delayed schedule and an anti-DrSears pedi

[Razz2525]

At first, the pediatrician (South Florida) who had been recommended on these boards as someone fine with selective vaxx, seemed "ok" not thrilled with my decision to delay. I told him that ultimately, my 9-month-old would be fully vaxxed at some point in his life. Today, though, he really gave me a hard time.

So far, my baby has had all of his doses of HIB, 2 doses of DTap, and 1 dose of Prevnar 13 (today), no IPV as of yet, and my doctor said "Wow, he's waaay behind on his schedule." I told him that I had scheduled a shots-only visit a few times since his last well-baby checkup but because he was always struggling with a runny nose or cough at those times, I elected to wait. I also told him no Hep B for quite some time so that wasn't happening in the near future. Today, since DS#2 still had a slight runny nose, I said, "given what he's struggling with, and his immune system may already be fighting back a slight cold, he ok to get a shot today?" WRONG question - if you give a pediatrician an opening like this, I guess you get: "Well, I wouldn't have waited on any of these and he should catch up today by getting 4 shots." So the message was, I was wrong for even delaying. Mind you, when I mentioned that I was following Dr Sears schedule for the most part, he jumped all over me, calling Dr Sears' book junk science (I read an article criticizing Dr Sears' schedule here actually: http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...act/123/1/e164) and said find another opinion if you want to delay vaccinations.

Needless to say, I wasn't entirely on board with the Prevnar 13 but my husband and I had fought about it, saying that he lost his hearing in one ear permanently due to a middle ear infection as a child. Plus our older child, has been very prone to ear infections, and DH insisted that babe #2 have the shot. I'm not so convinced but I did it anyway.

Is anyone following a schedule that is not Dr Sears? I'm curious because Dr. Sears' book is the go-to manual right now and the subject and boy, does it really rub pediatricians the wrong way. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to search for a new doc yet again, because I'm not going through this every well visit. Curiously, he forgot to ask me to sign the waiver he usually does -- maybe because my 3-year-old was bouncing around too much during the exam and frustrating him.

[fruitfulmomma]

maybe because my 3-year-old was bouncing around too much during the exam and frustrating him.

Probably not a good match anyway if he is frustrated by that.

We don't vax at all, but I *think* there was a schedule in Healing and Preventing Autism.

[Lauren31]

[QUOTE=Razz2525;15647712
Is anyone following a schedule that is not Dr Sears? I'm curious because Dr. Sears' book is the go-to manual right now and the subject and boy, does it really rub pediatricians the wrong way. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to search for a new doc yet again, because I'm not going through this every well visit. [/QUOTE]

Why can't you just say you have your own schedule based on your own research.?Why mention Dr. Sears at all? You are the mom, it is your right. My Doc thinks I am nuts too. LOL. I have a modified Dr. Sears schedule. Even if it is all bogus, as my doc says and that I am just subjecting the baby to more pokes, to me it makes sense to spread it out and in my gut, which a mom should never ignore.

[rightkindofme]

I don't follow Sears' schedule, we just do one vaccine at a time (and we didn't start till 15 months). If your doctor is pushing you too hard I'd keep looking for a different doctor.

[zmom2010]

Family Practitioner?

Have you thought about looking for a Family Practice rather than a pediatrician?

We are seeing the nurse practitioner (and occasionally one of the MDs) at a family practice and love it. First, when said I wasn't comfortable with the "normal vax schedule" they whipped out a paper and said here was the alternative one they usually followed (It was NOT Sear's though). It consisted of basically 2 shots/visit. I told them I only wanted one / visit max, that I would do some shot visits in between but that there were a few I did NOT want to do at all (HepB, Rotavirus, Chixnpox and wanted to delay polio until later) They have been fine with it. Oh, and I've never had to sign ANY paper about vaccine waiver.

Maybe I just got lucky. But, IMO it wouldn't hurt to look into a family practice instead of a pediatrician

[mgg]

As a pediatrician, the reason the Dr. Sears schedule rubs me the wrong way, is that it is given more gravitas than it deserves.

I am not what people call "alternative schedule friendly". However, I say that because I will always give the same information. My recommendation doesn't change. I believe that the best evidence indicates that comprehensive vaccination as outlined in the schedule provides the greatest preventative benefits with the least negative side-effects.

However, I also respect that it is ultimately the decision of the parent to vaccinate or not. And therefore, I do not badger, harrass or insult parents who delay or defer. I won't change my recommendation, but I will always work with them.

So, back to Dr. Sears. The Dr. Sears schedule carries no more validity than any other arbitrary plan a parent may come up with. Absolutely none. As a parent, saying to me "I'm going to follow the Dr. Sears schedule" is no more compelling than saying "I have written down this a schedule I would like to follow". But, because he is a physician, and has published this book, people equate that with some sort of evidenced based validation.

So, go in and say "this is what I want to do" And have them do it. It doesn't matter if it was developed by Dr. Sears, myself, a parent, or was achieved by rolling dice. It's an alternative schedule that isn't evidence based.

The other reason the Dr. Sears schedule is challenging, is that he endorses it as though the specific order and timing are somehow key and beneficial (although there is no evidence). But, if the order and timing are so beneficial, then why is it that so many people who plan to follow it inevitably fall behind?

I hope this doesn't sound too critical, I really don't mean it to be. And I hope it sheds a little light on the "Dr Sears reaction".

[ma2two]

Originally Posted by mgg

It's an alternative schedule that isn't evidence based.

By writing this, you are implying that the CDC's schedule is evidence based. Do you have evidence for that?

[mgg]

Originally Posted by ma2two

By writing this, you are implying that the CDC's schedule is evidence based. Do you have evidence for that?

I'm not interested in beating a dead horse. And I'm not interesting in arguing. I was simply trying to shed some light onto the way pediatricians tend to respond to the while "Dr. Sears schedule".

[ma2two]

Originally Posted by mgg

I'm not interested in beating a dead horse. And I'm not interesting in arguing.

I'm asking because I do not know what evidence the CDC uses to say their schedule is best. If I did know, I wouldn't be asking you. I would be giving links to it.

With the information I have at this point, I don't think the CDC's schedule is evidence based. But if you tell your patients that it is, you must have some reason for thinking that it is, and I just want to know what that is.

I don't want to argue, either.

[mgg]

I tell my patients that the ongoing tracking of the incidence and prevalence of vaccine-preventable disease, as well as documented vaccine side effects has and continues to be utilized by the CDC and the AAP in fine tuning the immunization schedule.

And while it's easy for people to sit back and critique the system, it is the best system we have to determine the best course of action. And this is evidenced by the fact that it has worked. The incidence and prevalence of so many of these diseases has dramatically declined, while the documented side effects of immunization have diminished at the same time.

This data, even though it is easily available from resources such as MMWR, is not utilized by Dr. Sears or any other published "alternative" schedule.

So, the answer to my question is a question: what is the better source of evidence?

[amnesiac]

I have removed several posts from this thread which were either in violation of our guidelines or which were responding to such posts. Please remember to remain on topic for this subforum & thread.

[hollytheteacher]

Tell your DH that my son never had an ear infection in his entire life until he got the prevnar vaccine!!

The following day he got a high fever and then an ear infection. We decided to never do prevnar again. I think after I posted my story about that on MDC a couple people had actually heard of that (prevnar causing more ear infections shortly after the vax) and posted some links showing the increase in ear infections. I didn't save any of the links though...if you ask around someone might know what i'm talking about though.

[4girlsboynames]

I just had my 4th child, and her two month checkup is next week. With my first daughter I vaccinated with the CDC schedule as I didn't know any different. My second daughter also followed the CDC schedule until 2 years old. She has not received any doses of the MMR vaccine and will not. My 3rd daughter received all vaccines until age 9 months when I stopped completely due to some issues with my older daughters and a case of the chicken pox. She will not receive the MMR, but I do plan on getting her one last dose of DTaP. With my baby, I'm planning on following the Dr. Sears delayed schedule. She will not receive any doses of the IPV, HepB, or MMR, and I'm wavering on the rotovirus. She will also not receive the Varicella vaccine. I'm planning on getting her the DTaP and HIB at her two month visit with Prevnar coming at 3 months.

I'm a trained clinical pharmacist, although I stay home with my children now. These decisions have been made with an increasing understanding on the nature of vaccines, where they come from and how they are made, and observations regarding the effectiveness from my own daughters.

Just my opinion/ experience.

[mamakay]

Originally Posted by mgg

I tell my patients that the ongoing tracking of the incidence and prevalence of vaccine-preventable disease, as well as documented vaccine side effects has and continues to be utilized by the CDC and the AAP in fine tuning the immunization schedule.

And while it's easy for people to sit back and critique the system, it is the best system we have to determine the best course of action. And this is evidenced by the fact that it has worked. The incidence and prevalence of so many of these diseases has dramatically declined, while the documented side effects of immunization have diminished at the same time.

This data, even though it is easily available from resources such as MMWR, is not utilized by Dr. Sears or any other published "alternative" schedule.

So, the answer to my question is a question: what is the better source of evidence?

I'm not a fan of Dr. Sears or his alternative schedule, because he's not actually very knowledgable about either VPDs or the vax effects.

But I'm not a fan of the CDC schedule, either, and don't find it completely evidence based.

For example, flu shots in infants and toddlers.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/333/7574/912

In children under 2 years inactivated vaccines had the same field efficacy as placebo,8 and in healthy people under 65 vaccination did not affect hospital stay, time off work, or death from influenza and its complications.9

How can the decision to recommend flu vaccination for kids under 2 be considered "evidence based" as opposed to "hope/faith based"?

(I take major issue with the CDC on some other evidence-related points, too, but their flu vax recommendation for kids aged 6 months to two years is one of the easiest to discuss. So I'll leave it at this for now.)

[emily11megan]

Don't worry about your doctor. It's just his or her personal decision. They are just people, not experts on every individual situation. They are just following current trends. Remember, at one time they gave X-rays to all pregnant women. I combined Dr. Sears and another schedule I found online, and actually amended that when the MMR separates became unavailable. My daughter is almost 2 and she still doesn't have it. I can't come to a decision, so we are just delaying for now. If your doctor really gives you a hard time, look for a new one, I found a lovely DO Ped who respects the effort I took to make a schedule and my commitment to bring my daughter in for "just shot" appointments. Do what you think is right. This is your kid, not your doctors. Power to you, mama.