Vaccines

Ugh. I'm at such a point of frustration with vaccines and my girls... I'm really struggling with what to do. Emma just turned 5 and is heading off to kindergarten in the fall (although we don't know where since we haven't moved yet). And she's due for another round of vaccines (most likely MMR and possibly DTaP)... But here's the dilemna. Tailyn had a nasty reaction to her 12 month vaccines - super high fever and very lethargic for days after and within a month had totally changed from a sweet kid to a nightmare). So, I'm REALLY nervous about giving Emma and this baby any more vaccines. Tailyn hasn't been vaccinated any further since those 12 month shots and Emma hasn't had any since she turned 2, I think.

So, when we went to see Tailyn's DAN doctor (Dr. Megson) this spring, we spoke at length about vaccines. Her opinion is that for kids 6 month and older, the only important ones are Polio and Tetanus. All the other ones are treatable with either antibiotics or just riding them out... And I definitely agree with the Polio one, my mom had Polio when she was 5. Thankfully, she recovered from it, but she's adamant about her grandkids being vaccinated from it. I don't blame her.

So, Dr. Megson suggested that we have Emma's blood drawn and get an ANA Titer test to see if she already has the antibodies to MMR and Tetanus. If she does, then she doesn't need any more vaccines for those (at least for now). If she doesn't, then she isn't immune to them. So, then the question would be whether or not we feel comfortable vaccinating her again, after Tailyn's reaction. Unfortunately, I just read an article by Dr. Megson (http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/autism.html) where she had several patients that regressed into autism after receiving the MMR at 4 yrs old! So, it is possible. I don't really think it would happen to Emma, but who wants to risk it?

So, if we do decide to vaccinate her, I'd want the vaccines split up and given one at a time, several weeks apart. But I think the only reason we'd vaccinate her is just to avoid any problems at school. I believe Dr. Megson will write a note for her file saying that she needs to be exempt from the vaccine requirement. So, should we just skip the blood test and forget the vaccine, or should we get the blood test and then decide what to do about the vaccine... Ugh, it's so hard! Poor Emma is terrified of getting any blood work. So, that's not easy either!

The other pressing dilemna will need to be decided upon this fall after the baby is born. Under 6 months of age, the Pertusis virus (or Whooping Cough) is apparently very serious for babies and not really treatable. Over 6 months of age, it is treatable with antibiotics and is not very serious. But it is a virus that is in our community (or state) and could be picked up by the baby. The problem with the vaccine is that it is very toxic for kids and very hard on them. So, it's really hard for me to want to vaccinate the baby (especially since we think Tailyn had the biggest problem with it). But, if we don't vaccinate the baby from it, then she is at risk during the winter months and that is scary. Dr. Megson suggested that we just don't take her out for the first 6 months! What?!? How is that possible, being the 3rd child? Yikes. So, that is our other dilemna.

Emma's is the most pressing for sure as that needs to be decided upon soon. It would also be helpful if we had a pediatrician! :) Stay tuned, hopefully, we'll have some more decisions made soon...