Imagine my surprise when I went to write about today’s new blog post on my Instagram account and swiftly realized…I didn’t have a new post! Life’s busy and as a result, I’ve fallen a bit behind my blogging schedule.

Luckily, I have the day off from work today, so I’m able to whip up a quick post on something that people might be wondering about: How did my diabetes and I fare after receiving dose 1 of 2 of a COVID vaccine?

I’m going to rapid-fire this one and sum it all up with some bullet points:

• I got the Moderna vaccine
• I felt 0 pain when I was injected – in fact, I didn’t feel anything and was surprised when the nurse told me I was all set
• I had to wait 15 minutes after the dose was administered to make sure I didn’t experience any type of reaction
• I had no reaction whatsoever
• About 18 hours after I got the vaccine, I noticed some slight pain around the site
• I could not see any marks around the site – no redness, no apparent injection location
• The pain was only noticeable when I was changing my clothes
• My blood sugar within the first 24 hours was mostly fine (I wasn’t eating super healthy so any high blood sugars can be blamed on my poor diet)
• My blood sugar was fine 48 hours later, leading me to believe that the vaccine had 0 impact on my blood sugar levels (I had somewhat anticipated elevated blood sugar levels because my mother, who also got the Moderna vaccine, said her levels were higher 2-3 days later post-vaccine)
• I felt absolutely normal! I got the vaccine three full days ago as of this writing and I can’t say that I’ve noticed anything different

That was my experience; remember, all people with diabetes (and without diabetes) are different and may experience different things. If you have any questions after reading this post, I highly recommend reading this post from Beyond Type 1 that tells you what you want to know about the vaccines. And here’s my little disclaimer to talk to your doctor about any concerns you have.

I’m glad that I got my first vaccine and that it was a hassle- and pain-free experience. I’m looking forward to getting dose number 2 at the end of April and will be sure to recap what it’s like then. In the meantime, I’m happy to continue masking up and practicing social distancing – after all, we’re in this together, and just because I got one vaccine doesn’t mean that I can’t do my part to help protect others.