Has anyone experienced a serious reaction to infant vaccines and paused afterward?

[Ellerdcc]

’m looking to connect with other parents who’ve been in a similar situation.

My baby had a severe reaction after his 10-week vaccinations, including abnormal breathing, colour change, lethargy, refusal to feed, and repeated episodes of respiratory distress over 24 hours. He remained unwell for days and took over two weeks to recover. It was incredibly traumatic. He is now 4 months old and we have paused all vaccines.

Since then, we’ve paused further vaccines while seeking specialist advice. What’s been hardest is feeling dismissed — being told it “couldn’t be the vaccines,” despite the symptoms falling under recognised severe adverse reactions.

I’m not anti-vaccine. I consented in good faith. I’m just trying to keep my child safe after a serious event and would really value hearing from others who:

paused or stopped after a severe reaction
sought specialist input
struggled with being dismissed
had to make difficult risk-based decisions

If you’re comfortable sharing your experience (here or via message), I’d really appreciate it.

Please be kind — this has been a lot.

Thank you 🤍

My DS had a bad reaction to his pre school vaccines. Feel free to PM me.

Why have the hospital that treated his respiratory distress said? They said it wasn’t caused by the vaccine? Do you think they’re lying.

My daughter had a really awful reaction to her first set at 8 weeks, she was hospitalised for two weeks. It was the single worst thing that I have ever experienced as a parent. However, without being glib, her dying of e.g. measles would be worse so we chose to continue. We split future sets so she wasn't getting too many at once, and delayed all vaccinations until the corrected age (she was born prematurely). I was shitting it but she has been completely fine for every one ever since.

We saw 3 drs in A&E and they all said something different. 1 said it might be, it might not be there’s no way of knowing. One said resp isn’t a side affect so couldn’t be the vaccine so unsure why he’s reacted this way. Weird thing it’s listed as a reported adverse side affect with 1 in 100 case being reported.

My son had an adverse reaction to his first MMR vaccine and he became very quiet and withdrawn for several weeks afterwards. Physically he had a short lived fever but I have found that people can be very dismissive of any report of adverse events from vaccines. The incidence of vaccine damage may be low but does exist and I’m also pro vaccine

Yes dc2 had seizures. Didn't have any more vaccines until at least a year or so after Dr's could finally explain what was going on andnI could feel confident it was safe. It did take them that long to convince me that it wasn't an adverse reaction. It turned out that dc2 actually had a low threshold for seizures due to an underlying condition, and they eventually grew out of the seizures.

So sorry to hear about your bad experience, OP. I've not had anything with my children but personally I've experienced a serious adverse reaction to an off label antipsychotic prescribed after a head injury and post concussion syndrome a decade ago.

Unfortunately it injured me permanently by giving me a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia that is a bit like Tourette's and Parkinson's disease combined 😕

Yes, I have been dismissed and gaslighted by medical professionals and it's terrible not to have validation when you know where it went wrong, and what happened is true. I had been fobbed off by thrre different neurologists before one confirmed that I had my movement disorder, which I actually self diagnosed .

I remember my dad being told by a doctor when i was a baby to be careful with vaccinations that I had too, as I was extremely premature and 2lbs, so more vulnerable.

Some people are good and well meaning, but it isn't always easy to find them.

Hello @Ellerdcc we're really sorry to hear about you baby's reaction. We hope he's fully recovered now and you're okay too. If you're struggling to get answers IRL, you might benefit from posting on our new Q&A with two NHS experts here. Best wishes, MNHQ.