Anna always was very sick after her immunizations. I told the doctors who then told me that was normal and it was better to get the shots. The MMR made her the worse..a week later her fever was 104.5 for 3 days.
SO when my son was born I allowed him to get the shots but I started later (when he was 4 mos). And if he had a bad reaction to the first ones I wouldn't of allowed any more until he was much older. I also still haven't allowed him to get the MMR> My theory is why not wait until they pass the contraversial age that way you can know for sure if it causes autism. Isaiah is now 2 and signs a lot but isn't speaking much...but his eye contact is great and I haven't noticed anything odd w/him. I will probably do the MMR when he is 3 or 4. I will know for sure by then if he has the same problems as Anna.
Even the immunizations that had the mercury removed from them, there are still traces of mercury in it. There is not a mercury free shot. There is no way to tell what causes autism, some it might be immunization, some it might be genetic, some it might be environment. Autism is considered a neurological disorder.
Tammy
[QUOTE=themary] SO when my son was born I allowed him to get the shots but I started later (when he was 4 mos). And if he had a bad reaction to the first ones I wouldn't of allowed any more until he was much older. [/QUOTE]
Im sorry but I had to say something here.... Even 1 bad reaction could devistate the child so if you are willing to try 1 and then 1 more and so on isn't it just like doing it? Irreversiable damage can happen THE FIRST TIME. Certainly its everyones right to decided what to do with their child as far as immunizations.... In my opinion doing one at a time though gives the child's body LESS to have to work to fight off and build immunity to... but I would definately research my options......
[QUOTE=themary] I also still haven't allowed him to get the MMR> My theory is why not wait until they pass the contraversial age that way you can know for sure if it causes autism. [/QUOTE]
Im not trying to be critical here... just trying to understand your view point..... If you are waiting to pass the controversial age to know if the MMR causes autism or not then that says to me you are willing to take the risk of it doing so.... IF that is the case then why not immunize now other than to be able to "prove" your theory.... The medical field will probably dismiss it as something else anyways.
My son got his immunizations at 12 months including the DTP and MMR and probably polio and Hib and whatever else comes at that age..... I could look in his chart but anyhow.... He developed a 106.3 temp that we couldn't drop below 104.1 for 8 days.... He did end up hospitalized after repeated trips to the ER and finally taking the thermoscan with me when we checked in to SHOW them his 106 temp! Naturally I had given him doses of tylenol / motrin with the fever so when the military clinics saw him his fever was around 104 they would say its a fever associated to the DTP or MMR (each clinic argued the opposite shot) which is common after an immunization, and to keep medicating him. Finally the ER listened when I got him from a nap and he was burning up and we went directly there BEFORE medication! Of course rather then admit this fever was a reaction to his immunizations it was dismissed as coincidentally being probably somethign viral!
If the mercury causes autism in some kids it wouldn't matter when you gave it. And what age is controversial? Mercury is also in the flu shots too. Then you have to factor in the environment and the genetics in some cases. And what if the child was born with it? Some kids on the spectrum were just born with it, before any immunizations.
Tammy
Dolphin-sweet,.... Regarding Luke.... besides his seizures as an infant was his development normal in regards to milestones speech social skills possibly potty training BEFORE his symptoms of autism? It almost appeared to me that maybe he had a rarer form like CDD?
Childhood disintegrative disorder
These are kids who develop normally for the first 3 years of life. Later they seem to regress and develop some autistic features associated with a severe functional impairment. These children must be thoroughly evaluated for the possibility of the development of seizures, affecting the speech areas of the brain, or Landau Kleffner syndrome (acquired epileptiform aphrasia), where seizure activity "robs" the brain from previously acquired speech.
Has he been evaluated for other disabilities as well?
AS Tammy mentioned NO ONE knows what CAUSES autism.... so its impossible to answer your question if ASD can be caused from a earlier sickness .
I went out to see Lukes mother who was telling me before Luke was 2 he was a happy child. but soon after his birth he was having seizures and was put on Phenobarbitone until he was 9 months old. Since then he hasn't been on any medication. At 2 he had a hernia operation and not long before his 3rd birthday in 2003 he had a febrile illness following an upper respiratory tract infection which ceased him to walk. Lukes mum is worried was it the earlier illness that caused it or all his immunisation that caused it, because she also has a 10 month old baby who is ahead of Luke now. Luke can't put two blocks on top of each other or bush buttons where his little brother can, but Luke's mum is very worry.
Luke is quite tiny for a 4 1/2 year old at the moment for his height he is only at the 3rd Centile and for his weight he is in between 10th and 25th centile.
So should Luke's mum be worried cause her and her husband are thinking of not getting brendan immunised but then they still want him too.
I noticed an odd similarity between Luke and my son, Nate. My son had 2 seizures when he was around 6 months old, then all of a sudden they stopped. The Drs ran all the necessary tests, EEG, EKG, all that stuff- everything was normal. Then around 2 years old I noticed a difference betweenhim and my daughter at that age. I wonder if the seizures have anything to do with it? His paternal grandmother has seizures and some form of mental illness (we don't know what- she wont tell) and my husband has deformities on his fingers and toes. Maybe a link there somewhere?I'll throw in my 2 cents. If I had a baby right now there is no way I would get it anywhere near mercury or lead. I'm not convinced that is or isn't the cause or the trigger. But in my first trimester I had a root canal and they had to drill through the old fillings (which is full of mercury), I had a major re-model done on my 1920s house (lead paint everywhere in it but told the dust was harmless) when he was 15 mos, he had his MMR when he was 15 mos and his favorite food from 12 mos to 18 mos was tuna!!!! I dunno. I can't know. But I'd neeeeever allow my child near anything with mercury in it.
And I asked my doctors about everything above. No, mercury in fillings is harmless except in its liquid state, yaddah, yaddah, blah, blah. I just don't take anyone's word for this stuff anymore.
pat
I think I've heard that vaccinating during/after an illness may also be a factor...make them more susceptible or something to that matter? Maybe a "resident board expert" can verify this?
~Lesley
I'm with you Pat, not a chance in the world would I do it again!
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=124
What vaccines should my child have?
Note: If your child has an organ transplant or is immune suppressed, it is important not to use vaccines made from live viruses. Live virus vaccines are given to prevent measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and oral polio. Your doctor is the best person to ask about which vaccines your child should receive
http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/forum_2/TouretteSyndromeF/5 .25.997.38PMSomeofthisin.html
MMR vaccine must not be given when a child is sick or taking
antibiotics
IN MY OPINION..... If you choose to have your child vaccinated make sure you get the paper from the dr and read it over completely BEFORE your child gets the jab... Some of the info papers will say even a child who has a cold should WAIT to get the vaccination... some warn against past reactions, and allergies etc. So READ IT THOROUGHLY! Ask for thimerasol free vaccines,.... BE CAREFUL! RESEARCH!
I'm sure Paul was sick and taking antibiotics. He was ALWAYS sick and taking antibiotics. Literally not 2 weeks would he be off that he would't be sick again. I have no doubt he was sick and on meds when they vaccinated him. I've got to look that up on his records. I beat myself up for some nebulous wrong I did him....but stuff like this....no one ever told me that!
Sorry. a mini-vent
pat
You definitely have to weigh the pros and cons of immunizations. If I were to have another child, I definitely would get them immunized.
I'm still on the fence and reading about the mercury levels and autism - and I think there's a correlation but make sure you ask for immunizations mercury free - you can request those now. Well, at least in the US you can...it's worth asking about!
There's no telling WHAT causes autism and while you're on the search for an answer, keep looking forward to what is going to help Luke now and in the future.
I was told that because my daughter had chronic ear infections during her first two years of life that it caused her language "delays" and how she processed auditory information. I used to blame her problems on the fact she had tiny ear canals and antibiotics for two years...after she matured a few years, I couldn't really blame the ear infections on her social disorder as well. Looking back, I started asking the pediatrician when she was 2 about Jara's language and different issues - but made no correlation to immunizations. When she was born she always had her hands outstretched and never clenched...which now I know was a sign that she had sensory problems from day one - something I can't attribute to mercury levels or ear infections and antibiotics.
I really believe that infants who later "develop" autism had it from the beginning. It's just harder to spot and takes someone very specialized in the field to notice it at infant stages. People start noticing it when language normally develops and social skills advance to a noticeable level. This just also happens to be the time when they get immunizations as well. Perhaps it's an enzyme or a genetic predisposition that is exacerbated - - I am not an expert in the research field...but for instance in the UK where they have not used mercury in their immunizations for quite some time now - their autism rates are on the rise. Hard to explain. I'm not competant in this area to speculate - so for right now we should just work on what we have been given.
Good luck.
[QUOTE=Dolphin-Sweet]
I went out to see Lukes mother who was telling me before Luke was 2 he was a happy child. but soon after his birth he was having seizures and was put on Phenobarbitone until he was 9 months old. Since then he hasn't been on any medication. At 2 he had a hernia operation and not long before his 3rd birthday in 2003 he had a febrile illness following an upper respiratory tract infection which ceased him to walk. Lukes mum is worried was it the earlier illness that caused it or all his immunisation that caused it, because she also has a 10 month old baby who is ahead of Luke now. Luke can't put two blocks on top of each other or bush buttons where his little brother can, but Luke's mum is very worry.
Luke is quite tiny for a 4 1/2 year old at the moment for his height he is only at the 3rd Centile and for his weight he is in between 10th and 25th centile.
So should Luke's mum be worried cause her and her husband are thinking of not getting brendan immunised but then they still want him too.
[/QUOTE]
I'm a little confused b/c you said he was happy until he was 2, but then at 9 mo he started having seizures? Regardless, I am sure all those meds and trauma could contribute. Probably not one in and of itself, but all of it combined could contribute.
They need to educate themselves on the immunization issue. Weigh the risks of the vax w/ the risk of the disease, for each disease. It takes some time and a lot of thought and soul searching, but they need to decide for themselves.
And as far as getting immunized while sick goes, even mainstream pro-vax Dr's usually will not allow a sick child to get vaxed. You should never do that, even if your child has a sniffle, do not get a vax while they are sick.
my son was born with persistant pulmonary hypertension. the first night he was placed under an oxygen hood and having a really hard time. i dont know if it had anything to do with it but i think if those doctors at the naval hospital would have got him to another hospital and put him on the ventilator that same day it might have made a difference. I beat myself up about alot of things also but i know that ultimatly God is in control and that is comforting.JadenGrace had Pertussis at 12 months and RSV. She was put on steroids for the RSV, at 5 months.
She has been incredibly healthy besides those two major illnesses.
Just don't know...