Vaccine

[mom md]

I am also very confused with the vaccine question. I know I don't want to vaccinate but I could possibly treat PANDAS again and not pneumonia and death from swine flu. If all these kids are "immunocompromised" aren't they the ones that need the vaccine. Latimer said to give the regular flu but not H1N1. My immunologist said get both. Dr. K said none. I don't know what to do!

Also, my son tested negative for the prevnar vaccine and diptheria vaccine. Apparently, diptheria and tetanus are vaccines that you very rarely test negative for. (He was positive for tetanus immunity). We are heading back Friday to the immunologist to find out what this all means. Did anyone else find their kid was not immune to diptheria, and if so would you re-vaccinate?

We are three months post-PEX and doing great.

[Stephanie2]

Boy, I have a lot to say in this area, but I will try to keep it short and sweet! For a while we were suspecting that my 5 yo had autism. He was going through the pandas stuff and he was also on singulair and zyrtec which were just putting him over the edge. He tested close to the spectrum, but not quite. Anyway, as you can imagine I have done lots of vaccine research and contemplation.

 

Also, my 19 mo has had times in his short life that I was sure that we were losing him to autism (mutism, very little expressive language, little social interaction, hypotonia, chiari malformation, devel. delay, you get the picture). So at this point we stopped all vaccines and hired a DAN doctor (Defeat Autism Now). The DAN approach has been phenominal for my 19 mo. He no longer has the language/social issues and does not appear autistic at all. In my very strong opinion, if we had continued with vaccines, things would be very different today (I noticed some of the problems emerge after 4 month shots).

 

With all that said, I have to also make the point that my 5 yo went into one of his worst pandas episodes 2 weeks after receiving his very last vaccine - polio. This may be purely coincidental, but I have often wondered. I mean you inject something into their bodies that has an effect on their immune system...could it be causing this autoimmunity with strep? Can anyone really answer that definitively?

 

I am not an antivaccine activist - at all! But I do feel that vaccines should be prescribed on a case by case basis and it is the parent's responsibility to do the research and evaluate his/her particular child's situation...

 

Many autistic children have many different biomedical issues contributing to their dx, pandas being one of them. My child has pandas, gluten sensitivity, phenol sensitivity, sensitivity to certain allergy meds, low vit. d, low zinc, to name a few of his issues that moved him "toward autism". The DAN protocol has significantly moved him away from the spectrum. Pandas is the final key for us... but I will never do anything to move either of my children back toward the spectrum, including vaccines. I realize I am taking a risk, and I respect the parent who is unable to sleep at night having taken the same risk...there is no easy answer.

 

By the way, the flu vaccine still contains mercury, and H1N1 vaccine is to contain squalene and mercury (last I heard, anyway).

 

Stephanie

http://thelight-stephanie.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

I am also very confused with the vaccine question. I know I don't want to vaccinate but I could possibly treat PANDAS again and not pneumonia and death from swine flu. If all these kids are "immunocompromised" aren't they the ones that need the vaccine. Latimer said to give the regular flu but not H1N1. My immunologist said get both. Dr. K said none. I don't know what to do!

Also, my son tested negative for the prevnar vaccine and diptheria vaccine. Apparently, diptheria and tetanus are vaccines that you very rarely test negative for. (He was positive for tetanus immunity). We are heading back Friday to the immunologist to find out what this all means. Did anyone else find their kid was not immune to diptheria, and if so would you re-vaccinate?

We are three months post-PEX and doing great.

[ShaesMom]

I am also very confused with the vaccine question. I know I don't want to vaccinate but I could possibly treat PANDAS again and not pneumonia and death from swine flu. If all these kids are "immunocompromised" aren't they the ones that need the vaccine. Latimer said to give the regular flu but not H1N1. My immunologist said get both. Dr. K said none. I don't know what to do!

Also, my son tested negative for the prevnar vaccine and diptheria vaccine. Apparently, diptheria and tetanus are vaccines that you very rarely test negative for. (He was positive for tetanus immunity). We are heading back Friday to the immunologist to find out what this all means. Did anyone else find their kid was not immune to diptheria, and if so would you re-vaccinate?

We are three months post-PEX and doing great.

 

My dd passed both the Diptheria and Tetanus titers but she failed the Pneumococcal titers. She had her fourth round of IVIG yesterday. Her Immuno wants her to get the H1N1 vaccine because as you said above she is one of "immunocomprised" and is at an increased risk of developing complications from the flu. I'm also struggling with what is the right thing to do. She has had regular flu vaccinations in the past and I can't remember any ill effects from those vax's but I wasn't looking at the time either. I really don't want her to have the vax but if she doesn't have it and worse case scenario gets the flu and doesn't make it I would never forgive myself. With that said- eight kids were out of one first grade class today with the flu in her school. A neighbor boy is in that class and his older brother is in my son's class and they play often outside of school. I'm scared to death! I told my son that he couldn't play with his friend this weekend. Next week the live mist is available and my dd is not suppose to be around anyone who gets it because it is a live virus. How do you prevent that from happening???

 

What a nightmare to try and figure out!

[Stephanie2]

Having been through the DAN approach, I have learned a lot about alternative medicine and a little homeopathy along the way. I am no expert here, but I have to say that we have picked up a few products that have done wonders in my house for our immune systems, ESPECIALLY Oil of Oregano. Whenever someone in our house starts getting sick we start taking our various supplements and within hours it is gone. All four of us have been abx junkies in the past and NONE of us have had to resort to abx since starting the DAN approach (except of course Mr. Pandas, my 4 yo). But even my pandas son has had some success with supplements in combating step, but this last episode has just been too much and I caught it too late.

 

My point is that there are things out there that can boost the immune system if you are interested. Here are some things that we use:

 

Larix

Oil of Oregano (need to get a good brand, like Oreganol from whole foods)

High dose vitamin c (my kids get 1500-2000 per day, divided up - don't be afraid to really go up on this it's water soluble)

Vit. D3 (my 5 yo gets 2000 iu per day)

Biocidin - botanical broad spectrum antimicrobial. very potent and only available through a doctor. this one actually put a major dent in pandas symptoms.

 

there is so much more, but thought I'd list a few. My favorite of the above is Oil of Oregano. We have kicked so many things around here with that. Supposed to use like a course of abx, for 10 days or so for cold, sinus infection, etc...it is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal.

 

Good luck!

Stephanie

[KeithandElizabeth]

My non-PANDAS daughter just had the swine flu and I was surprised that my PANDA son didn't catch it from her. We so struggled with the decision on whether or not to vaccinate! I finally decided not to and I am nervous about that decision. Two of my daughter's friends got the flu mist vaccine and then got the flu a week later.

 

The vaccination debate is so controversial and I did fully vaccinate both of my children and now I regret it with my son. I read Jenny McCarthy's book, although my children do not have autism, because I feel there is a relationship between PANDAS and Autism and Aspergers and Asthma and Allergies. Anyway, at the end of the book, the doctor gives a great vaccine schedule that I wish I would have adhered to if I was more knowledgeable at the time. I would recommend it to anyone with babies or younger children.

 

In terms of the flu, I have heard that Olive Leaf extract, colloidal silver, and zinc are great natural ways of strengthening the immune system against bacteria and viruses.

 

Elizabeth

[mom md]

Thanks for eveyone's input. I am leaning toward not getting it but I need to think a little more. We did not have it available here now yet but if we do I want to get my son tested if he get's sick so I can have the knowledge of H1N1 and skip the vaccine. I also appreciate this tips on immune system builders. Currrently he just is an probiotics. Does oil of oregano test bad and can you get it in a capsule.

Thanks,

Claire

[nevergiveup]

Yes there are oil of oregano capsules. Solray I believe makes them. It is rare not to have Diptheria titers. Especially after 4 or more vaccines???? I am struggling with the same question about the H1N1 with my daughter because she was just diagnosed with PID. She has low pnuemeccocal titers but super high Diptheria titers. Can the PEX have removed them temporarily? I know with IVIG my daughter had completely different labs greater than 12 weeks after IVIG. They said that usually after 6 weeks the IVIG isn't in your system. But it took 19 weeks until her blood work went back to pre IVIG levels. (Low IGG again).

 

 

 

uote name='mom md' date='Oct 2 2009, 10:30 PM' post='39854']

Thanks for eveyone's input. I am leaning toward not getting it but I need to think a little more. We did not have it available here now yet but if we do I want to get my son tested if he get's sick so I can have the knowledge of H1N1 and skip the vaccine. I also appreciate this tips on immune system builders. Currrently he just is an probiotics. Does oil of oregano test bad and can you get it in a capsule.

Thanks,

Clai