:I am 64, and a medical in 2019 placed me in the top 2 per cent of fitness for my age. I was in the middle of doing some decorating when I had the AZ vaccine on March 6, 2021. Within hours I developed flu symptoms, sweating, fever and exhaustion, so I went to bed.
I woke the next day to find fist-size bruises all over my body. When I looked in the mirror I had egg-size lumps on my neck and forehead. I was worried and felt I should contact a doctor but as I hadn’t been unwell or seen a doctor in a decade and it was a Sunday I didn’t bother and struggled on with my DIY.
The next day my bruises and lumps hadn’t subsided and I had developed tinnitus, so loud that I could hardly hear. I went to bed early with a debilitating optical migraine that I had experienced only once or twice in my life before. The symptoms and the migraines continued for days and so I eventually got an appointment with my GP. Walking to the surgery I realised I also had numb feet. My symptoms were diagnosed as a mild and normal response to a vaccine and dismissed and my doctor discussed when I should be taking the second shot.
I began to get stronger tingling and pain in my lower legs. Within a few more days my lower legs and fingers were increasingly numb. It’s a poor analogy but I can only describe this as like having tuna steaks strapped to the top and bottom of my feet. I began walking with difficulty as I couldn’t feel my feet. This made my knees and hips ache. For several years I had measured an average of 10,000 steps a day using a Fitbit but I gave up on this and began to avoid walking. Further visits to my GP had my condition diagnosed again as normal and temporary vaccine reaction (‘mild side effects are much better than dying’, according to the GP) and I was persuaded by him that I would gain immunity only if I took the second shot. I work in the events sector and it was becoming apparent that I could possibly lose my ability to work and travel without what was then a full vaccine status.
After the second jab my symptoms persisted and I eventually sought private medical help as the NHS said they were unable to give me an appointment with a neuropathy specialist. "
