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Yikes! Vaccine shedding?


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Hi:

 

My DS5 was exposed to day to another boy who had just come from the Ped's. he had bandaids on and I found out he had just received his vaccines for Flu, DTAP, MMR and Polio. I have heard about vaccine "shedding". What are your thoughts on this and if it occurs, how long after exposure would we see a response in our son? DS is doing extremely well in the PANDAS department right now and I am loathe to see the balance upset (especially since we are going on vacation in a couple of days....

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I don't know how fast vaccine shedding would occur. It would only occur with the live vaccines. During this time of year, we are probably unknowingly exposed to it very often with back to school vaccines being administered and the resurgence of every possible location offering flu vaccines. I think I'm most concerned about FluMist. Your child will probably will be fine.

Edited by Vickie
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Thanks - I know I cannot protect him from other kids being vaccinated (sounds strange when I put it that way). However, he is the oldest in our play group - just missed the birthday cut-off for kindergarten by 5 days. I had understood by our Peds that 5 years old is the vaccine age. What I can assume, I think, is that no 4 year old would be getting live flu vaccine as it is not recommended for littler guys. I appreciate your response. I find myself worrying about the other shoe dropping all of the time because we have had such good fortune in Dr. B's protocol and our lives have drastically changed for the better over the last few weeks. I can honestly say that I have not had this level of reprieve for 2 years. I find myself letting go and laughing, like really laughing occasionally, and it feels alien to me - had not realized how deep into the abyss I had fallen until things got brighter. I cannot bear the thought of losing him again and I am hypervigilant right now as a result! Best to you, Kath :)

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I had understood by our Peds that 5 years old is the vaccine age. What I can assume, I think, is that no 4 year old would be getting live flu vaccine as it is not recommended for littler guys. I

 

 

i am sad to post this b/c it is a big regret for me. . .when i was pregnant with with ds9, i tried to research and decide what to do about vaccines. i found it so confusing -- so much info on both sides. i was a new mom, had no real knowledge of vacc trouble and LOVED our ped at the time. he recommended AAP schedule and that's what i did. for ds7, i was busier, blah, blah, blah -- ds9 didn't have troubles so ds7 followed with AAP schedule. i wish now i had known of Dr. Boch's schedule in his book.

 

so, when ds7 (tougher pandas case) was 4, we had a different ped (who was useless when pandas onset occurred). at 4 year check up -- they said he was up for vaccs and vacced him according to 5 year old vacc -- some song and dance that they had them then -- i think at the time something was in short supply - and it was fine and really didn't matter between 4 and 5 and blah, blah, blah.

 

4 year check up was in june. we took a trip to denver in july. he had unexplained vomiting which i thought could be due to altitude and had what i now know was his first recognizable episode of cognitive inflexibility with sand piles at my cousins' house that my stepmother mentioned may be red ant hills -- he refused to step on any ground the entire day and clung to me in desparation through the entire party. oct/nov was 'sudden onset'.

 

i digress a bit. . . the point being that 4 year olds can certainly be vacc-ed with 5 year old vaccs -- esp if the mom is trusting the ped and not paying attention carefully to vacc issues! there may also be moms that would like to see their younger child vacc-ed for flu.

 

i do think i agree with vickie that the most concern would be with a live vacc. i know it's hard not to worry but if it's not the vacc himself and it's not something like a school full of flu-mist, he should be okay.

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4 PANDAS docs all agree that the FluMist vaccine that my son received at age 9 pushed him over the edge (he is now 14). He had what are now obvious PANDAS symptoms before this, but he has not been the same since the vaccine--he couldn't even function in a mainstream school after it. I am filled with regret.

 

Sorry for the dramatics - but if this helps even one person it is worth saying.

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I'll follow that up w/ two PANDAS docs believe my DS was pushed over the edge by Flumist. Unbeknownst to us, he was displaying minor PANDAS behaviors after an ear infection in Jan 09. Those went away after a few months and we chalked it up to a "phase". Oct 09, two days after Flumist, our then 5yo son was severely impacted with what we now know was an exorcist presentation of PANDAS. Took us a yr to get a proper diagnosis. Today, he's doing pretty well after 6 months of HD abx and then IVIG in May, now on prophylaxis.

 

STAY AWAY FROM FLUMIST.

Edited by nicklemama
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Regarding the "shedding" issue. I think I read that shedding only occurs with the live virus and most certainly with the flu mist. Our lives were turned upside down as well when my daughter received the flu mist last November which triggerd this entire episode. We haven't had a minutes peace in nearly a year.

 

Dedee

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As for age and vaccinations, peds will start giving kids some of their kindergarten shots at age 4 and then any remaining at age 5. Any flu vaccine would be offered every year. A lot of live vaccines too (MMR, chicken pox and possible FluMist).

 

My youngest started kindergarten this year.We were offered the MMR/chicken pox combo at age 4 in prep for kindergarten. I think my eyes practically popped out of my head when he offered that. Needless to say, we passed.

 

You can look up what your specific state "requires" online. The lists are just getting longer and longer.

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I know that docs will offer at age 4. However, it has been my recent understanding from docs that the Flu mist is not recommended for kids who are younger, like my 5 year old. I was always leary of vaccines to begin with because I was so protective of my baby. however, he did get the baby shots and the boosters at 1.5. At the time, the big worry was Thimeresol, and out West (Denver) they offered Thimeresol-free vaccines. he got a plain flu shot a couple of years ago when they were separated, but I wouldn't let him have the H1N1 at the time. He DID get a PANDAS reaction to the regular flu shot.

 

i guess I cannot protect him from mixing with kids that have had the Flu-mist, but it helps, i think, that he is still in preschool 3 x wk and not kindergarten yet.

 

Thank you for you feedback!

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