Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

So after watching Jenny McCarthy talk about her son's Autism today, for some reason it REALLY hit me. I never really thought twice about vaccines, I never did research, I just had them done and forgot about them. To me, ignorance is bliss. I didn't even know which vaccine was considered the "cause" before watching. I never even knew what the word Thimerosal meant.

I feel so ignorant Now I feel like as a mom, I should have done the research. I should be more aware. I feel aweful!

After watching her talk about it, it made it VERY real for me. To be honest, it scared the h e l l out of me!

I know it's been discussed on so many other posts, but what do we do? I was never scared of vaccinating Bella, but now, I'm not so sure. Should we be listening to what the "other mommies" are saying (like Jenny discussed)?

If we are to split them up, how do we go about it and when split? What vaccines should we split? Is it only the MMR that we are to be concerned about?

I know my Ped is one of the few out by me that does split them up to an extent, but now I'm questioning if I should take it further?

Can someone please shed some light, educate me and put my brain (which is now on overdrive) at ease.

Message edited 9/18/2007 6:32:25 PM.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I haven't seen the episode yet, I have it on my DVR, but just one thing that I do know is that thermisol is not in vaccines given to children and hasn't been since 1999.

The best thing you can do either way is be educated. My DH is an EMT in the city, and was exposed to Hep B in August, had we not had Christopher vaccinated when he was a newborn, then Christopher (and I) would have had to move out of our house for a month while DH was treated for the exposure. For us, there is no choice.

Do your research, and do what makes you comfortable in the long run. But, just so you know, it is difficult to send a child to school (not impossible) if he or she is not vaccinated.

Don't beat yourself up though

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

The episode today really spoke to me too. I've now decided to split up at least the MMR for DD. You just NEVER know and I would feel better if I knew that I did everything I could (even if there's no link out there) to protect my daughter as much as possible.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I have done so much research on this and I honestly, 100% do NOT believe there is any link to MMR and autism. I feel it is genetic and while I am not a doctor, I have to trust my gut and do what I feel is best which is to vaccinate my son. I don't believe splittling them up will prevent or cause autism..here is some info on the vaccine:

What You Should Know
MMR vaccine protects children against dangerous, even deadly, diseases.

Because signs of autism may appear at around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine, some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism.

Carefully performed scientific studies have found no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism.

The CDC continues to recommend two doses of MMR vaccine for all children.

Additional Facts
MMR is a combination vaccine that protects children from measles, mumps, and rubella (also known as German measles). The first dose of the vaccine is usually given to children 12 to 15 months old. The second dose is usually given between 4 and 6 years of age.

In 1998, a study of autistic children raised the question of a connection between MMR vaccine and autism.

The 1998 study has a number of limitations. For example, the study was very small, involving only 12 children. This is too few cases to make any generalizations about the causes of autism. In addition, the researchers suggested that MMR vaccination caused bowel problems in the children, which then led to autism. However, in some of the children studied, symptoms of autism appeared before symptoms of bowel disease.

In 2004, 10 of the 13 authors of the 1998 study retracted the study's interpretation. The authors stated that the data were not able to establish a causal link between MMR vaccine and autism.

Other larger studies have found no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism. For example, researchers in the UK studied the records of 498 children with autism born between 1979 and 1998. They found:
the percentage of children with autism who received MMR vaccine was the same as the percentage of unaffected children in the region who received MMR vaccine
there was no difference in the age of diagnosis of autism in vaccinated and unvaccinated children
the onset of "regressive" symptoms of autism did not occur within 2, 4, or 6 months of receiving the MMR vaccine.

Groups of experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, agree that MMR vaccine is not responsible for recent increases in the number of children with autism. In 2004, a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there is no association between autism and MMR vaccine or vaccines that contain thimerosal as a preservative.

There is no published scientific evidence showing that there is any benefit to separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I did a lot of research on vaccines. To be honest, at times I felt even MORE confused.

For me I only gave my dd 2 vaccines at a time. 1 was usually a new one, and one was one that she already had that I knew she didn't have a reaction to.

I postponed the Heb B shot. I seperated the MMR shots. To be honest with my next child not only will I seperate the shots but I will wait until they are older than 2 to give it to them.

Vaccines are very important. I always have the fear that if I don't give her a certain vaccine and she gets that disease or virus I would feel terrible - but if she had permanent damage I would also feel awful. These are the hard choices we face as parents.

I read a book about the dangers of some vaccines and it was REALLY extreme for me. But on the other side I don't totally trust my dr. for the proper information either.

either way - your dr. will more than likey give you a hard time. You need to stick to your guns whatever you decide.


eta: My personal belief is that I am not sure that the MMR shot causes autism - but until they DO know what causes it I feel I need to take certain percautions.

Message edited 9/18/2007 6:49:27 PM.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

My neice was diagnosed with PPD NOS and my nephew with Asperger's - they are brother and sister.
I have to say that even as infants, you knew something wasn't right. As an infant my niece didn't want to be held - as she got older, she prefered animals over people. She has tantrums for seemingly no reason. My nephew - very early on, he never spoke - never wanted contact with other people - when he started to use words, he was like a robot.
I'm not convinced it's the vaccines just based on my experiences with my neice and nephew. I will never disregard what some mother's think (as far as the thermisol causing the autism) because I just don't know enough about it. All I can base my feelings on are my experiences with my neice and nephew.
It is a scary and heartbreaking diagnosis.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I am watching Oprah now. I had been hemming and hawing about giving DD the MMR shot at her 1 year ped appointment. For peace of mind, I think I just have to delay it until she is at least 2 years old. I don;t know if autism and the MMR are linked but I don't want to take any chances.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

My fear about NOT vaccinating DD is -- what if she IS exposed to one of these diseases -- through other children or whatever?? I would never forgive myself if she WASN'T vaccinated. We like to travel and will be going to Spain soon, not sure what the vaccines are there these days so I feel it is MY responsibility to protect MY child -- because you don't know what everyone else is doing.....

PS my last dog who was in excellent health died from spinal meningitis -- who would have ever thought????

Message edited 9/18/2007 7:44:10 PM.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Sorry to crash, but does anyone know of any research of children who were not vaccinated and still developed Autism?

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I am delaying the MMR shot. I spoke with the dr at 6 months, he said he doesn't recommend it delaying it. It's just not sitting right with me.

If I risked him not getting measles and mumps from 0-1...I can go from 1-2 years old.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Do your research so you feel comfortable with whatever choice you make.

.

Message edited 8/21/2008 1:36:34 AM.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I have discussed the issue with the Ped and he agreed to split the MMR.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I don't believe the link between autism and vaccinations. That is JMO. I have had my children vaccinated at the pedi's schedule and feel comfortable. They are far better vaccinated than not, IMO.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Posted this on the other thread, but I feel it's worth reposting.

I spoke with my ped at length about this.

His feeling right now is that there are so many parents opting NOT to get their children vaccinated that we are bound to have an epidemic of Measles, Mumps or Rubella in the upcoming years.

And his statement after that is what made me decide to vaccinate "We KNOW measles, mumps and rubella can KILL. We haven't proven that autism is definitely linked to this vaccine. Do you want to risk him dying of something you can prevent?"

I thought that made a lot of sense. So while I may split them up, I'm definitely having DS vaccinated.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

I didn't see the show. Is the link to autism mainly about trying to split the MMR vaccine? Also, when do they get that vaccine? If anyone can recap the show, I'd appreciate it. I'm so upset I didn't get a chance to see it.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Vaccines do NOT cause autism.

I know many, many kids who were not vaccinated because their siblings had autism, their parents blamed the vaccine.

Guess what?

Sibs still had autism.

What does that point to?

Vaccines do not cause autism.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

My opinion:

1. Increasingly broad diagnosis: being that Autism is a "spectrum disorder", there are MANY forms of the disorder, with varying degrees of severity that fall into the "ASD" diagnosis. This includes Asbergers and PDD. It used to be that many children who were just diagnosed as MR (mentally retarded) are now covered under that autism diagnosis.

2. Increased funding for autism treatment=more diagnosis of the disorder = more funding, etc. Believe it or not, some children are diagnosed with ASD who do NOT have autism. These children may have some autistic-like tendencies (such as no eye contact, echolalic speech, self-stimming behaviors) but are actually "just" MR. By diagnosing them with autism, they are better able to receive services.

3. If mercury played any part in causing autism- we would see a definite decrease in new cases. Yes, there are still trace amounts in SOME vaccines, but overall, the level of thimerisol/mercury has been DRASTICALLY decreased in the past 10 years. Many common vaccines have NO thimerisol, yet we still see a rise in new cases.

4. There IS a genetic component- if there weren't, we wouldn't see the amount of siblings on the spectrum that we do. Additionally, this is why we see more boys than girls (3:1) diagnosed- there is something genetically predisposing these children.

5. Personally? There is something *different* in the environment- whether it be pollution, or the preservatives we consume. We are exposed to things nowadays that our parents/grandparents were never exposed to. Couple that with a genetic predisposition + the aforementioned reasons and you have MY opinion as to why the rapid rise in new cases.

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....

i also watched the show ...and it scared me too!!

Re: Spin off to Oprah today, vaccines, MMR and Autism....