really don't want to be a bore but doctor just degraded me over mmr :(

[jinglybits]

went to docs today with ds (13.5 mths) to discuss mmr jabs. tried to put my point across but am very frazzled and braindead (!) practically single mum!!...and she just totally shot me down, dismissed my points and made me feel like a foolish ignorant highly-strung mother Have definately decided to have single jabs (can't be bother to try to verbalise reasons...have already failed at that once today!!)is there any where else (in london) i can do that without going through my gp and without it costing the roof? or alternatively what can i say to silence my beloved doc! would 'look i don't wish to discuss it i've just decided now' suffice? is there anyone who feels the same with greater literacy wit than me?!

[soapbox]

The GP can't give you single jabs so no point having the debate!

You need to go to one of the single jab clinics like Direct Health 2000 in Eltham. There are other threads on here which have details of these clinics.

Expect to pay a fair bit though - around £200 for the course is the norm I think.

[jinglybits]

omg she can't! had no idea, what on earth was i doing in there then! silly me! thankyou soapbox will check for a thread about the clinic!

[lunachic]

google it- i found a clinic by googling but cant remember name (sorry ) jabs were roundabout £100 each

[Chuffed]

jabs website have a 'list' of dr's that do singles it is one of those auto response emails.
There are quite a few different clinics around the London area, some make you sign on and almost prepay others don't.
That might be a good place to start.

[emily05]

what an arse! You dont have to go through your doctor at all. When we had ds single jabs, the clinic sent a letter to our doctors informing them after each jab, that should be enough.
It is up to you what you do, not your doctor. My doctor was really encouraging.

I found my clinic through jabs website they e-mailed me a full list. My clinc was great and I am really pleased we did the single jabs now (especially since we have found out that ds is highly allergic to egg)
good luck x

[Socci]

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[Sarahx2005]

Hi, We have been looking into single jabs as we really don't want our daughter to have MMR - although our other 3 children had it with seemingly no side effects. We did lose our 3rd child 3 years ago to a brain tumour but it's very doubtful that MMR was anything to do with that. More likely to be the aspartame (sweetner) that they put in our kids 'no added sugar' drinks and foods.
Anyway I'm a bit concerned that the single jabs may not be as effective as the MMR.
She's 15 months now and there's no hurry. There doesn't seem to be any outbreaks of these diseases in the UK at the moment. If she does have the MMR she will be well over two - I think that they give it far too young now, I'm sure my other kids were all over 18 months.
My friends daughter is severly disabled as a direct result of MMR so coupled with that and losing our son we are EXTRA EXTRA careful.
You need to make your own decision BUT the doctor should give you all the information that you need - not just his point of view.
The reason for ever giving a triple vac in the first place is down to money! Much more time/cost effective to give the lot in one go - I heard a top specialist say that we don't even give triple vaccines to cattle! .
Anyway if you'd like to chat further I'd be happy to help.
We are still undecided - but one thing is for sure - there's no way she's having it till she's older and her immune system is more mature, but I think we are more likely to go for the singles.
Sarah xx

[Sarahx2005]

I just read soapbox's thread on the cost. The local GP that does the single vacs here charges about £25 for registration and I think the first jab is around £95 (usually measles). Then it's similar for the other two BUT you have to leave it about a year in between each jab so there's plenty of time to save up!
It's really wrong that we are not given the choice to have single jabs. The vaccines are there and we should be able to have them on the NHS - they are forcing us to have what they consider to be the most cost effective and not what's necessarily best for our children!
Sarah xx

[spidermama]

Agree with Socci. Best not discuss things with doc unless you intend to go down conventional route. They can be a bit blinkered I find. Like you though I get tongue tied and frustrated trying to put across my views on vaccination. I try not to do it any more. I have strong, hearfelt opinions which I keep to myself.

[jane37]

thanks for all your support, feeling a bit tougher and more grrr! today! shame we have to fot the bill for the expense of singles, was not aware of this, although it does not change my anti mmr standpoint. just feel that we should be able to make our own informed choice and receive nhs service, people would perhaps be less sceptical of mmr if there was a choice...then again i suppose everyone might opt for singles, and some people don't like having to make their own decisions do they and just get flustered! just seems unfair, the state dictating what they think is an acceptable level of risk. will get off soapbox now, not wishing to get anyones back up at all, strongly believe in individual (including individual parents) rights and freedom of choice. with the money issue though its not fair that some parents choices are restricted by the case of what they can afford

[Davros]

We went to the Holborn Medical Centre in Lambs Conduit St, near to Great Ormond St. I can't remember the cost but you only pay for one at a time and have them 6 mos to a year apart so the cost is not so bad. The only reason sinelge are "not as effective" as the MMR is because there is a gap iyswim. I also still don't see the logic in little babies being immunised against two illnesses (Rubella and mumps) that are not a danger to THEM but to other, older people. Although I have a child with autism I don't see no immunisation as a safe option for my younger one but my son does not have the sickly, allergic profile of some autistic children.

[RnB]

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[nooka]

Sorry that you had a bad time at your GP today jinglybits. Here are a few comments on some of the posts here.

The triple vaccine is not given because of cost effectiveness (although I'm not sure why that should be thought of as a problem - after all the NHS is paid for by our taxes). It's given to ensure good uptake, as in general people are more likely to have one jab than three.

If you do chose to go down the single vaccines route make sure that you go to somewhere you are really sure is well run. There have been problems around fraud and also vaccine storage (live vaccines have to be stored very carefully at the right temperature).

The mumps vaccine is problematic, as it's not made in very many places anymore due to MMR. Some strains are not very effective.

Depending on where you live there are both mumps and measles outbreaks around at the moment.

Finally immunisation programmes are there primarily to protect the population. It's difficult to tell what child or adult may or may not have a bad illness (measles and mumps can occasionally kill/severly disable) or what unborn baby could get a rubella disability. Some people are more vulnerable and cannot have immunisations for example because they are immunosuppressed. My brothers and sisters and I all had rubella as children and my mother lost a baby as a result, so my views are stronger as a result (also know someone who is deaf as a result of measles).

Of course as a parent it's a very hard decision, and you have to make a risk assessment that you are comfortable with. My mother refused to get us immunised against anything, but then made sure she took us to "chicken pox parties" and socialised with other children with measles/mumps etc!

Hope that you find an option that you are happy with.