Vaccine has other benefits

Q: About three days after my first Moderna vaccine, I noticed I no longer had the recurring pain in my shoulders, neck and knees that I’ve had to get used to since 2008. I had been applying muscle rubs or similar medications nearly every night for years. After vaccination, I estimate that there’s been a 90% reduction in those pains.

It is now 40 days and counting. Virtually none of the old pains have returned. The big gains in upper body flexibility have been maintained as well!

A: We have no explanation for this secondary benefit from the Moderna vaccine. We have heard from several people that their restless leg syndrome got better after vaccination. This is the most recent message in that regard:

“After getting my second Moderna shot in February, it disappeared. I have not suffered any symptoms of restless leg syndrome since, and it is a real blessing to sleep through the night without kicking, and tossing and turning.”

We have no idea if this Moderna vaccine effect will last, but it certainly is intriguing.

Q: When my mother suffered headaches many years ago, she always took two aspirins and a cup of coffee. What is it about that combination that works so well?

A: The caffeine in the coffee works synergistically with aspirin to improve pain relief. Headache specialists consider a combination of acetaminophen (Tylenol) with aspirin and caffeine to be helpful for episodic tension-type headache as well as migraines (StatPearls, January 2021).

The makers of Excedrin have capitalized on this combination for years. The dose of Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Extra Strength is 500 mg of acetaminophen, 500 mg of aspirin and 130 mg of caffeine.