Gardasil-

I am 33 and my gyno recommended Gardasil, to prevent the dangerous strains of the HPV virus. I took all of the injections.
Now, I'm over analyzing, over thinking, and worrying that it will disrupt my fertility or the health of my future pregnancies/children.
I'm really worried! there has been no literature indicating this, and I don't have any valid reason to belive this, but I am still really worried.
WHat upsets me most is that the drug is new (even though it is FDA approved) and I don't know anyone who has given birth, or conceived, or had a child after taking the drugs.....which would reassure me.
I'm really upset about this. Is anyone else in this boat?

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Posted by KandD07

I've only heard the doctors recommending it to those until 26. I'm definitely not taking it. I agree with you that it is too new. Plus, you are married, I dont think there is a need unless you are going to be having sex with others!

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I completely disagree.

If your husband has slept with anyone before you, he can pass HPV on to you unknowingly and unintentionally. It isnt something like herpes that you may see and its effects may not show up for months or longer on a pap smear. It is microscopic. Men carry it to women. That is how women get it.

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Posted by Goldi1021

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Posted by KandD07

I've only heard the doctors recommending it to those until 26. I'm definitely not taking it. I agree with you that it is too new. Plus, you are married, I dont think there is a need unless you are going to be having sex with others!

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I completely disagree.

If your husband has slept with anyone before you, he can pass HPV on to you unknowingly and unintentionally. It isnt something like herpes that you may see and its effects may not show up for months or longer on a pap smear. It is microscopic. Men carry it to women. That is how women get it.

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Sorry to crash... But I totally agree with you Goldi. Besides, if you've ever known anyone who's gotten HPV, it's tough to get rid of and quite invasive and painful... my mom works with someone who had it and as a result of the virus and the procedures to get rid of it, she can't have children... she's under 30...

I suggest that if your gyno is recommending it, than it's probalby something you should seriously consider. I have my 3rd round in a few months... so far so good, no side effects to report here

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Posted by AMGBride2008

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Posted by Goldi1021

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Posted by KandD07

I've only heard the doctors recommending it to those until 26. I'm definitely not taking it. I agree with you that it is too new. Plus, you are married, I dont think there is a need unless you are going to be having sex with others!

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I completely disagree.

If your husband has slept with anyone before you, he can pass HPV on to you unknowingly and unintentionally. It isnt something like herpes that you may see and its effects may not show up for months or longer on a pap smear. It is microscopic. Men carry it to women. That is how women get it.

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Sorry to crash... But I totally agree with you Goldi. Besides, if you've ever known anyone who's gotten HPV, it's tough to get rid of and quite invasive and painful... my mom works with someone who had it and as a result of the virus and the procedures to get rid of it, she can't have children... she's under 30...

I suggest that if your gyno is recommending it, than it's probalby something you should seriously consider. I have my 3rd round in a few months... so far so good, no side effects to report here

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I am one of those people who has had HPV. I had it way before I met DH. There is a chance that I may not be able to have kids too - but I am being seen by a specialist and I am somewhat hopeful. The procedure to get rid of it WAS invasive and uncomfortable to heal from. It left scarring that invariably left my cervix VERY stenotic. Essentially, if I am able to have my cervix dilated, the only way I can get pregnant is through artificial insemination (IUI). Right now, my cervix is too narrow to accept a catheter for IUI and that is also why I have not been able to get PG up until now.

For all of the women who DO see their GYN's proactively, there are many more who do not. I would hate to see something like I HAD left untreated and women suffering through an awful illness and grueling treatments.

I have had HPV too - and went thru lots of treatments - coploscopies, cryo - not fun, but my dr. assured me that having the virus nor the treatment does not affect fertility, and obviously it was true for me.

Reading Leslie's story, I am not sure if certain treatments do affect fertility or not, but honestly, I am very wary about new vaccinations. What troubles me is the fact that drs will push the vaccs on girls ages 9 and up... I understand they want to be proactive, but I think they are a bit too 'trigger happy' lately with vaccs...

JMO...

it is funny this topic came up today.

i have an appointment this evening for my 2nd shot.

neither dh nor i have had many sexual partners- however, hpv is so common - the many different types and can be caught in other ways besides sexually.

and- anything that is fda approved that my gyno suggests that could quite possibly help prevent a CANCER, then i'm all for it!

and, no it doenst hurt fertility- or at least that is what my gyno said!

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Posted by lipglossjunky73

I have had HPV too - and went thru lots of treatments - coploscopies, cryo - not fun, but my dr. assured me that having the virus nor the treatment does not affect fertility, and obviously it was true for me.

Reading Leslie's story, I am not sure if certain treatments do affect fertility or not, but honestly, I am very wary about new vaccinations. What troubles me is the fact that drs will push the vaccs on girls ages 9 and up... I understand they want to be proactive, but I think they are a bit too 'trigger happy' lately with vaccs...

JMO...

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Just to clarify, to my knowledge, my actual 'fertility' is not in question - it is the pathway. I ovulate and have regular periods. As of right now, it does not appear as if my ovaries, tubes or uterus are problematic. What I have, is scar tissue that prevents sperm from reaching its destination as a direct result of the laser procedure. As far as I know, everything BEHIND my cervix works just fine - I will know more in two weeks.

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Posted by KandD07

If your husband has slept with anyone before you, he can pass HPV on to you unknowingly and unintentionally.

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Is there a way that men can be tested as carriers? If the people who are getting the vaccine have already had 'unprotected' sex with their partners/husbands, does it still make sense to get a preventive vaccine after the exposure has occurred?

In general, it bothers me that this vaccination may become mandatory for girls as young as 9.

It was only in clinical trials for 4 yrs, which is not long enough to determine long-term effects.

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Posted by Future Mrs.

I am 33 and my gyno recommended Gardasil, to prevent the dangerous strains of the HPV virus. I took all of the injections.
Now, I'm over analyzing, over thinking, and worrying that it will disrupt my fertility or the health of my future pregnancies/children.
I'm really worried! there has been no literature indicating this, and I don't have any valid reason to belive this, but I am still really worried.
WHat upsets me most is that the drug is new (even though it is FDA approved) and I don't know anyone who has given birth, or conceived, or had a child after taking the drugs.....which would reassure me.
I'm really upset about this. Is anyone else in this boat?

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it's a vaccine. You've had other vaccines, right? All sorts of them, from measles to diptheria to tetanus. Did you worry about any of them affecting your fertility? No, of course not. I don't know why your gyno thought you should have it when you're older than the recommended age and you're married (you are, right?), but it's done. Don't worry about it. Why would it affect your fertility? Like I said, it's not a drug. It causes antibodies to form in your bloodstream so that if you are ever infected with any of the strains of HPV, you will fight it off and not get infected. There's no reason to think that it will affect your fertility. It doesn't work like that. HPV could affect your fertility if you had an infection, but Gardasil won't give you HPV.

Why don't you go to WebMd and read up on vaccines, and it will quell your fears. Or call your gyno. If she/he gave you the vaccine and upset you like this, then a phone call is not out of order.

Really, you'll be fine. There's NOTHING to worry about.

It's funny how people are so afraid of vaccines these days. Yes, it is remotely possible that you can catch the disease from some vaccines, but it's a very remote possibility. The thing is, none of us lived in a world where people were terrified of catching polio, where mothers kept their kids inside during warm weather lest they catch polio, get sick, paralyzed, or die. Many, many children died from polio. I know someone who was one of the last children to catch polio, she had it as a baby. She is partially paralyzed and can only walk with crutches. We also have never seen children and adults die of measles and diptheria, never seen men who are sterile from mumps--I'm older than you guys, mostly, and I remember when my brother and sister had the mumps, but I had gotten the vaccine already (I just happened to have a doctor's appt before they did) so I didn't catch it. I didn't know until later that my mom was terrified that my brother might become sterile. Smallpox used to kill thousands and thousands of people, and now it's been eradicated. We don't even think about these diseases anymore, because we have vaccines.

It's actually kind of nice that we live in a world that is so medically safe in this regard that people can worry about the vague possibility that someday they might be harmed by a side effect of a vaccine. I'm happy that we do. But I'm frightened by people who refuse to vaccinate their children because they're ignorant of history, and because they don't know that their kids aren't safe, that the more people who don't vaccinate, the more likely that there will be pocket breakouts of disease. A friend of mine was recently exposed to chickenpox while pregnant--she had never had it, and if she had caught it while pregnant, she might have lost the baby. Adults tend to have much more serious cases of chickenpox, it frequently goes to pneumonia, and it's particularly bad for babies in the womb. How was she exposed? A 'friend' of hers deliberately exposed her child to chickenpox rather than give her the vaccine, for some dumb reason, and then sent her off to playgroup before she was fully recovered, without telling the other kids or other mothers. She thought she was doing the right thing for her child by saving her from a 'dangerous' vaccine, while what she might have done was kill my friend's baby. Besides that chickenpox isn't always a negligible disease, some kids can get very ill from it, and some get Reye's Disease afterwards, which is sometimes deadly. Or else they're like me, who didn't get that ill from chickenpox, but I'm scarred for life in many places from the pox marks.

Anyway, all I'm saying is, read up on vaccines, don't listen to the hysterics. Vaccines don't cause autism, it's been proven many times, but the parents of autistic children want someone to blame. I feel sorry for them, but I also wish they'd stop because they're causing kids to get sick when their parents get misinformation about vaccines.

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Posted by Pencils

It's funny how people are so afraid of vaccines these days. Yes, it is remotely possible that you can catch the disease from some vaccines, but it's a very remote possibility. The thing is, none of us lived in a world where people were terrified of catching polio, where mothers kept their kids inside during warm weather lest they catch polio, get sick, paralyzed, or die. Many, many children died from polio. I know someone who was one of the last children to catch polio, she had it as a baby. She is partially paralyzed and can only walk with crutches. We also have never seen children and adults die of measles and diptheria, never seen men who are sterile from mumps--I'm older than you guys, mostly, and I remember when my brother and sister had the mumps, but I had gotten the vaccine already (I just happened to have a doctor's appt before they did) so I didn't catch it. I didn't know until later that my mom was terrified that my brother might become sterile. Smallpox used to kill thousands and thousands of people, and now it's been eradicated. We don't even think about these diseases anymore, because we have vaccines.

It's actually kind of nice that we live in a world that is so medically safe in this regard that people can worry about the vague possibility that someday they might be harmed by a side effect of a vaccine. I'm happy that we do. But I'm frightened by people who refuse to vaccinate their children because they're ignorant of history, and because they don't know that their kids aren't safe, that the more people who don't vaccinate, the more likely that there will be pocket breakouts of disease. A friend of mine was recently exposed to chickenpox while pregnant--she had never had it, and if she had caught it while pregnant, she might have lost the baby. Adults tend to have much more serious cases of chickenpox, it frequently goes to pneumonia, and it's particularly bad for babies in the womb. How was she exposed? A 'friend' of hers deliberately exposed her child to chickenpox rather than give her the vaccine, for some dumb reason, and then sent her off to playgroup before she was fully recovered, without telling the other kids or other mothers. She thought she was doing the right thing for her child by saving her from a 'dangerous' vaccine, while what she might have done was kill my friend's baby. Besides that chickenpox isn't always a negligible disease, some kids can get very ill from it, and some get Reye's Disease afterwards, which is sometimes deadly. Or else they're like me, who didn't get that ill from chickenpox, but I'm scarred for life in many places from the pox marks.

Anyway, all I'm saying is, read up on vaccines, don't listen to the hysterics. Vaccines don't cause autism, it's been proven many times, but the parents of autistic children want someone to blame. I feel sorry for them, but I also wish they'd stop because they're causing kids to get sick when their parents get misinformation about vaccines.

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I guess I'm just so paranoid bc it's so new and I'm worried, since I have no luck, that 5 yrs from now they'll be like everyone that got this vaccine is not at risk for blah blah. Although, it's been out for 5 yrs and they're giving it to children, so they must be pretty confident. I just don't trust drug companies!! am I crazy??

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Posted by Queensbebe

QUOTE] I guess I'm just so paranoid bc it's so new and I'm worried, since I have no luck, that 5 yrs from now they'll be like everyone that got this vaccine is not at risk for blah blah. Although, it's been out for 5 yrs and they're giving it to children, so they must be pretty confident. I just don't trust drug companies!! am I crazy??

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I agree with you about not trusting drug companies. I see them constantly coming into the hospital I work at and giving incentives to the dr's for writing prescriptions for their medications/vaccinations. Who knows who to trust nowadays.

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Posted by KandD07

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Posted by Queensbebe

QUOTE] I guess I'm just so paranoid bc it's so new and I'm worried, since I have no luck, that 5 yrs from now they'll be like everyone that got this vaccine is not at risk for blah blah. Although, it's been out for 5 yrs and they're giving it to children, so they must be pretty confident. I just don't trust drug companies!! am I crazy??

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I agree with you about not trusting drug companies. I see them constantly coming into the hospital I work at and giving incentives to the dr's for writing prescriptions for their medications/vaccinations. Who knows who to trust nowadays.

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I totally agree!