Vaccinations

[Guest guest]

I have an autistic son who also has CMT 1A. Thimerosal (once

contained in many vaccinations) did not cause CMT 1A ... a genetic

issue he inherited from me did cause the CMT.

The second issue relates to the safety of vaccinations and the role of

vaccinations in autism. Beginning in the 1980s, the pharmaceutical

industry began including a preservative called Thimerosal in childhood

vaccines. Thimerosal is 49% mercury by weight. Exposure to

Thimerosal by vaccine is 187 times greater than the Environmental

Protection Agency's legal limit for a related form of mercury.

Mercury is a known neurotoxin. But the EPA does not regulate the FDA.

Thimerosal is a highly toxic substance and BANNED in its mercurial

form in most developed countries. Accordingly, the United States

basically injected a known nuerotoxin into our children during the 80s

and the 90s. Autism, ADD and ADHD rates suddenly skyrocketed and then

the government quietly removed the substance from most vaccines.

If you don't think mercury (or Thimerosal) is a toxic substance, then

let's inject you at the levels once given to children in this country.

Please roll up your sleave ... It would quickly place you in the

hospital. I'm sorry ... I could never subject anyone to such a

horrific measure.

I have spoken to professionals who have observed (under microscope)

immediate and substantial cell death upon exposure to Thimerosal. As

a result of substantial research, I have absolutely NO doubt that

thimerosal causes autism, ADD, and ADHD in certain genetically

predisposed individuals.

My son was born a very intelligent and bright child, but regressed

into an autistic life following vaccinations. I have spoken to many

parents who have reported similar experiences. I have studied the

issue and spoken with many individuals who have conclusive proof of

the connection between Thimerosal and disorders on the autism spectrum.

First of all, I ask you to consider that our government, certain

pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory organizations (the FDA and

CDC) simply may not be telling the truth on this matter. The stakes

for the pharmaceutical industry, if thimerosal is shown to play a role

in autism spectrum, are financially unbearable. The pharmaceutical

companies that have manufactured and distributed Thimerosal would not

survive. If you do not believe Thimerosal is covered up by the US

government please read this article -

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0616-31.htm

There are many other similar articles, but you must be open to the

possibility that there may be some truth to the connection between

Thimerosal and Autism spectrum.

Please also consider ... the pharmaceutical industry quietly

discontinued including Thimerosal in most childhood vaccinations. Why

did they suddenly remove Thimerosal? I assure you it does not take a

rocket scientist to figure out the answer to that question.

Also consider that tobacco was not considered as playing a role in

lung and throat cancer at one time in this country. Also that the

tobacco industry covered up the relationship between tobacco and

cancer. I remember seeing tobacco industry executives on television

sworn in before a congressional committee, asked questions, and

testifying under oath things that we now know were absolutely lies.

The pharmaceutical industry has much more at stake. Currently,

vaccine claims must be litigated in a special court called the vaccine

court, a special system that requires all vaccine claims to be

litigated Office of Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal

Claims.. This system was set up in 1986 to limit the liability

exposure of pharmaceutical companies. All vaccine claims must be

tried through the vaccine court.

However, Thimerosal is not a vaccine. Thimerosal is a preservative

for a vaccine. One group of litigants has managed to successfully

file financial claims for Thimerosal outside of the vaccine court. If

successful, this will move may effectively pierce the veil of

protection afforded to the pharmaceutical industry and create massive

financial exposure.

Approximately 5,000 claims have been filed in the vaccine court

against Thimerosal. This is unprecedented! When we started looking

for an attorney to represent our son, we realized that the attorneys

leading this fight are booked to the gills with Thimerosal cases.

They are not taking new cases, and they have invested substantial firm

resources in the litigation of these cases. We still have not found

an attorney.

If you still do not believe the conspiracy theory, here's one for you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/the-other-secret-bush-cou_b_34232.html

Please consider the source for all claims related to this issue. I

for one believe Thimerosal contributes to Autism spectrum.

Jon

[Guest guest]

,

This happened to me when I was a toddler too and for a long, long time my mother

was convinced that it was the vaccine that was the root cause of all my

problems.

The " we think its CMT " diagnosis was offered down when I was 17 (beginning of

the '80's) but there was no mention that it was genetic in origin and nothing

was said to change my mother's opinion. There's no history of CMT in my family

so it wasn't until eventually I had more tests (inconclusive) I found out more

about CMT - along with this user group which has been of so much help.

Fiona

[Guest guest]

A good friend of mine is an RN. She wouldn't vaccinate and her kids did get

hooping cough. She treated it with Ivy leaf and two other herbs. The kids were

90% better as long as the had the herbs. Of course she then vaccinated for polio

after that, lol.

Obviously having CMT my whole life I wouldn't want my children to get polio

either so they have had that immunization. My doctor and I agree if an

antibiotic can cure it the vaccine is optional. Not every medication works on

every person without side effects it seems obvious that not vaccines would work

with out side effects.

I am not a vaccine hater, I believe in being informed and making the right

decision for my children. And you can bet good money that my daughters will NOT

be getting the HPV vaccine.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Jon for your information.

[Guest guest]

Holli,

I don't think vaccines gave our children CMT. I know I am the wrong person to

have had children as you so eloquently put it. But I am saying that the

vaccinations obviously aggravated the CMT.

When it's obvious, it's obvious. I can hear a million times how vaccinations

won't do this or that but words can not change what physically happened after

the shots. I wish words had more power and could change it.

[Guest guest]

Y'all must of had a ball listening to the Friday-Saturday (1/25-1/26)

edition of AM Coast-To-Coast.

[Guest guest]

A viral disease specialist told us that the polio vaccine aggravated my son's

condition. Since his peripheral nerves were suceptible genetically by CMT, the

polio virus made them worse. In 2006 we got him tested, and we confirmed his

body created polio antibodies, and he still has sequels. The laboratory that

perform this test is www.esoterix.com. I am attaching the test results. You

need to use the zoom feature in order to read through the attachment.

[Guest guest]

Actually, I believe the USA has one of the higher infant mortality rates in the

developed

world (just barely beating out Croatia!). Certainly not 'the' highest, but with

all our fancy

medical stuff/education, we should be 'the' lowest. We're not.

And, with all our 'herd immunity' (and I really like that choice, because it's

how we're

viewed) you would think there wouldn't be any outbreaks of 'vaccinated' diseases

within

vaccinated populations. There are. Sure, I can get a beer, and conjecture

reasons why, just

like any other 'official', because we both use absolutely no conclusive facts to

arrive at the

real 'Why?'

As I previously stated, I don't believe anyone can honestly say that vaccines

have

absolutely no role in CMT. We just don't know. And we don't know, because

despite all our

education/research, we're just not that damn smart. Yet. Perhaps the final

verdict will

conclude there is no connection, but we're far from the 'trial' being over.

When you read this from a vaccine insert (and, thanks for the person who posted

it):

" Guidelines formulated by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

(ACIP)

periodically appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Report published by the CDC.

The ACIP considers the following circumstances to put a child at high risk

of reacting to the pertussis vaccine and are considered absolute reasons to

NOT VACCINATE WITH pertussis vaccine contained in DPT or DTaP: .. "

it should cause anyone to pause. But, and perhaps most interesting to me, we

have no real

understanding as to why this (or other vaccines) causes these horrible

reactions,

disabilities and death. We have the basic cause-effect link, but we don't

understand the

bigger 'Why?'.

As to whether the risk/benefit weighs more in one direction, or another, we just

don't

know. Saying vaccines are safe because 97% of the test subjects tolerated it, is

a bit elitist,

and ignores the bigger question of 'Why?' for the 3% who roll over and die, or

become

profoundly disabled. I don't think any of the diseases the vaccines are made to

prevent can

get worse than death. And, when we're looking at millions, and millions, of

vaccinations,

the 1-3% are huge raw numbers. At the very worst, your children are dead, or

profoundly

disabled.

We also have indication from research which seems to point to DNA being able to

change/

mutate fairly rapidly, based on a specific stimulus. While 'mom and pop'

certainly are our

'trigger-happy' benefactors, as in Russian roulette life is a safe bet until we

get a loaded

chamber - then the trigger is more accurately referred to as the bullet. There

are so many

diseases which seem to be 'triggered' by an unlucky spin into the occupied

chamber. Kind

of a sloppy analogy, but you get my point: we don't fully know what the

'triggers' are, or

are not.

And, for the sake of Zeus!, look at the sheer number of vaccines

available/required! And

then, read the inserts. And read the reports, and trial transcripts, from

adverse vaccine

reactions. Forget about CMT for a moment - what about all those (vaccine

related) dead,

and profoundly disabled, babies hanging over the altar of modern medicine?! I

care about

them, too.

Perhaps an equally important question we should be asking is: Do vaccines cause

CMT to

worsen?

Until we're a heck of a lot smarter, and possess real, complete (the truth, the

who;e truth

and nothing but the truth) science, we must leave everything on the table,

including

vaccines.

There are no `sacred cows' including alleged vaccine safety.

>

> Gretchen's response was spot-on. I'd just like to stress that CMT is a

> genetic disorder. It is triggered by choosing the right (or wrong)

> parents, not by getting a vaccine. I am also an MD and I have

> vaccinated all of my children. I strongly believe that it is protective

> and a good thing to do. If a very few folks choose to skip it they will

> probably be lucky enough to be protected by the rest of us who did get

> vaccinated and our " herd immunity " . However, the wild-type pertussis,

> measles, polio, meningitis, etc, etc are SOOOO much worse than vaccine

> side effects, possibly deadly. I wouldn't take the chance with MY

> children. At the very worst, if there are side effects I know to be

> watching for them and treating them because I know the moment of

> exposure, unlike a random encounter with a virulent bug. There is a

> good reason why childhood deaths are now shockingly rare when it was

> not uncommon for several siblings to not reach adulthood in our

> grandparent's era and before. Vaccinations have had the biggest

> positive impact on childhood mortality rates of almost any of our

> societal improvements.

>

> Holli in Topanga, CA

>

[Guest guest]

See info and resources at

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

and especially this http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns.htm

[Guest guest]

Whether or not all that is true, Thimerosal is no longer in vaccinations. If

your kid gets whooping cough, he'll be miserable but probably survive no matter

whether you give him herbs or not. If an immune-compromised kid catches

whooping cough or measles from your kid, he'll probably die.

Our infant mortality rate is so high because we don't cover everyone for

prenatal and postnatal care. I bet the mortality rate among rich, insured

people is lower.

Elinor

[Guest guest]

With my CMT kids it was obvious that the vaccinations did cause CMT to be

aggravated.

[Guest guest]

This is information I wish I would have had when my kids were little.

Thank you.

[Guest guest]

I think I need to clear something up.

I am not for or against vaccines. I wouldn't want my kids to get sick from

something that they could have had a vaccines to prevent. I also didn't want to

aggravate their CMT. I would have liked honest information so that I could have

made a more educated decision about vaccinating my children.

[Guest guest]

Perhaps the " pro-vaccination " folks should do their research on both sides of

the issue and then then decide your stance. There are several good books that

are actually written by MDs (if that means anything to you) who do

selective/responsible vaccinations in their practice, but also support parents

that choose not to vaccinate at all. You will also find that alot of these

doctors will vaccinate selectively and responsibly in their practice, but will

not vaccinate their own children.

A good book that tells both sides of the story and also give you good

information about the individual diseases, their symptoms and severity, and

treatment for them is: Childhood Vaccinations by Feder. She is a little

more on the Holistic side of things, but it is pretty balanced.

As for whether a vaccination could trigger CMT or worsen existing CMT, I am

shocked that some of you are so adamant that there is no/could be no

correlation. So little is known about CMT...if you have truly educated yourself

on this, how could you even make that statement?

My neurologist in Dallas told me one time that " we are all genetic time

bombs " ....meaning, there is not a person alive that is born with perfect DNA.

Whether one of these bombs will " detonate " , so to speak, could largely be up to

us, our decisions we make and our environment we live it. Think about all of the

folks that carry the defective gene and yet it never presents itself? I would be

curious to know their story.

Lots of you seem to just accept the fact that CMT is hereditary and blame your

parents that you " chose " for it. Neither of my parents have it, nor does anyone

else in my family. I am what they refer to as a spontaneous mutation...the

defect occured at conception. My symptoms did not present themselves until I was

34 years old, and based upon my previous post and how poorly my body was treated

from a baby on, I am VERY suspicious that the triggering of my CMT could have

been avoided.

I am not into blaming others for my current condition, but I am curious about

what exactly happened with me and I want to learn more about CMT. I think we

should all take responsibility for how you conduct your life and treat the only

body God will give you this side of eternity with respect...if you are not a

good steward of your health, I truly believe that in most instances, your health

will be taken away. If you don't think that what you put in your body, whether

you exercise, whether you are constantly taking drugs, etc. have anything to do

with your CMT in one way or another...you are sadly fooling yourselves.

I would encourage you to get a balanced education on these subjects...you might

be surprised in what you find:) You might even change your mind like I did.

Amy Hodge

[Guest guest]

I can understand that our lifestyles and choices are triggers for the onset

or physical manifestation of CMT.

For this reason we all need to be aware of what we do that will trigger or

aggravate things.

And on that note, I will continue to enjoy my nightly red wine well aware

that my hands will feel a bit weird afterwards!

Donna from London

[Guest guest]

This is becoming an emotional topic so I won't spend much more time on it. I

just want to put out the following for consideration: Since CMT tends to declare

itself with a great amount of variability, even within the same family and most

people can kind of pin-point a time in their childhood when they started

noticing symptoms, could the onset of symptomatic CMT just happen to corespond

to the years in which most of us got vaccinated and that is all there is to it?

I often think as parents that we hate the idea so much that we are the reason

our children have a genetic disease that it makes us almost desperate to find

someone else to bear the blame, or at least a share. I am also suspicious

whenever I start hearing about grand conspiracy theories about pharmacuetical

companies, government and doctors all conspiring to make us more sick to line

their own pockets. I am a part of that community and I know of not one single

person who is not in it to make people better and do good for humanity. I don't

know where these evil people lurk but there must be a lot of them to pull this

off. I have never seen them. Personally, as a part of the medical community,

such statements truly offend me.

Again and again there have been adamant people declaring that some

disease (such as autoimmune disease in breast implant patients) was

caused by a medical procedure, just to find out later that the

correlation was nothing more than coincidence. I can't say with

absolute certainty that perhaps some additives or live attenuated

viruses may exacerbate CMT. It is definitely something to think about.

But to accuse an entire group of people of lying is another thing. As a doctor,

pretty much everything I do boils down to the simple question: which course

carries the least risk and has the most benefit? From what we know at this point

in time I believe that vaccinating my children carried a low risk compared to

the great benefit of sparing them from life-threatening diseases that killed

many of my grandparent's siblings.

Holli in Topanga

[Guest guest]

I do not have a strong feeling on this topic, but just want to say that I am one

of 4 girls and the only member in my family with CMT. All 4 of us were treated

exactly the same as far as medical and all of us were vaccinated. My sister did

have a reaction and was partially paralyzed for several days, but overcame and

totally healthy at age 44. I did not start with my CMT symptoms until around age

18.

Just my 2 cents

Jackie

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your post, Holli.

I , too, am concerned when the masses move, in any direction. Intelligent

people, as well as ignoramuses, are equally susceptible to errors.

Though I was not the one who brought it up, I think it's a bit naive to hallow

any institution, and specifically here, pharmaceutical companies, et al. Just in

the last week, we have had breaking news that statins are basically horse-shit,

with no real benefits, and

with real Boogieman adverse effects. Is that what you call a conspiracy? Or,

what about Vioxx? One of my best friends was the lead attorney in a successful

case against the pharmaceutical company which made this piece of crap. Or what

about the dizzying

number of physician errors? To be fair, every time your profession is

criticized, you can't start calling those criticisms 'grand conspiracy theories'

just because you don't like the fire. And, the fires are enormous. No one likes

criticism, but many of the criticisms are valid. And, just as there are rotten

patients, you know there are rotten doctors. However, like you, I get annoyed

when I hear folks from your side state, a bit thoughtlessly, (and

thanks for the quote, Gretchen): " Greg at U of Washington in the USA:

" GET VACCINATED. THAT OTHER STUFF IS AN OLD WIVE'S TALE. " 'Old Wive's Tale' is

just an elitist way of calling everyone a country-bumkin idiot/liar. Did you

ever watch the movie,'Lorenzo's Oil'? Talk about an outsider, thinking outside

of the box! And that is precisely the kind of thinking so many of us are looking

for from your profession, and not finding it.

Honestly, I don't care if the final science states I gave my CMT to my kids.

I've had a great life, and they are great kids. I could blame God, or Gaia, but

they're not talking. It's not my 'fault', any more than having a black parent

produce a black child. But, I think we are at the point in science, where we can

slowly begin to examine real cause-effect. That's what excites me. For the last

100 years, most medical experiments/science, have been pithy, much like that

scourge on humanity, social science research. So, I am very happy that we can

leave the social sciences, and move into real science. But to do so, means we

have to leave that cranky old mindset of the social sciences, which assumes we

already 'know' everything, and further research should only confirm what we

already know. Reminds me

of some archaeologists.

I appreciate good doctors like you, even if we approach risk/benefit

differently. I think much of the growing divide is due to differing paradigms.

The problem seems to be, one side states they are right, and everyone else if

full of crap, while the other side states that

we need to reexamine things again, and differently. One side has power, while

the other is grassroots. One side represents Control, while the other side

represents Freedom. Just my humble opinion.

I'm glad you're hear. Really. No hard feelings, either. Really.

[Guest guest]

I'm new to this group, and may not know the protocol but this post

interests me, so I thought I'd take a chance and comment.

Right before I found out I had CMT Type 1-A, I went to the doc's for a

routine physical for a new job. I declined the hepatitis B vaccine, but it was

mandatory that I get other booster shots. I've always gotten very weak and faint

when getting shots anyway. This time was the worst.

For several weeks afterward, I felt weak at the knees and lost my grip

so badly that I could not hold a pen in my hand. I almost lost control of my

car because I couldn't feel my foot on the accelerator when I thought it was on

the brake.

When I found out I had CMT, I tried to get as much info as I could. It makes

sense that it was the shot that caused my weakness. I gradually regained some

of my strength, but it took many weeks.

I think it depends on the person's genetic makeup as to whether or not

the person gets a reaction to vaccines. When the majority of people

don't get reactions, researchers call the vaccines safe because maybe

only a small minority of people (such as those with CMT genes, or those t risk

for autism) are harmed by it.

[Guest guest]

This is a bit off topic but I think it is really important.

Cheers, Doug

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/14/why-vaccines-aren-t\

-safe.aspx