Olmsted On Autism: Oh, Just Another MMR Seizure

By Dan Olmsted

My little 18-month-old friend Brandon got his MMR a couple of weeks ago. I must confess, I was pretty concerned about it. For one thing, his father had died in Brandon’s first year of life from cancer. If genetic mutations have anything to do with susceptibility, this seemed like a possible problem to me. And his father had the fair-haired, blue-eyed Northern European profile that seems to go with trouble; he even had persistent skin problems that suggested autoimmune difficulties.
  
For another thing, Brandon had a bad reaction to an earlier vaccination, the DPT-and-whatever-else-was-on-tap-that-day series. He went home, fell asleep, and woke up screaming for three hours nonstop. This gentle, amiable, happy-to-go-to-bed-with-a-bottle-baby could not be consoled.
 
“Don’t worry,” the doctor said, “it’s just screaming baby syndrome.”
 
SCREAMING BABY SYNDROME? Now you tell me that enough babies scream inconsolably after vaccination that there is a recognized syndrome so common that it is met with a shrug by pediatricians, even though they never manage to mention anything that vivid and troubling in the office visit or on the consent form?

So, as I said, I was a bit nervous about the MMR, given that I spend a lot of time listening to parents very convincingly describe violent reactions to the MMR, followed by autistic regression. 

Fortunately, nothing significant happened – Brandon just had a seizure on Day 8. Seizures, you should know, are no big deal. They happen; they’re listed on the official product label for the MMR and other vaccines. Of course, they may “alarm parents,” in the favored language of the health care providers, but there is nothing terribly problematic about them. Why, they’re just nature’s way of making sure that a fever or infection doesn’t overheat the infant brain and cause something really serious, something like autism.

Yep, his doctor said, that sure looks like the classic MMR seizure. It happens; it’s no big deal.

Of course, the whole idea that an MMR seizure is no big deal is utter nonsense, and the tone I have adopted so far is merely designed to provide some distance from my real feelings of horror, outrage – and, in truth, utter despair. I had done my best, on a one-to-one basis, to keep Brandon from having this kind of problem. I had advised no Hep B at birth – mission accomplished. No chickenpox shot, period. So far, so good. No MMR at 12 months – check. It was 6 months later that Brandon got the shot; it was going to be one component at a time over a series of weeks except that Merck stopped making the separate shots. (Now, too late, they’re bringing them back.)

So here I am, writing and reporting every day about the fact that the current vaccine schedule, load and formulas are unsafe, and what good comes of it? The one child I’m really close to ends up with screaming syndrome, followed by a seizure.

So now what? Well, I’m reminded what a tough problem parents face. There is simply no right way to face off against the medical establishment and create an “alternative” vaccine schedule that is predictably safe. You can skip Hep B at birth, skip chickenpox, delay the MMR and you still end up with seizures and screaming and the anxiety about what to do next.

If Brandon were my child, I would simply not let him get another vaccination. I can’t think of any middle ground on this one. Of course, his pediatrician believes differently. She recommends “False Prophets” by Paul Offit to wavering parents. And, when you get to know her better, she volunteers that she has an adult child with autism, as though this is some sort of proof that vaccines have nothing to do with it. She adds she conceived the child while she was in medical school. If this is supposed to be reassuring, it’s lost on me.
  --
Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.

Comments

[Mary Ann Puckett]

I am the mother of a 28 year old son who has Early Infantile Autism. My son had a terrible reaction to his first DPT vaccine at one month of age. When Stephen was 9 he was seriously ill with repeated ear, sinus, and bronchial infections that required him to be placed on long term low dose antibiotics. My elderly neighbor told me about a treatment that her doctor had given her in the 1950's that completlely stopped her repeated infections. The treatment was a bacteriophage called Staphage Lysate. The doctor that had treated my neighbor was deceased but his wife, who had been his nurse, was still living. I was able to reach her by phone to inquire about SPL. When she realized what I was calling about she immediately said, "Honey, it was a miracle cure, but I don't think you can still get it." She gave me the name of Delmont Lab in PA where they had purchased SPL and suggested that I call them. When I called Delmont Lab, the researcher I spoke with said that they were actually doing human trials with SPL again and that it would boost the immune system to fight infection. After telling my son's doctor about this she called Delmont Lab and ordered some for my son. After only 2 weeks of treatment with SPL Stephen was off of antibiotics and was well. Unfortunately, in 1995 the FDA pulled SPL off the market for human use. It is still available to treat dogs with infections. SPL is relatively inexpensive to produce and has no known side effects. Bacteriophages like SPL are abundant in nature so they cannot be patented and I know pharmaceuticals do no want them on the market because of this. Two biographies on Elizabeth Taylor's life address how she was treated with SPL in 1961. She was in London filming Cleopatra and became ill with pneumonia and was not expected to live. SPL saved her life and there are a number of newspaper accounts to support this. I know from my son's experience what SPL did for him.
I wrote a book about my son's autism and included information about SPL because people need to know about it. The book is called, 'Take Him Home and Love Him/ A Story of Autism and How to Cope with It'. My website for the book is www.autismreality.com.
About a year ago I was contacted by a woman named Grace Filby who is a Science and Engineering Ambassador for the UK. Ms. Filby told me that she has been doing research on SPL for many years and that her work is funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. Mr. Churchill set up the trust because he had two family members who died of infections and witnessed many soldiers die from them. Ms. Filby said there are two places in the world where people can still be treated with bacteriophages. One is in Poland and the other is the Republic of Georgia. There are many dedicated people in the clinics in those countries who are saving lives and limbs on a daily basis using bacteriophage treatment. Ms. Filby has visited the clinics and met with people who would have died without this treatment and some would have lost arms and legs. She and I agree that not allowing this life saving treatment causes so much needless suffering and loss of life. We also understand that we are up against Big Pharma in trying to get this message out.
I heard Governor Rendell of PA say recently on a news program that we spend over 3 billion dollars a year in the US treating hopsital aquired infections like MRSA. What a waste of money when bacteriophages can cure these infections. A woman in Panama City, FL contacted me last summer, through Grace Filby, to discuss how she had gone into the hospital in FL for a minor procedure, contracted MRSA, and became resistant to antibiotics. She said the doctors told her to get her life in order and sent in grief counselors because she was going to die. She told me that she did not accept that and instead was able to find information on bacteriophage treatment. Next she got on a plane and traveled to Tbilisi ,Georgia and was cured. She said I am alive to tell my story.
Something has to be done to move forward on changing the control that the FDA has over people's lives. China recently bought the rights to purchase SPL and distribute it in their country because they recognize the benefits of making it available. As Ms. Filby has pointed out, more soldiers die in battle from infections than from bullets. She said in WWII when the enemy was captured, they would look in their medical kits and find vials of SPL. This is something we need for our soldiers as well. Currently in the news there are stories about the people in Haiti who are losing limbs and dying from infections after the quake.
Please take the time to view Ms. Filby's site, Amazing Phage, where she has a plethora of information on phages and their history. In 2008 she received the Silver Medallion Award for her work and it was presented to her by Winston Churchill's daughter, Lady Soames.

Sincerely,
Mary Ann Puckett
map77@cox.net

[Mrs Sue Davidson]

My daughter is 28 years of age. Although she did not have the MMR; it wasn't available then, she did have her measles vaccination along with three other vaccinations on the same day. She was 13 months old and was beginning to talk. By the time she was 18months old she had lost all ability of speech. She had continuous screaming fits. Unfortunately, her speech never returned. She is severely autistic and has a complex form of epilepsy. Her mental age has been put at around 10months. The heartbreaking part of all of this is that on account of my not having her older brother vaccinated against measles, my GP at that time was really nasty to me and told me that I could have saved him from having this 'terrible illness', which wasn't severe. I had decided not to have him vaccinated on account of one of my older children having a bad reaction to the vaccine. My views have drastically changed now, but at one time I thought that Dr's knew best.

[Terri Lewis]

Since we're talking about statistics, how about this:

At my kids' primary school, grades 1 through 3, one of the aides let it slip the other day that she's working with three autistic children in the first grade.

There are no more than 100 children total in the first grade at that school. So--one in every 33 kids out of that particular group.

And I bet there's somebody out there who can top that. . .

[bensmyson]

Benedetta - This year the school system's enrollment for kids with autism increased 14% bringing the total number to 370. This means that one in a little less that 50 households with kids under 18 living there have a child with autism. One or two in every neighborhood, and growing.

[Pregnant Mother]

The whole debate of vaccines can be daunting, its such s ’sacred cow’ topic, but as a parent its always a relief to find unbiased, well researched information. For anyone beginning this journey into uncovering your own truths for your own family, then I would recommend the “Well Adjusted Babies” website as an excellent place to begin….
Goodluck and great respect to all of you who seek to know, who respect free will and refuse to be herded into anything you believe may be unsafe for you or your beloved. Remembering that the responsibility of caring for a vaccine-damaged child lies with YOU, the parent(do not expect support, financial or otherwise from your GP, Specialists, Government or the Drug Company in question). It is important not to get caught up in ‘the debate’ where emotional temperatures rise so quickly, but to take your time, do your own research and know the decision you make CAN and very well may, have far reaching consequences.

[Benedetta Stilwell]

okay, okay-- bensmyson, you said last year 14%, and I said 1999 10%. That was the year I was trying to get my son into OT and the head of the education department was giving me a hard time. She said that the special education classes had increased by 10% and services were stressed. I subbed in all the schools so I know that the four middle schools had maybe 30 special educational students. So that would mean 3 additional students. That is not really that much and the head of the education department would have quite the whinning and gave me both OT and speech. But it is still sad that year after year this one county is increasing it's special ed by three. So in 10 years that would mean class size in special ed has double in size from 30 to 60. That is about right, it is close to that number maybe a little more. w.

[Christine]

Oops, that comment above was meant for Nathaniel .... sorry.

[Christine]

Vicki, my youngest of five is the only one with no vaccines. The others have varying amounts, as I stopped all vaccines in 1999. He is now 6 and like your unvaxed child, has never taken any sort of medication, ever. He's had a handful of colds with mild symptoms and was fine in 1-3 days. At last, an immune system that can function the way in which it was intended.

[Benedetta Stilwell]

For those worrying about Jeann; I have thought a little on her for the last two days. She is baiting us. She is telling us of an antidotal happening, and then we tell her of an antidotal happening we witnessed of our own children. YET, it is all antidotal is what she is saying. The difference is she witnessed it in a doctor's office to someone else's child and she don't know nothing about that child. Was the child an epileptic because she previously had a auto accident, a febrile seizure(that I don't believe really exist without something seriously wrong), or a vaccine injury, or maybe GOD had mercy on the little thing.

[Benedetta Stilwell]

bensmyson; What year was it that the autism rate in your school system went up to 14%? I was told by the board of education that the special ed classes in my son's school went up 10% in 1998. They keep them in regular classrooms up to the fifth or sixth grade, and then put them in special ed. Just curious.

[Marianna Conroy]

I know Carson's surviving parent as well and have also had several conversations with him regarding vaccinations. I am so saddened to hear that our warnings and suggestions were warranted. Carson will surely be in my prayers tonight.

[Theresa]

Vicki, unless you live in West Virginia, you have the option of a religious exemption to immunization requirements for school and day care. There is more information here: http://www.know-vaccines.org/exemptionFAQ.html and you can find more information if you search on "religious exemption" and "immunization" in your web browser. There are a number of religious grounds for refusal to vaccinate. You also have the option of medical exemption, depending on your child's medical history, e.g., allergies to eggs or sensitivity to antibiotics.

Here in PA, where I live, if you use the religious or medical exemption, the school or day care can require your child to stay home from school during an outbreak of a particular disease. Finding someone to watch your kid for a few days during a chickenpox outbreak at school seems like a smalll price to pay in order to raise your child according to your beliefs.

[Debi]

I had a good friend who was "anti vaccines." My ped & I would hold down my kids & shoot 'em up while we laughed at the granolas out there. Now I'm a granola & regret I never listened to my friend.

[bensmyson]

When my son had screaming fits, seizures and fevers after his 12 month vaccines (7 of them including ProQuad) we of course didn't know a thing to do other than call his doctor who then diagnosed him over the phone as "just having typical reactions, don't worry," and so we tried not to. Several days later Ben had some more seizures and we called again, a little concerned about the new rash but the fever seemed to go away. The doctor, again over the phone said the seizures were just febrile and I told her his fevers seem to be gone, she said it isn't how high the temperature goes, it's the speed in which the temperature goes up, even if it is just a degree or so. The doctor said, "it's nothing to worry about, febrile seizures do no harm to your son" By now I just had had more than I could take and I asked her, "How the hell am I, a new dad, someone with absolutely no medical training, going to be able to tell the difference between a febrile seizure and another kind that may be hurting my son? Shouldn't you be ordering tests or something, have someone other than me tell you what's going on with him, someone who has been to med school perhaps?"

Four months later I began listening to my wife about her concerns that something was seriously different with Ben, 2 months after that I finally had the scales lifted from my eyes and I saw it too, something was wrong. One month later Ben was diagnosed with autism.

It's hard for me to know that tens of thousands of other families have similar stories every year. I just learned that in our local school system the enrollment for children with autism increased 14% in the past year.

[Sylvia]

I am so sorry Dan that your friends baby has suffered. But your story and those of the others here add further proof that pediatricians are not equipped to provide medical care for babies. If they cannot even identify, much less TREAT, an infant who is seriousely injured, then what on earth are we doing with them? Then they make up names for those injuries as if they are typical conditions? Absurd! In this economy there is no room for this type of overpaid incompentence! When will parents accross the country say "throw the bums out!"? How many brain injured kids will it take?

[Vicki]

Help! I can stand up to a doctor but how do you fight day care and state school system or any school?

[Nathaniel]

Dan,

If you try your best to persuade friends or family members to forego the shots and the reasons why, then you did your job.
I don't hold back to anyone around me. I tell everyone that the shots are poison. Don't do them. Some listen, some don't.
What amazes me are the very intelligent, attentive, caring parents that lack basic common sense and the guts to stand up to pressure from doctors.
Their precious child has a bad vaccine reaction and they continue vaccinating with reassuring comments like, "Oh, don't worry, it's just a febrile seizure."
They know about the Autism/vaccine horror stories and the suspected links to allergies, autoimmune disease, asthma, etc., and they still do it!!
At the end of the day, you can only do so much to warn people and then you can only take care of yourself.
Thanks God some people are listening and are starting to wake up.

My 21 month old daughter has never had a shot and never will. She has never had an antibiotic, Tylenol or any medicine.
She has never had a fever, colic, allergy, diarrhea, asthma, and definitely no seizures. I'm betting she never will.
Her eyes are bright and alert and she radiates intelligence. She is a very happy child and I can't wait to have another.
Friends and family that have vaccinated have definitely noticed how robust and healthy she is and say so all the time.
I always tell them the same thing. Breast milk for a year, good sleep, little sugar, lot's of love and kisses and NO VACCINES!!

[Sorry stupid question]

"The only "safe" and full of common sense vaccine schedule i have ever seen is the one suggested by Natasha Campbell McBride, the author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
She explains how and what shots should be given to babies based on their PARENTS HEALTH RECORD."

Really? She said that? Is she a doctor?

[Cynthia Cournoyer]

I would like to see someone take the screaming baby into the waiting room of the doctor who vaccinated him, and stay there the whole time. If enough screaming babies were in the waiting room, others would leave and maybe the doctor would give up. Just a fantasy of mine. The trouble is, so many reactions take place at home and it is so easy for doctors to dismiss it as Stupid Parent Syndrome.

Dan carries more credibility than most of us. Most of us voice our concerns and immediately are hit with, "I'm going to do what my doctor says." Asking someone to stop vaccinating, or even to do their homework first is like asking them to change their religion because you told them to. Our belief in the perfection of modern medicine trumps even our best friend's sage advice. Too bad.
Cynthia Cournoyer
http://www.whataboutimmunizations.com/

[AnaB]

I know Dan. I've been in the same situation . I had two friends pregnant at the same time several years ago. I was so nervous about these particular children because I knew that in both family histories there were the autoimmune conditions that DAN docs have said show up in the family histories of children that end up autistic. THerefore, I knew these children were at risk for vaccine induced autsim were they vaccinated on the too much too soon current vaccine schedule.

I told my friends of my concerns while they were still pregnant and asked them to research vaccines for themselves. They did and decided to listen to their doctor, as I would have back in the day.

Both of those children are in early intervention today and being evaluated for Autism! I am stunned that I was able to predict this outcome but the pediatricians were not.

[PS]

Screaming Baby Syndrome is idiopathic, i.e., caused by Idiot Doctor Syndrome.

[CarolynKylesMom]

Dan, this breaks my heart. You did everything right for this baby and for so very many children out there with your advocacy. But with my son, because people spoke out, we stopped after the MMR and I truly believe that is why he is doing so well. He has lots of issues and is technically autistic, but sometimes he 'passes' for NT . . if we hadn't been alerted by parents in our life, the work of the parents who spoke out in the late 90's early 2000's, I would have kept vaccinating and I think he would have been far, far more lost. So by limiting the vaccines to this point, you did save the little guy, maybe not from everything, but from a great deal. If you can get them to cut off milk and gluten NOW perhaps he'll never regress. . . and perhaps he will only need to do this for a short while. Just a thought.

[Gatogorra]

Jeanne,

The information you're asking for can't be recounted to you in the comments section of this blog. MMR isn't the only culprit here-- just a common one. Many shots often come before the MMR at a year or 18 months, so just because the MMR wasn't the "tip-over" shot for the little girl you saw having a seizure, this doesn't mean that another slew of shots at one of her earlier well-baby visits didn't do it. It doesn't mean that the MMR wasn't the "tip-over" shot for many others-- or that the triple jab couldn't decimate a child's health on its own. Each child is different; the circumstances of each immunization session are different (whether the child was sick or well, how rapidly their brain was developing at the moment of the shots, other concurrent toxic exposures, etc.)

The researchers who uncovered the connection between severe GI disorders, autism and the MMR are currently doing further research on vaccine mercury in combination with vaccine strain viruses. These researchers aren't "recanting" or going back on any pronouncements-- they'd only ever previously concluded that the MMR required more serious investigtation in terms of autism and GI disorders.

There may very well be a one-two (or more) punch involved in the mechanism of damage. No one on the inside of the safer-vaccine movement thinks it's as simple as "one shot damaging all". I recommend getting some books (Bryan Jepson's "Reversing the Course of Autism" could easily apply to "ADHD"; Stephanie Cave's "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations", etc.).

[sdtech]

Jeannine, you said “correlation does not equal causation.”

Nor does it rule out causation. And studies on animals in vivo and human tissue in vitro give statistics that infer causation. When one ignores these red flags then millions of children are literally used as guinea pigs in some sort of twisted study.

Finally, a good doctor has little utility without symptom feedback from the patient.

[Tara]

I am a behavioural consultant for children with ASD. Almost all of the families I work with believe that the vaccines have caused thier child's autism and I agree with them. I went on a trip to Europe recently where my good friends son was about to have his first vaccines through the national health care system. He was still on antibiotics and suffering from an infection. The nurse explained to her that vaccines did not cause ASD and not to worry. At my advice, she contacted a private clinic and inquired whether it was safe. The nurse from the private clinic informed her that she was crazy to vaccinate her child while he was sick and should wait months before considering any vaccines. She opted to go private, thankfully. In England, you have the option to pay privately for a nurse to separate the MMR into single immunizations -can we do this in Canada and the US??

[Twyla]

Jeanne (of the 8:04 comment - not to be confused with the other Jeanne): There is still concern about thimerosal. There is still concern about the MMR. There is also concern about a lot of other ingredients in vaccines (such as aluminum*), and about the sheer number of vaccines, which can have unintended effects on developing immune systems.

The purpose of vaccines is to provoke the immune system, and our vaccine program appears to be over-provoking many immune systems. Peer reviewed published studies have found high rates of immune system dysregulation in people with autism, including:
- inflammation in the brain,
- inflammatory cytokines in the spinal fluid,
- autoantibodies against the myelin basic protein that covers nerve cells,
- food allergies,
- imbalance between Th1 and Th2 cells,
- inflammatory bowel disease.

The brain is not a machine that needs only electricity and proper "wiring" to run. The brain is living tissue and is affected by the rest of the body.

There needs to be:
- studies comparing health outcomes of vaccinated and unvaccinated children,
- more study of vaccine injured children,
- better weighing of the risks and benefits of each vaccine, vaccines in combination, and diseases, instead of just adding more and more vaccines assuming that the more the merrier,
- independent evaluation of vaccine safety issues, instead of the same people evaluating safety as are responsible for promoting vaccines,
- less pharma financial influence on the agencies and politicians who should be addressing vaccine problems. The fox is guarding the henhouse.

You have no idea how sick and tired we are of hearing that "correlation does not equal causation". There are just too many thousands of parents telling similar stories from various times and places for that to be just coincidence.

I could go on and on, but I will leave it at that.

* http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/vaccines/aluminum-new-thimerosal.html

http://professionals.epilepsy.com/page/renal_aes.html

http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Abell.BANKS.02-0738V.pdf

[Erika]

The only "safe" and full of common sense vaccine schedule i have ever seen is the one suggested by Natasha Campbell McBride, the author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
She explains how and what shots should be given to babies based on their PARENTS HEALTH RECORD.
So a baby like Carson, --who had a father with "persistent skin problems" that die of cancer--, qualifies under the category of "Do not give one single shot to this kid".

Poor little thing, my prayers are with him and his family.

[Maurine Meleck]

I wear my "Green Our Vaccines" shirt from last June all the time. I don't believe they can be greened, but it still gets attention and often a discussion so I wear it. I've been through the vaccine injury twice with both grandkids. NEVER AGAIN. What a tragic story this is.
Maurine

[Patrick]

Jeanne,
I have a hard time believing that this child was unvaccinated and also about to go in to get vaccinated.
There is a probability that the seizure WAS vaccine related. In fact it is most probable that the injury DID take place after a vaccination. This same situation happened with Mrs. Offit. The child had a seizure as she was about to vaccinate.

[Linda Cain]

YES SIR, very same thing happen to my now 20 yr. old son, same amt. of time after mmr and that was long ago also back then i knew it was beacuse of the shot after having 2 older sons which are ok, I DID KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPEN!! to my son who as others lost all he had gained & later diganiozed with austim when no one ever heard of it.

[Jessica Fithen]

When I finally got to see my son's shot/medical records with his DAN, I couldn't believe my eyes that his pediatrician had written down "shot reaction" after his three months vaccinations. They NEVER told me that he was having a vaccine reaction and that was the cause of his sleeplessness, screaming, eczema, blood in his stool, etc.... How can they get away with that?

How is that even f-ing legal? How is that not gross negligence to not tell me he was having vaccine reactions?

And then continue to vaccinate on schedule a child that THEY even think has had a negative vaccine reaction? The turning point for us, like so many others, was his MMR shot coupled with his flu shot and three others at his 12 month "well baby visit." It was just too much.

[Jeanne]

Can I ask a question - it's a lttle off topic, but it is related to the MMR. (Please don't flame me, it's a genuine question). When my son was first born (he's now 10yo, he has ADD), thre was very little concern about immunisations. Then there was concern in the US about thiomersal (aus spelling) and the concern in the UK was with the MMR. Now even this site states that that is not the case anymore. Exactly what ARE you concerned about now? What EXACTLY do you think should be changed/investigated?

Oh and a little story (and no - I haven't made up my mind yet. ) The girl before my son was due to have her immunisation (don't know which one). Just before they called her in, she had a seizure - you can bet that if they had have been 5 mins faster and she had the seizure 10 mins later, it would have been reported as a side effect of the needle. I know I've seen that on pro-immunisation sites, but it really happened to me - I don't know if my son's ADD was related to his shots, but what I do know is that correlation does not equal causation. I just need to remeber that.

[Jenna Smith]

As Beth and Jack's Dad point out, the screaming is unlike anything you will every experience. I describe it as "the way one screams when his arm is being cut off". 7 years later and I still have nightmares about it.

Jenna

[Julie Obradovic]

Harry,

Probably the same bozo who told me that sometimes when we are disappointed in our children they manifest that disappointment as a delay. Handed me a card for my husband and I to see a psychologist to find out why.

Who knew the whole time she was stimming, failing to speak, having seizures, constantly sick, and chronically constipated it was all because we were so darn disappointed in her? Thanks, Doc!

[Harry H.]

"Screaming baby syndrome"?

What sort of BOZO would say that? Are you sure he has license to practice anything?

[jen]

Dan, while Carson did have a seizure after his 18 month MMR, if you hadn't advocaed for him way back at birth, I'm sure his outcome would have been much worse and a lot sooner. So don't be too hard on yourself and I sure know what you mean abour some kids being susceptible to bad side effects no matter how delayed and minimized the shots are. For them, it seems truly safer to risk the disease.

[Julie Swenson]

Hmmm....that must must mean I have "Screaming Parent Syndrome"...like what happened after I discovered my child was vaccine-injured. I railed at everything nonstop for hours (husband didn't think I had it in me). Fortunately, both conditions seem to have passed after no more vaccines and that wacky biomedical approach.

Docs can now seemingly make up all the nonsense catch-phrases they want to placate worried parents and pass the buck. And people wonder why my second-born will never see another needle in his life.

[Gatogorra]

Then there's always DBS or "Dying Baby Syndrome". Not a big deal. Just give Tylenol, rock the child in wide arcs while making a hissing sound and give last rights. The more I see mainstream doctors, the more I like rabid dobermans.

Dan--The photo on this post alone gave me chills. I'm so sorry to hear that-- despite all your efforts-- someone close to you was put at risk. We're definitely a club that wants no more members.

Oh, the dismissals. After the weeks of screaming that never seemed to fully end, our son began to roll his eyes up into his head several times a day after the MMR/flu shot combo. Because our son didn't seem too bothered by it and would snap out of it and laugh, the doctor said he was "just playing". Another ped said, "So what". Those words will ring in my ears forever.

On a somewhat more hopeful note, an old school friend of my husbands whose wife is a month away from having a baby called to thank us for the information I prepared on vaccination risks, which my husband had emailed. I even included instructions of guarding a baby 100% of the time while in the maternity ward in order to prevent a HepB from being given without consent.

My husband's friend said that he and his wife had been wavering for a while on the issue but that the email made them decide to put off vaccination until at least age two and then to consider options quite cautiously from there.

My husband and his friend both grew up in South America, where their hippy-academic parents gave them very, very minimal shots well after age three. None of the kids they knew were ever sick despite the impression in the US that everyone "down there" is dying of dengue, TB, polio and everything else. They also had no fear of disease, went wherever they wanted. They knew perfectly well that it was the extremely poor that got knocked down with various diseases, nothing that baseline good health, clean air, water and decent food-- i.e., money-- couldn't help.

[nhokkanen]

How does one fight denial? It's a powerful innate defensive reflex. We avoid what could potentially deplete or harm us.

Society is enabling vaccine injury the way families accommodate a drunk uncle. "Oh, he's just that way," they say, responseless. They remain passive, inert, and the disorder and epidemic become banal.

Recently I restarted gardening hoping to get away from this topic. But no, it found me. Fellow gardeners came to pick up irises and shared an anecdote about a family member's neurotypical 7-year-old boy who became paralyzed after a booster shot.

Meanwhile Todd W. over at that irresponsible Discover blog wallows in his logical contradictions, blissfully ignorant of his unintentional ironies.

How does one fight denial? And like the honeybees being killed by pesticides -- must 51% die before governing agencies decide that the risks now outweigh the benefits?

[Greg]

This happened to my son. At 2.5 years, he regressed into severe autism and lost everything. It is real folks. Bastards.

[claudine Liss]

You can bring a horse to water.......it's very frustrating......the carnage is great.

[Eric]

Dan, I read your blog every day. In addition to getting the information you and the other blog posters provide (which is all so very important for us parents), I have begun to notice a certain feeling creeping up on me, one article at a time, several a day, then dozens, then hundreds of articles-- it is a feeling of gratitude. I cannot thank you enough.

My heart goes out to little Carson. We do our best to help the ones we love, but in the end, they (or their parents) make their own decisions. And being right is no consolation--

[Benedetta Stilwell]

Well said Kathy Blanco! Well said Natasha!

[Beth]

Having witnessed 6 hours of non-stop scream-crying that started 30 minutes after a round of shots, I have to say that your picture for this article - the baby with the shut eyes - does not square up with the horrific scene I witnessed.

Your picture shows an ordinary unhappy baby cry. My child looked more like the possessed wide-eyed freaked out scary lady in another picture on your home page today.

Vaccine induced scream crying is a unique thing - nothing close to your standard baby cries like when they're extremely hungry or the overtired sleepy cry. The vaccine-induced screaming looks different - the baby's eyes are wide-open, there's a look on their face of being scared senseless, and the sound is like a wild animal terror scream and it just goes on and on. All you want as a parent is to have that normal baby you just took to the doctor come back to you.

I'm so sorry that your little friend is suffering - sending prayers that it is short-term and there's no lasting damage.

It is so very sad that pediatricians disregard and dismiss parents who have witnessed extreme changes in their child post vaccines. Many of the problems with vaccines and injured children could have ended long ago if Drs would just "listen to the parents."

Thanks for making more people aware of how common this problem is.

[Marie]

Dan, I am anti-vaccine. I have been from the day I found out about my son. You should check out www.brainguardmd.com This is Dr. Andrew Moulden's sight. I watched his 6 hour DVD series about the dangers of ALL vaccines. He says that Aluminum causes the blood to coagulate (or sludge). This causes many small capillaries to stroke. The red blood cells cannot get oxygen to the cells because the white blood cells are hyperactivated and the blood sludges and blocks the capillaries in vital areas of the brain. Although VERY dangerous for infants and children. This could happen to anyone at any age (golf war syndrome). Heavy metals are a bloodstreams biggest nightmare and the doctors and the CDC seem to think it is OK to inject them into humans. When the blood is thick and sludging, it cannot carry nutrition to the cells and it cannot remove toxins from the cell. The white blood cells cannot effectively get to the infection area and the red blood cells cannot carry oxygen to the areas in need. These strokes can happen to any organ in the body (not just the brain). This is also and ideal environment for bacteria, viruses, yeast, and parasites to flourish.

[Garbo]

It's so frustrating that parents won't really investigate these issues until it's too late. I was at a 1 year old's birthday party this past weekend. Of the 5 babies there, 3 had reflux/gastro issues serious enough to require medication. 3 of the older kids, including my 2, had serious multiple food allergies, including one who requires an epi pen nearby at all times. Since when did it become normal for babies to be on Zantac?

[Twyla]

Vaccine defenders often say that only a very small percentage of babies suffer vaccine injuries. Of course, these same people expect us to have total scientific peer-reviewed published beyond-a-doubt proof of anything we say, but there do not appear to be any reliable statistics on vaccine injuries, which are not studied, per Dr. Healy and others.

Our concerns are dismissed as "anti-vaccine" as if there are only two options: the complete vaccine schedule as-is for everyone, or no vaccines at all. It's amazing that even the request for better study of susceptibility factors is ignored by mainstream medical, including the AAP.

When a baby screams for three hours after the DTaP and then has a seizure after the MMR, these should be taken seriously as signs of susceptibility to harm. The cavalier dismissal of these reactions -- no reporting, no testing, no consideration by the pediatrician that this baby's immune system may be especially susceptible to being derailed by vaccines -- is just terrible -- and unfortunately so typical today.

[Jack's Dad]

My wife and I were recently recollecting the terrifying screaming fits that my son Max used to have. They would go on for as many as three hours straight - it's like something evil had taken over his body and he wasn't even there anymore. Having recalled the exact date of when these "terrors" first occurred, I checked his ped records and discovered they began just days after he had the MMR at 15 mos.

My other son Jack, who had been perfect since birth, had the MMR and lost all skills, speech, eye contact, just everything after that shot. He is now fully recovered only after three years of backbreaking work. Both have excelled thanks to ABA, "the diet" and supplements.

Max is getting ready to start kindergarten and at the orientation, the nurse made it clear that "everyone better be up to date with their shots because we're going to start excluding people," which was a totally baseless scare tactic because in Pennsylvania you can file a medical or religious exemption for vaccines.

[Lisa @ TACA who is tired of hearing this story over and over]

Screaming baby syndrome? I think doctors have a "pull it out of your ass excuse syndrome" when they try to explain away the crazy adverse advents they witness. Sure, screaming baby syndrome has been around a long time! So has those seizures!

Just wait until the developmental delays come along. Then we will get the antidocte "boys just develop slower" business.

So very sad....

[Erik Nanstiel]

MMR ruined my daughter's life. Forever. I will never forget that week when we vaccinated her at 15 months of age. Never.

[Kathy Blanco]

I agree with Natasa...I have personally witnessed a good friends child acquire autism with one single dose Measles vaccine. Are any vaccines good in toxic, autoimmune people? NOT......

Don't be so vaccine happy that they are going to split the MMR. Realize that there ar emany mechanisms of damage, including molecular mimicry of your own tissue. This includes your myelin and other parts of your brain.

There is no such thing as a safe, safer, slower vaccine schedule. You cannot green the neutropic viruses in them? Every ingredient is neurotoxic.

[Kathy Blanco]

I have three autoimmune diseases, apple doesn't fall far from. I have two with autism. I also have lyme, and so do my autistic children. We were sitting ducks from the get go.

READ ON GOOGLE
TICK BORNE DISEASE/AUTISM/BRANSFIELD....

[Gabriella True]

A seizure is not normal. It might happen bc it needs to but that does not make it normal.

[Theresa Cedillo]

Dan - Carson should have a complete workup like Baily Banks -

Theresa

[Let's not always blame the mom]

"And his father had the fair haired, blue eyed Northern European profile that seems to go with trouble; he even had persistent skin problems that suggested autoimmune problems." Holy crap, you just described my husband; blond haired, blue eyed German with psoriasis. I hope your friend pays attention to the vaccine injury/autoimmune connection because it's true. There are now two cases of autism (under 10 years old, our son and now a cousin's child) in my husband's family. BTW, I believe my husband's psoriasis was a vaccine injury from smallpox vaccine. Maybe autism is a second generation vaccine injury.

[Dr. Fill]

"This child should be scheduled for an EEG evaluation and referred to a pediatric neurologist."

Why? EEG's are worthless and extremely stressfull. All the neurologist will do is start him on a steady stream of pharmacuiticals (nice financial kickbacks) that have more side-effects than the seizures themselves. The best choice for this child, "NO MORE INJECTIONS". My daughter, (after dying and coming back to life from a vaccine induced seizure at age 1.5) has not had another injection or seizure since. What medication did we use. Vitamin B-6 and magnesium.

[Jack]

The new normal is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

[ObjectiveAutismDad]

Yeah, "...the classic MMR seizure. It happens...". It's become more common in the last 20 years -- I'll bet it's about 1 in 60 now.

[Pamela]

In addition to sdtech's recommendation maybe you could convince the little guy's Mom to go ahead and begin working with a DAN! Dr. What we do to bring our children back from autistic regression might keep this little one from experiencing one.

Children with Starving Brains or Healing the New Childhood epidemics might be good books for her to read. They should help her understand the correlation between Dad's medical history and the potential setup for vaccine injury that she is witnessing before her eyes.

[Jeanne]

Screaming Baby Syndrome. Really? Really? That is just sad. But you know what is more sad? The number of parents willing to accept that crap as a valid "diagnosis."

Friends, our work here is not done. Clearly.

[D.D. Carlson]

"Fair-haired" - did you know general anesthesia protocols are specially designed for people with red hair/fair skin? Their genetic makeup proved too sensitive for standard dosing. Too sensitive to sun exposure too. Pediatricians need to get in line with current science - one size does not fit all.

[Amber DBTD]

I find it pretty scary how many kids have real medical reactions to this particular vaccination. I've heard of a few friends whose kids ended up with rashes, or seizures, and my own daughter who spent 4 days in the hospital with a 104-106 fever that they could not get down. I also found it really disturbing that the ER docs would not tell me WHY she was so sick. All they could tell me was that it must be a virus. Which didn't make sense, given that they were treating her with antibiotics. Upon discharge, we had no answer on what happened, and no one would entertain the thought that the MMR vaccine had a thing to do with it.

That said, I maintain my belief that there is no autism vaccine connection. Despite her severe reaction to the MMR, my little girl is as "typical" as they come, and never stops talking. I feel that doctors might take the MMR reactions more seriously if people would push the REAL aspect of vaccine reactions rather than the unproven. Either way, though, I will never understand why docs AREN'T taking these sort of reactions seriously.

[Kecia]

"Screaming Baby Syndrome"- what medical diagnostic book does that diagnosis lie in? A once happy baby that is now distraught is trying to tell you something! Wake up doctor!

"classic MMR seizure"- the day we accept seizures as normal side effect of any vaccination is a day of great sadness indeed. No wonder we have little faith in our medical community these days.

The MMR has completely ruined my son's GI function. After over 5 years of incontinence starting at age 6(after his MMR booster) and 2 years under the care of a renowned GI specialist he still suffers daily. They don't know how to cure it, it will probably be life long. That world renowned GI specialist looked at me at our last appointment with great sadness and said "This is what happens when these children on the spectrum have bowel disease that is blow off by other doctors. WE must keep fighting for these children and their quality of life no matter what those that don't believe say." I agree with him but some days its hard to keep up the fight.

I hope your friend's son never ever has to feel my son's pain.

[sdtech]

This child should be scheduled for an EEG evaluation and referred to a pediatric neurologist. The screaming symptom cannot be ignored either.

[sdtech]

If this is true that the doctor that made the phony diagnoses of “screaming baby syndrome” and “classic MMR seizure” then she should be reported to the state medical board for disciplinary action.

[CM]

“Don’t worry,” the doctor said, “it’s just screaming baby syndrome.”

That statement breaks my heart. Babies don't cry for fun. A screaming cry means something is very wrong; that something is hurting or bothering them. They can't speak, so they can't tell us what's wrong. All they can do is cry, and to just brush over it like that is cruel.

[Natasa]

"Vaccination should be about informed consent and choice." - that goes without saying.

I am trying to say we should be very careful about pushing for single vaccine options, in terms of claiming that single vaccines would be safer and would not trigger autism, or seizures.

[paula p proffit merckelouse]

just screaming baby syndrome and seizing, not to worry says the quack,I mean doc. So if this doc gets breast cancer we can say hey its just cancer not to worry once we lob of a breast your chances are actually good. For the love of God is there any damn thing they cause to an infant with thier witches brew that they view/take seriously? This is horrobly absurd. It is this doctors responsibility to hault all vaccination, run test, and refer to neurology. Anything short is malpractice.What a quack!

[Stagmom]

The monovalent M M R gives parents another level of choice. Vaccination should be about informed consent and choice. Like other medical decisions.

[Natasa]

correction - meant to say LIGHTYEARS away

[Natasa]

I personally know of two children who regressed following single measles vaccine. Separating the MMR is not the solution.

Testing for inflammatory markers, immune system function and ruling out unusually high viral titres before vaccinating each individual child would come closer to giving some protection.

Sadly we are years away from that.

[Teresa Conrick]

Dan,

I am so sorry that Carson had a seizure. The thought of it is horrible and the doctor's comments are equaly disturbing. It is not an easy place to be, where we are in knowing about autism, vaccines, and adverse reactions.

I am in a similar boat. I work with someone who just had a baby and I'm also surrounded by pregnant women, all in different stages of soon-to-be-motherhood.

This new mom has a 6 month old, a beautiful baby girl and it can be painful allowing my mind to drift back to when Meg was 6 months old, beautiful yet with the autism process being set up in the months to come. Her baby has been vaccinated according to Dr. Sears schedule. She is very concerned about vaccines and autism and other vaccine adverse events -- she is one smart mom. But even with all this rightfully so fear and knowledge, she wants to give measles, mumps, and rubella but cannot get them separated (again--2011 will be too late). I have been an information gatherer, a fact and data person, a non-dramatic warrior mom who will not boss or tell someone what to do--they can make their own choices based on the facts--but now there is a huge part of me that wants to yell out "STOP"!!

Your post here may be the fact, the information that I can share to illustrate what can go so wrong. The fact too that autoimmune issues run rampant on both sides of her families adds fuel to my fire.

So anyway, know that your post here, besides making us all more determined and so very sad may hopefully stop the
“it’s just screaming baby syndrome" for another child.

PS- The adult child with autism comment from the ped is a red flag to get out of that practice. The lack of empathy and SCIENCE from this ped is a recipe for disaster.

[kim]

I wonder how Carson's mother feels about this post. If she's like a few of my "friends" this is a personal assault claiming her to be a "bad mother."
I mean, no, I don't see a personal judgment on her in your writing, but believe me, I've lost more than on friend over something like this. Misplaced fear and anger? Of course. But I hope you don't lose her over this one, Dan. It's become a theme in MY life.

[John Stone]

This is all so familiar, and we all believed these idiots once upon a time. See National Health Service advice about severe reactions to MMR in my post here:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/04/-british-government-minister-in-idiotic-deception-over-mmr.html