My school district has recently made a requirement that students get the whooping cough immunization before the beginning of this school year. I don’t know about you, but whenever I get the flu shot, I end up getting a minor case of the flu and have to stay out of school for a few days. So for the past couple years I haven’t been getting it and I only got the flu once I think (thanks to loads of hand washing), knock on wood. So I’m kind of skeptical about getting the whooping cough shot in fear of getting the sickness.
So I was just wondering, is it just me who gets sick from immunization shots because of my immune system?.. Or do a lot of diabetics tend to have this happen? And do you suggest for or against the whooping cough shot? (I mean, the school’s going to make me get it anyways, but I wanna hear some opinions.)
Tough one that!!! Some people are pro…some con! It’s a personal choice for the better part. Medical professional highly suggest that you do get inoculated if you have a chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma. In fact people with such conditions (us) can come in earlier than the general population because we’re considered “high risk”. If you, or your parents have a concern with this…you CAN be exempt, on religious/ethical grounds…or on medical grounds. Look into it. I had it last year…but I also have asthma. Plus, I’m prone to pneumonia!
When our daughter was little we opted against immunizing when she was dx with multiple environmental allergies. She was 8 at the time…so she had already been immunized against polio, tetanus, and the illnesses babies are widly immunized against. This, I believe, was pertaining to flu shots and whatever else was in at the time…this was 19 years ago. Good luck!!
Well, you can die of whooping cough. Plus you can unwittingly pass it on to babies too young to be vaccinated, and THEY are much more likely to die of it. Something like 10 babies died of whooping cough in California last year.
I don’t know why you had a severe reaction to the flu shot – it’s common to feel under the weather for a day or so after the flu shot, because it’s a sign that your immune system is working, and producing the necessary antibodies. Which is a GOOD thing. But just because you had a reaction to the flu shot doesn’t mean you’ll have one to the TDaP.
I know I have strong feelings about this, but a day or two under the weather is WAY preferable to killing a baby.
Make sure you don’t fall for the hype.
I would check with your pediatrician to see if you had it already. Pediatric guidelines have been recommending it for at least 5 years now. The grocery and drug store pharmacies are advertising it like they do the annual flu shots, so people think that it is a newly introduced vaccine that they need to beat the rush to get before school starts. My kids are in their teens and it was taken care of years ago. Just call the doctor that knows about your childhood immunizations, and they will probably mail you a completed form. I’d be really suprised if you didn’t have it unless your parents were adamant about not immunizing you.
PS: I’m not a doctor, I was just floored when I inquired about the need for the shot with our pediatrician’s office and they double checked the files and then handed me a form letter (filled in) because every child of age going to that office is given the shot during their check-ups, unless they strongly objected.
I was under the impression (could be wrong) that they wanted a booster for teenagers, because immunity does wear off. That would be worth checking out if you are the parent of a teenager.
Interesting you should bring this up…years ago, I was told by a doctor that I should probably avoid getting any more vaccines unless absolutely necessary. She said that because vaccines stimulate the immune system (and because T1D is, in most cases, an autoimmune disorder), it made sense to avoid vaccines in order to prevent any sort of over-stimulation of the immune system, thereby potentially causing another autoimmune disorder. And we know that people with T1D are prone to developing other autoimmune disorders, including hashimoto’s thyroid, RA, and celiac’s, just to name a few.
She told me that there wasn’t a ton of literature to back this up, but it was something she advised her patients of who had autoimmune disorders. She also said that this decision should be carefully balanced for risk. For example, if I was going to travel to an area where something like measles was common, I should have a booster for that. She also advised using titer testing to prevent over-vaccination - a lot of vaccines just aren’t necessary because blood work will show you still have immunity against whatever the vaccine is for.
Now, I am a HUGE believer in vaccines from a public health perspective, and I generally follow whatever guidelines are out there. BUT, if a doctor says I need a vaccine, I do get a titer done (if available) to see if I’m still immune. For example, it was recommended several years ago that I get a booster MMR. I was able to get the titer done instead and, sure enough, I was still completely immune. Titers are acceptable in lieu of an actual vaccine.
Also, this may sound crazy, but I don’t get flu shots. The last one I had (about 8 years ago) caused me to get horribly ill. Now, maybe it was coincidental and I was already on the verge of getting sick, but it was odd because I generally just don’t get sick. Knock on wood, I have never had the flu since, nor have I had a flu shot. My endo DOES NOT agree with this, but whatever…it’s what works for me.
I haven’t got flu shots for a few years because the last couple times I got it, I got sick too, and ended up in the hospital once or twice. Since I’ve stopped, I haven’t got the flu, knock on wood. Thanks a lot, your reply helped so much. I’ll definitely check into it with my doctor and everything. Thanks again
Thanks a bunch. I know I got it when I was younger and this is just a booster, so maybe I can get a titer done like MyBustedPancreas said and see if I am still immune.
Correct, this is a booster, but per guidelines most should have received it about 5 years after completing the DTAP series, usually around age 11 or 12. I like the titer idea, but would discuss with the school if they would accept it if I were going that route. Sometimes they miss the forest throught trees on issues like this.