Gardasil/HPV Vaccine

[arwoods28]

I had all three of the Gardasil vaccines when they were first on the market. The injections themselves are a little more painful than even a tetnus shot but I have never had any adverse effects from the injections. I was 17 when I got these. I don't know if this helps, but I thought some first hand perspective might help.

[jazzymae]

i gotten the shot, all three, but i can say i experienced some nausea, but i dont know if that was from the shot or my birth control. That i was really sick from, but after i got off the pill an got on the ring, i do not get sick anymore.

[H.Starr]

I had the shots, I know several people who have had the shots, no one has had any problems with it.

I also have known several people who have had HPV, and got it WHILE USING CONDOMS!

The break outs are often times on a girl's pireneum. So the guy's testicles hit it, NOT his penis which is covered by a condom. So then his testcles pass it to the next girl's pireneum, which passes it to the next guy's testicles, and so on.

Over 80% of girls aged 18-25 have or have had HPV. It is a very very common thing.

My daughters (if I have any) ABSOLUTELY will get that vaccine, or whichever one is on the market by then.

[giraffes_buddy]

When Little Bits gets old enough, I'll definitely have her vaccinated. I watched my mom die of cancer (not cervical cancer, but cancer nonetheless), and if I can do anything to help prevent that kind of suffering in my daughter, then I'll do it.

I agree that we should teach our kids about safe sex, but education only goes so far, and there are enough teenage mothers posting to this board to know that education is only part of the solution. I'm not so naive as to beleive that my kids will always comply with my wishes. And as H.Starr very astutely pointed out, it's very, VERY possible to contract HPV even when using "safe sex" solutions.

I'll admit that there are horror stories about this vaccine. However, I'm a big believe in looking at the big picture when making decisions like this. Statistically, the odds of having a true horror-story experience from getting the vaccine are much lower than the odds of contracting HPV.

[MSLight]

I had the shots when I was in my early 20s - they didnt hurt too badly and I never had adverse effect. I always feel better knowing that I got them!

[baby2comin]

Cancer shot? Sign us up!

[Leslo27]

I've had all three shots of Gardasil and have had zero side effects. I also know of 3 other girls (in our 20s) that have had the vaccine and also did not have any side effects.

[ABoysMommy]

Chelsey, it is very common to have no side effects ever. I had these shots and have a son, and my sister had these shots and has two kids. More people have no side effects than those that do.
In my opinion this shot is definitely worth it and if I ever have a daughter I will want her to have it. HPV seems to be very common these days, and why take the risk of getting cancer from it when you don't have to? Seems silly...

[lismom2]

Here are some of the side effects:

"The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) system generally takes input from medical personnel, but anyone can report an adverse reaction to a drug. VAERS includes:

* 78 separate cases, patients experience an outbreak of warts in the groin and genital area, even among girls who tested negative for HPV. Other outbreaks of warts were found on the face, hands, and feet and were all caused by strains of the papilloma virus.

* There are 10 deaths reported since September 2007, and at least 18 deaths total. Of those 18, eleven occurred less than one week after receiving the vaccine and seven in less than two days. The young women were diagnosed with blood clotting as the cause, which was cited as the cause in almost a fourth of all deaths involving Gardasil. One girl died from inflammation of the heart, one from arrhythmia and one from meningitis. An 11-year-old died from anaphylactic reaction.

* The FDA also reported 140 “serious” reports of injury. The FDA considers reports only that are life threatening in that category; genital warts on one’s face would not qualify

* There were 10 spontaneous abortions

* Six cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system) since January 2008

* 25.4 percent experienced swelling after receiving Gardasil, and 15.8 percent reported the same thing after receiving an aluminum placebo. Gardasil contains 225 mcg of aluminum. The FDA allowed Merck to use an aluminum-based placebo, while most are saline based."


I'll pass based on the possibility of genital warts on my face, thanks. Bottom line, know your partner, get tested for STI's and go for regular pap smears.

Read more: http://www.injuryboard.com/national-...#ixzz0gTq7HfuH

[lismom2]

Also, this vax is now being recommended for older women and gay men as well as younger boys. One wonders how the human race EVER survived the dreaded HPV before (insert sarcasm here....).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20100...derwomengaymen