Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Sorry, cannot offer you any experiences, but wanted to offer some
    support.  1,2 and 3 months seems to be an awful short interval to get
    the shots.  I think I would research this practice and find out why 
    it was done this way and maybe pursue legal actions.  I'm not saying
    this so as you'll get rich or anything, but you do not know what your
    future medical costs and needs will be.  Wishing you the best.
    
    Mike

    
    
    
    
    My sympathies are with you!  Not the kind of news any parent wants to
    hear, but ....{to disagree with a previous reply}
    
    DPT's don't cause brain damage - an allergic reaction could possibly -
    If your child had a severe allergic reaction to any of the vaccines - YOU
    WOULD HAVE KNOWN !!!! The symptoms are VERY obvious and scary. I'm
    assuming that if your child was convulsing you would have sought
    immediate medical care.
        
    My almost seven year old son had a bad reaction to his second DPT shot given
    to him at 4 months.  His symptoms were fever, vomiting and
    EXTREME irritability. He screamed continuously for 12 hours after his shot. 
    We took him to the emergency room, they explained that it was the
    Pertussis {Whooping Cough} part of the shot that he probably caused the 
    reaction.  Although he hasn't had the Pertussis part of the shot since,
    I'm concerned that he will catch Whooping Cough - which is MUCH more
    dangerous than his reaction to the shot. We live in a county where
    there are {sadly} LOTS of unvaccinated children. Physicians innoculate
    infants very early due to this.  {We STILL have a measles epidemic} 
    
    I've read some about the subject.  There have been a very small number of 
    cases of children who had severe allergic reactions to the Pertussis which
    resulted in complications afterward. {From the convulsions??} The 
    percentage is very small when compared with the millions of children who 
    receive this vaccine.  
    
    At that time (7 years ago) there was a controversy of the safety of
    vaccinating small children with Pertussis.  I read something about
    a small epidemic of Pertussis occurring in the UK because many children
    weren't vaccinated as infants.  Stuart - where are you???
    
    Pertussis can be fatal - especially for infants 
    
    I'd be happy to talk with you offline.  I'm so sorry about your baby.
    
    Rochelle
    
    
    
    

    I wouldn't like to say that DPT shots given too close together might
    or might not cause any problems but I'd be very wary about it and
    want to do a lot of homework.  I'd stretch my neck out as far as to
    say it could be a possibility, and proceed accordingly.
    
    There are a number of possible reactions to the shots ...
    
      there is an allergic reaction, which is generally a very swift
      reaction and is extrememly rare.
    
      normal reactions vary from localised inflammation to minor illness
      with mild fever.
    
      but remember you are dealing with the injection of 3 (or 4 with
      DPT-P) differrent pathogens, and depending on the state of your
      immune system at the time, you may actually get a mild case of
      any of them.
    
    The Diphtheria and Tetanus portions are generally no problem.  The
    problem is usually with Pertussis (Whooping Cough).  Indeed, several
    years ago, there was a very strong anti-pertussis vaccination movement
    in England and a LOT of kids started to get Whooping cough. 
    Fortunately, even with the vaccination, enough cases still occured that
    Doctors could still easily recognize the illness so it usually got
    treatment early enough to avoid the complications.  BUT there were
    still a lot of kids who had all kinds of complications from it, but
    the medical community still reckoned that the benfits of vaccination 
    outweighed the risk.  If memory serves the biggest complication is
    brain damage resulting from convulsions and high fever.
    
    Diptheria on the other hand is rarely seen these days, so many doctors
    don't know Diphtheria when they see it.  Also, there have been a number
    of cases of Polio in recent years because of the anti-pertussis vaccine
    campaign because Polio vaccine is often combined with DPT.  That is 
    another illness you don't want to mess around with.
    
    I had whooping cough as a baby ... and look what it did for me!
    
    Stuart
    

And please remember that all the advice you are getting here is comments
from non-doctors (not that there isn't enough debate in the medical
community as well).

The guidance and experiences of the noters here can be invaluable; but if
you want authoritative medical information, please get it from a medical
specialist; and if you want authoritative legal advice, please get it from
a lawyer.

	-Neil Faiman, PARENTING co-moderator

    Thank you all for your input.  I did ask for it.  
    
    We saw a neurologist yesterday.  Jacob does have some type of
    neurological problem.  The Dr. didn't want to even discuss the
    DPT debate.  He told me to stop thinking along those lines - it doesn't
    matter how or why.  Well it does to me!  I did seek the advise of an
    attorney.  He said unless we can absolutley prove it was the shot, we
    have no case.  That would be almost impossible to do, he said, and the
    courts are set up to protect doctors.
    
    Whether the DPT caused it or not...the DPT should not have been given
    if a neurological condition exsisted or was even suspected.  I know
    more harm could have resulted by not getting the shot, but I would have
    liked to been given the choice.  (The Dr knew of the condition but 
    didn't tell me).
    
    Thanks for the feedback!

    If the doctor knew about a preexisting neurological condition and gave
    the shot anyway, that is certainly something the lawyer would want to
    know.
    
    As Lyn said, I wouldn't recommend an "ambulance chaser" but I would
    certainly confer with a second attorney (one well recommended by people
    you trust) before deciding not to pursue legal action.
    
    Good luck and a prayer for your baby's wellbeing,
    Laura

    	When Spencer recently got his shots, I was reading the release and
    noticed the part about not giving the shots to babies with nerological
    problems.
    
    	Spencer has a small lip quiver which is an indication that his
    nervous system is immature (not necessarily impaired), I asked the
    Doctor if it was okay to give Spencer his shot even though this symptom
    was present and she said that yes, it was considered safe and that the
    shot had safely been given to far younger babies with no ill effect.
    (of course when you read the list of possible side effects, those words
    rang rather hollow).
    
    	This is not to minimize your situation, but just to let you know
    that sometimes (I don't know the reasons) younger babies are given
    these shots. (although your point is taken that if a condition were
    *suspected* things might have been different).
    
			Wendy
    

    It's sort of interesting that you're doctor seems to have given the
    shots a little earlier than scheduled.  In AJ's case, even though he
    was not completely healthy, and at risk for secondary infections, the
    doctor-for ALL his pedi shots_ would calculate his current age, and add
    6 to 8 weeks on to it, to adjust for his 6-8 week prematurity.  His
    shots all ran anywhere from two to six months "late", for his actual
    age.  In fact his annual physicals are done about 6 months after his
    birthdays, we are in some ways still compensating for this.
    
    Lyn