To ask for your MMR un-scary stories

[WhatisaNarwhal]

DD's MMR has been delayed on the advice of Drs (run of ill health at 1 year made them wonder if immunocompromised in some way - she had 6 months of vicious back to back infections that led to multiple admissions via A&E), but we got the all-clear, 'just bad luck, and a nasty, tenacious case bronchiolitis' and now there's measles in our local community so.... she's 2 and having it tomorrow.

She's only having the MMR - the other 12 month vaccinations (late too) will be given in a couple of months time. We're splitting them out - not for any defined medical reason - but because of her extreme high temps after all previous vaccinations, and the fact that she just reacts strongly to vaccinations, viruses, bacterial infections... she gets so unwell with all of it.

Im not anti-vaxx, and while I know there's no proven link between MMR and autism, but I am very aware that vaccine injuries DO happen. I am an anxious mother, in therapy for over 18 months for PPA/PPD- so please do - for AIBU - be gentle with me - and share your 'debunking the myth' MMR stories. She simply HAS to have this vaccination tomorrow, and I'm v anxious about it.

Apologies, my comment about "Wakefield being onto something" was very poorly worded. I don't think Wakefield was right, and do think he acted fraudulently and my use of his name detracted from the point I was trying to make which is that there may be a link, albeit not the same one he made/ pretended to make.

From various recent studies I've read there is a link between ASD/other neurological conditions and gut health of which we are only starting to scratch the surface really. Theoretically, MMR (or other vaccines and medicines like antibiotics) which may upset gut bacteria could therefore potentially make ASD symptoms more apparent, in SOME children.

This is NOT a reason to avoid vaccination, in my opinion.

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321566.php

futurism.com/scientists-call-for-more-research-into-link-between-autism-and-gut-bacteria/

Fwiw children with autism have changes on their mri scan before they have their mmr. Autism becomes obvious around 1-2 years of age because Thames when you would start to notice a difference in their development. There is no link between the mmr and autism it is much more likely to be a combination of genetic and environmentally factors during pregnancy

Two teenagers, both received MMR.
The eldest given jab in 2001 when all the controversy was on going.

It is concerning the notifications we get from school / college informing us of outbreaks of measles though in the area every now and again.

puglife You're right that there is a lot more research to be done in that field. Of course, there are many other factors which have a much bigger effect on infant gut flora, particularly caesarean birth, formula feeding, and antiobiotic use. I will be very interested to see if any one of these catches the public imagination and endures in the way that the MMR hoax has. Somehow I don't think we'll see hysterical 'bottle feeding causes autism' headlines in the Mail in the way that we did over MMR.

I delayed both DC by about a year. They were both fine, bit of a temp but that was it.

Yep @RexManning in the grand scheme of things a vaccine is probably less of a risk than poor diet for example. And a poor diet has fewer benefits.

I notice that antibiotics (I think maternal) have already been linked in several studies to ASD yet nothing in media (also some antibiotics can much improve ASD symptoms so not clear cut...). I wonder if the media are under pressure not to cause another outrage in case it leads to a loss of herd immunity.

So.... we’re ten days post vax and dd has been sent home from nursery with a raised temp and a case of the grumps... got the call just as I left my colposcopy appointment, and was thinking longingly of a quiet hours lie down at home before going to work in the afternoon.

Nothing too scary so far- she’s eating fine, bfing fine and happy enough when she’s on the boob/ watching the gruffalo on dvd.... presume this is par for the course! And I thought we’d got off Scott free

It might well be unrelated. Is your DD teething or coming down with a cold?

@kasha - she doesn’t seem “unwell” and I know when she is “poorly poorly”- she had chronic brochiolitis last year and was very unwell with it (hospitalised several times) and had a.m number of associated infections.

Teething.... possibly- but all but 4 are through, and no sign of them at all...

If your child is in nursery then she has almost certainly been exposed to another virus there. A reaction to the live virus in the MMR would have happened before now.

I was too old for the MMR, it came in a lot later than you might think - I was born in 1986. I'm also autistic.

There was an outbreak of measles while I was at primary school, about 8 or 9.

My cohort missed out on the mumps vaccine all together, and there was an outbreak during secondary school - they vaccinated us for mumps at the grand old age of 18. Some boys in my year missed an entire fortnight of school during their A-levels, and spent most of it worried about the possibility their balls might swell up(!).

Vaccine injury certainly happens - a good example would be injecting it into the shoulder by mistake. But I've never heard of it happening to anyone I knew, in comparison to measles or mumps.

But to be blunt, the risk from being unvaccinated is much greater. Even if you think the illnesses themselves are minimal, the period of time your children will have to have off school if they catch them is not!

Glad it all went off OK :)

Ah I see. We also had a bronchiolitis admission (mine’s a v prem baby on top of that) that lasted a week.

@rex

MMR live vaccine side effects tend to start from 7-10 days post vaccination

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/mmr-side-effects/

@chouetted

I had the mmr at 18 just prior to sitting my a levels. Was horribly unwell throughout with “non contagious” mumps- had a neck like a marshmallow

DD and DS had MMR. I think DD (will be 6 in August) had her second dose of it. DS will be 3 in July and has had one dose. I suspect I'm on the autism spectrum, so I've been watching closely for any evidence that either of them is. So far, no evidence that either of them is autistic.

I breathed a sigh of relief when they got that first MMR shot. I was worried, particularly about measles. Since too many people don't vaccinate, it's coming back, and it's very contagious. I was glad when they got the shot, as that means it's much less likely that they'll get measles.

I was premature and had mine. I'm absolutely fine.

The like between autism and vaccinations has been debunked.

My daughter was a 28 weeker, had sepsis twice, bacterial meningitis and a rubbish immune system so mild things like colds often turn into croup and require hospitalisation.
She had the MMR at 12 months, so 9 months from her due date and was completely fine, slight rash and a bit grumpy about a week after.

I work in Public Health and know a lot of really heartbreaking stories of children who have died/become disabled as a result of contracting the very diseases that the NHS vaccinates against and provides for free. I would not want to be that parent who has to deal with that.

Not only that, healthy childen who are vaccinated provide a herd immunity so that sick children who have immune problems/react very badly to previous vaccinations can be protected - but even sick children can be vaccinated! My nephew has had a really tough start in life and he's vaccinated to the absolute hilt because his immune system is weak.

I applaud all parents who do the right thing as I had all 3 diseases as a kid (before MMR kicked in) and was gravely ill each time. These days we even have a vaccine for most forms of Meningitis! (A,C,W & Y).

The diseases we can now be vaccinated against FOR FREE are:

Diptheria
Tetanus
Pertussis
Meningitis A, B, C, W, Y
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Varicella Zoster (Chicken Pox)
Measles
Mumps
Rubella
Haemophilus influenzae type b
Influlenza
HPV
Polio
Whooping Cough
Pneumococcus
Rotavirus
Tuberculosis

Sounds like you've decided it's a reaction to the MMR, OP, instead of one of the hundreds of viruses tots are exposed to every day.

I don’t think the OP minds that it’s an MMR reaction per se. I am as pro vaxx as it gets and I don’t think the OP is implying anything other than that her kid is a bit unwell. Which is fine. And she seems to have taken it in her stride.

Thanks @kosha ... couldn’t have put it better myself. Not being hysterical about it, or suggesting indicative of anything “worse”.... just.... saying!

I didn't have the mmr - it didn't exist at the time. I did however have measles before I was 2 and both my parents are still horrified to this day about how ill I was.

All my brood had the mmr. Littlest one had one crabby night a week later but other than that she was fine, the rest of them had no reaction at all including my two other girls who both suffered febrile convulsions at various points.
Good luck x

Sorry if this has already been said... out of all the vaccines to worry over, I would imagine that the MMR is the one most studied and tested given the publicity?

Vaccine damage does happen - all vaccines carry this risk. The risk is usually much less than the vaccine. If you're the unlucky 0.00001% statistic or whatever it is (I made that one up) I'm sure it's of no comfort to you to know that but we have to make choices and weigh up risks - it's probably more sensible to learn how to cross a road safely as a child despite the very unlikely possibility you could be hit by a joyriding car while learning than to never learn at all due to that minimal but real risk.

I actually worried so much I did single measles and single rubella as a toddler (there is no mumps) and intend to get mine the MMR now he's school age. Completely irrational of me, I did what I thought best at the time and he's protected against two. I also got him extra vaccines for things not on the schedule that I felt were higher risks to take than mumps though so some logic.

I would try not to worry too much. If it helps there's some supplements like vitC reducing risk of vaccine damage studies I think - they may be twaddle, no real idea but if giving my child a dose of vitamin C gets me to feel less stressed and vaccinate, it's probably a good thing lol. The fact he takes vitC anyhow is neither here or there