swine flu jab

suzster
suzster Member Posts: 1,328
edited 11. Nov 2009, 12:53 in Living with Arthritis archive
i got a letter earlier from my dr's surgery inviting me and my 'household' to have the swine flu jab.
i rang them to check that incuded sarah because she's only 2yrs old and the receptionist asked if i was sure it said my household to! erm, yes it's in bold print! lol
so now she is going to check and get back to me. what made me laugh was all the posters in the surgery say that patients with low immunity will be given the jab and there family to. so you'd of thought the receptionists would know that?
the jabs are being done next thursday, friday and saturday and we all have to go together to save wasting vaccine.
does that mean i need to cancel my normal flu jab that i'm meant to get done this thursday? everyone is saying different things, some say you can have them done together, some say you have to wait 3 weeks between jabs, it's very confusing so i'm hoping whoever rings me back from dr's can answer these questions.
sue

Comments

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,908
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Suzster
    The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing eh?!
    Well good luck!
    love
    Toni x
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    frogmorton wrote:
    Hi Suzster
    The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing eh?!
    Well good luck!
    love
    Toni x

    well over an hour ago i rang them and was told someone who knew would ring me back, how long does it take?
    then again last week i was told by one receptionist, when i was trying to book a blood test and a flu jab that i had to leave at least a week between flu jab and a blood test, yet when i had my blood test and asked another receptionist to book my flu jab she said that it would of been fine to have both on the same day!
    so now i have my flu jab booked for this thursday and the swine flu ones are next week, so do i cancel my flu jab or what?
    oh the joys of staff that know what they are talking about!!!!
    sue
  • joyful164
    joyful164 Member Posts: 2,401
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    suzster wrote:
    i got a letter earlier from my dr's surgery inviting me and my 'household' to have the swine flu jab.
    i rang them to check that incuded sarah because she's only 2yrs old and the receptionist asked if i was sure it said my household to! erm, yes it's in bold print! lol
    so now she is going to check and get back to me. what made me laugh was all the posters in the surgery say that patients with low immunity will be given the jab and there family to. so you'd of thought the receptionists would know that?
    the jabs are being done next thursday, friday and saturday and we all have to go together to save wasting vaccine.
    does that mean i need to cancel my normal flu jab that i'm meant to get done this thursday? everyone is saying different things, some say you can have them done together, some say you have to wait 3 weeks between jabs, it's very confusing so i'm hoping whoever rings me back from dr's can answer these questions.
    sue
    You don't have them together. My nurse at my GP's Surgery told me that when I went for my normal flu vaccine.

    Joy
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    we're booked in to have them done next friday.
    i'm not worried, well apart from how on earth i'll convince sarah to sit and have the injection, could be fun!!
    i've talked to ellie about it and i think she'll be fine, but i can't explain to a 2 yr old that it will only hurt for a second!
    sue
  • page35
    page35 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sue
    guess you will have to hold sarah tight till its done, maybe get her a little treat for after to help her get over it.
    no one has said that may family can have the jab too, just offered it to me. i have a 2 year old too, she is very scared of doctors and hospitals crys when we get anywhere near them, just like her mother :roll:
    hope it goes ok on friday. good luck with sarah
  • woodbon
    woodbon Member Posts: 4,969
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi, Maybe they are giving children priority as children who have swine flu tend to be more at risk of serioius problems than adults.
    My husband is having it as hes diabetic, but they haven't offered it to me. I'm sure your little ones will be fine, once its over :wink: Love Sue
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    they had a poster up in the dr's last week saying that the at risk groups will get it 1st and the families of people with a lowered immunity would also be offered it, not sure why, but as hubby said, he's happy to be offered it, ellie is not so happy though!!
    i'm not looking forward to holding sarah as she is strong and quite tall for her age, last time i had to hold her like that was when she had a anaesthetic last december and i struggled to hold her then, lol, i'm sure the nurses are used to it though!
    sue
  • woodbon
    woodbon Member Posts: 4,969
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Yes, it does make total sense, especially children who catch every bug that is going round! :wink: It would be you that would have to look after her, if she became ill also, I've read in the paper, children seem to be more ill than older people, so it is the best thing. How about a few sweets afterwards, it used to work with me! Hope you all keep well, love Sue
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Suzter
    My son had his swine flu injection last week.He wasnt happy as last time he had an injection was to knock him out and he remembered that!
    My OH had to hold him tight.He has had a bad cough ever since so your daughters might feel under the weather afterwards.I am hoping to do everyone seperately as it wouldnt do for us all to be feeling ill at the same time!
    Best wishes
    Elizabeth
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    thanks elizabeth (i love the name elizabeth, i wanted sarah second name to be elizabeth but daev said no, it's such a pretty name)

    we'll have the weekend to get over it, but i'm sure ellie will try to wangle a few days of school!!
    as for sarah, she seems to get colds at the drop of a hat anyway and daev is the same, sarah's on her 3rd cold since the beginning of september. so if anyone gets a reaction her and daev will!
    sue
  • c4thyg
    c4thyg Member Posts: 542
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Sue,

    I had to cancel last weeks seasonal flu jab so I could have the swine flu one this week. I don't know if it depends on you health status as to whether or not you need a bigger gap between jabs. I'm on anti-TNF so I was advised to have a 3 week gap. Maybe those who have a better immune system are ok with a smaller gap. I wouldn't think it would be a good idea for us to have them together though. Our immune systems need to build up a defence against one first if the vaccine is going to work properly. With some of our meds that might be hard.

    incidentally, it is now also advised not to give paracetamol prophylactically to children before vaccines as it hampers the immune system but taking it after the fever starts is ok. I'm assuming that the same logic would apply to adults as well.
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    i'm a bit upset today, i've booked me and my family in for swine flu jab's next week, but quite a few mums that i talk to on another site are saying that it's wrong to make my children have the jab, especially my 2 yr old. they keep saying that not enough is known about the vaccine yet. and they would never let there children have it until they know exactly what the risks are.
    i tried to explain about my immune system being low and that i'd be at risk of complications, only for them to tell me that it's fine for me to have it but i shouldn't let my children be vaccinated.
    obviously they have little idea of my situation, but i do feel it's wrong of them to make me feel bad for choosing to get my family vaccinated.
    it's really made me feel awful.
    sorry to moan about this but a cannot believe people are judging me.
    sue
  • sharmaine
    sharmaine Member Posts: 1,638
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sue
    My husband has severe eczema and is on medication which compromises his immune system. He got a letter and had to have 2 injections one for swine flu and one for flu.

    Are they calling people with OA and RA? I didn't get a letter.

    Sharmaine
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    i'm not sure how they are doing things to be honest.
    i have RA and i have the normal flu jab tomorrow, then me and my family have the swine flu one next week.
    sue
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    HI Suzter,

    household contacts of immune- compromised individuals are encouraged to get the swine flu jab. I would imagine your daughter would fall into this category and they are giving the injection to children from 6 months. However I suggest you ask the medical staff at your surgery for clarification rather than the people on the website who sound a bit reactionary and not taking your circumstances into consideration.
    Best wishes
    Elizabeth(thanks for the comments on the name.It is a family name!)
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    my gp surgery said she is fine to have the jab, she's booked in after me.
    i just found it upsetting that people are judging me on my decision. i
    have found in the past they have been a very supportive group, they are all mums of children born around the same time as my youngest sarah. i've known them all for about 3 yrs and it just seems wrong them making me feel, well guilty.
    i'll try not to take it to heart as i'm doing the best i can for my family.
    sue
  • kezzo1
    kezzo1 Member Posts: 171
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    ive had flu jab this week and there doing swine flu jabs dec so prob have that too x
  • c4thyg
    c4thyg Member Posts: 542
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Sue, I've given up trying to explain these things to other people. I really do believe that until you are in the situation you haven't got a clue what it's like to x or y conditions. You have no reason to feel guilty. From a medical point of view I can't see any reason why children having the vaccine is any different to us having all ours as kids. You will find that there is scaremongering with nearly every vaccine that comes out. Look at the problems with MMR even after the scientist was found to have falsified his results. Most people only have the media to get their info from and we all know how great the media is for getting things right! You do what you think is right for your family. And don't forget, ice cream all round afterwards for being brave. :P
    suzster wrote:
    my gp surgery said she is fine to have the jab, she's booked in after me.
    i just found it upsetting that people are judging me on my decision. i
    have found in the past they have been a very supportive group, they are all mums of children born around the same time as my youngest sarah. i've known them all for about 3 yrs and it just seems wrong them making me feel, well guilty.
    i'll try not to take it to heart as i'm doing the best i can for my family.
    sue
  • suzster
    suzster Member Posts: 1,328
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    thank you cathy!
    i just wish people would think before they make these comments, i know i'm doing it for good reason, but people saying things like "i'd want lots more imformation before i'd let them inject stuff into my child" followed by others all agreeing with that, it just makes me feel unsupported and like i'm doing something wrong, even though i'm sure i'm not, if that makes sense?!
    sue
  • mistywillow
    mistywillow Member Posts: 711
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sue
    It is always a difficult call when it comes to giving our children jabs etc as we only want the best for them. When my children were small, it was the whooping cough vaccine that was causing parents alarm. After getting as much information as I could about it at the time, there were still differences of opinion. In the end I asked a paediatrician I worked with whether she had given her daughter the vaccine. She had and so I did too. Very scientific!!! :lol:
    I also studied for my PhD (in immunology) with the doctor who was at the centre of the MMR scare and yet I gave my daughters the MMR jab too.
    There is no way of proving that a vaccine or medicine is absolutely safe for every single individual who takes it, so you have to judge by the vast majority. You really have to weigh up the risks for your own situation. For example with the MMR vaccine, people forget how very ill some children become if they actually catch measles and how children did use to die from it. Most vaccines now are designed in way that makes them much safer than the old ones
    So the mums in your group just can't have the absolute proof of safety they would want.
    If my daughters were little now, I would have no hesitation in giving them the swine flu jab. After all why is it different from any other strain of flu???
    Hope this helps
    Gillx
  • page35
    page35 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Gill
    my mum didnt give my whooping cough jab and i got it very badly when i was small :roll: she has always felt bad about it. but she done what she felt was best at the time and i think thats all we can all do.
    im still unsure weather to get the s.flu jab and then weather to get the kids done, they havent been offered it though.

    sue no one should make you feel guilty you want to protect your family how can that be a bad thing?
    page
  • page35
    page35 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Cathy has your family been offered s.flu jab?
    wondering if it depends on where you live?
  • mistywillow
    mistywillow Member Posts: 711
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    page35 wrote:
    Hi Gill
    my mum didnt give my whooping cough jab and i got it very badly when i was small :roll: she has always felt bad about it. but she done what she felt was best at the time and i think thats all we can all do.
    im still unsure weather to get the s.flu jab and then weather to get the kids done, they havent been offered it though.

    sue no one should make you feel guilty you want to protect your family how can that be a bad thing?
    page

    Hi Paige
    How are you doing at the moment?? Sorry Ive not been around much but arthur has been such a bad lad lately its difficult to get the real life stuff done let alone the cyber stuff, as much as I want to! I just can't wait to crawl into my bed at the end of the day and I find that is getting earlier and earlier.... :lol:

    PS My surgery just sent me the usual reminder to get my flu jab. I don't actually know whether it is just seasonal flu or both?? well i'll take what comes.
    Hope you are keeping old arthur at bay
    Love Gillx