I've never in my life had the flu vaccine and never anticipated getting it. I'm vaccinated with all the other crap that's recommended, and trust me, I believe that some vaccines are good and have shown to eradicate diseases, however I'm just not as optimistic about the seasonal flu vaccine. Now here I am, growing a human inside me and I'm being told that more than ever, I should get the flu vaccine.Getting the flu vaccine terrifies me now more than non-preggo me.
My concern is not with autism and all that who-nanny, so we can bipass that craziness. However, I did work in the ICU for years as a nurse and have seen people affected with Guillain-Barre syndrome (linked to vaccines), and that scares the shit out of me. Sure, GBS is rare, I get that, but tell that to the people who are paralyzed in the ICU suddenly with this syndrome, tell them it's rare and they are unfortunately the small percentage of unlucky assholes that got it. Okay, lets move past my fear of GBS.
The flu vaccine in my opinion is somewhat of a crapshoot. They make the "dose" of flu vaccine every year based on what flu was in Asia and predict the same strain is coming to the US... well, sometimes they're wrong, other times there is more than one strain of the flu virus, yet only a vaccine for one strain. That to me is a guessing game craphole. Now you got vaccinated, but whoops, we got it wrong, and you still got the flu. Sorry about the unnecessary dose of: Thimerosal , mercury, and Formaldehyde. Wait- I've been harassed for the past 6.5 months about all the shit pregnant women are not supposed to eat or be near or think about, and I'm pretty sure mercury, Thimerosal, and formaldehyde are counted in that, but it's okay if in a vaccine? Then there's people who get the vaccine and end up with a mild case of the flu anyways, that seems full of suckage.
Alright, I'll leave the negative side and go to the more positive side. Sure, there's lot's of articles that say women who are pregnant have a lowered immune system, or are a target for colds and flu, ect. Okay, maybe I'll buy into that slightly, but still I wash my hands like a crazy murderer who doesn't want to get caught. The other thing is that meeba is due January, so in the middle of all the flu chaos, so it will help protect her. I'd say that's the biggest draw for me right now, but I'm still terrified of everything else and the fact that the H1N1 portion of the vaccine hasn't been out that long. What if we find out 40 years from now H1N1 vaccine made us grow hairy ears on our backs?
I welcome educated commentary, but don't come at me with your hillbilly yellings.
I didn't get one while pregnant and working as an RN on general medical, and didn't get the flu. It felt like a crapshoot, and there's no way to know even if you do get sick that it would have prevented by the vaccine. I got my first flu shot AFTER my daughter was born when there was more of a risk of passing it on to her....
ReplyDeleteCongratulations btw! Babies are so much fun :)
(don't know if my last comment went through) but thank you for your input! It's nice to know other people weren't "scared" into the vaccine during pregnancy. I'm just trying to sort our my thoughts and feelings on the matter :)
ReplyDeletemy hillbilly advice is this: you've never had a flu shot before...so why now? who REALLY knows how much it actually helps? I've gotten the shot every year since 2004 (by force, not by choice) and only one time did i get the 'flu' in those years, and yes it was much shorter in duration, blah, blah. But.. if you've never gotten it, and aren't forced to by your hospital i'd trust your instinct, and if that doesn't work ask your obgyn what THEY would do. thats it for now from this hillbilly anesthesia person :)
ReplyDeleteKendall, what did I say about your hillbilliness?! lol. I appreciate your comment, and it's true, "so why now?" Just trying to collect my thoughts. Ugh.
DeleteYou can get a Thimerosal-free flu shot. They offer them to pregnant women. I've always gotten the flu shot and think I've only gotten it once in my life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Wen, I wonder why they don't offer that to everyone? Anyways, it's good to know there's other options with the vaccine :)
DeletePrevention is better than cure. Flu vaccines are an immune booster that helps our body fight diseases. How we maintain our body healthy still requires effort. The food that we eat and the kind of lifestyle are significant to staying healthy.
ReplyDelete-Karina Rheaume @ USHealthWorks (Everett-Paine-Field-Center)