Erythromelalgia and COVID Vaccination
I hear from people who regularly reach out having experienced new onset erythromelalgia after taking a COVID vaccine. All of a sudden, their lives have drastically changed. They say, “I’ve never regretted anything more than the decision to be vaccinated”, and sadly they have no recourse as vaccine makers have been cleared of any liability for vaccine injury due to the pandemic.
Vaccines can trigger secondary EM. Literature from the Mayo Clinic published in 2011 lists in no uncertain terms the hepatitis B and influenza (flu) vaccines as reported causes of erythromelalgia (1). It’s no surprise that the Center for Disease Control’s very own Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has added erythromelalgia to the list of adverse events following vaccination for COVID-19. The HPV vaccine has also triggered EM per the VAERS data set.
Those of us that had EM pre-COVID all remember when “COVID toes” began showing up in the media. All of a sudden, our bizarre and isolating symptoms seemed to gain center stage, however, this only lasted a day or two and quickly faded into the background.
What is the meaning- and potentially the commonality- between pre-COVID EM and post-COVID vaccination EM people? Or more broadly, EM people and post-any of the above vaccination EM people? And why should you care? Because getting to the root cause of your EM is your entry back into life- you own personal portal to healing. And while it may seem obvious that a vaccination triggered your misery, I am going to posit that it is more complicated than that.
I developed EM a few weeks after topping off a Hep B vaccine as a medical provider. I’d had some minor health issues in my 20’s… a diagnosis of Raynaud’s, then occasional migraines. I ate a sugar laden diet and rarely a veggie. I was thin and never thought a thing of nutrition. Besides, I exercised regularly. In my 30s while working 80+ hours a week and taking night call, I developed C. diff. after taking an antibiotic for a pesky ear infection. This was concerning- I understood C. diff indicated my immune system was compromised- but I chalked it up to too much work and too little sleep. I found a new job. Fast-forward to unknowingly living in a moldy home combined with a hepatitis B vaccine and EM’s fury unfurled on me in all its torturous glory.
“What a story,” you might say, “So, what am I to make of that?”
While a vaccine- or a chemical exposure or a messy divorce or any number of other things- can be the straw that broke the camel’s back, we need to look further upstream. My journey back to health was multifold. It required, dietary changes, lifestyle changes, smart supplementation, restoring my gut microbiota, and the confusing process of detoxing from mycotoxin exposure. Th end result of my efforts is complete remission of EM. I walk in the desert in baking temps and lay in a steamy bath every night. I cook dinner standing over a hot stove top and enjoy a cocktail without paying for it with a flare.
It’s good news that vaccination is most likely only the straw- instead of the root cause- because there is so much we can do about the camel underneath. The vaccination was a stressor no doubt to a system that may not have known it was so very stressed. I have much hope for your healing and the reclamation of a life you love!
You can read more about my journey as a medical provider hellbent on healing her own erythromelalgia here.
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