Hep B Vaccine Reaction

[Jordan5815]

This is John's Mom. Today has been one of those days you wish never happened. Started by taking John to the another specialist. First time to see this GI Dr. We strictly wanted to approach the weight loss and inability to gain weight. The Dr was great. Focused his attention and didn't pass the buck to other Drs. He's running blood tests for celiac disease. If the blood work is positive, John will have a biopsy.

Next stop, Veteran's Affairs to check on the status of my claim filed for helpless child. Found out I was denied a year ago. I never received the mail. Long story. Will file another claim. The claim will be for a different health issue.

On the way to our next stop, I checked my voice messages and returned one call. This I thought would be good news. Let me back up, last Tuesday I attended a meeting. I was listening to some ladies and heard them mention vaccines and reactions. I then asked them if they thought John's condition could be the result of a vaccine reaction. One lady took the information to work and passed it on to the Nurse that handles the legal Suits. Needless to say, the Nurse came back and said his condition sounds like an autonomic dysfunction related to the vaccine. During my phone call I was informed of the attorney that handles the Suits for children. I was told that there is a fund out there that provides medical care for children for life if they have suffered as a result of a vaccine reaction. I called the attorney. Good News for some of you. POTS and CFS are directly related to the Hep B vaccine. We finally know what triggered John's condition. Guess I should be pleased with the knowledge. Bad news for us. Congress wrote the Statute so you can only file a claim for the Plan For Life funds if your claim is filed within three (3) years from the date of the vaccine. (Most Statues are written as so many years from when you knew or should have known- Mine would have started last Tuesday under a Statue like that and most of yours would have started today with this posting.) John started suffering 6 years ago. Who heard about complications from the Hep B vaccine?

Needless to say. There will not be any funds to help provide for his medical needs. My insurance will cancel him in February when he turns 21. Yes, if you are in the States, there is the new law that parents can keep the children on their policy until the children are age 26. There is an exception. When the government put this plan in action, they excluded themselves. My insurance is through the Military. When I contacted them, I was told they were not part of the new plan. Hence, John will not have coverage beginning in February, unless God performs another miracle for us. I truly hope He does.

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM: PLEASE CHECK YOUR/YOUR CHILDREN'S SHOT RECORDS. IF ANYONE HAS HAD THE HEP B VACCINE AND YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM POTS/CFS CHECK THE DATE OF YOUR VACCINE AND FILE YOUR CLAIM BEFORE THE THREE YEAR DEADLINE.

If you know of someone suffering, please let them know. This fund will not help us but I really hope by posting this others will benefit. The fund is a hidden secret. Did any of you know about it?

Our last stop for the day, the post office. Yes we finally received the decision from social security regarding our Appeal. Congratulations, you are DENIED. Unbelievable, three strikes, your out. Next step, if we decide is with the Federal District Court. Social Security told us we could file a claim in the Civil Court.

As a parent, I know I'm not alone in my frustration. Right now I'm angry, hurt, sad. My child has been suffering for years and every step we take to get him some help/relief is knocked down. I love my Country, I work for it, but how can the powers that be, make the decisions to ensure that most law biding honest people do not get the help they need for themselves (if you are the one suffering from this condition) or their children. To set up a fund and then use all of your power to hide it really stinks.

If you meet the criteria and would like the name of the attorney, please PM John. The attorney does not know that I am posting this and I do not want him to get overrun with calls when you do not meet the criteria. Specifically the 3 year deadline. Sorry, no way to get around that.

Administrator, If you would like additional information, please PM John.

-John's Mom.

John here:

Yeah, today really sucked. Don't know how I feel right now, depressed I guess. Still thinking about the rehab, will have to wait until after I finish with the GI doctor. Will post more later and I think the Dinet.org on their pages under POTS should put, can happen from Hep B vaccines. It is now a confirmed cause and we have more answers.

Please let us know what you think my mother's really down......

[juliegee]

(((((John & Mom)))))-

Sorry everything seems to be going wrong at once The connection between autonomic dysfunction & the Hep B vaccine is new to me. I want to learn more.

I went back & checked my son's medical records & see that he received all 3 vaccinations all within his first year. His colic & GI woes actually began from birth and he didn't have the first shot until 2 months old... He didn't get severely ill until age 12. Did John's symptoms begin right after an immunization? Seems like that'd be the only way to make a direct correlation.

The problem is is that there are MANY possible causes of autonomic dysfunction. To further complicate things, there are many here with multiple causes for their autonomic dysfunction. So hard to untangle it all...

I'm so happy John's getting help from a good GI doc. I'm hopeful that he can help. I will keep your family in my prayers. Lots of good thoughts & hugs going your way.

Julie

[Jordan5815]

(((((John & Mom)))))-

Sorry everything seems to be going wrong at once The connection between autonomic dysfunction & the Hep B vaccine is new to me. I want to learn more.

I went back & checked my son's medical records & see that he received all 3 vaccinations all within his first year. His colic & GI woes actually began from birth and he didn't have the first shot until 2 months old... He didn't get severely ill until age 12. Did John's symptoms begin right after an immunization? Seems like that'd be the only way to make a direct correlation.

The problem is is that there are MANY possible causes of autonomic dysfunction. To further complicate things, there are many here with multiple causes for their autonomic dysfunction. So hard to untangle it all...

I'm so happy John's getting help from a good GI doc. I'm hopeful that he can help. I will keep your family in my prayers. Lots of good thoughts & hugs going your way.

Julie

Julie,

John had the three shot series when he was 11 and 12. He started falling over when he was 13. The shots were required by the public school system. The neurologist wrote in his report that John was a 13 year old male wanting more attention from his mother. What a joke. John is an only child, my husband has been deceased since John was 8 years old and I was an at home mom until John was 15 yrs 11 months.

I realize that there are many causes out there, this was just something I never heard about nor suspected until last Tuesday and to find out that there is a fund to provide for medical attention for life. What a shock and I hope someone from this forum can benefit.

It is nice to finally have some knowledge regarding what the trigger was. Not knowing the trigger was frustrating. John may have additional things that were dormant until the shots, guess we will never know. We just have to keep our Faith and believe that John will get the help he needs before his insurance runs out.

John's Mom

[sj75]

Im so sorry you are having so many hurdles, it seems like we are constantly havig to fight the system.

What interests me is that ive often commented on the number of medical personnel with pots. Here in the uk the hep b jab isnt routinely given unless you are travelling somewhere with a risk or if you are going into healthcare. I recieved my initial 3 when i started nurse training and have had boosters since then. It does make you wonder??

[skiberthoud]

I had the same thougth as sj75. If this link really does exist it could explain why so many in the healthcare field are affected.

[juliegee]

Hi John's Mom-

That timetable IS compelling. For John to have the shots at 11 & 12 and symptoms to start the next year. Definitely sounds like there could be a connection there- especially as John had no symptoms of health problems beforehand..and how frustrating to see that you've JUST missed the opportunity for a legal remedy . That's just plain wrong.

I know many here will appreciate knowing about the Hep B connection & the fund.

I hear your justified hurt and anger towards the many doctors who have let John down over the years. You are in good company here. Most of us have doctors, whom we hired to help us, that have let us down time and time again. It's especially disheartening when these doctors don't have the answers and somehow try to blame us for our illness. John is very lucky to have such a strong supporter on his side.

Don't lose heart. You are not alone in trying to untangle all of this and get help for your child. My heart especially breaks for John as I saw my son also struggle to gain weight and even eat at all. I worried because he was so weak and frail. At one point, I was convinced that his backpack was heavier than he was I pray this new GI will have answers.

Al the best-

Julie

[maggie]

This post is very important to me. I have Hep C from a transfusion I received years ago. I'm seeing a top specialist in Miami for this. There is a vaccine coming out in 2011 for Hep C. He is not giving me it when it first comes out, but waiting two years to see how my pots is doing and to see what the reaction to the new vaccine is. I'm slated to receive my vaccine in 2015 if all goes well with the vaccine. John's mom what are your thoughts in regards to getting the vaccine when I already have pots, will it make it worse, so many questions? I'm sorry your having such a difficult time with your son's health, I hope you can resolve some of this in time. Others on this site, what is your opinion on me getting this vaccine. I have untreatable Hep c, but so far it has done no damage to my liver. Maybe it's best just to keep an eye on it and not take the vaccine until it starts to effect my liver.

Maggie

[sj75]

i think it needs to be ascertained exactly what it is about the hep b vaccine that is causing the problem as the 2 jabs might be completely different. (hep b and c are completely different viruses). The good thing is that as the virus isnt affecting your liver you have time to gather all the available information and research before going ahead and i think that puts you in a good position. It also sounds like you have a really supportive specialist which counts for so much as hopefully you will be able to trust his opinions regarding the jab when the time comes.

Many vaccines have been known to cause systemic autoimmune responses (albeit rarely)and it comes back to wether there could be some autoimmune aspects to pots??

[Sarah4444]

My whole family (me, husband, both kids) got the Twinrix vaccine in 2008 before travelling. Twinrix is the combined Hep A/B vaccine in Canada. I was already having health problems, but something seemed to accelerate my decline around 2008. I keep wondering about an autoimmune element to my POTS - is it possible to have an ongoing autoimmune process that is aggravated by trauma and stressors like vaccines? That would make sense with my illness experience and timeline. And make it really hard to make decisions regarding flu shots and other vaccines in the future, especially for my kids.

[MomtoGiuliana]

My understanding is that any virus, infection or vaccine can stimulate an autoimmune response. There is much to still understand regarding autoimmune conditions and responses.

For people with EDS, POTS is probably not caused by autoimmunity.

Is POTS on the rise, or is diagnosis on the rise?

I've had Hep B vaccination but my POTS symptoms began prior to that.

[sue1234]

I just had a new neuro appt. earlier this week, and one of the first things the doctor asked was if I had had a virus or vaccination prior to my POTS starting. I understood the doctor asking about the virus, as many of you stated you had a virus prior to POTS. But, the vaccination thing caught me off-guard, until I read this post! And, no, I had neither prior. But it sure makes me not want to get a flu shot.

[ajw4790]

My issues got quite a bit worse and led to my having to leave school shortly after having my Hep B vaccinations. I was going into the health care field and required those vaccinations to continue on in my studies. I too have wondered about whether or not the vaccines triggered or worsened something for myself. I too had wondered if this could also be part of the link of so many health professionals having a dysautonomia diagnosis.

As far as how it all works or doesn't work... I know I had a few abnormal blood work numbers and I looked them up because they were never explained to me. They were autoimmune related, but I do not remember what they were. They normally signify a certain disease or something, but it did not fit for me. Reading more I think at one point I read where vaccinations can cause this autoimmune reaction in people. So, I started to wonder/figure that the vaccines may have had a role in my decline, but no real proof etc... This blood work is now at least two years old. Earlier this year I believe I saw I had the same blood work and it was closer or in normal limits. But, I think the damage must have already been done, because nothing has gotten all that better for me.

I hope that more research is done about this and that answers are found. I do think that for some people this could be enough of a trigger to jumpstart all of these autonomic issues.

Thanks for bring the info forward. Is there any studies etc. that show this link? Where does this info come from?

[juliegee]

My issues got quite a bit worse and led to my having to leave school shortly after having my Hep B vaccinations. I was going into the health care field and required those vaccinations to continue on in my studies. I too have wondered about whether or not the vaccines triggered or worsened something for myself. I too had wondered if this could also be part of the link of so many health professionals having a dysautonomia diagnosis.

As far as how it all works or doesn't work... I know I had a few abnormal blood work numbers and I looked them up because they were never explained to me. They were autoimmune related, but I do not remember what they were. They normally signify a certain disease or something, but it did not fit for me. Reading more I think at one point I read where vaccinations can cause this autoimmune reaction in people. So, I started to wonder/figure that the vaccines may have had a role in my decline, but no real proof etc... This blood work is now at least two years old. Earlier this year I believe I saw I had the same blood work and it was closer or in normal limits. But, I think the damage must have already been done, because nothing has gotten all that better for me.

I hope that more research is done about this and that answers are found. I do think that for some people this could be enough of a trigger to jumpstart all of these autonomic issues.

Thanks for bring the info forward. Is there any studies etc. that show this link? Where does this info come from?

Bet your ANA's were high- that's what usually indicates an autoimmune response.

[Birdlady]

I have thought that vaccines could have been a trigger to my problems not specifically the Hep B vaccine. However, I cannot confirm that because my pediatric records have been destroyed. I called around all of my doctors to see if anyone had my records from age 10-17 and they are lost forever. I can't remember if I got a vaccine, but it wouldn't' surprise me. Just to throw this out there, do you know if your son got the thimerosal-containing Hep B vaccine? It used to have mercury in it years ago and I found out that I would have gotten it with the mercury which was known to cause a lot more complications apparently.

I personally am against taking any and all vaccines now. I refuse to get them and lie to nurses when they ask if I've had a flu or tetanus shot lately. It's none of their business!

[Jordan5815]

In John's case. John was born with some health issues but nothing autoimmune. As he grew he was extremely athletic and in the 90% for height/weight. No issues.

I always knew about vaccines (I support vaccines) after reading an article back in 1987/1988. I don't remember the name or source but the article explained the way vaccines rise and fall and that you never want one to rise while another one is falling. Complications can occur. The article stated that vaccines should be given solo and wait one month before giving another or booster. With that said, when John was an infant (1990) and having his vaccines I discussed this with his Dr. It was decided that he would only get one vaccine at a time one month apart. John's symptoms began in 2003. He started falling when he was competing in tennis tournaments, he didn't even realize he was falling. He would just bounce back up, hit the ball and fall again. Things became worse and he would fall into me when we were walking. I took him to the neurologist. Won't repeat the same information.

My anger right now is with the drug companies and the cover up. Yes, there is a chance that people would not want to vaccinate their children or allow themselves to be vaccinated if they knew about the reactions. I feel we should be given the choice. Would I still have had John vaccinated. Yes, the vaccines were given a month apart and then 6 months later. Vaccinations have stopped terrible diseases from affecting/killing the majority. I wish no one had a adverse reaction to any vaccination. I never associated John's condition to the vaccine because of the cover up. If I knew, he wouldn't have had to suffer so long. The diagnosis would have come sooner and we wouldn't be where we are now. Still trying to get some relief.

John and I talked about the meningitis vaccination. He would like to get well enough to attend a university. I told him, since he has dysautonomia, I personally would not have any vaccine. When the time comes, he will research the pros/cons of the vaccine and his condition. Then the decision will be made.

I am strictly discussing the Hep B vaccine because the attorney that I talked to stated that POTS and CFS are reactions to Hep B. I do not know where the research is/came from. This attorney has represented children with POTS/CFS to secure funds for their medical care. He would have filed John's claim if John met the three (3) year requirement. The fund that is set up is for reactions to all vaccines. One dollar is put in the fund every time someone is given a vaccination. In 2009, from zero to age three, children receive 32 vaccinations. That gives you and idea how large this fund it.

Dana mentioned the mercury in vaccines. Funny you mentioned this. When I woke up this morning that is was John told me about.He is now researching to find out if there is some way to flush the metals out of your system. John said something about different vaccines also having metal in them. I'll ask him to post his findings. Like most of you, he has good and bad days.

What is very deja vu to me is my mother wouldn't have her children vaccinated. The oldest received all vaccinations. She had cancer at thirteen (she is now in her 50s). Mom had four other children and the family doctor worked with my mother. Don't know how she managed to get us in public school back in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. She refused to allow the school to vaccinate us. Her and the doctor had an arrangement, if there was an outbreak of something, then we would be vaccinated. I remember at school one day when all children were lined up and given the small pox vaccination (I remember the gun). Myself and another child were outside the school looking through the window watching them get the shots and crying. Do you know now that people who had the small pox vaccination back in the day, haad to have it again. Good thing she made us wait. Ours doesn't have to be re-done.

Maggie, It sounds like you and your doctor have a plan.

We are very fortunate that John's doctor acknowledged he didn't know what to do for John and listened to John when John did the research and told him what doctor's were needed. His office handled the referrals. Don't get me wrong, we had some issues but once God provided an autonomic storm attack in the Doctor's office, our issues went away and the Doctor was on board. Prior to that, no medical professional saw or believed what we were describing, by the time John would get to the hospital, his heart rate/blood pressure were back within normal range. I called John's doctor last night to tell him what happened yesterday. His response was "WHAT." He never suspected a vaccine to be the culprit. I will meet with him next week.

Please don't misunderstand me. There could be other factors that triggered John's condition. He has had other traumas over the years. At age 15, he was the passenger in an auto accident. His friend was driving. The boys were under the rear wheel well of and 18 wheel vehicle after several collisions. It took him a long time to not panic when I would drive near an 18 wheel vehicle on the freeway.

I agree with all that was written and appreciate all of you. Your knowledge and compassion has helped John make it through everything and continue to research (on his good days). Over the past 4/5 years you all have given him hope. That is the most important thing. There is HOPE. I continue to pray for total healing and a cure for everyone.

-John's mom.

[maggie]

pat57

I received your pm, but when I went to send you a pm in regards to your questions it stated that I could not pm your account. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or what but I tried twice and both ways I received the same response.

Maggie