Constantly panicking about vaccinations

[sunkist33]

Here's my background~ my daughter just turned two and my plan was always to wait until age two & then selectively do a few that I think are important (Hib, Polio, DTaP, & MMR, well spaced apart). I feel like I am well-researched on the risks & benefits. But now I feel like I'd be absolutely terrified to even start but I don't know if this is my instincts telling me not to or if I'm just crazy! I was going to start with Hib, which seems the most benign & an easy one to start with, at our last appt., but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
At the same time, I feel like my daughter gets sick easy & I am constantly terrified that she will get a VPD & then I would just feel horrible
She's a peanut (21#) & still breastfeeds a lot. She has had a couple of episodes of SVT (racing heart) that seems to be brought on by fevers. She's not in daycare but we go to a lot of large social gatherings (music class, playgroups, ride the T, etc.). I just feel so torn! I wish I was more confident about this and had a definite plan of action.
I don't know what I'm asking for~ advice? Consolation? Help putting it in all in perspective? Anything would be much appreciated

[HappyWoman]

Vaccination Book Recommend

If you haven't already done so, I would highly recommend the book, "Vaccinations A Thoughtful Parent's Guide," by Aviva Jill Romm. This book offers a lot of helpful information on both sides of the issue. (It was available at our local library, worth checking out.) Educating myself helps me feel better about making such big decisions.

Wishing you all the best,
Lisa

[newmum35]

I'm not sure if you are in USA & someone correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't there been 0 cases of polio (wild - not caused by vaccine) in at least 3 decades? I hope this is not one you are panicking over. Chances of that one, are, well, close to zilch. (unless you will be travelling to parts of India I believe?)

And I did want to comment on the "few" that you are considering are actually 8 different vaccines. Just to add some perspective. But overall I think you narrowed it down good, I believe this was similar to mine as well (after a lot of thought & research I found I was able to eliminate polio and hib without great concern)

I second the idea to get a few more books or read up a little more on these and feel more comfortable with your decision. It can be hard sometimes and in your case with your child getting sick often, I can only imagine how much more difficult that would be. Of those you mention, only pertussis is common; everything else would be very rare. I don't know how you got by this far without such fear, but pertussis at this age is not so much a threat.

[sunkist33]

Lisa, I don't think I've read that one yet (although I have quite the collection),
I'll check it out. And, no, I'm not at all panicking over polio, lol. We would consider it much later for travel. The three that panic me the most are Hib, Measles, and Pertussis. I know that pertussis isn't usually serious at this age, but it can still be horrible to deal with and we're around a lot of babies that I wouldn't want to put at risk. At the same time, the DTaP vaccine seems to be one of the most reactive as well as one of the least effective, even with the five doses
Still on the fence...
I appreciate the replies!

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by sunkist33

Lisa, I don't think I've read that one yet (although I have quite the collection),
I'll check it out. And, no, I'm not at all panicking over polio, lol. We would consider it much later for travel. The three that panic me the most are Hib, Measles, and Pertussis. I know that pertussis isn't usually serious at this age, but it can still be horrible to deal with and we're around a lot of babies that I wouldn't want to put at risk. At the same time, the DTaP vaccine seems to be one of the most reactive as well as one of the least effective, even with the five doses
Still on the fence...
I appreciate the replies!

I worried about that too, and mine did have the DTaP on schedule - tad bit late (3,5,7 months) - NO observable reactions (no fussy, no fever etc - did not give tylenol) . originally going to do Hib series but he regressed after his hib shot (temporarily for about a month) and I did not do any others, other than the 3 DTaP and 1 hib. He is 2 1/2 now. I am also on the fence regarding the booster as well as MMR, so I know how you feel. I feel confident I would recognize signs of meningitis enough to bring him in early to receive treatment in time and it no longer concerns me a great deal. Serotype replacement is a bigger fear for me. I think they are making a mistake with the hib, and the prevnar, etc. There are roles these bacteria are supposed to be playing in the body. I don't think eradicating them is all that wise.

side note - you'd still be putting babies at risk, even with the pertussis vax. unfortunately it doesnt prevent transmission. actually they may be more at risk, because sometimes older children have such a mild case you dont know its pertussis, and then spread it everywhere of course (just going by what I've read here - someone else pipe in)

I also think its awful that for those who just want measles and pertussis, that they have to choose getting 6 vaccines just for these 2 things. (because they only come grouped in a threesome, either the DTaP or the MMR) - thats pretty rotten of them to have to make parents decisions even more difficult. Its pretty hard already as it is and that does make it all the more so challenging to decide on. So kids have to be vaxed for all 6 things if the parent wants just these 2.

[claddaghmom]

It's hard...we are just bombarded by messages and images...on both sides, really. It's hard not to buy into the fear and make decisions out of fear.

Things that can really help to overcome the fear:

Research the disease you are scared of in depth. Learn all about it, the risks, the potential complications, the demographic, the rates, etc. Learn about allopathic and natural treatment options, and their risks and efficacy rates. Learn about the vaccine related to the disease, the efficacy rate, the ingredients, the common reactions, etc. Get the full picture.

For example, how likely is it that your daughter will catch measles? What are the symptoms? What are her individual risks? What are the complications and how likely are they to occur? If she gets the measles, what are the treatments, and how successful are they?

What is the MMR? What is a live-attenuated combination vaccine and what do the safety studies say about combo vaccines? What is the efficacy rate? What is the seroconversation failure rate? What are the symptoms and how do you treat them? How common are the adverse reactions and what can you do if your daughter has a reaction?

I can email all my vaccine documents to you. They are just compilations saved in microsoft word, divided by vaccine/argument.

[xmasbaby7]

Separate from my own views of vaccines, I do feel great sympathy for your fear, and I encourage you not to make such an important decision out of fear. Although 99% of all parents do make fear-based decisions on this topic, the few moms here who don't vaccinate or selectively vaccinate are really well educated and have lots more piece of mind, I think. It takes time, and it is worth it.

Wait. Breathe. Read more. What an awesome mamma for being your child's health advocate and seeking informed consent. A gift for both of you.

If you feel like dd is sick a lot, what other things can you do to boost her immune performance? How can her diet be improved? How can her gut flora be improved?

Vaccines are a very small set of tools with varying safety and efficacy to fight a much bigger set of viral and bacterial infections.

[womenswisdom]

That was my plan for my daughter as well. At her 2-year checkup, I also decided to decline vaccines. Hib wasn't one that I was planning on considering at this age though. I believe (it's been about 2 years since I researched this fully) that hib was not a big issue once a child was around 2 yrs old b/c they are much less likely to develop a systemic illness from it and would simply carry it as a resident bacteria as most adults do.

And also, the pertussis vaccine does not prevent transmission of disease. It protects a person who has the vaccine from the toxin produced by the bacteria, which is what causes illness, but that person can still pass it to others.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by sunkist33

Lisa, I don't think I've read that one yet (although I have quite the collection),
I'll check it out. And, no, I'm not at all panicking over polio, lol. We would consider it much later for travel. The three that panic me the most are Hib, Measles, and Pertussis. I know that pertussis isn't usually serious at this age, but it can still be horrible to deal with and we're around a lot of babies that I wouldn't want to put at risk. At the same time, the DTaP vaccine seems to be one of the most reactive as well as one of the least effective, even with the five doses
Still on the fence...
I appreciate the replies!

I would not bother with HIB at your daughter's age, especially since she is still BF and doesn't attend daycare. Pertussis, yes, it can be a pain to deal with, but the vaccine is IMO ineffective, does not prevent transmission and although "they" say one would have milder symptoms if vaccinated, there is no way one can prove this. I know of plenty of kids who have had terrible cases and have been vaccinated and unvaccinated kids who have had milder cases. As for measles, I think the reason it is so scary is that it is an unknown for our generation. Measles was once what CP was to our generation. Here is a video to put things in perspective
http://www.blinkx.com/video/the-brad...XO3MhdzsNbPFqQ

[ammiga]

For me, I researched the diseases and realized that I was really ok if dd caught a VPD. Many of them aren't any worse than a cold, and we don't vax for that. The Brady Bunch episode put measles into the same place as chicken pox for me, and I am not worried about cp at all. When my sister came home with them, the first thing my mom did was put us in the bath together. I can't believe all the fuss that cp has turned into.

I know that pertussis seems scary and like a pain to deal with, but there are studies that show that it actually increases lung strength in children and dramatically lowers the chance of developing asthma. I had a severe case of asthma growing up. I was in the ER at least once a month, couldn't participate in school activities (gym class or after school sports), could rarely play tag with my friends, had asthma attacks if I built a snowman, and had to carry an emergency inhaler around my neck until I was a teenager. I guarantee you that a round of pertussis in a child is nothing compared to severe asthma. When I put all of that together, I realized I would much rather nurse my child through pertussis than have all those years of worrying and times in the ER that my mom had with me. It put each of the illnesses into perspective.

Try to remember that when you look at statistics, it is important to know who they apply to. For children, the stats never/rarely reveal important details like how long they were breastfed, what kind of foods they were fed, if they were vaxed against other diseases (which can overall immune health), etc. Have faith in your dd's body and what you have done to give her an amazing immune system. Breastfeeding doesn't just protect our children while they are nursing, it builds them a strong immune system that will last them a lifetime!

[richella]

ammiga, do you have any links on the pertussis/asthma stuff?
sunkist, here's a different perspective. I at first decided it was all way too complicated for me to understand, I would need to be an epidemiologist to sort through all the variables, so I decided to trust my intuition. I sat down and meditated on whether or not to vax, and I felt very calm and at peace with the decision to do the first round. Everything went fine. A few months later I figured it was time for another round, and assumed that my intuition on the first round would apply to the whole shebang, so I just made the appt and went in. As soon as I hung up the phone, though, I felt intensely anxious. It didn't go away. I was feeling really weird in the car. I assumed I was just being neurotic, I guess, and went ahead and got the shots. Dd had a reaction, and Dh and I took turns holding her every minute of the next day. She was just learning to crawl (9 mos) and a few times she tried to do it, but after a couple steps she would turn around and look at me and wail. I spent the day wondering if this would be a turning point, if she would never crawl again, or walk, or talk. The answers I got from our MD about this were very unsatisfying, so that was the last vax in our house.

The point of this is, I am pretty sure the anxiety I felt was my intuition warning me not to do what I intended to do. I think she's fine, but when I think about it, I kick myself for not listening to that warning. It's tricky discerning intuition from neurotic fears, but if we never try, we don't have that warning system to protect us.

[sunkist33]

Thanks everyone!

I appreciate all the responses,
I knew I would feel better after posting here!
I think, at least for now, I'm still delaying
Summer is approaching, the swine flu is gone (oh, that's right, was it ever here? will they still be trying to pawn off the last of the vaccines in the summer? LOL ), plenty of fresh air & natural vitamin D so I hope dd remains in good health. And maybe, since she got sick so much this winter, she'll be healthier next winter
Stacy (sunkist33)

[SusanaLaLoca]

Thanks for the Brady Bunch episode, lol! But really, it helped me put it in perspective, after reading all this mess about measles, 200,000 ppl worldwide die from it, etc. I had a sneaky suspicion there was more to that statistic (like people who were sickly to begin with, or lack of any medical care/clean water/foods, etc) and this helped me with my belief that it's not as bad as "they" try to scare us to believe.

[Blueone]

Sorry, wrong thread.