Is it too late to start selective vaxing after receiving "regular" vax schedule from birth to 4...

[rebbecky]

I am about to have my 6 month well visit with my DS and I have decided to use Dr. Sears selective schedule, but am wondering how this works since my DS has already received the everything from birth to 4 months (however, we declined the HEP B offered at the hospital when he was born). Does anyone have experience with this? Is it safe etc? Sorry if I sound ignorant about these issues, but I am very new to this and just want some information. Thanks!

[ma2two]

It is fine to have as much time between vaccine doses as you want. Even several years. The CDC says, "A vaccine series does not need to be restarted, regardless of the time that has elapsed between doses." http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/child/catchup-schedule-pr.pdf (top of page) The intervals between doses on that chart are the minimum intervals. There are no maximum intervals between doses for any vaccine. It is also fine to stop vaccinating at any time. 

[rdehoff-us]

We started selectively delaying shots only after my son's two month appointment round of vaccines.  We felt his reaction was just moderate enough that we didn't want to risk overdoing it and began to really look into the research behind the vaccines.  Dr. Sears has several delayed and selective vaccine schedules in his book, but also remember to trust your instincts.  If something doesn't feel right to you and your child doesn't respond well to something its never too late to slow things down or stop giving a particular vaccine.  Make sure to find a pediatrician you trust and can ask advice when needed.

[rebbecky]

Thanks for the info; on another note...which ones are the ones that I should ask to see the package insert for to check for mercury? Or is that all of them?

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by rebbecky 

Thanks for the info; on another note...which ones are the ones that I should ask to see the package insert for to check for mercury? Or is that all of them?

DTaP

Flu for you (particularly if pregnant!).

Mercury is often referred to as thimerosal

http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/

[Bokonon]

By the way, if your pediatrician gives you any grief about selecting or delaying vaccinations, or says that your child can't be his or her patient anymore, don't stress about it.  The vaccine schedule is not a law, and while many patients are being "fired" by pediatricians for not following the schedule to the letter, that is better than having a doctor who doesn't see eye to eye with you on how to best care for your child.  You are the parent, and a pediatrician cannot make you do something you are not comfortable with.

[rebbecky]

Thanks for your help ladies! Much appreciated. I haven't called the pediatrician's office yet to ask about whether they will agree to a selective schedule and which brand they use, so wish me luck! If they balk, I plan on canceling his visit and using another pediatrician (still looking around atm for one). Anyone know of a good crunchy one in the NW Houston area-ish? Thanks!

[rebbecky]

Ok, so I did not cancel the appointment; I decided that I still wanted the well check part as I do not have a new pediatrician yet. I plan to ask for only the Dtap and rotavirus and to see which brands they are using. If they do not comply I will just decline them all together. I am not sure if they will "fire" me, but I plan on finding someone else regardless. Thanks again for your info and encouragement!!

[ma2two]

Just so you're fully informed, have you heard about the pig virus contamination in both rotavirus vaccine brands? The viruses are PCV1 and PCV2. When PCV1 was discovered in Rotarix, the FDA pulled it from the market. But then when both PCV1 and PCV2 were discovered in RotaTeq, instead of pulling that vaccine off the market as well, thereby leaving no rotavirus vaccines on the market, the FDA simply reinstated Rotarix. No studies have been done proving the safety of exposing infants to these viruses. PCV2 kills pigs. It is not possible to remove either virus from either vaccine brand.

The FDA did advise doctors to inform parents of the contamination, but most do not.

[rebbecky]

Well, unfortunately I did not realize he was not getting the rotavirus today because apparently he got all of them in his prior visits. This was going to be my first attempt at starting a delayed or selective schedule (I guess I'm still on the fence about this), so I guess if I had been using that schedule all along he would have been receiving that today. To be quite honest, I am really confused by all of this and feel under-educated about the issues. I want to know why I am saying no, so that I can have valid reasons to stand on when confronting a doctor. At this point it is mostly just based on an uneasy feeling and skepticism about the safety of vaccines (and a distrust of pediatricians), but not enough on "the facts". 

Today's experience was not fun at all :( To make a long story short, I plan to move on from this dr for a number of reasons and hope to become more educated on vaccines before his next well check up. Thanks again to all for your help!

[rebbecky]

P.S. I started this last night and just realized I never submitted it b/c LO woke up! :P

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by rebbecky 

Well, unfortunately I did not realize he was not getting the rotavirus today because apparently he got all of them in his prior visits. This was going to be my first attempt at starting a delayed or selective schedule (I guess I'm still on the fence about this), so I guess if I had been using that schedule all along he would have been receiving that today. To be quite honest, I am really confused by all of this and feel under-educated about the issues. I want to know why I am saying no, so that I can have valid reasons to stand on when confronting a doctor. At this point it is mostly just based on an uneasy feeling and skepticism about the safety of vaccines (and a distrust of pediatricians), but not enough on "the facts". 

Today's experience was not fun at all :( To make a long story short, I plan to move on from this dr for a number of reasons and hope to become more educated on vaccines before his next well check up. Thanks again to all for your help!

It is Ok to take as long as you need to research vaccines and decide what to do.  It is a really complicated decision. Contrary to what some will tell you, the sky will not fall in if you do not vaccinate today.  Pertussis might be an exception - it is more important to make a call on that in infancy. 

Take a look at just how rare and/or relatively benign most VPD's are.  In some cases the disease is rarer than the vaccine side effects (which can be ascertained (partly) by reading the vaccine insert pamphlets)

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/cases&deaths.pdf

A lot of the argument for vaccination comes down to keeping the diseases from coming back.  If you decide this is valid and important enough for you to risk the side effects of vaccination - go for it, vax.  But it does not matter very much at all if you vax today or 2 years from now in terms of this issue.

Do not let anyone bully you into doing something you might regret.  Take your time, make your decisions - you can always vax later, you cannot undo a vax.

  sorry you had a rough doctors appointment.

Edited by kathymuggle - 9/22/12 at 9:13am

[prosciencemum]

Quote (rebbecky):

it is mostly just based on an uneasy feeling and skepticism about the safety of vaccines (and a distrust of pediatricians)

 I'm really sorry you feel that way and I hope you find a Doctor you trust soon. I think it's a modern tradegy how much mistrust of the medicial system is out there, when all the Doctors I know got into the business to help people. Hang in there until you find a good one. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

you can always vax later, you cannot undo a vax.

 This is an excellent point, but be sure to check the dangerous ages for various VPDs. Some vaccines are much less worth getting later on because the danger of the disease is lower (unless you choose to get them to protect any younger babies your child might come into contact with). Equally these are the ones for which delaying could be dangerous and could risk your child contracting the VPD.

 But many early vaccines are done on the schedule they are on just to get them done at a time convenient to the parents, so delaying them should have no consequence. 

 Best of luck with your decision. 

[anj_rn]

You can start delaying vaxes, or selectively vaxing at any time.  Heck, both my kids have wonky schedules.  I carefully looked at the diseases, what they did, what the risks were, and when the disease was dangerous.  For example, Hep B is a bloodborne pathogen.  There is no cure, but it is not likely that my child will encounter it.  However as a former ER nurse, I am vaxed, because I knew exposure was likely.

Chicken pox deaths are rare, and usually occur only after puberty, so we opted to wait on those.  However, my DD has a trach, and so is at higher risk for resp illnesses, so she was vaxed with more things that DS was since she was also frequently in the hospital (where the diseases abound).  

Do your research, then come to the new doc with your plan.

[Turquesa]

Rebbecky, when I had my first baby, I arrived at a well child check completely stressed out and holding The Vaccine Book in my sweaty hands!  This was after two other disasterous doctor visits.  I'll never forget what my doctor told me, "You know, you don't HAVE to make a decision today."  Suffice to say, I knew she was a keeper. 

Not all, but most practices will allow you to drop in without an appointment to get vaccines.  In fact, that's EXACTLY what I did once I figured out my catch-up schedule and decided which vaxes I thought were worth it.  My insurance completely covered the extra visits.  I preferred the inconvenience of making separate trips across town to feeling like I was coerced into doing--right then and there!-- something that made me feel uncomfortable. And I always feel uncomfortable consenting to a medical information JUST BECAUSE the doctor wants it. 

Some years back, and MDC mama posted a list of questions to go through concerning individual vaccines and their corresponding diseases. I'll try to dig up those questions and post them in the resources sub-forum.  Most of us don't have time to answer all of them, but they're a great springboard for decision-making.

By the way, you'll find that a number of doctors poo-poo The Vaccine Book because it counters and challenges their orthodoxy.  Little do they know, I wasn't planning to vaccinate at all until I read it!

Well child checks are not final exams; you don't have to have all of your answers prepared. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by prosciencemum 

 I'm really sorry you feel that way and I hope you find a Doctor you trust soon. I think it's a modern tradegy how much mistrust of the medicial system is out there, when all the Doctors I know got into the business to help people. Hang in there until you find a good one. 

Doctors and "the medical system" are related, but not the same thing.  There are plenty of reasons to distrust the System, but that's fodder for another thread discussion.  Having worked in the trenches of medicine, I can say that individual doctors vary as much as their individual fingerprints. Some are in it to help people, others are in it for entirely the wrong reasons  . . . also fodder for another discussion. 

[Turquesa]

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1364006/your-go-to-list-of-vaccine-research-questions

OK.  It's up! 

[rebbecky]

Thank you ladies so much for all of your support, kind words and info...it really does mean the world to me. I have been making myself crazy thinking about all of this since his 4 month visit. Luckily, my DH told me to leave it alone for a couple days (to give the paranoia and anxiety a rest), then look at it again. 

Turquesa, unfortunately I had a similar experience, but my doctor was not so kind to tell me I did not have to make that decision that day. Instead she tried to scare me with stories of sick kids and by telling me that my insurance may not cover doing the vaccine on another day. When I asked how much it would cost out of pocket, she balked and said "terrible"...I said what does that mean?! She did not want to give a dollar amount, but in my head I was thinking how I would not care if I had to pay b/c ins would not cover as long as that meant I got them when I thought it was best.

Also, I was too embarrassed to admit it in my former post, but I caved and got the ones she said to get. So, he got the Pediarix (dtap/hep B/Polio) and the Prevnar. She wanted me to do the flu shot too because we are going on vacation soon, and told me how she has ALREADY had 2 cases in her office. I declined that one and do not plan to get it for him after doing some research (after the visit). But, like kathymuggle said, I can't undo the vaxes....so going forward I plan to do some more reading and have a obtained a copy of the brands that were used at his prior visits. I figured I can at least educate myself on the ones he did receive and have a better plan and resolve in place for future visits to a NEW pediatrician. 

Again, sincerely, thank you for your posts and support!! <3