Our staff members just  finished our second round of the COVID-19 vaccine and we are so hopeful that the pandemic will be behind us in the not so distant future. 

I’ve been getting a lot of questions surrounding side effects and how my body handled the vaccine so I thought I’d share the things I did to prepare and what my experience was. 

Before we get into what I did, I want to explicitly state that the thing that makes humans so cool is that our bodies are perfectly our own. My immune system is going to be different from yours. There are some generalizations we can make when it comes to health and the human body, but at the end of the day your immune system is specifically tailored to your body and your life. 

This means that things that worked for one person may not work for another. 

We also have the added layer of having a few options when it comes to the vaccines. I received the Pfizer vaccine which may have a different side effect profile than Moderna. I would not have changed my preparation either way, but just wanted to point it out. 

Next, let’s talk about the purpose of this vaccine specifically. It’s main job is to CAUSE an immune response so your body creates antibodies against the coronavirus spike protein. Your immune system is so freakin’ cool in that if it is introduced to an unknown protein, it learns how to fight it so that if it sees that same protein again it will already know what it’s dealing with. 

This is a normal function of our bodies. 

Normal immune reactions include fatigue, headache, fever, body aches, and soreness. Your body is working hard and sometimes that doesn’t feel pleasant…and it’s not supposed to. But if you have a pretty robust, healthy immune system then these things should be minimal and only for a short time. 

The faster our immune system can adapt to invaders, the faster you will heal and feel better.

 Things that deplete the resources of our immune system are lack of nutrients, stress and inflammation. So it stands to reason that if we can increase the immune resources in our bodies, then our immune system has the best chance to work efficiently and effectively against anything that gets thrown at it. This is the exact approach I used to prepare for the vaccine. 

As a side note, some people have asked about taking NSAIDs (like Advil) before getting the vaccine and the current expert advice (as well as my own) is not to take any over-the-counter medications to help with symptoms before you get the vaccine. It is supposed to cause a reaction and if you take Advil or Tylenol to reduce the inflammatory response it could affect the efficacy of the vaccine. 

Rubbing some arnica or CBD cream on your arm before and after the vaccine is fine though. 

Here are the 5 things I did before, during and after the vaccine to help give my immune system the best boost possible

1.  Increase your vitamins

I increased my vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc the minute the pandemic started back in March 2020. I usually always increase my Vitamin D in the winter in the PNW anyway since we have such little sunlight. But once I knew I’d be getting the vaccine I upped it again. I started taking 20,000IU per day the week before I got the vaccine and continued that amount until the week after I got the second one. I always recommend discussing vitamin dosing with a professional (medical doctor, naturopath, chiropractor, acupuncturist…someone who is qualified to discuss it) versus looking to Dr. Google for advice. You can also usually follow the directions on the bottle but those amounts will be lower than what I took.  

With my vitamin C and zinc, I just took the recommended amount on my bottle twice per day instead of once and always with food to help absorption. 

2. Increase your water

This is probably the most underrated health advice. Drink. More. Water. Your body needs it for all the biochemical things that happen every day and a dehydrated body just doesn’t work as well as a hydrated one. My tips here are get yourself a cute water bottle you like to drink out of and keep filling it up. Make it a game if that helps. Create a competition with you friends. Do what you need to do to get more water in your body! This will really help when it comes to muscle soreness as well. 

3. Reduce stress

Woof. I know this one is way easier said than done, but you gotta try. I’ve really gotten into meditation and journaling during the pandemic and I just tried to focus on that a little bit more during my vaccination period. I also stayed off social media more than usual and limited my interactions with stress inducing people in my life. Do what you can when it comes to reducing your stress levels all the time, but especially when you know your immune system is getting ready to work harder than usual. 

4. Reduce inflammatory foods

This one is going to be different for every person. For me, inflammatory foods include tomato, avocado (I know…the worst), sugar, and caffeine. I tried to increase the leafy green things in my food during my vaccination period and saved sugary things for after. Some people react to gluten or dairy. These aren’t necessarily food allergies (which you should definitely stay away from if you have them) but things that just make you feel kind of “blah” after eating. You don’t have to stop eating anything you don’t want to, but recognize that anything that you might be sensitive to will take some resources away from your immune system. This will make it a little harder if it is trying to combat food inflammation at the same time it’s having to learn how to fight COVID. 

5. Joyful movement and physical health care

I’m a big proponent of joyful movement. For some people, that means running (ew.) For others, that means dancing or cycling. Whatever it means for you, try to do more of it during the weeks you are getting the vaccine. We went on hikes and I did more yoga than I usually do. I also made sure to get in and see my chiropractor to get my spine and nervous system working optimally. I got a massage too. Of course if you are feeling fatigue, soreness and body aches as a symptom, don’t stress about needing to get a workout in. Do whatever brings you joy and feels GOOD. 

There it is! My vaccination routine. You don’t have to do all these things, but this is what I did. When it came to side effects, both myself and my partner experienced a sore arm for about 24 hours post- vaccine but that’s it! We were able to go on a 10 mile hike the day after receiving both vaccines and didn’t feel any other side effects. I’m incredibly grateful for the privilege I have to both have the time, money and access to all of the things I did to prepare my body for the vaccine and it’s ok if you don’t or can’t do all these things. Just do what you can, reduce your stress (this is a big one!) as much as possible and try to get some hearty foods into your body. If you do experience more uncomfortable symptoms some rest and tea should help. 

And remember, our team is here for you…always!

Dr. Megan Banker