Hellllppp! DD19 at Drs office now- question

[frannn]

Dr wants to know if he should give her the menangitis vaccine. It is not covered by insurance & will cost 110 OOP. It is not required for her to get it to enter college in NYS, but DR recommends. Should I pay for her to get it?

 

[blissventure]

Yes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[jacos11]

I would. I've seen a couple of reports of college students dying from meningitis.

 

[C.Ann]

I am not a big fan of vaccines, but if it were my DD - and she was about to start college, I would definitely have her get it.. When you hear about a case in the colleges here (NY), you only hear about it after the student has died..

I think it's been around long enough that's it probably safe..

Good luck with your decision!

 

[McDISer]

If she is staying in the dorms, I would definately get the vacinnation.

 

[frannn]

She's living at home. Does this make a difference?

 

[Green Tea]

yes

 

[frannn]

yes

Not sure which you meant?

 

[monkey68]

Even though she's not dorming, I would still get it. She'll be in contact with people that do dorm, odds are she'll make friends with people that live in the dorms, and she'll probably hang out in their rooms, even though she doesn't live there. I would absolutely.

 

[blissventure]

She's living at home. Does this make a difference?

Frannnn, you appear to be conflicted about this. You need to do whatever you're comfortable with.

If she's attending classes at the school (not sitting in the living room taking classes online) she's going to be in close proximity to her agemates many hours of the day.
Good luck with your decision....and you might get your questions answered by the Dr. She/he would be your best resource about risk of vac vs risk of very, very serious illness.

 

[SaratogaShan]

Hi!

A College Health Nurse here! I vote yes for the vaccine. Even though the odds are small that she would get menengitis, the consequences are just too severe to take a risk.

 

[mousetravel]

I guess I'll be the odd one out. I would wait and do some researching on the vaccine. I had my DD recieve the Gardasil vaccine, kinda on a whim while in the doctor's office. I really wished I would have researched it a little bit, because I started to find & read negative things online about it. I was really concerned for a while about getting the Gardasil too quickly, and still do get concerned sometimes.

 

[daughtersrus]

The shot is not covered by our insurance either. My oldest DD got her's when she was 20yo on campus for about $80. My second DD got her's recently at our local health dept for $12.00.

If she hasn't already gotten it, I would check with your county and see what the cost is there.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

She's living at home. Does this make a difference?

It is up to you and your dd.

Thanks for the reminder!!!! My dd is staying in the dorms and this is on the to do list.

The school requires it.

 

[frannn]

I called our pharmacy first to see there would be any adverse reactions with the meds she's on now, and if they've heard of any bad side effects. They said there would be none (other than redness & a headache), so to go ahead. $110 definetly stings....but its one less thing to worry about.

 

[mamacatnv]

We did - it is now mandatory at DS's college but I would have done it anyway. $110 for a little piece of mind was worth it to me.
Some of the colleges offer it at their clinics for a reduced price as do some area health departments. Our insurance covered it

 

[dairyou]

No doubt, not even a question money wise to get it done or not. The piece of mind would be priceless. I've read in the paper of so many teens dying from it. By the time they figured it out it was way too late.

 

[rcraw45425]

DH is a physician, he told me to wait on the Gardisil for our then 13 year old DD, but to definitely get the Menactra. FTR, it cost me $200 OOP.

 

[krcit]

I know a boy who lost both of his legs to meningitis. My kids will all be getting the vaccine when they are of the age. Gardasil, I'm waiting on.Apples and oranges really.

 

[DawnCt1]

I called our pharmacy first to see there would be any adverse reactions with the meds she's on now, and if they've heard of any bad side effects. They said there would be none (other than redness & a headache), so to go ahead. $110 definetly stings....but its one less thing to worry about.

GOOD!! It was the right decision. The best $110 you ever spent.