Posted: 10/23/2011 6:27:47 PM EDT
|
Last Thursday the company I work for had a "health fair". No big deal. The local HMO came in and were going to weigh everyone, take BP, give blood tests for total cholesterol and glucose, weigh and calculate BMI. They were also offering flu shots for $20 and extended cholesterol testing for $8 extra. I opted for the fancy cholesterol test, but skipped the flu shot.
BP was 140/100. A little high, but I am not all that worried about a single reading. I have been in the middle of my annual allergy issue and had a really nasty sinus issue which can raise your BP. Plus, as a fat boy, if they don't use the right cuff the BP reading tends to be high and they only brought the one cuff. Blood sugar was 80 something. I ended up saving $8. They tried the fancy cholesterol test on me twice and it failed to work either time so they gave me the free one that only tests total cholesterol. About 150. I am not real surprised at either of those readings. Low carb like Atkins is good for both for most people, and I have been on that diet for over 2 years. I skipped the weigh-in and BMI. I weigh myself every morning and know I am fat so see no real purpose in it and told them so. They did not put up any fuss about it. We had about a dozen people accept the flu shots. One of the people probably wishes she had skipped it. She had a serious allergic reaction to the shot and had to get the epipen shot and a ride to the hospital in an ambulance. She survived and was back to work the next day. The nurse giving the shots said she had given many, many flu shots and this was the first such reaction she had witnessed. I sort of expected her situation to affect others who had signed up for the flu shots but had not gotten them yet but logic won over fear and the other people who signed up for the shots got them as scheduled. |
|
Every year we have a flu shot thread...I opt out of the shot athough I used to get one. None of my family gets flu shots and YES, we vaccinate our son for standard childhood illnesses.
On a side note good for you for paying attention to good nutrition. That's likely the biggest survival situation you'll face... or not face! |
|
Our company did that same kind of thing a couple of years ago. The next year they changed our insurance to add another $500 of deductible, which they covered if you got the tests. Next year the deductible stays, they don't fund any of it, and if you dont take the tests your portion of the insurance is $150 more/month. Oh, IBTL and the "vaccines kill" crowd. -Slice |
|
Quoted:
Our company did that same kind of thing a couple of years ago. The next year they changed our insurance to add another $500 of deductible, which they covered if you got the tests. Next year the deductible stays, they don't fund any of it, and if you dont take the tests your portion of the insurance is $150 more/month. Oh, IBTL and the "vaccines kill" crowd. -Slice I think on the whole most of us understand that the flu vaccines probably help the people who need them more than they hurt those who are allergic to them. There are a few Alex Jones believers around though who think the moon is made of green cheese and other peculiar things. Edited to correct battery failure on wireless keyboard. |
|
Quoted:
flu shot=goverment mind control drug,I thought everyone knew that,oh shit I have said too much Yeah its part of the whole process: Chemtrails introduce one part of the binary and the other is given thru school vaccines, flu shots, public water supply and thru fast food too. Got my flu shot week before last (fixed it). Low and behold the wife got the flu Sunday last. She is better today but blamed me for bringing it home after I got my shot. |
|
If you work around alot of people a flu shot is cheap insurance to maybe keeping the flu bug away.
If you stay at home and have very little contact with others then the flu shot is a waste of money. I get the flu shot every year and since doing so I have not had the flu once. YMMV |
|
I don't get the whole flu shot mania, People act like I am going to get black death if I don't get one.. lol I have NEVER had one, and never had the flu, or at least if I did, it wasn't bad enough to say "Hey this might be the flu". I don't even get sick all that often. For people at risk, its probably a good idea.. but this mania that pushes them in almost every place I go these days is getting out of hand. I never even HEARD Of "flu shots" until I moved to the west coast from NYC. I see our local Walgreens is now pushing every shot known to man.. shingles, and a few others.. whats with all the shots these days? |
|
Not a flu shot conspiracy guy but I haven't had a flu shot in 17 years now and haven't had the flu in those 17 years. The five years prior to that, I had the flu shot each year and each year I got the flu. Only reason I stopped getting the shot was because the vaccine is never the same strain that ends up going around so I just figured there was no point. |
|
I am an obsessive hand washer. I don't get flu, most colds (i get one per year) or most of the other crap people pass around. Before eating, after bathroom breaks, after being out handling money or doorknobs I wash. Warm water, soap, towel. Adds up to about 6 times a day, maybe more if I am trying to hydrate. It is my belief that 90% of the crud we get at some point sits on our hands before infecting us, so I try to head it off there. It seems to work. I have no objection to the shots, but think the "hanging around in line with a bunch of people" is worse than the one or two strains they can head off with the shot.
|
|
Quoted:
Not a flu shot conspiracy guy but I haven't had a flu shot in 17 years now and haven't had the flu in those 17 years. The five years prior to that, I had the flu shot each year and each year I got the flu. Only reason I stopped getting the shot was because the vaccine is never the same strain that ends up going around so I just figured there was no point. 15 years here. My wife gets the flu shot and gets sick 1/2 the time right afterwards. |
|
almost immediately after the flu shot i got crepetis (sp?) in the shoulder of the arm i got the shot in. creaky joint, restricted range of motion. (couldn't put that arm above my head when laying face down, had to hang the arm over the side of the bed. not fun since i'm supposed to sleep face down.)
sorry, no more for me... i'm not one of the "vaccines kill" crowd, i'm just saying that i had a crappy reaction to it that still gives me problems after two years. every doc i mention it to says the same thing "that shouldn't have happened" but they never say "that can't happen". i keep TheraFlu, Ricola and other treatments on hand in case i get hit with something... because i sure don't want to run out to get it when i'm sick with the crud and the stores are probably out of it. |
|
Every time I get the flu shot I get sick, if I don't get it I don't get sick.... The whole flu shot is a bunch of BS anyway. All it is, is a concoction made up by someone at the CDC who "GUESSES" what strands will be prevalent this year. Chances are you won't be protected from the real flu anyway.
Good nutrition is the major factor of whether you will get sick or not. If you have a healthy immune system, and follow good hygiene practices you will be much,much better off than those who eat shitty and get the flu shot to keep them safe from the buggies. McDonald's, Chili's, Texas Road House, Quizno's, Subway, etc. is NOT healthy eating. OP- Good job on skipping the flu-shot, sucks for the lady with the allergic reaction. a side note: if you get a chance visit these links the first two talk about some of the negative side of the atkins diet. The last four are trailers for some documentaries that I have watched and have made a huge impact on me. In the SF we all talk about being prepared, SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, etc. But being dependent on medicine, doctors and government concocted vaccine's to keep us "healthy" isn't really being prepared in my mind. We need to take it upon ourselves to keep us and our families healthy and safe. "If you aren't healthy, none of your other preps really matter." you can find any of these movies on netflix, hulu, or you tube. Please watch with an open mind, regardless of beliefs, You don't have to be a bleeding liberal or hippie to understand what they are saying. livestrong natural news fat sick and nearly dead official trailer Food Matters official trailer FOOD INC official trailer forks over knives official trailer |
|
Quoted:
Every time I get the flu shot I get sick, if I don't get it I don't get sick.... The whole flu shot is a bunch of BS anyway. All it is, is a concoction made up by someone at the CDC who "GUESSES" what strands will be prevalent this year. Chances are you won't be protected from the real flu anyway. You might want to do a little bit of research here. The CDC doesn't determine the strains the FDA does. The CDC is one of five centers in the world that does the analysis of samples that originate from all over the world- everything gets forwarded to WHO, who makes a recommendation, which is adapted in whole or in part by the FDA. I am told the Australian lab's results tend to influence our hemisphere, while the 4 northern hemisphere labs influence the southern hemisphere vaccine, while everybody watches China. Of course South American samples tend to go to the CDC also. And they get it right 95+% of the time. Last year, as I recall, the WHO recommendation was the same for the N and S hemisphere and was adopted by the FDA Also included the H1N1 pandemic variety. I It's just statistics, they look to see what strains are infecting millions of people in the southern hemisphere. In order to get it wrong, the rejected strain would have to surpass 2-3 much more prevalent strains, with out having been observed to be spreading faster then the other strains. Kind of like predicting whose going to the world series 3/4 of the way through the season, and having 3 shots at it. You would have to be very dumb to get it wrong most of the time as you suggest. IIRC, a Few years ago, they ALMOST missed including the prevailent strain. When they get it wrong you have something to worry about. Not so much because it's not in the shot, but that something that escaped notice 8 months ago is spread across the US. Just hope it's not serious, because by definition, it was virulent. |
|
I've never had a flu shot, never intend to.
Eat good food and probiotics and you'll be way healthier than the guy with a dozen shots and a shitty diet. The vast majority of your immune system is the beneficial bacteria that live in your body. Do yourself a favor and stack the odds in your favor by eating the right stuff. I'm not a "vaccines kill" guy (even though they sometimes do), but I think they are vastly over emphasized in a medical community (and public) that largely doesn't give a shit about any other form of preventative medicine. A vaccine MAY prevent you from getting a horrible disease, but it may have serious side effects and it may not be effective against a different strain of the disease. A shitty diet WILL take years off your life and erode the foundation of your physical body. Of course, a good diet takes money away from the pharmaceutical companies who need their lifelong clients, and most doctors are trained to treat symptoms with drugs rather than advise true lifestyle changes to cure the root cause of the problem ... so you don't hear much about diet and exercise as the solution to most all medical problems. I treat vaccines in the same way I treat antibiotics ... try to avoid unless absolutely necessary. I understand if you feel differently. The mortality rate of a population certainly will drop on a macro level if you institute vaccines at a time when infectious diseases are widespread ... but whether or not that's a good choice to make on a personal, micro level when diseases are not so widespread is a different animal entirely. You have to assess your contact and risk level, the strength of your immune system, and the worst case scenarios of both sides. I choose to opt out. |
|
[span style='font-weight: bold;']Quoted:a side note: if you get a chance visit these links the first two talk about some of the negative side of the atkins diet.
I think I will pass. It serves no purpose for me to watch people who have accepted the fruit, veggie, and whole wheat religion. It just does not work for me and low carb does. In fact, none of the bad things that are claimed to be side effects of low carb diets are especially common with actual low carb dieters. I find it interesting that people who don't buy into the government advice on flu shots unhesitatingly accept the government line on nutrition. Especially given that the government line on nutrition is almost entirely based on the interests of big agriculture. |
|
Quoted:
I've never had a flu shot, never intend to. Eat good food and probiotics and you'll be way healthier than the guy with a dozen shots and a shitty diet. The vast majority of your immune system is the beneficial bacteria that live in your body. Do yourself a favor and stack the odds in your favor by eating the right stuff. I'm not a "vaccines kill" guy (even though they sometimes do), but I think they are vastly over emphasized in a medical community (and public) that largely doesn't give a shit about any other form of preventative medicine. A vaccine MAY prevent you from getting a horrible disease, but it may have serious side effects and it may not be effective against a different strain of the disease. A shitty diet WILL take years off your life and erode the foundation of your physical body. Of course, a good diet takes money away from the pharmaceutical companies who need their lifelong clients, and most doctors are trained to treat symptoms with drugs rather than advise true lifestyle changes to cure the root cause of the problem ... so you don't hear much about diet and exercise as the solution to most all medical problems. I treat vaccines in the same way I treat antibiotics ... try to avoid unless absolutely necessary. I understand if you feel differently. The mortality rate of a population certainly will drop on a macro level if you institute vaccines at a time when infectious diseases are widespread ... but whether or not that's a good choice to make on a personal, micro level when diseases are not so widespread is a different animal entirely. You have to assess your contact and risk level, the strength of your immune system, and the worst case scenarios of both sides. I choose to opt out. Us too... |
|
Quoted:
[span style='font-weight: bold;']Quoted:a side note: if you get a chance visit these links the first two talk about some of the negative side of the atkins diet.
I think I will pass. It serves no purpose for me to watch people who have accepted the fruit, veggie, and whole wheat religion. It just does not work for me and low carb does. In fact, none of the bad things that are claimed to be side effects of low carb diets are especially common with actual low carb dieters. I find it interesting that people who don't buy into the government advice on flu shots unhesitatingly accept the government line on nutrition. Especially given that the government line on nutrition is almost entirely based on the interests of big agriculture. Interesting thing is that every link I posted has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the government line of nutrition. In fact it is all anti government policy and anti big agri-business. All 4 of them go into detail about how the government (FDA/CDC/USDA) is completely ass backwards and how you should grow and eat local and organic. -OP if you believe that government advice on flu shots doesn't have anything to do with profits for big pharma and their interests, then you have been mislead somewhere. You were saying how you know you are overweight, I was trying to share information for you, about actual people who have changed their lives by changing their diets by including more fruits and vegetables, and exercise. If the low carb thing works for then great, but from the sounds of it is not. If you have been doing it for over two years and are still over weight, I thought maybe you hit a plateau with the low carb diet and needed to change it up. I was only trying to help you out and maybe show you something that you did not know before.
But you're right fruits and vegetables have nothing to due with being healthy. Good luck my friend. |
|
Get the flu shot every year. The year I didn't get the shot...I got the flu.
This year, like last year, I got the flu mist. I don't know if this one was different but I got BAD diarrea and one morning of puking. However, it only lasted about 3 days. Not sure if it was the flu mist or something else that made me sick. I work around a lot of people and a lot of them are unhealthy people. I try to stack the deck in my favor. |
|
Quoted:
I don't get the whole flu shot mania, People act like I am going to get black death if I don't get one.. lol I have NEVER had one, and never had the flu, or at least if I did, it wasn't bad enough to say "Hey this might be the flu". I don't even get sick all that often. For people at risk, its probably a good idea.. but this mania that pushes them in almost every place I go these days is getting out of hand. I never even HEARD Of "flu shots" until I moved to the west coast from NYC. I see our local Walgreens is now pushing every shot known to man.. shingles, and a few others.. whats with all the shots these days? Talk to someone who has had shingles! It is horribly painful for a long time. CP |
|
I did the 3 way Flu shot last year, and went Flu free.
This year, I did the Walgreens 5 way. First Walgreens is very easy. Once you are in the system, they send you the forms every year, you fill them out at home, and like a doctor office, your insurance is on file. I'm talking in and out in less time than you wait in the waiting room of a doctors. This years 5 way is a killer, both my wife and I felt bad for two days afterward. We were thinking "WTH did we do" UNTIL , my boys fiancee came home from college with the flu, then my son who refused to take the shot came down, and now for two weeks, we've been in close proximity to both of them and neither one of us has gotten sick. Between my wife working for the school system and my son growing up, flu has been a "count us down as the walking dead" every winter. We'd take flu shots then sure as hell catch the other flu. I'm talking so often here, we stopped taking the damn shots and relied on natural immunities. The problem is I have an over active immune system. I get something, the symptoms hit me like a truck. I get over it fast but for a couple days, count me out. These new multiple strain shots appear to be working for once. This is a subject that has gone from a "Don't bother" on the Tj recommend list to "Good idea, they work now." Tj Btw, Talk about a total prep failure. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't get the whole flu shot mania, People act like I am going to get black death if I don't get one.. lol I have NEVER had one, and never had the flu, or at least if I did, it wasn't bad enough to say "Hey this might be the flu". I don't even get sick all that often. For people at risk, its probably a good idea.. but this mania that pushes them in almost every place I go these days is getting out of hand. I never even HEARD Of "flu shots" until I moved to the west coast from NYC. I see our local Walgreens is now pushing every shot known to man.. shingles, and a few others.. whats with all the shots these days? Talk to someone who has had shingles! It is horribly painful for a long time. CP Having had the pox very young, I was about 30 when the shingles hit me. I was lucky, only one side band, but it was weeks for it to go away. Weeks of pain and itching. I was healthy as a bear and physically fit when it hit me. If you had chickenpox as a kid, and its been a couple decades, if this shot works, I'd say go for it big time. Tj |
|
If everyone you work with gets the flu shot you wont need to! I always get a kick out of the guys that hold out and claim they never get the flu so why bother.
Personally, I work around people from all over the world and would rather get the shot and save my personal days for fun! |
|
Quoted:
If everyone you work with gets the flu shot you wont need to! I always get a kick out of the guys that hold out and claim they never get the flu so why bother. Personally, I work around people from all over the world and would rather get the shot and save my personal days for fun! I bet you don't hear that much from parents with kids in Daycare. You get around a bunch of rug rats with parents that can't miss work, man oh man. Without a doubt, the sickest years of my life was when my boy started school. Those first couple of years were killers. Tj |
|
Quoted: Every year two months we have a flu shot thread...I opt out of the shot athough I used to get one. None of my family gets flu shots and YES, we vaccinate our son for standard childhood illnesses. On a side note good for you for paying attention to good nutrition. That's likely the biggest survival situation you'll face... or not face! corrected good sir |
|
Quoted:
I got my first flu shot in my life last year, and got another one this year. I did not realize you could be a "carrier" of the flu (and pass it on to other people) but not develop any symptoms yourself. Apparently this is true though. It does indeed appear that a fair number of people get the flu and are contagious but have such mild symptoms that it has little effect on them. Just like many people get colds and have quite mild symptoms. |
I thought maybe you hit a plateau with the low carb diet and needed to change it up. I was only trying to help you out and maybe show you something that you did not know before.