French expats vaccination help!!!

lounakin

Hello, looking for anyone who may have had a child vaccinated in france (or abroad) and had follow-ups in Dublin.
I had my child vaccinated in France twice and it's all written in her health book along with the irish schedule etc... I went for the 3rd batch today which she ended up not receiving because the GP was confused. The doc not only refused to look at the book where all the vaccines are listed (the french and Irish schedule are VERY similar, nothing to it) but she kept saying 'that's what happens when you get things done in another country). She was quite horrible and wouldn't give any advice on what to do.
I am looking for advice from people who've been through this or someone who may know a good GP who is more understanding.
PErhaps there's someone out there who knows a GP who is familiar with expats?
If anyone here knows the differences between the french and the irish schedule and could make sense of it... make yourself known pleaaaaase!

Hobbitfeet

I don't know an answer to this but there is an ex pat forum on rollercoaster.ie you could try there for help not sure if boards has an ex pat forum

MaudL

Heya,

I was in the same situation as you. My son was born in the US, got some of his vaccines there, and then we moved to Ireland when he was 8 months old.

I took him to the GP in the Leopardstown Shopping Center, and the doctor just looked at his record book, matched it to the Irish vaccination schedule, and geve him the necessary shot.
The doctor never made a fuss about it, it sounds like your GP might be the very unhelpful kind... Maybe go see someone else?

lounakin

Oh I will go see someone else... My main issue was the Hep B: my child is missing one of the hep B injections and instead of giving her just that one, the GP wanted to give her an extra 6 in 1!!!

January

Most of the vaccinations here are mixed together. So the 6in1 would incorporate Hep B and a few others. You can get them separately though too, but they'd have to be ordered in specially.

Hobbitfeet

January wrote: »

Most of the vaccinations here are mixed together. So the 6in1 would incorporate Hep B and a few others. You can get them separately though too, but they'd have to be ordered in specially.

When I asked about getting separate ones I was told no get the 6in1 or nothing

pwurple

Well that does make sense in fairness.. Getting a second extra vaccine for something does no harm whatsoever, and may even be beneficial if the child didn't develop immunity the first time. Also, they are free. Why would you go off and pay for a seperate one, when there is a free one right there?

I would get the six in one as the GP advises.

lounakin

pwurple wrote: »

Well that does make sense in fairness.. Getting a second extra vaccine for something does no harm whatsoever, and may even be beneficial if the child didn't develop immunity the first time. Also, they are free. Why would you go off and pay for a seperate one, when there is a free one right there?

I would get the six in one as the GP advises.

Well, I'm not sure it's so great to have an extra batch of vaccines for no reason. The GP in France said it wasn't a good idea and when I asked the GP here about this issue she had nothing to say, just stayed silent. I'm not a doctor and this is why I needed an answer to my question! So I'd rather pay 30 euro to order a single vaccine than give her another 6 in 1 just because it's sitting on a shelf!
Also, and this was totally overlooked by the GP in question, the Hep B vaccine is not the same at every visit, it has a different dosage so I'd have to get the proper one, get that extra 6 in 1 would be overkill for the other vaccines and not the proper dosage for the one that actually matters!

pwurple

Ask another GP. I can't think why the French GP would say not to get it, there is no reason that I am aware of. You can't overdose on a vaccine which you have already received. That's not how it works.I am not sure what the concern would be, but if you are worried, it is a doctor who should explain and reassure you if you have concerns

The seperate vaccine won't be 30 quid either I would guess. It is more likely to be between 90 and 200, with a week or so's wait for the pharmacy to get it delivered, plus the GP visit cost, of 50-60 euro. That is around what the extra varicella vaccine cost me. They are only paid by the government to administer the ones on the list (which should live in a fridge, not on a shelf).

Your original doctor does sound like they did not address your worries properly, so you do need another one. You should never feel dismissed by a GP.

lounakin

pwurple wrote: »

Ask another GP. I can't think why the French GP would say not to get it, there is no reason that I am aware of. You can't overdose on a vaccine which you have already received. That's not how it works.I am not sure what the concern would be, but if you are worried, it is a doctor who should explain and reassure you if you have concerns

The seperate vaccine won't be 30 quid either I would guess. It is more likely to be between 90 and 200, with a week or so's wait for the pharmacy to get it delivered, plus the GP visit cost, of 50-60 euro. That is around what the extra varicella vaccine cost me. They are only paid by the government to administer the ones on the list (which should live in a fridge, not on a shelf).

Your original doctor does sound like they did not address your worries properly, so you do need another one. You should never feel dismissed by a GP.

The Hep B vaccine costs 30 euro, I checked at the pharmacy near where I live, they can order it. The vaccine would be administered along with another free vaccination visit and would be free. It's not really the overdose I'm concerned with, more the principle of it. I find this attitude wasteful, that's all. And a part of me (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) thinks that there could always be unforeseen side effects, so why get 5 pointless vaccines when you can get just the one you need.

pwurple

lounakin wrote: »

The vaccine would be administered along with another free vaccination visit

The GP could reasonably refuse to do this. You don't know what effect mixing this vaccine with another one in the same session is, and neither does the GP. Don't get me wrong, it's probably fine, but an untested schedule is, well, untested.

I find this attitude wasteful, that's all.

It's as wasteful as eating a multigrain roll instead of a white roll. Same size roll, same qty of jabs.

And a part of me (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) thinks that there could always be unforeseen side effects, so why get 5 pointless vaccines when you can get just the one you need.

As above, the 6 in one is tested. mixing a different vaccine with the Hep B is not tested. The higher risk lies with an untested schedule. Get them seperatly is probably better.

lounakin

pwurple wrote: »

The GP could reasonably refuse to do this. You don't know what effect mixing this vaccine with another one in the same session is, and neither does the GP. Don't get me wrong, it's probably fine, but an untested schedule is, well, untested.
As above, the 6 in one is tested. mixing a different vaccine with the Hep B is not tested. The higher risk lies with an untested schedule. Get them seperatly is probably better.

The GP is the one that suggested it! I wouldn't just come up with this. And she also said it was fine.
Mixing vaccines is perfectly fine too, why else would they mix polio and hep B etc... besides my baby would be getting the Hep B with Meningitis, which is exactly what everybody else gets too except it's 6 in 1 + meningitis. The only thing that matters is not to get two batches too close together.

pwurple

Ah you're grand so. You didn't say with was that one. There was a recent controvorsy in dublin where the GP was making up their own schedule, and the whole lot had to be readministered. They are more careful since.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gp-incorrectly-administers-child-vaccinations-in-dublin-564727.html

lounakin

pwurple wrote: »

Ah you're grand so. You didn't say with was that one. There was a recent controvorsy in dublin where the GP was making up their own schedule, and the whole lot had to be readministered. They are more careful since.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gp-incorrectly-administers-child-vaccinations-in-dublin-564727.html

ooh that's interesting... another reason to doubt this GP! I'll definitely go see another one anyway. That one just seemed a bit shaky!