I finally got around to getting the Gardasil vaccine on Monday. I had it prescribed about a year ago but never wound up picking it up and going back to the doctor.

It's not a cheap vaccine! Each vile was about $155 and you need 3 in total over 6 months.

All in all? There was a mild burning at the time of injection slightly worse than the tetanus vaccine but not too bad followed by a small sore spot on my arm for a couple of days. Everything else is peachy keen.

I had a few girls at work ask me why I was getting the vaccine since it was so expensive and I wasn't really in a position to likely be exposed to the virus. Well this year one of our sales girls wound up with cervical cancer at the age of 19. Yikes. I view this vaccine like the polio one, sure I don't expect to contract it but I don't expect my house to burn down either and I still buy house insurance. Ultimately, cancer would be a lot more expensive then the vaccine is and I have a private health plan that covered 80% of the cost.

Anyone else here either gotten the vaccine or plan to get it? Anyone planning to get it for their daughters? Anyone against it?

I'm just curious what ya'll think

I guess I see it as to new still to want to try it for myself or put my 3 girls through it. I understand the importance of vaccines and my girls are all up to date with what is recommended for them at this time. but after seeing such a high rate of autisim and the possible link between that and the vaccines they used to use...well I guess I would rather hold off until they have more history to back it.

I agree

Currently I'm against it but I do know many people that have gotten it for them/their daughters etc. The only reason I'm against it at this time is we have a family member (she is 13) and she got the vaccine last fall and she went blind for about a week... her sight came back but not 100%! She still has no peripheral vision, she has to wear glasses (her sight was perfect before the shot) and overall she just has really bad vision now. I'm sure her case is one of those 1 in a million sort of thing but I guess I just don't trust the vaccinaion fully since it was barely tested in the early stages.

I'm glad everything went okay with your vaccine!

this has me worried for young girls. my sister took my 11 year old niece for this vaccine. as far as i know she has only had one out of the three doses. i just don't think it's necissary for an 11 year old to have this vaccine. especially with the problems that have been reported. who KNOWS what the long-term affects will be for the young kids given the vaccine.

i TOTALLY understand the benefits of the vaccine and think adult women should be vaccinated... just not young, non-sexually active kids.

The idea is to vaccinate before they have a chance to be exposed. Kids are becoming sexually active younger and younger. All it takes is 1 stupid mistake and you can wind up with HPV or any other STD.

Personally I don't think the vaccine is a green light for kids to have sex. Just because I'm vaccinated against polio doesn't mean I go to a third world country and roll in infected bed spreads. I'm vaccinated against tetanus but I'm not stomping on rusty nails.

The autism/vaccine link is unproven at best and even from anecdotal evidence only affects very young children. It shouldn't be a problem for an 11 year old. However if parents feel it best to wait until their child is a bit older (say 14 or 15) that is up to them and their children. Lots of people I know skipped the Hepititis B shots because they were unlikely to come in contact with the disease. It comes down to evaluating what you are likely to come in contact with and the effects it would have on your life.

While it is unlikely that I will come in contact with HPV I decided to have the vaccine done after weighing the pros and cons. My doctor doesn't sell the vaccine himself so he was able to give me an honest opinion and as a 24 year old it made sense to me to get the vaccine. If you are 11 right now you have lots of time to decide what is right for you, at 24 I was close to the end of the age spectrum so I made my decision based on the information currently available.

I hope that my comment wasn't offensive to you Jamie-that was certainly not my intention. and truth be told I haven't educated myself as much as I prob should have on this vaccine. I just understand the very generalized idea behind it from what I have caught on the few commercials I have seen. At this point I'm a 27 yr old female and my girls are 8, 6, 2 (I'm assuming much to young for the vaccine anyways from the sounds of it). So other then it's for cervical cancer prevention and it's for girls, I know nothing else of the requirments or for what the reasons are. I'm not saying that the people who are taking the vaccine shouldn't. I just don't think it's right for us at this time.

The vaccine is rated for girls 9-26

No offense taken! I don't blame you for looking into it before giving it to your children. I'd do the same thing. Like I said, at 24 the window of opportunity was sizeably smaller than it would be if I was 9 years old lol.

Your doctor will likely start to broach the subject when you girls get to the age that Gardasil is recommended for. There have been adverse reactions reported but you will likely find that with any vaccine. It doesn't actually protect against cervical cancer though, it protects against the 4 main strains of Human Papilloma Virus (genetal warts) that can cause cervical cancer. Just because you get HPV doesn't mean you'll get cancer, just like having moles and freckles doesn't cause you get to melanoma... it's just a precurser

Honestly if my health plan didn't cover 80% I probably would not have had the vaccine done, because it is very expensive. Though my doctor was saying it was becoming more popular. I tend to agree that 9 years old is a bit young... it would probably be better to start the vaccine program at age 13 or 14 since by then girls are a bit older and better able to have input into their own medical care. It's hard to sit down with a 9 or 10 year old and try to explain a vaccine like this whereas you could sit with a 14 year old and have a rational discussion of the pros and cons.

Jami you are a very mature young woman, and have done your research. But I would not compare this vaccine to others, as stepping on a rusty nail, or rolling on a dirty bedspread, are not enjoyable, or peer pressured things. This virus is a sexually transmitted disease, and the vaccine is only 70% effective. I really am concerned about the trend to socialize and desensitize our kids to sex. Now I am not stupid, I work in an emergency and see how many girls are coming in for the morning after pill, which means they have not used any protection at all. Someone very dear to me contracted genital warts from an unfaithful spouse, and has had to have them burned off to many times to count. So I really have mixed feelings about this vaccine. What I have found is that many of the youth today hear only what they want to hear. I do believe that going back a few steps to waiting until being committed in a long term relationship, would do our society a world of good. And with all religious convictions aside, there is no arguing that if the people actually did this, all STDs would be seen much less. This is a scientific fact. With statistics that show that 1 in 4 people have herpes, I am seeing signs of what a promiscuous society has caused, and it is not good either mentally or physically.
I am not foolish enough to think that this will happen, so I agree that if a woman has decided that having multiple partners, who have also had multiple partner, sexually, is socially acceptable, and something that she can handle she should get the vaccine. But I wonder if a 9 year old is mature enough to make this decision, and might get a mixed message. Our televisions, billboards, and radio, in inundated with sex, so there is no wonder that the number of STD infections are on the rise. OK, I will get off of my soap box now, but it something that I worry about very much, having a 15 year old step daughter.

I don't think it's something a 9 year old can handle... or should have to handle really.

I am probably in one of the lowest risk groups to contract HPV... I waited until I was 21 before I started having sex and I have only ever had long term committed partners.

Definately this vaccine may give false security about contracting HPV from unprotected sex but with all of the other risks (HIV, pregnancy etc) involved I don't think you'll see that big of a jump in unprotected sex in teens because if pregnancy and HIV don't scare you off then protection from HPV is going to be the last thing on your mind.

I think it's really sad how fast kids grow up now... and while 9 is pretty young, I think empowering 14 and 15 year old girls (and boys) with the knowledge and resources they need to be safe is important. The peer pressure will likely never go away but teenagers can be prepared for the fact that they will run into these sorts of issues. Not saying we should rush out and give condoms and birth control pills to every teenager but certainly giving them the information needed to make rational decisions about their medical treatment and their lives in general is one way to combat the negative influences that peers and media can have.

I think I'd lose my dang mind if I had kids today... I'd be one of those people on the news who builds a dome around the house and never lets my kids leave or something. The world's just a real poopy place sometimes.

OMG I Can NOT believe I just read that, my online friend Amy has a daughter named Kayla, and this has happened to her and just this month! Kayla has been having mri's done and FINALLY a Dr mentioned that if she had has this vacc. that is causes head aches and eye problems! Is it ok if I PM You and give you my email address so that I can her in touch w/ you so that she will know they arent alone? Thanks, SHelli

Wow! That's crazy Shelli! Our relative had the headaches along with the eye problems too! I'll definitely PM you with some contact info! Thanks a bunch!

I work in a genetics lab that tests for HPV, and you would be amazed at the number of people who are infected and not know it. In this world we live in it really isn't worth trusting people whole-heartedly. I know that sounds awful, but one time is all it takes to be infected, and cervical cancer has a high rate of mortality. Personally I think that a vaccine such as this is no more going to increase a girl's sexual activity than the movies and TV she watches, or the friends she keeps. Just about every TV show nowadays have female characters that sleep around and have many partners, and thats portrayed as normal. Besides all of the vaccinations we receive have a risk of harm or even death. Both my sister and I chose to have the vaccination and everything was normal for us.

I am not saying that the vaccine will increase sexual activity. What I am saying is that if we did as much research on how to promote abstinence as vaccine's to prevent STD's we would be better off. And I can guarantee there are no side effects, if done properly. I would like to share my story of experiences. I was one of the oldest girls in my nursing class to still be a virgin. I met the man I would eventually marry when I was 18, and waited until we were engaged before, I decided I was ready to have sex. My first time was in the back seat of his car, as I lived in residence, (no guys allowed) not a very romantic place for one of the most memorable times in a woman's life. We married 1 1/2 years later, and by then we were pretty experienced with each other. Our wedding night, was quite disappointing, as we were both tired, and well to put it plainly it wasn't anything that we hadn't done already. We had not lived together, and when we got back to where we lived our brand new apartment was waiting for us. This is a very fond and special memory for me. Well alas after 23 years of marriage, mostly really good, we split up. I was a single woman again, in my 40's. A lot of my friends were divorced as well, and I listened to their many stories of multiple partners, which most of the time they made sound very inviting. Finally I as a grown woman succumbed again to peer pressure. I started to go out with a very nice man, who was very honest right from the start that he was not interested in commitment, and our relationship was mostly sexual, although we really did enjoy a lot of things together. It didn't take long for me to realize that I had given this man a small part of me, one that I could never reclaim when we parted. My soul screamed that this was not good for me, so I broke it off. Some month's later I met my now husband, but there was a difference. He was a Christian, and insisted on abstinence until marriage. He is very attractive, and had a fairly promiscuous lifestyle for most of his life, until he found his faith. He said that that type of lifestyle cheapened sex, and made it much less appealing to him. Well we dated for a year, and I re-explored my faith. Then we married, in a beautiful garden casual wedding. I will never forget the anticipation, and excitement. Our wedding night was magical, and an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I have never loved a man more. I wish all the young woman could know this, and experience this indescribable union. Of course I had to learn this the hard way. I try to share this story now to encourage young woman to wait, and even older more experienced woman to seek this experience.
I hope that I have not broken any forum rules, or offended anyone, but I think it is just as legitimate to share as the newest STD, or virus protection.

Quite honestly, I have no opinion on it, simply because it doesn't/won't effect me. I'm over the age for getting the vaccine and I have two boys.

I think, along with almost every thing we do in our lives, that so long as you do your research that will then enable you to make an educated decision.

Just wanted to agree ... 12-15 years of ageare crucial "formative" years where a youngster formulates views of the worlds so arming youth early is critical to have them make positive lifestyle choices after these years....

that being said our area has a huge teen pregnancy rate and you can find lil packets of condoms just about anywhere social service related discretely in lil bins on tables etc etc... really sad actually...

I think it's a personal choice, and only hope that everyone will do their research before getting it or not getting it.


That said, I think the argument that it promotes sexual activity is a bit silly. Because, to be honest, that is no one's business but the individual in question (and perhaps their parents is the individual is a child). Every parent should make sure look at the vaccine in terms of its health benefits and risks. How they have done their parenting (plus good old fashioned free will) will term the rest. As a society, we have absolutely no right to withhold any medical decisions simply because they MIGHT promote behaviors we PERSONALLY don't support.