Am I the only one who is confused?

[show&tell]

Sorry, this sounds like a total cop-out. But, I guess that my sleep-deprived, 24-7 on the go, brain just has no room left to process the information about vaccinations. My brain just turns to goo when I start reading.

Does anyone have any starter/intro links for me to review. I got the vaccine guide, but can't even find a second to crack it open.

My 3 year old and 8 month old are far behind the 'recommended' schedule for shots (but they did have some when they were very young ). I think I plan to vaccinate for most things (not hepB, not chicken pox), but I'd like it to be very delayed from now on.

Dr's appointment is in 3 weeks and 3 year old is due for MMR and 8 month old is due for whatever else...I need to look up schedule and look up a good delayed schedule. I asked about separating out the M, M, + R, but they said it isn't an option(?). I want to supplement them both with vitamins (Vitamin C) calcium ascorbate(?) and Vitamin D?). I'm just confused and not sure if those are the right things and how much, and for how long).

Sorry, I'm really clueless. I'd appreciate any advice or links/recommendations you have to offer.

: Thanks

[mommaof5]

If you are not sure just hold off. You can always catch them up but you can't take them back. These are the links off of mothering.com that helped me.

http://www.sayingnotovaccines.com
http://www.vaclib.org/indexdoc.htm#legal
http://www.nmaseminars.com/AboutDrT.html
http://thinktwice.com/
http://www.chetday.com/vaccinationmyths.htm
http://insidevaccines.com/
http://www.vaccinenation.net/
http://www.knowvaccines.com/
http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/flu.html
http://vaccinationnews.com/
http://www.vaccinerights.com/
http://www.vierascheibner.com/

You can click on my blog if it is easier and there is a link under my favorite web sights that takes you to a great discussion from mothering.com.

[ammiga]

watch the sample video on www.brainguardmd.com. it's 26 minutes and very informative.

[xmasbaby7]

Originally Posted by show&tell

Sorry, this sounds like a total cop-out. But, I guess that my sleep-deprived, 24-7 on the go, brain just has no room left to process the information about vaccinations. My brain just turns to goo when I start reading.

Does anyone have any starter/intro links for me to review. I got the vaccine guide, but can't even find a second to crack it open.

My 3 year old and 8 month old are far behind the 'recommended' schedule for shots (but they did have some when they were very young ). I think I plan to vaccinate for most things (not hepB, not chicken pox), but I'd like it to be very delayed from now on.

Dr's appointment is in 3 weeks and 3 year old is due for MMR and 8 month old is due for whatever else...I need to look up schedule and look up a good delayed schedule. I asked about separating out the M, M, + R, but they said it isn't an option(?). I want to supplement them both with vitamins (Vitamin C) calcium ascorbate(?) and Vitamin D?). I'm just confused and not sure if those are the right things and how much, and for how long).

Sorry, I'm really clueless. I'd appreciate any advice or links/recommendations you have to offer.

: Thanks

I am sorry you are sleep deprived. The worst. I would just hold on until you have the chance to read some books and make a more learned decision in a few months for their vax plan. There are risks to vaccinating (and not vaccinating), and I think we all feel much better as parents when we make our decisions confidently with knowledge. Few parenting decisions turn out to be good ones when they come from a place of fear.

[katiesk]

if you are confused and unsure, i would wait. you can always vaccinate your kiddos at any moment, but you can never unvaccinate them.

it is important to make big decisions with a clear head and the information and education you need to be informed.

give yourself a break! spend some time researching when you can, and make the decision when you feel that you are ready.

[Gitti]

There is no need to rush into injecting things into your child which you may later on regret. Please just put all vaccines off until you have had some time to do the research. To be honest, if you don't have time, and just forgo all vaccines, your children will be much better off. I have 4 unvaccinated grandchildren (by 3 kids) and a vax free grand nice and all of them are super healthy.

The thing is if you just blindly vaccinate and your child has a vaccine reaction you will be doing a lot of research and then you'll forever beat yourself up for having done it. Put it off. You can always vaccinate but you can never take the vaccine out of your child's body again.

[show&tell]

oh, thank you. these forums are the best thing i have found in a long time.

thank you for all of the links and the great new blog to check out! thank you for the video to watch! and thank you to everyone for giving me the permission to wait until i feel confident and informed!

i really appreciate it. now i feel like i have more time on my side and a place to start my investigation...

[Gitti]

How sweet! It's nice to find someone so appreciative.

Now I will also give you permission to say NO to anything the doctor suggest that may not set right in your gut. Go by gut feelings. It is a vital part of being a mommy.

[show&tell]

Did a little reading last night. It's so fascinating and confusing. Kind of like opening a Pandora's box of sorts. The video clip was interesting...

Leading me to a new question that isn't totally related to my chidren's health but, I'll ask. Why does it seem that the Pediatricians are so against delayed vaccination or no vaccination? Why do they have such emotional responses to parents that choose to not vax? I know that my pediatrician has my children's best interests at heart -- she wants them to be healthy. Is it sort of a case of "this is what I was taught in medical school and this is all I know about keeping children healthy" or is there something more related to governmental or pharmeceutical pressure? I know that my pediatrician (we've since switched) wasn't sinister or evil -- she simply doesn't believe that vaccinations could possibly hurt children.....any info or links on this. I'm intrigued.

Thanks again...

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by show&tell

Leading me to a new question that isn't totally related to my chidren's health but, I'll ask. Why does it seem that the Pediatricians are so against delayed vaccination or no vaccination? Why do they have such emotional responses to parents that choose to not vax?

Personally I think there are several things going on, and different pediatricians are coming from different places.

Medical school is not a place that encourages or even permits challenging assumptions. They teach the knowledge as they know it, and students are expected to memorize it and apply it - but not to question it. This is a tragedy, but it's probably done for efficiency purposes (the military has an outstanding training program, and medical school probably borrowed from that - however, I can see why it's valuable to have soldiers who do not question authority but simply obey, but doctors SHOULD be constantly questioning things). Medical school teaches very strongly that vaccines are safe and effective. Doctors are very well trained into this. Note that pharmaceuticals are involved in medical training (as sponsors, suppliers of educational materials, etc).

Doctors are not used to patients questioning anything they say. Since the advent of the Internet, patients are getting information they never got before, talking to each other (like we are right on this board), questioning things. This is annoying and frustrating to doctors on many levels. Some I can sympathize with; I'm sure a lot of patients are not understanding what they are reading, nor do they understand the Internet (and therefore might type "headaches and nausea" into Google, print the first result, and decide they have brain cancer or something). But a lot of doctors also have God complexes, I'm sorry to say. I don't like to paint with a broad brush, but I have experienced this just too many times. So they get angry and emotional on any subject where a patient "dares" to question them.

Some doctors truly believe in the efficacy of vaccines and think it's a shame people won't take advantage of something that has "saved so many lives."

And finally, the biggie. Money. Pedatricians base their practices on vaccinations. The visit schedule for babies and children are based on the vaccination schedule, period. They are compensated for vaccinations. They are REWARDED for maintaining a certain compliance level. Each parent that refuses or delays, will endanger their rewards. Even outside of the rewards, parents who delay are difficult to get "on track." Full compliance is most lucrative, delays mean extra staff resources trying to get the parent in and schedule them, following up, reduced chances that the parent will actually show, etc.

My suggestion to you is that, unless you really love and trust your pediatrician and believe he or she might actually be sympathetic to you questioning vaccines (not likely, but there ARE some docs out there who are sympathetic) is to not discuss it with them. As you are still researching, state that you plan to delay (rather than say you're "not sure" which will be a huge invitation for them to start in on you). And don't get into a debate. If the doc asks you why, just say that you've made that decision for your child based on your research. The problem with engaging with doctors is that they are actually willing to LIE to you to convince you. I've read many examples on this board. And you might not be able to spot the lie.

[claddaghmom]

i agree w/ pp. and would go so far as to say med school is like a special corps in the military. they break you and build you up again.

i've always been fascinated by the med field and hope to be in it someday. a lot of my friends are and it is weird what happened to them during those 4 years. even their personalities and wants/dislikes changed.

as for the original topic, iirc the MMR is no longer available separate in the US.

imo i would not vax an 8mo.

i wouldn't vax a 3yo either, buuut that seems more normal for selective vax. 8 months is just....out there. past the terrible pre-6 month stage when everyone is scared of the diseases, but far from having an intact immune system.

[Emmeline II]

Here are some questions to answer for yourself in deciding about vax.

1. Name of the disease
2. Description of the disease
3. Length of time from initial infection to end of all symptoms
4. Infectious period
5. Normal symptoms of the disease
6. Known serious consequences of the disease
7. Proportion of persons infected developing serious consequences
8. Transmission route of the disease
9. Prevalence of the disease
10. Treatments of the disease and efficacy of those treatments
11. Relevant research about the disease
12. Name of the vaccine
13. Company that makes the vaccine
14. Contents of the vaccine
14A. The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
15. History of development of the vaccine
16. Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
17. Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
18. Relevant research into the vaccine
19. How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
20.What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission).
21.Number of cases reported each year.
22.Number of deaths reported each year from the vaccine and natural disease.

Here are some sources to help you out:

Inside Vaccines

Vaccines-The Risks, the Benefits, the Choices DVD, By Sherri J. TENPENNY

YouTube: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...35240451107552


http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html (download the current issue)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...k-chapters.htm
http://vaers.hhs.gov/pdf/PackageInserts.pdf
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40451107552&q=
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87981735&hl=en
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...ses&deaths.pdf