Post-Vaccination Fears and Rehabilitation

I am stressed.

My son had the MMR vaccination a week ago (on it's own and without any others) and, let's face it, no matter what you believe or don't believe, it's a scary experience.  Especially a week later when you get reactions like a fever and diarrhea (which he has).  It's terrifying to know that something you allowed to enter your child's bloodstream is now making him sick.  If you go on the internet to see what other experiences mother's have, you may find your fears alleviated, or you may find them completely ramped up.  For this reason, I never recommend going on the internet for information if you're the kind of person who believes everything that you read; you really have to be able to rationally except that not everything is true, fact-based, or statistically significant.  You have to be able to look for multiple sources to confirm information.  And, honestly, even when you know all that...it won't make you any less anxious.

What am I afraid of?  All of it...Autism, metal toxicity, vaccination damage, etc.  And while I personally believe that vaccinations do not have a causal relationship to Autism, I do believe that it's possible they make some contribution to the problem.  This isn't an anti-vaccination post or a post about vaccinations and Autism, however.  I take no official stance on the matter of vaccinations...I believe it's a personal decision every family has to make.  Yes, we are a vaccinating family (for now), but I never know if I'm doing the "right" thing.  The reality is, when choosing to vaccinate or not, you are choosing between the lesser of two evils, but you have no real confirmation of which one is the lesser evil.  Non-vaccinating leaves your child and others open to disease, while vaccinating leaves your child vulnerable to a large number of metals and toxins. There are so many opinions in both camps as to which is worse.  In the end, it's everyone-for-themselves when making that decision.  And even when you choose to vaccinate but spread them out or omit some (as we do), it doesn't make you feel any better about your decision.  I've read so much information on both sides of the debate and nothing makes me feel any closer to making a decision I can live with.  I have a hard tim trusting the allopathic medical community, and an even harder time feeling that many of the vaccinations that we give now (if I follow the CDC schedule to the letter, my son will have 5 times more vaccinations than I did) have more to do with drug company lobbying than real risk.  And so, I (and I bet many other parents) end up stressed.

So, I make the decisions I can make when it comes to vaccinating and I assume the risk and doubt my decisions.  However, there is one thing I can do.  One power I have left in this frustrating debate is that I can help my child process the vaccinations and rehabilitate his body in the aftermath.  These are the remedies I have begun using:

• Vitamins:  I'm not the biggest fan of vitamins, particularly synthetic ones.  Normally, I would choose foods that would up the vitamin levels, but for now we are going with vitamins that are sourced from "whole foods" because my son is also teething and refusing the foods I need him to eat.  I eat the foods and take the vitamins and he gets the vitamins through my breastmilk.  Each vaccination can deplete certain vitamin stores and certain vitamins can help the body process the vaccination.  For the MMR, I know that it depletes stores of Vitamin A and B6, so I have been taking those.  I have also read many studies about how Vitamin A helps the body process measles in the gut, and so I started my son on it before he even received the shot.  Vitamin C is another great vitamin to include in your regime as it helps boost immunity.  

• Probiotics:  The issues that surround vaccinations and, often, the MMR often center around the gut.  Vaccinations like the MMR include an antibiotic agent that kill good bacteria responsible for supporting the immune system to rid the body of disease (oh, the irony!).  By heavily dosing my son with probiotics before and after his injection, I can help his body replenish this much needed bacteria.  Not only will it replenish lost bacteria, but it boosts the immune system and aids in detoxing.  I already give him a probiotic daily and have simply increased the dose during this process.

• Chiropractor:  I've increased my son's visits to weekly until he's though processing the vaccination and it"s reaction in order to help his body communicate.

• Elderberry Syrup:  Elderberry helps fight viruses and support the immune system.  I already give this to my son daily, but I increased the amount during the vaccination process just as I would if he had gotten sick naturally  

• Clay Baths:  Chelation is the process of removing metal toxins from the body.  Vaccinations are full of metals and children are also exposed to an abundance of metals in the very chemical environment we have created around them.  There are internal chelation liquids for children, but I have chosen not to use those since I really don't know much about them and don't want to add anything more into my son's system.  Instead, I found a clay bath for children that draws out metal toxins.

Being proactive makes me feel better about this whole process.  I have to remember to control what I can and be vigilant about what I can't.  

How do you deal with the fears?  How do you help your child's body recuperate?