| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| spaciousplace |
Posted - Dec 10 2009 : 9:18:12 PM
I am in the last group of people who are eligible to get the H1N1 vaccine. (I am 34, not pregnant, no children, healthy.)
Today my employer (a doctor) was able to secure the vaccine for me since her hospital has extra vaccines they are about to make open to the public. (To clarify, I do not work in the hospital or with this doctor in her professional capacity.) I went ahead and was vaccinated for H1N1 a few hours ago.
In the last year, I really began thinking about vaccines and whether or not they are necessary or even personally ethical. I am a life and let life person, so I am not trying to sway opinions here. :)
I would just like to know I am not alone in questioning whether or not vaccinations are necessary. As my arm begins to throb and I feel warm with a slight headache, I am second guessing my decision.
Mary :)
Farmgirl Sister #378
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| pinkroses |
Posted - Jan 23 2010 : 1:23:27 PM
I didn't take this one yet , I took the regular flu shot
I am Diabetic type 2 and have a lot of conditions and diseases ; but
they didn't get the other flu shot till just recently
One thing I would do ; if they had one for the stomach flu
I would be the first waiting in line
that flu put me in the hospital about a year ago.
I thought I was going to die.
I think it is all up to the one taking the shots
No one should force one to take it if they have "issues" with it
It is up to you . hugs sheila
www.ohkayteagirl2.blogspot.com
http;//www.sheilascreativewritings.blogspot.com |
| yarnmamma |
Posted - Jan 23 2010 : 07:19:23 AM
I got the vaccine the other day...and my arm was very sore for a few hours...I can't take Ibuprophin but sure wanted to. Now I am fine. My 9 yr old son got it too because his Dr called recomending it. I've always liked his Dr. I chose to take him. Danny is Autistic so does not feel pain in a normal way...sometimes he doesn't know when he is injured...so he didn't complain. There was a big crowd of parents with children getting it and we waited for an hour. I do know that media can scare people. As a foster parent I was used to having to do anything a Dr or professional suggested because I was required to. Now that he is adopted we have more freedom but I still chose to have him get it because he has been in the hospital with pneumonia and suffered enough asthma over the years.
Linda in Scranton, PA
Thoughts become things... choose the good ones! www.tut.com |
| JustAnAllAmericanGirl |
Posted - Jan 23 2010 : 06:36:29 AM
This is a personal choice but we have not gotten vaccinated in our family. I am a chiropractor by profession and so I believe in the power of building up you immune system. Also, I know a couple of people that got H1N1 and came out just fine. Like I heard earlier, it just makes your immune system stronger afterwards.
www.JustAnAllAmericanGirl.blogspot.com |
| LakeOntarioFarmgirl |
Posted - Jan 19 2010 : 10:17:43 AM
My son- without telling anyone- had the H1N1 vaccine a couple of weeks ago. He got it free at work, but I would have told him not to! He ended up with a very, very sore local reaction to it. After 2 weeks, his arm is still so sore(but no swelling, redness or bruising) that he has to take pain relievers at night to sleep. He is not a complainer, so I know it must be bothering him. I was told that this could last as long as a month. I feel bad for him, but I guess he is now protected against H1N1, until it mutates that is.
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
Nothing we achieve in this world is achieved alone. It is always achieved with others teaching us along the way. Lee J. Colan
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
| knittingmom |
Posted - Jan 06 2010 : 4:13:50 PM
We chose not to vaccinate our children after doing a good deal of research (including reading the product inserts from all the vaccines they would get). As an aside if you want to you can go to your public health clinic and ask for these (if they balk say you want to review them with your doctor). These are the inserts that come in the actual vaccine boxes from the drug company.
It is a personal choice and there are good arguments for both sides, the main thing is educate yourself before taking these medical treatments (you usually read up on any antibiotics you get). Don't go in blind know the possible side effects and then make your decision. Be informed.
With the H1N1 vaccine in particular there hasn't been sufficient testing done, it's being pushed agressively and it's been admitted that the majority of people will only suffer mild to managible symptoms of this flu.
"There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world" |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Jan 01 2010 : 09:11:24 AM
Well, there you are. I was wondering if you were ok. So good to see you are alright and have just been busy. I hope you had a great Christmas. And I hope this new year treats you well.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| spaciousplace |
Posted - Dec 31 2009 : 10:50:06 PM
Thank you all for your replies! It has been a hectic holiday season for me, and I haven't had much free time to be on the compter. I am at peace with my vaccination now - I see it as a lesson learned. I am learning all I can about vaccines in order to make the best decisions for myself.
A happy and healthy New Year to you all!
Mary :)
Farmgirl Sister #378
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| LakeOntarioFarmgirl |
Posted - Dec 29 2009 : 3:25:17 PM
Oh Sarah I so agree with you!!!
Here in NY my daughter- a nurse- has been forced(mandated) to get the flu vaccine every year. This year they were going to have all health care personnel- including my Father in law who is 77 years old and drives for a lab delivery service- have the H1N1 flu vaccine. There was a stay put on that by a sympathetic judge, but the fear is that next fall it will be mandated again.
For the past 2 winters I was so sick, that my family kept bugging me to get a flu shot this year. I tried 3 different times, and it was just not available or I was where they would not accept my insurance- BC/BS, but they sure accepted medicaid and medicare, so I just didn't get one. Thinking back on the last few years, I believe that my vitamin D levels were probably about 0, so I started taking that every day. I take extra if I've been exposed to something. That and being vigilant about hygiene has kept me healthy so far this year. :)
Fortunately(or not, depending on you look at it) all 6 of my grandchildren and their parents had H1N1 this fall, so their mommies don't have to agonize over whether or not they should have the vaccine. Until, that is, it mutates. :(
If people would look back at the vaccine for the Spanish Influenza during WWI and how sick it made people, and then the swine flu vaccine during the 70's, they might hesitate before having it now. To me, it is just too new.
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
If you rest, you rust. Helen Hayes
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
| MustangSuzie |
Posted - Dec 29 2009 : 07:43:46 AM
I work in a hospital in the very midst of coughing and respiratory illnesses and I refused the regular flu vaccine and the H1N1. I have found that basic hygiene is the best way to fight any kind of illness....hand washing, keeping your hands away from your face, avoiding mass crowds/areas at peak times, staying home when you are ill. Good nutrition and exercise are key to keeping the body in tune and the immune system strong as well.
Keep in mind that all of the statistics for the "flu" thus far are not accurate. Rarely is the actual H1N1 test done as it takes too long and is very expensive. From the info I have seen personally and gathered from other health care professionals, people who were tested for seasonal flu, and tested postitive, were assumed to have H1N1. And those are the high number statistics you read about in the media. This isn't saying that the H1N1 strain isn't out there, because it is. They are also failing to report that seasonal flu can be just as deadly for those with weakened immune systems.
It also concerns me that this vaccine was rushed and not fully tested. Given the nature of making the vaccines from eggs, there is a certain natural time frame needed for producing the vaccine. My question is how do you rush nature???? IMHO the very people who are considered high risk for the illness are the very people who should not recieve something that was rushed through production and untested.
I wish everyone a very healthy and happy new year!
Blessings....
Sarah
www.mustangsuzie.blogspot.com
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| Faransgirl |
Posted - Dec 28 2009 : 7:30:47 PM
You must always do what you think is best for you and your family. I can make the decision for myself but in your situation I would probably get it for my child too. What is right for one person is not right for another.
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| yarnmamma |
Posted - Dec 28 2009 : 03:48:11 AM
I got a call with a recording in the doctor's voice. (my son's doctor)
They have a clinic for the H1N1 vaccine. I called to ask if the doctor srongly suggested it...and the nurse said yes. I feel like I have to. He is only 9 years old, on many very powerful meds, and has been in the hospital with pneumonia.
Linda in Scranton, PA
I see trees of green, red roses too. I see skys of blue, clouds of white.
What a wonderful world.
Louis Armstrong |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Dec 27 2009 : 7:04:10 PM
I hope it never comes to being forced to get certain vaccines, as they do in the military. Some people are against vaccines for religious reasons, and if we force them to get vaccines, what comes next? The health of the public is important but so are our religious/individual rights.
cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| Faransgirl |
Posted - Dec 27 2009 : 08:52:50 AM
That was a great idea. Wish I could do that. But I have a border collie/terrier mix. I Labrador/Dalmation Mix and a great Dane. Don't think I could fool anyone LOL. I use to only get them every three years but a man came after my border/collie mix with a hammer. She naturally bit him and he turned her in. She spent 9 days in a tile cell with a metal bench for her to sleep on that they hosed down twice a day and had three baths in insecticide. She was almost dead from kennel cough when we got her back. I will never let that happen again. Sorry we got off topic here but I think we could be headed in the same direction if the government starts to mandate vaccinations.
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| Windsong |
Posted - Dec 26 2009 : 9:05:35 PM
Our county used to be like that but have gone to the three year requirement for rabies. When they required it every year I had three great pyrnees dogs. I got one vaccinated per year. Once one got picked up because she was down the road to claim her I had to bring her proof of vaccine. I got the current certificate and took it to get her. They did not know it was not hers.
Farmgirl Sister #758
www.windsongwellnessandtherapyshoppe.com
http://sadiesfarm.blogspot.com/
http://healthtalkcafe.blogspot.com/ |
| Faransgirl |
Posted - Dec 26 2009 : 7:32:38 PM
We as a family have chosen not to get it. I do believe in some vaccines but others I do not. I have never gotten a flu shot in my life. However as a nation we tend to over vaccinate. I noticed a post concerning the rabies vaccine. We do some research a couple of years ago into that one. The county we live in forces yearly vaccinations for all dogs. The State however says every three years is plenty and the company that developed the vaccination says every 8 years. So we are forced to over vaccinate to the tune of 8x's to much. My daughter has a friend who is one of those conspiracy theory people. He believes that they are putting micro-chips in the H1N1 vaccine so we can all be tracked. It's a thought. :)
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| Amie C. |
Posted - Dec 20 2009 : 8:24:15 PM
I've been getting the regular flu vaccine every fall since I was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago. I got the H1N1 vaccine this year too. I did feel the next day as though I was beginning to come down with a bad cold, but it went away immediately and I didn't actually get sick. So it might possibly have been a side effect, but didn't amount to much. |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Dec 20 2009 : 06:16:17 AM
Has anyone heard from Mary since she posted this? I e-mailed her and have not heard back and that's been several days ago. I hope she's ok.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| buffypuff |
Posted - Dec 18 2009 : 2:32:46 PM
It is a difficult choice whether to vaccinate or not. I am an RN, just recently staying at home, & my husband is an RN working in a large hospital. No one wants to jeopardize their family either way, and it is never known until something happens whether one made the right decision. Dan, my husband had no choice as to getting the shot. I do have a choice. I will not. I am sorry for those who have had H1N1 & died. There have been people from around here. However, other vaccines have also been developed that have saved many lives. Polio is one, and it is almost irradicated from the earth. The various Rotary clubs in the US have fundraisers to vaccinate children in Africa etc, where polio has crippled & killed little children. Years ago, before the chickenpox vaccine, Mothers would take their kids to get them exposed to someone who had it. It was easier to have as a kid than an adult. What I'm saying is that one never knows the correct decision, but stats from the CDC report many people (chiefly affecting children) have died from this. I wonder. The regular flu's mortality is usually higher affecting those whose immune system is compromised from another illness or the old etc. But regardless of the disease, that mother whose child has been one of a stat, does not care about numbers because her child was 1. This virus may mutate & become stronger, or it may die out in the Spring. It is our job as a parent to be informed and hopefully make the right decision for our family & ourselves. May we all make our very best informed decisions. Just my 2 cents worth.
Buffypuff/ Claudia
Farmgirl & Sister #870
"Half of success is the assurance of support along the way." cr
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| ozarkjammer |
Posted - Dec 17 2009 : 5:41:25 PM
...and never make a decision based on fear. |
| yarnmamma |
Posted - Dec 17 2009 : 3:28:43 PM
The media is all about excitement...especially fear....things get so exaggerated that it gets hard to believe anything that is pushed so much.
Linda in Scranton, PA
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| Niamh |
Posted - Dec 12 2009 : 7:37:15 PM
We chose not to get our family vaccinated. With our background in science and agriculture, and our research into vaccines when our kids were babies, we looked at the situation, at how fast the vaccine was pushed through testing, at how much the media seemed to be acting on fear, and at actual cases reported. For us, it was a pretty cut and dried situation. We're not in a high-risk group, we (are lucky to) have good health care, and it was clearly a fear-based push by the media.
My farming blog: www.localfoodblog.blogspot.com
My living blog:
www.unprocessedfamily.blogspot.com |
| yarnmamma |
Posted - Dec 12 2009 : 2:08:00 PM
I have read in the news that this Swine Flu is not causing as many deaths as the regular flu our country has each year. It is more scare tactic than anything. The H1N1 shot was developed too quickly to be safe enough in my opinion...so I won't get it.
You all make very good points. Thanks for the topic...this kind of input is good for us to share.
Linda in Scranton, PA
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| mellaisbella |
Posted - Dec 12 2009 : 1:54:22 PM
we, too, decided not to vacinate our family. I am in nursing and have Dr's recommending it to me all of the time. I got told that I was a bad mother by on of my co-workers for not getting Oliver (our 15 mth old) vaccinated. I/we didn't feel right about getting the shot......all that I keep thinking was that they (medical people) told women to take thalidamide(sp) when they were pregnant and look how that turned out
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150 |
| 82kygal |
Posted - Dec 12 2009 : 05:31:22 AM
I chose not to take it. I have never gotten the regular one either. I don't seem to ever catch the flu so I don't feel like I need to infect myself if I don't ever get it anyway. I work in a large facility with MR clients. They all got theirs so maybe it won't be spreading around for me to catch it. I just don't like the whole idea.
With God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)
What ever you are, be a good one. (Abe Lincoln) |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Dec 11 2009 : 6:35:15 PM
The only reason I got the vaccine is because I work at a hospital and they lay a guilt trip on you if you don't get it--ie, you're putting patients at risk. I did feel a little run down for a day or two afterward. what bothers me is that there's a Christian Science school in the area and they don't believe in vaccines, but some people in govt. are trying to force people to get vaccines even if it's against their religious beliefs. I think that's wrong, since vaccines are questionable at best. The last time my dog (I'm just using him as an example) got his rabies shot, he had a weird reaction to it--shaking his head like he was dizzy and off balance. It was kind of scary, and that's how I feel about vaccines. They are kind of scary, and if a person wants to get them, fine, but just don't try to force it on people. Life is risky and frankly, I'd rather have it that way than to let someone in govt. mandate what's "safe".
Cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
