Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Group

Ha, while you posted about your shot, I was writing up whole topic about it!

This is what I wrote:

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Recently there's been discussion about the H1N1 vaccine, and vaccines in general. I noticed a lot of people are disinterested and choosing not to vaccinate themselves. This is not meant to be a criticism of that choice at all. We all must make our own choices about health.

I'd like to respectfully discuss the opposite viewpoint of why it might be a good idea to vaccinate.

I'm writing this because, so far, I've heard of three deaths in young people from H1N1. All of them were under thirty. One was a coworker of my brother's, another was a student in the high school I graduated from, and a third was a coworker of my friend. All of them spiked high fevers and died within a day or two despite seeking medical attention.

Two died of respiratory failure. This occurs when the lungs can no longer take out the carbon dioxide naturally produced by the body, which in turn causes cell death in the brain and other organs. Another died from organ failure. Basically the body just gets overrun with infection and can no longer fight.

Vaccines work by exposing the immune system to either an incapacitated or dead form of the virus. The immune system responds the way it would with any other type of viral infection (a cold, a stomach bug, etc.) -- it starts making antibodies. By exposing the immune system to a form of the virus that can't cause illness, the immune system gets a "heads up" to potential later infection. After a vaccine it takes about two weeks to produce a sufficient amount of antibodies. At that point if you're exposed to the virus, you can fight it off much easier -- you either don't get sick at all or you get much less sick than you would have without the vaccine.

The H1N1 vaccine is modeled on the seasonal flu vaccine -- they just plugged in a different virus. The vaccine can cause adverse reactions but they are quite rare: in single digits out of 100,000 or 1,000,000s doses. (For reference: blood clots cause by birth controls pills occur in single digits out of every 10,000 patients.)

It does contain preservatives and things call adjuvants which stimulate your immune system into mounting a sufficient response. The one people are the most alarmed about is thimerisol, which is a form of mercury called ethyl mercury. At high doses, mercury is a neurotoxin and can cause symptoms of illness. It's important to be aware that we all consume mercury every day in air, water and food. Coal, which supplies 50% of the electricity in the US, emits mercury in the air when it is processed. It settles into freshwater and soil and thus gets into our fish, meat and vegetables. Mercury is filtered in the kidneys and secreted in urine and feces but some remains in tissue. Unless you work in an industrial setting or live in a highly mercury-toxic geographical area, the amounts you consume are so tiny that your body can deal with it. The ethyl mercury in vaccines is secreted much more quickly by the body than other types of mercury, and is such a small amount that it's a fraction of what most people can safely consume environmentally.

(Some people thought that the mercury in vaccines caused autism. Nearly a decade ago vaccine makers stopped using thimerisol, and autism diagnosis continues in the years since on children who did not receive thimerisol.)

As a person with CFS I didn't get the flu vaccine for a long time because frankly, we don't know what's wrong with our immune systems. Some people report flare ups from vaccinations. Others handle the shots well. I started getting the flu shot because I am around elderly people who don't get as much protection from the shot, and I didn't want to pass it along. I have a minor local reaction from it and sometimes a few aches, which is pretty normal.

Normally I wouldn't think it was a big deal to not get a flu shot. Most people who get H1N1 will get through it with no problems. But the horrible deaths caused by H1N1 are unexpected and completely avoidable. One of the deaths I know of happened so quickly that the hospital assumed it was meningitis until the swab was positive for H1N1. So far over 1,400 people have died in the US and this is just the beginning of flu season.

So, those are just some more things to think about!

Thanks for posting that thats wonderful information, i just wanted to let everyone know even though i was reluctant to have it, my doctor said we are at risk either way and this is the lesser of the two evils, but so far so good im feeling ok.

xRobinx - Did you research Squalene? That is the newer adjuvant that has us all so upset.

@unduki:

The vaccine in the US does not include squalene. One of the articles I looked at was written this summer before it was known that the vaccine would contain no adjuvants.

There are also thimerisol free shots available.

Here's are the vaccine descriptions if you're curious:

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodV...

There's also links to the package inserts so you can get more information about the reported adverse effects.

Hi, Rebel7, I'm glad you've had no negative effects from the vaccine (besides headache). I'm still considering wheter or not to get the shot. My doctor suggested me not to get it, I don't know why, because the reality is that people are dying from H1N1 flu. I'm afraid of the flu and being vaccinated seems like much better choice right now. Glad you're feeling ok.

xRobinx – very interesting post. Thanks for sharing. H1N1 vaccine will be available end of November here. Till then I'll try to speak with my doctor again. Your post made me think about it. Thanks.

Thanks for informing us on this, Robin. If the vaccine becomes available for seniors in my area, I might just go for it.

Seniors are not at high risk, never thought I would find anything positive about being an old guy.

Lol Richie d. i think we should do what is best for us but im still feeling great so that a good sign however i imagine it will differ with all of us.

I had the seasonal one a few weeks ago and for a week had no symptoms to report. I'm getting H1N1 in a day or so.

Also some of the XMRV research suggests that the viral load increases when the cell divides. There's a youtube video on this somewhere where the XMRV researchers talk about this. So activities that would cause cells to divide cause the virus to proliferate... sometimes vaccines can cause this.

I saw a you tube video about vaccines triggering the virus to activate....it was about Autism and their link to XMRV.

judderwocky wrote: "Also some of the XMRV research suggests that the viral load increases when the cell divides. There's a youtube video on this somewhere where the XMRV researchers talk about this. So activities that would cause cells to divide cause the virus to proliferate... sometimes vaccines can cause this."

I didn't see the video, so I'm not really sure what the context was. Do you have a link?

Vaccines create an immune response, just like viral infections (colds, stomach bugs, flu), bacterial infections (pneumonia, food poisoning), and even allergens (pollen, dust mites) can stimulate different parts of the immune system in certain people. So, if they were talking about a trigger for CFS -- a lot of people got sick after a vaccine or flu-like illness (my trigger was sinusitis) that makes sense.

Anything, whether it's a vaccine, medication, or supplement has a risk:benefit ratio, and the frustrating thing is that we are left as patients to sort it out for ourselves.