Very Very anxious about mmr

[ariane5]

My 3 dcs (10,5 and 2) have had all their jabs except mmr. When dd1 was little I made the decision not to have it done as read so much about it that scared me and I couldn't bear to give her something that could potentially make her ill.

I know that the mmr is now supposedly safe and the doctor who caused the initial worry struck off but I cannot get out of my head what I read.My new gp has been on and on at me for a good 18months to get dcs vaccinated with mmr and I have cancelled numerous appts-now EVERYTIME I go to gp they spend at least 15 minutes asking me to have mmr-they even said last week that any one of measles/mumps/rubella could be fatal to my children and were quite aggressive in getting this point across-not the best idea as Iam 7 months pg, terribly hormonal and worried about the jab anyway without feeling like my children could be struck down at any time and be seriously ill-it doesn't help me make a decision when they are being so pushy.

ds and dd2 have severe egg allergy too but they have said they would be fine to have it done at gp surgery and would not have a reaction.

I feel torn-if i do it I will be terrified and not sleep for a good 3 weeks untill all3 components of the jab have worked in case of a severe reaction and if i don't I will be panicking that they will catch measles/mumps/rubella.

All 3 have other health issues-a genetic disorder affecting connective tissue(eds) dd1 has a chest prob(pectus excavatum) causing reduced lung capacity and ds and dd2 severe allergies and a resulting poor diet.All 3 catch EVERYTHING going and are unwell a great deal and the gp has mentioned that their immune systems are not great and measles etc could be very bad for them.

I have tried everything to come to a decision but the more I read the more confused and upset Iam not knowing what to do and I feel so pushed by the gp and every dr i see at the surgery.

I really do not know what to do.

It just seems to have got relentless every time I go to gp for myself or one of the dcs they bring it up at end of every appt and proceed to really scare me with telling me how ill the children could be.I have had phone calls too from them wanting to talk about it and Iam just at the point where I think twice if iam ill myself about going as i know i have to factor in an extra 15-20 mins at end of appt for the 'talk'.

To be honest ariane5, I would be more anxious about your children (and others) getting measles if I was you

I am pro vaccination. I strongly feel that I simply do not know as much as someone who is a qualified scientist and who has worked in the area of vaccines for years and years and who publish peer reviewed articles about it. I trust the thousands of people who do work in this field instead along with the health profession as a whole. I am slightly baffled at those un medically trained people who read a few articles and decide not to vaccinate as it's "unsafe" or "too many at once", or other guff along those lines. Go and train as a doctor for 6 years and then specialise and then start research and then you'll have some credibility.

From a personal pov, my then 1 year old caught mumps a week before her mmr was due from a child whose parents "didn't believe in vaccination". Cheers for that, idiot parent. My Dd was really very poorly.

My little one had her booster MMR this week. I did ask out of interest what the take up was of MMR in my local area and the nurse said almost 100% "because people were sensible about protecting their children round here". Un PC answer, but it made me smile . Perhaps her answer should have been "because we spend time allaying concerns with evidence based research" because I'm sure that's really the case!

I can understand why you are anxious, I really can. The reporting around MMR was inexcusably biased, and has done a lot of harm. Maybe try and open the discussion by talking about your fears and concerns rather than scrambling round for questions when it's brought up by them? To your GP surgery, spending half an hour with you going through everything is better in the long run than bullying you for a few minutes every single time you see them.

Oh - before I go - www.blacktriangle.org/blog/?p=715

And he was talking about the old measles jab, which was live and therefore had a higher risk of complications

I felt just the same as you OP, and got the single jabs for my two. My surgery took a bit of convincing that this was the way we HAD gone and kept sending reminders even tho we had the paperwork. TBH it was very expensive to do it this way as not available on NHS, but we know our DDs are vaccinated against these nasty diseases without the (misplaced, I know) worry of the triple jab.
If I was having to make the decision now...I just don't know...I wish that Dr hadn't put so much doubt in people's minds. It leads to a kind of 'no smoke without fire' mentality.
Good luck, I'm sure you will make the right decision, don't let a bullying GP cloud the matter further,ignore how he's saying it and try to listen to what he's saying.
Maybe you could write your worries down and ask to meet with the practice manager?

Just to add another anecdote to Callins, my sister and I both had measles, mumps and rubella as children with no ill effects whatsoever. Both my boys have had rubella (they were both under a year). Mumps is also usually a mild childhood disease (about 1/3 of cases show no symptoms at all) and if you look up mumps on the HPA website you will see that there is no firm evidence to show that mumps causes sterility (the risk usually given for post-pubescent males).

Measles is very rarely dangerous in well nourished, healthy children and while it tragically kills thousands every year in developing countries there have been 2 deaths in the UK in the last 20 or so years, both in immunocompromised children.

Obviously it's your decision to make - please don't allow yourself to be bullied and scaremongered into it. Inform yourself as much as possible about the diseases themselves, their incidence rates and the risks of complications and decide what you feel most comfortable with whether it's delayed vaccinations, scheduled vaccinations, single vaccinations or no vaccinations.

Also, please don't let the 'greater good' herd immunity arguments get to you. Very few of them would pay to get their children vaccinated against CP even though it can also be dangerous to immunocompromised people. They very rarely put their money where their mouth is.

There will always be a certain percentage of the population who will not be vaccinated due to various reasons. Your children will be protected by the others who do choose to vaccinate ariane, so don't worry too much. The likelihood of your children getting measles is relatively small. Just be sure to warn your daughter about rubella when she's older - she can get a vaccine when she's a teenager if she wants to. Getting pregnant without the rubella vaccine is a very bad idea.

Callin, then she'd be better off having the opportunity to contract it naturally and having her immunity tested when she's older to see if she needs it.

Sorry Callin, we x-posted there. :)

Wasn't it on the news last night about there being a measles outbreak in Liverpool?

re depending on others getting their jabs, you might want to look into the uptake in your area

around here there is quite a low uptake or MMR and there have been a couple of measles outbreaks at schools - a quick google reminds me that one child ended up on a ventilator in hosp but i haven't looked too carefully to see exactly how many schools / how many children were very ill etc

Might be worth checking the uptake in your area and whether there have been any outbreaks. The idea that in the UK uptake is such that generally herd immunity is in place is not correct I'm afraid.

U can get them separately now hon x it's not routinely offered as they just expect people to have the mmr but it is possible to have them done as single jabs x but u will have to speak to ur gp and possibly be prepared to pay for them to be done privately x there's always gonna be people who think u r being silly but it seems to me u just wanna make the best decision fir ur children what u need is some unbiased information that gives u all the facts sure u can find it on line x wishing u good luck hon and I hope u manage to come to a decision that u r totally happy with x x

Leonie. Disgusting? Really? What moreso than parents, like you, who put all children at risk from measles because they may have had the misfortune to read the, massively discredited, pile of crap Wakefield wrote.

And frankly I will remind you , OP, as many times as I wish that you are risking my children when you don't vaccinate yours. Shame on you. My children are as important to me as yours are to you.

Posie, you vaccinated your children yes? Then why do you feel the OP is putting yours at risk? Unless you think the vaccine doesn't work of course...

Bumbley.....you do realise vaccines are herd vaccines, right? You understand that concept?

Also, some leople's decision pt to vaccinate/selectively vaccinate/delay vaccinations has absolutely nothing to do with Wakefield.

herd immunity....

'herd vaccines'