[kylk]

(Sorry if this is in the wrong place!)

Ok.
So recently my school gave out forms to recieve the Gardasil vaccination against cervical cancer.
People came in, we asked question, everything seemed fine and lovely.
Side effects didn't seem bad, just swelling of the arm, headaches, temperatures... That was all they told us.

But then, an email has been sent around through friends, containing the following links:

http://www.endohealth.co.nz/vcagard.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/07/08/co...ry4240888.shtml

To sum up the above links, apparently there have been 18 deaths, several cases of bodily paralysis and problems with muscle contraction.
And the Gardasil vaccination is causing it.

I'm due to have the vaccination next Monday.
I'm so confused whether I should get it or not.

Wouldn't the people promoting it have told us about the deaths/paralysis side effects if it was true?
Why would the government give out something that hasn't been considered safe?

I would really appreciate some opnions, or even better, from the people who have already recieved the Gardasil vaccination:
What were your side effects?
Do you know anyone who has died/been paralysed due to the vaccination?

Do you think I/We should get it?

[plumplum]

My roommate had it and said it made her really nauseous, but that's it.

[kinein]

I'm not sure... you understand that exercising and being in shape + eating right is best preventative method against cancer.. but you signed up to be a test subject?

[aiaigasa]

i'm sure those were exceptional cases. have you seen the fact sheet for the gardasil injection? it says you should alert your doctor if you're allergic to such and such, and if you have certain conditions.

in the end, certain cases like this are going to happen with any medicine. 18 people? out of how many? all in all, it's still benefitting the larger population.

if you're worried about it, i would advise against you to get it. however, i've gotten it and every girl i know has gotten it... and none of us are dead yet. ^^;

[be_mellow]

How old are you? I had mine 2 years ago when I was 19. I personally don't like to do medical stuff in school. (I assume that shot is available in your school?) I prefer hearing what my doctor has to say. Afterall, she's the one with all my medical record and knows what's good for me.

I had the shots and I only have minor pain on that arm from the shots for about 3 days each time, that's my typical response. No nausea etc. Still can do my normal activities after 2 years.

[suki_*]

To be honest and not to scare you, the Gardisil or HPV shots HAVE NOT been out in the market long enough to really find out the what the long-term side-effects are (long as in 5-10 years long).

Hence why the government is pushing this vaccination out as free guinea pigs on girls ranging from grade 7-8 for free (other girls have to pay and it's almost $400 a shot in canada).

They're subsidising for those shots because they are saying how they want to help girls prevent getting HPV before they have sex, but their underlying motive is to test this vaccination too.

I am going to wait for a year or so to see how things go and whether anything new comes up with this shot to take it.

[annietran]

hmm.. i got my gardasil shot (2 out of the 3, im getting my third next month) and im fine.


What were your side effects?

none at all. after i got my shots, i didn't feel sick, i didn't have pains. the spot where i got the needle shot in, the pain went away real fast. (unlike a flu shot, the pain stays for a while).


Do you know anyone who has died/been paralysed due to the vaccination?

nope, my close friends have gotten the shot and their fine and healthy. i mean, im fine and healthy. im still alive, and smiling.

Do you think I/We should get it?

well, i didn't get it by choice (my mother forced me to get it, as recommended by my doctor) but sometimes its better safe than sorry although the poster above me had said that its not been out long enough to be proven. but, if you feel you should get it, then get it. if there was that many deaths, i don't think the government would even let people get the shot since its so lethal, and they'll pull it off immediately.


--

btw, your really lucky that you don't have to pay for me. cause when gardisil first came out, i already graduated from middle school so i couldn't get the shot. so my mom had to pay for it. (thankfully insurance covered it)

[P a p e r_C l i p]

I only got the first shot & it hurt a lot
It was like someone punching me really hard in the arm

After when i stood up the room started spinning and it was going black and i was seeing spots
And the doctor told me i was going into shock and had to lie down
So i had to lie down until the feeling went away

Other than that my arm just stung and was sore the rest of the day

But i convinced my mom not to make me get the last two, so yeah

[akira53]

To be honest and not to scare you, the Gardisil or HPV shots HAVE NOT been out in the market long enough to really find out the what the long-term side-effects are (long as in 5-10 years long).

Hence why the government is pushing this vaccination out as free guinea pigs on girls ranging from grade 7-8 for free (other girls have to pay and it's almost $400 a shot in canada).

They're subsidising for those shots because they are saying how they want to help girls prevent getting HPV before they have sex, but their underlying motive is to test this vaccination too.

I am going to wait for a year or so to see how things go and whether anything new comes up with this shot to take it.

yeah I'm completely agree. I won't be getting it any time soon.

[daydreamin9]

I took 2 out of 3 shots... still waiting on the 3rd one.
The side effects were the same as SaRaNgHaE1027 .

quick question though, will the gardisil vaccine work even though I was already sexually active before receiving the shots?

[Lady Violette]

i took all 3 shots already and i have no side effects. all of my friends who took it also had no side effects. just lots of pain at the injection site for a day or two.

omg i did not know it caused 18 deaths. i took the shots because my doctor told me to and after reading the fact sheet before getting it, i felt it was safe for me.

been living for a year after the shots, i feel fine. and i think the gardasil vaccine still works for those who were sexually active before the vaccination but less effective? i'm not entirely sure so don't quote me on that lol. xP

[felinius]

...

I don't know why people believe that they're using girls as guinea pigs. To be approved by FDA there has to be previous testing done and those people who are the REAL guinea pigs get paid for this stuff.

Government is more interested in saving money ... plus, by vaccinating large amounts of people we have something similarly called "group resistance." It literally rids the population of diseases as long as everyone is vaccinated (for instance polio). :3


OP, if you're really scared of side-effects (though they are VERY small in comparison to how many people take the vaccine), then start getting yearly pap-smears and watch your sexual habits. It's the best way to prevent cervical cancer, HPV and every other icky thing out there. (Eating right & staying in shape don't really have a say...)

[suki_*]

I don't know why people believe that they're using girls as guinea pigs. To be approved by FDA there has to be previous testing done and those people who are the REAL guinea pigs get paid for this stuff.

Government is more interested in saving money ... plus, by vaccinating large amounts of people we have something similarly called "group resistance." It literally rids the population of diseases as long as everyone is vaccinated (for instance polio). :3


OP, if you're really scared of side-effects (though they are VERY small in comparison to how many people take the vaccine), then start getting yearly pap-smears and watch your sexual habits. It's the best way to prevent cervical cancer, HPV and every other icky thing out there. (Eating right & staying in shape don't really have a say...)

Just because it's FDA approved doesn't mean it's still safe, some side effects don't show up until after it's been approved. Drugs that help weight loss are also FDA approved but it's still not something safe to take.

FDA considers the drug�s medical utility�the extent of its use, the severity of the disease or diseases being treated, the drug�s efficacy in treating those diseases, and the availability of other drugs to treat the same diseases. Sometimes the drugs adverse effect appears in the post-surveillance, hence why as much as the FDA is approving drugs they can also remove them.

Here's an interesting read about the FDA.

Click~~~~

i'm sure they're pushing it out for the right reasons, but i'm still going to wait a bit more. my doctor just told me that if i am not sexually active i am not really in need of the shot as much anyways.

[emma007]

To be honest and not to scare you, the Gardisil or HPV shots HAVE NOT been out in the market long enough to really find out the what the long-term side-effects are (long as in 5-10 years long).

Hence why the government is pushing this vaccination out as free guinea pigs on girls ranging from grade 7-8 for free (other girls have to pay and it's almost $400 a shot in canada).

They're subsidising for those shots because they are saying how they want to help girls prevent getting HPV before they have sex, but their underlying motive is to test this vaccination too.

I am going to wait for a year or so to see how things go and whether anything new comes up with this shot to take it.

Agreed. There is no way I am getting this at this time.

[felinius]

Just because it's FDA approved doesn't mean it's still safe, some side effects don't show up until after it's been approved. Drugs that help weight loss are also FDA approved but it's still not something safe to take.

FDA considers the drug�s medical utility�the extent of its use, the severity of the disease or diseases being treated, the drug�s efficacy in treating those diseases, and the availability of other drugs to treat the same diseases. Sometimes the drugs adverse effect appears in the post-surveillance, hence why as much as the FDA is approving drugs they can also remove them.

Here's an interesting read about the FDA.

Click~~~~

i'm sure they're pushing it out for the right reasons, but i'm still going to wait a bit more. my doctor just told me that if i am not sexually active i am not really in need of the shot as much anyways.

I haven't actually seen any other weight-loss drugs besides Alli (orlistat) that have been FDA approved, but they go through plenty of testing before they're approved and put out on the market. Here's a link on the FDA review process which also shows that they have to show how it will react in the human body.

Maybe wait time can be compared to the flu vaccine? The flu vaccine's virus changes every year, but there doesn't seem to be any study on what it does in the longterm. Though the benefits outweigh the detriment.

It's always a good idea to be ready for what can come around. I think the reason it's pushed so young is to make sure that girls don't have to worry about it as they get older. Though you shouldn't replace vaccine for paps in this case.

[k4r3bear]

What were your side effects?
the normal swelling on the arms and it kinda hurt, i didnt get feel sick but some girls felt nauseating and there was one who fainted...

Do you know anyone who has died/been paralysed due to the vaccination?
nope besides the girl who fainted but shes fine now

Do you think I/We should get it?
well, if ur receiving it free its realli worth it i guess cause its suppose to be 400 dollars for it...im not too sure if it realli works though....like some places dont give it out yet cause they are still unsure if this vaccine is safe enough but seems like for the province where i live, all gr 9 girls receive it but if it realli helps u to prevent cervical cancer its a good thing

[J'adore]

To be completely honest, I did not experience any extreme side effects nor any minor ones. It hurt when I the medication went into my arm but afterwards it was as if I never got it done, like the injection site wasn't even sore.

They say you might get a fever as a symptom however nothing as extreme as what you described and I've never even heard of any deaths before you mentioned it.

Sure it's free but doesn't mean it's bad, it's meant to prevent you from HPV but you still need to get regular papsmears etc

I think you should get it, I mean it's free and you know it isn't cheap and it's only meant to protect you, I'm sure those people were only an exception.

[saranghaese7en]

i didn't have any
and it's to prevent hpv, not cervical cancer

i guess you should get it... no harm^^

[robotomy]

i know that vomiting is a side effect.

[prosecco]

I didn't experience any negative side effects. And, actually, it didn't really hurt very much as far as shots go.
( I usually have a kind of low pain tolerance so that's why I mentioned it ~ )

Most of my friends that got it say the shots hurt a bit for them. They haven't mentioned negative side effects.