DTaP Vaccination

I have a 2 month old daughter, who is scheduled to begin her vaccinations tomorrow. She has shown no signs of Autism, however, it is a concern of mine. I was on terbutaline for 12 during my pregnancy for preterm labor, and some research has shown that terbutaline carries some risk of causing autism. I have decided to follow a selective schedule for vaccinations (from Dr. Sears), however, I'm unsure about the DTaP. Dr. Sears recommends getting this one, despite it still having mercury and side effects. I was wondering what others thought or experiences they've had with this vaccine. Thanks!

[walternowotny]

There is NO mercury in vaccines.Acellular DPT vaccine is safe and well tolerated and diseases that this vaccine protects against(whooping cough,tetatus,diptheria) are still out there and they are very serious and potentially deadly
Walter

[Eldermom]

Vaccines contain other toxic substances than mercury which may also do harm.
Just my personal opinion but I would not do any vaccines before the age of two years , if at all.  This gives the child's immune system time to develop without chemical or pseudobiological interference. Please become knowledgible about the vaccine industry , the physiology of the immune system, homeopathic nosodes, the truth about the law and the school system,etc. There is no need to rush into vaccinations before you do your research. Do not yield to fear that your child will become ill or die if you don't vaccinate. Take the time to decide . To say there is no mercury in vaccines is incorrect. There are several vaccines that still contain mercury---the flu vaccine is one.
An additional note---my son is vaccine "damaged" and I am antibiotic "damaged" Antibiotics contain mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum,etc. We have suffered much from these cures and preventions. Take heed and be well.
Eldermom

[Sally44]

I would say find out about the vaccine your child is going to have to make sure you know what is in it.
I have a son with autism, but I don't think the vaccine caused it because he was showing some symptoms before the notorious MMR vaccination.  But I do think that some people have a genetic weakness that may be triggered by an environmental factor.  There is also truth in the fact that children who do not have the vaccinations are only covered because the rest of the children that are immunised and the less children covered means there is more chance of an outbreak of something serious.
There have also been autistic people who have posted about this subject saying they would rather be immunised than to get something that could seriously damage their health or even kill them.
That leaves us parents in a rather difficult situation because all we want to do is to do the best for our children.
If you already have autism in the family then that is something else to factor in.
I think it is important from a immune system point of view to allow our children to get dirty to allow their bodies to build up their own immune system.
Children with an autistic spectrum disorder usually start to show problems with language ie. language delay, appearing not to understand language, repeating what the parent has just said or no talking at all.  But that would mean delaying vaccinations for a couple of years.  Children with Aspergers don't usually get diagnosed until around the age of 7 because they have no recognisable language problems or delays.
Whooping cough can kill.  But I have had whooping cough and am okay.  There is no easy answer.
There are also alot of autistic people and parents of autistic children who would say a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder is not the end of the world.  But a severely autistic child would be much harder to cope with.  Sometimes the fear is worse than the actual thing.
Some parents are convinced the vaccine damaged their child.
I know I'm rambling, but this is the way the argument always goes.  There is no clear cut answer.
Find out as much as you can about the actual vaccine your child would get.  Find out about the diseases it prevents, the possibility of your child getting it and the consequences of that.  Talk to your doctor about the possibility of delaying it.  Try to make your own mind up.  But you will feel pressured by the arguments on both sides, because I have a feeling that both arguments are true.

[walternowotny]

There is NO mercury in vaccines for children.There is some thimerosal in adult flu vaccine(you probably get more mercury if you eat fish from Pacific ocean).
People who spread fear of vaccines are either victims of their own ignorance or are pushing certain agenda. They certainly do not have kids benefit in mind
Walter

[MJIthewriter]

I've been doing some reading on both sides of the vaccine argument... One side thinks the other side is off track and neither are willing to budge...

I thought of this if it puts anything into perspective... There's no scientific basis that I know of... I have read about shots, the process of injecting a foreign substance directly into the bloodstream causing an autoimmune response for animals and people succeptable genetically...

Perhaps it is this autoimmune response that gets triggered by the shot, thus triggering discomfort, headaches and general malise...

If someone was genetically autistic all of a sudden, their autism shows up a lot worse because the toddler is cranky and not feeling well.  If they are autistic, it will surface up as a lot of negative autistic behaviors... It's negative behaviors that send parents to see the psychos (psychologists/psychiatrists). After all who would be complaining if their child could rattle off 100 presidents before they knew how to tie their shoe?

Because of this, a lot more people are getting diagnosed with autism than would be normally without an autoimmine response.

For the supporters of shots "causing" autism, perhaps there is naturally a little bit of an autoimmune thing in many people, but the trigger makes a full blown case...
For those that notice unconventional treatment working maybe alleviating the autoimmune disorder is getting rid of most of the negative behaviors, thus making their child not appear as autistic anymore.
-----------
My question is: if there was a full cure: Would it take away some of the good traits as well as the bad? (for me I've learned to take some of my very same weaknesses and make some strengths out of them too...)

Sorry I pulled in lots of irrelavant stuff into this topic... I've been spending the last week in the autism speaks forum and that's a battleground issue on their forum...

[Sally44]

I know this subject is a real minefield.
I think vaccines are a good thing.
But what about gulf war syndrome?  Are those soldiers mad too.
I have food intolerances.  Some people think they don't exist either.  But if I eat certain foods I become ill.
We also have hemochromatosis in our family.  That is genetic.  For those in my family who have it, it means their body cannot process iron and get it out of the body so it builds up and causes liver damage and other symptoms that are irreversable.  The 'cure' is to not eat foods containing iron and to regularly have blood taken to dilute the iron content within the body systems.
I also have many family members who cannot take any drugs because they have extreme reactions to them and I mean 'extreme' reactions.
So, to me, it seems logical that if some people have adverse reactions to some things it is quite possible that some people may have adverse reactions to vaccines.  In the same way that some people are allergic to cats, but the vast majority of people aren't. In the same way that some people take ectasy and are okay but another person takes a tab and dies, in the same way that skunk is suspected of causing/triggering skizophrenia in some adults but not in others.  
I don't think vaccines cause autism.  I don't think you can recover from autism or cure autism.  I think autism is what you are.
I just wish people would consider the 'what if'.  As I said, I am for vaccines.  I am also for allowing kids to get dirty and get ill, that is what the immune system is for.
But for all those people who are so pro-vaccine, I can bet a million dollars that if autism turned up in your child you would begin to question everything.  That is healthy.  
There is no answer to this debate other than find out the correct information about vaccines, look at your family history and make the decision.  Whatever you decide you have to live with the consequences of that.
I have had my children vaccinated.  One of my children is on the autistic spectrum.  If I had another child, (which I doubt), I probably would vaccinate but at a later date.  That may make no sense to anyone else, but that is my opinion.  
It is a similar question as to whether, having had a child on the spectrum, would you consider an abortion if you became pregnant again.  Everyone would have their own individual opinon on that, varying from one extreme to the other.  I am just trying to be honest as to how I feel.  I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking.

[jetterbug]

u have some very uneducated advice if i ever heard any!!! there is mercury in vaccines!!!!! And Im currently vaccine injured from the Dtap!! u really need to do ur research or get ur info in the right places!!!

[jetterbug]

by the way Im a mother of four and child #4 is vaccine free, so I do have children and my info on vaccines are FACTS!!