12 Week Shots - Baby screamed in pain for days after 8 week ones

[Emmmie]

8 week shots - one of the more traumatic events in my life. My poor baby could not stop screaming, wailing, red in face, losing breath and tears streaming down her cheeks for days. Nothing could stop this, nothing could distract her. We ended up in the A&E.
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I am furious at the GP who completely dissmised any vaccine related concerns I had, I am furious at the nurse who gave the shots and who completely downplayed the side effects, I am furious at myself for just trusting. I did not even go through the vaccine leaflets kindly provided by the NHS before I let them inject my baby.

Anyway, rant over. 12 week shots are coming up. If your baby screamed for days after their 8 week shots, could you please tell me how were they after their 12 week shots?

Please help, I am in absolute agony with worry. I cannot eat or sleep ☹ I simply cannot handle the thought of hurting/damaging her. I am so worried it will be worse this time.

The rotavirus vaccine is an absolute bastard for making them miserable, especially if they're at all prone to iffy tummies to begin with - the saving grace is that it's a lot less of a bastard than actual rotavirus and exponentially better than the intestinal blockages it can cause.

She's much bigger now and her digestive system is a bit further on so it should be much less uncomfortable for her this time, DS was miserable with his first dose and didn't notice the second, if that's any reassurance.

Thank you Amrythings!
That is nice to hear.

It's awful, isn't it? It makes you feel so helpless seeing them in pain; I expect that's where the anger comes from.

In my experience (4 babies), the 8 week vaccinations are by far the worst. I think the unsettled behaviour comes from feeling poorly because of the usual reactions to the vaccinations, rather than the injection site being too painful. I should think the 12 week vaccinations will be much better OP, but a pp's suggestion of ibuprofen instead of paracetamol might work. Check the earliest age you can can use it though, as I've forgotten.

Rotavirus made my daughter very unhappy at 8 weeks. She seemed to have trapped wind and then was really very farty. I ended up doing some baby massage moves on her which seemed to release the wind and set off a poonami but she perked up after a couple of days. Hope 12 week jabs are better for you. I have rubella and measles as a kid and it was miserable. My uncle is deaf due to childhood measles, he is 76 this year and hasn't been able to hear properly since he was 5. Distressing though it is to see your baby so upset it's a much shorter term problem.

For future. Babies need theee doses of paracetamol when given Men B at eight and sixteen weeks, at four to six hourly intervals regardless.
Up to 48 hours if necessary.
Did they not advise this?

cptartapp
They did advise to give one dose after the appointment ,but not to keep on giving the medicine if there is no fever. So I gave her one dose of paracetamol after the appointment, and then again 6 hours later when she started screaming and then 6 hours after that when she started screaming again. So it worked out to be 3 doses anyway.

The nhs leaflet we were given specifically said 3 doses of paracetamol after the men b vaccine.

Pinkflipflop85 - I did end up giving at least 3 doses.

DS1 screamed waking up from sleep after 8 week hand. Literally woke up screaming, I thought he must have been stung by a wasp or something. Screamed on and off for the rest of the day. Dr explained that because he hadn’t already had a cold etc he was panicking at the slight temperature. Next day he was fine but he had burst a blood vessel in one eye. I was advised to give a dose of nurofen before the 12 week jabs and although he did scream a bit it was a lot less. 16 week jabs / absolutely fine.
OP - the illnesses are a lot worse. Next door neighbours child had measles years ago, too young for MMR but caught it from an unvaccinated child who passed it to several at a baby and toddler group. Not good - he was very ill and for a while there were concerns about long term consequences.
I was the parent who said to the GP don’t waste time on all that reassurance crap, just vaccinate him. I know enough about child mortality rates in generations gone by to know why vaccinations are vital.

Give three doses of paracetamol regardless of fever for Men B.
Those are the guidelines. Practice nurse.
Hoping you have a better experience next time.

Did you give her any calpol?

@Emmmie I’m sorry that you had a worrying time after the 8 week jabs, sounds very miserable for you and your baby. My little one wasn’t anywhere near the same as yours, though she was unsettled with a high temp for a few days afterwards. I was a bit anxious about the 12 week jab side effects too, but they passed by smoothly with no side effects at all - it is the meningitis jab that reacts with the others apparently, and as it’s not given at the 12 week appointment, babies don’t tend to react (if they do at all - not all will). I hope you have a more positive experience this time around.

Maray, same with my little one. She woke up screaming from her nap. I am sure she was scared, confused and in pain. Very hard to watch.
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2020N thank you very much for your kind words. I hope next time will be better too. ⚘

so i’ve never been anti vax but i’m seriously considering it. after having my second child in march.(both exclusively breastfed) my son is 5 years old and i’ve never had any health issues with him. barely been to the doctors with him since he was born, other than a blocked tear duct since birth he’s always been fit and healthy. i had my daughter in march this year and i’m adamant her 8 week immunisations have changed her. she’s been unwell since. she’s now 17 weeks old and i don’t think i’ve had a day that she’s been full health since her injections it started with the usual things that’s expected with immunisation, high temperature. miserable and groggy for first few days. then went on to get a fissure (bleeding from a tear in bum) roughly a week after which we was sent away from the hospital for it to sort itself out. told it was coincidence, her poo then was bright green for 2 weeks after again doctors had no concern and sent me away with the advise that babies poo change all the time (another coincidence) her poo was green and frothy which i know was not normal for my baby. her poo now fluctuates between the yellow healthy poos and green slimey poo. she’s had snotty cold since that’s just not going away. but because she’s smiley and happy. wet nappies, with no temperature the doctors still have no concern. she’s now got a cough which i’ve tested incase covid but it’s not that. also has a crying period in the evening where i can’t console her with anything i try. her temperature fluctuates going from 36.1 her usual. but sometimes drops to 35.4 but because it’s not lower then 35 it’s not a cause for concern. i really worry that something is seriously wrong with her and it’s not being picked up. i believe it’s all linked to her jabs at 8 weeks. surely it cannot all be coincidence. she’s such a happy baby dispute all this but i just feel like she’s been poorly with various things since the jabs. last week she had a bulging soft spot which i had pictures luckily but by the time doctor saw her it had gone down again sent away no test done. except the advise if it happens again come back. she’s over due her second lot but every time she’s been to get them she’s too poorly for her to have them which i was just googling to find out if anyone had any similar experiences. thought i’d share and writing this i’ve decided i’m not going to let her have anyway. i’m going to take her to doctors tomorrow and see if they can look more into this. i’m in process of going dairy free to see if that helps with the poo incase she’s intolerant but haven’t seen any changes yet. if anyone has any answers to any of this please let me know because i’m literally so anxious all the time that something else going to happen to her

sorry i forgot to add another weird thing that she does since her vaccinations. originally i thought nothing of it but she became super jumpy. every time i went to talk to her i had to approach her slowly so she could see me coming. or if i moved her i had to do it super slow. couldn’t just pick her up out of her cot at normal speed because she would flinch and cry hysterically. she still very jumpy if there’s a loud noise or she doesn’t see you coming. if i’m holding her i can’t even shout to even the next room to my son or partner because it literally scares the life out her and she cries like you’ve never heard before. it’s heartbreaking.

You can split them it’s what I’ve done .

1 vaccination a month starting at 8 weeks. It’s worked so well for us and the gp understood and was totally accommodating

@hellohelpers see how cutting dairy goes but please please please vaccinate your children.

My uncle lost the use of his arm to polio, my aunt lost hearing to measles, my husband lost his testicle to mumps, my ex lost his baby sister to meningitis .....

Green poo is nothing compared to that

@hellohelpers the reality is you are putting her life at risk if you don’t get her vaccinated. If she gets something like measles (which is on the rise in the U.K.) she could die or be seriously disabled.

Her digestive issues definitely sound more like an allergy than anything else. After two weeks of dairy free you should start to see a difference if it is a dairy allergy. Bear in mind you should also cut soya if you eat it, because it is often a related allergy.

But get her vaccinated. Every credible medical professional recommends vaccination. It’s the single most important decision you can make for your baby’s health. It’s terrible to see them unwell, so just think about the horrific and deadly illnesses you’re saving her from by having her vaccinated.

Give calpol before the jab so it has time to work.

Vaccines are life saving. Do not delay

hi thanks for all your replies. before her first lot i asked if i could have them done separately. and they basically told me i couldn’t because they come already pre mixed. it’s not that i don’t want her vaccinated. i most certainly do!! it’s a no win situation because i now have another anxiety. for example if i see a mark on her im worried it’s going to be meningitis. vice versa for the other ones she would be protected from if she had had them. i just think that they give them too many in one go that their tiny bodies can’t handle. that being said i haven’t not had her seconds ones because i don’t want them. it’s just typically every time i’ve been and theyve checked her temperature it’s been high so they wouldn’t do them. my niece had seizures after her 3rd lot and the paramedics couldn’t believe all the things they had given her in the immunisations at once and had to phone doctors to clarify it was true. so this has made me more nervous. however i will push for them to be done separately now i know others have done this. i just think it’s like us having polio. meningitis. measles all at the same time. i hope her illnesses are unrelated to the vaccines, and i will carry on dairy free to see if there’s any improvement with her poo. maybe it is all just general illnesses that she’s caught or developed as she’s grown. but just seems weird it all started after them, i’ve never had to deal with a poorly baby so often or had this much worry over it. so it’s all new and stressful. i feel like i’m going to miss something and it be something serious.. maybe my anxiety is just getting the better of me i don’t know but i never felt like this with my son. he’s fully immunised. never had a problem. never been ill.

@Emmmie how was your little one after their 12 weeks vaccinations? Mine has his today and he was awful after his 8 week ones. Hoping that 12 week ones won't be as bad 🤞🏼

Just had our 8 week vaccinations this week. DS has been unsettled for a few days now (wanting to be held more, having intense crying jags in the evening whereas he wasn't beforehand). The nursing helpline was wonderful in easing our concerns - basically said that it could just as easily be colic, and that we shouldn't stress unless he had a fever or a rash, or a bloody nappy.

It's upsetting to see baby in that state, but I'm still 100% pro-vaccination.

I found the 12 month ones the worst - they’re older so far more aware of what’s going on, there are four needles IIRC and there’s a range of side effects that can last for 3-4 weeks.

my niece had seizures after her 3rd lot and the paramedics couldn’t believe all the things they had given her in the immunisations at once and had to phone doctors to clarify it was true.

Your poor niece! I agree it does seem like a lot for these tiny babies to take. I was highly anxious about side effects with my DC, but it just has to be done really. In the event they were pretty much fine as well.