Travel Vaccines - Tetanus and Hepatitis A

I'm one of those people who avoid doctors like the plague and haven't been to one in a long time. Prior to getting a physical last year to clear me for the Visian ICL surgery, I probably hadn't been to a doctor since high school. Yeah, it's been that long.

But since I really want to travel, I figured I better get going with these shots as some need multiple doses in order to be effective. I've also got to do this while I'm still employed, because who wants to pay full price for these expensive vaccinations and visits?

I made an appointment and went in to Queens Medical Center's Travel and Immunization Clinic on Tuesday for a consultation. They have a person there who specializes in overseas travel, which is rare in Hawaii. I think the only other place is Straub Clinic & Hospital. Because my friend just came back from Africa and China, I went with her referral to Queens even though Straub is just minutes from my work place.

After a brief consultation, I decided to get the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) and Hepatitis A vaccination. I've already got my Hepatits B done. I've never liked needles, but I have to say that these shots weren't all that painful. I'm not sure if it's due to the fact that the person administering the shots was good or if my childhood memories were just blown all out of proportion. Anyhow, they didn't hurt too bad . . . or so I thought.

On Wednesday, when I woke up in the morning I noticed that my right arm was a little stiff. The nurse had warned me that the Hep A shot would feel as though someone punched you in the arm, but it was the Tdap arm that was throbbing. When I got home after work that day I had to take an Advil. I even fell asleep while waiting for a friend to call me for dinner!

Now, two days after the shot my Tdap arm is still killing me, and I've got this huge pink welt on my arm. I think the medicine is slowly spreading throughout my arm. It doesn't help that I've got sensitive skin so the inflamed area is probably larger than normal. I'm still dead tired, although this could also be due to work as we're extremely busy this week planning for a company retreat. When I got home from work today, I actually felt like going to sleep at 4:00 in the afternoon. I got chills (another side effect of the shot), which I found ironic since it was so damn hot outside. All in all, these shots suck.

The nurse gave me some literature on shots to prevent rabies, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever. It's hard to decide which ones to take though (and if I really need them) because my travel plans are so wide open at this point. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I might end up getting all the vaccinations I can get in case I change my mind and really do want to visit Egypt or Thailand.

Oh, and my exit strategy at work has been revised due to my shot schedule. I definitely have to stay through February now as I need to do a second dose of Hep A six months from now. March would be the earliest I could travel.

Night Before Surgery

Tonight's the night before my Visian ICL surgery. I don't feel anxious, excited or nervous. I feel fine. I've felt fine since last week's pre-op check up. Hopefully this translates into a restful sleep tonight. To be honest, my mind has been stuck on researching the JET Programme more than the upcoming eyeball surgery. Ever since I decided I'm going to apply I've been a little obsessed with trying to get more information. However, I suppose that's a topic for another blog.

Getting back to the Visian prep, I've been instructed to drop antibiotics into the eye that will be operated on (left eye). This started on Sunday and I'm doing one drop three times a day. That's not too difficult if you time it out at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I started on Sunday and today's my last day. Tomorrow I'll probably resume the drops and add an anti-inflamatory drop after the surgery. I already received the two drops as well as a regular re-wetting drop when I went into my pre-op visit. I was also prescribed another bottle of antibiotic drops, which I picked up at Straub last week. I believe I'm supposed to be using it until all the drops run out. This will repeat next week when I do my other eye.

Prep for the surgery is almost non-existent. I was instructed not to eat or drink anything after midnight tonight and make sure I have a ride to pick me up after the surgery. Since I don't need to be at the doctor's office till 10 a.m. and they said I won't be able to leave until about noon, I figured I'd better eat up tonight. I went out with my brother and his fam to CPK at Ala Moana. We had the spinach and artichoke dip, Chinese chicken salad and the cheeseburger pizza. Everything was delish. Hopefully that'll last me until noon tomorrow.

Tomorrow I also have a post-op visit at 1 p.m. to check that everything is okay with my eye. They'll be checking the pressure in my eye. I suppose if it's too high, that'd be bad. Other than that, I think I'll just need to keep my pirate's patch on for the rest of the day and continue wearing it each night when I go to sleep. I don't have my pirate's patch yet but assume they'll give it to me before letting me walk out of surgery.

I hope this surgery works well and I come out of it seeing 20/20 or better. That would be wonderful. Having needed vision correction since the fourth grade and wearing contacts since the fifth grade, this will be a great relief and provide a certain amount of freedom. I'll definitely post an update tomorrow night with any news. Wish me luck!