I should preface this by saying that DS is 5 1/2 and completely unvaxxed. We have 4 children on DH's side of the family with autism (and there's a genetic component), my son has food allergies, would body slam himself on the floor when he was younger if he had casein, and I have autoimmune issues myself (multiple ones).
So I am 15 weeks PG and I am just fighting with myself on the Dtap. But I've been reading the Deptacel pkg insert and I've been on the phone with the Autism Research Institute's hotline - big Q was whether my DS was out of the woods on vaccine damage. They knew of a 6 and 7 yr old that became autistic. They couldn't give me any medical advice but said we had a lot of red flags.
I'll be honest, I don't do this nonvaxxing thing well - I get spooked very easily. But all it takes is 1 visit w/ my nephew (who is not a mild case) for us to thank ourselves that we haven't vaxxed.
In talking about it w/ our pediatrician this week - she gave me something new to think about. She wasn't trying to bully me into vaxxing. She has an unvaxxed child herself and is on Dr Sear's list of vax friendly doctors (she won't follow the CDC schedule unless you demand it - has her own schedule). She said that she has a child in her practice that got encephelitis from pertussis and became autistic from the disease. She feels that children that would have a difficult time with the vaccine, would also have trouble from the illness itself and that most of the diseases we vax for have a risk of encephelitis. And I wonder if the risk of encephelitis is really that big? Like there is a risk of encephelitis w/ chicken pox but how many of us got through chicken pox just fine?
She really tried to give me both sides of the story. Said that the DTP was a lot more dangerous than the Dtap. She did say though that she has vaccine injured kids in her practice, and she can tie them to the specific vaccine. But she felt my child was older and could likely handle it. She also said she can't promise anything. She can't promise he won't have a severe reaction.
The ped said she wasn't going to advise me on what to do - just give me information. She said, 'I can't promise he would handle the disease well or that your new baby would be okay. But I can't promise he'd be okay with the vaccine either. As a mom it is hard b/c if either happens, you feel it is your fault b/c you knew better and could have made the reverse decision. Just let me know what you decide.'
I'm just at a loss. I feel if I just really go w/ my gut, I still stick on the nonvaxxing side - we just have too many red flags. My acupuncturist said she had no advice either - no one wants to tell me what to do b/c of liability but once I told her (acupuncturist) that my DS body slammed himself if he had casein, she said "Well, now that you've told me that, I don't think I would get it."
Until I talked to the ped, I did feel that my son would be okay if he got pertussis b/c he's older now. I worry about the baby. Pertussis rates are up 88% in our area and my ped said there is usually 1 case per school district per year - she gets a few cases in her office per year. I feel like I can't enjoy my pregnancy b/c of this. When I had DS I didn't have to worry about an older sibling bringing something home. We stayed home a lot and nursed. I wish I could have had my kids closer in age and at home at the same time for a while, but I have dealt w/ infertility and didn't have a choice.
So I am 15 weeks PG and I am just fighting with myself on the Dtap. But I've been reading the Deptacel pkg insert and I've been on the phone with the Autism Research Institute's hotline - big Q was whether my DS was out of the woods on vaccine damage. They knew of a 6 and 7 yr old that became autistic. They couldn't give me any medical advice but said we had a lot of red flags.
I'll be honest, I don't do this nonvaxxing thing well - I get spooked very easily. But all it takes is 1 visit w/ my nephew (who is not a mild case) for us to thank ourselves that we haven't vaxxed.
In talking about it w/ our pediatrician this week - she gave me something new to think about. She wasn't trying to bully me into vaxxing. She has an unvaxxed child herself and is on Dr Sear's list of vax friendly doctors (she won't follow the CDC schedule unless you demand it - has her own schedule). She said that she has a child in her practice that got encephelitis from pertussis and became autistic from the disease. She feels that children that would have a difficult time with the vaccine, would also have trouble from the illness itself and that most of the diseases we vax for have a risk of encephelitis. And I wonder if the risk of encephelitis is really that big? Like there is a risk of encephelitis w/ chicken pox but how many of us got through chicken pox just fine?
She really tried to give me both sides of the story. Said that the DTP was a lot more dangerous than the Dtap. She did say though that she has vaccine injured kids in her practice, and she can tie them to the specific vaccine. But she felt my child was older and could likely handle it. She also said she can't promise anything. She can't promise he won't have a severe reaction.
The ped said she wasn't going to advise me on what to do - just give me information. She said, 'I can't promise he would handle the disease well or that your new baby would be okay. But I can't promise he'd be okay with the vaccine either. As a mom it is hard b/c if either happens, you feel it is your fault b/c you knew better and could have made the reverse decision. Just let me know what you decide.'
I'm just at a loss. I feel if I just really go w/ my gut, I still stick on the nonvaxxing side - we just have too many red flags. My acupuncturist said she had no advice either - no one wants to tell me what to do b/c of liability but once I told her (acupuncturist) that my DS body slammed himself if he had casein, she said "Well, now that you've told me that, I don't think I would get it."
Until I talked to the ped, I did feel that my son would be okay if he got pertussis b/c he's older now. I worry about the baby. Pertussis rates are up 88% in our area and my ped said there is usually 1 case per school district per year - she gets a few cases in her office per year. I feel like I can't enjoy my pregnancy b/c of this. When I had DS I didn't have to worry about an older sibling bringing something home. We stayed home a lot and nursed. I wish I could have had my kids closer in age and at home at the same time for a while, but I have dealt w/ infertility and didn't have a choice.
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