Hi, I am interested to know if anybody has had a MMR vaccination after ADEM.
When my 8 year old was sick with ADEM (15 months ago) it was found that she was not immune to measles despite having had a MMR vaccine at 15 months and 4 years old. After watching my girl go through ADEM and coming out well, I am hesitant to have her re-vaccinated with the MMR(as recommended by her neuro) because of its link with ADEM! I know MMR didn’t cause ADEM but with new lesions at her follow up MRI a year ago I wonder how a live vaccine may react. I have not been too bothered with not vaccinating again up until now but measles has recently popped up in our community.
Any feedback on vaccinations post ADEM welcome. Thank you
Hello. Before i was diagnosed with MS they thought I had ADEM and that I had gotten it from the MMR vaccine I got after I had my son. I just needed a rubella booster but had to get the whole MMR vaccine. I ended up not having ADEM but when I did think I had it I never regretted getting it. I had to vaccinate my son while I thought I had ADEM and I chose to vaccinate him because I am a firm believer in vaccinations. Especially now with the cases in measles lately.
My boy is getting his today. I am very nervous. Will keep you posted.
I have been super worried about this myself. My daughter had ADEM when she was 2, and she is now 6, and I have planning on giving her MMR this spring/summer for the first time. I read that you can get ADEM from the shot also, but you can also get it from the measles. It seems like a no win situation, although if you get the shot and don't react, then you have immunity to the measles. Let me know how it goes. I have given her the polio vaccine post ADEM and that went fine.
Thank you for your replies. Such a tough one! Good to know that the polio vaccine went well. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that a 3rd shot at the MMR will provide cover for measles when 2 haven't seroconverted so I have that to weigh up as well. I had thought that if measles came to town I'd give the vaccine another go but now that that has happened I still can't bring myself to do it. Definitely rock and a hard place.
I was worried as well- since my son was ill he has had his kindergarten boosters, hep A/B, H1N1 with no problems whatsoever. His neurologist said to continue with vaccinations as normal. The risk of ADEM after a measles infection is much greater than any risk from the vaccine.
As a parent, no matter how far you are from ADEM, the worry never leaves. We had my son vaccinated at his normal times and so far so good. According to the Drs, ADEM is really rare and never comes back, so I've tried my best to internalize this, and get my son vaccinated upon the recommended schedule. My rationale being, if he has a relapse, it's likely not ADEM, so I'd rather flush out the other cause of his illness sooner rather than later so we can address it with treatment.
None of this is easy, Queenie, and everyone here has wrestled with the same decisions. Let us know how we can help.
Thanks so much for your comments. Very helpful.
Hello everyone. This is an issue that I have struggled with as well. My ten year old has had ADEM 8 times, so yes it can come back, in spite of what the definition of ADEM is. My son gets textbook ADEM just like everyone else. His neurologist recommend no future vaccinations. But, he has already received all of his immunizations for school entry. We don’t do flu shots for him or anything. I’m not saying don’t immunize, but you need to understand that ADEM absolutely can come back.
Thanks Dylansmom. Helps to know there is just no straight answer as every child is so different. For now I’ll go with my gut instinct and continue as we are.
Queenie, did you end up doing MMR? How did it go?
Hi Sunshine, I decided not to get it. I thought I would if and when measles came to town but I still couldn’t and it actually turned out that there was no measles outbreak at all! So I was relieved that I didn’t. I had to remind myself also that I have already had her vaccinated twice with MMR. Two vaccinations is all that is recommended and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work. A third vaccination won’t necessarily change that.