The HPV Vaccine Gardasil Almost Killed Me

2010-01-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

First, I am not a medical doctor, nor do I have an opinion on the national debate about Gardasil (the HPV Vaccine). I understand there is a heated national debate about the effectiveness, dangers, problems with some of the studies done ... and I am not qualified to comment on these things.

I did, however, get the vaccine last winter, and it almost killed me and my baby - the Gardasil caused a birth defect that put my life (and my baby's life) in jeopardy. When I say "almost" killed me ... I had only a 1 in 3 chance of surviving; my baby had a 1 in 10,000 chance of surviving.

So I am not here to tell you the drug is safe or not. I am not telling you to get the vaccine or not. I am just giving you my story so you can have a FULLY informed decision ... knowing that I would NEVER have had the vaccine if I had known the risks, and I'm lucky I'm alive today.

I am 25. There was a grant for young women to get the free Gardasil vaccine, so my doctor recommended it. I was on birth control at the time (Micronor) - my husband and I were planning on having kids, but we were planning to wait a few years.

I am normally against vaccines, but my husband's ex-wife was raped by a youth minister in a Nazarene church, who gave her HPV, and obviously my husband was exposed. (*It broke up their marriage, and caused her to spiral into a horrible depression. But don't worry -the Nazarene youth minister was given 2 weeks suspension, and transferred to a different church. Yes I'm being facecious).

Anyway, the Gardasil apparently nullified my birth control, and we got pregnant! I was warned about getting pregnant while having the vaccine ... but nobody told me it would nullify our birth control. Micronor has a 99.99% effective rate, so the vaccine is definitely credited for my pregnancy.

Please take note of this: If you get the Gardasil vaccine, it may nullify your birth control!

On with the story: we're both health food nuts - we exercise, take lots of vitamins, see an herbalist and an alternative physician, eat organic raw vegetables. The pregnancy went smoothly - perfectly actually. We had two ultrasounds, both came back perfect.

But (long story short) our little daughter came 3 weeks early, and her umbilical cord was not in tact! There was 6" missing from the cord.

Basically, the little arteries and veins were the only thing connecting the placenta to the baby. The umbilical cord was missing. Her chances of survival were 1 in 10,000 ... but she made it! I signed a release form for the placenta, because they are doing a medical study on it. It was very rare. She should have been miscarried. The doctors credit my commitment to exercise and health foods, otherwise she would have died in the womb, or during delivery.

But because the umbilical cord was missing, during delivery my cervix closed before the placenta could come out! I hemorrhaged and could have bled to death. My chances of survival were 1 in 3. Again, thanks to my good health, I made it.

Obviously we're both lucky to be alive, despite this vaccine. But here's something even more troubling - I asked the doctor if they had heard this before, and he said yes there are reports of problems but no studies. I asked how to report this - he didn't know.

So I contacted Merk, the manufacturer. They said they don't have any other reports like this, and yet they have no reporting or feedback system either. So how can consumers know there are problems if there is no system in place to report problems?

I called the clinic where I had the vaccine - they didn't know how to report problems with the vaccine. I called the State, and I contacted the FDA - nobody wants to hear about problems with this vaccine.

I've read hundreds of stories online (discussion boards, blogs, etc) about similar problems with this vaccine. And yet, Merk reported that millions of young women have had this vaccine since 2006, and they report ZERO birth defects or significant side effects. Excuse me?

If nobody is following up on the vaccines, how can we spot problems that become trends? If nobody (doctors, hospitals, clinics, state, fed, etc) is collecting data on this, how can Merk say confidently that they have zero problems? Shouldn't they be legally obligated to say, we don't compile data? We haven't done any follow-up studies?

Also, if it has killed one or both of us ... would it have been reported? Who, exactly, would have taken the time to connect our deaths with the vaccine? The answer is nobody. My husband is livid, but who is out there to listen? The local TV channels aren't interested in the story because Merk is a heavy TV advertiser.

Anyway, that's my story. I'm lucky to be alive despite this vaccine. I get cold sweats every time I think of it, and my eyes tear up, thinking that this stupid vaccine may have killed my daughter. I pray it didn't cause any permanent damage in my daughter. She's only weeks old at this point - only time will tell.

My Gardasil Story (The HPV Vaccine)

The HPV Vaccine Gardasil Almost Killed Me