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thanks for this. My hope is that if people are simply more aware of the range of possible effects (we're working on a questionnaire that summarizes them in the case of psychiatric meds), then they'll be able to self-monitor and make better decisions. But you're right - it's precisely because of the lack of monitoring and attention to this in formal systems that these kinds of other discussions and efforts are needed.

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My son had a side effect the night he had his first DPT vaccination. He woke up barking like a seal! He had a reaction to the Pertussis part of the vaccine. Whooping cough is a disease with a cough that sounds like a barking seal. Many mothers would have considered that reaction to be a natural part of the vaccine starting to work. I knew it was a bad sign though I was not informed by my pediatrician of the possibility of side effects! Doctors only seem to be concerned about anaphylactic shock. Once you get out of the office, you are on your own.

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