Woman Says Flu Shot Triggered Rare Disorder

[WhitleyGilbert]

ASHBURN, Va. (WUSA) -- Many of you have been lining up to get the seasonal flu shot. But there is one Ashburn woman who wants you to hear her story before you do.

Desiree Jennings is trapped in her body. Intellectually she's all there, but her muscles are fighting each other. She's been diagnosed with dystonia, an extremely rare and debilitating neurological disease.

She says after taking the seasonal flu shot she witnessed her body's rapid decline. She doesn't know what else it could be but she has serious questions about the seasonal flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control cannot comment on her case.

Desiree was a healthy 25-year-old up until two months ago, working at AOL and as a Redskins cheerleading ambassador.

But her world has now been turned upside down.

Desiree has trouble talking and speaks in a staccato rhythm.

She says, "It's a battle every day because when I wake up I think it's going to be normal, but then I'm quickly reminded that's not going to be the case."

She says 10 days after getting a seasonal flu shot at a Reston grocery store in August, and on her second wedding anniversary, she got sick. First, she came down with flu like symptoms, then convulsions and blacking out.

She's seen more than 60 doctors. She says all of them were stumped until Johns Hopkins diagnosed her with dystonia. She believes her seasonal flu shot triggered it.

Desiree says, "Nothing else explains such a fast moving neurological damage. The medical hospitals ruled out everything, CAT scans normal, blood normal, MRI normal. The only thing that explains it is the shot caused the neurologic damage."

She says it is a strange disorder where muscles work against each other.

She can't walk forward, only backwards. She can run, but she can't stop without help. She can whisper but has difficulty speaking. Noises can cause convulsions. Her resting heart rate is 90. When she runs her blood pressure dips to 58. She gets exhausted walking a few steps but she could run for hours.

Drugs such as valium and klonopin that make other people sleepy give her energy for hours.

Simple exercises become nearly impossible.

Desiree's husband, Brendan, says, "It gets worse everyday. It's heartbreaking to see."

Desiree says the disease is irreversible. Once she loses an ability it doesn't come back. She says there are only three ways you can get dystonia as an adult and they include head trauma, drug use, and poisoning. She says she has not experienced any of that.

There is no cure. One in a million are diagnosed with the disease. She says she just wants healthy people to talk to their doctors and weigh the risk.

While the Centers for Disease Control cannot comment directly on this case, they say they have no knowledge of a link between the seasonal flu shot and dystonia.

Written by Surae Chinn
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com


Watch the video at the link: http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/stor...d=158#comments

[ilovepinkhearts]

i heard about this...sad!
i wonder if it was the shot...one more reason for me not to get one!

[Firefly32]

I'm not getting one and I haver get any type of flu shots or like putting anything in my body from doctors not knowing that is really in this stuff. I certainly don't trust the FDA there a joke -JMO-

[Aslan]

A doctor says that her illness is psychogenic: http://www.examiner.com/x-13791-Balt...ll-in-her-head

The article also notes:

Another important detail in Ms. Jennings' story is that she acquired flu from the flu vaccine. This is a scientific impossiblity. The flu virus in the injected vaccine is dead, inactive. In the solution being injected, the virus has no cells in which to live and reproduce. Viruses are, by definition, obligate intracellular parasites. They need cells to live, grow, and reproduce. There has been no recorded case of acquired flu from the flu shot vaccine.

[envyme]

My aunt is a scientist at the FDA, and she is constantly frustrated. The FDA is a joke. You would be surprised how much politics play in their decisions. Its sad...

Originally Posted by Firefly32

I'm not getting one and I haver get any type of flu shots or like putting anything in my body from doctors not knowing that is really in this stuff. I certainly don't trust the FDA there a joke -JMO-

[bag-mania]

This is a sad story, but there is no evidence provided that the shot caused her condition. It sounds like she was desperately looking for some reason why she got sick and the flu shot was the closest thing she could come up with. People develop diseases every day and I understand the "need to know why" but sometimes there isn't a clear explanation, like a flu shot.

[sunseasaltylife]

Originally Posted by bag-mania

This is a sad story, but there is no evidence provided that the shot caused her condition. It sounds like she was desperately looking for some reason why she got sick and the flu shot was the closest thing she could come up with. People develop diseases every day and I understand the "need to know why" but sometimes there isn't a clear explanation, like a flu shot.

Thank you for being a voice of reason.

[surferchick2]

Wow that's sad. I know that a rabies shot can cause a neurological disorder in dogs, although rare, but not a flu shot. I hope it wasn't tainted in any way. Hopefully more information comes out about this that can confirm or deny this. I don't rule anything out completely. I wonder where she got the info from that it's only caused by head trauma, poisoning, or drug use? Has she had one before? Apparently she got it somehow, and haven't read it as genetic? One in a million. I wont get flu shots (or vaccinations of any kind) and have gotten sick like once in 10 years. For myself, I don't feel comfortable if it's not a necessity or a requirement.

Whatever the cause, what a terrible disease. I couldn't imagine losing complete control of my body like that and be told there is no cure.

[carousel eyes]

I have to wonder if getting the flu shot in the grocery store was a mistake?

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by Aslan

A doctor says that her illness is psychogenic: http://www.examiner.com/x-13791-Balt...ll-in-her-head The article also notes: Another important detail in Ms. Jennings' story is that she acquired flu from the flu vaccine. This is a scientific impossiblity. The flu virus in the injected vaccine is dead, inactive. In the solution being injected, the virus has no cells in which to live and reproduce. Viruses are, by definition, obligate intracellular parasites. They need cells to live, grow, and reproduce. There has been no recorded case of acquired flu from the flu shot vaccine.

thanks for posting this. it bothers me how media stories come out like this and they cause people to avoid the flu shot, just because of ONE lay person's claim (this person doesn't have a medical degree, and no doctor or medical professional has confirmed that it was the flu shot that caused it)...so i don't understand the fear...it's completely all speculation at this point.

and let's not forget the simple math people, for every person like this, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people in the US who DIE from the flu or flu-related complications every year..yet, they never make the news...so why does everyone seem to pay attention when ONE person (again, not a medical professional) makes this kind of claim, based on speculation and without evidence? i just do not get it.

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by bag-mania

This is a sad story, but there is no evidence provided that the shot caused her condition. It sounds like she was desperately looking for some reason why she got sick and the flu shot was the closest thing she could come up with. People develop diseases every day and I understand the "need to know why" but sometimes there isn't a clear explanation, like a flu shot.

i totally agree.

[MarneeB]

Originally Posted by bag-mania

this is a sad story, but there is no evidence provided that the shot caused her condition. It sounds like she was desperately looking for some reason why she got sick and the flu shot was the closest thing she could come up with. People develop diseases every day and i understand the "need to know why" but sometimes there isn't a clear explanation, like a flu shot.

ita.

[legaldiva]

^ Me, too. People do not understand: correlation does not equal causation.

[HauteMama]

Originally Posted by sweetneet

thanks for posting this. it bothers me how media stories come out like this and they cause people to avoid the flu shot, just because of ONE lay person's claim (this person doesn't have a medical degree, and no doctor or medical professional has confirmed that it was the flu shot that caused it)...so i don't understand the fear...it's completely all speculation at this point. and let's not forget the simple math people, for every person like this, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people in the US who DIE from the flu or flu-related complications every year..yet, they never make the news...so why does everyone seem to pay attention when ONE person (again, not a medical professional) makes this kind of claim, based on speculation and without evidence? i just do not get it.

While I do not get flu shots (just a personal preference - I don't think they are dangerous or bad or anything else), I agree with this. First, there is no evidence that the shot caused the disease. And EVEN IF IT DID, many more people die from the flu every year than have any reaction to the shot. It is always best to look into any shot or procedure that a dr. recommends for you, but in a risk-benefit analysis, getting the shot gives you better odds than not getting it.

[Green Zebra]

Originally Posted by sweetneet

thanks for posting this. it bothers me how media stories come out like this and they cause people to avoid the flu shot, just because of ONE lay person's claim (this person doesn't have a medical degree, and no doctor or medical professional has confirmed that it was the flu shot that caused it)...so i don't understand the fear...it's completely all speculation at this point. and let's not forget the simple math people, for every person like this, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people in the US who DIE from the flu or flu-related complications every year..yet, they never make the news...so why does everyone seem to pay attention when ONE person (again, not a medical professional) makes this kind of claim, based on speculation and without evidence? i just do not get it.

Exactly! Couldn't have said it better!!