October 9th
2008
11:41 AM
First off, I want to thank everyone who has posted on this site. My heart goes out to all of the mothers/fathers who feel lied to by their physician, and to all of the young ladies, like myself, who chose to take this shot in order to protect myself and my partners. I have had two shots and WILL NOT receive my third.
I am a healthy 24-year-old woman who started my GARDASIL shots February 08'. The first shot, no problem. Second shot, wow. I felt like I was literally going to break. All of my joints, muscles hurt and felt very, very weak. I went to bed with a 102 fever, huge swollen glands, sore throat and cold sweats. I called my doctor and she said I "probably had the flu before I got the shot and I was just feeling my illness now.." she dubbed my issue an "coincidence". Well, I believed her because I wanted to. I didn't want to think I put myself in harms way, so I went on.
Well it's been 7 months and I can tell you my memory loss, muscle pain and bouts of depression have been a big issue. These are all things I have never dealt with in the past. Could it be GARDASIL, I'm not 100% sold that it is, but I am not throwing that idea out either.
I am really starting to struggle with the idea that we don't know the long term side effects yet.
Looks like we are all Lab Rats.
In seek of the truth,
L.
October 8th
2008
7:07 PM
Oh my goodness.....my daughter, age 17, had her first injection in June 2008, started losing her hair w/in a month. We thought it was form straightening, some high lightening etc. She had blood work done which showed she was anemic...strange, as 2yrs prior her blood work was stellar, and she had not changed her diet, or physical activity. She increased her iron and protein intake (along w/ supplements).....three months later, and after her second injection, iron was still anemic....worse actually, and her hair loss significant.I found this website last night....and I am floored......I called MERCK today and spoke to a representative wh o was not aware of the hair loss issue, but said that in their case studies, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia was a side effect.....which leads to hair loss itself.....so I am researching now what to do next.....anyone else have this issue??????
-- By wmk | Reply | (3) replies | Send Private Mail
October 8th
2008
2:24 AM
READ THIS BEFORE YOU GET VACCINATED:
This is from Merck's website:
Serious Adverse Reactions in the Entire Study Population
A total of 237 subjects out of 25,274 total subjects (9- through 45-year-old girls and women; and 9-through 15-year-old boys) who received both GARDASIL (N = 13,686) and AAHS control (N = 11,004) or saline placebo (N = 584) reported a serious systemic adverse reaction following any vaccination visit during the clinical trials for GARDASIL.
Out of the entire study population (25,274 subjects), only 0.05% of the reported serious systemic adverse reactions were judged to be vaccine related by the study investigator. The most frequently reported serious systemic adverse reactions for GARDASIL compared to AAHS control or saline placebo and regardless of causality were:
Headache ,
Gastroenteritis ,
Appendicitis ,
Pelvic inflammatory disease ,
Urinary tract infection ,
Pneumonia ,
Pyelonephritis ,
Pulmonary embolism .
One case (0.007% GARDASIL: 0.0% AAHS Control or Saline Placebo) of bronchospasm; and
2 cases (0.02% GARDASIL: 0.0% AAHS Control or Saline Placebo) of asthma were reported as serious systemic adverse reactions that occurred following any vaccination visit.
In addition, there was 1 subject in the clinical trials, in the group that received GARDASIL, who reported two injection-site serious adverse reactions (injection-site pain and injection-site joint movement
impairment).
Systemic Autoimmune Disorders in Girls and Women 9 Through 26 Years of Age
In the clinical studies, 9- through 26-year-old girls and women were evaluated for new medical conditions that occurred over the course of follow-up. New medical conditions potentially indicative of a systemic autoimmune disorder seen in the group that received GARDASIL...includes all subjects who received at least one dose of GARDASIL.
Of the 10,706 who received Gardasil:
120 developed Arthralgia/Arthritis/Arthropathy
4 developed Autoimmune Thyroiditis
10 Coeliac Disease
2 Diabetes Mellitus Insulin-dependent
2 Erythema Nodosum
27 Hyperthyroidism***
35 Hypothyroidism†
7 Inflammatory Bowel Disease‡
2 Multiple Sclerosis
2 Nephritis¶
2 Optic Neuritis
4 Pigmentation Disorder§
13 Psoriasis#
3 Raynaud's Phenomenon
6 Rheumatoid Arthritis††
2 Scleroderma/Morphea
1 Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
1 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
3 Uveitis
6.2 Post-Marketing Experience
The following adverse events have been spontaneously reported during post-approval use of GARDASIL. Because these events were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency or to establish a causal relationship to vaccine exposure.
Blood and lymphatic system disorders: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, lymphadenopathy.
Gastrointestinal disorders: Nausea, pancreatitis, vomiting.
General disorders and administration site conditions: Asthenia, death, fatigue, malaise.
Immune system disorders: Autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic/anaphylactoid reactions, bronchospasm, and urticaria.
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: Arthralgia, myalgia.
Nervous system disorders: Dizziness, Guillain-Barré syndrome, headache, motor neuron disease, paralysis, seizures, syncope sometimes resulting in falling with injury, transverse myelitis.
Vascular Disorders: Deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus.
Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness have not been established in pediatric patients below 9 years of age nor in pediatric males of any age.
October 4th
2008
3:48 PM
I am Jessica, an 11 year old. I received my 2nd shot last week, and since then I have had severe abdominal pains. I have the urge to vomit, but never do. I then looked up the side effects of Gardasil on Google and only nausea was there, not stomach pains in general. I blamed it on my antibiotics for strep I had taken last month, think it was just kicking in. I am 100% sure that Gardasil caused my stomach pains.
-- By missremedy554 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
October 2th
2008
1:02 PM
I am a 22 year old, healthy female and received my fist two shots last September. By November, I began to notice my hair falling out, which became more excessive in December, prompting me to receive blood tests for thyroid problems, nutritional imbalances, etc. Everything came back negative and I self diagnosed the problem to be a hormonal imbalance caused by my birth control (which was hard to believe being that I had been on it for two years with no hair loss). I stopped the pill the end of January and my hair loss coincidentally stopped as well. I received my third shot in April, and sure enough the same devastating hair loss began two months later, which is classic with drug induced alopecia (hair loss). I am CONVINCED that Guardasil has caused this devastating reaction that has caused me to loose half my head of hair. It is October and I am still experiencing significant hair loss. This vaccine has caused me nearly a year of emotional turmoil over my thinning hair.
-- By ash04sd | Reply | (2) replies | Send Private Mail
October 1th
2008
3:38 PM
Well, I got a call from my daughter's doctor's nurse and they found ulcers all over her small intestine. Now, the nurse procedes to tell me that they are so bad that they pill cam that she had to swallow to find them had a hard time even getting through the small intestine because it was so inflamed! I don't know if anyone else has had this problem or if they have found any articles about someone else going through this after the shot, but please let me know if you have, thank you!
-- By hougasfam5 | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 29th
2008
9:58 PM
i am almost 18 and i got my first shot of gardasil last month, and the day after i got it, i started my period and it was 5 days early and i felt nautious an tired. my period isn't always the same exact day every month, but it's never that far off. I started the 30th of august, and i didn't get my next period until September 8, which was extremely late for me. I was scared i may have been pregnant or whatnot, but i didn't think it was possible. i just prayed and prayed untfor me to start and i finally did. I got my 2nd shot today, and not even 5 minutes after it i felt nautious and dizzy. Ive gotten many shots before and needles don't bother me but the pain after my shot made me want to cry. The nurse told me that it was uncomfortable because the liquid was cold an thats why it hurt. i couldn't move my arm for about 10 minutes after the shot. Now i feel tired, my body aches, my head hurts, and my chest hurts. Im going to tell my mom to take me to the doctor tomorrow because im scared the shot may have caused something to make me sick. I'm re-thinking getting my 3rd shot. If you're deciding whether or not to get this Gardasil shot, I would wait until further research is done on it. If i would have known all the effects girls are having i wouldn't have gotten it.
-- By jennaj1130 | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 29th
2008
5:18 PM
I'm 18 years old and live in Florida, while at the gynecologist for a routine visit my doctor strongly suggested that I start the Gardasil 3 shot cycle. After checking with my mom (who was unfortunately given biased information from my doctor without first doing research on the product) agreed since we both figured that my doctor would be knowledgeable enough on the subject (or you would think since she was the one administering the drug.) The first two shots went fine and I had no reaction at all. After the third shot (in October of 2007) I woke up the next morning with swollen hands and extreme swelling at the injection spot. I immediately returned to my gynecologist where I was told “there is no possible way you can be allergic to this medication” by my doctor, and that those reactions would go away in a few days. A few days following this I developed sores in the back of my throat and under my tongue, however my gynecologist still insisted there was no possible way it was an effect of the Gardasil (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE VERY NEXT DAY) & I had no previous illnesses. Within the week following I developed body-wide hives so severe that I cannot sleep and they affect my breathing. I’ve seen several doctors (allergist, dermatologist, primary physicians, and immunologists) none of which can determine why exactly I have these hives, besides that it is a “drug reaction” (it took 11 vials of blood to determine that). However when one of my dermatologists questioned Merck about it they simply said that there is no evidence and I cannot sew!!! That’s all they cared about! A law suit! WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT GET THIS SHOT, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW! It has ruined my life. As an 18 year old girl living in Florida I love to go to the beach however because of these hives they get so severe when I’m exposed to sunlight I can no longer go. It’s also extremely embarrassing when people stare at them since they cover most of my body on a daily basis.
-- By samanthawa | Reply | (3) replies | Send Private Mail
September 27th
2008
3:34 PM
Everyone please see my reply to areneectc, #33244 Posted at 5:22 PM on Aug 09, 2008 for some ideas on where to turn for help
My deepest sympathies to you all for the horror you have endured.
September 25th
2008
1:08 PM
i'm a fourteen year old girl, who has been completely healthy my entire life. about a week or two after i got the gardisil shot, i went on vacation in the outer banks. when i returned i started experiencing severe abdominal pain, feeling nauseated, fatigued, having muscle pains and confusion. i went to my family doctor, who diagnosed me with the flu and gave me antibiotics. days later, i wasn't getting any better so my mom took me to the emergency room where i was put on an iv for dehydration. i was sent home with medicine for the abdominal pain, which gave me no relief. i returned to the emergency room several days later due to the same issues, and was put on an iv for dehydration again. they took blood to test for a bunch of different things, but everything came back normal. i was sent home again, and over the next month i was referred to a gastroenterologist, where i had a CT scan of my stomach, an upper gi/barrium swallow, an upper endoscopy with biopsies, a MRI of my brain, and tests done on my liver and gall bladder, all of which came back normal. i was admitted to the hospital on august 20th, the day i was supposed to start high school. i was put on an iv again, and had liquids dripping in me for about 12 hours. my gastroenterologist seemed to think i was bringing everything on myself and might have a minor case of IBS. the doctor made me talk to a psych, who basically told me i must be stressed and had to be bringing it on myself. the doctor sent me home, telling my parents to force me to go to school. i cried the whole way home from the hospital, no one was even trying to make me feel better, and i hated the doctors for thinking i could bring something like this on myself. i started my first week of high school later than everyone else, i felt completely exhausted and threw up in the bathroom between classes. a day at school takes everything out of me, and i have to spend the next day in bed. my mom and i just saw all these side effects of the gardisil shot and are convinced that's what caused all this. i couldn't try out for the volleyball team, i've lost 14 pounds, i might have to re-do my freshman year because i'm missing so much, i can't hang out with my friends, i can't even go to homecoming and im honestly depressed because of all. this has ruined everything for me. don't let anyone tell you it's all in your head, its not, this is real and its effecting a lot of girls. please think twice before getting the gardisil shot
-- By kenziex3 | Reply | (3) replies | Send Private Mail
September 24th
2008
12:08 PM
If you know of anyone developing alopeica areata(hair loss which causes bald spots on the scalp) after receiving the Gardasil shot, please call and report to Merck at 1-800-444-2080. They must be made aware of all of the symptoms associated with this shot.
-- By khempel | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 24th
2008
11:35 AM
I've had all 3 shots and 2 out of the 3 times, i felt faint, and a little soreness at the injection site. Now feeling faint with needles is not new for me. I felt faint when i got my belly button pierced, when i get blood drawn, even after having other vaccines such as the Rubella booster shot for my job so i don't think my side effects were linked to JUST Gardasil. I think everyone is different, and have different side effects depends on their health, age, etc. If i had a daughter though, I believe I would just wait it out and let there be more research on the vaccine before I'd let her get it.
-- By missymissy | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 24th
2008
10:33 AM
I wish I would have read this first, also. I feel so guilty for the pain my daughter is going through right now after I decided to have her get her first Gardasil shot on at her 12 yr old checkup. She has NEVER had more than a cold before in her life - and now she complains of constant abdominal pain, diarrhea, urine with a strong odor (even after drinking plenty of water), headaches, body aches, tiredness and more. I followed up with her doctor and his reply was these symptoms were "absolutely not a side affect of the vaccine." She also had 3 other typical vaccines at that same visit, so although they say "studies show" the Gardasil vaccine does not cause major problems, I guarantee they did NOT study it when it was given with other vaccines. She will NOT have the final 2 shots in the series. All I can pray now is that her pain will go away. PLEASE do NOT take the chance of putting your daughter, and YOURSELF, through all the pain that may arise from taking this vaccine. It is NOT worth it!!!!!
-- By karik | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 24th
2008
1:46 AM
I had my first shot 2 weeks ago. The day I had the shot, I felt dizzy, faint and fatigued. My entire arm hurt from the shot and it's still a little sore. The only problem I've had is fatigue. I've been exhausted for the past 2 weeks and I'm getting more than enough sleep. I'm definitely having second thoughts about that next shot, I wish I had read this before. I don't think I would have gotten the shot in the first place!
-- By kittykat04 | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 23th
2008
12:44 PM
I received my first shot about a month ago and ever since i have been having severe cramping in my pelvic area! this has never been a issue before and now it happens at least once a day. I do believe that this shot has also caused my period to be several days late so far. I also have been recently getting sudden pounding headaches that will last for hours on end. SERIOUSLY consider your options before you go get the gardisil shot!
-- By arorro | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 22th
2008
3:16 PM
I have posted before about my daughter who has developed pancreatitis after getting the Gardasil vaccine. I recently tried something a little unconventional to try to relieve her pain. I know not everyone looks at this the same way, but I will do just about anything to make her better. So, my husband and I decided to try those Kinoki foot pads that you might have seen on T.V. We tried them a couple of weeks ago, and the week before last she had substantially less pain and last week she had little to no pain. Now, I don't know if maybe she just had a few good weeks or if it was from the foot pads that are designed to remove toxins from your body. I just thought I would put it out there, because it might be worth a try. Please let me know if they help or if it's just our situation.
-- By hougasfam5 | Reply | (2) replies | Send Private Mail
September 22th
2008
2:01 PM
my 12 year old daughter received 2 shots and we noticed a bald spot on the back of her head. A couple weeks later, it is getting worse, she now has at least 3 bald spots. She has very fine hair and is trying really hard to hide the bald spots, 2 in the front of her scalp. I know this is a result of the Gardasil shot. She will not be getting the 3rd shot. All of the doctors recommend this shot. Its only been out on the market a few short years, and i believe more research is needed. My daughter is to the point of tears every morning trying to fix her hair to cover up the bald spots. A dermatologist has diagnosed her with alopecia areata. There are new spots appearing all the time and I am worried that she will lose all of her hair.
-- By khempel | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 16th
2008
1:25 PM
I am 20 years old and I had no fear about the Gardasil shot until I received my second shot. I had my first shot July 7, 2008 after my sister-in-law convinced me to have to. She swore by it. After I received the shot I immediately noticed that I was having headaches and nausea. I figured it was just a small side effect so I put it out of my mind. I was known for having migraines also. This was on my mother's birthday, I couldn't enjoy it with her. Later in the week I started becoming very ill and I thought it was due to stress and lack of sleep. I was working a night time job as a manager so the stress was normal for me. On Sunday, July 20, 2008 I went over to a friends house because I was depressed and needed to be with some on when I noticed the I had been getting dizzy. My friends boyfriend was giving me a ride home while he was smoking a cigarette and the smell made me feel very nauseated. I thought I was pregnant because my boyfriend and I had recently broken up not even a month before. After I got home all hell broke loose. I started vomiting. For the next 2 weeks I had been vomiting and I was not able to hold anything down. I couldn't eat and I couldn't drink anything. I was working full time while being sick. I had no energy at all. Finally, July 31, 2008 I was admitted into the hospital. I was complaining of stomach pains and a late period along with the nausea, severe heartburn, and exhaustion. After doing x-rays, blood work, and urine tests they came back and said I was not pregnant, but I was dehidrated. I was on a drip for 4 hours making me late to work. I finally was released from the hospital after lying to them telling them that I was feeling better. I felt worse than before. I went to work that night completely out of my mind because my boss refused to work for me. In weeks to come I started feeling better. I got my second shot September 12, 2008. Once again I immediately noticed a headache and nausea and this time I knew it was from the shot. I still didn't think much of it even after I heard about what the shot was doing to people. I noticed a red mark where the injection site was but I figured it was normal. I went through my weekend without a care in the world when I noticed on Sunday that I wasn't feeling well at all and I was starting to get another headache. This was on my brother's 23rd birthday so I put on a brave face and went through the night. I went to bed early. Last night I was sitting on the couch watching my favoraite show when I noticed I was getting another headache. I didn't want to say anything to my parents because there was nothing they could do about it. Later in the night I noticed my headache was getting worse with a sudden sore throat with no cold symptoms. I once again went to bed early. I woke up this morning with the same sore throat and headache only they were both worse following nausea. I was supposed to take a college placement test, but I had to cancel it for the second time due to being sick from the Gardasil shot. After I did that I came online and looked at possible side effects vs. side effects people are really having. Panicing I called a line called "My Nurse" and spoke with a nurse at my local hospital. She told me that since I am on birth control to try to regulate my period that it might have something to do with my headache. I told her about the times before when I was not on birth control and my hospitalization with the dehydration and headaches and she told me that I was the second person today calling and complaining about a headache after receiving the second shot. She informed me to try to take ibuprofin and if my headache was not gone within the next hour or two to go see my family doctor and ask him about the Gardasil and if I should receive my 3rd shot in January. So far it's been an hour and every time I swallow I feel like I'm going to vomit and my headaches only gotten worse since taking something for it. I will not be receiving my 3rd shot and I suggest to anyone who is getting the Gardasil to carefully consider it before getting it. I was perfectly healthy before receiving the shot and now I'm a mess.
-- By stargirl | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 16th
2008
10:09 AM
YOU have to get together and fight for change,the big pharm companies are running the show,they just about have diplomatic immunity,they can pass out poison and not be held accountable,change needs to happen,write everyone your congressman,your rep,they are supposed to work for the people.Somebody has to be made accountable.Pharm companies get to police themselves,they are in charge of their own clinical trials,it is a for profit business both for pharm companies and the clinics running the trials,nobody has your best interest at heart only their bottom line.Even the fda gets a bonus...IT IS WRONG
-- By flindy | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 15th
2008
12:20 PM
Just got off the phone with 1-800-lawinfo and they won't handle any claims of hair loss with this drug. Another dead-end
-- By kathleenf711 | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 15th
2008
12:13 PM
My daughter has been losing her hair (see previous post) and had a full blood workup done, testing for thyroid problems..etc. EVERYTHING came back normal, and her hair is still falling out. She has had 2 of the 3 shots and will NOT have the 3rd. Although I do see re-growth, I do not and will not allow the 3rd shot. I have sent my report to the FDA and will be calling Merck next. This is ridiculous and my heart breaks every time I look at my beautiful little girl. She started high school this year and had to get her hair cut differently just to cover her baldness. Self esteem is shot... and there's nothing that can be done here???? Everyone (including lawyers) seem to turn the other cheek... how sad.
-- By kathleenf711 | Reply | (2) replies | Send Private Mail
September 15th
2008
4:36 AM
I am a mother of a beautiful 11 year old girl, who was a healthy 10 year old little girl until she got her second Gardasil shot! She received her shot on 1-28-08, and started having nausea shortly after (within a few days). She didn't mention it. Within a few months she started having abdominal pain. She was hospitalized on 4-20-08 with pancreatitis. She got out of the hospital four days later. She was on Morphine while in the hospital and went home with Vicodine. She still had residual abdominal pain for the next few weeks, but the doctor said it was normal. She went to school 2 weeks later and started having severe abdominal pain again. We went to the doctor's office where they found out that her enzymes were elevated again. We then were referred to a gastroenterologist. She has had countless blood test..... negative. She has had an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, many CT scans, fecal tests, and now she will be going in for another endoscopy, but this time she has to take the capsule cam. She was so normal before the shots she was boring, but now she has to miss school on a regular basis ( before she was an honor roll student) and has to miss out on some of the most fun school activities. All the doctors act like she is making it up and they think I'm just some crazy mom that wants to drug my kid. They keep wanting to label her with IBS, but she has no signs of IBS other then the abdominal pain. She now has been on several meds. with no help. She now has joint pain headaches, blurred vision, and she says that she feels weird, with no other way to describe it. I feel like everyone wants to turn the other way rather then to accept that this drug is hurting these girls and focus on treating them.
I know this is tough, tough on the girls and young women that are effected, tough on the parents, and tough on everyone who loves them. Please, just remember that you are not alone! I will fight till I die to try and find out what is wrong with these girls. Just remember that you have options, if you do not want to get your child vaccinated, you can visit ****** and there you can find out what legal rights you have to not vaccinate your children if you don't want to. They have the forms that you need and you can download them there.
I am so sorry for all of you that have been effected by this drug! You will all be in my thoughts and prayers, as always. Just please, spread the word, the more we talk, the more that don't have to be hurt like this. Thank you all so much for sharing your stories! They help more then you know!!!!!!
-- By hougasfam5 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 12th
2008
12:19 PM
if i would have known the side effects of the shot i would have never got it,i still need 1 dose but im not sure whether or not to get it,
I get: nausea, severe pelvic and abdomen pain, my arms and legs tingle at times, i get a lot of headaches all of this began after my 1st dose, my period has changed dramatically!!!
GIRLS PLEASE KNOW THE RISKS AND DECIDE IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISKS!!!!!!!!!!!
September 9th
2008
10:03 AM
I'm 18 and i received the 1st injection wen i was 17 in November 2007 and the only side effect i had since, was that my period didn't come...i had my last shot in June n it still hasn't come and i just started college so its been about 3-4 months...my little sister, on the other hand, passed out on 2 occasions after her 1st injection (she just turned 15 by the way n had the injection on her birthday in July). After reading all about recent side effects gardasil has, i wonder why they didn't mention any of the side effects before.
-- By nikki2890 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 8th
2008
9:13 PM
OMG! My daughter is 15 and received her first Gardasil shot in July, perfectly health, very active teenager. Recently we noticed hair loss in the forward part of her scalp. I'm not positive it is from the vaccine but after reading all the postings on this site I will be calling the doctor first thing tomorrow to cancel her 2nd shot - scheduled for 9/18. Thank you all for your comments. I urge other parents to do the same.
-- By kgauthier742 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 8th
2008
11:41 AM
Here is our daughter's story, and believe me the tears are pouring down my face as I am writing this.
Our daughter, who had completed her series of 3 vaccinations has been experiencing considerable hair loss. Her first shot was in May 24, 2007, the second on July 26, 2007 and the third and final on November 27, 2007.
Here are the other specifics....our daughter was 13 turning fourteen.
She has had every blood test imaginable to rule out the obvious which may cause hair loss such as thyroid disease, polycystic ovary disease, diabetes, and the list goes on and on. Everything came back negative. We even have a future appointment scheduled with a rheumatologist this coming November 08. We have seen the Endocrinologist and two dermatologists (a scalp biopsy proved negative to any infection, disease, etc. Granted, she had a typical amount of stress during the school year, as any young teen would, but nothing to cause this. Everyday our daughter says to us, "you should see how much hair fell out in the shower today". She's so afraid to brush or comb it because of the extreme shedding. She literally, to date has half the amount of hair she had one year ago. Let me tell you she had beautiful hair. The hair loss is becoming quite visible at the forward part of her scalp. This has been devastating, hair is everything to a teen. (to anyone this is devastating) We must also mention that her periods have been totally out of whack. She went 6 months at one point without one. It finally came back, but it is so sporadic, getting every two weeks, at times extremely heavy, etc...
She also complains of intermitent dizziness. We are reporting this to Merck today (the Co. who makes this horriffic vaccine), along with the FDA. If anyone else is experiencing anything close to what we are, we all need to pull together and make the public aware of what's happening so we can prevent this from happening to our loved ones.
Please share your experiences. Feel free to write me if someone you know is going through this same tragedy.
September 7th
2008
6:47 PM
I have not had any of the side effects yet, but after being raped my doctor highly recommended that I get the shot, so without even considering it more my Mom agreed to it. I've completed the cycle, receiving my final shot a little under a month ago, I believe that it was the 20th or 21st of August. My first shot was sometime in February '08 shortly before my seventeenth birthday.
I did have pneumonia in April, and I'm not sure if that's connected to the vaccine in anyway, but I was usually sick quite frequently with sore throats and a little nausea before I got the shot.
I've had tonsillitis as well and just had my tonsils removed, so I'm really starting to hope even more so than before that I do not get any side effects from this drug.
My heart truly goes out to all of you who have lost someone due to this drug or has someone close to them with brain disorders. You'll definitely be in my prayers.
BOTTOM LINE: DON'T ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN OR ANYONE YOU KNOW TO GET THIS DRUG UNTIL IT HAS BEEN 110% PERFECTED!
-- By unspell | Reply | Send Private Mail
September 6th
2008
11:33 AM
My daughter went for her yearly physical with our pediatrician. That morning we went in and the doctor insisted that she get immunized. Of course that immunization was Gardasil. My daughter felt fine and she was okay that day. After the doctors appointment she went on to school, and I went on to work to complete what I thought was to be a normal day. That afternoon I picked her up from school and she told me that she thought she may be getting sick. She complained of a stomach ache, and a mild headache. We went home and she ate very little, but told me and her dad that she felt better.
That evening she was to cheer at her first football game of the season in a neighboring town. She left with her best friend and her mother around 6 pm. at 8:44 that night her best friends mom called and told us that she had passed out at the game.
By the time that we had gotten there EMT's had taken her to the local ER, at that time she had barely regained consciousness, and her temperature was 103 degrees. Her extremities were cold, and her body was burning up. Her breathing was shallow, fast and irradic. Her pulse and blood pressure was extremely high. About an hour later the convulsions started.
After what seemed like eternity, the physician narrowed this down to the side effects of Gardasil. They started IV fluids, and meds, but still to no avail she kept convulsing. After a few days of heavily sedated sleep, she awoke to blurred vision, fever and nausea.
We were not told of any adverse reactions to this drug or we would have never given it to her!
September 5th
2008
2:42 PM
Five weeks after my daughter received 2nd dose of gardasil she began complaining of neck pain & stiffness. Fevers accompanied this for about a week. I found her early one morning seizing and foaming at the mouth. By the time we arrived at the er via ambulance she was in respiratory failure and had several seizures. She was intubated and continued seizing repeatedly for several days. She was placed in a medically induced coma for six weeks in hopes of "resetting" her brain to stop seizures, as there was no explanation as to why they started.After coming out of coma seizures continue and still do after one year. She has brain atrophy, gait abnormality, severe behavioral and emotional problems, memory impairment, ticks, numbness to limbs, impulsive uncontrollable erratic behavior, and of course uncontrolled seizures. After several months in hospital and numerous tests there is still no answer. She was perfectly healthy before this vaccine. She also received 3rd dose and was hospitalized again for increased seizure activity. She needs constant adult supervision at all times, falls when seizing, and is unable to carry out simple activities of daily living without reminders and supervision. She is almost fourteen and is living with the mentality of a 5 year old.She has no chance of ever leading a normal life.
-- By raemcculloch1 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 3th
2008
4:21 PM
Let me start by giving you some history.
My sister is a 22 year old girl who worked full time and was never seriously ill until this summer.
During the last full week of June my sister started having headaches. She told me that these headaches were like none she had ever had before. Days later she started complaining that her legs and wrists hurt. She said that her legs were so tired and achy she could barely walk up the stairs. At that time I dismissed what she was saying. My sister constantly wears heels and I chalked up the complaint to a pair of shoes that were not yet broken in.
By July 4th, the headaches were so intense that she went to urgent care. The physician she saw in urgent care gave her an antibiotic and sent her on her way. By July 7th, she was having difficulty standing up and walking was almost impossible. My sister started complaining about severe joint pain. Her ankles began to swell and her stomach appeared distended.
On July 8th, my sister went to her primary care physician. I believe he sent her for an x-ray and said that she had a cyst on her sinus cavity which was causing her to have severe headaches. He then gave her another antibiotic and referred her to a rheumatologist never even thinking that these two symptoms may be related.
On July 10th, my sister saw the rheumatoid arthritis doctor her pcp referred her to. He dismissed her complaints saying that she probably has some form of arthritis, but that there are over 800 forms and it would takes months to pin point exactly which one she has. He then gave her a prescription for Celebrex and sent her on her way. She spent the entire week in bed because her joints were so swollen and achy that she could not move. She actually crawled to go to the bathroom.
By the middle of the following week, my sister's stomach began to burn. She contributed it to being a side effect of the Celebrex and stopped taking it on July 21st. We had no idea that the pain was so bad. My sister's last normal meal was on July 22. By the 23 she had no appetite and could not go to the bathroom. On July 24, the stomach pain was so bad that she could not work, or sit, or function. All she did was cry. She went back to her primary care physician who then prescribed her prevacid to help with the so called indigestion. He told her if the pain continues she could call him. On July 25th the pain became unbearable. My sister called her PCP as directed and he told her to go to the ER. Never once did he say he would meet her there! I brought my sister to the ER where they did an x-ray and cat scan of her stomach. They found nothing. At that time my sister had not gone to the bathroom or had anything to eat since the 22nd. The physician in the ER said that she was literally "full of shit" and needed to go home and take a liquid laxative. My sister is only 22 and my parents were away on vacation. We were stupid and didn't know any better and were so happy that they didn't find anything that we accepted his findings and got out of there.
My sister took the liquid laxative prescribed by the ER physician as soon as we got home. We waited anxiously for it to relieve her stomach pain. After many hours the laxative did not work and my sister ended up back in the ER. This time she was screaming in pain. One of the doctors there told her that if she couldn't calm down she needed to leave her ER. My sister did just that. At this point my parents (back from vacation) took my sister home and called Digestive Disease. A doctor there told my mom to give my sister 2 Enemas. He said that should relieve her pain. My mother followed the doctor's orders, but the pain did not stop. Sunday, July 27th my sister was right back in the ER - this time at another hospital. This time my sister was admitted to the hospital for severe stomach pain. After 5 days and numerous tests my sister was discharged. The doctors found nothing in her cat scans, x-rays or ultra sounds. The pain was more manageable (she was on morphine every 2 hours) and they said she was ok to go home.
August 1st my sister had a great day. She was sitting up in bed and seemed to be in good spirits. The following day she couldn't get out of bed. This time it was neck pain. My sister said the pain in the back of her neck was so severe that she could not lift her head up or move it side to side. By August 4th she was admitted to the hospital again. This time we brought her to University Hospital in Syracuse, NY. We were sure to get some answers there...or so we thought. As soon as my sister arrived in the ER they started treating her with antibiotics. They were certain she had an infection. They then told us they would have to do a lumbar puncture to check her spinal fluid for infection. We thought we would finally have an answer to what was wrong with my sister, so we agreed. The spinal fluid came back fine - no infection. At that time they admitted her to the hospital. While at University Hospital my sister was treated by a team of doctors. They tested my sister for lyme disease, west nile, lupus, leukemia etc. They performed a spinal tap, cat scans, x-rays, ultra sounds, blood smears, etc. All of these tests came back negative. The doctors could find nothing abnormal except for an elevated white blood count -22,000 (it was also very high during her last hospitalization), an elevated C reactor and a very high SED rate. After 4 days of numerous tests and pain killers (first morphine, then Dilaudid, then Dilaudid with a fentanol pain patch) they discharged my sister. The head doctor told her that he believed she had viral meningitis and that it would eventually work its way out of her system. By this point my mother and I were skeptical. We did the research and viral meningitis should only last approximately 10 days. Mig had been sick since the last week in June. No one was putting all these symptoms together. On the day of her discharge my sister started getting her stomach pain back. The pain was mostly on the left side of her lower stomach - under her belly button. Again she was told the pain was due to constipation and she should buy some Miralax when she got home.
My sister was home for a mere 2 days before she would be hospitalized again...for the 4th time. Her stomach pain was back and worse then before. My family could not believe this was happening. My sisters spirits were down and the excruciating pain was making her mentally unstable. This time the ER physician recommended a hematologist come in to see my sister. We just wanted answers so we agreed. This hematologist, Dr. R stated that she believed my sister had drug induced lupus. We were shocked as my sister was tested for lupus twice before and both times the test came back negative. Dr. R explained that she believed my sister got drug induced lupus from the Gardasil shot. My entire family was shocked. We had never heard of any severe side effects like this from the Gardasil shot. Dr. R asked my sister for her permission to test her again. My sister agreed and a week later my sister learned that she was positive for drug induced lupus. My entire family was so happy that my sister finally had a diagnosis and could begin treatment. We were told that after a 6 week steroid treatment (Prednisone) my sister would be back to her old self. We were ecstatic!
My sister was home from the hospital and on the steriod treatment for 10 days when things started to go wrong again. The doctors were very concerned with the dosage of Prednisone that my sister was taking (80mg. I'm not sure how many times a day). They cut the dosage down in half over the course of a few days to prevent kidney damage and other side effects. Once the Prednisone was decreased, my sister started getting sick immediately. Her forearms were very weak - she could not put any pressure on them. Her shoulders would tingle and she would get shooting pains down her right arm. One of her doctors believed she was developing fibromyalgia and prescribed her lyrica. Shortly after my sister began taking lyrica she started seeing stars. She had double vision and a migraine that would not go away. My mother called her doctor and told him about this. His answer was for my sister to stop taking the Lyrica. She did immediately.
On August 29th, my sister still had a migraine. This was day 3 without a break. She woke up early Saturday morning and began vomiting every 30 minutes. After a few hours of non stop vomiting my mother called her doctor. His nurse practitioner was on call and she told my mother to take my sister to the ER immediately. My mother went back into my sister's room to tell her they had to go back to the hospital and she found my sister having a seizure. My sister has no history of seizures. My mother called 911 and the ambulance came to bring my sister back to the ER...her 5th hospitalization.
Shortly after arriving at the ER, my sister had another seizure. Immediately after the seizure the ER doctor ordered my sister to have an MRI. My sister had one during her last hospitalization only 2 weeks before. That MRI was normal. This one was not. There are lesions all over my sister's brain. The neurologist told us that he cannot believe she does not have permanent damage. According to him there is no oxygen going to her brain.The neurologist also explained to us that her brain looks as though she has been poisoned. He said that her MRI is very similar to an MRI of a patient who has been poisoned with antifreeze. Later I learned that Gardasil has both aluminum and sodium borate (which is in both rat poison and cockroach killer). However, according to the doctor once your brain looks like my sister's all the poison is out of your body. My sister's team of doctors started debating as to whether this could all still be from the Gardasil shot...my sister's last shot was on 02/22/08. Some believe that the side effects started off as mild, but since they were left untreated for so long they've turned into a serious neurological problem. They told my family the only way to truly know what is going on is to do a brain biopsy.
Yesterday, my sister was transferred to Mass General in Boston. We were hoping for a bigger hospital, better technology, more seasoned doctors. So far my sister has been treated badly. When my mother told the doctors' about the Gardasil shot and the devastating effects it has had on my sister they dismissed it. When my mom asked the doctors to test my sister for heavy metal toxicity they completely ignored her. I fear that she will never get the proper care.
September 2th
2008
10:57 AM
after my second gardasil shot my hair started falling out i am looking to take action against gardasil please help yourself me and our young women that are being forced to take these shots and to us that are being told its perfectly safe please call 1800lawinfo and tell them your story with enough cases they will investigate
-- By tiffanyl21 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 2th
2008
10:52 AM
i too have went through losing my hair through gardasil a lawyers office is handing gradasil cases and if enough people come forward they will investigate this and that action please help yourself and our young women and children and call 1800lawinfo and let them know what your going through thanks
-- By tiffanyl21 | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 31th
2008
11:12 PM
My 20 year old daughter had her second shot in April, 2007. Within 2 weeks she began to have episodes of nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. We have made numerous trips to the ER as she is unable to keep any food down for several days at a time. As I write this she has been admitted to the hospital for the 2nd time as they could not stop the vomiting with the usual IV meds in the ER. She has been diagnosed with gastroparesis which means that her stomach does not contract properly to digest her food. She has been following a special diet for the past year, but still has these episodes. It has put her entire life on hold. The doctors cannot explain what caused this condition in her, however, I am convinced that it is the Gardasil
-- By lholl | Reply | (3) replies | Send Private Mail
August 31th
2008
9:08 PM
Hi, my name is Hannah and I am a senior in college. At the age of 19, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was a sophmore in college at the time, had a job, and was a completely HEALTHY girl. I have been living with the disease for two year now, and my doctors still can't come up with the cause for my seizures. Recently my sister called me to ask if I had received the gardasil shot, because on CNN talk radio that people were starting to think that the garasil shot might be linked to paralysis,seizures, and even death. I immediately called my OBGYN to ask the dates in which I had received my shots. My first dose was given on Oct.17, 2006. I had my first set of seizures on Nov. 24, 2006. WOW...I was in shock. I feel like I now have an answer for the cause of my illness. I talked to my Neurologist about this and he said we will have to wait until more research is done. I am convinced that Gardasil was the reason for my epilepsy. I am so sad to think that other girls are going in to receive a vaccine that is suppose to help their lives, and instead they could have crippling side effects that never go away. I can no longer drive, I had to choose between school and a job, and now I have to plan my day around taking my medicine. All because a drug company wanted to make some money before their completely researched their product.
-- By hks610 | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 25th
2008
2:46 PM
I have already posted my side effects to Garasil previously...I have severe alopecia. This started over a year ago and is getting progressively worse. I just wanted to take a minute to urge all of you to do TWO things.
1) Submit your side effects to the FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS); here's the link: https://secure.vaers.org/VaersDataEntryintro.htm
2) Call & report this to the MERCK National Service Center: 1-800-NSC MERCK (8am - 7pm ET)
Thank you for taking the time to do this, I know that it can be time consuming; but maybe we can prevent someone else from having the same miserable experience.
-- By melissa814 | Reply | (2) replies | Send Private Mail
August 20th
2008
5:31 PM
My daughter had her first shot on Thursday three weeks ago. Starting that weekend she started with a headache, then nausea, vomiting, body aches and fever. This lasted for 5 days. Then followed by a severe headache for another 4 days. It also increased her period from 4 days to 9 that month. The doctors office who gave her the shot told me "that it wasn't from the vaccine", to make an appt. with a GYN ! I guess I need to be looking for another doctor !
-- By kgroves | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
August 20th
2008
2:48 PM
I don't have a side effect to post THANK GOD. I want to thank all of you for posting your comments. These comments help people like me make more informed decisions. Our Doctor strongly encouraged my husband to have our 3 daughters receive this vaccine. I am so glad he waited to ask me - I have long been angry at the Government insistent on vaccines that don't seem necessary. In any case my research landed here along with a web site from a law firm looking for more more victims in the class action law suite they are waging. Many of you should call them. Also, a news article that was shocking on the subject. In this day and age any medication or vaccine should be researched on line with a buyer beware attitude - NOT through your doctor!!! I have seen many cases of drugs that cause side effects that doctor's and laboratory's say couldn't possibly happen.
-- By osaf071 | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 18th
2008
1:54 PM
In all honesty Im terrified my parents made me get the shot i got it about 1 year ago completing the cycle of 3 shots and I am hoping to god i don't get any side effects. I am 15 years old and after my first gardasil shot i began my period I don't know if this was due to the shot or not at the time i was 13 so i just hope that they pull this vaccine from the market it is destroying peoples lives and IS NOT WORTH THE RISK! THERE IS LITTLE GAIN AND SO MUCH AT STAKE I ADVISE NO ONE TO RECEIVE THIS VACCINE NO MATTER WHAT YOUR DOCTOR SAYS PLEASE JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY HAVE MORE RESEARCH DONE ON THE VACCINE DON'T MAKE YOUR DAUGHTER GET THIS VACCINE IT MAY RUIN HER LIFE 30 YEARS FROM NOW JUST PLEASE, DON'T.
-- By talia26 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
August 15th
2008
9:31 AM
this might help anyone who is looking for more information. This site is trying to get the FDA to investigate more into this drug:
******
Under the "documents uncovered" area, it lists SEVERAL woman who have been hospitalized from this shot from Jan. 2008. Very scary stuff.
also, a post the one of my friends sent me from a news story:
10 deaths have been linked to Gardasil since September 2007, and there have been 140 reports so far this year of serious side effects such as miscarriage and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Well. We’ve already lost 18 girls, some as young as 12, in the effort to spare them from the mere possibility of cervical cancer later in life. Others have developed debilitating and potentially life-threatening ailments within weeks of being vaccinated, and others still have had spontaneous abortions or given birth to babies with birth defects.
Also consider this: Cervical cancer usually develops in your late 20s to mid 30s. The protection period of Gardasil is estimated to be 5 years. That means, if you receive your first set of shots when you’re 10 years old, you’d need at least 2 to 4 additional booster shots to make it through your 30s. And THAT means you’ll have to expose yourself to the potential side effects of Gardasil over and over and over again.
But now to the real clincher, and I want you to read the following section as many times as you need to let this truly sink in…
U.S. statistics show there are 30 to 40 cervical cancer cases per year per one million women between the ages of 9 and 26, which is the age bracket that Gardasil targets (and was tested on).
According to Merck, Gardasil was shown to reduce pre-cancers by 12.2% to 16.5% in the general population. So, instead of ending up with 30 to 40 cases of cancer per million, per year, in that age bracket, the HPV vaccine can potentially bring it down to 26 to 35 cases of cervical cancer.
What that means is that you would have to vaccinate one million girls to prevent cervical cancer in 4 to 5 girls.
Further, about 37 percent of women who develop cervical cancer actually die from the disease, so vaccinating ONE MILLION girls would prevent 1 to 2 DEATHS per year, at the bargain-basement price of $360 million per year, plus potentially lifelong suffering for an untold number of women, which has no price tag.
Is this REASONABLE?
******
-- By sugar03lili | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 14th
2008
9:15 PM
I am 31 years old. I have HPV. I got it when I was young I have 4 kids. I have never really had any problems from HPV. I do worry about the risk of cancer so I get my pap-smears. I had warts one time 2 was it and they went away on there own my doctor said that I did not need to treat them if I did not want to, that was over 10 years never had any more. My daughter is 13 and I have never even thought about getting her the vaccine, the thought of law makers telling me I have to makes me mad! I never did trust it and knew there would be problems it sounds like the CURE is worse then the disease! Just be careful what you decide to do. Don't buy in to the fear.
-- By boop | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 14th
2008
2:40 PM
I am 18 years old and was considering getting the gardasil shot and even had an appointment set for today. However, after reading about all these side effects, i immediately canceled the appointment and plan to not get this shot unless it is restudied and perfected. My heart goes out to all of you suffering from side effects of gardasil. I was shocked to see how many of you said that the doctors told you "to not worry about it" or immediately said "gardasil was not connected." It is eerie and terrifying that the caretakers of this time are so quick to brush off the serious possibility of a new glorified vaccine not being as miraculous as advertised. I hope your situations improve. Please post on this website
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/problem.html
so the FDA will investigate.
-- By deeperxthanxbones | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 13th
2008
4:39 AM
Hi, my gynae had given me a prescription to get the Gardasil Vaccine, because my boyfriend was diagnosed with genital warts and after my smear I was clean from any virus, so my doctor prescribed me with this vaccine to keep me protected from the HPV disease. After reading all these stories about this vaccine, I don't think im gonna go for it. It is sad to read that all these young lives have been destroyed due to this vaccine. I am from South Africa & this vaccine is new here. A lot of people are uneducated about HPV & Gardasil. I have only heard of HPV now. I am 22 and I'm glad to have stumbled upon a website like this. There is a desperate need for awareness. So is there any other way I can protect myself besides using the vaccine? I'm scared my boyfriend passes the virus onto me and what could he do?
-- By whattodo | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
August 12th
2008
10:56 PM
My daughter had her first Gardasil shot in June. She started to have severe pain on her right side. Doctor diagnosed bladder infection. After 3 days of antibiotics ended up in emergency room due to severe pain in her right side. They did a ct scan and found a tennis ball sized cyst on her ovary. They thought her pain was from the cyst so she ended up having surgery to remove it. While they were in there they found endometriosis. So now we are working on a treatment plan. They gave her a shot of Depo Provera. She got her period while on vacation and the pain was so severe that she ended up in the hospital again. Her pain is being caused by the endo and is so severe it is debilitating. She had regular pain before with her periods, never anything like this. Another problem she is having is severe pain on both of her hip bones. My daughter was a normal, healthy teenager before this now they want to suppress her periods until she is ready to have children. I can't help but think this is due to the Gardasil.
-- By mward6489 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
August 12th
2008
1:10 PM
I don't have any side effects to post, rather my experience thus far and my fear for my next couple shots. I had my first shot in June 2008 and the only side effect that I experienced was soreness in my arm that extended from where the shot was given down to my fingers. That said, I have not had the next 2 shots and after reading various websites on this vaccination....I don't think I'm going to. However, does anyone know if there are side effects to NOT finishing the 3-shots? Can you stop in the middle and be fine?
-- By shan14 | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 12th
2008
12:23 AM
My girlfriend completed her first two shots earlier this year with minor side effects (nausea, fatigue, nothing major.) Upon completing her third shot last month, she has been vomiting frequently and unexpectedly. She had major issues with insomnia, and she has been experiencing severe nosebleeds almost daily, in addition to constant nausea. Her last period came over two weeks later than expected. She has been extremely tired and had been diagnosed with mono, but after reading these side effects, it's exceedingly clear that these are all effects of the gardasil shot!
Gardasil is clearly an extremely dangerous treatment. There is minimal evidence that it works, and thousands of people have fallen severely ill to this "miracle drug". You do the math.
Don't force it upon yourself or your daughter, as gardasil is HARMFUL.
August 11th
2008
5:05 PM
After having the third shot I noticed my hair began falling out (July 2007). It is now over a year later and after having numerous blood tests, visiting a dermatologist and doing tons of research, I have concluded that gardasil must be causing this. My hair continues to fall out, I have bald areas around the crown of my head and my mood is very depressed by this. I also experienced soreness in my legs and joints but these are not constant. My periods also are out of whack. They can be between 28-50 days apart. I would not recommend anyone getting this vaccine. I wish my OBGYN had not sold me on it. I was 31 when I got it but she said age didn't matter, she said one day insurance companies would cover this vaccine for all women no matter what age they are. I paid $190.00 a shot and now I have a thin head of hair that may one day soon be bald if it doesn’t stop falling out. I think they should take this vaccine off the market. If anyone else has had severe hair loss, has it stopped falling out after a certain point?
-- By holly1976 | Reply | (7) replies | Send Private Mail
August 9th
2008
5:22 PM
EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!! GARDASIL HAS DESTROYED MY LIFE! I am 24 years old and a year and a half ago I was graduating college and planning to be a professional dancer and go to law school...I was perfectly healthy and energetic! In February of 2007 I received my first Gardasil shot. After a few days I started to feel as though I had a Urinary Tract Infection and was also feeling more tired than usual. The doctor gave me an antibiotic and sent me on my way.
In May of 2007 I received my second Gardasil shot and yet again, a few days later I started to feel like I was getting another Urinary Tract Infection. I went to the doctor numerous times between the second and third shot...all for bladder and urinary tract pain. For months I was on different antibiotics and they were not making the pain go away. After visiting a number of urologists, I found out that the urine cultures had all been coming back negative - showing no sign of an infection, so the antibiotics were pointless. All tests that I had run, both blood and urine came back normal. It is not standard procedure for a doctor to call you if your test results come back normal, but there was clearly something wrong, so I searched for a urologist who would believe me that I wasn't making up the pain I was in.
In August 2007, I had a cystoscopy done (they took a scope and went into the bladder to look in the bladder wall) and they concluded that I have an incurable bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. This is a condition where there becomes a defect in the bladder wall causing it not to have the protective mucus layer inside of it. The pictures of inside my bladder show red, raw skin, obviously showing the severity of my case of it.
There is no evidence as to what causes Interstitial Cystitis, and there is no proven successful way of treating it. The initial signs are exactly the same as a Urinary Tract Infection (painful bladder spasms, painful urination, body aches and back pain). The main difference is the fact that it is not an infection. There are thousands of people with Interstitial Cystitis who are misdiagnosed as having chronic Urinary Tract Infections.
I received my third Gardasil shot in October of 2007 and that is when EVERYTHING fell apart. The bladder pain became constant and there has not been one minute in a day since that shot I have not been in unbearable pain. This is when everything else in my body began to crash down as well. The other health problems and side effects from the Gardasil that I am having are constant sore throat, vicious migraines, vision changes, back pain, body aches, joint pain, sinus problems, vomiting, constipation, dizziness...I could keep going on forever!
I have tried all of the conventional treatment for Interstitial Cystitis and have gotten NO relief from the pain and other side effects. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they put me on OxyContin and a diet consisting of no acidic foods. That has now posed its own set of problems seeing as now my body is addicted to the narcotic, and I have gone from 5'6'' 125lbs to 100lbs over the course of a year due to the diet. I am extremely malnourished and have to take B12 vitamin shots once a week due to the severe anemia. I am 24 years old, and feel like I am 100. I can not live a normal life, I am going to lose my job from numerous absences, I lost my fiancé and am not able to have an intimate relationship anymore, I am extremely depressed, I have to have my family clean my apartment because I am too sick to do it, I can not do social activities because I am too tired and in pain. This vaccine has DESTROYED my life! I am desperately seeking out someone else who is having bladder problems due to the Gardasil so that I can contact an attorney. This needs to be OFF the market a soon as possible so that it does not run any other lives! Gardasil has caused some deaths, but in my mind, I'd rather die than live with the pain I am having. I did notice there are some posts regarding girls getting urinary tract infections... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have your urine cultured because there is a good chance it may be Interstitial Cystitis!
I am desperately looking for someone who is having some of these symptoms so that I can go to a lawyer and get something going before things like this happen: Numerous states are pushing to make it mandatory that girls receive the vaccine before they enter the 6th grade. We can not let this happen! We all need to stick together and somehow fight this and get out lives back!
Let me know if you are IN - and also what you thought about my post!
You can email me at ******
Bless All of You!
*~Amber~*
-- By areneectc | Reply | (5) replies | Send Private Mail
August 7th
2008
9:22 PM
After having the 2nd shot I now get my period every 3 weeks and suffer intense pains all around the pelvic area. they are that severe that they stop me from being able to walk even 5 steps, I have to take 4 pain killer tablets so I am able to get out of bed when my period arrives. This has happened every month for the last 3 months since I had the 2nd shot.
-- By melt | Reply | Send Private Mail
August 7th
2008
9:14 PM
After having my first gardasil shot I was a little nausea. After my 2nd shot my throat felt like it was closing up, I slept a lot, I hallucinated, I had strange pains in my head, my vision my fuzzy, felt nausea.The next day I had to take the day off work, I had the side effects for at least a week and I got my period early. Since the shot ive been having a period every 3 weeks and the period lasts 5 days. I wont be having the 3rd shot and advise others not to have the shots.
-- By melt | Reply | Send Private Mail
This registry is a place to share positive or negative side effects of using Gardasil. If you directly experienced a side effect while using Gardasil, then we encourage you to enter it here. Please note that entries here are the experiences of individual users, and in no way means that you or anyone else will experience the same side effect, since the same medication affects people in different ways. Please always contact your physician.
-- Please see our disclaimer
October 10th
2008
11:27 AM
Against my better judgment, I received my first shot in Oct 07 and my second in March 08. I will absolutely will not get the third. I was suspicious of the vaccine, but was convinced by my doctor to get it. I should have listened to my gut. Within two weeks of receiving the first shot, I experienced flu-like symptoms, fever, and such severe vaginal discomfort that I went to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. It cleared up, but my health felt off - worse digestion, I started getting heartburn, feeling fatigue, started seeing floaters in my vision and getting terrible headaches, and my menstrual cycle started becoming more irregular. I had always been like clockwork. I started losing weight, which was unusual, as I had always been overweight and had a hard time losing weight. I began feeling more and more irritable, but made no connections to the Guardasil shot. In March, immediately after receiving the second vaccine, my arm hurt terribly, I felt lightheaded, woozy, and had hives appear. Within 1 week, I started experiencing vaginal irritation again, fever, and had flu like symptoms. Over the course of the next month, I started to feel such severe fatigue, stomach aches, and uncontrollable diarrhea, that I went to my doctor. She told me I probably just had acid reflux. Two days later, I experience debilitating stomach pain, which lasted for nearly 1 month. I had an endoscopy, a CT scan, allergy tests, and blood work for thyroid disorders and other imbalances, all of which have come back reasonably normal and regular for my body and system. I did have some esophageal damage from acid reflux, and was put on Prevacid. Receiving no answers from the Western Medical community, I cut out gluten, corn, soy, dairy, eggs, caffeine, alcohol, yeasts, and sugar from my diet and started working with an acupuncturist and naturopath. Stool sampling showed signs of Candida Yeast overgrowth in my intestines and parasites, which I am combating naturally with help from my naturopath. I a got off the Prevacid successfully with her help, and am starting to feel stronger. However, since January, I have lost 50 lbs, have experienced hair loss, fatigue, eye itchiness, emotional upset, headaches, joint pain, tingling/numbness in hands and feet, lower body temperature, disruption in my sleep, decreased strength, muscle loss, continued gastrointestinal pain, alternating diarrhea/constipation, persistent Bacterial Vaginosis, and have not had my period since I received the second shot in March. While I do feel I am becoming stronger, this road is long and the journey is slow. My health is not what it used to be, my diet is restrictive, and I am taking multiple herbal and natural supplements, vitamins, and probiotics. The appearance of overall, chronic symptoms with the timing of the Guardasil shots makes me believe that I, like so many other women, am a victim of Guardasil. Don't get this vaccine.
-- By kac423 | Reply | Send Private Mail