We want to know your comments about the Gardasil vaccines. If you have heard of it, you know that some people believe it is good and others are against it.
Gardasil is the only vaccine out there that may help prevent diseases that are caused by type 6, 11, 16, and 18 of HPV as well as genital warts. Cervical cancer is a disease of the cervix and if a female becomes affected and it does not heal on its own, then abnormal cells can develop. When it is not treated immediately, it can lead to cancer.
This vaccine is meant for females ages 9-16 years of age. It does not help if you have cervical cancer. It is given as 3 injections over a period of 6 months and can cause pain, swelling, itching, and redness at the injection site, fever, nausea, and dizziness.
Now I will tell you why some people are happy about this vaccine. As I said, it prevents 4 types of cervical cancer. They say it is best to receive it early so it can protect you earlier before you even have to worry about getting cervical cancer.
The negatives are that it comes in 3 injections over a period of 6 months… not fun. You receive one and then you get one 2 months after that and then 6 months after that dose. Also, the effects aren’t so great either. While some insurance plans cover it, some do not. The cost is $120 per dose and the whole thing costs $360 for all. Also, it is extremely painful, more than all the other shots I have ever gotten.
So what do you think about it?
~Hope
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7 users responded in this post
It’s kinda a hard topic to choose like a side because your pros and cons are very well based, but what I’ve decided is those who can afford probably would benefit from it and even though it would be painful the side effects and even the regular shot is probably a lot better than having cervical cancer. So i’m probably for the shot.
My daughter is 16 years old and had her first shot in December 2008. She recently had her second shot. Since December my daughter has been very sick. Her stomach hurts all the time. She has hardly been able to eat without either having diarrhea 4-5 times a day with severe stomach cramps and nausea/vomiting. She has loss 10 lbs and only weighted 110 before getting the shot. She is constantly tired and will sleep after school for 4-5 hours. This is not the norm for her. She usually eats very well. She has never been a nap taker and for her to all of a sudden have these problems was strange. We have been taking her to a gastro specialist because she complained so much about not feeling well and her stomach hurting to the point of having to come home early from school quite often. When he lightly pressed on her stomach she burst into tears. He of course orders tests. I did not associate any of her symptoms with the shot until recently, after having her 2nd shot in the series. She started feeling better the weekend before getting her 2nd shot. She finally could eat without being sick. I took her on Monday to get the 2nd shot and within an hour she started complaining of her stomach hurting after not hurting all weekend. She now is back to stomach cramps and nausea again. Along with the severe fatigue. We looked back at her shot record and realized that her 1st shot was in December and that’s when she started having all the stomach problems. Because we did not associate the stomach problems with the shot she has had a CT of her stomach and pelvic area. An upper endoscopy and was about to have a Colonoscopy. Also had a Meckle test and a gluten allery test. We were starting to look at Crohn’s disease. All of the tests have come back negative. As a mom I have been very concerned for my daughter. I am totally convinced that the Gardasil shots are the reason for my daughter being severely ill since December. To watch your daughter go from a vibrant, active teenager to being sick everyday for the past 3 months is heartbreaking. Now that she has had the 2nd shot I have regretted taking her to get it. She will not be getting the 3rd shot. She has spent practically her entire school year sick which has lead to her being very depressed.
I have an older daughter that had the series and she was fine. So I know both sides of this controversy. For the safety of my younger daughter she will not be finishing the series.
That is awful! Scary things like this is why we should ban the vaccine. Why should we take the risk of our children becoming sick and wasting their lives because a vaccine did not work as planned? I think that all the medicine today is overrated, most of it just making situations worse.
I pray that your daughter will get better. It must be hard to be so out of it for as long as she has been. 16 year olds are often very busy with extracurricular activities, friends and school, and it must be hard to have to withdraw from all of that.
-Rika
Wow that is really sad. However if your other daughter had no problems then it does a pparently help some people and maybe shouldn’t be completly banned, but these types of things need to be mentioned and i wonder if there is a reason she is having such traumatic effects. Like maybe it reacted wrong because with technology these days maybe the could fix it so no one else has to go through it and i hope your daughter gets better.
Hey Jody, I am so very sorry. We are all praying for you and your daughter. Of course, when parents get their children shots, we all know there is always possible side effects. That’s horrible though! You probably thought that since your other daughter had no problem that your other daughter would be fine as well. I do not think the vaccine should be banned. I do think that doctors and nurses should warn parents about those side effects. Some children are prone to reactions like those. Maybe she had an allergic reaction? Again I am so very sorry and I wish you the best.
~Hope
Jody,
I am going through the same thing with my 18 yr old daughter. She goes in Wednesday for the GI testing and colonopsity She to has had the vomiting and the diarehha ever since her 3rd shot which was 5 months ago.She has had spotting between her periods,headahes, severe cramping in lower stomach,tired,nasueated.The diarehha can be up to five times a day.It also breaks my heart to watch my daughter go through this.I wish someone could help us.
Dena
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