Claire Hibbs - AstraZeneca - Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT)

Claire Hibbs
AstraZeneca 31st March 2021
Batch number PW40008
Severe Adverse Reaction: Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT)
Age 48

The symptoms started on 05/04/21 and I was admitted to Bedford Hospital for 16 days during which time I had Immunoglobulin IV, Morphine, Codeine and Blood thinners (for life). I have been treated as if I’m making my symptoms up by the medical community.

I am 48 and have no underlying health conditions. I had my AstraZeneca Vaccine on the 31st March in the morning, the vaccine centre told me I may have some mild symptoms that evening or the next day of which I did, but this soon cleared and I was perfectly fine.

Five days later, on the Monday, I started to get the chills in the evening and developed a bad headache, similar to a migraine. As a migraine sufferer I took some sumatriptan which usually kills the migraine within about an hour, but this did not, so a couple of hours later I took another but it still did not work. Eventually I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and head was pounding worse than ever. I took some more painkillers but nothing seemed to be happening so I put it down to tension headaches, the pain was pretty much all over my head with lots of pressure at the front, but also I felt just slightly unwell, weak and fatigued, I had pains in my back too, either side of my spine, but just thought maybe it was the way I was laying trying to get rid of the headache. This continued throughout the week and by the Friday my head was even more painful and I just wanted to sleep. I also had blood clots from my nose and ear.

t was so bad that I rung them and, after answering some questions, they advised me to go to A&E, which I did. I first had my bloods tested, and then was thoroughly checked over. A few hours later they told me my blood levels were abnormal and they were keeping me in.

A couple of days later the consultant and a haematologist came to see me, my blood platelet count (which is what makes your blood clot when needed) was significantly low at 13 and my D-dimer count was significantly high at 7000. They sent me straight for another head MRI which showed there were no clots on the brain, I was so relieved because this is what the doctors has suspected. A couple of days later my bloods were still abnormal and I started to have pains around my liver, my bloods then showed that my liver enzymes were raised, so I went for an ultrasound on my liver. This time it showed blood clots on my liver and in the vessels that carry blood into the liver and out. The pain them became excruciating. A few more days went by and I was having pain everywhere from the pelvis upward and my head was still really bad so I had a CT contrast scan, this showed blood clots in my lungs. I was put on a drip of immunoglobulin, it was now a race against time as my blood pressure was also extremely high and they feared more blood clots as they had never seen this extent before. Gradually my platelets started to rise and once they reached a safe level I started blood thinners. Through all of is the doctors were very unsure as this is all so new to them, so that was scary on its own, knowing your life is in the hands of specialists who have not treated this condition before. I was the third person to have a blood clots in the liver following the Vaccine as far as they knew.

My PF4 Antibodies were positive which in this condition is unusual, as this was the key test to diagnosing VITT.

On the 18th April 2021 (My Birthday) I was diagnosed with VITT - Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia.

So at 14 days in hospital I then had a kidney infection and excruciating pains around my kidneys and all sorts going on with my gut, but they didn’t do any further scans as they said that I’m on the correct treatment so no need to!! I was on so much medication and will now have to stay on blood thinners for life.

A recent scan has revealed I still have portal vein and splenic vein thrombosis, and due to this I have a total cavernous transformation, meaning new collaterals have formed around my liver which carry blood. I have been referred to Adenbrookes hospital for further investigations as Bedford are unsure of where to go with this next! I have spent months in pain and on medication and live in fear that these clots may move to a dangerous location.
I am also suffering from chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, dizziness, brain fog, breathlessness, headaches and much more. Eight months on and I am still signed off work. The doctors are no help at all. I cannot get answers for my symptoms.

My life as I knew it pre-AstraZeneca Vaccine has ended. I can no longer do the things I used to. I’m not allowed alcohol, and I’ve been told I’m not allowed to fly.

I never did get answers for my Headaches, however a recent report indicated this could be due to microvascular CVST, which would go undetected on a standard CT scan and MRI.

We are looked at as just a statistic, but I never thought anything like this would happen to me! I am lucky I’m still here as many didn’t make it, and I feel so sad for them and there loved ones. And I never thought anything like this could be ignored by our government. We’ve also been ignored by the mainstream media. I feel very let down by our country!!

I’ve been advised not to have a second jab, despite the guidance constantly changing. I will not have a second vaccine and have sometimes been accused of being anti-vax!! I am not anti-vax and would never advise people to not have the Vaccine, but just to be aware of the possible side-effects and get seen to if you have any symptoms that you are not happy about. And also to be aware; If it does go wrong, there is no help for you from our government!!

There is no help for us, physically, emotionally or financially, so we need to stand together. But there is combined help from us victims as we are all together in this, and will help each other though ❤️

Shillington Hertfordshire, United Kingdom