Vaccinations - MMR

K.,
First I need to preface my response by telling you that I am anti-vaccine and have not vaccinated my 18 month old at all. But I know this is a most personal decision and respect parents whatever they decide to do. That being said, Dr. Sears is not the only 'expert' on vaccinations - he just has the most exposure. Neil Miller and Dr. Tim O'Shea have written books, as well as a Naturopath in LA, Dr. Lauren Feder. You mentioned that you don't trust the belief that everything is safe b/c a Dr says so. Well this is true. If vaccines were truly safe you could sue the manufacturer if there were adverse reaction (like autism) - but you agree by vaccinating that you will only go through the vaccine injury fund (which protects the drug companies).
My pediatrician goes easy on vaccines - they may separate the MMR and certainly wouldn't be so cold to you as your ped. Try Pediatric Alternatives in Mill Valley. I don't blame you worrying about the 3 live viruses at once on a tiny immune system. Remember, the blood-brain barrier is NOT formed yet. Not only are you dealing with live viruses, but "the chemicals" you mention are toxic too (formaldehyde, aluminum). These viruses are also cultured on live material - for MMR it is chick embryos and ABORTED fetal tissue from the 1960's! (The rubella portion is the one cultured on human lung tissue). In my opinion measles, mumps and rubella are not difficult childhood viruses. Certainly you don't want a 1 year old to have to go through it, but how much exposure does he have to these potential germs? There are so many vac. on the schedule today. I have copies of the charts from the 60's up to today and it concerns me that Dr's support this billion $ industry without regard to children's welfare. Polio is gone from north america b/c of better hygiene and sanitation - as is smallpox (which is why we don't have that vac. on the sched. anymore. I would look back to your childhood and what you were vaccinated for (you are 1 year younger than me) and ask yourself has American sanitation and hygiene gotten worse or better? How did you and your friends and family fare in the disease dept. I hope this helps and I answered your questions. I know it is a tough decision we are making on behalf of these little trusting beings and we don't take it lightly. Blessings to your family whatever you decide.

I ultimately got them separate from the SF Dept of Public Health. I think if you go and say that your pediatrician does not have it, they will give it to you. The couple of pediatricians in SF who I heard gave them separately were not taking new patients. There is a place called Pediatric Alternatives or somemthing like that in Mill Valley that was taking new ones, I believe. Good luck!

K.,

I applaud you in your efforts to CAREFULLY and thoughtfully vaccinate. I too staggered my son's vaccines, having done as much research into the pros and cons as I possibly could. My pediatrician (Dr. Jennifer Miller of East Bay Pediatrics in Orinda/Berkeley) also did not offer the MMR separated into three shots. However, she sympathized with my concerns and offered to administer the shots if I could find a pharmacy that would sell them to me individually. I too posed the question to Mamasource mommies and received a lot of good advice. I ended up ordering the vaccines from the Medicine Shoppe in Pleasanton with no problem. However, so far only one vaccine has come into stock; the rest are on back order until at least April...talk about spreading them out! So he turned one in Sept. and has had only the Rubella vaccination. Oh well. At any rate, you just go pick up the shot when its ready and take it to your doctor for administration. It wasn't that expensive either(think for all 3 shots the total will be around $120- or so).

Good luck! I hope this helps!
L.

I'd change pediatricians. Your pediatrician should be your partner, not your boss.

My daughter (now 5) has not had the MMR. The pediatrician I worked with when she was a babe (we lived in New Jersey) did not recommend it at any age. I've worked with autistic kids. I figured I'd rather deal with measles, mumps, or rubella than autism. My daughter is an exceptionally healthy kid and has not yet had m, m, or r.

I realize that evidence suggests there's no link between the MMR and autism. However, the mainstream medical community has yet to let us know what does cause it. And neither do bullying attitudes like the one your doctor adopts inspire us moms to trust the mainstream medical community.

We now use a homeopath/PA in Albany. I am of a scientific, non-mystical bent and I realize homeopathy could well be voodoo. But, it's voodoo that can't hurt my kid. Andrew Weil (great dr. writer, I recommend you read his stuff) suggests that mainstream medicine mostly works through the placebo effect rather than any actual chemical effect. So, homeopathy is good enough for me. It's called the Hahnemann Clinic.

As far as a pediatrician, I'm sure there's a Yahoo Group about non-vax issues that could probably steer you toward a sympathetic MD.

Hi K.... there may be another factor at play here. There is a global shortage in the separate component of MMR, which means that unless they have it already, many Drs cannot acquire it - even if they want to.
This link is for the UK because I strangely could not find anything more local. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2267406.stm

But, I had heard of this shortage from a Dr friend, then I have confirmed it with my Dr, who standardly follows the alternate schedule. Apparently the shortage is expected until around Sept 2009.

M.

Hi K.,

I toatally understand your concerns. The whole vaccination thing is very scary. I am also foolowing Dr Sear's book and my peditrician is wonderful and supports my decision. I don't know where you live, but I see Dr Kathleen Smith in Walnut Creek. She is allowing me to break up the MMR. So far, my daughter has had the mumps shot, she will measles next visit. If you wish to discuss further, please email me at ____@____.com

I am not sure if they offer it but it's worth calling the Health Dept. We live in Marin and because of our insurance (long story) I am going to the Marin Co Health Dept for vaccinations. It is a new building, very clean, the staff were fantastic and you only pay $10 per vaccine. I was thrilled. We are also spacing out our son's vaccinations according to Dr. Sears' alternative schedule and when I went in, no appointment required, I told they which vaccines I wanted. It was a very easy experience.

Also, although, I have no experience with them, I believe, Pediatrics Alternatives, here in Marin also offer the M, M, and R separately.

Good luck!