Vaccines?

[odcdinah]

My gastroenterologist office just called and left a vague message about writing an order for me to get 2 vaccines - they didn't specify which ones.

Any idea what they would be for and why? I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago (by biopsy and blood test).

[Ursa Major]

My advice is, to avoid the vaccines, no matter which ones they are. Vaccines have never actually been proven to be safe and effective, long term effects have never been studied, and they don't help your immune system, but rather damage it.

So, if it was me, I'd call back and say, "Thanks, but no thanks, keep your vaccines".

But that is your choice, of course.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I agree with Ursula. I would also try to find out if this is some kind of mix-up on the part of the office. If not, I would ask to speak to the gastroenterologist and find out WHAT vaccines he is ordering and WHY. And then I would probably start looking for a new gastroenerologist. (Sorry!)

[odcdinah]

Thanks for the thoughts. I will call and check. Actually, I like him very much and he has treated me very well through the testing, follow-ups, etc, so I"m not ready to discard him quite yet.

[jerseyangel]

I have kind of a stupid question--does this line of thinking apply to tetnus shots? I had one 10 years ago, and have been debating whether I should get a booster this year.

[Ursa Major]

Patti, I've read research that shows that tetanus shots make you MORE susceptible to getting tetanus, not less. And tetanus is easily avoided, anyway. The tetanus causing bacteria only thrive without oxygen. You wash and disinfect any open wound thoroughly before bandaging it, and the risk becomes so small, it is almost non-existent. And IF (a big if) you get tetanus anyway, antibiotics easily take care of it.

So, I say, forget about the booster, it isn't needed.

[jerseyangel]

Ursula--Thank you! I was hoping you would check back here and see my question . I'm going to take your advice--the shot always makes me sick, and my Kinesiologist told me that I have a lot of residual problems from "old vaccines". I learn so much from you, and it's much appreciated! Thanks again

[lovegrov]

Some celiac experts recommend the pnuemonia vaccine for people with celiac.

richard

[GreySaber]

I've heard many people compain about vaccines and what not, but I tend to be in favor of them. After all, no one gets polio anymore.

As to pnuemonia, it's still dangerous as it is very like a heavy cold or the flu, so you don't seek treatment, then die. (and there are about 10 million types of it, many of which you may already be carrying.)

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I've heard many people compain about vaccines and what not, but I tend to be in favor of them. After all, no one gets polio anymore.

Try googling SV-40. Here's just one site for starters: Open Original Shared Link. Yes, we are lucky that nobody gets polio anymore, but it's very possible that polio has simply been replaced by things like MS, Lou Gherig's disease, and other immune system malfunctions (like celiac?).

[mommida]

Before there were a few cases of wild Polio reported (an Amish community), the recent cases have been from the vaccine. It wasn't always the vaccinated person. It is one of the reasons the live oral vaccine has been replaced with the attenuated version.

L.

[tarnalberry]

Some celiac experts recommend the pnuemonia vaccine for people with celiac.

richard

Yep, I got the pneumovax after being diagnosed (I also have asthma, which puts me on the 'consider for this vaccine' list. I got a *bad* reaction to it (swelling, pain, redness, heat), though nothing bad enough to send me to the ER - just a call in to the doctor and a phone discussion with her on it, but it lasts about a decade, fortunately. The theory is that celiacs are more prone to pneumococcal infections, and these, if not discovered early, can get bad quickly.

Vaccines haven't been proven to be horrible things, and they *have* been proven to be quite effective (hence the lack of small pox, polio, diptheria, measles, mumps, tetnus, etc. that caused significant problems in populations in decades past). But there are risks to everything and vaccines are no exceptions. When you consider using something like a vaccine on everyone in the world, then a one in a thousand or even one in a million chance of something bad happening is going to seem like it happens a lot, because you're using the vaccine so many times. That's statistics for you. But it's wise to go in knowing the risks. Additionally, much of the valid concern over vaccines comes not specifically from the vaccine itself, but from the method of delivery - be it a schedule of multiple vaccine doses given over a relatively short period of time in young children with still-developing immune systems or the preservatives used in mass produced, bottled vaccines.

The basic premise behind vaccine therapy is exactly what your body uses every day, however.

As to pnuemonia, it's still dangerous as it is very like a heavy cold or the flu, so you don't seek treatment, then die. (and there are about 10 million types of it, many of which you may already be carrying.)

just for clarification, the pneumovax that is given covers more than respiratory pneumonia. in fact, the primary concern is pneumococcal infections of the blood, in this case.

[Guest Viola]

Some celiac experts recommend the pnuemonia vaccine for people with celiac.

richard

I've had the pnuemonia vaccine, and never go without the flu vaccine. In all the years I've been getting it, I've had one very short bout of the flu. I used to get so sick with it everytime it went through the area.

[mouse]

I had the pneumonia vaccine in 1997 and two weeks later I was hospitalized with pneumonia. Twenty eight months later I was hospitalized with a rare pneumonia and landed in intensive care, then cardiac iintensive care, then lung surgery. Two weeks all told and I remember very little as they kept me really drugged up. I had four different teams of doctors trying to keep me alive. Then 5 years ago, when I left Illinois for here, my GP said I should probably have a pneumonia booster and I told her "over my dead body" . I know they reccommend it, but I will pass on this one. The flu shot I never had a problem with, except now I can never find a place that has them in supply. I have not been able to have one in 2 years and that does concern me.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

When i've had the flu shot, I ended up with a huge hot red swelling at the injection site. The first time it was the size of a lime. The next time it was larger, and the last time, it was the size of a grapefruit. At that point, the doctor said I shouldn't get them anymore. I also felt mildly ill for weeks following the shots. Same thing happened to me with gamma globulin. I later found out that both the gamma globulin and the flu shot contain thimerasol, which I already knew I was allergic to from having reacted to eye drops that had them, but nobody told me they were in vaccines until it was too late.

[tarnalberry]

When i've had the flu shot, I ended up with a huge hot red swelling at the injection site. The first time it was the size of a lime. The next time it was larger, and the last time, it was the size of a grapefruit. At that point, the doctor said I shouldn't get them anymore. I also felt mildly ill for weeks following the shots. Same thing happened to me with gamma globulin. I later found out that both the gamma globulin and the flu shot contain thimerasol, which I already knew I was allergic to from having reacted to eye drops that had them, but nobody told me they were in vaccines until it was too late.

That sounds like quite a round of negligence on a number of doctor's parts - both for not stopping the vaccines earlier, after the first reaction, and not paying attention when you told them about your reaction to the preservative in the eye drops in the first place.

[loraleena]

stay away from all vaccines. 'They are poison!! Read ihfo from Kevin Treadeau (the natural cures guy) on the history of vaccination and the horror they have caused. I believe that a rubella shot after the birth of my son may have been the trigger for all my health problems!!

[lovegrov]

The pnuemonia vaccine does NOT protect against all types of pnuemonia just as the flu shot doesn't necessarily protect against all forms of the flu that might come around in any given year. My wife and I both had the flu together 20 years ago and we've both gotten the vaccine since then. Neither of us has had the flu since, thank goodness.

As for staying away from all vaccines, that's just irresponsible.

richard

[Fiddle-Faddle]

As for staying away from all vaccines, that's just irresponsible.

richard

And what do you suggest for people who react badly to vaccines? Which vaccines would you pick and choose here? What about people with a family history of immune disorders? And food allergies?

I'm glad you and your wife have remained flu-free for 20 years. I didn't have the flu before taking the flu vaccine, but I sure did after having it. Once I stopped getting the flu vaccine, I also stopped getting the flu.

Based on my experience, and that of you and your wife, we can't really conclude anything, can we? We have neither proved nor disproved the efficacy of the flu shot.

[natalunia]

My husband and I both got the pneumonia vaccine this past fall. Last spring we both came down with a horrible case of pneumonia. The doctor was ready to put both of us in the hospital. We were miserable and decided even if the vaccine lessens the severity of pneumonia in the future, we'll take it. We both have asthma, and tend to catch every respiratory illness around. Since having the pneumonia vaccine in September, no respiratory infections for either of us except for one sinus infection. I always get the flu shot, and never get the flu. Oh, and I am a teacher, so I really need to be vaccinated because of all the germs that students bring in. I'm a fastidious hand washer, but that doesn't help when you have a student coughing their germs all around you.

[mommida]

I think every doctor should hand over the vaccine package insert before the injection. The patient should then READ the ENTIRE vaccine insert and make an informed consent. It is irresponsible on the doctor and the patient to ignore the information that should be available.

L.

[penguin]

If you react badly to vaccines, then it's not irresponsible to not take them.

For the general population, they are by and large a good thing. They have saved far more lives than they have harmed. I agree that you should read the entire insert, and just like any other medication or treatment, and make an informed descison.

I'm not going to tell everyone that gluten is poison just because it is for me. I believe it's the same principle for vaccines. A blanket statement doesn't apply, though research goes for both sides.

[tarnalberry]

Based on my experience, and that of you and your wife, we can't really conclude anything, can we? We have neither proved nor disproved the efficacy of the flu shot.

That is why efficacy trials require large population studies.

Even doctors who whole-hog support vaccines will tell you that there are some people who shouldn't get them. And people who have badly reacted to things they are made from are top of that list.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I'm not going to tell everyone that gluten is poison just because it is for me. I believe it's the same principle for vaccines. A blanket statement doesn't apply, though research goes for both sides.

I've been wondering if it's possible that gluten IS potentially poison for everybody--we just have a lower threshold than most!

[Guest Viola]

I've been wondering if it's possible that gluten IS potentially poison for everybody--we just have a lower threshold than most!

I don't think we should go the extreme on either side of any topic, when we all know that the truth is almost always somewhere in the middle.

Let's not get hostile on this subject, please