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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Left-sided Weakness After Getting A Flu Shot?

hi, my daughter is having left side weakness and pain that she says is like a straight line to the left of her, right down the center of her back and to the left. she has been complaining about this for the past month after she receivedd the flu shot. did a brain scan today which appeared to be fine. can you say what this could possible be. she is 42 years old. she is very worried.
Thu, 23 Aug 2018
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Internal Medicine Specialist 's  Response
Hello,

The flu vaccine is considered to be very safe. Despite that extensive use has brought up several neurological complaints including cases similar to your daughter's. In such cases the vaccine is not the most likely cause and its implication cannot be proved unless all other causes are excluded. This means that she has to be thoroughly assessed by a neurologist and definitely do the necessary tests (radiological-MRI of the brain and the spinal cord and perhaps also a lumbar puncture - the neurologist should guide the investigation) before attributing anything to the vaccine. Various disorders of the spinal cord or systemic degenerative disorders may have caused this. I can't either confirm or exclude the vaccine's role in it. She's right to be worried as neurological disorders can be very annoying and the available treatments usually are far from perfect but the most important thing for her right now is to get a well documented diagnosis. The clear brain scan is good news. She needs more tests though.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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What Causes Left-sided Weakness After Getting A Flu Shot?

Hello, The flu vaccine is considered to be very safe. Despite that extensive use has brought up several neurological complaints including cases similar to your daughter s. In such cases the vaccine is not the most likely cause and its implication cannot be proved unless all other causes are excluded. This means that she has to be thoroughly assessed by a neurologist and definitely do the necessary tests (radiological-MRI of the brain and the spinal cord and perhaps also a lumbar puncture - the neurologist should guide the investigation) before attributing anything to the vaccine. Various disorders of the spinal cord or systemic degenerative disorders may have caused this. I can t either confirm or exclude the vaccine s role in it. She s right to be worried as neurological disorders can be very annoying and the available treatments usually are far from perfect but the most important thing for her right now is to get a well documented diagnosis. The clear brain scan is good news. She needs more tests though. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.