Question re: baby and vaccines

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
Post Reply
kristinmarie
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:14 pm

Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by kristinmarie »

Hi friends,

I'm sorry if this isn't the correct forum to post these questions - not sure the best place to ask them!

I recently found out my 4/4 status, which unfortunately means my one year old has at least one copy of this pesky gene. (My husband is sending in his 23andme this week, so we still aren't sure what our son's other half is...) Our baby is supposed to get three vaccines this week: MMR, varicella, and his second dose of the flu shot. I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether knowing that he is an APOE4 carrier changes anything in terms of his upbringing, and was wondering if anyone has any advice on a couple of questions:

1. Does this change anything in terms of which vaccines he should get? The only thing I can think of is that he should get vaccines without mercury, whenever possible. I believe in my state, pediatric multi-dose flu vaccines do have mercury, while single dose do not. I did not know about about his 4 status when he got the first half of the vaccine, so he probably got the multi-dose, but now that I know, I'm guessing I should push for the non-mercury version? Which brings me to the second question --

2. I'm weary of putting this in his medical records for the obvious reasons. He seems so young to be branded with such a potential red flag to future insurers, etc. Is there a way I can ask his doctor for the mercury-free shot without saying that I know he carries this gene? If anything, I was thinking about giving a kind of vague story about how I got tested through 23andme but haven't had the results confirmed so could we avoid mercury just in case I passed anything down to him? (I don't really think I need to get the results confirmed, but was thinking that making the results sound less conclusive might not get it written in his chart....) It sounds like a silly plan now that I type it out. :) Any ideas on how to bring this up with his doctor without getting my son's medical chart branded?

3. Anything else that you can think of that I should know about these or future vaccines? Is mercury in most of the vaccines he's going to get during childhood? Are there any vaccines that are definitely off limits for 4 carriers?

Thank you so much for any help you can provide!
Kristin
User avatar
Julie G
Mod
Mod
Posts: 9187
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Re: Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by Julie G »

Kristin, I think you're on the right path to be proactive. Children in the US now receive around thirty-five doses of vaccinations by age six vs. the seven I received in the same time period.

I'm surprised that multi-dose pediatric flu-vaccines have thimerosal (mercury) in your state :shock:. If that's the case, asking for a single dose vial is a smart move. Because of my 3/4 son's negative reactions, my son's pediatrician decided to space out his vaccines so that he didn't receive more than one per visit. (I didn't know his E4 status at the time.) It seemed to reduce symptoms. I wish we knew more and could provide more definitive information.
User avatar
Stavia
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 5255
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:47 pm
Location: Middle Earth

Re: Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by Stavia »

Hi Kristin and welcome.
Firstly, you can request mercury free vaccines without disclosing any reason. It is a very reasonable request. I wouldnt personally want e4 status to be in my kid's notes.
Secondly: some vaccines are crucial, others arent as important. For instance MMR is critical, so is whooping cough. Measles and whooping cough can be extremely serious. I saw an unimmunised kid with whooping cough in my practice last week: he is very very sick. I had whooping cough as a kid (no vaccine yet) and I have permanent lung scarring and bronchiectasis from it.
But on the other hand influenza in a healthy child is not a significant risk and we only give the flu shots to kids with serious disease (such as cancer, bad asthma etc) here in New Zealand.

I personally am not concerned about any extra risk for e4 children with the usual important vaccines. There is no evidence that they are especially dangerous.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
User avatar
Julie G
Mod
Mod
Posts: 9187
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Re: Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by Julie G »

I strongly concur with Stavia’s advice about prioritizing vaccines based upon your child’s specific needs.

I’m curious, are US parents currently able to refuse specific vaccinations, like varicella or influenza, etc., and still attend public schools?
laurie
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:04 pm
Location: Melrose
Contact:

Re: Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by laurie »

Hi Kristinmarie, In the US you can refuse vaccines however when you child enters public school there are vaccines which are mandatory. Spacing out the vaccines is really important. Paul Thomas has a book which gives recommendations in this regard. He is a doctor in Washington State. The vaccine friendly plan is the title of his book. In addition to mercury you may want to do some reading about aluminum in vaccines. Aluminum is an adjuvant in many vaccines. High amounts of aluminum have been recently found in the brains of Autistic children. Dr. Chris Exley at Keele university in the UK did this research. The MMR and chicken pox vaccines do not contain aluminum. Some flu vaccines contain aluminum. Here is some information to get your started.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Apoe 3/4

"True prevention is only possible by first discovering the cause of a disease such as Alzheimer's."
Dennis N Crouse
insuhall
New User
New User
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:33 am

Child with APOE-4 and immunizations, etc

Post by insuhall »

I'm new to this topic but my wife is APOE-3/4 and I'm 3/3. We have a child that is 6 weeks old, due for a visit in a few weeks where he's supposed to get 5 vaccines in one shot. What if anything, would yall do differently regarding immunizations with a child who may have one copy of the APOE-4 gene?

He's due for:
•DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis)
•Hib (haemophilus influenzae type b)
•IPV (polio vaccine)
•PCV (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine)
•RV (rotavirus)
and Hep B

Thanks in advance for any assistance in this matter,

Darin
Lucy5
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 480
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:52 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Question re: baby and vaccines

Post by Lucy5 »

Darin wrote: I'm new to this topic but my wife is APOE-3/4 and I'm 3/3. We have a child that is 6 weeks old, due for a visit in a few weeks where he's supposed to get 5 vaccines in one shot. What if anything, would yall do differently regarding immunizations with a child who may have one copy of the APOE-4 gene?

Hi Darin and welcome to our community! I posted an earlier response to you that I've revised after catching up on the previous posts in this thread regarding vaccinations. If you haven't had a chance to browse thru them all yet, I think you may find the comments helpful. I do know a couple new moms who also questioned the wisdom of their babies getting multiple vaccinations at once. Their pediatricians did (somewhat reluctantly) support their requests to space them out, prioritizing those vaccines they considered most critical given the baby's age/needs. As to whether being an ApoE4 carrier should be taken into account when making vaccination decisions, I haven't run into any studies addressing that concern as yet. I'm sure if other members have information/experiences to share, they'll post soon. Btw, be sure to catch the post by Stavia, a practicing physician, providing advice on the topic.

Also, if you'd like to learn more about the ApoE4 gene, our site Primer is a wonderful resource. Additionally our How-To-Guide provides tips on navigating the site more easily and effectively.

Darin, please feel free to ask more questions of the group at any time. And a big congratulations on the birth of your baby boy!!
warmly, Lucy
User avatar
srbogert
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 12:16 pm
Contact:

Re: Child with APOE-4 and immunizations, etc

Post by srbogert »

insuhall wrote:I'm new to this topic but my wife is APOE-3/4 and I'm 3/3. We have a child that is 6 weeks old, due for a visit in a few weeks where he's supposed to get 5 vaccines in one shot. What if anything, would yall do differently regarding immunizations with a child who may have one copy of the APOE-4 gene? Darin
Hi Darin, welcome tot the group! As others have already posted, I'm not aware of any APOE specific issues with vaccines,but as a general health issue it is probably best to prioritize and spread out the vaccines, and avoid mercury if possible. My son had a negative reaction to one of the combination injections when he was young, but did OK with individual doses in his follow ups. I can't explain why - that's just how it happened.
I'd also like to reinforce Lucy's recommendation to read the APOE Primer, It is a great way to come up to speed on the background and generally accepted approaches to dealing with APOE 4. There's new information coming put every day, and some of it is controversial, but the primer will bring you up to speed on the basics you need to know.
If you continue to use this site, you should definitely take a look at the HOW To guide. It will help you navigate the site, do efficient searches, and use the posting tools effectively. When you are ready, feel free to post more about yourself in the Our Stories section. The site is better when everyone participates.
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
Post Reply