Flu Vaccine: Do it or not?

[Ben Davis]

I had no idea you were a diabetic too, Ben.

I did have a viral infection which caused my immune system to cannibalise my eyelets of langerhans. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life at the time and I can't remember ever being so ill. It could have been influenza thinking back to it, but I didn't get diagnosed until a month after being ill so there was no way to work out what had ultimately triggered my immune reaction.

But I echo the above. Get the vaccination.

Sounds nasty, Fidel. Mine was less painful (thank goodness) but messy. I caught flu but had a shitty work sickness policy meaning I couldn't get enough rest to recover. Flu got in to my renal system (probably the dehydration...) and attacked my pancreas. I didn't realise (I had a fever & wasn't thinking straight) so when I started feeling sick, I assumed that I needed energy drinks, fruit, basically sugary stuff! Little did I know... Upshot was, for a few years, I held Europe's record for the highest blood-sugar level of anyone who's lived: 88 mmol/l - 1586 mg/dl (for those who don't know, that's just over 4 times the fatal level). I'm not resistant to insulin and my islets are still intact, they just don't produce any insulin. It's weird and unfixable.

Anyhoo...

Vaccinations!