Swine Flu Controversy

I heard last night that 28 pregnant mothers ages from 19 to 41, have died from NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW and they died only days or a week after taking the swine flu shot....OH, and none were sick prior to getting the shot...

Great.
Guess what:

I just found out my youngest sister is pregnant with baby #2. She is 5+ months pregnant. She is 40 yrs.
She is an emergency services doctor. She works regularily on weekends. Long shifts ..12 hrs. each. She sleeps at the hospital. It's 100 kms. one way from home.
She is the primary breadwinner because of her significantly higher salary even though she's only part-time. They have a 20 month old daughter.
She did not answer my email about H1N1 vaccination for herself.

And it's confirmed within the last 24 hrs. my father has prostate cancer. The doctor-sister is the family member who is/will be the main info. conduit..and yes, she is the one in direct communication with father's physician.

There is considerable stress right now on certain family members.

Orchid, would'nt the hospital where your sister works make vaccination compulsory for medical professionals at the frontline of healthcare? My daughter's hospital has had to shut down a ward recently because of swine flu. She has had her vaccination which considerably puts my mind at ease.

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad's bout with prostate cancer. It helps tremendously to have a doctor in the family as she would be able to explain to the rest the nature of the illness and the appropriate treatment your Dad would have to undergo. I pray all be well.

Our Group Practice have only 100 doses at present.Pregnant ..preschool are first in line to receive these.Then "at risk groups"
No doubt this will change as the labs release more.

I had a seasonal flu shot last Friday..felt very slightly headachey for a day.Took things quietly and feel fine.

My neighbor caught the Swine Flu and was sick for nine weeks. She lost a ton of weight and felt truly horrible. It's an awful flu and if I could find somewhere that carried the shot, I'd be in line to receive it.

I am going to stop shaking hands!

orchid, I've known two men who have had prostate cancer lately. Fortunately, it was caught early, but other than exhaustion and being tied to the bathroom at times, they did really well. I hope they caugh it early. Is your sister in their town, and how far are you from Mom and Dad?

I believe 13 people in Md have died in MD already.

My daughter, 26, is pregnant with her second baby. She has decided not to get the swine flu shot....Heard and believes many negatives. I personally don't know, either way...I just worry about her and her first little boy. Her neighbor who is also pregnant and a nurse , also decided not to get it. There is so much contradicting information out there about it all.

Lets face it when 28 perfectly healthy, young, pregnant women are vaccinated for the swine flu and all are mysteriously DEAD within a week, what else is there to know? Something stinks to high heaven around here. I personally wish it was proven to be a SAFE method of avoiding this flu, but it is NOT! Scary....

My sister is undecided as to whether to take the swine flu vaccine. She recently returned to work and the elementary school she teaches at has had 3 confirmed cases of swine flu. Since she just spent 6 months dealing with three surgeries and infections, we're not sure what she should do also.

My sister that had open heart surgery this summer has already taken the Flu shot and the Swine Flu shot also and seems to be fine. This is really a problem one does not know how to respond to. Very Scary!

Most likely she is vacinated. Your kind thoughts, Lola and those of others here, are appreciated.

The happiness bubble in our family..has broken now. While our family has endured significant psychosocial upsets, this is the first potentially deadly illness that anyone in my family has experienced. So we've had a winning streak right up to the 80th yr.

Yes, my sister is a great resource.
I live 4,300 kms. apart from my whole family.

Your Dad is 80, Orchid? I can only imagine how upsetting it must be for your family but, you must draw strength in the company of each other under the circumstances. Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. My prayers for your family, most especially for your Mom. Do members of the family live fairly close to them?

I have the sniffles and joint pains today. Hope it is'nt the flu. Ought to really have made time for the flu shot...Vit C does not seem to have helped. Nice thing about taking a sick day off work is that I can watch b/w films on telly.

Sandpiper, I'm glad to hear that your sisters are doing better. I recall praying you all three of you not too long ago!

Anne, I'm with you. I will not be getting the flu shot. Never have. Afraid to take a chance. Some think I'm foolish, but it's my choice.

Orchid, the happiness bubble? I love that. But don't let it pop too soon. Prostate cancer is very curable. How's Mom, and do any of your sibs live in Mom and Dad's town?

Lola, enjoy your day off in front of the TV. There's always a blessing in everything, even a day off when sniffling.

Hope you feel better very soon! Feeling sick is not a pleasant state of affairs..... I have a question about the British TV programming you are watching today, but I posted it in the TV section......

I respect your feelings on this subject. It is common to LATER find out we were duped about a particular health concern or treatment.

I waited years before accepting the annual seasonal flu vaccine, and have suffered no ill effects during these last 4 years of getting the shot. At my age, my immune system is not what it used to be, so I'm hoping what they say is true that the annual seasonal flu shot has a measure of protection against the swine flu as well.

I have no intention of getting the swine flu vaccine, since the number of USA swine flu fatalities has shown to be very low as compared to the 30,000 annual USA deaths from the seasonal flu.

My husband works in a hospital and was required to get the seasonal flu vaccine period. I am limiting my contact with people, practicing frequent and effective handwashing, and am avoiding what I consider this experimental swine debacle. Wheter it be the live virus (spray) or the dead virus (vaccine), I don't want it at this point.

Some study came out last week in CA saying that older people are more susceptable than previously thought, and then that story was quietly buried. So for the moment, only children and pregnant women are being prioritized in many places for the limited vaccine available.

And I notice the variations about the swine flu story/vaccine, depending on which TV "expert" you listen to.

I've lived long enough as a woman, wife, nurse and mom to be my own expert. And I say "No thank you."

No one has mentioned that this so called MIRACLE flu shot isn't free, it costs $29.95 here in Nevada to get it. Hummm. that couldn't be the reason their trying to push it down our throats, you think???

Yes, he's 80. My siblings live scattered about the city..within 40 kms. at most or closer. Might have mentioned here months ago, but my mother understands and speaks primarily only Chinese. So with us, adult children having lost alot/never acquired much (depends on birth order of each child) alot of Chinese speaking fluency, you can imagine ongoing conflicts and gaps in communication.

My father is fully bilingual..he has been the mediator, language-interpreter between my mother and all of us. So it's pretty complicated family dynamics because of linguistic shortfalls.
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As for swine flu vaccinations: my sister-physician had herself vaccinated just 2 weeks ago. She is 5+ months pregnant also. She will be working until end of Jan. before taking maternity leave. Her 2 yr. old daughter and hubby got vaccinated last wk.

She has had the regular flu vaccination annually for last few years. She must. She complains that some patients couph at the physician, which really ticks her off: Do the patients not realize the doctor is a human being also?

I take Prednisone, which lowers my immune system, so I get a seasonal flu shot every year and never get sick from it or the flu.

The new flu shot scares me, but I'm not worried about it because the vaccine isn't here. Ha!

Edelweiss, I hope you're feeling better and healing from that nasty flu. Glad you son and A are okay.

Thank you chatty for your well wishes. Other then rubber knees. I'm doing better then expected. "A" got a relapse. As soon as she felt better, her mother brought her outside. Not a good idea. My doctor said I have to stay home for 1-2 weeks, alone because of being contagious. My poor little "A"...I wish I could nurse her back to health.

I hope you feel better soon, EW.

I hate to say it but your DIL sounds like a real ass... Poor little A being saddled with a donkey for a mother!!!

EW, I didn't know you had the flu. Oooh, I had it a few times in my youth (I mean decades ago) and it was awful. I can't imagine getting it now.

Orchid, my father had prostate cancer and the surgery and lived to 90.

EW, please listen to the doc! The holidays are around the corner and I know you'll want to be 110%!

Hi Chatty Lady, May I ask specifically where you heard the information about 28 pregnant women dying after getting the H1N1 shot? Is it somewhere I can go to see this information written in black and white? My daughter is pregnant and she is wanting me to ask these questions. She is understandably worried about getting the shot and its affects on her unborn child. I would appreciate your help.

Here's a link I found from FOX news:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,559062,00.html

BlessedOne: My sister is an emergency services doctor. She got herself vaccinated 2 wks. ago. She is 5+ months pregnant. She still works with patients. She is the primary breadwinner in her family even though she works only part-time because of her much higher salary as a physician, her husband is a cook. No choice.

Her hubby and 20-month daughter got vaccinated just last wk.

The story says that 28 pregnant women died from the H1N1 virus, not from the vaccine.

Everyday I listen to the Dr. Michael Savage radio show and it was on his program. He is adamently against the H1S1 flu shot. Says it has NOT been tested enough or proven safe by any means... I could try to contact him personally and see where he got this information. He has been on the radio here for many years now and his information has always been right on...He is more of a Naturalist and doesn't believe in the medical professions ideas of health care...They treat only the symptons of many diseases and not the cause. He is also a well known author.

I'm still not going to get it...even if it is offered.

Do you remember that our ex-V.P., Cheney, was involved with the companies that originated Tamiflu. He's making money off this. It started in 1976 with the first known swine flu and they still don't know enough about the medicine to give us solid information.

Follow the money! P.S. when I typed in his first name it showed as [censored] like this - [censored]

That tell you anything.

I'm with ya, Anne.

I've heard about drinking warm water. Whatever happened to good old chicken soup and tea?

This flu is moving too fast. Mutations are very scary. My Mom worked in a 5 & dime handling money all day decades ago. Nobody realized how dirty money was then. When I was in timeshare I used to say, "I'll trade you that dirty money for this clean invitation." I stopped shaking hands 2 years before I got laid off. Everybody seemed to understand.

I still think Mexico should have closed it's borders right away.

Don't know which 1 I hate the most, shots or flu symptoms. They don't have enough Tamiflu to go around; and I'm so big-hearted, I'll let someone else have mine! Joking! Just joking!

I can answer that....it would be flu symptoms. A shot is over in a few minutes, those symptoms, however, go on and on...ew.

I received a recorded call from my insurance company today encouraging people to get the annual flu vaccine (I did in October) if the H1N1 vaccine isn't available. It stressed that the annual flu is more dangerous than the swine flu.

Saundra,
Geese. I didn't think anything flu was worse than the swine flu.
Good grief. The last flu shot I had was in 1977. The thoughts of
it, still hurts.

So many so called experts have an opinion. So after following all the common sense measures I will follow only one expert on my health, ME! I think it was Anne, but am not sure. Anyway she said, "when its my time to go, nothing will stop it. If it's not my time, I ain't goin nowhere..."

How intersting that you got a call from your insurance company. This is rather new. Our insurance company often sends information about diabetes to Ross and my daughter this past year. This never happened before.

I know, Dotsie. I get letters about my meds and now this phone call. Big Brother is watching!

Jabber, I didn't feel my flu shot until later. I said, "Are you sure? I didn't feel anything. I don't even get a bandaid?" They laughed and said I didn't need a bandaid. I felt cheated. That afternoon my arm was sore so I know I really did get it. Weird.

Saundra,
I never had a shot I didn't feel. That last flu shot about knocked me over; it was a gun type device. I stood in line forever to get the dumb thing. I'm not in the high risk category;
they won't give me a swine flu shot, anyhow. I really ought to get one, for the mere reason that I visit the county nursing home every couple of days and am there about two hours per visit. It's a bit risky. I don't care so much for myself, but I'd hate to bring it home to WB and Xena.

I received a letter this week saying that I was in the "at risk patients" in my group practice so advised to have the vacination.I have made the appointment.I surely dont want side effects but will scedule no appointments in the following days and lay low..
I do not pay for this due to our N.H.S.

Good luck, MA! Hope all goes well!

Authorities are either overestimating or underestimating the
essentials. LOL...or not!

I have had swine flu and IMO it wasn't anything near or close to annual. I was given tamiflu and had a realy bad reaction to it(pill form, we have a saying in our house...if she hasn't got it...she'll have it ordered!!)Nontheless, I have been asked to come in for the shot specifically for swine flu. I also went into an anifalactic(sp?) shock with last years bog standard jab and my GP sent a car to Uni to pick me up....so I am a tad warey about having this one...can ya get swine flu more than once as we have one kid down with it again in this house? I fall into high risk category but most that I know who have had it say the same as me.
I was quarrantined and had a masked 'flu freind' at my beck and call. I suppose it hits everyone in different ways?

Poppie

Oh, if anyone needs it, tamilfu that is....I have a box going spare with only two out of them..

Did you hear about the H1N1 recall? They found out it doesn't last long enough in the human system to make a difference.

It's finally available at Walgreens and I'm sure glad I didn't spend the money.

Surprise, surprise the stuff doesn't work and where are all these hundreds a cases of swine flu they predicted to get us to take their lousy vaccine. NO WHERE, that where...

First the gov't said, Get the shots! Then they said, They have a
vaccine recall. First they didn't have enough medicine for everyone, then they have an overabundance of vaccine. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doin'. But that's normal.
Right?

It's called a "cluster f///!" One hand (government)doesn't know what the other hand (government) is doing. And here, 'we the people' are caught in the middle.

True!

I personally find it amazing and laughable how this terrible scourge and possible plague they warned everyone about (the doomday wacko's) never happened, and the flu has been even lighter than in recent years and barely anyone has gotten the vaccine. Just another way for this darn government to control us and help their buddies, the big drug companies make more money.

They can all kiss my grits!!! Thank God so many of us think for themselves.

I know. If we listened to the naysayers, we'd all hide in our
homes and never go out in public.

I didn't get a flue shot this year and took my chances . I do keep those hand santizers in my purse , got quite a few of them from my hubby for christmas from Bath and Body . Lovely scents and really enjoy them . I think maybe that is why I didn't get a cold ( knock on wood ) this year . How about you ?

Sadie

What a crock and so many fell for it too...

It's interesting. I've hardly heard anything about the Swine Flu lately. Does this mean the vaccines are working? This is flu season.