Tetanus as trigger?

[Temagami]

hello all,

I was dx´d in May with probable MS and in June with CIS with an Rx of Copaxone. My hospital records from April say that a Jan. 2011 tetanus shot for a dog bite is the probable cause of my symptoms. I have been under the psychological stress of a walk away spouse (Aug. 2010) and it was his newly adopted stray that bit me. I am wondering if anyone has links to research linking tetanus shots with the onset of MS. It would help greatly in the securing of health insurance in the future. Thanks in advance.
Temagami

[Putty]

In the beginning of my MS I had to have a Tetanus shot for stepping on glass and it was the worst year of MS I've had..one exacerbation after another...I know it was the shot...won't have another one and that was over 20years ago..I don't think it started the disease because had just been diagnosed.

[Spydre]

Hmmm, I just got a tetanus shot yesterday, as well as the pneumonia vaccine. I've already had a bad year so far, I hope this doesn't mean I may have more issues this year.

[AnneLouise]

I had a tetanus shot for a tick bite several years ago. And it was a year or two before my diagnosis. Now, I'm wondering if the shot was a trigger.

I had symptoms here and there in my twenties, but I didn't know then what it was. Everything seemed to come to a head in my early forties, shortly after that shot.

I thought maybe the tick, (it was a rather large tick) but now I wonder if the tetanus shot was what brought it on.

[Temagami]

Why would they give you a tetanus shot for a tick bite? I´ve only received antibiotics for tick bites.

[RoyaleMSer]

I recieved a tetnus shot a few months ago. I asked my PCP beforehand if it was ok. She said it was fine, I got the shot, no MS problems since that are related. Sounds more like coincidence to me.

[AnneLouise]

Why would they give you a tetanus shot for a tick bite? I´ve only received antibiotics for tick bites.

I can't remember if I got antibiotics also, but I do remember the shot.
I think she gave it to me because I never had one.

[jazzgirl]

I had a tetanus booster about 5 years ago, and I asked if it was a dead virus (like the flu shot). Doc said yes, so I took it. No problems from it at all (except for a sore arm .

[Spydre]

I had a tetanus booster about 5 years ago, and I asked if it was a dead virus (like the flu shot). Doc said yes, so I took it. No problems from it at all (except for a sore arm .

Truthfully, when I got the tetanus and the pneumonia vaccine the other day, I'm not having any problems with the tetanus, but I'm still having trouble using my shoulder on the arm that got the pneumonia vaccine.

[Redwings]

I am wondering if anyone has links to research linking tetanus shots with the onset of MS. It would help greatly in the securing of health insurance in the future.

It isn't precisely known what causes autoimmune diseases, including MS. The consensus is that there are two things necessary: a genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger. There are many things that are recognized as possible triggers. They include toxins, some environmental factors and biologic agents. Of the third group, there are many suspects.

The medical literature contains many articles about the onset of demyelinating diseases following vaccinations of various kinds. But there are also reports of studies that show no such relationship in the tested groups.

So there is conflicting information and the issue isn't clear cut. But with enough information about the onset of demyelinating disease coinciding with various vaccinations, it's certainly possible that a tetanus vaccination might be the environmental trigger that spurs MS into becoming active.

If you've interpreted and quoted your hospital records correctly, your records don't say that the tetanus shot triggered MS. "Probable cause of symptoms" isn't the same thing as "activated the disease processes of multiple sclerosis." Even if one of your doctors actually says, "The tetanus vaccine gave this patient multiple sclerosis," an argument can be made to the contrary, based on some study in the literature.

It isn't clear how you think literature references will help you in getting health insurance in the future. You've already been diagnosed with CIS and are taking a medication whose only current use is the treatment of MS. Until health care reform in the US is fully implemented, it's the option of health insurers to accept you or reject you because of a pre-existing condition. Under individual plans, they'll likely reject you because of a pre-existing condition. The cause of your MS -- even if one could be definitely identified -- is irrelevant. You either meet underwriting guidelines or you don't. Literature references won't be of any help to you.

[onlyairfare]

I've had all the usual immunizations, including tetanus boosters, as well as a variety of less common vaccines needed for foreign travel. Over the 35+ years I've had MS, I haven't noticed any connection between vaccinations and my MS relapses.

I've guess I've been lucky.

[Temagami]

Redwing,
It does matter b/c there is a vaccine trust fund that is available for compensation for adverse reactions. My thought was to create a special needs trust if I were to prevail in a case to the trust. So, it matters.

[Redwings]

It would help greatly in the securing of health insurance in the future.

Redwing, It does matter b/c there is a vaccine trust fund that is available for compensation for adverse reactions. My thought was to create a special needs trust if I were to prevail in a case to the trust. So, it matters.

Hi Temagami:
Yes, the cause does matter for claims of vaccine injury. But in your post you originally said you were interested in health insurance, which is an entirely different matter than an injury award and why I didn't bring up vaccine injury compensation. If you had inquired about vaccine injury compensation, my reply would have been, accordingly, entirely different.

[kikiblue]

I am a little concerned. I was recently diagnosed with an IGg (immuneoglobin) deficiency. The infectious disease doctor wants to give me a tetanus and pneumonia shot to see what my antibodies do. This is the first step towards possible immuneoglobin infusions.

[MelissaQ]

I've always kind of wondered if vaccines played a part in my CIS.

I started a nursing job a few months before my inital symptoms which started in 6/08. I don't know the exact date, but a couple of months before that, employee health told me that I needed an MMR and I needed to get an updated tetanus.

I had reacted to a tetanus vaccine I received several years before with significant swelling at the injection site and a high fever and body aches. I didn't have a reaction (that I noticed at the time) to the tdap or the mmr that they gave me in '08 but I have really suspected that there was a relation.