You know me, when I see a post about something somewhere on the internet providing false or misleading information, I typically have to write about it to get the facts straight.

I’m sure many (or most) of you have seen the blog posted by E-Celeb Audrey Kitching regarding herself being oh-so-sick for months because of the Gardasil shot, and saying that 12,000 Gardasil shot receivers had the same adverse reaction to the medication.  While I think she meant well, she provided no links to sources stating such information, and the only information I could find like hers was from news websites and websites that were not run or associated with medical officials.

So I went to the heart of our source, and Googled (I love Google).

Let me start by saying that I got my Gardasil shot in 2008.  I got my first in January, my second in March, and my third in July.  I was diagnosed with HPV in April 2007, and they had found cancer cells on my cervix.  I’ve had four cervix surgeries since, and am now doing A-Okay.  I attribute this A-Okay-ness to the Gardasil shot.  Studies have shown in some instances that if administered to a person already having HPV, it can boost your immune system and immunity enough to actually kick the virus.

It kicked the virus for me, I found out in the fall of 2008.  I literally cried.  The thing that had given me adenocarcinoma (an extremely severe type of cancer, I was a lucky 4% who got this type of cancer from HPV) was gone, and no longer attacking me to give me cancer.  All my cancerous tissue was then removed, and I have not had a poor pap smear since.  I attribute my health to both my good measure of going in every six months for my endometriosis (and making sure to get tested each time, might as well, costs my office copay, and many diseases don’t show up for months after the fact and have no symptoms in women).  So I caught it extremely early to begin care for it, begin biopsies and surgeries, and since I went to an extremely esteemed OB/GYN, I also got to learn about the possibility that Gardasil could kick my HPV.  Since it did, I could also get rid of the cancer.  While I am still high-risk for it coming back, at least I don’t end up like most people with adenocarcinoma of the cervix.  I still have my cervix and uterus to show for it.

Let me get to the big elephant in the room first when talking about Gardasil safety:  Are deaths caused by Gardasil? There have been a few deaths reported weeks after the initial shots (usually after the last).  While these were after receiving the Gardasil shot, there was no evidence that the Gardasil shot was what caused the actual deaths.  Out of 23 million, only 32 deaths have been reported of girls dying after receiving the vaccine.  These deaths have not been attributed to the Gardasil itself.

Originally, the safety of the Gardasil shot was studied in five clinical trials before it became licensed, in these trials were over 21,000 girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26.  As with all shots, after the licensing the CDC and FDA have been closely monitoring the safety of the shot, and allowing us places to report any adverse reactions or side effects we have received.  Since it is still a new vaccine, they actually want you to.  Thanks to these systems, we can monitor and see if rare side effects and reactions do occur.  The three systems are as follows:

• The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)–a useful early warning public health system that helps CDC and FDA detect possible side effects or adverse events following vaccination.
• The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) Project–a project between CDC and 8 health care organizations to study patterns in reports detected by VAERS and determine if a vaccine is causing a side effect.
• The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network–a project between 6 academic centers in the U.S. which conduct research on adverse events that might be caused by vaccines.

As of December 31st, 2008, over 23 million doses of Gardasil were administered in the United States.  23 million is a lot of doses.  As of this same date, there were 11,916 VAERS reports of adverse events following the vaccination.  Of these reports, 94% (a vast majority) were reports of events considered to be non-serious, and 6% were reports of events considered to be serious.

The non-serious events were same as the side effects listed on the Gardasil pamphlet, and on the Gardasil website.  These side effects include: fainting, pain and swelling at the injection site (the arm), headache, nausea and fever.  Fainting is common in after injections and vaccinations, especially among adolescent girls.  Falls and fainting after the injection is a common reason to become hospitalized (these instances were included in the other 6% of events), seeing as it can cause head injury and so on and so forth.

The other 6% has been unable to identify any medical pattern to these reports.  Medical officials have researched, reviewed, and not found anything.  These events may, or may not have, been caused by the vaccine at all.

Unlike other vaccinations, Gardasil was not meant to be administered with other vaccines.  It should be given alone, and should not be given within a period of time after receiving other vaccines (discuss this with your health care provider).  I personally believe that this shot should only be administered by an OB/GYN associate, not just any physician.  Why?  Because I went to a physician who recommended I get the shot (lucky for me, I had already gotten it), and was going to give it to me with a series of other necessary shots.  If I would not have gotten the Gardasil shot already, and agreed to getting it, I have no clue how sick I would have gotten, and the side effects would have heavily increased.

This is why the shot is monitored very closely, to protect our safety.

You should NOT get the Gardasil shot if:

• you have an allergic reaction after receiving a dose of Gardasil,
• you are allergic to yeast, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, polysorbate 80.

And tell your doctor if:

• you have a weak immune system.
• are pregnant or could be pregnant.
• have a fever.
• take any medications.
• had a reaction to a previous dose of Gardasil.

There are a number of reactions you need to pay attention to, they are not normal side effects to the shot.  These include:

• difficulty breathing
• wheezing
• hives
• rash
• swollen glands (neck, armpit, or groin)
• joint pain
• unusual tiredness or weakness
• chills
• generally feeling unwell
• leg pain
• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• aching muscles
• muscle weakness
• seizure
• bad stomach ache

The ingredients of Gardasil are the inactive proteins of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, yeast protein, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sodium borate, and water for injection.

Since I like to go above and beyond, I’ll tell you what each ingredient is (except for the water, since that is incredibly obvious).

Inactive HPV proteins: These proteins were extracted carefully from the virus in order to give us antibodies to become immune to the virus.
Amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate (previously known as aluminum hydroxide): a hydroxide salt form of aluminum, a naturally accuring substance.  Often used to help with indigestion and upset stomach.
Sodium Chloride: salt water
L-Histidine: an amino acid necessary to the human body.
Polysorbate 80: a surfactant and emuslfier (it keeps the injection wet)
Sodium Borate: the sodium salt of boric acid, used as an alkalizing agent in pharmaceuticals.

Sources:

• A printable PDF with information (I recommend looking at this if you are interested in receiving the shot.  Just right click, and click save as!)
• The Gardasil Official Site
• CDC Gardasil information