Scary reaction to flu shot in Loudoun...

[Anonymous]

OK I have seen a lot on this site but this one tops them all. The CDC advising against getting the flu shot???? Turn on the news ANY night and you'll hear a differnet story. Perhpas you should talk to the principal at your child's school. She is certainly spreading misinformation.

[Anonymous]

Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

[Anonymous]

H1N1 is 99% of circulating flu NOW - but flu season just officially started - seasonal flu will catch up soon.

My pediatrician, and the CDC, is recommending both shots. Please do not spread misinformation like that. It is fine if you don't want to get the shot for your family, but don't say "CDC says this" when it is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

Or, whatever she was taking antibiotics for was the causative factor in her later dystonia diagnosis. Who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

If it was related to the vaccine at all. It's likely that she was sick before she got dystonia, or she wouldn't have been on several months of antibiotics (OK, maybe for acne, but that's about the only other reason). Dystonia can be caused by infection. And dystonia isn't a reported side effect of the influenza vaccine, although it has been caused by certain meds but those are like antipsychotics.

The only known neurological condition from any vaccine that I can find is GBS, and that was specific to the swine flu vaccine of 1976, which is not what she received. She got the seasonal influenza vaccine.

But the problem is that the cause of dystonia is often not identified. These doctors ran out of hypotheses for the cause, so they are going back to the last medication she received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And Arlington County schools are planning to offer H1N1 in elementary schools.

Do you know if they are offering shots or mist? I can't find that info yet, or maybe they haven't said yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

Or, whatever she was taking antibiotics for was the causative factor in her later dystonia diagnosis. Who knows.

According to the DOCTORS at Hopkins and Fairfax it was the flu shot.

I'm all for getting the h1n1 shot, but I'm not going to be in denial based on what I want to hear, as it suits my decisions. I appreciate the information the article gives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

Or, whatever she was taking antibiotics for was the causative factor in her later dystonia diagnosis. Who knows.

According to the DOCTORS at Hopkins and Fairfax it was the flu shot.

I'm all for getting the h1n1 shot, but I'm not going to be in denial based on what I want to hear, as it suits my decisions. I appreciate the information the article gives.

According to the Dystonia Foundation, you should take the flu shot. And BTW you do realize that she didn't even get the H1N1 vaccine, yes?

[Anonymous]

Yes, Desiree was on antibiotics for months prior to the regular flu shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Desiree was on antibiotics for months prior to the regular flu shot.

Which suggests an underlying health problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Desiree was on antibiotics for months prior to the regular flu shot.

Which suggests an underlying health problem.

So -- people with underlying health conditions are the very people encouraged to get these shots, and yet the underlying health conditions makes them more susceptible to adverse reactions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

Or, whatever she was taking antibiotics for was the causative factor in her later dystonia diagnosis. Who knows.

According to the DOCTORS at Hopkins and Fairfax it was the flu shot.

I'm all for getting the h1n1 shot, but I'm not going to be in denial based on what I want to hear, as it suits my decisions. I appreciate the information the article gives.

Let's look at the article. At one point it says,

"Desiree is convinced that in her case, the dystonia was triggered by the seasonal flu shot. Her doctors at Inova Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree that it was likely the adverse reaction to the flu shot that caused her condition."

Then later it says,

"It’s understandable how Desiree now feels about the seasonal flu shot. “Don’t get it if you’re healthy” and not at risk, she implores. She claims doctors at Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree."

It's unclear to me if the first point is based on an interview with her physicians or on Desiree's report. It seems to me that if they had spoken to her physicians, they would have asked directly whether they agree with Desiree's assertion that people shouldn't get the flu shot if they're healthy and not at risk. Instead, they rely on Desiree's claim.

I don't think we can draw any conclusions about what the physicians believe based on this article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

If it was related to the vaccine at all. It's likely that she was sick before she got dystonia, or she wouldn't have been on several months of antibiotics (OK, maybe for acne, but that's about the only other reason). Dystonia can be caused by infection. And dystonia isn't a reported side effect of the influenza vaccine, although it has been caused by certain meds but those are like antipsychotics.

The only known neurological condition from any vaccine that I can find is GBS, and that was specific to the swine flu vaccine of 1976, which is not what she received. She got the seasonal influenza vaccine.

But the problem is that the cause of dystonia is often not identified. These doctors ran out of hypotheses for the cause, so they are going back to the last medication she received.

That's actually incorrect. GBS is a potential (tho VERY rare) possible side effect from ANY vaccine, and seems to be more prevalent in the flu and gardasil (and, I think, one other, maybe meningicoccal, but do't quote me on that). HOWEVER, GBS most often occurs as a results of illness, etc. BTW, I'm not discounting vaccines here -- my family and I all got our seasonal flu and plan to get the H1N1, I just wanted to point out GBS as a possiblity of any vaccination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the girl Desiree Jennings in the OP's article. There is a critical piece of information that is missing from the article. Desiree was actually on antibiotics for a while a few months prior to the flu shot. This could have weakened her immune system which caused a side effect to her shot.
I think it is important to question the flu shot if you have been ill recently and were on antibiotics.

Or, whatever she was taking antibiotics for was the causative factor in her later dystonia diagnosis. Who knows.

According to the DOCTORS at Hopkins and Fairfax it was the flu shot.

I'm all for getting the h1n1 shot, but I'm not going to be in denial based on what I want to hear, as it suits my decisions. I appreciate the information the article gives.

Let's look at the article. At one point it says,

"Desiree is convinced that in her case, the dystonia was triggered by the seasonal flu shot. Her doctors at Inova Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree that it was likely the adverse reaction to the flu shot that caused her condition."

Then later it says,

"It’s understandable how Desiree now feels about the seasonal flu shot. “Don’t get it if you’re healthy” and not at risk, she implores. She claims doctors at Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree."

It's unclear to me if the first point is based on an interview with her physicians or on Desiree's report. It seems to me that if they had spoken to her physicians, they would have asked directly whether they agree with Desiree's assertion that people shouldn't get the flu shot if they're healthy and not at risk. Instead, they rely on Desiree's claim.

I don't think we can draw any conclusions about what the physicians believe based on this article.

I totally agree. This is her story - I feel soooo sooo bad for this girl - but there is something missing and she still is still in the process of figuring things out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Desiree was on antibiotics for months prior to the regular flu shot.

Where does it say on the CDC Flu.gov website that someone taking antibiotics anytime in the past few months shouldn't get a flu shot?