Overwhelmed with vaccinations!

[MissTawnie]

My son received his two month shots.  He was given Pentacel, along with the other vax recommended by the doctor.  I had always been for vaccination....but after the first set of shots, my mind started going.  Not only did the high pitched, terrible crying from my son break my heart but the amount of chemicals he got at once concerned me.  He didn't seem to have any reactions besides being excessively sleepy...but it worries me nonetheless.  They say the chances of your child having a negative reaction to an shot is very very rare, but what if that one in a million happens to be my baby?

I bought Dr. Sear's "The Vaccine Book" and have started reading.  I never knew the amounts of certain toxin they contained!  Not to mention the plethora of animal/human/aborted fetus DNA in them.  I can't help but feel that is unhealthy, morally offensive, and a huge concern for my son's well being.  I've been told the autism/vax link was debunked.  I still worry.  Injecting your baby with DNA from other humans and animals won't cause any developmental/health problems?  I find it hard to believe.  

I'm only 25 and everyone around me tries to push vaccinations.  I believe some vaccinations ARE important!  But I believe some aren't.  Dr. Sear's book (what I've read so far) has stated that many diseases are very rare and not a imminent threat to my child, such as diptheria, polio, hep b.  I hate that you cannot get a pertussis shot without the additional diptheria and tetanus.  I read that the Pentacel shot in combination with the other suggested vax is over 700 micrograms of aluminum which the FDA clearly states is over the safe limit.  How can they inject a tiny baby with all these chemicals, and sometimes the same amount that they can give a 200 pound man?  

I'm very confused as to how I go about this.  My son is due for his four month checkup/ vax next week and I am panicking.  I am considering doing a selective vax schedule, but am not sure which are the most important for my baby receive now.  I want to protect him from the most threatening disease, but I want him to be safe and to receive the least amount of animal/fetal tissue and harmful chemicals. 

I apologize if I sound uninformed and if I am all over the place!

I just need unbiased, educated advice and suggestions on the safest route for vaccinations.

[earth-mama]

We only do one series of vaccinations at a time and DD only gets one shot at a time.  This way we can closely monitor any reactions and discontinue vaccinations that she reacts strongly to.  DD has not had any severe reactions, only very minor (nursing frequently for about 3 days.  We delayed until 4 months to start any and would have delayed longer if I had known that I was going to be a SAHM as long as I was.  We did the DTaP and completed the series.  The next shot we will do is the MMR.  DD is now 25 months old.  I am not sure if we will do any others.  I only have her get the vaccination if she is feeling well.  If she has a cold or recently got over a cold/illness then I wait. 

I did a lot of research on vaccinations and I believe the most important thing to compare the benefits to the potential consequences of getting vaccinations and not getting vaccinations.  I, personally, could have gone the non-vaccination route, but my DP felt strongly that DD should get vaccinations.  So we compromised and I told DP that if she has any sort of severe reaction we will not get any more of that vaccination.  He as agreeable.  I believe that part of the problem with vaccinations is the quantity that babies and children are given at one time--they are overloaded with not only the vaccination but also all of the other ingredients/preservatives/etc. and their tiny bodies really can't handle it.  This is why we limit the quantity given in one sitting.  

Here is a list of some of the books I read:

The Vaccine Book--Robert Sears

Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide--Aviva Jill Romm

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations--Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell

How To Raise A Healthy Child ... Inspite Of Your Doctor , Robert S. Mendelsohn

What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization , Jamie Murphy

The Vaccine Guide , Randall Neustaedter

A Shot in the Dark , Harris Coulter & Barbara Loe Fisher (I haven’t read this one, but a lot of non-vac people like it)

What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization--Jamie Murphy

 

----

I also found this website helpful:

 

http://www.generationrescue.org/vaccines.html

I hope that helps.  

 

[Marnica]

I was where you are 7 years ago (although at that point I had no kids). In fact I was staunchly provaccine and held the belief that parents that did not vaccinate their children were crazy and child abusers.

My advice is to delay until you can do your research. Go disease by disease (starting with the ones you are most concerned about) and vax by vax and weigh the benefits vs the risks.

You said that "they" say that vaccines reactions are extremely rare. Who is "they"?? The allopathic medical establishment?  public health officials? Vaccine manufactuers? They are the very people who have a very real vested interest in the success of the vaccination program. Where have "they" gotten their information?

Personally I don't think reactions are nearly as rare as "they" say. If the medical establishment routinely dismisses reactions as reactions because usually one cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was from the vaccines, then of course "they" can then say how rare they are. If they were in fact as rare as "they" say, then sites like this (where parents and informed medical and alternative practioners are now seriously questioning this) would not exsist and they are ALL OVER.

The CDC pinkbook is a great resource. Comb this site and the archives. There are many great books to read on the subject. PP has named a few. Don't believe anything anyone tells you. Do your own research.

I wish you luck and don't rush your decision.

[carriebft]

There are certain diseases that are more complicated for infants and ones that are more common for infants as well. So, whereas Hep B is complicated if an infant gets it, it is highly unlikely to happen if your infant is not exposed through you, family members, or care providers.

Hib, PCV (pneumoccocal disease) and pertussis are more dangerous to infants. Hib and pneumoccocal have a higher rate of "going invasive" in children under 5 and both can cause quite a few complications.

Rotavirus causes more hospitalizations in infants than other age groups.

So if you were looking to narrow things down in your search a bit, you could start by investigating PCV, Hib, DtaP and Rotavirus. that might help streamline things so you are not looking at things like Hep B, Hep A, Polio, and vaccines that are normally given after 12 months (pox, mmr, etc).

[ma2two]

High pitched screaming can be a sign of brain swelling. The excessive sleepiness afterward could be related to that.

Which vaccines do you think are important enough to risk that again?

[Lovemy3girls]

Hi, that's great you are doing research and following your intuition. I know how scary it is to witness such a vaccine reaction in your precious baby. Everyone has great advice here. It's so helpful to have good sources. What helped me in my decision about vaccines was learning more about the effect of vaccines on the developing brain of infants, the neuroscience of it. If you decide to continue to vaccinate (or not), it may not be a bad idea to wait until your baby is older, say two or so. That would also give you more time to research and think about it. The reason I say this is that the protective myelin sheath which forms a protective layer around the neurons of the brain is still forming until your baby reaches about 24 months. Vaccine adjuvants and toxoids are very destructive to the myelin, and they burn away the tips of the dendrites on the neurons, essentially causing brain damage. This is part of the brain inflammation behind the encephalitic cry you described. Here is some information that explains it pretty well: http://www.trackingvaccinations.com/ ..  Another source is Dr. Russell Blaylock who presents good information about the effects of vaccination on the brain from the neuroscientific point of view: http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/ (See Published Papers, 8. Vaccines and Autism.pdf: "The Danger of Excessive Vaccination During Brain Development"). Substances can easily cross the blood-brain barrier in infants which may be another reason to hold off until you decide what to do. If you are breastfeeding then this also buys you more time and your baby both protection and time. Hopefully this helps a little.  Best of luck to you and your baby!

Edited by Lovemy3girls - 4/8/11 at 8:07am

[TStudies]

please google my blog "taketimetofindyourtruth" as it has a lot of info in easy to read format with answers to common questions.  Questions I had when I was first wondering about vaccines.  hope it helps.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by MissTawnie 

I apologize if I sound uninformed and if I am all over the place!
 

I've been giving this issue some serious thought for 4 years, and I'm still in that state!    The issue is charged---sometimes ideologically, sometimes emotionally (e.g. fear of the vaxes, fear of the diseases, defensiveness over attacks on your parenting choices), and sometimes even financially.  So your first step is to accept that you will not find unbiased information.  Read through all of the bias as best as you can.

Second, take some time to ask yourself some questions about each vaccine.  A forum veteran frequently posts a lists of really helpful questions to ask yourself about each vaccine.  I saved her questions but didn't save all of the helpful links that she provided.    Anyway, here are the questions:

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.

[LMWife]

Just do your homework, I'm 30 and everyone I know has been pushing me to vax too. I feel every ones situation is different. For instance, I stay at home with my LO and we don't really take her to stores often, we do not have other children around her right now. I had a serious reaction to the old DTP Vax when I was little, also my family knows a little boy that had a seizure condition after his vaccines, Doctors said it was from vaccines, parents also got payment from the Vax injury compensation program. Could you imagine having to teach your 2yo everything over again after he had a seizure? No amount of money could ever be enough having a child like that. After being witness to something like that, I don't have much trust in vaccine makers, so I just read everything I can about them.  If I'm not 100% comfortable with the vax I'm not getting it for my child.

I know what you mean about injecting  a tiny baby with all these chemicals, I love how when your prego books tell you to try and eat organic and to avoid chemicals, then all of a sudden when your child is born they want to inject them with all sorts of chemicals..it just doesn't make much sense to me.

We are trying to do a selective vax schedule but are having a hard time finding a doc to agree to it. If I can't find a doc I may just end up with no Vaccines at all until my child is ready for school.