A Clean Machine

I deep cleaned my kitchen on Saturday. I mean, I really deep-cleaned my kitchen... cleaned and organized my cabinets, cleaned out the fridge (including the door areas), organized my pantry. I even matched up to-go containers with lids.

Now, I know you are all like, um who cares? May you will - let's go back to Thursday night.

I Got My Second Vaccine Thursday Night

Thursday night, I received a call from my hospital about an extra available vaccine and I was asked if I wanted to come in and get it. I hung up the phone and quickly drove to Boonville. This was my second Moderna shot and I was scheduled to have it Friday morning anyway. I figured I'd get it early and maybe get a little more done over the weekend. I had been bracing for the aftermath of the second vaccine for a while. And let me tell you, the hype was spot on. As soon as she stuck the needle in me, my arm HURT. OUCHY OUCH OUCH OUUUUCH. But I woke up the next morning, and other than a sore arm, I felt okay. I thought I had out-ran the side effects. Ha! NOT. 

By 11 a.m., I knew Mad Madame Moderna found me. I felt like dook. All that afternoon and night and through the next day I continued to feel like stomped on, run over, lit on fire dook. When I woke up Sunday morning, I still felt pretty dookley. I took a hot shower and used my percussion massager to help ease some of the muscle soreness that had plagued me all weekend. That's when the strangest thing happened.

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I STARTED TO FEEL NOT JUST GOOD BUT GRRRREAT!

After about an hour of being up and moving around, I started feeling good. Then good turned to GREAT. I felt like I could run a marathon and then take a leisurely stroll to Canada and back. Didn't have that kind of time so instead, I cleaned my entire kitchen. See detailed kitchen cleaning explanation above. Then I cleaned my house! I felt like a bee on fire! I couldn't sleep that night and was back at it the next morning buzzing through the house doing laundry, organizing clothes, cleaning bathrooms, and just being more productive than I had been in months. I also felt really squirrely when I was cleaning the nooks and crannies of my house and had crazy dreams when I did sleep.

As with any big feeling I experience, I decided to post about it on social media.

So, did anyone else get a big burst of energy after their second vaccine symptoms subsided? Like, clean your entire house and then not sleep all night because your mind is buzzing like a mad hornet on fire energy? Just me?

Others Felt the Energy Boost Too

I was surprised that several of my friends (both men and women) ALSO had a big burst of energy. I remembered my colleague telling me that after her second vaccine she cleaned her closet and when the stream of, "yeah, me toos" all came pouring in, I thought, hmm... something's going on here.

So, What Causes the Energy Boost?

Long story short - I don't know. No one does.

But, that evening, I took a moment to check my social media feed and something interesting caught my eye. Several stories cited that women were reporting that their menstrual cycles shifted after receiving the vaccine. Now, I'm not about to take a deep dive into my 'cycles' with you - ew - even the word gives me the heebie-jeebies as a grown adult. But, if you are a woman who is reading this, you might relate to the feeling of being incredibly "I can't get out of bed" tired or full of "I feel like I just drank 17 cups of coffee and my mind is racing" energy around your period. I know I do! Could the energy burst be related to shifts in my hormones?

I also am a longtime autoimmune patient and one thing I have definitely noticed is that my hormone shifts and immune system are closely related. Any time I have a big hormone shift, a flare is soon to follow. It seemed a little backward this time though - did the vaccine cause an immune response that then caused my hormones to go a little wacky?

A New Study

When I saw that Kathryn Clancy, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Katharine Lee, a postdoctoral research scholar at Washington University School of Medicine, released a survey to study the possible correlation, I jumped at the chance to fill it out. And I'm not alone - on April 20, 2021, the Chicago Tribune reported that over 25,000 people have filled out the survey. They do note, however, this study is merely to report trends - not get to the root cause of the biologics of what's going on.

If This is a Thing, Should I Take the Vaccine?

The article is also clear that no statements have been made by the CDC or any other health organization regarding a correlation between the vaccine and menstrual cycle shifts - only that some women had reported the unusual periods. It also stresses that the vaccine is still safe and if you do have any severe side effects you should contact your doctor.

Again, I am no doctor or healthcare scientist but as a longtime autoimmune patient - I can tell you without a doubt that MY hormone and immune systems always seem to run in tandem. So, this is no surprise to me. And, if you were wondering, I would 100% still get my second vaccine again. My ultimate hope is that this study spurs a deeper dive into the connection of hormones and the immune system to maybe get me one step closer to symptom relief or even a cure for autoimmune disorders. A girl can dream, can't she?

So, even though there are no definitive answers right now, just know that the possibility is out there and researchers are looking into it. If you want to take the survey, fill it out right here. 

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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