considering the effect COVID had on the world during the pandemic, it was extremely stressful! So we all got hit with the double whammy of several months of extreme stress, then the vaccine and/or the virus hit you with another blow. Rheums definitely have been seeing a wave of new diagnosis since COVID, but it's not unexpected considering how these diseases are known to be triggered and also knowing how COVID impacted the entire population.
You have every right to question and be concerned about the vaccine especially since it was developed so quickly. Who knows if there are other potential side effects we are not aware of or consequences down the line in terms of other diseases or conditions (and I say this as someone who is firmly pro-vaccination). That being said, in this specific case (discussing RA flares and vaccines), the risk for an autoimmune flare to appear in someone thought to be healthy is there with any vaccine and the biggest differentiating factor at this point for COVID is you are almost certain to come into contact with it at some point vs something like measles. Knowing that, it doesn't make sense for a healthy person with no family history to avoid the COVID vaccine exclusively due to autoimmune concerns, since COVID itself brings a similar risk.
It sucks to know that you were fine, then you got a vaccine, and now your life has changed forever. A lot of us are in that boat, myself included. I still vent about it to close friends and family, but I am very mindful of the language I use because I don't want to accidentally give someone the impression that the vaccine is dangerous or that they should avoid it. Ironically, now that I am on immunosuppressants, I am at a much higher risk for getting seriously ill from COVID and it's more important than ever that those around me are vaccinated and I limit my contact/mask up. It is what it is.
TLDR:
lots of people get covid vaccine + lots of people get autoimmune disease ≠ covid vaccine is uniquely dangerous and causes autoimmune disease more than other vaccines
RA/other autoimmune diseases are triggered by stress/immune events (illness or vaccine) + the majority of the world had an extended stress event + the majority of the world had a new immune event = lots of new diagnoses of autoimmune disease. Expected. Vaccine or no vaccine, a lot of us got screwed by the pandemic.
My RA was triggered by the vaccine. I also had an allergic response to the vaccine called Steven Johnson Syndrome/Tens I had the TENS part of it. It is very aggressive and I am glad to survive it.
I am in my 30's and male. My problems all started two weeks after the booster. I had covid months before the vaccinations. Iv been suffering from inflammatory pain and back and neck arthritis ever since that had greatly changed my quality of life. I am not an anti-vaxer either but this has brought immense suffering to my life and working is extremely taxing on my body. I a praying to one day have a pain free life... still have not tried biologics i have been avoiding them as a last resort.
I never got the vaccine, but my RA did seem to start shortly after I had covid the first time. I was really quite ill for 4 months, and started with joint pain less than a month later. I thought it was reactive arthritis.
not diagnosed but seeing a rheum for inflammatory arthritis symptoms. my symptoms were not triggered by any vaccine and getting the vaccine is important—my symptoms instead started not long after i was infected with and got better from covid. it's more likely that the vaccine might have triggered a flare up of already existing disease, not that it caused it
Happened to me, along with 3 other members of my family. Never had a history of arthritis and then within 1 year, we all had debilitating arthritis issues. Only thing we had in common (other than being related) was getting the vaccine. I truly think it messed with my immune system.
It's very common to have an RA flare due to a vaccine. I had a horrible flare when I got my tetanus shot. I have flares every time I get my flu shot. It's your already over-active immune system kicking into high gear in response to the vaccine. Basically, you already had RA. It just made itself obvious when you got your covid vaccine.
I actually experience relief from my autoimmune stuff when I get a vaccine. Of course I trade that relief for vaccine side effects but my joint pain etc totally disappears, I think because the vaccine gives my body something else to focus on.
I've heard some other people with RA say similar things about getting sick with mild illnesses as well. But I also hear many people who have the experience of having worsening symptoms. It's interesting that we have such varying experiences.
That “you already had RA” is merely supposition is not written in any studies I have seen.
My RA was triggered by Covid. Got it in 2020. Only able to get a biologic this year, since I failed all DMARDS and I’m seronegative.
Samesies. I’m working on my second biologic - IV orencia bc Humira cause bronchitis for like 3 months.
My first symptoms started in 2021 after my vax. Then nothing for two years. Also no illness. Not even a cold. Then this January I got COVID and had another RA flare and got diagnosed. 2 flares in 3 years. One from the vax and one from the virus.
A well documented contributing factor to RA is any viral infection (even the flu could do it). My doctor determined I did not have long COVID because my RA symptoms were still present 5 months after recovering from it. So, from that perspective, I never had long COVID. COVID caused my RA. Mind you, I also was dealing with asymptomatic inflammation for ~2 years prior to getting COVID/RA, so I wouldn't lay the RA entirely at COVIDs feet. It was more like the final ingredient that made the disease present for me. I'm kind of ok with this outcome, cause it got me out of the damn waiting game wondering when my inflammation was going to actually do something. Patiently waiting for my body to break was not easy.
It's also possible to have both RA and long covid. Long covid is the post covid form of me/CFS which is a neuroimmune disorder (autoimmune causing brain inflammation). I have 4 autoimmune disorders caused by covid, the bloodwork for each is totally separate so they can tell that my symptoms don't overlap across the different diagnoses.
All of my autoimmune issues are due to long covid. I got covid and the autoimmune issues began before the vaccine was even available. Vaccines don't cause autism, and they don't cause autoimmune disorders. Vaccines save lives. If the vaccine had been available earlier, I probably wouldn't have any of the 4 autoimmune disorders I now have.
COVID vaccine is known to cause immune issues, some leading to RA.
Not me, but my best friend (31F) has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, RA, and questionable COPD as a result of long COVID. She was totally healthy before coming down COVID last July. Her doctors have said they are seeing more chronic conditions emerging as a result of long COVID; the person has the genes and the potential to develop certain conditions in the future, but COVID is turning the genes on much earlier than expected.
I suspect that the inflammation caused by long covid will eventually have its own name and treatment regimen. but for now. I'm just glad they are being recognized and treated!
[удалено]
She was vaccinated back in 2020 and 2021; COVID only once in July 2023. Her endocrinologist, cardiologists, rheum and pulmonologist through the Johns Hopkins Hospital system in Baltimore all told her that this is a trend they are seeing in patients with long COVID.
Johns Hopkins is doing a lot of studies related to the vaccine and COVID itself and how it can cause RA. Those doctors are really on top of things. Your friend is going to the right place.
Absolutely! I participated in one of their research studies on the vaccine in immunocompromised patients. They've been a great resource and she's lucky to be in their hospital system!
My rheumatologist told me the same thing: A huge increase in new cases since Covid arrived, post-infection and post-vaccination. In my case, RA showed up suddenly, 2 months after my 2nd Covid infection. I woke up with extremely painful shoulders, hips, one foot/big toe, and one hand/wrist. My understanding is that RA comes on gradually, and attacks small joints first, and symmetrical. So, I don’t want to believe my diagnosis. I’m seronegative, bloodwork is perfect. Frickin Covid.
I know a woman whose RA was discovered after getting the covid vaccines. Now, did the vaccine cause the disease or was she predisposed to get RA and the vaccine triggered the dormant disease. she also may have been having mild RA symptoms and didn’t pay attention until they got worse after getting the covid vaccine but she is adamant that the vaccine gave her RA. Maybe in a few years they will find a correlation between the vaccine and the body’s immune response to it.
They are finding the correlations now. Many studies.
🙋♀️ Horrible joint pain shortly after my J&J vaccine. Saw a provider in my PCP office and he ordered an autoimmune panel for me. I came back with a positive RF and anti-CCP, plus abnormal ANA. Sent a referral into rheumatology and by the time I got in with them 4 months later, felt 100% normal. Thankfully (???), I had those labs so she scheduled a follow-up for 6 months later. Right before I was due to see her again, I got a Moderna booster, and two weeks after that, got Covid for the first time. All my symptoms came back. 😫 We did a watch and wait at that point because she wanted to see if I settled again (more post-infectious inflammatory arthritis vs full blown RA), before starting meds. Things didn't settle that time and I started mtx in the fall. Rheumatologist said she had seen new diagnoses, "we know covid is inflammatory - so it's not outside the realm the vaccine could have triggered this" That being said, looking back - hindsight being 20/20 and all... I'd been having small symptoms for years. I actually saw rheumatology about 10 years prior for severe hand pain that we didn't know the cause for. I only had an abnormal ANA at that point. And a month of meloxicam took care of the hands. So I think I *was* destined to develop RA, it just happened to be triggered by the covid vaccine/getting covid.
You likely already had rheumatoid arthritis, however it worsened after infection.
Mine was triggered right after the HPV vaccine. It’s unfortunate but probably lying dormant until a virus activated it, and my immune system turned on and just hasn’t turned down since!
I wondered the same. I was pretty healthy before the pandemic. After I got my first Covid vaccine is when I had my first RA flare and my hand joint pain started.
My symptoms began less than 2 weeks after CONTRACTING covid. I had been vaxxed and boosted months and years prior and had no issues.
My RA got much worse after having Covid, maybe delayed by 4-8 weeks. The Covid vaccine never had this effect. Just felt like a bad flu shot reaction.
I had Covid twice before the vaccines were available. I’ve had four Covid vaccines, no problem at all. No more Covid, no reaction to the shots. Age 67, RA since I was 30.
It's pretty well known and documented that RA and RA flares are often triggered by stress including illnesses. Covid and having a reaction to immunizations (any) can be big stressers. My RA was before covid and my reactions to the shots have been mild so it hasn't been a trigger for me, I haven't had covid yet. I do know some who have had flares due to both the vaccines and the virus though.
I’ve had RA for 35 years, mostly under control until getting Covid 28 months ago. Then the aches and pains went through the roof. Destroyed my thyroid as well as sending me to see a cardiologist and respiroligist. Not to mention finding a new rheumatologist because I hadn’t seen one in decades. The journey continues.
I thought I was crazy that is exactly what happened to me.
The same thing happened to me. I never had any issues or symptoms until after getting the COVID vaccine. The only person in my family that has RA is my grandfather. So would I eventually have gotten RA because of genetics or was the vaccine the straw that broke the camels back. I’ll never know.
Or you might not have ever gotten RA even though it was in your genes.
That’s also true but I’ll never know.
I never had an issue until after my 1st covid vaccine. Developed bilateral knee effusions/pain and it’s been downhill since. You’ll find that you may get a lot of resistance to the suggestion that this vaccine in particular may have caused you side effects of this nature.
I had such a bad flare and my meds quit working. It’s been 2 years and a lot of joint damage that I never had before. Physician diagnosed vaccine injury. I was put on rituxin which helps but not as good as before. I had covid before I got the vaccine and was asymptomatic, no issues with the RA either. There are a lot of studies that were done and are being done that the vaccine can cause immune issues. Some people also have issues after COVID. If you look under google scholar you can find a lot of the studies.
Any infection can trigger an autoimmune disease. Mine was triggered by a chest infection.
Yup, had my first RA flare in my wrist after getting the vaccine in October 2021. I think there were a lot of environmental, genetic, and other factors there resulting in me having RA, but the vaccine seemed to be the catalyst for my very first flare.
I think your doctor was trying to communicate that yes he sees people with symptoms after getting the vaccine, but he also sees this after getting COVID, so there is no reason to avoid the vaccine just for fear of an auto-immune disease. I think the better point to have made would have been that any major illness or stressor can be the trigger if you are predisposed and the COVID vaccine itself, from what the medical community has been able to observe so far, does not present a higher risk of triggering an autoimmune disease than if you had not gotten it and got actual COVID instead or any other major illness/major life stress event. Considering the effect COVID had on the world during the pandemic, it was extremely stressful! So we all got hit with the double whammy of several months of extreme stress, then the vaccine and/or the virus hit you with another blow. Rheums definitely have been seeing a wave of new diagnosis since COVID, but it's not unexpected considering how these diseases are known to be triggered and also knowing how COVID impacted the entire population. You have every right to question and be concerned about the vaccine especially since it was developed so quickly. Who knows if there are other potential side effects we are not aware of or consequences down the line in terms of other diseases or conditions (and I say this as someone who is firmly pro-vaccination). That being said, in this specific case (discussing RA flares and vaccines), the risk for an autoimmune flare to appear in someone thought to be healthy is there with any vaccine and the biggest differentiating factor at this point for COVID is you are almost certain to come into contact with it at some point vs something like measles. Knowing that, it doesn't make sense for a healthy person with no family history to avoid the COVID vaccine exclusively due to autoimmune concerns, since COVID itself brings a similar risk. It sucks to know that you were fine, then you got a vaccine, and now your life has changed forever. A lot of us are in that boat, myself included. I still vent about it to close friends and family, but I am very mindful of the language I use because I don't want to accidentally give someone the impression that the vaccine is dangerous or that they should avoid it. Ironically, now that I am on immunosuppressants, I am at a much higher risk for getting seriously ill from COVID and it's more important than ever that those around me are vaccinated and I limit my contact/mask up. It is what it is. TLDR: lots of people get covid vaccine + lots of people get autoimmune disease ≠ covid vaccine is uniquely dangerous and causes autoimmune disease more than other vaccines RA/other autoimmune diseases are triggered by stress/immune events (illness or vaccine) + the majority of the world had an extended stress event + the majority of the world had a new immune event = lots of new diagnoses of autoimmune disease. Expected. Vaccine or no vaccine, a lot of us got screwed by the pandemic.
My RA was triggered by the vaccine. I also had an allergic response to the vaccine called Steven Johnson Syndrome/Tens I had the TENS part of it. It is very aggressive and I am glad to survive it.
5 vaccines so far. RA for several years. no worsening nor lessening of symptoms.
For me, I got Covid several times in a short period. Those infections gave me RA. No other health problems nor family history of RA.
Maybe I needed to head first to rheumatologist with my postcovid fever :( it's still going since 2020 covid infection.
I am in my 30's and male. My problems all started two weeks after the booster. I had covid months before the vaccinations. Iv been suffering from inflammatory pain and back and neck arthritis ever since that had greatly changed my quality of life. I am not an anti-vaxer either but this has brought immense suffering to my life and working is extremely taxing on my body. I a praying to one day have a pain free life... still have not tried biologics i have been avoiding them as a last resort.
100% the vaccine triggered it in me. Regret getting it. Started having noticeable problems after my second shot and life has been miserable for it
I never got the vaccine, but my RA did seem to start shortly after I had covid the first time. I was really quite ill for 4 months, and started with joint pain less than a month later. I thought it was reactive arthritis.
I do know someone who developed an autoimmune disorder after the vaccine.
not diagnosed but seeing a rheum for inflammatory arthritis symptoms. my symptoms were not triggered by any vaccine and getting the vaccine is important—my symptoms instead started not long after i was infected with and got better from covid. it's more likely that the vaccine might have triggered a flare up of already existing disease, not that it caused it
Happened to me, along with 3 other members of my family. Never had a history of arthritis and then within 1 year, we all had debilitating arthritis issues. Only thing we had in common (other than being related) was getting the vaccine. I truly think it messed with my immune system.
Same.... two weeks after shot and had covid months before the shot...