MMR as separate vaccines in Maine?

[Corvus]

I am desperate to find a doctor's office who has the MMR vaccines as separate doses (meaning, one for mumps, one for measles, one for rubella, as opposed to the big MMR vax as one dose). My understanding is that they can still be obtained this way, but most doctors' offices do not carry it because it's very expensive, has to be purchased in lots of 10 (or more), and there is very little demand for it. (It doesn't even occur to most parents to do only one vax at a time and most just want to do them all at once to "get it over with.")

If anyone knows of a doctor, clinic, hospital, etc, in Maine who can give M, M, and R as separate doses, please let me know! Much appreciated!

[christinar]

I'm interested in this too. My dr office (Central ME), told me that they don't have a pharmacy who will stock the separate vaccines for them. I held off on the MMR for my daughter til she was 3yo, and then did it. She had a week of 103/104 fevers and the measles rash. We were in to see the dr twice because of it, and she'd never seen such an extreme reaction, told me it was 1/10,000 or something. Thankfully, dd was fine afterwards, but it was scary (didn't help that I was due with her brother any day...). She - obviously - isn't getting the booster; her brother, who is three now, is - obviously - not getting the MMR at all, unless I can get the mumps by themselves at some point... So, I'm wondering if anyone has successfully done that up here...

[isaakspacifier]

Ours told me she could do it but she needed to know ahead of time so they could order it in advance. Katherine Landon-Malone at True North in Falmouth.

[fresh_water]

I would love to find a doctor in the Central Maine area who will do that for me. A nurse at my doctor's office told me that no one in the state did that and it didn't make sense to. Thanks for the help huh.

[Corvus]

Oh I Love True North! It didn't even occur to me to check with them! Thank you so much.

Have you actually had it done yet, isaakspacifier? I'm just curious. Did your child have any reactions? Is there anything different about the vaccine compositions of the separate doses besides the fact that they are separate?

Apparently, the state/school "requires" 2 doses of MMR. I am trying to go by Stephanie Cave's delayed vax schedule (What Doctors May Not Tell You About Vaccinations), and she recommends measles shot at 15 months old, rubella 12 months later, and mumps 12 moths after that. But I didn't do that with my children, as my plan at the time was to skip MMR altogether. Now I am willing to do it, but I want the separate vaxes. And it's impossible to find someone who has it.

[christinar]

Originally Posted by Corvus

Apparently, the state/school "requires" 2 doses of MMR. I am trying to go by Stephanie Cave's delayed vax schedule (What Doctors May Not Tell You About Vaccinations)

I also went by that book a lot (made a vax plan, like some people make a birth plan!) - I found it very helpful book.

Re: state "requires" - when my daughter started kindergarten last year, for the vax we didn't have (MMR booster, chicken pox, etc.), all I had to do was sign a paper and, I think, write a one sentence/phrase explanation (but I may not have, I don't remember for sure). It was simple, and no one harrassed me at all. I may have to sign the papers again for 1st grade, but so far, no one has approached me. It was very easy.

[mamatojackn]

You could also try Northern Sun Family Health Care in Topsham at 798-3993. Drs. Sarah Ackerly and Allison Willette are wonderful (naturopathic docs).
And as far as the state, we are lucky in Maine to have a philosphical/moral objection. If it is a public school, they can't require anything legally. If it is a private school though, that may be different.

[isaakspacifier]

I have not given him his MMR yet, she delays till 2 years. I have not decided if I will seperate them or not. We spoke about it at her last appointment and she wasn't worried about splitting it if we did it on her schedule. I have to do some more research, but the older they are the better and I did read some articles on Tylenol usage and vaccines.

I do know he will get the vax either way, my dh's best friend works in an office in Boston were just last year they had a measle outbreak. With so many people from overseas working in the area someone is bound to bring it around kwim?