What is your opinion on the Gardasil vaccine for HPV?

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I'm 16 and I was wondering if I should consider getting it or not. I'm not a virgin, but I try to be safe with condoms and birth control. I've heard bad things about the shot though and that it hasn't been tested long enough. And I've heard it hurts ALOT, and I am really sensitive to pain. Does anyone here have any experiences with it?

I've had it, and I didn't have any pain from it. I did have minor sneezing, like I'm coming down with a cold, but no runny nose. I would highly recommend getting it. I know people who have had cancer and others who got warts, and you need protection from the most common STD.

You can get HPV even if you use condoms. Did you know that plantar's warts are caused by one of the variants of HPV? Did you know that other kinds of warts are also caused by variants of HPV? HPV is nasty stuff, and very easy to catch, and not just from screwin', so you need all the immunity that you can get.

ok. thank you. Yeah, my aunt told me that you could still get it with condoms. Do you know how I could convince my dad to let me get it? Or does he have to know? He doesn't know I'm on birth control (well he suspects, but he doesn't KNOW), but I've heard that this is something that you need permission for.

It only protects from a few strains of HPV - but those are the strains most likely to cause nasty types of cancers and warts - so worth it, in my opinion, if you're sexually active - and I doubt you'd need permission for a vaccine.

I got the shot last summer. It hurts about as much as a regular shot. My H1N1 shot hurt way more. But it does feel a bit weird, because they refrigerate it so its fairly cold when they give it too you. Its not painful but feels a bit unsettling. Afterward, it only hurt if I ran into stuff with my shoulder or put my shoulder in an awkward position and only for a day. No other side effects for me.

Its pretty easy to get. I'm not a minor, so I dunno how different it is if you are, but I went to the free health clinic at my University, saw a doctor and got a prescription in about an hour. All they asked was allergies, if you knew what it was for and talked about the schedule. Its three shots over like eight months... i think. Then all you do is go get the prescription the day you want the shot and get it given to you within 15 minutes. They'll usually put it in the fridge until its your turn. Takes about three minutes to get plus a few after to make sure you don't react to it. All vaccines make you wait after.

You can go see you family doctor or a free clinic (medicentre) for the prescription. Its covered by most health plans, at least in Canada, so you'll probably have to talk to your dad about the cost unless you have your own plan.

That's all I can think of...

ok. thanks. I think it would be covered for me because school shot program think and plus I have Medicaid. Do you know what the allergies are that you can't have for it? I don't think I'm allergic to anything except stuff like dust, but I was just wondering.

Another thing that makes me scared to get it is I've heard that there have been deaths and seriously complications in a few people. And since I'm on birth control, would it increase the risk of blood clots? And what if it paralyzes me? This is also why I didn't and will not get the H1N1 vaccine because I heard something about a cheerleader that developed some rare disorder where she could only move side by side or whatever ....also I'm 'technically' obese. I weigh like 178.....would that increase risks? Because I'm really scared that something bad would happen if I got it? IDK, I freak out over things easily....

There are risks with any vaccine or medicine, including serious ones - people die from over the counter medicines like Tylenol - vaccines have to be tested for safety before they're out on the market, and this one has been out for a number of years so the chances of there being something seriously wrong with it are probably small. You have to decide if the risks are worth it for the benefits for you and your doctor can probably provide you with more information on your specific circumstances. Here are some links on side effects and safety:

http://cervical-cancer.emedtv.com/garda ... fects.html
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccin ... dasil.html

oh damn this thread reminds me i forgot to go in February to take my last dose,
hope it wont effect the medicine.

Thanks everyone. I don't think I am going to get the shot however since I found this website: http://truthaboutgardasil.org/ I think I'd rather tolerate regular pap smears on a more than regular basis that risk it. Maybe I'll wait a few years and see how everything is going with the shot, but right now I just don't think I can trust it enough.

But that's 71 out of how many though? How many unvaccinated people do you suppose have had serious complications from wart growth? I don't know anyone who has had problems the vaccine, and I've had it myself, but I do know someone who has had the warts, and the secondhand account of it leads me to believe that getting the vaccine is worth the cost and risk of headache, or other mild symptoms.

Yes, vaccines have a risk, perhaps on the order of a few parts per million for serious complications, and the risk may be higher if you're sick or if your immune system isn't working normally, but they'll screen you for that. Simply being alive for 1 month carries about 1/1000 risk of death.

IDK...I just have a feeling something really bad would happen...and I seriously doubt my doctor would screen me for anything before I got a shot. IDk..I worry about just about every single thing though and sometimes wake up and think I have came down with some terminal illness....I was freaking out today because I thought that I had a blood clot or diabetes, which I may or may not..how am I suppose to know. But I would rather try to avoid a vaccine or medication if it wasn't seriously needed.

I'm glad I got the vaccine, because I know I can't count on herd immunity to protect me, even though the vaccine is widely available and less expensive than catching the disease.

I just don't know if I could do it...besides what if something DID happen? I don't want to be paralyzed or develop some autoimmune disorder to mess with my immune system and make it even worse. Maybe I should just go hide in a hole.