29 Jan 2010

How did it go with the gyno? There was some evidence in the trials that women who already had HPV when they got the Gardasil shot had a very significantly higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Merck shuffled the trial data to make the numbers go away - I'm sure some of the 're-dos' were legitimate, but hmmm - and got the increased risk down to where the FDA would approve it although they expressed concern. Also, Gardasil is far from 100 percent effective. There are multiple strains of HPV that aren't covered by the vaccine, and you could have picked up one of those; also, Merck's trials show only a 17-45 percent reduction in cervical lesions etc. overall, even though the vaccine is very effective against the two strains it does cover. Your doctor wouldn't tell you all this because he probably didn't know. Merck has done an excellent marketing job that fails to properly inform the patient AND the doctor about pros and cons, as an editorial and a paper in JAMA acidly pointed out. Doctors tend to do what the AMA advises and rarely put in the time to research and discuss pros and cons with a patient. Gardasil isn't a cure all and has actually done harm in a handful of cases. It may turn out to be a miracle, who knows, but I'm not getting it for my girls.

—Posted by KJ

14 Jan 2010

Pain at injection sight made muscles feel cramped. First shot in the upper thigh was worse shot.

—Posted by Anonymous

13 Jan 2010

I received the gardasil shot about a year ago and now I have been diagnosed with high risk HPV. I am due to go see a gyno. next week and I am scared....I was never diagnosed with HPV only now a year later after getting the shot. Also, I have read that if you were already exposed to HPV prior to receiving the gardasil shot it increases chances of cervical cancer...why wouldn't my doctor tell me this?

—Posted by Anonymous