MMR

[fuzzywuzzy]

This topic has probably been done to death, but dd has now reached the age where her appointment has come through the post, and I was wondering what have other mums done, if you had the single jabs don'e which clinic did you use?? Originally I was planning to have the single vacs done, strangely the clinic reccommends dd be over thirteen months whereas with the MMR the appointment comes at just 12 months....
From what I remember of my own experience, I think I personally was about three when I had the measles jab and then eleven when I had the Reubella jab, I don't recall ever having one for mumps but must dig out my old medical records when I'm next at my mothers. Please don't get mad at me for being hesitant over this, my dd is the most important part of my life......

We went to Dr Seyedi in Staines for Measles and Rubella but he was unable to get mumps at the time so we went to Dr Powell-Brett in Knightsbridge. A friend went somewhere in Oxford for all three. We had measles when DS was 18 months and rubells 3-4 months after that then the same for mumps. This week DS is having an immumity blood test and providing it shows he is immune we won't be paying for singles for pre-school boosters . He is now 4.5. HTH

Hi fuzzywuzzy - dont think anyone will get mad at you for being hesitant - I think everyone finds this such a difficult decision.

For what its worth I eventually decided to (reluctantly) have the triple vaccine. The only deciding factor for me was that I was at least acting on my GP's advice and was slightly concerned about the controls kept over the clinics offering single vaccines.

I wasn't happy about my decision though and really do feel that parents should be given the option of single vaccines through their GP's.

My best friends child is exactly the same age and she did decide to go for the single vaccine. She found a clinic via JABS who I think you can find on the internet.

HTH
Kizziex

it HAS been done a lot, but there is always scope for more discussion. There have been some pretty heated debates actually! my dd had single jabs, mainly beciause she suffered from very bad eczema as a baby and a hoemeopath suggested it may have been triggered by the 2,3,and 4 month jabs.I also did a lot of research and we concluded single jabs were a lot better and less risky than the MMR. Certain parents on this board are very clued up about MMR research ( eg jimjams)and you can do a search to find out their views.My view is - if in doubt, have single jabs. It does cost and is a hassle as it isn;t locally available but for us it was worth it.I would NEVER have the MMR if I had a second child. As far as I am concerned there are definite links between the incidence of autism and bowel disease and the MMR. The government would say I was spouting crap - but they would, wouldn't they? it's a hard decision, but if you think about it, would you prefer to have one vaccine at a time injected into your baby's body,with time for recovery in between, or three at the same time? good luck!

Thank you, this is really helping. I'm mainly worried about the triple jabs as dd had an alarming reaction to the dtp (I think that's what the first round of jabs are called), she went all floppy and unresponsive for a while which scared me to death she's fine now but I do not want to go through that ever. On the other hand I don't want to leave her un-immunised as it would also pose a risk. Right now I'm so paranoid anything remotely rash like terrifies me!!!
Thank-You all I'll check out both the Holborn medical centre and the jabs link but Staines is a bit far for me hopefully your ds's immunity results are good stinky, I really hate watching little babies/toddlers having needles stuck in them....

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Like everyone else I did my research and much soul-searching and opted for the MMR in the end. Might be worth while having a chat with your g.p. Whether it's the single jabs or the MMR think it's worthwhile having some cover.

You're better off having whatever you do after 15 months (or even 18 months- as the measles component is more likely to work post 15-18 monthish.)

You won;t have had mumps- it wasn't introduced until it was packaged with the MMR in the UK.

DS1 had measles from Dr Seyedi as well (lovlely man) at 15 months. He hasn't had anything else (although he has caught rubella naturally) and he won't be having boosters. He did almost have mumps with Dr Seyedi but luckily there was none available so that didn't happen. Ds2 hasn't had anything at all so I'm not very up to date (ds1 is 5 now) on single jabs, but I would recommend Dr Seyedi if you are anywhere near Egham and decide to go for singles.

fuzzy - it is worth you searching through all the previous mmr info on this site - there are tons of threads about it with some useful information.

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Robinw, I agree I think that this debate should be more balanced.

The problem is the balance is unequal with the government paying fees to GPs for meeting vacination targets, therefore providing an incentive to give a positive spin on the use of MMR and the pharmaceutical industry providing vast funds for the marketing of there products.

I don't know which side is "right", I just know that when there has been a remote risk with other health issues the action has been to do more (independent) research to gain a better insight: not to castigate those who wish to be causious.

I thought this was supposed to be a free society, but with the issues of vacination there appears to be a growing tendency to bully the disentor.

Has anyone done single jabs for Measles and Rubella but been advised by clinic to wait for mumps til around 8 yrs to cover thru puberty?
My second child is in this situation and has now been called for booster MMR. I am now reasonably happy for him to have this but where will it leave him in terms of mumps, can I get immunity blood tests on NHS once he has had booster? Any help appreciated!

There are many routes to autism. The matallothionein and mercury situation is, as robinw quite rightly pointed out different to the MMR issue. The metallothionein + mercury may indeed be the most commn route to autism, but even Walsh who is the man behind this theory has said that metallothionein malfuncttion may be involved in cases of regression following MMR as metallothionein proteins are involved in the immune response to viruses.

Vaccine strain measles virus has been found in the guts and spinal fluid of children with autism and gut disease. This does not prove a link but does suggest more research is needed as Alan P has said.

I have been known to lose my temper on MMR threads- normally when I'm told that mother's who thought their child was normal just "hadn't noticed", or "wanted to blame someone". I live with severe autism every day and believe me you know the difference if your child changes over a very short time period.

Righto off to be abusive to someone else now......

the booster isn;t a booster as such - its to catch the children who didn't develop immunity following MMR first time round, so if it works it won't make any difference that he's only had one shot.

hi fuzzywuzzy

fwiw - my dd is 15 months and had her MMR injection 2 weeks ago. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but having researched and wondered about it since she was conceived I felt that, for us, to give her the injection was the safest option.

My ds is 8 years old and has high functioning autism. He did get the MMR injection, but we knew from about 5 months old that things weren't 'right'. I have asked other parents at the parent support group of children with Aspergers/HF Autism if they thought the MMR had any impact - and they all (parents of about 15 children) did not believe that the MMR had any impact on their child. They all did think (like myself) that genetics had more to do with it.

As I said this is just my opinion and what we decided to do. It is a very hard decision to make but whatever you decide will be the best for your family.

HTH

Interesting Rebi. I too don't think that MMR affected my autistic son and there's clear genetic indicators in my family (2 others on the spectrum). But I just think I'll be able to bring myself to give my lovely, interactive and playful baby DD the MMR. It would be by far the easier thing to do. I'm not sure but my DH is aedamant that she won't have it.
Dino, I've always understood that the booster is to catch the 10% or whatever that may not have immunity from the first jab but can't remember any documentation. If you like, I'll email someone who would probably know, our ABA support group has 3 GPS who are members, i.e. parents of ASD children!!!

Durr! That should say "I DON'T think...."

Robinw I appreciate your point of view too I'm asking as I want to both sides of the debate to be aired. Either way dd is not going to remain unimmunised. For what it's worth, I found out about the thiomersal preservative, after we'd had dd done with the regular set. Actually a thiomersal free set of jabs are available on the NHS (I'm talking about the DTP here btw), but you have to ask for it, it's called infanrix for anyone who's interested. It's made by a UK supplier but is more expensive than the other lot so if you don't ask because you didn't know about it you get the cheaper one with the thiomersal preservative. This baby is getting infanrix!!! Jimjams thank-you, I had no idea that the jabs were better taken after 15 months I shall take your advice... Thank you all this paranoid first time mum very much appreciates it.

I know what you mean Davros - I have spent the last two weeks watching dd's behaviour for any changes! My dh and I were in total agreement though that it was the right decision to make. I don't honestly know what I would have done if he had been anti-MMR. He is a scientist and looks at things in that sort of way iykwim. So that helped.

Also I don't know what we would have done if dd had been a ds. It is boys in our family who seem to be affected. (Although my sister had a ds 8 months ago and so far he isn't showing any un-nt behaviour).

anyone see this?

fuzzywuzzy, don't know where you are but if you're in/near London we used a Dr Primavesi for single jabs, who's in Harley St or near there - used to work at the Portland. Very busy though, need to make appointments far in advance.

dinosaur, we had the same message about the booster being there to catch "missed" immunisations, and for ds's preschool check Dr Primavesi's surgery organised a blood test to check antibodies (ideas is if you pass no booster needed). I believe there's a bit of controversy though (what a surprise) about whether the bloodtest antibody check is completely reliable. Still, we relied on the strong results to decide not to give ds the booster. (Sorry if this is telling you what you already know!)

The "pros" reckon about 10% of cases of autism are caused by MMR (this includes people like Wakefield, Shattock). So it's not really surprising that most parents of autistic children don't think it was involved. I know a couple who do- and their stories are quite different from the norm.

Dinosaur I'll have a look for you. It will act as a booster even if its given as a stop gap- as any re-exposure will. The states give a true booster in the teens as immunity often begins to wane then.

Jimjams - that makes sense. I didn't know the figures. In my own inept and unscientific research I came to the personal conclusion that where MMR has been felt to be a cause, the child has had 'full blown' autism, rather than Aspergers or HFA.