took the vaccination plunge

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My son cut his foot and needed a tetanus shot. He hasn't had any vaccinations other than flu shots in about 8 years, since he starting having what seemed like absence seizures after getting them as a baby.

I decided that since he was getting the tetanus shot anyway, and petussis is epidemic right now, he might as well get the combined shot. They gave him what's called a Tdap, the older kids version of DTaP.

I freaked out a bit when my husband brought home the info sheet (he took our son to the doctor) because it stated that people who's had seizures after DTaP shouldn't have the shot. But so far everything seems okay, and we have never been *sure* he was actually having seizures. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it now except hope for the best.

He was very frightened about going to the doctor but seemed perfectly fine and unstressed afterwards, no sign of any ill effects physically or mentally. If no concerns arise, I guess we'll look into slowly catching him up with the other shots. I don't want to stress him out too much.

I am really pleased for you that he had no adverse reactions to the shots. How did he cope with the injections, is he under / over sensitive to pain? My daughter laughed when she has hers.

Always good to cross a hurdle Especially when it's our hurdle

I had a bad reaction to the pertussis one (I was like this before though) and so was never fully immunized against it, and then I contracted pertussis about two years ago and I suspect that's when the outbreak really started. My symptoms started as a cold and cleared up within a week or so. After that I felt fine, however every few days I would have massive, spontaneous coughing fits that would last up to three minutes. After this went on for a while, I started to wonder if it might be pertussis. I get a persistent cough after every cold and this was nothing like it. I asked my doctor at the time and his only response was "maybe." It was only confirmed in hind sight after an immunity test. I could only have gotten immunity from infection because even if I had been fully vaccinated, the immunity would have only lasted until I was 24 at the very most.

My son lost language and stopped meeting milestones after a DTaP at about 18 months (which is infuriating because I told the pediatrician no bundled shots), I don't know if that was the cause or if my son would have regressed regardless but he's a little over 2 1/2 now and re-gaining words. I don't dare give him another one of those (he also had night terrors, which could have been nocturnal seizures). I'll probably seek out the diptheria and tetanus separately (risk of death from whooping cough drops dramatically after one year of age), the pertusis is the controversial part. I imagine an adolescent is better equipped than a baby to deal with the shot. I think my son would have had some level of autism regardless, but I'm not sure about the severity. I hope your son is still doing well.

He seemed undersensitive to pain as a baby, though his shots then did make him cry. Now he is easily frightened and worried a lot about getting a shot, but they don't seem to bother him very much when he's actually getting them. I think the anticipation is the worst.

I had to be held down to get shots as a kid because I hid from the people. I don't remember why I was so scared of it, but I can say having to be restrained like that just made everything worse.

Why don't people explain to kids why shots are necessary? I'm sure that would have made things a lot better. Vaccinations are a good thing, so it is good your son did okay.

My 13 month old daughter has has 2 visits to get immunizations. I think by the regular schedule she should have had 4 visits for immunizations by now but I wanted to spread it out. She is developmentally on track, walking since 9.5 months, babbling like crazy, pointing to objects and loves socializing - she is set to have her 3rd visit for immunizations next week - it's a little nerve racking - but she hasn't had any bad reactions so far.

I don't think most NT kids would care or get it, so many parents wouldn't think to explain it. Some Aspie kids have such scientific minds that it would be really helpful. I explained it to my son- the whole system...how our body makes antibodies, etc. He was really interested. Now every time anyone in our family is immunized he'll say, "Isn't it strange that right now so-and-so's body is being tricked with dead viruses into making fighter cells? Weird!"

I really don't think that immunizations cause autism, though I am sure that there are others much more qualified to carry on that discussion. There is some research to show that people with autism have immune systems that work a little differently, though. Part of me wonders (just my own thinking) if too many shots could overwhelm an immune system that works a bit differently than most, and therefore affect development. All I know is that we chose not to immunize from birth, and so I can say with certainty that shots weren't the trigger for my son, though I will say that his autistic symptoms really ramped up right after he'd gotten some kind of bad bug in toddlerhood...which kind of supports the whole immune system overload theory.

My daughter who is on the spectrum does get crazy reactions to shots---high fever that lasts for days (they always blame it on a coincidental virus which was supposedly contracted the same day as the shot....really?) and last time her entire arm got hot, puffy and red. Once again, though, that seems like a very sensitive immune system and not a problem with the immunization itself.

I'm glad that your son is ok and I hope he continues to be ok! I tend to be wary about vaccination as well and prefer to reserve it now for situations where there's a definite and specific need -- like in your son's case with cutting his foot.
I don't believe that vaccinations cause autism but I have to wonder if it contributes to its development or makes it worse. I remember how my daughter seemed more "dull" (which was the only word I could use to describe it at the time) as a baby after each round of vaccinations. She seemed to become more aloof and less interested/able in learning new things with each round of vaccinations and at the time I had no idea why. At 18 months she had the MMR and her language development halted. However a pediatrician told me that with autism the language development tends to stop progressing at 18 months and then picks up again at 2.5 years, so maybe it would have happened to my daughter anyway even without the MMR.
I know I won't be giving her any more vaccines unless absolutely necessary. I can't be sure how they're affecting her body as an autistic child, or that they won't make her autistic symptoms more severe.
I also think that MMR is a big no-no for people with autism because the virus has been found to migrate to various parts of the body where it would not usually be found in a vaccinated NT, which shows that people with autism respond to this vaccine differently. Scientists don't know what the long- term implications are of having this virus attaching itself to places it doesn't belong and they're concerned... And that scares the he'll out of me.

When her arm swelled did she have a tetanus shot? I am allergic to tetanus and have had reactions since I was little. My last one was twenty years ago when I stepped on my daughters diaper pin. The reaction was so bad that I had to be hospitalized. My entire arm swelled up and I could not move it, plus I had a fever of 104. The doctor told me never to have another one because it could possibly kill me so I have it on my medical ID band because sometimes they routinely give tetanus shots to people in auto accidents. Keep an eye on your daughters reactions because sometimes they get worse with every shot. It might be better for her not to have anymore but that is something to discuss with her doctor.

I started vaccinating my son on schedule, and THE DAY AFTER he had his 4 month old shots, he started shaking his head back and forth. I was very concerned, but the doctor reassured me that this was just something he had learned. Hmmm, the day after the shots? I went ahead and did his 6 mo old shots, but after that, when my son was not even attempting to sit up, and then at 1 yr of age started flapping his hands and laying on the floor staring at the ceiling fan, my doctor said "I think we should hold off of the MMR shot, because if your son continues on this track, I don't want you to blame it on the MMR shot." I am so thankful that she did this. Now that my son is 5 yrs old, and has continued to improve, I am still not convinced that giving him the MMR is a good thing, I know it is so controversial, but something in my gut tells me not to do it. He is pretty much up to date on the other ones, but something is holding me back from the MMR. Maybe it is fear, but I am trusting my instinct. My son did not walk until he was almost 2 yrs old, and he still has some balance issues. I will consider it in the next few years, but for now, I am holding off.

I know my son would have still been autistic, but my fear is that the shot will make it worse.

I'm glad that you went that route. i feel that every child should get their vaccinations, or else they will die. When a parent doesn't vaccinate their child, they're saying that they'd rather have a dead child, than an autistic child.

Ummm....that's a bit pejorative isn't it?

I think most parents don't explain immunisation to kids because they're often pre-verbal or barely verbal when the get the major suite of shots. I would definitely explain to my 7 yr old son and he would definitely want to know if I took him for a tetanus shot. I'd explain lockjaw, etc. etc.

I'm NT and so is my son and we're both of a scientific bent.

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