Immunizations

We have never broke the MMR shot up, but we do delayed vax. The boys only get one shot per visit, and we space them out 2-3 months, and no MMR until after age 2. Its not that I think they CAUSE autism, but I don't think the chemical cocktail of 2-4 shots is good for anyone, let alone babies who are rapidly developing. This 'schedule' works for us, one shot per visit and spacing them out. I'm not comfortable with the doctors vax schedule, and they push me on it every time we go in, but I'm firm, and they've learned to just go with it.

Hi A.,

My opinion is to NOT vaccinate. I have done research for about 4 years on whether or not to vaccinate. BUT if you are against that... go to www.mercola.com. On his site he has a vaccination schedule that starts at age 2. When China went to this scedule(waiting until the children are 2, and then 1 every six months) the child mortality rate dropped to zero! Think about it? They give the same dose for a newborn as they do for an adult.
Dr. mercola is an MD that went from traditional medicine to alternative. He also has alot of info about the other vaccinations that children get. I am sure this will help. Good luck. Jennie

I would check Dr. Mercola's website, or read the book "A Shot in the Dark". This is a very important decision, and once a shot is given, it can't be undone - so don't let yourself be rushed.

Also, it is wise to evaluate all of the shots individually. It doesn't need to be an "all or none" proposition. For example, when they came out with the chicken pox vaccine, my pediatrician had concerns because it gave 10 years of immunity - delaying cases of chicken pox to an older age when complications are much more likely. Some vaccines are not worth the risk - unless you can't afford to miss work for a week, there is no reason to vaccinate against a common childhood disease that actually strengthens the immune system.

The person who commented on unvaccinated kids giving her vaccinated kids chicken pox might be interested to know that a vaccinated child gave my unvaccinated child the chicken pox. My child's case was much milder than the vaccinated child's case.
Anyway, it must have been an inconvenience to get chicken pox on a vacation, but the bright side is that now her kids are truly immune for life.

Hello A.,

I have to honestly say that this comment is off-topic to your request, but feel it is REALLY important to tell parents of children receiving immunizations.

Went to the doctor for a prenatal visit and the nurses were having a discussion about Thimerosal which (to the best of my knowledge) is a preservative in immunizations that has been linked to causing autism in children.
Here is a whole article on it from the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/CBER/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

The nurses made me realize the importance of being sure this was not in the vaccines being administered to my child. They said to ask the nurse/doctor to only give the child doses which were free of Thimerosal, and if they were not sure to please find out before they injected my child.

Not to try to scare you and SO SORRY for intruding, but asking a quick question could make a huge differnece in the life of a child.

Hi A.
I did break up my daughters MMR shots. we did one evry two months so the three shots were given over a 6 months period. You can go longer if you think it want to. Also it was very hard for me to get the dr to not give the combination because it is more diffucult to order or something so you may want to make sure your dr will split them up. also you want to make sure all of her shots do not have termasol (which is a fancy name for mercury) in them. Good Luck this is such a hard choice. T.

Have you read the Sears' vaccine book? It might have a suggestion for you If not in the book, their website is good. Please keep me posted on what you decide. Good luck

I would check the autism websites if I were you. They have lots of info on shots.
I haven't gotten my 2 year old's shots yet because he's a little behind already and I worry about autism.
I'm just planning on doing one per month as soon as he gets caught up a little bit in his speech skills.
J.
Mom to 4 and soon one more through another adoption.

There has been many news reports about vaccinations lately and I totally agree to be cautious. My son rcvd one dose of mmr and within hours he was screaming in pain. I was told by his pediatrician thsi was a normal side affect but I didn't believe him and rushed him to another hospital. The vaccine cause my son's brain to swell and luckily it did go down on its own after a few hours but that was the most heart wrenching hours a mother has to go through. My child screamed in pain because of a vaccination than yrs later my son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism.

After the first MMR I never continued any vaccinations again. He only rcvd half doses before this due to fevers and he was suppose to get caught up by the age of three but I never finished. My son changed at 18 months and I will never get my son back so I am now warning all parents to think twice and do your research

We plan on breaking up the MMR and doing mumps at 18 mo., rubella at 2 yrs., and measles at 3 yrs.

I did not break up my childrens shots, however I was concerned about it as well.
I talked to a good friend who studied in England and did his thesis on Autisim, he stated that there was no evidence that vacinations were related to autisim, but if I had any concerns, he recomended that we split up the shots.
He is an independent physcologist working in China and has done a lot of research on the vacination issue. I trusted his knowledge and opinion on the subject.
Good luck on your decsion.

We did not do it personally, but I was just talking to a mom this weekend who did it. Their doctor had to special order the vaccines so you might want to talk to your pediatrician about the schedule and ordering the vaccines.

I think it comes down to finding a pediatrician that you trust. I have always vaccinated on schedule with the advice of our pediatrician, and thankfully had no problems. What I have had problems with is parents being irrisponsible and not vaccinating on time, we had a family vacation ruined because a friend did not vaccinate her son on time with chicken pox, my kids were exposed to him and although they were vaccinated,a week later ( while on our family vacation) both of my kids caught a mild case of chicken pox, not as bad as it could have been, but enough to make them feel sick for 5 days.
I think people need to be carefull, vaccinations are needed and with world travel as it is you don't know what germs your child is going to come in contact with in your own town.

I declined to get my daughter the MMR at her 12 month old well child check. The pediatrician said the best time is 12-16 months. I am still on the fence, on the whole issue. My son was diagnosed with a form of high-functioning Autism. But I just heard that there are now no preservatives at all in the MMR shot they are giving, if so- that is GREAT news!

We broke up all our daughters shots and went at about 6 weeks apart for all of them. I'm nearly posotive on that. I could try to find our schedule, but it's been 2 1/2 years, so I'm not sure where it is.

yes. definately. break it up and dont give the rubella one ever, if you can help it. splitting or waiting till the child is older will definately help reduce the side effects and illnesses from the shots. how old is your child? also, unvaccinated children tend to get milder versions of the disease, IF they get the disease at all. I have been reading on vaccines and i almost threw up when i learned that an ingredient in the rubella shot is tissue from an aborted fetus...please think about not vaccinataing at all. MANY parents these days are choosing not too, for many good reasons.
S.