Vaccinations for 12 year old, how to deal w/Dr.

[LindaMW]

I am going to be confronted with the vaccinations for my son. He is due for the Hep A, Tetanus, Menenginitis and HPV. First are any of them safe to give Pandas/Pans kids? Second, how can I get through to the doctor, because they will push for it?

 

Our pedi totally dismissed me at our last appointment, told me any discussion about pandas, abx or that was I quote "not up for debate". He feels we should be doing therapy only. Even this year when we are still fighting mycoP, he does not feel abx are necessary, just therapy.

 

I am so frustrated with these doctors just not getting it. Why? This has been a two year battle for us and we still cannot find understanding.

 

Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it.

 

[PowPow]

Find a new doc. How incredibly pompous to say "not up for debate".

So far, we still live in a country where we are free enough to choose our own doctor.

my recommendation: FIND A NEW ONE with a clue and a little more humbleness.

[peglem]

Find a new doc. He's supposed to work for you. Is this an appointment that you need to go to, or could you cancel it?

[beeskneesmommy]

What a patriarchal jack ! That is disgusting. Find a new doc and dump this guy! It is up to you whether you want to alow vax for your child. Most states allow exeptions for school "for religious reasons". That will cover you if you choose not to vax. We do not vax, although I would like to when my son gets much older, like 16+. I absolutely KNOW that one of his 1st PANS responses was at his 14 month boosters - who knows what damage occurred at his newborn vaxes. I believe in the "herd" theory - if most of the other kids are vaxed, mine will likely not get exposed and will be OK. I have to believe that because there is no way in H--- that my son is having anything put into his body at this time.

 

Do you see a specialist? If not, can you get hooked up ASAP so that you have access to antibiotics? I got the feeling from you post that perhaps your son isn't currently being treated because of this doc's "not up for discussion" attutude....

[Missmom]

In Mississippi, where I am from, it is one of only two states that does not allow for either religious or philosophical exemptions for school enrollment.... The only exemption is a medical one. Believe me I stressed out really bad last summer about it. The good news is we went to a great specialist who had no problem writing the exemption after our pediatrician had remained " up in the air" about if he would write it for my son. I will just say this tough, I would have rather homeschooled than give my son any vaccines at the time. The process was complicated but I feel so much better that I fought the beaurocrat policies and got my son into school. Whatever your decision please just don't let him bully you. Find a new doctor.

[WorriedDADNMOM]

1) Do get a new doc.....you should not have to ask them to be professional and explain their position. I recommend a DAN pedi or Integrative pedi.

2) Quit paying his bills. Tell him "the bills are not open for debate" if you don't have a say or at the very least an explanation as to why his route is better...why yours is not.

3) As I understand it, it is the live vaccines that tend to be the ones that send our kiddos spiraling. My kiddos are 10/9/7 and the WILL NOT be getting any more. At least not until they are healthy with strong enough immune systems to withstand them. Which may be never. I don't know.

4) DO NOT STOP ADVOCATING FOR YOUR OWN KID. DO NOT LET DOCTORS USURP YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS IT PERTAINS TO YOUR KIDS HEALTH.

 

I, like many parents, have been willing to sacrifice anything and everything, my reputation, my credit rating.....everything for the health of my kiddos and the functioning of my family.

 

Keep your head up and keep fighting!!!

[mama2alex]

First of all, HPV is not required for school. There have been reports of many reports of major, long-lasting, devastating "side-effects" from this vaccine, not to mention about 25 deaths. From your description of this doctor though, I imagine he will dismiss these reports as anecdotal and push for it anyway. Your son does not need this vaccine. It is to prevent cancer his future girlfriends and wife many years down the road and their are many questions as to its effectiveness anyway.

 

Tetanus - would that be the TDaP? That's actually 3 vaccines coming out of one needle.

 

Hep A - That isn't required for school in CA. Is it actually required in your state?

 

Meningitis - Also not required in CA.

 

So if he's talking about the TDaP, that's 6 vaccines he wants to inject into your son in one visit. That's a lot, even for a healthy kid. He is obviously in denial about your son's illness, so he doesn't even recognize that he will be injecting a sick kid with 6 vaccines at once - something the package inserts even warn against.

 

I wouldn't do it, and I agree with others - dump him. He's not listening to you, not helping you, and is pushing you to do something very risky for your child.

 

There are many pediatricians out there who will respect your decision and even pediatricians (though they are more likely to be out-of-network) who take a more holistic approach and understand that vaccines harm some kids.

 

Good websites re the vaccines are: www.nvic.org (National Vaccine Information Center) and www.sanevax.org (talks a lot about HPV/Gardisil vaccine). I would educate yourself on the vaccines and then make your own decision.

[lfran]

You can call practices and ask if they will take you on as a new patient if you r not fully vaccinated. I did when I was searching for a new pediatrician. Most said no and then I just moved on. I did find one at last and also osteopaths and naturopaths are much more open to this type of patient.

[lfran]

Also the main disease I worry about is tetanus because I am scared of that disease. You can get tetanus vaccine by itself but it contains thimerosal. Aargh

[LindaMW]

Thank you everyone for all the great advice.

 

We do actually see someone for the Pandas/Pans, this guy is our general pedi for routine exams, etc.

 

He is their Pandas/Pans doctor in the group and I have talked to him once before but he is so totally against the abx. All I tried to do was explain how this time we are dealing w/mycoP and he did not want to hear it.

 

My point I wanted to make to him was my son had a bacteria in his body causing memory loss, anxiety, handwriting issues and adhd symptoms. Why would you do therapy for the anxiety when you can take an abx to get rid of the infection and make the symptoms go away? It is like having a cut on your leg that is all red and swollen and then you start having trouble walking, is the dr going to send you for physical therapy so you can walk better? Seriously?

 

Thanks again everyone. I know I have to keep fighting and except that there are dr.s out there that will never get this no matter how much proof you give them. Really sad.

[Mayzoo]

Our immunologist said no more vaccines for our kiddo based on this dx.

 

If you have a PANDAS doc, ask them what they want for your child's future, and if they say no more vaccines, get it in writing so other doc's have less room to argue with you. If they still argue with you about, then yes, get another pedi. They are there to advise you, not to make major medical choices for your child.

 

Another option is to get his titers tested first. My kiddos titers are insanely high for most the stuff they vaccinated for when she was little. She has no need to be vaccinated for anything even 7 years after her last vaccine. She had only one MMR shot when she was 15mo and all her titers for that are very high. Her Rubella titer is 147 and the high end reference to show immunity is 9 . We are now having to treat to lower her Rubella antibodies.

Edited June 21, 2013 by Mayzoo

[EAMom]

We took the personal beliefs exemption (CA) to get out of the Tdap they wanted all 7th graders to have.

 

I'd recommend getting Tetanus titers drawn to see if you even need to worry about getting a tetanus vaccine.

 

Our pedi actually refused to draw titers and wanted us to get the vaccine.

 

Our rheumy thought drawing titers was a great idea (and they were well in the protective range) and agreed that it was unlikely that our dd would get pertussis or diphtheria since she is on long term Azith. I don't know if our rheumy is anti-vaccine for PANDAS kids, but seemed to agree it made sense to not "rock the boat" right now as our dd is doing pretty well.

[EAMom]

LindaMW,

 

so are you able to get abs for the Mycoplasma through your PANDAS doc? I hope so!

 

BTW, I'm hearing lots of scary things about the HPV vaccine, even for non-pandas kids!

 

I also wonder how many kids who have had bad reactions to the vaccine, actually have underlying Lyme which came out of its dormant stage with the vaccine?? http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/teen-suffers-health-problems-after-receiving-hpv-vaccine/-/11664182/20228464/-/item/0/-/xmf6lo/-/index.html

 

You might ask this "therapy only" doctor where are the studies that show that therapy (or therapy w/out antibiotics) is effective in PANDAS kids. (There aren't any studies that I am aware of!)

Edited June 23, 2013 by EAMom

[T_Mom]

I am going to be confronted with the vaccinations for my son. He is due for the Hep A, Tetanus, Menenginitis and HPV. First are any of them safe to give Pandas/Pans kids? Second, how can I get through to the doctor, because they will push for it?

 

Our pedi totally dismissed me at our last appointment, told me any discussion about pandas, abx or that was I quote "not up for debate". He feels we should be doing therapy only. Even this year when we are still fighting mycoP, he does not feel abx are necessary, just therapy.

 

I am so frustrated with these doctors just not getting it. Why? This has been a two year battle for us and we still cannot find understanding.

 

Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it.

 

 

I can tell you that we changed pediatricians, after 12 years of having the same one, who I still respect and would recommend....for anything BUT PANS!

remarkably, we saw our ped. in a practice that had about 5 docs total...and our own, long-term ped., recommended we see a different pediatrician in the same practice --!

She said the "other" ped. was more open to PANS...and you know, we have been delighted with her!

 

I would say you should consider changing doctors....I would try calling pediatric practices and asking if the doctors know about (and treat) PANDAS.

I do believe you will find someone, though it may take some time --