Query regarding 2 yrs old Son’s (only child) Swine Flu Vaccination.

bubbly,
I’m not sure on this but think it has something to do with the nasal vaccine being made with live flu virus and the injectable one is not.
It is a hard decision for you, some will say get the flu shot others will say don’t do it. As parents you will have to make this decision.
If your wife got GBS after a flu shot it will be even harder for you to decide what to do.
I know some adults on the forum have gotten the flu shot after getting GBS.
Best of luck with either decision you make for your child.
Wishing continued improvement for your wife.
Shirley

Your own personal choice, first and foremost. Since you asked, no I would not get it. There is obviously a autoimmune pre-disposition in your family. Why take the chance. Not to mention last years vaccine was late, some were expired, and it was rushed. This year they are even mixing h1n1 with the regular flu vaccine. Off topic, they are suggesting seniors get a double dose of the flu vaccine. Everything just seems so mishandled and up in the air. I personally think childrens immune systems are fragile and need to develop on their own. Good luck.

Bubbly,

I have posted my thoughts all over this forum about my thoughts on vaccinations, but I will say it again. I had a very adverse reaction to the H1N1vaccination last November. I have been diagnosed with mild GBS, and dysautonomia/POTS. It was the worst thing I have ever been through in my life and 9 months later I am still having symptoms and not completely recovered. I may never recover completely. Was it worth it? No not at all, but how did I know at the time? My other family members got the vaccine too, no problem. The main issue is like Dawn said, if there is a genetic predisposition or if you have underlying issues, then I wouldn’t take any chances. I think that I had both and the vaccine triggered this. If you have any underlying viruses from your childhood, it can stir these up again.

At this time, I am not giving my kids the flu vaccine, they are 2 and 4. I will give them whatever other vaccines they need for school and they are up to date, but I do not want to take a chance that they will have a reaction like I did. It is really your call. There is a 99% chance that everything will be fine, but you do need to be aware that there are those of us who are the 1 in 100,000 and we exist. We all think that nothing bad will happen to us and to most of us, it doesn’t, but to a select few, it does. My take on it is that your son will probably be fine with the vaccine, but on the flip side, why take any chances? Hope this helps.

I agree with the other moms, I would not give him the flu vaccine.

Keep in mind, if he does get the flu, whatever kind he gets you may not know what it is, but he will then really be immune to that type! And, there are things you can do for him with the flu, as we all know, there is not much medicine can do for GBS cause they don’t really understand it. Recovery from flu is much more certain than recovery from GBS or CIDP, I think.

So, if it helps you with a decision that is yours to make, I would not get a flu shot for your baby.

No way in hell if it were me. In the last two years since my mom got severe GBS from a seasonal flu vaccine, I have learned a great deal. Before the shot, my mom was a healthy 65 year old college nursing professor. Now she has had a stroke and GBS from the vaccine and cannot even feed herself or sit up on her own. If there is any history of autoimmune disease in the family or if there is a history of vaccine reactions you would be insane to give or get a vaccine. That is my opinion but it is based on a great deal of research and discussion with patients, families and neurologists.

Secondly, research has not shown flu vaccines of any sort to be effective or safe. That is a complete myth. Again my opinion, but unless you will absolutely die from getting the flu I would not get a vaccine. Actually if I would die from getting the flu I wouldn’t get the vaccine either because many people get the flu from the vaccine. My entire family got the swine flu last year and we spent a few days in bed, felt like crap temporarily and now have lifetime immunity. Vaccines only create artificial, temporary immunity from who knows what form of the virus and overload the immune system. That is actually how they are designed to work.

I wish I never got the flu vaccine. I was a healthy 45 year old female and decided to get the seasonal flu vaccine in November 2010. I don’t usually believe in the flu vaccine but got one so that my 7 year old daughter would get one. Well I started to have a numb foot 10 days after the flu vaccine. It is now April 2011 – 6 month later and I have been diagnosed with CIDP. This is for the rest of my life. I will be disabled most likely sometime in the future. For now I am just dealing with annoying symptoms and IVIG infusions every month but if I don’t respond to the IVIG I will decline. Now I am not ever going to be healthy and normal for the rest of my life. I will have to have good insurance to pay for the IVIG and I am using up all my PTO time at work for doctor appointmens. I cry myself to sleep because I am so distraught over the whole thing. I keep thinking if only I had not gone into that Wallgreens on that day and gotten the vaccine I would not be dealing with this and my life would be full and normal. So don’t give the vaccine. It isn’t worth it. If I had gotten the flu I most likely would have been sick for a few days and recovered – done and moved on. Now I am unhappy, living with pain, living with fear and the unknown and it was not worth it.