Rubella immunity

Hi ladies!

Just wondering if you could give me some advice.

I had a blood test done this morning to check my rubella immunity (amongst other things) as my DH and I are trying to conceive.

If the results come back that my immunity to rubella is low and I go ahead and have an immunisation shot, how long do we have to wait until trying to conceive? I've been scouring the internet for info and have come up with conflicting theories ranging from one month to three months!

We want to start trying to conceive ASAP (I stopped taking the pill on Feb 18 and we haven't used any protection since).

I'm on CD31 at the moment. My last cycle was only 21 days after I stopped taking the pill. When I was off the pill in 2004 my cycles were on average 28-29 days. I've been spotting on and off since CD26 but still no sign of AF!

Don't have any pg symptoms (although my nasty brain keeps trying to trick into believing that I do! LOL) so I'm resisting the urge the test! ](*,)

Anyway, thanks for any advice you can provide re. rubella. It's much appreciated! ;)

:pdust: to all!

Love Goldilocks

Basically its advised to wait 3 months after having your Rubella shot done to start TTC.
If you are pregnant and not immune to it, then you have to avoid big crowds with children.

Thanks Tamara, hopefully my immunity will be fine and we don't have to wait 3 months! [-o<

Your last shot was when you were 13 in high school I am pretty sure its standard for you to have it.

I am still High for Immunity and that was 10years ago... I dont know when you have to have your booster...

I also got told that it was advised to wait 3 months before trying to conceive but I am sure you will have immunity. I was checked for Rubella immunity when I was 29 and was fine so I am sure you will also.

Love Linda

Yes, I definitely remember having a shot when I was in high school. :crossfingers: that I'm like you guys and still have high immunity!

Well I'm not pg...AF arrived this morning. I'm relieved in one sense (because I want to make sure my immunity is fine first) but I can't help but be disappointed at the same time :( DH is also sad about it, he was hoping that a miracle had happened.

Oh well, it's only our first month actively TTC after I stopped taking the OCP so I'm sure I'll have many more disappointments before a :bfp: !

Thanks again for the advice ladies, it's very much appreciated ;)

Love Goldilocks

Goodluck this month and I am sure your immunity with be fine!!!

Well I finally got my BT results back and everything is fine, I still have immunity to rubella. YAY!!! \:D/

Thank you so much for your advice ladies, you really put my mind at ease ;)

So now that DH and I have the green light, it's full steam ahead on the baby-making express! :smt023

Lots of love,
GL
-xxxooo-

GL, glad to here that your immunity to rubella is fine.

I have another question about Rubella... When I went to my OB the first time he took blood test and told me that my immunity is low, but I had this when I was a couple of months old, and it is my belief that you can't catch it again, is this right.

I told the OB that I have already had it and he asked if I was sure and looked confused. I checked with my Mum and yep, definatley had it when I was a baby!

Does this mean that I am immune because I have already had it?

Thanks Aquarian ;)

Regarding your question, I believe that if you have already had rubella, you may have built up a natural immunity to the virus, even if you were never vaccinated. However, it's not guaranteed that you will be immune for life. It's possible for your immunity to diminish over time :rolleyes:

I found this info on an aussie website. HTH:

Most adults have good immunity to rubella, either naturally through experiencing the virus as a child or by being previously vaccinated for rubella. However, being vaccinated against rubella (or even experiencing the rubella virus) does not always guarantee immunity for life and a person may NOT be immune if:

1. Their previous immunity has diminished over time. This means that you may have been immune as a teenager or for an earlier pregnancy, but not immune for a subsequent pregnancy. This is why women need a rubella titre done for each new pregnancy.

2. Their body does not respond in a way to create adequate rubella immunity after a rubella infection or vaccination. The immune reaction may be insufficient or the person remains non-immune, even after experiencing rubella or being vaccinated against it.

If your OB has already done a blood test which has shown you have low immunity, maybe you should consider having a vaccination. Is this what s/he recommended?

Hope this was of some assistance to you O:)

Lots of love,
Goldilocks
-xxxooo-

Thanks GL you have been very helpful!!!

The OB suggested that I have the imunisation and put off TTC for 3 months. But I thought because I have already had it I wouldn't need the imunisation. Though somehow there was a mistake with the reading???

I still don't want to have to put off TTC for 3 months though!!! I wonder if I could lock myself away for 9 mths if I was lucky enough to fall pg???? hmmmmmmm...... maybe not!

Thanks again Goldilocks!!!!

Hi Aquariangypsii! :smt039

I'm so happy I could help, although it's probably not what you wanted to hear! I know that I would have been upset had I been told by my doctor to have another vaccination and put off TTC for three months! The TWW seems like torture enough, let alone three months of waiting! ](*,)

I was reading somewhere that quite a few women have accidentally had rubella vaccinations whilst they were already pg (and didn't know, obviously!). None of the bubs suffered any ill effects whatsoever. I think it would be more of a worry if you’ve never had rubella before and get it for the first time whilst pg. As TamaraP said earlier, stay away from large crowds with lots of children!

I guess if you have low immunity as opposed to NO immunity, it's better than nothing!

Glad I could help you out and good luck with whatever you decide to do! :flower:

Lots of love,
Goldilocks
-xxxooo-

Hi Aquarian

If the test said that your immunity is low I would definately get the immunisation. The body is a funny thing and over time it starts to "forget" and your immunity can drop.

I am int he same boat I had low immunity when I was tested and I know for certain that I had it as a kid.

I was say have the immunisation for sure as 3 months isn't long in the grand scheme of things (certainly shorter than the 9 months that you would have to lock yourself away for :) )

Hope that this helps a bit more

Hi Aquarian,
I too was in the same predictaament, i went off to the drs to do all the right things before ttc only to be told that my rubella was low and i need an immunisation, my dr basically jabbed me straight away as she said the risks to the baby were just not worth the risk of not being immunised i to went home crying and poor dp thought something was majorly wrong, and we figured 3 months would fly and it did, we since have discovered we need ivf so that 3 months will just be the beginning of many waiting periods but that is another story, anyway, goodluck and the 3 months will fly by before you know it
michelle

I agree with everyone - best to check your titre & have the jab if you need it. Good Luck.

Hi

I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago when we first started to ttc, had the bloodtest and my immunity was low so I just had another jab no questions asked. I remember having my original shot when I was in grade 6, but that is 20 years ago now so I figure it must have worn off. It's well worth being immune, my Mum and Aunty both caught rubella/german measles when they where pg at the same time many years ago and had terrible complications, suffice to say, the reason I didn't ask any questions and just had it done. 3 months does fly by.

Good luck!

Hi everyone,
I realise this is an old thread so hope people will see my new post.

I have just been told I have low immunity to Rubella. I am going through a fertility clinic for IVF... had all my blood tests done on the 10th of Jan. There was a stuff up with the clinic not actually getting the results until mid Feb but once they got them I rang and checked everything was okay (actually I rang about 5 times about my results due to the mix up). Anyway I was told all my results were all okay.

I then went through the month of being on the pill, couple of weeks of being on synarel and had my scan yesterday to check everything was going right ready to start on injections. Suddenly they tell me "Your Rubella immunisation is low so we would normally recommend not trying to get pregnant until atleast 28 days after you are re-immunised." I was so ****ed off. Why in all my phone calls to the clinic over the past 6 weeks did they not tell me this? I could have been immunised and had that 28 days count down whilst I was on the contraceptive pill! I was told that rather than start all over again with another month of the contraceptive pill I can stay on Synarel for another month to hold my cycle where it is and then have another scan but I'm not sure what that will do to my crazy body being on it for another 4 weeks longer than the original 4 weeks. My natural cycles are crazy enough and if the IVF doesn't work I will possibly go back to trying donor insemination (and clomid didn't help when I was doing it before) so I don't want to screw with my cycles any more than I have to.

The clinic have told me that I am a 9 and 10 + is considered immune. They have had these results for 6 weeks but apparently somehow thought I knew the results (that someone would have told me) so everytime I rang to check everything was okay no body said anything about it!!!!

I have decided to proceed as they have told me that there is very little german measles around and I do have some immunity (just not as much as I would have liked) but I'm not prepared to start all over again and don't want to extend my time on synarel.

Of course if I do get pregnant I will probably be paranoid of getting sick for the first 20 weeks (after that you are apparently okay) but I figure the chances are I won't get pregnant anyway (but will hopefully get some good embryos and might get pregnant next cycle). So I'm now thinking if i don't get pregnant I will see about being immunised and then wait 28 days before the next embryo transfer.

I am still angry with the clinic for not telling me earlier because then I could have had this done before I even went on the contraceptive pill.

I was suprised to read that the vaccination normally lasts 16 years. We normally get it in year 7 (I was 12, some students are 13) so in this case many women wouldn't be covered by the time they are pregnant (I mean alot of women have their first child after they are 28 or 29 and even those who have them younger would often have other children after this age). I think this should be made more common knowledge - I mean they tell women to start taking folate once they start trying to get pregnant - why not advertise (as a message from the health department) theat women over 28 trying to get pregnant should be reimmunised for Rubella.

Lori
1st IVF cycle after a year of donor insemination (with clinic assistance) - what if I had got pregnant then and hadn't been any the wiser that I might not be covered against rubella.
Very ****ed off with my clinic.

I just did some more research on Rubella - I thought it just meant babies could be born deaf but have read that it can result in mental retardation and miscarriage.

I'm even more ****ed off with my clinic now... think I need to give up on the whole idea of IVF now as I don't want to start all over again and I don't want to stay on synarel for another month.

I can't believe they could stuff up like this... just so everyone knows the clinic I was going through is BALLARAT IVF - stay clear of them. How incompetent can they be!!!! I still can't believe this.

Rubella - Better Health Channel.

Sorry to hear you're going through this dreamrise659.
I have no immunity to Rubella as well. Each time I am planning to conceive I need to ensure I've had the booster before falling pregnant.
With this pregnancy however it was unplanned and I have no immunity, so I have to be careful not to be around any sick children. Unfortunately there's nothing I or the dr can do while I'm pregnant.

Good luck with your IVF journey :hug:

I would be mad too :shakehead:

When i was pregnant with DD i had no immunity at all.
Dr just told me to stay away from ANYONE complaining of a sore throat or with unexplained rashes or temperatures.

Good luck, hope you get your :bfp:

Thanks Jodie and Jessey,

Why did you have to be reimmunised before each pregnancy? Does your body not respond properly to the immunisation? Or have you had your babies greatly spread out? Hope that's not too personal - just curious. I have been told there is a chance that my body just didn't respond to my original immunisation, in which case being re-immunised will make no difference.

Well I got my immunisation done yesterday. That in itself was a huge stress as no pharmacy in Ballarat had the stuff in stock so I was told it would have to be ordered from Melbourne and I might not be able to get it until Tuesday (due to Easter). I was starting to think I was never going to be able to get started. Anyway in the end the Doctor used an emergency supply and I had to order and pay the chemist to replace this... atleast it's done now and I can start my countdown to IVF all over again.

I am still so ****ed off about the whole thing. The clinic acknowledged that it wasn't very good. I want to request that they pay any additional costs associated with this delay now (for example the extra drugs that I now have to pay for which I wouldn't have needed if I hadn't had to pause at this point - $100, I have to have an additional scan too so not sure how much more that will cost). I don't see why I should be out of pocket for their mistake... it's bad enough that I have to delay my treatment which means if I am successful I won't get any paid maternity leave (if I had been successful on my first attempt without having any delays I would have still got 5 weeks maternity leave but due to when my contract expires now I will get none!).

I know people say that the first IVF cycle is often like a practice run because they are playing around with drug doses etc so not to expect to get pregnant first go but now I'm not even having my first go... it's just another delay and I started this journey in Dec 06 so I feel like it has already been forever and I just want things to start happening. I had 3 Aritifical insemination cycles last year without success and prior to that spent 18 months looking for a suitable donor and then 6 months monitoring my weird cycles through the clinic.

I turn 37 in June and I just feel like time is running out... I don't need any more delays.
:-(

Lori

It just seems that my body doesn't store it for very long? Don't know really. There's only a small gap between my kids. 21 months between DD1 & DD2 and there will be 27 months between DD2 & DD3. Once I have the booster my levels are ok for what seems to be around 2 years, then they start reducing.

So sorry that it's caused yet another delay for you. :hug:

Dreamrise - I would also be very angry with your clinic and expect them to pay your out of pocket costs. I'm sorry this has happened. Good luck!!!

I also have a low rubella count and now that I got my period today and am not pregnant:( need to decide if I will have the booster.
For my first pregnancy I had a low immunity and it was suggested that I get it rechecked next time. Well I did this a few weeks ago and it is low but not as low as last time (don't ask me how). I didn't get the shot at the time because I wanted to see if I was pregnant first. I am still not sure I want to wait 3mths though. The trouble I have is that I work in childcare and my DD is in childcare so I am prbably at a high risk. I am apparently in the high end of the low zone so not sure what to do.

Has anyone out there tried homeopathics???