[jmarvin]

#1018860

I have graves, am 6+ months pregnant and have been told by my endocrinologist that I have to get the H1N1vaccine.

Now, this is my big dilemma — the vaccine in Canada contains squalene adjuvant. There is supposed to be a shipment of un-adjuvanted vaccines available exclusively for pregnant women in mid to late November, but our government is now encouraging us to get the adjuvanted version (not wanting high risk groups, like pregnant women, to wait for any reason).

I know the relationship between squalene adjuvant and autoimmune disorders may be debatable (depending on who you talk to), but I’m still worried that it may have an even more negative affect on me because I already suffer from graves.

Does anyone have any information re: adjuvanted vaccines and individuals who already have an autoimmune disorder?

[ewmb]

#1067533

I do not know the answer to your question about the vaccine but wanted to put my two cents in about the H1n1. I am recovering now and it’s been a whopper of a flu. I have never felt so bad from a virus. It really did wipe me out about like my worst Graves times did two years ago. I am glad that you are going to get the vaccine. My cousin is pregnant and didn’t go get hers when they had it in her town. Now she has to wait again. My uncle is really worried as she already has two little ones at home and lives in a college town. Good luck with getting what you need as quickly as you can.

ewmb

[jmarvin]

#1067534

thanks ewmb,

It’s a mess here in Canada too. The un-adjuvanted supply they were making for pregnant women wasn’t manufactured/ready fast enough, so they’ve ordered like 200,000 from Australia.

They opened vaccination clinics in most cities on Thursday or Friday (with the adjuvanted vaccine). The plan was to vaccinate those in the high risk groups (pregnant, young children, those that suffer from chronic illness, etc) first. But pandemonium hit last week when a 13-yer-old boy died, so healthy people jumped the lines and we’ve now pretty much run out of the vaccine supply — in 2 days!

The un-adjuvanted vaccine should arrive from Australia and be distributed through the country next week (from what I hear). And the Canadian-manufactured supply the week after. They’re now ramping production back up on the adjuvanted version and hope to back-fill the short supply in the next few weeks.

Thanks so much for your feedback. It helps to hear from those who are able to give first hand accounts of H1N1.

[npatterson]

#1067535

This reply will be of little or no use to you: I know nothing about the un-adjuvanted or adjuvanated vaccines. I will copy this and send it to a couple of our doctors, who WILL know what you are talking about.

In the meantime, wash your hands (every time you touch anyone) and stay away from crowds. Use common sense, and stay in touch. I hope that James, our facilitator from Canada will read this post and reply to you.

Take care,

[jmarvin]

#1067536

I saw my naturopath today. She didn’t know enough about adjuvated vaccines to make a comment. She did however add an amino acid combo to my treatment (I’ve been on fish oil, selenium, probiotics, and vitamin D since my graves diagnosis — in combo with tapazole/PTU) to help keep my immune system strong. Fingers crossed .

[Bobbi]

#1067537

In running searches for information about adjuvanted vaccines, I encountered a press release from a Canadian source that ran yesterday (October 31). You might want to use your search engine to pull that press release up and read what it has to say.

I think you should discuss your concerns with your endocrinologist, and/or your primary care doctor so that you have all the facts. One of the reasons pregnant women are advised to get the H1N1 vaccine is that the complications that arise if they come down with the disease can be dire. Pregnant women are having a much harder time with the flu than their peers, apparently. Statistically, your chance of problems may be much larger if you do not get the vaccine than if you do. Your doctor can help you weigh this information.

Good luck,

[James]

#1067538

Hi all,

I sourced an article, and spoke with a Dr. in our area about this topic. Apparently, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada suggest that there is no significant safety concerns regarding the use of adjuvanted vaccine. They argue that the same adjuvants have been used in other vaccines for decades. There are other countries around the world stating that the adjuvanted vaccine is safe even for pregnant women. Now with that being said, if anyone is concerned for any reason, for their own peace of mind, they should talk to their own Dr. and then make an informed choice as to how they should proceed.

The Dr. that I spoke to, is on an action emergency response committee. It was interesting that in his talk, he mentioned that H1N1 can affect younger people very profoundly, and is it people in their 20’s with very healthy immune systems. It is their healthy immune system that in fact works against them with H1N1, which sets H1N1 apart from the common flu. The ramped up immune system response to the lungs in fact ends up over-responding and greater damage can potentially occur to the lung tissue in a young healthy person. That is a simplified way of trying to explain what the Dr. was trying to explain to me.

Also (just as an aside), people over 65 are apparently at less risk, which is unlike the common flu.

I think in cases like this it is best not to over-react to news media responses, but to get as much information from as many reliable sources as possible and then make an informed decision. It’s great to see that people on this board are taking a proactive approach and taking their health choices very seriously. I too have had to weigh the pros and cons to vaccination. When I asked the Dr. very specifically about individuals with autoimmune disorders and the H1N1 vaccine, he said that he could not answer that, because he simply didn’t have an answer. There has been a variety of responses that I have heard on this topic from medical professionals, but I haven’t found a specified answer or come to any conclusion as of yet.

Take care everyone, and stay healthy.

James

[jmarvin]

#1067539

the scary/frustrating thing is that none of my doctors (GP, endo, OB/GYN) are able to answer any questions on adjuvants. The answer I keep getting is: I have no clue.

[Bobbi]

#1067540

One common mistake we make as patients, when we are diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, is to think that our immune systems are "compromised." This is misleading, if not downright incorrect. Our immune systems have made a mistake and created an antibody to our thyroid cells; but the immune system IS indeed working to protect us from disease, etc. If our immune systems were not working quite so well, we would not have the problem with the antibody attacking our thyroids.

There can be stages in our treatment when our immune systems are not working well for us. If we are being made ill by hyperthyroidism, then we can indeed get any opportunistic virus or bacteria that crosses our path. That is because we are being debilitated by too much thyroid hormone. Also, if we are taking ATDs, our immune system may be somewhat suppressed by the drug. Those of us on replacement hormone, or in remission, with our thyroid levels in the proper levels, should have no more problem with becoming ill than our next- door neighbor (one without autoimmune problems).

[jmarvin]

#1067541

Sorry, I hope I didn’t confuse you. I know my immune system isn’t compromised. My concern is taking something that acts as a booster for my immune system (like the adjuvant in the H1N1 vaccine). I was told that I even have to stay away from echinacea, because taking something that will kick my immune system into drive could cause problems (make my thyroid levels shoot up, I assume).

I’m just trying to determine whether or not the adjuvant in the vaccine will have a negative affect/act as a catalyst to bring me back to my pre-diagnosis state. Which is further complicated by the fact that I’m pregnant.

[npatterson]

#1067542

It has taken a few days, but I heard back from Dr. David Cooper (Baltimore). His response is quite succinct: "I’d think that the benefits of getting the vaccine far outweigh any theoretical risk."

Take care,

[jmarvin]

#1067543

thanks everyone!

[SeeSallie]

#1067544

Bobbi- I needed that reminder. I was thinking along those lines, but unsure. It is true…since we have the problem of our immunity kicking in more than usual, we aren’t compromised and will likely take on a fight with anything invading our bodies (just like normal healthy people).

These boards help time and time again when I have a doubt.
Sallie

[Mouse]

#1067545

Hi I just stumbled upon this post while strying to search for more info on the squalene adjuvant and immune response. I’m with you jmarvin – I would like to know more about studies on the adjuvant before I take the shot. And I am REALLY iffy on giving my kids the shot since we have family history of autoimmune disease. True everyone seems to say that it’s safe but no one seems to be able to point to any studies. The info I have been able to find was posted in 2000 in the American Journal of Pathology. The study was conducted on rats who were genetically predisposed to Rheumatoid Arthritis. I’m sure the amount of squalene adjuvant used in the study is likely way more than is used in the H1N1 vaccine and we’re talking rats- not humans here … but it was found that the rats developed RA after receiving the squalene injection (if I’m reading that right). This study seems to have been used as a reference for at least 10 books written on immunology. though I’m not familiar with any of them. here is a link to the American Journal of Pathology article if someone wants to read it…I can’t quite understand all the medical teminology ” title=”Confused” /> http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/full/156/6/2057

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! ” title=”Smile” /> I too am in Canada and developed symptoms of Graves Disease after my second daughter was born – though I wasn’t diagnosed until about three years ago when I couldn’t hold a pen anymore I was shaking so bad and my eyes were bulging out. My specialist was furious with me when I didn’t want to have the iodine treatment and at one point she acually told me I was being an idiot. My naturopath told me to get more sleep, do relaxation excersises and put me on 2 really horrible tasting herbal tinctures that I had to take three times a day. I know it sounds flaky and maybe it’s just coincidence but I stopped taking the tinctures after about 9 weeks and my T3’s and T4’s have been reduced to normal levels since then- Knock on wood it stays that way. I have blood drawn every three months to check my levels because my GP isn’t happy either that I opted out of the iodine treatment .

I’ll keep checking back here to see if anyone has more news on the adjuvant because like you I would love to know!

[hyperm]

#1067546

Hi,

Have you had the vaccine yet? I was really worried about it and also gettimg my kids vaccinated – my youngest is asthmatic so is in the "high risk" bracket too. After speaking with my BIL who is a doctor who works in public health for the Japanese govt he reassured me that he was getting his family vaccinated – except his daughter who had a positive swab so wasn’t to get it. I am positive my 2 children have had swine flu, but because they stopped swabbing in my area for a while there is nothing documented therefore the dilemma of vaccinating was there.

I had my eldest vaccinated around 2 weeks ago- he was completely fine. I went a week later and was so ill and my arm is still up like a red egg ” title=”Confused” /> I felt so unwell after it that I have decided I am NOT going for my second dose and neither will my son be going.

Keep well everyone xxxxx

[Author]

Posts