Need to be reminded / support why I CHOOSE not to vax

[ladytigerfairy]

I have a 5 month old and a 2 1/2 year old, both completely unvaccinated.  I've always felt very strongly about this issue; everything from possible reactins, disabilities, toxins and our country's cancer rate have made me wary.. 

Recently we started a new preschool. My son has been sick, sick, sick since we started. From Chicken Pox, ear infections, bronchitis there has not been a break! I'm sick right now with a 4 week cough, that I got from a little girl in his class. My good friend is pro-VAX and recently got DtaP for her new baby, telling me, that she'd DIE if she caught pertussis, as a cold hard fact. After going through the pox, I'm fairly shaken, ad pox is mild by comparison to pertussis... After being sick non-stop for two months, I'm really starting to worry, we and the baby ARE going to get pertussis. Been weighing, well, should we get DTaP after all? I noticed the kids who did NOT get the pox had the shot , and never had to deal with it.. Do I want to deal with whooping cough? NO!!! Do I want a vaccine reaction and GUILT? Guilt if we get it, or guilt if we vax, if god forbid something does happen??  Chicken Pox, you get lifetime immunity, but pertussis, would we just get misery? (and I don't believe we'd get a dead ..bb....  , but it does happen.   and you can catch it several times.. would we get a vaccine reaction, and why m I suddenly considering this at all.. we're in the epicenter of the california pertussis outbreak.. (norcal / coast) . the mother of the little girl who gave me the cough, told me ALL the kids in her neighborhood got pertussis last year, rightly worried I am ??? or being paranoid because I'm around the mainstream vaxers, my alternative doc is too busy to see me and the pro-vax doc is messing with my head....   support, reasons, anyone? anyone? I'm confused right now... thanks for reading :)

[Incubator]

I couldn't read and not reply. I was in that boat once and it's a hard place to be. Look at it this way, If the girls' mom says EVERYONE got it last year, weren't they all vaxed? If it didn't protect them, what makes you think it will protect you?

Just hang tight. I know anytime my kids get new friends or visit a new location they get sick a few times in a row, then they get some immunity to the new bugs they've been around and they get better.

[Peony]

The first couple years of school are HARD. They bring home every germ known to man, or at least that is how it feels. All this illness has nothing to do about vaxing or not vaxing (well except for the CP), many, many kids do this when they start school, just get sick constantly. We've had pertussis and CP and yes the pertussis is harder especially with a baby, with her being 5 months already, she would more then likely be fine. Pertussis is most severe in newborns, not to say it wouldn't bite, because it would, but she is past the most dangerous age. It isn't guaranteed that you will get it. Pertussis is actually harder to catch then you think it is. That is why it is more common in schools, it takes hours of exposure usually rather then quick exposure so many other illnesses do. We didn't know we had pertussis for a while, and accidentally exposed a large number of people, we never found one person that we actually passed it to, thank goodness. DH had it first and we tracked his exposure to a worker at a bank he did computers for.

Anyway, hang in there.  

[Chloebelle]

I posted in the other thread:

I would concentrate on his (and your) immune system. Running out and getting the shot isn't going to guarantee anything, nor will it necessarily keep your child from getting sick. Your best defence is a strong immune system. Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Elderberry extract, Probiotics and limit sugar in the diet.

Be thankful he got CP and now has lifelong immunity! 

I really work on keeping my kids immune systems strong, and I believe it makes all the difference. Both my kids started preschool at 3 years old, and have managed to stay pretty healthy. Just typical colds. If they do get a fever, it usually only lasts for one day. My older child is now in full time Kindergarten, and while all the kids around her are getting ear infections and bronchitis etc., she's staying healthy. 

Don;t listen to what other mother's tell you. Most pro-vaxers I know are extremely uneducated about vaccines, and often just believe whatever their doctor tells them, or what they hear in the media, and they rarely ever do any research on their own.

I really suggest you see a Naturopath. I don't know if Dr. Feder is in your area, but I've read one of her books, and she's great. http://www.drfeder.com/  

[MyBoysBlue]

Last year my youngest started playschool and he brought home a cough that took him 8 weeks of it going away and coming back to finally get over it.  He also had some diarrhea and vomiting illnesses that year.  This year he's in kindergarten and he's got the croup, so do 3 other kids in the school right now.  It's not fun when their sick but I just keep reminding my self that they are making his immune system stronger. 

[Tracy]

Originally Posted by ladytigerfairy 

I have a 5 month old and a 2 1/2 year old, both completely unvaccinated.  I've always felt very strongly about this issue; everything from possible reactins, disabilities, toxins and our country's cancer rate have made me wary.. 

Recently we started a new preschool. My son has been sick, sick, sick since we started. From Chicken Pox, ear infections, bronchitis there has not been a break! I'm sick right now with a 4 week cough, that I got from a little girl in his class. My good friend is pro-VAX and recently got DtaP for her new baby, telling me, that she'd DIE if she caught pertussis, as a cold hard fact. After going through the pox, I'm fairly shaken, ad pox is mild by comparison to pertussis... After being sick non-stop for two months, I'm really starting to worry, we and the baby ARE going to get pertussis. Been weighing, well, should we get DTaP after all? I noticed the kids who did NOT get the pox had the shot , and never had to deal with it.. Do I want to deal with whooping cough? NO!!! Do I want a vaccine reaction and GUILT? Guilt if we get it, or guilt if we vax, if god forbid something does happen??  Chicken Pox, you get lifetime immunity, but pertussis, would we just get misery? (and I don't believe we'd get a dead ..bb....  , but it does happen.   and you can catch it several times.. would we get a vaccine reaction, and why m I suddenly considering this at all.. we're in the epicenter of the california pertussis outbreak.. (norcal / coast) . the mother of the little girl who gave me the cough, told me ALL the kids in her neighborhood got pertussis last year, rightly worried I am ??? or being paranoid because I'm around the mainstream vaxers, my alternative doc is too busy to see me and the pro-vax doc is messing with my head....   support, reasons, anyone? anyone? I'm confused right now... thanks for reading :)

I used to be in Vax forums all the time, but now with my son at age 10 I'm not here as much.   I have thread from archive  that you might want to check out.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/57794/the-other-vax-information

re: pertussis

This was one of those that had me a bit wiggy. My son was born in July and for a lot of the US pertussis is peak in late summer.  Infants who die from pertussis are most likely to be under three month.   Ironically, if you get the shots on schedule they don't even have the full dosage by the time they are three months.   A few months later I went to a lecture by a doctor on vaxes, she is a GP and in her practice she sees children with pertussis.  I asked how many of them had been vaxed and she said, "All of of them."    By the way, she elected not to have her own children vaccinated.   In the end I just didn't think it was worth it. 

I would focus on building up your family's own immunity.     cod liver oil, Omegas/ vitamin C (I do liquid), probiotics/acidophilous etc....

Can you see a nutropath?  

Also, you sound exhausted. I'm assuming your own illness has tired you out.  Get yourself some rest that will immediately help your nerves.   And I love these for mommy:

http://www.amazon.com/Barleans-Organic-Oils-Essential-Chocolate/dp/B002WGJRVS

hth

[sunrayEJ]

My 12 month old son is unvaccinated and I'm sure I will have similar considerations when he is older and in school settings...especially if I have to witness him being sick : (  It must be horrible, but isn't it good that he got the Pox out of the way?  And his body is learning how to deal with the other sicknesses.  This is the season for it, and since he just started preschool, you probably expected it (?).  If Pertussis is your main concern, I would research the heck out of it, and consider the worst case scenario if he were to get it.  There are threads re: mothers experiences when their children got it, which puts things in perspective for me.  Since you requested reminders and support for not vaxxing, just think of me as yourself a few years ago when I say that all of my instincts as a mother tell me not to vax, and I feel that the benefits DON'T outweigh the risks for my child.  Also, The NVIC is an amazing resource.

[icy02]

I can only tell you what my opinion is on the matter. First off half of the pertussis outbreaks were in vaccinated individuals (the media likes to leave that out) which obviously means the DTaP is not very effective. Second, the vaccine reactions from DTaP are one of the worst.  So I think to myself, why would I take the risk and vaccinate when it is not guaranteed my child won't contract the illness the vaccine is supposed to prevent?  By the time I add in my religious beliefs, chance of contaminated vials, the heavy metals, toxins, cancer, developmental delays, etc... It just doesn't make sense to me.  I, too, cringed at the thought of my children becoming I'll with something as terrible as pertussis.  However, I believe in my heart of hearts that IF my child DID get a vaccine "preventable" (sarcasm) disease that I STILL MADE the RIGHT decision for my family. Only you can decide that. I will say I breathed a deep sigh of relief when both my boys turned 6 mo.  The risk of a child dying from pertussis at 6 mo being unheard of has nothing to do with vaccination as most traditional peds would lead you to believe.  It has everything to do with development. So if it were me I'd just wait out the last month in hope and prayer.