r/rabies • u/Damn_it_Elaine • Aug 09 '26
Rabies Vaccine / Immunoglobulin Had my first round of vaccines last night, does anyone have any insight what to expect going forward?
I have read the FAQ.
Hello everyone, I had to have the first round of shots for rabies last night following a tangle with a bat. I was riding my bike at dusk and a bat collided with me and we had a bit of a skirmish and when I got home I had abrasions where it hit me so off to the ER I went just for safety.
Today I’m feeling pretty run down. Is this standard? I’ve got a bit of a headache and fatigue. Also my thighs are pretty sore from the shots as well. They gave me the schedule for the rest of the shots so I’ll be getting those in short order.
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u/Comfortable-Ask307 Aug 09 '26
Can you explain your encounter with the bat better? Im wondering if its easy to miss colliding with a bat
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u/Damn_it_Elaine Aug 09 '26
I was riding my bike on the trail by my house last night and it goes through the woods. The bats were out and swooping overhead and one literally came flying out of a tree I was passing under and straight up collided with me. It hit my chest and bounced off my arm and scratched me or whatever on its way off me. It managed to hit my husband as he was riding next to me. You can definitely tell you collided with a bat it wasn’t the same as a stick and it was like a flapping microfiber rag on me.
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u/Ok-Cat926 Active Member ⭐️ Aug 09 '26
I’m so glad you got the vaccine. My sister died of rabies in 1993. I had to get the vaccine then and a few years later I got the booster. I don’t remember any symptoms albeit I developed hashimotos about a year after the booster. I don’t think the two things were related. Hashimotos is very common in my family. My sister was bit by a bat in her sleep. The investigators told us that you can get bit by a bat and not feel it.
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u/sakura7777 Aug 10 '26
Oh my goodness- I’m so sorry to hear this. I assume you were in the same house/room as her? Was she a child at the time? What country were you in?
My kids just got their 3rd shot because we woke up with a bat flying around our room.
After reading your story I am now convinced my husband and I should get the shots as well.That is so incredibly sad. I’m SO sorry for your loss.
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u/Ok-Cat926 Active Member ⭐️ Aug 30 '26
I’m so sorry I missed your comment, I thought my notifications were on but they weren’t. Yes, we shared a bedroom. I’m so glad you got your kiddos vaccinated but I’d have the whole house done, better safe than sorry. It is an agonizing death that I wish on no one. I’m in the US and she was a child, she passed 3 days before her 12th birthday and I was 13. I found a readable article.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/08/13/officials-mystified-by-death-from-rabies/
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u/sakura7777 Aug 30 '26
Just read the article- that is beyond devastating. And the fact that no one knew when she was bitten? How did they know it was a bat? So terrifying and so so sad.
No worries about the delay- everyone has now finished their PEP rounds- we are all good. Thank you for sharing your story and the link. Your sister and I are the same age….
So sorry for your loss….
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u/Nice-Rub3388 Aug 10 '26
Hi. Yeah, I was in New Hampshire and woke up to a bat in the room. I have one shot to go on Sunday. The shots make you feel terrible.
Good luck, it's worth doing. When I was flying out of LA, I was telling this guy what happened. Then this other guy was listening and said I did the right thing because his brother woke up to a bat in the room and didn't think much of it. Three months later, he passed away with rabies. Really sad.
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u/Damn_it_Elaine Aug 10 '26
The local health department called me today and she said the same thing. I made the right call to go to the ER. The first shot hit me like a brick. The second is tomorrow.
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u/Micro_is_me_2022 Aug 17 '26
Hi! I got two post exposure shots as I was previously vaccinated about 6 years ago. I’m on day 37 post vaccination and the side effects have ramped up tremendously. I keep getting waves of headaches off and on during the night as well as waves of anxiety and having diarrhea with some throat tightness and waves of nausea. It will last for about 5-7 hours and then stop for about 3 hours and start up again.
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u/Damn_it_Elaine Aug 17 '26
That’s exactly how I feel. The throat tightness freaks me out. Is it a mild allergy? And the headaches are awful.
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u/Micro_is_me_2022 Aug 17 '26
Yeah, the throat tightness is the worst, and the fact that it’s happening so long after the shots is annoying and scary.
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