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TIFU by getting a COVID vaccine

Just happened an hour ago, I'm still trying to process it.

So, I went to a local vaccination center to get my first COVID vaccine. It's this big hall, everything organized very professionally, military guards, hundreds of people being processed. I line up, everything easy, short chat with the medical personnel, everything in order, they sit me down, I get the injection, no biggie. Then I am asked to go sit in this common hall with a bunch of other people for observation. I can leave after 10 minutes they say.

So I sit down, take my phone, browse Reddit, you know, the usual stuff to kill some time. Then I realize that I am a bit dizzy. Just a little bit, not a big deal, so I brush it off. As time goes on though, I am getting more and more dizzy. I start thinking that I might have an allergic reaction or something. After 10 minutes I am very dizzy and my heart is racing like crazy. So I get the attention of the nearby medical personnel and tell them I don't feel this good. They ask if I want to talk to a doctor. Yeah, maybe I say. We'll fetch a wheelchair they say. Oh, there is no need, I reply, I can walk. So I stand up and... kind of crash to the ground. Not a real fall but my legs don't hold me that well. I am really dizzy now, my stomach is all stone, and I start getting these weird electrical shocks though my body. Ugh, not good, I catch myself thinking.

They pick me up, put me in the wheelchair and rush me to the emergency room, with roughly a hundred puzzled and worried mostly elderly people looking on (for reference, I am close to 2 meters tall guy in my mid 30-ties, so it must have looked a bit weird). I am on a medical bed and I feel reallyreally crappy, there is a huge weight on my chest and I have difficulty breathing. They are hooking me to a bunch of medical machines. My live is flashing in front of my eyes. What a crappy way to go I think and wait for the seemingly inevitable premature demise to come.

"Your blood pressure is really low, but the heart is in perfect condition" — I hear the doctor say. Wait, what? So I am not dying? She laughs. "No, you are fine, probably just an overreaction of the vegetative nervous system". Oh. The pressure from my chest suddenly disappears, I just feel very weak and quite embarrassed. So I'm ok? "Pretty much in great shape yeah, just a bit low blood pressure, its fairly common reaction to seeing a needle. Did you eat anything today?". Oh, I think, shouldn't have skipped that breakfast and lunch probably.

Twenty minutes later they escort me out of the building, joking about how they are thankful for having a reason to actually do something instead of standing around all day. I am super red, bowing in the best of the Japanese fashion (I am neither Japanese nor this was in Japan) and apologizing like crazy. They wink me good bye and tell me "see you in four weeks". I go grab some sweets and drinks, feeling like a massive idiot.

P.S. A bit shoutout for the medical team for their professionalism, kindness and a great sense of humor. They really did an amazing job and I was deeply impressed about how calm and efficient they stayed though the entire episode. You ladies and gentlemen rock!

P.P.S. Since there were some "concerns" about this story I would like to clarify that this is a throw-away account (I don't want my friends and family to know my real Reddit identity). I also tried to post the story multiple times since I had an issue with the bot auto-rejecting my post for formatting issues.

TL;DR got my vaccine shot, had a surprise light vasovagal reaction (sudden blood pressure drop), interpreted it as an allergic reaction to the vaccine itself, which triggered a massive panic attack. Though I was dying, got wheeled away by the on-duty doctor team, who proceeded to poke friendly jokes at me. Walked out in perfect health and a very red face not half hour later, with my pride and sense of manliness utterly destroyed forever.

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