Yeah, I’m 50. Got my first one a few months ago with no symptoms other than sore arm. Several people have told me the second one knocked them out for three days. I have a 6 hour race Dec 11. Trying to decide if I’m gonna wait till after the race to get the second one or get it now. Anyone have any experience with the shingles vax?
Both knocked me on my ass for a day or two….was actually worse than the COVID vaccine.
If waiting until after your race keeps you within your 6 month vax window, I’d wait.
I literally walked in (unknowingly) on the last day of my 6 month window. Dodged a bullet there!
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The Shingrix shots raised a good size welt on my arm both times. I don’t specifically recall any severe effects from either although there may have been minor symptoms from the second not bad enough to remember. Certainly not anywhere near what my second & booster COVID Pfizer vaccine shots caused.
But since everybody is different I might wait until after since you won’t know the effects until it’s too late. And few days isn’t likely to make any difference IMHO (I’m not medical professional though).
Good call getting immunized against shingles since they not something you want and about 10% of people develop postherpetic neuralgia which is something you really, really don’t want. My mom developed shingles when she was in her mid '80s and then postherpetic neuralgia all over her abdomen which caused her untold agony all her waking hours for the rest of her life.
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The second shot caused me to skip a couple of days of workouts. It was worse than any of my covid shots. I would like to add that I got shingles when I was 18, and it was terrible for a couple of weeks.
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Kicked my butt for a couple days. Worse than all 3 COVID jabs.
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Like others, the 2nd shot kicked my butt but only for a day. Tired, achy, and severe nausea.
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Thanks everyone, I’m well within the 6 month time frame. So, I’m gonna wait till after my race. Would be a good excuse for last place tho. Shingles scares the crap out of me. The only reason I was excited to turn 50. Well, that and I’m the “young” guy in my age group races.
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I had the first one last month – I felt pretty garbagey for three days. Still rode the trainer, but 60% felt like 90%. Day four, I was fine.
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I had a coworker get it. It was terrible. Definitely worth the couple of crap days the vaccine gives us.
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I had mine a few years ago. Similar to others the first shot was no big deal but the second put down for a day or two. Missed work. I would say worse than my second Covid shot.
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My second dose also threw me down for 2 days. Never had such a reaction from a vaccine before (or after).
I had shingles a decade ago, it was bad. And I was lucky, it was in my back; if you’ve ever seen what shingles can do if it hits you in the face (or even worse, if it hits the optical nerve), you’d run as fast as you could to get vaccinated. It’s a no-brainer.
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About 15 years ago, I had a small outbreak next to my right eye. Just a very small patch that itched more than anything else. But because of its location, I had to go see an ophthalmologist to make sure the virus wasn’t in my optical nerve. Luckily it wasn’t and the outbreak never got any worse than the small patch.
I was very lucky.
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With my five shots this year (Moderna x 2, Shingrix x 2 plus the flu shot) I have experienced the complete spectrum of vaccine reactions. Moderna #2 was BY FAR the worst ever, but my second Shingrix shot had the odd effect of me feeling fine, then bad for 12 hours, then fine again. It was like a light switch.
Having said that, I have watched my Dad suffer extreme agony for years from Shingles, so I was quite happy to get jabbed against that. As others have said, I would hold off until after the race but be sure to do it within the six-month window.
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I got my vaccine AFTER getting shingles. 
(my doctor wanted to wait for the new vaccine to come out before giving it to me)
It’s been a few years, but my memory of the reaction was night sweats so severe that my bedsheets were soaked when I would wake up in the middle of the night. That lasted about 3 nights with each night having less of a problem.
You might as well wait instead of taking a chance that the vaccine will hinder your race performance. Good luck. 
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I too was laid low for about 2 days after each shot. So if you have the option, schedule accordingly around your event. Not sure if all shots are the some but I had 6 months to get the second shot in so scheduling the 2 to not get in the way is fairly easy.
FWIW, Based on conversations with friends this year (we all seem to be of that age), it appears that however you reacted to the COVID shots can be a ballpark predictor of how the Shingles vaccine might affect you, just a bit worse for Shingles.
It’s worth it though. If you get shingles you could end up being off the bike for a really long time if you are unlucky.
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N=1, but that generalization did not work for me. No issues at all with both Pfizer Covid shots, limited reaction to Shingrix first dose, pretty solid (48 hrs) reaction to Shingrix second dose.
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Any one know if the shingles vaccine is something that can be obtained in the uk as an elective choice?
I’ve not previously heard of a vaccination programme for it in the uk and would be interested in exploring my options as I’m nearly 50.
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Did a quick search and it looks like UK has it but only for 70-79 years. That may be old info cause Shingrix is for age 50 and up here.
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Thanks
I definitely felt worse from the shingles vaccine than any of my 3 covid shots. First covid shot I was fine. 2 and 3rd shots, chills shakes and fever then 24 hours of being really tired. Then felt fine.
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