Question for parents concerned about vaccines

[Guest]

I have a question for all of you parents who feel that vaccines affected your child (or children) in a negative way. If you were going to have another child, would you vaccinate fully & accordingly to the schedule, delay & selectively choose vaccines, or refuse all vaccines? As I do my research, I'm really interested in what parents have to say who have children that were affected by vaccines.

[Guest]

I'm just bumping this up as I know there are several of you out there who feel that vaccines affected your child. I would love to hear what you have to say about what I posted above.

 

Carolyn

[Betty04]

I'm just bumping this up as I know there are several of you out there who feel that vaccines affected your child. I would love to hear what you have to say about what I posted above.

 

Carolyn

 

Hi,

 

I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable about this but.... if I were to have another child, I would seek the guidance of a DAN doc on a safe vaccination schedule. My son has IgG and IgA deficiencies that were just discovered, so I would also want to know if there was bloodwork to screen for any vulnerability in a newborn's immune system. If you read my posts, my son had a tic explosion after the flu shot but in retrospect, looking through his records it started after boosters at age 18 months. I know its such a difficult decision and wish you the best!

[samsmom]

It's a tough question, Carolyn. You're smart to be thinking about this already. If I had another child, I can't say that I would not get him or her immunized at all as I agree with the basic principle of immunizing. I guess I would do tons of research into each and every immunization that is required and make a judgment on each one. I would definitely spread them out more - I definitely wish I had asked for the MMR to be done as 3 separate shots instead of combined. I would really be focused on doing as much as possible to promote the baby's health in every other area by taking good care of myself while pregnant, breastfeeding as long as possible and giving the baby the best possible natural diet and environment. I think that the knowledge that you have gained through your own experiences will enable you to give your baby a really great head start

[kim]

Carolyn,

 

This is a really tough thing to say but truthfully, I know in my heart that if I had it to do over again I would not vaccinate. Would there be a fear that my infant could become ill or even die from something that is supposedly vaccine preventable, yes. Would that be a very very difficult thing, yes. However knowing the risks and the unanswered questions surrounding vaccines, I know I would rather rely on their God given immune system, than vaccines. I would weigh the risk/reward of an individual vaccine tho, if there were any special health circumstances regarding the baby. I would also literally pay for breastmilk if I were unable to nurse for whatever reason.

 

Staph is currently a big problem, but you just don't see parents freaking out about it. It only becomes this gut wretching decision if a vaccine exists no matter how inadequate the safety or efficacy is for a particular child.

 

I just recieved a notice that my 12 year old is due or late for Hep A, meningitis vax, flu, 2nd varicella, and 6th combo of TdaP. I'm not doing any of them. Don't forget Gardasil (HPV) would be on that list too if he were a girl, and will probably be there next year for boys as well.

 

As a side note, I might consider a measles vaccine at some point in an older child. It's not that I have a great dread of measles in a healthy child, but for purposes of well being of the entire population, maybe. The same for polio......maybe for an older child. I would also want rubella titers tested for a female that was nearing child bearing age I think. I haven't really researched that well enough to know if it's truly necessary. If it was, as a young woman I may consider that vaccine, to protect an unborn child.

 

It would almost be easier if I could give the reasons why I feel this way about each vaccine. It may be easier for some to understand why I feel the way that I do, but again, that is a better discussion for a vax forum. It's such a personal decision to be made after a lot of research, but those are my thoughts on the matter at this time.

[myrose]

I would have to say that I would be SCARED to give any shots but after coming to reality I would say that there is some I would do but I would not give ANY until 12 months of age.

 

Also I would have them all broken up and I would try my best to find the most natural ones (if any exssist).

I would do one at a time spread out. I wouldn't care if it took me 20 trips to the Doctor. I would let the body heal before doing the next.

 

Also....I never knew this until after the fact but you can check the anti-bodies in their blood before having another MMR.

Finding this out made me SO MAD!!!!!!!!! Why don't they just tell you this stuff. Most children don't need another one!!!!!!!!!!

 

I had chicken pox when I was little and I had the shot. I would skip that one for sure.....

 

Lastly...never knew you could ask for the thirmesol free flu shot. Thank God we never did them! I can only believe after experience with the last round of shots that she would be worse than she already is.

 

As I have stated, no one in my family has displayed tics at all. I found out my Father may have had them, in which puzzled me more as to why only my daughter showing symptoms and no one else out of a ton of kids (lots of boys too) and even grandchildren.

Here are the only differences I found:

 

Everyone was younger than I when they conceived.

I am the only one who needed a C-section (I will always believe he left her in too long before doing it)

Lastly......NO ONE had as many shots as my daughter had (vaccinations). I really can not believe the difference in how it used to be.

With all the increases with the shots you would think some deadly disease blew through the United States without anyone knowing.

 

In conclusion I do think certain shots are important at the right time, but surely NOT ALL of them. In some cases like the chicken pox I believe the body should be let yo do what it was made for.....

 

Just my opinion.....I wish you the best and if only I could start over.....The blinking tic started at 4 years old after 9 shots. It all progressed for the worse after that.

 

It is now believed that she may have had a genetic pre-dispostion for tics and the SHOCK to the immune brought them out.

And DON'T use TYLENOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[faith]

Oh man, I fit that description too! (older than others in my family when conceiving my son and the c-section).............

 

 

Well have Happy Thanksgving!

Faith

[Vanessa2]

i have wondered about the c-section issue and possible connection to tics. My son was a c-section and thankfully my daughter (2nd baby )was not, she is 3 years old and so far so good.

I waited until my son was 18 months before any vaccines. He had 3 out of i think a total of 4 or 5 Penta, which is the standard first year shots here. He did not have the MMR or any further shots. My daughter has only had 1 penta at around 22 months and only because i was nervous about travelling out of the country. I always struggled with this decision, i don't know if there is a clear correlation between vaccines and tics but if I were to have any more children i would not vaccinate. Yes, I would still worry about illness related to common childhood disease but I too was vaccinated and as a child still had the measle. All we can do is take it one cold\virus at a time...

I would be interested in hearing about others birth experiences i.e. c-section vs. natural childbirth. My son was a scheduled c-section as he was a frank breech, we did everything possible to try and turn him but he wouldn't budge. We had planned a home birth so this was definitly way more intervention than we ever expected.

[Guest]

I was a natural very short birth. Labor only lasted for one hour. No meds were used because my mom barely had time to get to the hospital. I'm the only one out of 4 kids that has tics in my family. My oldest sister was also a quick labor and natural birth with no meds. My younger sister was a c-section baby because the cord was wrapped around her neck. My other sister was adopted so birth information doesn't relate to this.

 

Carolyn

[Ronnas]

Hi Carolyn, good question that I have some experience with. My son is a PANDAS kid. His first episode happened shortly after receiving his 5 year old immunizations. Do I think there is a connection...probably. By the time I had noticed this connection, my other son and daughter were finished with their baby and toddler shots.

 

When my son with tics was 9 years old I became pregnant with my youngest son. Believe me prior to having my fourth baby I swore I would not vaccinate another child...after he was born I changed my mind. I did a lot of research and I do believe in immunizing my kids. What I do know is that compared to my 2nd and 3rd children my oldest son was always more ill with his immunizations so with my youngest son I kept this in mind. First I delayed the immunization schedule until he was older. (In reality it was just so stressful the thought of immunizing him that I kept putting it off). Following his first immunization I monitored him closely and found that his reaction was similar to my 2nd and 3rd child which reassured me. I made sure that the baby was completely healthy if receiving an immunization...not even a sniffle and really tried to space out the immunizations over a longer period.

 

So far my 3 year old son seems well, no problems, no tics, speaking well etc. I will immunize him prior to kindergarten.

 

I must say a MUCH harder decision this year was whether to let my 12 year old PANDAS son receive his immunizations. I went ahead with them, personally I could not live with myself if he became ill or had complications from an preventable illness. If he did tic more, well so be it, been there done that and I knew we could deal with the tics. Anyways, I am happy to report that so far (immunization was about 6 weeks ago) other than a bit of a sore arm and a few days of crankiness he seems fine. No tics. WHEW!!!

 

Just my experience for what it is worth.

 

Ronna

[kim]

This is such an interesting read. This woman was probably the single most valuable souce for sorting out facts surrounding vaccines in my experience. She does research for vaccine injury trials. For anyone struggling with vax decisions, I would highly recommend reading her site throughly, for one good source of info.

 

Hilary's measles blog

http://beyondconformity.co.nz/_bpost_1598/...and_Peter_Flegg

 

Pinnochio's nose and Peter Flegg

[faith]

Vanessa,

my son was a breech too (feet down).

 

Ronna, is your son still on antibiotic treatment? And does he still have tics now? How did he fare in past couple years? Would you think that any vaccine repercussions would have showed up by now?

 

 

Faith

[kim]

Wanted to share as TS gets a mention in the remark section.

http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/nov/23/...y-a-good-thing/

 

Carolyn,

 

I'm wondering what this study is really saying since it mentions a booster at 12-24 months, a preschool booster etc. My boys were given the DTaP at 6 weeks, 4 and 6 mos and then two more. Are they saying that the 4th and 5th were not even beneficial? The 6th is the one that I decided not to get for the boys (I never questioned the previous ones). bolding mine

 

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=A...e3e525881113557

 

Pertussis continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children too young to be fully protected despite high vaccination coverage. This has been attributed to waning immunity in older people, leading to the development of strategies to increase levels of immunity. A systematic review was conducted to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of four population-based strategies for pertussis booster vaccination: single booster at 12–24 months old, single pre-school booster, single adolescent booster and multiple boosters in adulthood every 10 years. Electronic databases and Internet resources were searched to June 2006. Nine observational studies, four mathematical models and eight economic evaluations were included, evaluating four different strategies. Strong evidence to recommend any of these strategies was not found.

 

 

bolding mine...I'm wondering what they consider the primary series? 2 4 and 6 months or what?

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art...rticlekey=85107

 

Immunity Conferred From infections, Vaccinations May Last Decades Longer Than Thought

 

 

However, the body wasn't as good at remembering to protect itself against tetanus or diphtheria for which it was vaccinated. For instance, the antibody response to the tetanus vaccine was only a few decades. For diphtheria, it was about twice that length of time

.

 

and

 

For instance, the CDC now recommends that adults who got immunized against tetanus as a child get a booster dose every 10 years. In the future, Slifka says, that recommendation may change, saving time and money without affecting protection.

 

Then this

 

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/health/topics...ster-shots.html

 

Too many booster shots?

 

* ►November 24, 2008 - Too many booster shots? - NBC Los Angles - "So far, the findings suggest you may not need diptheria and tetanus every ten years. If you had the measles you don’t need a booster; but if you had the shot after 1959 you do need another shot "Maybe we need to reevaluate the vaccine schedule that we're using here in the us and maybe change it from once every ten years to once every 30 years," Sifka said. Researchers say being over-vaccinated isn't harmful. It just may be unnecessary. The study could lead to a simple blood test to check your immunity."

 

yet at least for a subset....

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/new-study---

mitochondrial_b_147030.html

 

NEW STUDY - "Mitochondrial Autism" is Real; Vaccine Triggers Cannot Be Ruled Out

 

This statement will surely be heartily endorsed by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF), which supports research into mito dysfunction and autistic regression. Last April, at a vaccine safety meeting at HHS in Washington, a leading scientist affiliated with the UMDF, Dr, Douglas Wallace of the University of California at Irvine, said that over-vaccination of people with mitochondrial disorders was a deep concern, especially in light of Hannah Poling, who got nine vaccines at once.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the good articles, Kim. I haven't had a chance to go through most of them, but will over Christmas vacation. My Christmas vacation is going to be filled with the cruise, researching vaccines, completing my application for student teaching, and writing up my story for Sheila's conference. I wish I could be at the conference, but I will most likely be giving birth, waiting, or already done.

 

Carolyn

[guy123]

can you just get mercury-free versions of the vaccinations? Isn't mercury supposed to be the offending component in the vaccinations?