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I Took the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine – This is What Happened

Life With Caitie

With the rise of the pandemic and vaccines made more accessible people are scattered over the board of Corona. Whether they’re thinking it is a hoax, it is man made, it is going to take over yadda yadda I felt it important to go ahead and take mine. Now this is a blog post. Not a news story so please keep that in mind. I am also not trying to “fear monger” or discourage anyone to not be vaccinated. I am not an anti-vaxxer however, when it comes to Covid-19 vaccinations as of right now, I believe it should be a choice. Not forced nor pressured. I am not going to talk about politics in this blog, just why I chose to be vaccinated and my experience with the J&J vaccine. WHICH UPDATE: They have put a pause on the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine. I feel so reassured. (LOL) Below I will tell you why I chose it, How I signed up to get it and how it felt and what side effects I had.

My Why

The reason I decided to get vaccinated was because and I’ll be honest. It was 1 shot and done if I chose the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine and even though they put a pause on it, I’m still happy I chose that vaccine in particular. I am deathly afraid of needles so in my mind, one shot that’s it was all it took to convince me and I wanted to get it over with in case places and planes started making it mandatory. I didn’t take it to “obey” I also didn’t take it to “do my part”. I just wanted to. I also have family and friends that are susceptible to this virus so I felt I had a duty to help slow the spread their way. Now people have argued with me that I can still spread it and even if I still wear my mask. You can call me a crazy liberal or a pro-masker I don’t really care cause I’m neither. Again, I am for choice BUT wearing a mask is really the least anyone could do to stop the spread or slow it down anyway. I hope for a life someday where things are back to normal. That is another reason why I chose to be vaccinated. Again, it should be your choice and nobody else’s.

How I Signed Up to Get It – How You Can Too

One day I was honestly just curious about the vaccines and did my research and I knew I wanted the J&J if I needed it. I knew I couldn’t get the vaccine at my doctor’s office which was unfortunate as I would have felt so much more comfortable in that setting with my doctor whom I trust, but in the end getting it done at Kroger wasn’t all that bad.

When googling where I could get the vaccine in my area I found this website, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/reporting/vaccinefinder/about.html and I scrolled down to the middle of the page and it looked like:

So I simply followed the steps. So if you have no clue where to get vaccinated I would highly suggest using that tool. You can also call around which I actually called Kroger before scheduling online just to see what vaccine I’d be getting so If you do schedule online and you have a preference then definitely also give that pharmacy a call to make sure that is what they’re giving at that time. At this moment there is a pause on the vaccine I chose, Johnson & Johnson so I don’t believe anyone is scheduling those at this moment. Who knows, those of us who took J&J may be entitled to compensation one day. (I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t joke but this is how I cope cause it is kind of scary how these vaccines came out so fast and now there is a serious pause on the one I just took so, I joke to cope I hope I don’t offend anyone as that is not my intentions.)

So after I signed up I arrived on Thursday April 8th 2021. I went into my local Kroger pharmacy and I checked in I gave my ID and insurance card to her and she gave it back I can’t remember if I signed anything but I’m pretty sure I did. I didn’t read it though. She told me to have a seat and wait in line. Of course I had my mother with me. When I called prior as I was setting this appointment up I made sure to ask if my mother could be there by my side as I do have a phobia of needles. She said that was totally okay; they did allow my mom to go back with me. The shot was actually super quick, it felt like a pinch it didn’t really hurt until the needle pulled out of my skin. (That phrase just made my skin crawl lol) It was over in 3 seconds. afterwards, my arm started to feel heavy and sore.

How It Felt and The Side Effects

I have been honest thus far and will continue to be brutally honest. It felt like doo-doo. I actually kept tabs on Facebook because like the basic chick I am.. of course I posted a #vaccinated selfie to feed. In the comments is where I kept track of my symptoms and what times they occurred. As you can see below:

So here where my symptoms in order:

  • 8:30 am – Took the J&J vaccine – Arm was sore immediately after.
  • 12:45 pm – Soreness and I started to feel super drowsy.
  • Between 1 & 4 pm – Headache developed. Whole body started feeling sore.
  • 4:23 pm – Headache and Soreness, Area where they punctured was swelling and very sore. Still very drowsy.
  • 5:30 pm – Chills, sensitive to touch, nausea, couldn’t really move my arm without pain worsening, headache worsened. Was unsure of fever and I was very cold.
  • 6:59 pm – It was getting harder to breathe and still had all those other symptoms mentioned earlier.
  • Around 7 pm – Mom and dad came over because I was crying on the phone with them, they brought a thermometer and at that time I had a very low-grade fever some Tylenol was kicking in.
  • Between 7 pm & 8 am NEXT DAY – I barely got any sleep but I felt a little better when I woke up.
  • 8:08 am – I started to feel better Still had body aches and head as well as the arm were throbbing.

Saturday April 10th 2021, I was 99.9% feeling myself again and much better. It was rough. I cried a lot cause the pain like, I am not at all pain tolerant. It was just very traumatic. I will say that if they invalidate the J&J vaccine, I’m not taking another. However, I am still happy I chose to get vaccinated. It is now over with for me and I will just continue to wear a mask and be hopeful that things will be normal again some day. I refuse to call all this the “new normal” It will not be normal until masks are no longer required, until people quit dying, until we can look back in that rearview mirror and throw a middle finger up to the pandemic. It isn’t normal until it is over. We got this though!

Articles Relating to the Pause on the J&J vaccine:

Thanks so much for reading this blog post! This isn’t normally what I would write but so many had asked me to do so; I wanted to respect those wishes! I just want to say that I respect you no matter what you choose to do. You don’t have to take the vaccine, it is fully your choice. So please respect me and my choice that I made. Thank you. Please consider subscribing to the blog! I normally blog about: Self-Love, Fashion, Beauty and All Things Local & Kentucky! I’m also on Instagram! Check out my Instagram by clicking here and consider following for more! I would love to connect with you! I will also keep everyone updated as I plan on having a check up since there is a big issue with the J&J vaccine with ages between 19-48. I’m 22 so of course it is making me anxious. I am not regretful though.

Feel free to comment anything you wish below it could be your experience, why you chose or why you didn’t choose or won’t choose the vaccines or whatnot. Just be respectful. I love having adult conversations!

Published by Life With Caitie

My name is Caitie; I am a writer from central Kentucky. I enjoy reviewing places, ideas, and products! I am excited to help anyone the best I can. If you would like to take a look around, please do. Any questions? Visit my contact page. Happy reading!

19 thoughts on “I Took the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine – This is What Happened”

  1. Love this!! Almost the same side effects my friends and I had! I got dizzy the next day though and had a 104 temperature. Went home and slept. I had the shot one Friday at about 11am. Had the fever, dizziness and chills the next day( Saturday). By Sunday I woke up early and was sooo refreshed.

    Thank you for this blog!

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  2. Which vaccine did you choose? I surely hope my experience and blog inspires others but I don’t want anyone to feel pressured to get the vaccine either! I’m glad you’re feeling better! That is awesome. I’m so happy you chose to get vaccinated as well! I was on the fence for so long… but then I heard about the one shot and done, J&J Vaccine. So I took it!

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  3. Pingback: Nicholasville woman shares J&J vaccine journey through blog - Walk Ever

  4. I’m 58, breast cancer survivor, thyroid removed, panic attacks to which I take medication. I took the Johnson and Johnson shot one month ago, sore arm, chills that night, slight fever, got up an worked the next day. So far so good. I still mask an social distance and wash an sanitize.

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    1. I’m so glad you did so well! Also, congrats on being a survivor of breast cancer. I appreciate you sharing this with me! I also still social distance, wash and sanitize ! Masks are still important ♡

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  5. My husband two daughters and I all took the J nJ over a month ago
    None of us had any problems ..
    and one of my daughters is special needs takes 18 pills a day and 38 years old ,… I was a little worried about her getting the vaccine but again none of us had any issues.

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  6. I got the J&J vaccine on the 9th of this month. I felt fine, but pretty tuckered out for 2 days. Headache hit the 2nd and 3 day. No fever. However this week I have had moments of dizzy spells, and a sore arm still. I got the shot because I have a rare autoimmune disease (MCTD) and didn’t want to worry about getting CV19 AGAIN(worse than 1st time). I admit I am constantly worried now though since the recall. I wished we had more detailed information on all those who had the rare side effects from it. That way, we’d know what other symptoms we should be looking out for instead of living in our fear filled minds for the next 3 weeks, praying to the universe that we don’t have complications from the vaccine.

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    1. I understand completley what you mean. I aoorwciate you sharing this with me! It is so crazy ans interesting how our bodies all react so differently to things sometimes. Im sorry youre feeling dizzy and having symptoms still. I will be sending healing vibes! I’ve had headaches, but they’re nirmal for me so i don’t want to asusme it is thw vax. I rwally di appreciate you sharing. Sorry for my typos. Im in bed falling asleep.

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  7. Hi guys Iam so glad I found this definitely helps as support I took mine on the 9th of this month they told me it would be Pyzer at my arrival they said today we are doing J&J no one said no. I felt perfectly fine woke up in the middle of the night with headache and Fiver next day I went to work and I felt very weird with chills and mild head ache when I came home I was super tired and staid in bed all day the 2nd day I woke up so much better just feeling a little bit weird and during the week I have had small head ache here and there.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing! After getting it, being drowsy was one of the first side effects I had that day! It was a little worrisome as I go through fainting spells but then the 4th day hit and I was fine. I still think it is fascinating how we all react differently to things including, vaccines. I’m glad you’re well.

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  8. I took the J & J, also. I had a mild headache an hour afterwards, but nothing further. Today is day 9 since my vaccine. Thanks for this blog; I’m enjoying having this community to share things.

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    1. I appreciate you sharing! My family and friends told me I should share my experience so after I felt 100% I decided to blog about it to help others. When I first wrote this up, I had no idea about the pause – until I saw it on the news so then before publishing I edited a bit to fit current news and to help make others aware. I’m on day 11 as of right now and no side effects. I get headaches usually anyway so I don’t count that for myself! I’m glad you’re doing well!

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  9. I had my J&J vaccine on the 9th of April. I took it because my mom is compromised, and I would like to go visit her. My husbsnd took his a day before me and my sister a day after me, all J&J.
    I did my research, and was going to take the Pfizer, but the one shot made me less anxious, I suffer from general anxiety. Well, the past 6 days since they hit the pause button has been complete and utter panic for me. I am constantly looking at my legs, checking my breathing (which is hard when you suffer anxiety) with allergy season upon us, headaches are common, but now I am thinking, is this different than the usual? I have a calendar on my phone counting to day 14 then 3 weeks then a month. Thank uou for making this blog so I can let this out to others whom have had the J&J, my family gets a break from my constant, Will I Be OK! Best to all of you ❤

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    1. I hope you’re mom is doing well and I am glad to hear everyone else is doing okay. It really does suck hen our anxiety about these topics won’t go away, but I’m sure we will be okay and if not, we will get through it! Email me anytime you feel you need a shoulder or an ear. My email: caitiecat792@gmail.com

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  10. I took the J&J March 14 and have been a total panic attack mode. I thought I was doing the right thing and my whole family went and had it done. We have all been fine but I am terrified something will happen or long term. I am a complete mess and have been to my doctor to check me out. I have severe health anxiety problems so I feel like maybe I should have not gotten the shot or maybe a different type. I thought the J&J was a better version.

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    1. Don’t “beat” yourself up! We all chose this vaccination because we knew it was the right thing. The J&J Vax is similar to other vaccines. The Pfizer and Moderna are a newer type from my understanding they call, MRNA. It is okay! And I promise it will be okay and if not, we can go through this together. You are not alone. Please don’t stress. My doctor just said to keep an eye on any weird activity going on to my body like aggressive headaches, leg pain, shortness of breath, etc. So I would monitor! I also set up a check up in two weeks. It has helped me knowing that I have a check up and I’m sure once I go it will reassure me and put my mind to ease. I am almost out of the window, and I am already kind of relieved. Thank you for sharing. I hope your anxiety over this goes away soon. xx

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